WEC veteran Sherron Legget rode in on a five fight win streak when he faced Jonatas Novaes for the Combat USA Lightweight Title on Thursday July 21st before an excited Green Bay crowd. Unfortunately for “Rob Roy” his wrestling proved to be of little match for the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu black belt as Novaes made it quick work cinching a brutal armbar from mount early in the first round. Where this leaves Legget, only time will tell, but Novaes continues to make a case for himself at a shot with better competition the likes of which only the UFC or Strikeforce can bring.
Andrew Trace won the Combat USA Welterweight Finale by sinking in a very tight guillotine choke on Neil Magny from a well timed trip early in the first round of their bout. Trace remains undefeated and looks to be a young prospect to watch in the coming months.
David Sachs continued to impress with his slick top game during his bout with crowd favorite Josh Sterry for the Featherweight Championship. Sachs spent the better portion of round one raining elbows and punches from top which proved to finally get the better of Sterry as he gave up his back in the second round for Sachs to take the bout via rear naked choke and secure the championship belt.
While the main card brought you impressive displays of jiu-jitsu, the undercard started the night with a bang and proved once again why this is the most exciting sport in the world. Erik Flannigan never let up the pressure during his match with Randy Lene as he took a unanimous decision victory improving his record to 4-0 as an amateur. Wrestling proved to get the better of Ben Rothwell’s fighter Tom Angeloff as Jeff Behnke also took a unanimous decision in the other amateur bout of the night.
Bobby Galvan plain outworked Gary Bivens over the three rounds of their bout earning him a unanimous decision victory. Team Faircloth’s Will Dicke used power and determination to best Luis Ramirez in their light heavyweight bout. The fight started with excitement from Dicke as he walked Ramirez across the cage and slammed him with thunderous force to the delight of his hometown crowd. Top control was the story of this fight as Ramirez finally had enough punishment in the second round and ate several right hands from the top that left him unable to continue.
Making his professional debut, Larry Gordon Badillo gave Matt Gauthier and the Green Bay fans quite the show in the opening seconds of the first round. Badillo came out wild and looking for blood immediately after the sound of the bell. Unfortunately for Badillo, this was not Gauthier’s first rodeo as he bided his time patiently for his opponent to make a mistake. Almost immediately after Gauthier’s corner was shouting for him to “throw the 2” Badillo missed on a wild flying kick and Gauthier obliged his coach with a devastating right hand that immediately shut the lights out and sent Badillo face first to the canvas.
Combat USA is an impressive organization that continues to improve and bring exciting MMA action to fans in the Midwest area. If you are an MMA fan looking for local action, visit Combat USA for information on upcoming events and information on the next season of Tournament action!