THE LEAD-UP: Kicking the night off we begin with a Lightweight Bout between two promising prospects in Zamara Ali and Alex Cox. Both of these fighters are coming in riding some momentum with two straight victories and looking to make it three in a row tonight. Ali makes her second appearance in the Lightweight division after defeating Osvaldo Ledesma in her 155 pound debut. Ledesma is the lone common opponent between Ali and Cox, where Ali won via unanimous decision and Cox lost via unanimous decision. Alex Cox looks to show his improvement after scoring two first round finishes since his loss to Ledesma. An impressive win here for either fighter could certainly elevate them to the top five tier and be knocking on the door for potential title contention.
ROUND ONE: The bell sounds and we open up with both fighters touching gloves. The two circle around for a brief moment before Zamara Ali goes on the offensive first and lands some big punches. Alex Cox answers back with a few heavy hands of his own and the feel-out stage seems to be over already. Ali chops at the knee with a low kick that sets up a perfectly timed left hook. Cox stumbles from the impact long enough for Ali to land another kick to the knee and Cox tries to retaliate with a quick combo but only hits air. Ali misses when she launches a quick combo of her own and ends up getting tangled up with Cox, which the two then exchange shots back and forth. Neither one lands anything too damaging so Ali switches back up with the leg kicks that continue to be a problem for Alex Cox. Ali senses that her opponent is focusing on the leg kicks so she goes back with the punches, but Cox manages to fend her off. Ali doesn’t back down though and eventually tags Cox with a stinging combination that forces Cox to circle away and try to regroup. Ali manages to cut him off and land several more leg kicks. A front kick from Ali misses that gets her off balance and Alex Cox lands a big right hand that stuns “The Chiraq Jewel”. Cox doesn’t capitalize on this though and it costs him as Ali regroups and continues targeting the leg with devastating kicks. Cox is hobbling on that targeted leg as it continues to swell. Zamara Ali feints a move and shoots in for a takedown to bring this fight to the mat. Ali works to get to full mount and Ford for an armbar, but Alex Cox manages to escape and get to top position. This doesn’t last long for Cox as Ali rolls to get back on top. The two scramble for position and Cox tries to roll again but Ali reads it well and takes his back. It looks like she’s working for a rear naked choke, but thankfully for Cox he manages to hold her off King enough to see the buzzer. This was easily Zamara Ali’s round and aside from getting rocked once early in the round, this borders a 10-8 score.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Ali
ROUND TWO: As the second frame begins, Zamara Ali looks ready to turn up the heat as she has dialed in her range and rhythm. She storms in with a flurry of kicks and punches that has Alex Cox guessing. She then drops down and hits a takedown to bring the fight back down to the mat. Ali was making quick work and nearly secured a kneebar, but luckily for Alex Cox he slips out of it and gets back to his feet. The referee stands Ali up and once the fight resumes standing up, Ali fires off a brutal hook that drops Cox to the mat. He quickly gets back up, but Zamara Ali rains down the combinations. Cox gets backed up to the fence but eventually starts firing back and the crowd gets riled up, sensing this fight could end at any moment. Cox manages to circle out from the fence, but not after eating a front kick. The two exchange once again but both are missing their targets and decide to back off. Cox hesitates coming back in, but Ali cuts him off and continues to mix in a series of kicks and punches that is just overpowering aCox at this point. Cox mails in some reckless haymakers, but Ali reads them and counters every shot. The buzzer sounds to end the second round and no doubt this fight is Zamara Ali’s to lose. She’s firing off at will, mixing in all sorts of striking and grappling, leaving Alex Cox completely clueless out there.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-8 Ali (20-17 Ali)
ROUND THREE: As we head into the final round, it’s clear that Alex Cox is in desperation mode. The two close in and engage in a heated exchange. Ali gets the upper hand and as Cox tries to back away to regroup, Ali launches herself and connects with a Superman punch that stuns Cox. Ali fakes a punch as Cox fumbles on his feet and she shoots in for another takedown. The two hit the mat and Cox tries to just hang on the best he can while Ali drops elbows to his ribs. Ali shuffles to full mount and in the process head butts Cox but the referee doesn’t see it. She continues to move while controlling the situation then goes for an armbar. Cox grabs his arm and manages to break free and get on top while Ali closes her guard around him. The two pummel back and forth before Ali sees an opening and quickly switches to rubber guard. She wraps her leg around Cox’s arm and places her shin right under his shin and pulls down on his head. Cox is firmly trapped in a gogoplata and has zero energy left to try and fight out. It doesn’t take long for him to tap and the crowd goes wild for the incredible submission victory by Zamara Ali.
