Xtreme Fight Night 1 - Recap

On Saturday night at the Lumiere Casino, Shamrock Promotions debuted its first ever Xtreme Fight Night in exciting fashion. The format for this event is an intriguing one in that it has something for every type of fan of combative sports, offering a night of boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts bouts. Not only are the fans able to witness these different formats, but the fighters available for these shows are able to compete at the pro or amateur level in them. Another interesting rule that has just been accepted by Spire for amateur K1 is that if competitors are over 18, and if mutually agreed upon, they can agree to no headgear in their match.

In the main event of the evening Nick Reeder took on Eric Crittendon in a boxing match.
Early on Reeder looked to push, keep the center of the ring, and score. Crittenton responded in turn by throwing some good exchanges to be respected in return. During one of these exchanges, Reeder landed an effective combination that stunned Crittendon. Sensing he could put his opponent away, Reeder poured it on by throwing a relentless barrage of punches until referee stoppage by TKO in the first round. Reeder took the microphone and said his ‘thank yous’ as he called it a career after the bout and retired.

The pro portion of the card also featured two kickboxing matches:

Highly experienced UFC vet, and Finney’s own Luigi Fioravanti met Anthony Livingston in the co-main event of the evening. The first round both competitors were moving and trading kicks while sizing each other up. Luigi pressed and landed the higher amount strikes and effective kicks. The second opened with Luigi continuing to press the action and landing a sound left hook followed by a cross on the button early. As the round continued Fioravanti obtained a clinch and pulled Livingston’s head into position to deliver a knee that appeared to signal the beginning of the end. Upon separating Fioravanti landed a few hooks against the ropes forcing referee Mike Englund to step in and stop the bout, making Fioravanti the victor by TKO.

In what may have been the most anticipated bout of the evening, Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Darryl Cobb squared off against an always-tough Joel Blair. Cobb came out working his jab while Blair circled along the outside. Blair landed some kicks and surged forward looking to score with flurries. Cobb effectively moved out of range of most of Blair’s offense and landed a coupled hard round kicks himself.

The second round brought more action as both strikers moved in and out of each other’s range, each in turn landing shots, leading to some clinches and knees to the body. Cobb was landing more power shots and showing good defense, his technically sound hands making him very tough to hit clean. Blair threw in more numbers with his erratic style that can be difficult to read. The third round saw more of the same as the two fighters moved around the ring landing shots and leading to multiple clinches and close range exchanges. In the end, Darryl Cobb won a split decision victory

The Ammy portion of the show featured the following:

The three MMA bouts, being showcased in the four cornered ring, were pretty short and decisive.

Dalton Voyles earned a first round TKO victory by stalking and battering his opponent Kenny Vogel with strikes until referee stoppage.

In a quick match between Edrick Dillard and Drew Walker, Walker attempted a bull rush takedown sprinting out of his corner from the onset that got stuffed by Dillard. Dillard then swept his opponent in turn, moved to mount immediately and finished the bout by TKO in 0:18 of the first round.

Shapen Jordan came out looking to strike in a bout with Zack Burcham. Burcham attempted a takedown that got stuffed and after getting back to his feet looked to land kicks while Jordan pressed forward looking to land a fight-ending blow. Burcham did secure his second takedown attempt but failed to pass guard or do any damage by the time the bell rang. In the second round Jordan caught a kick and threw Burcham on the ground and into the corner of the ring, moved to side control and secured a submission by Keylock

The Kickboxing portion of the undercard featured:

Southpaw Daniel Scaggs out of Finney’s won a unanimous decision over Shawn Knobelock. In round one Scaggs came out using his range effectively, firing rear leg kicks to the body of Knobelock, while finding and landing flush hooks after separating from exchanges. The second and third rounds saw more exchanges taking place in the pocket as Knobelock kept pushing forward and closing in on Scaggs range. However, he was unable to gain the upper hand. In the end, Dan Scaggs won a unanimous decision.

XFN brought to us a very entertaining match up between two IKF World Champions in Gabby Labbee vs Cora Sanders, with Labbee winning in 2010, 2011, 2012 and Sanders winning in 2014.

Right off the start of the first round you could see the skill on display with this one as both pushed the pace with plenty of push and round kicks among flurries of fluid punches.

In the second Labbee dropped Sanders with a lead head kick and was looking like she found her timing landing effective combinations, Sanders rebounded toward the end of the round refusing to quit and pushing back. The third saw Sanders come out pressing Labbee, trying to create a finish with aggressive combinations. Labbee tried keeping her distance and circled using her jab and timing kicks.

The bout was scored a draw, and it definitely stole the show of the undercard.

Freedom Jones scored two early knockdowns in the first round against Armin Dubonovic. Armin rebounded and the second round was full of plenty of back and forth action. Jones was able to finish the fight, earning a TKO victory in the third round.

Also, Evan Elders won by unanimous decision over Cortez Heard.

In the first bout of the evening, Jabir Ziyad won by unanimous decision over Dee Barron

Photo courtesy of Jimmy Range Photography