The first fight of the night matched up two promising youngsters in the amateur circuit, Jon Nace (Black & Blue MMA) and Destry “Kid Lightning” Dalrymple (Sitan Gym AZ). The moment the bell rang, Dalrymple came out blasting like a cannon with speedy punching combinations, and high kicks. Dalrymple was clearly dominant throughout the first round, connecting with numerous push kicks to the face knocking down Nace twice. As the fight went on, I thought Nace would come out and redeem his clearly lost first round, but he didn’t. With the exception of some solid knees in the clinch, Nace looked as if he was already defeated. He hardly threw any punches or kicks towards Dalrymple who continually pressed forward with some powerful attacks. Nace finally came out strong in the third round with some impressive hand combinations and low kicks, but it wasn’t enough being that Dalrymple was rewarded the win by unanimous decision.

The 4-man tournament kicked off next with a card draw to decide the first two bouts. “His Royal Highness” King Opaku (Sitan Gym NY) matched up against Nick Suarez (Joonnes MA) for the first fight. In round one, Opaku utilized his clinching to connect some crushing knee on Suarez who was definitely swinging for the fences. Every time he threw a combo, Opaku would counter with a hard knee to the body that eventually drained Suarez as the fight went on. Suarez charged through in round two, but was clearly dominated in the clinch and Opaku continued to wear him down. An exhausted Nick Suarez hardly made it through the third round as Opaku landed some thunderous strikes which caused the ref to stop the fight and advance “His Royal Highness” to the next round.

“Quiet” Brett Hlavacek (The WAT) went up against Canadian Jessie Cronier (OAMA/Sudbery BJJ Canada) in the final fight of the first round. Hlavacek opened up the first round connecting with a sharp left hook that pushed Cronier back from pursuit. Both fighters soon found themselves in the clinch pounding each other with ravaging knees to the body. Hlavacek was effectively making use of his left jab, setting up his low kick and sweep perfectly. The final round was controlled by Hlavacek who capitalized on a tired Cronier and in the final seconds trapping him in the corner, and having his way with him. Hlavacek won by unanimous decision and secured a spot in the final.

By the time the third fight was over there was a mob of people glued to the action at hand and they were about to see the emergence of a young fighter named Omar “The Dream” Ibrahim (Sitan Gym PA) as he went up against Khalil Castillo (Black & Blue MMA). Ibrahim fought a superb fight against Castillo even though he was knocked down early with a couple of push kicks. He came back strong in the middle round with quick combinations and at one point looked a lot like his brother Rami. Both fighters battled until the end, but the judges gave Ibrahim the victory by majority decision.

Each fight on the card offered the fans the type of Muay Thai action I’m accustomed to seeing from Take On Productions, but nothing was better than the highlight of the night when the headliners of Take On’s next show entered the ring to promote the next event. Kevin Molina (Molina MMA) who will be going up against WKA Fighter of the Month Omar “Ice” Ahmed (Sitan Gym NY), entered the ring escorted by a group of gorgeous women carrying all five of his title belts. When they called Ahmed up, the real fun began. The tension between both fighters was greatly felt as they exchanged some words and stood eye to eye until Ahmed shoved Molina. Both fighters were separated before anything could escalate, but you could tell these guys don’t like each other much.

The final battle of the night was to decide the winner of the 4-man tournament and trip to Thailand. It was time for Brett Hlavacek (The WAT) to go up against King Opaku (Sitan Gym NY). Hlavacek had a strong start in this fight landing a bombardment of middle kicks and sweeps. Opaku bounced back doing most of his damage in the clinch showering his opponent with some thunderous knees. Round two was a little slower than the first due to the fact that both fighters were locked together landing their share of knees in the clinch. It was obvious that Hlavacek was getting the best leverage and throwing the harder knee shots. Realizing that the fight wasn’t going to be in his favor if left to the judges, Opaku came out like a raging bull in the third round and battered Hlavacek with some of the most powerful punches and kicks I’ve seen all night. He let off a fury of left and right hooks in the hopes of notching a knockdown or even better, a knockout. It was apparent that Hlavacek wasn’t going to be able to trade punches with Opaku, and deliberately went in for the clinch repeatedly until the round was over. When the judges’ verdict came in, the advantage was given to Brett Hlavacek who won the decision and trip to Thailand.

Eddie Cuello, Mike Gasparski, Aziz Nabih, and the rest of the Take On team gave the MMA World Expo a show they could brag about. The fighters fought their hearts out, and the fans couldn’t be happier to be blessed with the opportunity to see the sweet science of Muay Thai in its purest form. Congratulations to “Quiet” Brett Hlavacek and the WAT on their victory, and thank you to all the gladiators who contributed to this show.

The Rundown:

Fight One

Destry Dalrymple (Sitan Gym AZ) won by unanimous decision over Jon Nace (Black & Blue MMA)

Fight Two - Tournament Fight One

King Opaku (Sitan Gym NY) won by TKO over Nick Suarez (Joonnes MA)

Fight Three - Tournament Fight Two

Brett Hlavacek (The WAT) won by unanimous decision over Jessie Cronier (OAMA/Sudbery BJJ Canada)

Fight Four

Omar Ibrahim (Sitan GYM PA) won by majority decision over Khalil Castillo (Black & Blue MMA)

Fight Five

Calvin Curtis (Sitan Gym AZ) won by unanimous decision over Nigel Guerin (OAMA/Sudbery BJJ Canada)

Fight Six

Tariq Douglas (Sitan Gym PA) won by majority decision over Nick Haines (Master Bakary Muay Thai)

Fight Seven

Nick Vaughan (The WAT) won by unanimous decision over Andrew Ballenger (Contemporary MA)

Fight Eight - Tournament Final

Brett Hlavacek (The WAT) won by unanimous decision over King Opaku (Sitan Gym NY)

-Take on Blogger