Winner: Zamara Ali by Submission (Gogoplata) at 2:06 Round 3
Statistics: Zamara Ali
Punches 52/72 (72%)
Kicks 14/15 (93%)
Clinch strikes 1/1 (100%)
Takedowns 4/4 (100%)
GnP strikes 2/2 (100%)
Submissions 4/4 (100%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 172 s
Statistics: Alex Cox
Punches 12/38 (32%)
Kicks 0/2 (0%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 1/6 (17%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 194 s
THE LEAD-UP: Coming up next we are set to see two behemoths collide in the Heavyweight Division as Donnie Calabrese takes on Zach Bennett. The former Champion Calabrese has been on a turbulent ride as of late, losing four of his last six fights, but comes into tonight riding a big win against Cezar Miklos from Boss Fight XXV. While Dog Face Donnie looks to add some momentum with back to back wins, Zach Bennett needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat for a big upset win over a Union OG and fan favorite in order to keep him off the chopping block.
ROUND ONE: The opening frame begins with the two big guys slowly closing the distance where Calabrese throws some tentative punches to find his range. A couple of those strikes land pretty clean and it’s enough for Bennett to react by throwing a monstrous straight right. Donnie ducks the right hand and shoots in to take the fight to the mat with a body lock takedown. The two scramble on the canvas for just a moment before Calabrese decides he’d rather get back on his feet. Before Bennett can get back up, he eats a nasty kick from Donnie right in the meat of his thigh, then Donnie backs away to allow him to stand. Once Bennett gets back up, the two circle around looking for any openings. Bennett tries to force a big right hand, but Donnie dodges out of the way and lands flush with a counter hook that rattles Bennett. Donnie can sense he’s got his opponent banged up and storms in with an aggressive flurry of punches. Bennett gets sent from one side of the octagon to the other and one final blow flattens him to the mat unconscious. Donnie walks off pounding his chest as the crowd cheers for the big man securing another victory.
Winner: Donnie Calabrese by KO (Punches) at 1:42 Round 1
Statistics: Donnie Calabrese
Punches 6/9 (67%)
Kicks 1/1 (100%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 1/1 (100%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 21 s
Statistics: Zach Bennett
Punches 0/2 (0%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/3 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 50 s
THE LEAD-UP: Next up on the docket we have a Cruiserweight Bout scheduled between the home grown Aussie Michael Santos and the Irishman Devlin Connolly. The crowd was mostly respectful when Connolly made the walk out, but they were fully behind Santos when he entered the main stage. Connolly has been lost in the shuffle since debuting but is looking to build off his big debut win where he scored Performance of the Night honors way back at Boss Fight XXI. Santos on the other hand, is aiming for a rebound win after an early exit in the opening round of the Triple C Grand Prix. Only one man will achieve their goal tonight, who’s it gonna be?
ROUND ONE: The fight starts out with a respectful glove touch. Connolly stays light on his feet, shifting back and forth to find some angles. He sets up and lands a crispy uppercut that wobbles Santos early. The crowd gets riled up as Connolly rushes in and the two exchange but neither one lands anything significant. Santos manages to recover after the fruitless exchange and now they turn the heat up a bit and start tagging each other back and forth. Connolly lands some jabs while Santos answers back with some crosses. Connolly starts to find his rhythm as he connects with a bruising hook to the body, then an uppercut, and finishes it off with a stinging straight left. Santos gets on his bicycle to escape any further damage and his face is cut up quite considerably. Connolly keeps the pressure on him and launches another uppercut, but this time Santos dodges out of the way and connects with a counter uppercut that puts Connolly on skates. Connolly tries to throw hands to stave off Santos, but the Aussie dodges them and counters with punches in bunches. The tide has turned in dramatic fashion as Santos finds his rhythm and continues to obliterate Connolly with perfectly timed counter punches. Santos now pours on the offense as he corners Connolly against the fence and is just firing at will. The hands keep on coming until the ambush is too much and turns the lights out on Devlin Connolly. The crowd erupts for their home boy as he celebrates with his cornermen. A great display of grit for Michael Santos after weathering a rough storm of offense to flip the script and score the first round finish.
