April 7, 2012 results from the WCK Muay Thai show at Pala

On Saturday, the people of WCK Muay Thai staged another action packed show at the Pala Fitness Center on the grounds of the Pala Indian Reservation. The organizers, Dennis Warner, the president of In Sync Productions along with Grand Master Bob Chaney and his wife Sarinda of Chaney Muay Thai announced this was the first of seven amateur Muay Thai events.

Results from Saturday’s show:

Bout #1

IAMTF Women’s Featherweight bout (124 pounds) featured Amanda De Rosa of Bullet Hole going up against Patty Zentano of the Adrenaline Gym. Even though De Rosa came on strong in the final frame, Zentano did more than enough in both Rounds one and two with her steady stream of kicks and punches to win over the judges.

Bout #2

IAMTF Super Welterweight (155 pounds) featured Fabian Ramirez of the Adrenaline Gym going up against Ivan Garcia of Chaney Muay Thai. When Ramirez appeared with shin guards and Garcia didn’t, people wondered about this handicap.

Apparently, to go without the shin guards was Garcia’s decision and fortunately for him he was able to withstand the punishment from Ramirez’s kicks. Without that protection, it was Garcia’s tact to be relentless in his striking and not allow Ramirez any type of offense.

It worked as Garcia went nonstop and managed to land many straight rights to Ramirez’s head.

Bout #3

IAMTF Middleweight bout (155 pounds) featured Zach Green of Victory MMA going up against Alex Ling of the Adrenaline Gym. This was your classic battle between the better boxer/striker going up against the better kicker. In order to win Ling had to be busier and he was in Round #1. Since Round #2 was a mixed bag, that left the final round to decide the winner. In that final round Ling looked impressive with two spinning back kicks and a solid left hook to the head.

Bout #4

IAMTF Super Bantamweight bout (122 pounds) featured Christian Meza of Victory MMA going up against Austin Brandon of USKO. This bout was of special note because of the fighters’ ages. Both are very young.

Meza, who is only 16, had already competed against a 28 year-old and a 32 year-old. He won both contests.

In this one, Meza was fighting a different cat, someone who was just as unpredictable and just as quick. Whatever Meza did, Brandon took it one step further. While trying to outmuscle Meza, he ended up tackling him and then after each strike he’d get him in the clinches. Most likely the knee kicks secured the victory for Brandon.

Meza’s only salvage was to land one solid overhand right just as the final bell sounded.

Bout #5

IAMTF Heavyweight bout (220 pounds) featured Josh Gomez of Bullet Hole going up against John Macias of Extreme Power. In Round one, it appeared Gomez had the better technique and of course he was landing the majority of kicks and punches.

Since Macias was relentless, all of that changed as the fight progressed.

After taking Gomez’s best shots, Macias kept coming.

Even though Gomez continued to press the action and appeared to be an equally experienced fighter, he could not match the firepower and strength of Macias. Midway through the second round, Gomez started to lose his mouthpiece and all told it left his mouth four times.

In the third round, the mouthpiece came out three times. After the mouthpiece fell to the canvas the third time, the referee signaled just forget it. Gomez, who was taking some big shots to the head, showed a lot of ring savvy the way he survived that final round.

Bout #6

IAMTF Women’s Featherweight bout (124 pounds) featured Linda Nieto of Chaney Muy Thai going up against Diana Manzanares of the Adrenaline Gym. After soundly losing round one to the busier fighter, Manzanares, Nieto matched Manzanares’ output in round two. Back came Manzanares in Round three with more solid kicks and punches to insure victory.

Bout #7

IAMTF Lightweight bout (135 pounds) featured William Cutbert of Victory MMA going up against Lonnie Huey of USKO. From start to finish, Huey was in charge and Cutbert was on the defensive. In the final round, Huey excited the crowd with three kicks to Cutbert’s head.

Bout #8

IAMTF Super Middleweight bout (170 pounds) featured Andrew Brown of Chaney Muay Thai going up against Esteban Garcia of Black House team Nogueira.

In Round #1, Brown started fast and manhandled Garcia with a barrage of serious straight punches to the head. Since the punches were unanswered and of the head snapping variety, Garcia was issued an eight count. Round #2 featured two kicks to the head. Not one to quit, Garcia came on in Round #3 and he was clearly the aggressor. Brown changed his strategy and became a counter puncher.

Bout #9

IAMTF Super Middleweight bout (170 pounds) featured two middle aged gents, 41 year-old Steve Frye of Victory MMA going up against 47 year-old Matt Todd of Extreme Power.

To everyone’s amazement, Todd came out with his right arm down at his side. A year ago, Todd walked into the Extreme Power gym in Oceanside, CA and told the owner, Kru Rubin, “I want to live.” Todd had been hit by a bus and lost all use of his right arm.

Frye was advised of the situation and knew coming into the fight that it was a no win situation. If he beat Todd, it was because Todd had the handicap. If he lost the bout, he was losing it to a one armed man.

To add fuel to the fire, Todd had this tendency to kick straight into an opponent’s groin area and twice he kicked Frye in the family jewels.

In Round one, Todd, with one arm at his side, ended the round with a knockdown. His kicks and straight jabs to the head were a lot harder than anyone could imagine.

By Round #2, Frye knew exactly what he had to do and began landing the left hooks and right crosses to Todd’s head. Todd answered with the only offense he had, the straight jab and straight kicks as his coach kept calling out, “Kick and pop!”

After watching Todd’s performance in the first two Rounds, I’m certain the judges and onlookers had built up an empathy or partiality for Todd and all were pulling for him to win. Despite the bond with onlookers, it was still clear that Frye had outpointed Todd.

