The Hurt Business’ MMA Cage Fights at the Parq Night Club

Sold out crowd at The Hurt Business’ third MMA Cage Fights show which featured 16 bouts with 32 of the bravest individuals you will ever run across.

In an industry that is defined by how many people you have lined up outside your business and willing to wait patiently to get in, a fight promoter like Rudy Silva, the CEO of The Hurt Business Promotional Group, must be in high demand. San Diego’s new, undisputed king of the fighting sports promoters certainly knows how to attract the fun crowd. He does it by giving his patrons what they want – great fights in a party atmosphere.

The critics will point their finger at the late start (almost 10 p.m.) which led to an early morning conclusion (1:54 a.m.), the big screen coverage of the fights that cut in-and-out at the most inopportune times, and the demented DJ who kept interspersing foul noise (you can’t call profanity music) with the classics. The majority of the people were there to support their fighter, watch the exciting matches, get a buzz on and as always check out the opposite sex. Celebrity guests included UFC fighter Dominick Cruz, the head coach of the Alliance Training Center’s Pro MMA team Eric Del Fierro, Rolando Perez, the legendary Jeff “the Pipelayer” Glover joined color commentators Carlos Kremer and Tony Lopez to give their thoughts on the bouts, the heavies from Victory MMA were there to include Dean Lister and we can’t forget the birthday boy, this giant robot who goes by the name of Robzilla. He traveled about the club having his photo taken with the ladies. The belle of the ball had to be this young lady who was turning heads all night long.

Wow! Is she real or just a mirage?

In Bout #1, it appeared both men were more comfortable going with their ground game even though David Lopes (r) of Team Quest, Temecula appeared to be the stronger wrestler. In the end, it was Lopes (r) gaining an unanimous decision victory over Rafael Guzman of The Arena.

Bout #2 between the 37 year-old Micah Hunter of Alliance Jiu-Jitsu (red trunks) and the 22 year-old Aleksandr Balayan of Hayastan only went to the 1:32 mark of round one before Balayan had Hunter in an armbar. It’s hard to believe Balayan was making his debut when he performed like a seasoned professional. All photos: Jim Wyatt

Bout #3 won by John Phillips of Victory MMA (r) was another quickie. You can disregard the error below by Camo (California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization) which shows his opponent Chris Popplewell winning. This one was all over by the 1:35 mark of round one, when the quick thinking ref stepped in to prevent any serious damage to Popplewell. From the outset, Phillips was in charge and catching his opponent with these big blows to the head. Popplewell, from Peris, Calif., trains with KO Fitness.

The fourth match of the night between Alberto Romo (l) of Gracie Humaita of Hemet, Calif. who ended up with the victory and his opponent Henry Beltran of Team United was the first truly competitive match of the night. With the victory, Romo improves to (4-2) while Beltran drops to (1-2).

In Bout #5 we saw Charles Johnson of Victory MMA destroy Jayson Sherrill of Team Quest, Temecula. Twice Johnson picked this giant of a man up off his feet and threw him down on the canvas as if he were a rag doll. At the :25 second mark of round two, the referee had seen enough and stopped the bout. When you talk about toughness, Sherill certainly showed his mettle by hanging in there as long as he did. Both fighters were making their debut.

In Bout #6 it was featherweight sensation, 23 year-old Joshua Kim (2-0) of International Self Defense taking on 25 year-old Christian Leon (4-0) from The Arena. Despite having a point deducted in round one for delivering a knee to Leon’s head, Kim never failed to either match or outwork his opponent with both the punches and kicks. While switching stances, the righty would hit Leon with either hand. With each performance, both he and his twin brother Jonathan appear to be getting better and better. Kim was awarded a unanimous decision.

You never have a clue what he’s going to do next. Joshua Kim (l) uses this deceptive nonchalance, where you can’t get comfortable and you never know what he’s planning. He’ll turn his back to you, switch his stance, and dart in and out with an attack featuring both punches and kicks.

In Bout #7 it was 24-year-old Josh Quinones of Victory MMA in his debut versus the more experienced Troy Percy (1-2) unattached.

In Bout #6 it was Josh Kim from International Self Defense vs. Christian Leon from The Arena in a C.A.M.O. 145 lb. featherweight match. 

One of the show-stoppers was Bout #9 featuring the odds on favorite Bruce Smith (5-1) of Victory MMA/City of Champions/Team 9MMA going up against 22 year-old Hunter (Spike) Carlyle (4-3) from Kokusai Budo. The end came by what appeared to be a guillotine choke leading to a submission at the 2:14 mark of round two. The amusing theatrics that followed the submission put a smile on most everyone’s face except for Bruce Smith.

Even Spike Carlyle’s walk to the cage was theatrical. It was as if he was in the Mardi Gras parade and dancing down Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

What a showman he turned out to be. After the announcement that he had won and became the new 145 to 154 champion, Hunter “Spike” Carlyle began strutting about the cage with poses that were both awkward and whimsical.

In Bout #10, it was Jonathan Butler (1-0) from Victory MMA facing Tyler Meade (1-0) from the Arena. Meade comes away with the quickie victory by submission at the 1:37 mark of round one. It happened so fast, it may be that no one has a photo of the submission. We’re still checking.

In Bout #11 you had Gina Reyes of San Diego in her amateur debut going up against fellow rookie Gabriella Roberts from White Tiger Martial Arts. In her corner Reyes had both coach Manolo “El Huracan” Hernandez and flyweight sensation Ilima Lei Macfarlane who now fights for Bellator. Aside from a slight edge in strength for Roberts, it appeared both ladies did just about the same as it pertains to strikes, kicks and takedowns. As a result the fight ended up being a Mixed Decision Draw.

In Bout #12, it was Jonathan Kim (2-0) taking on Dylan Barrales (2-1) from Victory MMA in another classic match-up that ended with Kim getting the victory by way of a third round submission.

In Bout #13 it was Jefferson Creighton, now (4-2) coming away with the mixed decision victory over the always tough David Judd (4-4-2) of Right Cross to win the Lightweight title. Creighton won by being the more accurate of the two in the first two rounds and then held on in the third stanza as Judd pulled out all the stops.

Bout #14 featured 24 year-old Angel “Superman” Ramirez (3-0) from Alliance East going up against the 32 year-old Alex Thompson (0-1) from Team Quest, Temecula for the 185 lb. Middleweight Title. It was Ramirez landing the big overhand right to stop Thompson and earn the TKO victory.