Shamrock FC: Opposition - Recap

When it comes to heavyweights and MMA, they don't need much.

Three punches is all Bobby Brents had to deliver in the main event of Shamrock FC: Opposition at the River City Casino.

Brents, out of Springfield, IL, stalked and slowly backed Scott Hough up, landed a big overhand right, a short left, then a hammerfist as the fight was called in 10 seconds in Round 1.

End of story.

On the flip side of the coin, Rebecca Ruth is proof that heavy punches can come in small packages.

Ruth nearly put Krystal Manues away early in the co-main event as a handful of strikes had Manues in desperation mode. Manues was able to slow Ruth down, going for takedowns and finally getting the fight to the floor but Ruth showed patience and poise. She reset and continued to swarm and land heavy shots and earned the first round TKO victory.

"I kind of expected the takedowns and that kind of game from her," Ruth said. "We worked a lot on that and I feel I am getting a lot better on the ground. She was pretty strong and got in tight. But I regained my composure and we worked on that; constant takedowns, constantly being tied up. I worked on slipping around to the back and tonight I got to do it few times."

The crowd got on its feet for a special presentation for 'Mean' Mike Green. Green became just the second person inducted into the SFC Hall of Fame. The house lights dimmed as ring announcer Tony Biondo spoke of Green's accomplishments before the South Sider walked to the cage. After a standing ovation, SFC president Jesse Finney spoke of Green and gave him a trophy.

Chris Manuel put together an impressive performance against Jake Constant. The ATT Evolution coach landed a big head kick early in the first round that sent Constant to the canvas. Manuel swarmed and dropped a ton of shots but Constant covered up well. Manuel then went to his jiu-jitsu and got the tap at 2:48 with a arm bar.

Pedigo Submission Fighting's Michael Gaston scored a quick takedown of Jay White in their middleweight bout. Once it got on the floor, Gaston was in control. He trapped White's arm and began to rain down elbows and punches in bunches. Gaston went for an americana but when that didn't take, he went back to the ground and pound and got the stop at 3:47 in the first round.

Thomas Haney made weight, sold tickets but failed to show up for fight night, so Matt Helm's much-anticipated pro debut unfortunately didn't go down.

Mark Chappell took the SFC bantamweight amateur title bout against Bob Hinchcliffe on short notice after the tragic death of Levi Rose. Chappell came out strong, pressing the action against the cage, but appeared to be tiring out. Hinchcliffe landed a couple of shots before Chappell went in for the takedown. When the pair hit the floor, Chappell's shoulder was under Hinchcliffe's chin and the impact knocked Hinchcliffe out at the 1:26 mark, giving Chappell the title in one of the most unusual KO's you will ever see.

It took Jason Christeson just 25 seconds and a bevy of hammerfists to put away Jeremiah Reed in Reed's MMA debut.

Hahn's MMA's Rachel Stockham put on a dominating performance against Oklahoma's Kaylen Duff.

The pair traded exchanges in the clinch early in the round before Stockham's kickboxing started to wear on Duff. Stockham was comfortable in the clinch and landed knees and plenty of rights. Stockham gave her little room to breathe.

Stockham continued to rough Duff up and landed Two sharp lefts and a head kick early in the round. Stockham's strikes started to bust Duff open later in the second and she ended the round with a trio of knees to the midsection.

Stockham continued to pick apart Duff and Duff showed tremendous durability as she absorbed punishment aplenty.

Kelly D'Angelo and Cindi Bottelberghe put on a show for the fans. The back and forth striking and clinch work led to a close first round. In less than two minutes into the second, D'Angelo landed a sharp uppercut that put Bottelberghe out and earned the win.

Patrick Sparks got the first round victory as Zach Burcham tapped to strikes.

Nick Werner and Dee Barron had a nice tit for tat. Werner's striking got the fight to the ground where he worked a arm triangle for the bulk of the latter part of round one. Barron did a good job defending and pushed the fight in to the second round. Werner scored an early takedown in the second. Barron got the fight back on the feet and, much like Werner in the first, went for a submission, before being stood up. Werner scored a late takedown tht could have sealed the round for him.

Much like the second, Werner landed an early takedown. Both seemed spent from their respective submission attempts. Werner hung out in side control before the fight was stood up. Werner scored another takedown to seal the split decision.

Michelle Swasho and Dakota Zimmerman got the crowd jumping in the evening's first fight. The two threw caution into wind and went for broke from the jump. While Swasho showcased nice boxing, Zimmerman proved solid in the clinch. The back and forth affair ended with a bloody Swasho as Zimmerman earned the TKO victory at 2:29 in the third round.

Shamrock FC returns in July 11 at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City and on July 25 at the Lumiere Casino.

Photo courtesy of Jimmy Range Photography