FAN POLL: 59% Matthew Wagner

REFEREE: Willie Green

 

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ROUND ONE

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[The horn sounds, and Wagner and Melendez meet and touch gloves in the center of the cage--but neither engage right away; there’s a distinct feeling out process for the better part of the first minute, with only a couple tentative jabs thrown by Melendez that just keep Wagner on his bike. Melendez circles to keep himself squared up with Wagner, and eventually throws out a quick hook that tags him, but doesn’t do any considerable damage. It does give him confidence, though, and as Wagner steps forward to engage, Melendez tags him with an uppercut that snaps his head up! Melendez follows up with a huge looping hook, but Wagner manages to evade it--Melendez’s confidence is showing through, though, as he drives forward and tags Wagner with a series of straight lefts and rights, the last of which opens a small cut under Wagner’s right eye!]

 

[Wagner’s guard goes up to protect his face, and he leaves himself open to a powerful leg kick that connects with a smack. Melendez feints moving to his left, and when Wagner bites and circles to the right, Melendez tags him with a huge right hook that staggers him! Melendez follows that up with a straight kick to the body that sends Wagner back a couple steps. Wagner circles away from Melendez, trying to find a hole in his defense, but Melendez pursues and snaps off a roundhouse kick to the body--that Wagner just manages to deflect, but his arm hyper-extends in the process!]

 

[Melendez looks to take care of Wagner’s movement early in the fight, and connects with a solid oblique kick, just below the knee, that looks worryingly close to causing an injury. Luckily, Wagner doesn’t seem to have any lasting damage, as he moves forward and engages with a powerful one-two of body shots; unfortunately for him, Melendez just gets out of the way, and counters with a straight right that bloodies Wagner’s lip. While he’s dealing with the straight right, Melendez loads up a huge left hook that connects with Wagner’s temple and visible stuns him!]

 

[Melendez fires off a series of kicks, low and middle, that all connect with resounding smacks against Wagner’s body. One middle kick doubles him over briefly, but he manages to regain his guard before Melendez can really capitalize on it; instead, he eats another wickedly fast leg kick, followed by a few jabs and a right hook that open the cut under Wagner’s eye a little more. Despite being busted up, Wagner continues to engage, but Melendez keeps getting the better of him--even in a wild exchange of punches, Wagner can’t find the target, while Melendez lands a couple quick punches that push Wagner back.]

 

[Wagner continues to engage, and throws a huge hook to Melendez’s body, that Melendez just manages to defend and counter with another straight right, causing visible swelling to Wagner’s face. He follows it up with a middle kick that gets blocked, and a few strong punches that knock Wagner’s head back. Wagner’s defense is clearly compromised, as Melendez tags him with an uppercut, then a one-two combination, straight down the pipe. Wagner keeps pushing forward, though--but Melendez meets him every time, this time with two powerful body shots, just as the horn goes to end round 1.]

 

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ROUND TWO

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[The cutman had his work cut out for him, so to speak, to stop the bleeding on Wagner’s face--and it didn’t quite work; no sooner has the round started, than Melendez tags him with a jab that opens the cut right back up. Wagner backs up, and Melendez tries to goad him into engaging again; Wagner’s having none of Melendez’s games, though, and just circles away from his opponent, trying to find something he can work with. Melendez either gets tired of waiting, or sees something himself, and fires off a low kick that gets Wagner’s attention--and follows it up with a quick three-punch combo, jab-cross-jab, that pushes Wagner back against the cage wall. Melendez finishes his combo up with another powerful low kick that visibly causes Wagner to flinch.]

 

[Melendez is hunting for a knockout now, as he’s stopped throwing jabs and started focusing on bigger, more powerful shots--a series of which connect with an echoing thud, and cause even more blood to pour down Wagner’s face. A hook, an uppercut, and an overhand right all connect, but Wagner stays on his feet. He tries to keep Melendez at bay with a few punches flicked out, but his vision’s clearly impaired and Melendez takes advantage by countering each punch with one of his own, ending the series with an uppercut that stumbles Wagner back--but, somehow, doesn’t knock him down!]

 

[Melendez feints moving left, and Wagner bites--and gets tagged with a stinging low kick. And another. And another, until he focuses his defense low--and gets smacked with an uppercut! When Wagner tries to back off, he gets caught with a body kick that thuds and causes him to cover his side. Melendez starts to tee off on Wagner, jabs and hooks mixed with low oblique kicks that nearly wrench his knee out of place, but Wagner stays standing, despite the damage. He even gets off a good combination--had it connected; instead, Melendez dodges and counters with a few quick jabs of his own, that cause Wagner’s mouth to start to swell.]

