BK NEWS
12-01-2007, 07:16 AM
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/SMASHTITLE.jpg
SMASH brings veterans and rising stars to Northern Virginia
George Mason University hosted Northern Virginia’s first professional MMA event tonight at the Patriot Center with a crowd of 2,452 people. Ten competitive bouts entertained the fans, who came to see Mason wrestling hero Johnny Curtis make his professional MMA debut, and two legends of the sport Travis Wiuff and Travis Fulton face of on Old Dominion soil.
An exciting opening bout ended in the first round after both fighters gained dominant position, but Ben Gonzalez showed he knew what to do from the mount and finished his opponent after narrowly escaping a similar position. Antonio Grant suffered a pair of low blows that dragged the second match to a crawl inciting boos from the crowd. They had little sympathy for Grant who seemed content to hang back and only counter punch. Phillip Wyman squeaked out a slim victory in spite of a point deduction after a takedown in the third round finally opened up his opponent for some punishment. The pace then picked up for the rest of the night with submission and tko victories all around. One highlight, I’ll never forget was Chris Reedy leaping into the air to land a flying triangle choke on his stunned opponent MMAC Revolution veteran Kyle Baker. Baker was so surprised he never even got a chance to tap and went unconscious before attentive referee Dave Strasser halted the action.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/rashad1.jpg
Rashad Woods and Adam Lehman trade blows.
After a brief intermission the action continued with One Spirit fighter Rashad Woods winning an exciting slugfest over Adam Lehman, and then another MMAC veteran Antwain Britt continued his streak of round one stoppages pounding on Isaiah Larson until the ref stepped in.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Yamasaki.jpg
Mario and Fernando Yamasake were ringside at SMASH!
The much anticipated pro debut of Johnny Curtis lived up to the hype as he quickly clinched and imposed his will on Bill Clifford who quickly had enough ground and pound and verbally submitted to strikes in round one.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/curtis1.jpg
2 time All-American wrestler Johnny Curtis enters the cage to make his pro MMA debut.
Then the main event, Travis Wiuff entered the cage to face Travis Fulton for a third time. In the previous two meetings Wiuff won decisions, but couldn’t finish the Iron Man of MMA. Tonight was different, as a more tested veteran, Wiuff, rained down elbows through-out the first round, and quickly returned to top position in the second landing a vicious blow to Fulton’s hairline that sent a torrent of blood down his face. The rarely stopped Fulton chose the better part of valor and verbally submitted so he could head out to an emergency room visit that will surely result in dozens of stitches.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/travis5.jpg
Wiuff finally finishes the Iron Man.
The Official results-
Travis Wiuff defeasted Travis Fulton in round 2 by verbal submission to strikes.
Johnny Curtis defeated Bill Clifford in round 1 by submission(arm triangle).
Antwain Britt defeated Isaiah Larson by TKO in rd 1.
Rashad Woods defeated Adam Lehman in round 1 by TKO.
Chris Reedy defeated Kyle Baker in round one by Flying Triangle Choke.
Dwayne Sheldon defeated Todd Gumond by TKO in round 2.
Robert Huston defeated Jay Cox by ref stoppage in round 2.
Beau Baker defeated Daryl Moore by armbar in round 1.
Phillip Wyman defeated Antonio Grant by a majority decision with one judge scoring the bout a draw.
Ben Gonzalez won by TKO over Will Clark in Round 1.
Ice Promotions and Jimmy Lange enterprises put on a very well organized and exciting event. Excellent matchmaking and solid refereeing were evident throughout the night, and the promoters of Smash can certainly rest assured that they delivered an excellent night of fights.. Hopefully they’ll return to GMU soon and Northern Virginia will continue to be a growing epicenter of Mixed Martial Arts action.
- Jim “DC Books” Kirkland
A big thanks to Johnny Curtis, Mike Schaeffer, Dave Strasser, Scott “Valhalla” Howard, and of course Rachel.
SMASH brings veterans and rising stars to Northern Virginia
George Mason University hosted Northern Virginia’s first professional MMA event tonight at the Patriot Center with a crowd of 2,452 people. Ten competitive bouts entertained the fans, who came to see Mason wrestling hero Johnny Curtis make his professional MMA debut, and two legends of the sport Travis Wiuff and Travis Fulton face of on Old Dominion soil.
An exciting opening bout ended in the first round after both fighters gained dominant position, but Ben Gonzalez showed he knew what to do from the mount and finished his opponent after narrowly escaping a similar position. Antonio Grant suffered a pair of low blows that dragged the second match to a crawl inciting boos from the crowd. They had little sympathy for Grant who seemed content to hang back and only counter punch. Phillip Wyman squeaked out a slim victory in spite of a point deduction after a takedown in the third round finally opened up his opponent for some punishment. The pace then picked up for the rest of the night with submission and tko victories all around. One highlight, I’ll never forget was Chris Reedy leaping into the air to land a flying triangle choke on his stunned opponent MMAC Revolution veteran Kyle Baker. Baker was so surprised he never even got a chance to tap and went unconscious before attentive referee Dave Strasser halted the action.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/rashad1.jpg
Rashad Woods and Adam Lehman trade blows.
After a brief intermission the action continued with One Spirit fighter Rashad Woods winning an exciting slugfest over Adam Lehman, and then another MMAC veteran Antwain Britt continued his streak of round one stoppages pounding on Isaiah Larson until the ref stepped in.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Yamasaki.jpg
Mario and Fernando Yamasake were ringside at SMASH!
The much anticipated pro debut of Johnny Curtis lived up to the hype as he quickly clinched and imposed his will on Bill Clifford who quickly had enough ground and pound and verbally submitted to strikes in round one.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/curtis1.jpg
2 time All-American wrestler Johnny Curtis enters the cage to make his pro MMA debut.
Then the main event, Travis Wiuff entered the cage to face Travis Fulton for a third time. In the previous two meetings Wiuff won decisions, but couldn’t finish the Iron Man of MMA. Tonight was different, as a more tested veteran, Wiuff, rained down elbows through-out the first round, and quickly returned to top position in the second landing a vicious blow to Fulton’s hairline that sent a torrent of blood down his face. The rarely stopped Fulton chose the better part of valor and verbally submitted so he could head out to an emergency room visit that will surely result in dozens of stitches.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/travis5.jpg
Wiuff finally finishes the Iron Man.
The Official results-
Travis Wiuff defeasted Travis Fulton in round 2 by verbal submission to strikes.
Johnny Curtis defeated Bill Clifford in round 1 by submission(arm triangle).
Antwain Britt defeated Isaiah Larson by TKO in rd 1.
Rashad Woods defeated Adam Lehman in round 1 by TKO.
Chris Reedy defeated Kyle Baker in round one by Flying Triangle Choke.
Dwayne Sheldon defeated Todd Gumond by TKO in round 2.
Robert Huston defeated Jay Cox by ref stoppage in round 2.
Beau Baker defeated Daryl Moore by armbar in round 1.
Phillip Wyman defeated Antonio Grant by a majority decision with one judge scoring the bout a draw.
Ben Gonzalez won by TKO over Will Clark in Round 1.
Ice Promotions and Jimmy Lange enterprises put on a very well organized and exciting event. Excellent matchmaking and solid refereeing were evident throughout the night, and the promoters of Smash can certainly rest assured that they delivered an excellent night of fights.. Hopefully they’ll return to GMU soon and Northern Virginia will continue to be a growing epicenter of Mixed Martial Arts action.
- Jim “DC Books” Kirkland
A big thanks to Johnny Curtis, Mike Schaeffer, Dave Strasser, Scott “Valhalla” Howard, and of course Rachel.