As the announcer started to read off the scores, Frye couldn’t believe his ears when he heard, “We have a split decision.” You could see the “Oh my God!” written on his face. In the end, Frye won according to two of the judges. It’s that third judge that he never wants to see again.

Bout #10

IAMTF Super Middleweight bout (170 pounds) featured Francisco Garcia of American Boxing going up against David Pacheco of Extreme Power.

The first round was all Pacheco’s until the final 30 seconds. That’s when Pacheco dropped his guard and Garcia caught him flush on the chin. The way he was blindsided, it was like getting hit by a sucker punch. From that point on, Garcia, with his renewed confidence, never let up.

Bout #11

IAMTF Super Lightweight bout (140 pounds) featured Eddie Calzada of the Wolverine Gym going up against Erik Alignay of the Black House Team Nogueira Gym. This one was one-sided as Calzada never let up and delivered an avalanche of knee kicks and punches. What was so remarkable about this match, was the number of punches that Alignay could take with his granite like chin.

Bout #12

IAMTF Super Welterweight bout (155 pounds) featured Shea Ealey of American Boxing going up against Phil Nunez of the Chaney Muy Thai Gym.

In what looked to be the most exciting bout of the night, both Ealey and Nunez put on a show in Round #1. Both fighters, without the least bit of protection, no head gear or shin guards, came out swinging, kicking and punching.

Ealey, who has now been training for five years, looked to be in tremendous shape and while delivering his blows he looked polished. The power and velocity behind his kicks reminded you of a whip snapping.

Nunez made his noise with the straight punches and finished the first round with a solid kick to the head.

Like in Round one, the fighters came out swinging for the fences in Round two. Before long, Nunez was favoring his right leg. After the bell sounded to end round two, Nunez had to limp back to his corner. Even though Nunez had ever intention of continuing, the bout had to be stopped.

 

Bout #13

IAMTF Super Lightweight bout (140 pounds) featured Chris Sondia of Victory MMA going up against Josh Perraza of the Adrenaline Gym.

In this one, Perraza went without the head gear and shin guards, while his opponent had both. As it turned out, it matter little as the more skilled Perraza went right to work destroying his opponent with high kicks to the head. After an eight count and one knockdown, the referee saw the disparity in skill levels and called for the early stoppage.

 

Bout #14

IAMTF Welterweight bout (147 pounds) featured Shane Riley of Valdez Muy Thai going up against Emmanuel Garcia of Chaney Muy Thai.

Garcia, a compact, Tyson-like fighter, immediately set out to get inside Riley’s defenses. After landing some solid blows, he walked right into one of Riley’s kicks and down he went for the count.

During a break in the action, it was announced that Julie Kitchen, the 13 time World Champion, would be facing Miriam Nakamoto in a world title fight in May at the Pala Casino & Spa’s main ballroom. The much anticipated fight has been in the planning stages for over a year and a half. At this point it looks like a go and if so, all the diehard Muay Thai fans will be coming from near and far to see these two spectacular fighters go at it. On the line will be the WCK Champion of Champions title.

The bout was originally set to take place in December of 2010, but an injury to Kitchen postponed the fight which was then expected to take place in 2011. It appeared Nakamoto and Kitchen would finally meet when both signed to compete in the Muay Thai Premier League, but a knee injury forced Nakamoto to withdraw.

Kitchen uses her height and reach advantage to keep opponents at a distance, then breaks them down with her solid technique. The majority of her fights have take place in Julie’s hometown of Cornwall, England with her students, gym mates, friends, and family cheering her on.

Nakamoto is considered one of the top female strikers in the world. Versatile in both Muay Thai kickboxing and traditional boxing, she’s been involved in the striking arts for over 11 years and been a professional for seven years, sporting a Muay Thai record of 13-0.

In 2007, she was on the reality TV show, Fight Girls, which aired on the Oxygen Channel. In August 2007, she showcased her talents in her first world title fight in the prestigious Queen’s Cup in Thailand. In that televised fight, she captured the WPMO world title in convincing fashion.

Two years later she competed in the IFMA World Championships and cleaned house. In April 2010, she defeated Angela Rivera Parr, a legend in the sport of women’s Muay Thai to win the IMTA-TBA World Title in nearby Santa Monica, CA.

She then captured the coveted WBC World Title on August 21, 2010 in Haikou City, Hainan Island, China with a first round KO over Luxemborg’s Claire Haigh. Haigh was ranked #3 in the world.

Then came the dreaded knee surgery in 2011 and only recently has she returned to training. So even though Nakamoto is one of the best female fighters in the world, she might be prime for a loss since she hasn’t competed in over a year.

Nakamoto trains at the Combat Sports Academy in Dublin, CA under the tutelage of Coach Kirian Fitzgibbons, who is the head coach of the U.S. National Muay Thai Team.

In the CO-feature they have the remarkable Tiffany Van Soest of the Black House Team Nogueira Gym going up against the always tough Hilary Mack from Caledonian Muay Thai, Glasgow, Scotland.

Van Soest, who lives in Solana Beach, CA is one of those fighters who travels all over the globe to compete in either MMA or Muay Thai. This will be her fourth professional fight.

Mack, who is 29 years-old, is the current ISKA British/STBA Scottish Title holder after defeating Linda Ooms of Scotland. She’s also a two time European Muay Thai Champ and WIKBA champ. After 30 professional fights, she’s won 22, with 7 losses, 1 draw with 2 wins by knockout. She stands 5’9” tall and weighs in the neighborhood of 117 pounds. She’s more of a head hunting striker than a kicker. After watching one of her fights, you’ll notice she likes to throw straight punches rather than a hook or an uppercut.