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December - 2014
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
12
WFFMMA CAPS OFF 2014
WITH A BANG CROWNING A NEW
BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMP
Article By: Todd Jackson
As one of Arizona’s premier
mixed martial arts organiza-
tions, the World Fighting Fed-
eration has a reputation of
setting the bar very high. Over
more than five years and seven-
teen events, they have evolved
in leaps and bounds from an
upstart show to becoming the
show of shows in Arizona com-
bat arts.
That was on display yet again
in their final event of 2014 at
the Wild Horse Pass and Ca-
sino in Chandler, Arizona. Top-
ping off a successful year which
spanned six shows, Brandy
Pierce and Thom Ortiz closed
out 2014 with a bang, leaving
Arizona fight fans looking to-
wards 2015.
It isn’t every regional MMA
show that garners the support
of elite camps, coaches, and
the fighters they train. Looking
around the venue this past Sat-
urday evening it was amazing
to see MMA royalty in the cor-
ners of the rising fighters com-
peting inside the WFF cage.
That elite connection played
well as the athletes went to
war from the opening bell all
the way through the close of
the main event. The evening
was ignited with a bang when
Michael Gillmore of Murciel-
ago MMA squared off with
Mike Derlatka of Fight Ready.
The fight opened with some
electrifying striking exchanges
and really was evenly matched.
On the few occasions where
the fight hit the mats, Derlatka
showed slick submission prow-
ess as he rolled for multiple
leg locks. Gillmore was able to
defend, though, and Derlatka
switched gears in the second
round. He was able to secure a
fight-ending armbar that came
out of nowhere.
It was a crafty end to a back
and forth battle that showed
once again the evolution of a
WFF vet like Mike Derlatka.
Another well-matched com-
petition unfolded between
Danny Hammamoto of Rise
Combat Sports when he went
to war with Derrick Brown of
Sicarius MMA. It was a three
round tilt, but the judges were
let off the hook. While the mo-
mentum was in Hammamoto’s
corner early in the bout, the
later rounds saw Brown tip the
scales in his favor. While his
opponent was relentless early,
Brown secured a TKO stoppage
in the third, advancing to 8-5.
The next stoppage took less
time to secure than it did for
the fighters to walk out to the
cage. Andres Ponce of The
Black Hole Pugilist Academy
must have had somewhere else
to be. His first round guillotine
choke over Nicholas Outumuro
of Arizona Combat Sports was
aggressive and decisive. He
wasted little time in controlling
the fight and dictating the ac-
tion. It was over before it start-
ed and Ponce notched another
impressive win in his belt.
Randy Steinke (www,jayelysephotography.com)