March - 2015
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
8
Crafty off his back Compton
capitalized on his opponents
aggression and threw up a bar-
rage of submission attempts
eventually sinking in a de-
bilitating triangle choke that
forced Blake to submit. It was
yet another impressive and
significantly dominant perfor-
mance by Compton who wast-
ed no time warning the entire
division that his time is indeed
now.
In what was arguably a fight of
the night performance Adam
Ortiz and Steven Prior locked
horns and engaged in savage
combat for three entire rounds.
Their cage chemistry resulted
in a split decision that quite
honestly could have fell on ei-
ther side of the cage without
a doubt.
While the result favored Ortiz it
was not the judges score cards
which told the true story of the
fight. It was truly poetry in mo-
tion as each fighter found their
moments of strength while
grappling and striking their
way towards the final bell. It
was a back and forth battle
which featured all the bitter
sweet flavors of MMA.
Ridiculous scrambles, vicious
striking exchanges, takedowns,
and defense were all the stars
across a two man show that
had fight fans on their feet and
screaming at the top of their
lungs.
A split decision went the way
of Ortiz but this wasn’t the
type of fight where an athlete
can place all their faith in a de-
cision. It truly was the journey
in this case where two modern
day samurai crushed one an-
other and sacrificed everything
to entertain their fans. Simply
put, mission accomplished.
Later in the evening Kamuela
Kirk and Kyle Reyes looked to
raise the bar a notch or two in
their own fight of the night per-
formance. It was a fight which
saw Kirk aggressive and effec-
tive early but a fight which saw
the composure of Reyes play
just slightly better as the fight
pressed on.
It was another back and forth
affair that resulted in yet an-
other split decision.
The confidence of Kirk was
apparent early as he really let
the gamesmanship speak for
him attacking boldly and ag-
gressively. He brought a style
that would have thrown lesser
fighters off and he really looked
sharp early.
On the other hand Reyes was
able to weather that storm and
subtly make his mark as the
fight went on. Slow and steady
won the race as his calm and
composed approach remained
consistent and began chipping
away at the confidence of Kirk.
While Kirk never withered nor
gave an inch, the consistency
of Reyes proved to be the dif-
ference in the eyes of the judg-
es who gave Reyes the nod in a
razor thin split decision. It was
yet another example of a fight
where results, while impor-
tant, were overshadowed by a
spectacular bout between two
amazing rising fighters.
In the main event Jose Melen-
dez and Ramon Lopez went
to war as well. It was a three
round affair which saw Lopez
start strong. As the rounds
went on though Melendez be-
gan to find the scrambles and
striking exchanges favor his
technique.
When the smoke cleared Me-
lendez emerged victorious over
an extremely game Lopez cap-
ping off what amounted to
a ruthless night of MMA ac-
tion. It was the cherry on top
of a combat arts Sundae and
the whole time Don Frye was
sitting wide eyed and bushy
tailed enjoying some inspira-
tional combat arts action.
Fight fans filled the lobby filing
out of the venue and discus-
sion were bubbling like bottles
of champagne as this fight and
that fight were discussed with
great enthusiasm. While every
athlete competing in the game
desires their place in the ranks
of the top promotions of the
game one thing is always go-
ing to serve true.
Nothing beats hearing thou-
sands of fans buzzing about
you, your opponent, and what
you accomplished together on
a night that defined the future
of the sport. All the while you
start to realize that future is
you.