Winner: Michael Santos by KO (Punches) at 2:35 Round 1
Statistics: Michael Santos
Punches 22/31 (71%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
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
Statistics: Devlin Connolly
Punches 8/18 (44%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
Clinch strikes 0/1 (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
THE LEAD-UP: Heading into the Co-Main Event, everyone in the building gets the sense that this next contest is a title eliminator to see who will be next to face the Bantamweight King, Dallas Meechan. First, we are greeted with Gianna Howard, who fully embraces the jeers from the crowd as the “away fighter”. Howard has made statements that she plans to capture multiple titles in multiple promotions, and she’s aware that this fight tonight could very well be the launching pad to catapult her into that opportunity. Her confidence is oozing as she looks to build off of her Union GP debut victory and solidify herself in the Bantamweight Division. The Australian native Tim Vu gets a standing ovation from the audience, and he too knows the stakes at hand. Vu has quietly climbed the rankings and comes into this fight on a two fight win streak. His two losses prove the grit he has, coming from Eamon Wojcik in Openweight competition, a man quite literally twice his size, across two promotions.
ROUND ONE: The fight begins with a glove touch as a respectful gesture. Gianna Howard starts off firing a leg kick that misses, and Tim Vu retaliates with a leg kick of his own that misses. Gianna then targets the body, landing a couple big shots while Vu tries fending her off with leg kicks that just hit air. In the midst of Vu launching kicks, Howard counters with a big hook. Vu gets rocked a bit but still tries to land kicks, but instead Howard checks them and counters with a few of her own. Howard looks to be finding her rhythm and launches a barrage of punches, but Vu somehow manages to dodge them. He steps in to try to counter, but ends up eating a big uppercut right on the chin. Vu circles away trying to regroup but Howard puts the pressure on him. Tim launches a series of punches and kicks that miss but it’s enough to keep Howard at bay for the time being. Howard keeps close and sees a small window in which she hammers in a shattering straight left. Vu staggers back and Howard rushes in, but Vu manages to evade the flurry. Vu gets backed up against the fence and the two exchange wildly. Gianna gets the slight edge in the exchange. With time running out, Vu swings and misses a big hook to the body, and Howard tries to counter with a head kick that just narrowly misses its target. The buzzer sounds and both fighters give a nod as they head back to their corners. A bit of a feeling out round but Gianna Howard pushed the pace and landed more significant strikes whereas Tim Vu struggled to find his range and connect with any damaging blows.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Howard
ROUND TWO: The second round begins with both fighters being hesitant to throw any offense first. They burn almost a minute off the clock circling around until they each throw some leg kicks that miss. Howard tries to rush in with a combo but doesn’t land anything big. Vu launches a looping right hand as Howard leans back and jabs. Howard connects clean and stuns Vu and she rushes in with a series of jabs and crosses. Vu throws a head kick that misses and as Howard circles away, she misses with a hook to the body. They begin picking the pace up a bit and engage in trading blows back and forth in which Howard gets the edge in the exchange. Vu looks to be growing impatient and tries to force several kicks, but Howard manages to show off her foot movement by avoiding them. Both fighters back off and recover their breath for a moment before Vu rushes in with a barrage of wild punches. Howard keeps her head on a swivel and evades the shots thrown while countering with a big hook to the body that slows Vu down. As he's folded over clenching his side, Howard launches a middle kick but Vu blocks or with his arms. The buzzer sounds once again, and the body language between these two fighters shows the confidence level they are at after ten minutes. Howard has a bit of a pep in her step while Vu hangs his head down low as they head to their corners. Another round grinding at a methodical pace, this chess match continues to favor Howard.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Howard (20-18 Howard)