 

[Wagner wipes the blood from his face and presses forward, throwing a surprisingly crisp one-two, given the state he’s in--but again, Melendez just sidesteps out of the way and tags him with an uppercut! Even Melendez starts to look worried by the amount of punishment Wagner’s absorbing, but the official hasn’t stopped the fight, so he keeps attacking--straight punches mixed with a big left hook, finished off with a kick to the body that backs Wagner up against the cage wall once again.]

 

[Melendez throws a swift kick, connecting just below Wagner’s knee that nearly buckles his leg, and puts a halt to Wagner’s pursuit for now--yet, he still doesn’t go down. Melendez tags Wagner’s body with straight punches and a left hook, then an overhand right that connects with the jaw. Just before the horn goes, Melendez finishes the round with a body kick that connects, before the ref steps in to separate the two.]

 

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ROUND THREE

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[The cuts on Wagner’s face really tell the story--he’s tired, he’s bloody, but he gets off the stool for round 3. The horn goes, and Melendez starts as he means to go on: a powerful hook to the body that nearly doubles Wagner over. Wagner’s taking big, deep breaths as he wipes the blood out of his face and tries to find an angle to attack--but his jabs are easily countered by Melendez’s crisper punching. Wagner manages to avoid an overhand right, but Melendez isn’t throwing one punch, and connects with a series of jabs on the follow-up. Wagner backs up to the fence, but Melendez doesn’t let off this time, pressuring him and throwing a series of straight punches to the ribs that batter Wagner’s body, then a body kick that connects hard.]

 

[Wagner fights back, but his vision’s impaired and he can’t connect--and every time he engages, he gets countered, and more damage done to that eye. Melendez throws a straight right, right down the pipe, and connects firmly with Wagner’s nose, adding more blood to the mix. He tags Wagner with a jab, then a right hook, then a low kick that echoes through the arena. In desperation, Wagner shoots for a single leg takedown, but Melendez manages to push him off and stay on his feet, countering with a strong uppercut on the exit.]

 

[Knowing he needs a finish, Wagner starts throwing wildly, hoping he can connect with Melendez and maybe put him down--but Melendez manages to avoid every punch Wagner throws, while connecting with some of his own; at first, as counters, but one connects and stumbles Wagner backward, and Melendez pursues, throwing rapid fire punches, trying to finally put an end to this fight. Wagner manages to get away from the barrage, though, and he’s still in the fight, somehow. Melendez doesn’t let off the gas this time, chasing Wagner down and connecting with a series of punches, each one popping Wagner’s head back, before finishing the combo off with a body kick.]

 

[Melendez connects with a huge right hook that finally knocks Wagner down, and even Melendez seems to hope that’s it--but Wagner’s, somehow, still there, and trying to goad Melendez into engaging on the ground. Melendez doesn’t even pretend to play that game with Wagner, though, and just peppers him with kicks to the thighs until Willie Green steps in and stands Wagner up. Back to square one, but it’s more of the same--Wagner engages with jabs to get his range, but Melendez counters with huge shots that would probably put any other opponent down; not Wagner, though.]

 

[A series of stinging low kicks take the movement out of Wagner’s game, but he tries to engage still. He’s missing wildly, though, and Melendez easily counters with straight punches of his own. Wagner moves forward, as best he can, and flicks out a one-two combo, but Melendez counters with a powerful uppercut, just before the horn sounds to end the fight.]

 

JUDGE MIRANDA FRANCO

Matthew Wagner  9 9 9: 27

Jose Melendez  10 10 10: 30

 

JUDGE MAX CARVER

Matthew Wagner  9 9 9: 27

Jose Melendez  10 10 10: 30

 

JUDGE OZZIE SEBASTIAN

Matthew Wagner  9 9 9: 27

Jose Melendez  10 10 10: 30

 

Winner: Jose Melendez by Unanimous Decision

 

Statistics: Matthew Wagner

Punches 0/19 (0%)

Kicks 0/0 (0%)

Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)

Takedowns 0/1 (0%)

GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)

Submissions 0/0 (0%)

Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)

Time on the ground 12 s

 

Statistics: Jose Melendez

Punches 133/158 (84%)

Kicks 34/34 (100%)

Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)

Takedowns 0/0 (0%)

GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)

Submissions 0/0 (0%)

Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)

Time on the ground 0 s