ROUND THREE: Five minutes remain in this Co-Main Event bout and it's unmistakable that Gianna Howard is up two rounds on Tim Vu. They size each other up and exchange some punches to kick off this final stretch. Nothing significant lands, but a head kick from Gianna just grazes Tim Vu’s head and gets a wild reaction from the crowd. She quickly follows up the missed kick with a nasty shovel hook that rocks Vu. Howard rushes in but Vu manages to protect himself and recover with some tentative punches. The two begin to pick up the pace as they each launch a series of wild combinations, but neither one connects. The two break off and circle around to look for some openings. Howard lands a big hook to the body, while Vu works behind the jab. Howard isn’t fazed by the strikes, but the two seem to take a breather and slow things back down. Vu eventually tries to get inside but every time he does Gianna misses with leg kicks to keep him out of his range. Vu tries throwing a leg kick but gets checked and Howard storms in with a flurry of punches while Vu is on his bicycle. Howard swings for the fences and rocks Vu with a big uppercut that nearly toppled him down. Howard switches it up with a flurry of leg kicks that leaves welts on Vu’s calves. Vu tries to counter back with some leg kicks of his own, but the pain in his legs slows him down tremendously and Howard is easily able to check them. Right at the buzzer, Howard launches a spinning back fist that gets blocked, but the loud thud echoes throughout the building and leaves a statement of her dominant performance. The two shake hands before heading to their corners and it’s clear that this fight goes to the young upstart from Throne MMA.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Howard (30-27 Howard)
JUDGES’ SCORECARDS:
Tim Vu 9 9 9: 27
Gianna Howard 10 10 10: 30
Tim Vu 9 9 9: 27
Gianna Howard 10 10 10: 30
Tim Vu 9 9 9: 27
Gianna Howard 10 10 10: 30
Winner: Gianna Howard by Unanimous Decision
Statistics: Tim Vu
Punches 3/25 (12%)
Kicks 0/23 (0%)
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
Statistics: Gianna Howard
Punches 31/70 (44%)
Kicks 17/29 (59%)
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
THE LEAD-UP: It’s time for the Main Event and this crowd is pulsing with adrenaline. It’s clear the Aussie crowd is unanimously behind the unbeaten former Everest Featherweight Champion Alistair McKay as he makes his way to the octagon. The rallying bounces all around the building for McKay, who feeds off the response from his fellow countrymen and is hyped up to the max when he enters the cage. When Bellamy DeSilva makes the final walkout of the night, the crowd quickly turns on him, raining down boos from the top of the rafters down to the floor. But just like McKay, DeSilva feeds off that energy. Both of these fighters are on the brink of title contention and this could be the stepping stone to launch the victor into that tier.
ROUND ONE: The bell sounds to mark the start of the fight, and immediately DeSilva and McKay rush at each other like two charging bulls. They immediately engage in a heated exchange and the crowd explodes into pandemonium. DeSilva tags McKay a couple good times to get the crowd on the edge of their seats, but McKay doesn’t falter and fires right back with a looping right hand that gives Bellamy some Bambi legs. As DeSilva wobbles to try and stay upright, McKay storms in with a barrage of jabs and crosses. DeSilva continues to get touched up until it's time for Bombs Away McKay to launch the finishing right hand that puts the Pride of Brazil to sleep! The crowd goes wild and McKay scales the fence to perch on top and celebrate with his people. Another big statement finish for Alistair leaves little doubt that his next fight should be for the Lightweight title.
Winner: Alistair McKay by KO (Punch) at 0:39 Round 1
Statistics: Bellamy DeSilva
Punches 3/5 (60%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
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
Statistics: Alistair McKay
Punches 5/10 (50%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
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
Venue: Qudos Bank Arena
Location: Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 21,000
Date: August 22, 2021
Fighter Payouts: $2,055,000
Gate: $1,689,000
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
N/A
PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
Zamara Ali, Gianna Howard
TOP EARNERS
Donnie Calabrese ($770,000)
Alistair McKay ($400,000)
Bellamy DeSilva ($300,000)
Michael Santos ($270,000)
Gianna Howard ($115,000)
RECAP
Zamara Ali def. Alex Cox by Submission (Gogoplata) at 2:06 Round 3
Donnie Calabrese def. Zach Bennett by KO (Punches) at 1:42 Round 1
Michael Santos def. Devlin Connolly by KO (Punches) at 2:35 Round 1
Gianna Howard def. Tim Vu by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Alistair McKay def. Bellamy DeSilva by KO (Punch) at 0:39 Round 1