This past Saturday’s Invincible Fighting Championships showed fans why it is becoming one of the Inland Empires premier MMA shows. This past Saturday’s Invincible Fighting Championships showed fans why it is becoming one of the Inland Empires premier MMA shows. Amidst two controversial ref calls, TKO stoppages and a highlight real KO the fans found themselves witness to fights that would have them buzzing for weeks to come.
To open the night Shark Tank team member Ricky Bloom (1-3) was looking to score his second professional win against invincible newcomer Philip Golff. Golff who was making his professional depute that night was fighting out Team MKA in San Fernando Ca. The fight started out with Golf coming out throwing some heavy hands that forced Bloom to engage quickly. Once in the clinch to avoid anymore strikes Bloom scored the takedown and worked from inside Golff’s guard. Golff from the bottom worked to control his opponent’s posture but Bloom was able to rise up and start to throw punches down at Golffs head. This forced Golff to move, positioning his legs for a triangle submission. Bloom attempted to fight his way out of it using anything he could, during the scramble the fight was stopped when the ref thought he saw Bloom tap on his opponent’s leg. Immediately Bloom protested the decision made by the ref but his words fell on deaf ears as they called the fight a little bit more then a minute and a half into the round. As he exited all that could be heard from Bloom was “I didn’t tap, I didn’t tap”.
In the second fight Shark Tank team member Dominic Verdugo (2-0) took on Eric Jones, who was looking to capture his first professional win that night. As the bell rang after a brief exchange of punches Verdugo was able to shoot low and take Jones to the mat. Once on the mat Jones was just looking to hold on to his opponent as Verdugo looked to land some punches and pass Jones’s half guard. From the bottom Jones was able to scramble to a knee bar attempt and then to his knees in hoping to avoid the punches from Verdugo. Verdugo however was prepared for this position as he circled to Jones’s back, put his hooks in and looked to choke out his opponent. Jones for a moment was able to fight off Verdugo’s attempt but only for a moment as a quick repositioning of the hands is all Verdugo needed to get his opponent to tap out to avoid being choked out.
In a featherweight contest Ruben Duran (0-1) who trains out of the Out of the Box BJJ gym took on veteran Shark Tank team fighter Bobby Sanchez (3-7). As the bell rang for the first round Sanchez immediately shot for a single leg and took Duran to the floor. Duran was able after the takedown to get to his guard and prepare to work from his back. Sanchez though would make a mistake that would cost him the fight as he left his neck wide open while attempting to slide Duran to the fence. Duran took full advantage of position and was able to shoot his leg up and lock in a triangle choke. Caught in the choke Sanchez attempted to slam his way out of it but Duran hung on tight and forced Sanchez to tap just over a minute into the round.
In the only decision of the night Joshric Fenwick (2-0) fighting out of the San Diego Fight Club took on Harbor Kickboxing team member Musa Toliver (0-4). Throughout the fight we saw Fenwick be the aggressor throwing punches and landing hard leg kicks, in the clinch he was able to land hard shots with knees and punches. Toliver on the other hand played the counter puncher, throwing more of the single punches and shooting for takedowns when ever possible. On the ground it was a seesaw battle between the two combatants. Both were able to score takedowns and land punches, both were effective at scrambling to their feet whenever they were in a bad position. In the end the judges saw fit to award a unanimous decision to Fenwick most likely based on his aggression on his feet.
In the fifth fight of the night we saw Martin Bautista (5-3) fighting out of team Oyama take on Aaron Miller (3-2), a Hapikido and wrestling practitioner out of El Monte Ca. About a minute into round one you could tell that Miller was the better striker of the two, landing kicks and punches virtually at will. Bautista though was tough and hung in there and after taking punches while on his back, attempted several times to either armbar or triangle his opponent. Miller on each occasion though was able to work his way out of it and often times stood up out of guard and landed some vicious kicks to the legs while Bautista sat in the butt scoot position. In the second Bautista after being mounted by Miller scrambled out of the bottom position and looked to gain mount. Once on top Bautista was relentless in his attack, landing punches that forced Miller to turn to his stomach. After several punches landed to the sides of Millers head ref Doc Hamilton stopped the contest. Miller though after the stoppage contested the ref decision but Hamilton was clear that laying there covering your head isn’t much of an intelligent defense.
The co main event was a classic striker vs. grappler match up. Ismael Gonzales (2-4-1) fighting out of Team Body Shop took on Ben Gonzales from Camacho’s Riverside Submission Academy, who was making his pro depute that night. As soon as the bell rang you could tell Ben wanted no part of the stand up game, closing the distance and pulling guard to get the fight to the ground. Once on the ground Ben looked to either sweep or submit Ismael but Ismael was able to stay tight to his body and keep his hips square to nullify Ben’s attack. Aside from a few submission attempts by Ben and a few punches landed by Ismael on the feet and the ground the two nullified each others game. When the ref went to stand them up in the middle of the second round Ismael took full advantage landing a vicious body shot followed by a quick hook that floored Ben giving Ismael his first KO victory.
The main event of the night was a battle for the vacant Welterweight championship belt. Jessie Juarez (4-3) fighting out of the Body Shop took on Eric Meaders (2-6-1) who was fighting out of Ring of Fire Martial Arts Academy. Juarez a tough Wrestler made it clear what his game plan was that night, use strikes to set up his takedown and once on the floor ground and pound. Meaders who had previously trained with the Juarez knew it was coming but was able to do little against the wrestler shot. Takedown after Takedown, punch after punch eventually tired out and frustrated Meaders. In the forth round Juarez after looking to secure the dominate position all night passed Meaders guard and transitioned to mount. Once he secured his base he was able to rain down punches that forced a verbal tap out from Meaders just shy of the one minute mark.
Official Results
Phillip Golff def Ricky Bloom via Submission (Tech Choke) 1:34 R1
Dominic Verdugo def Eric Jones via Submission (RN-Choke) 2:25 R1
Ruben Duran def Bobby Sanchez via Submission (Tri-choke) 1:15 R1
Joshric Fenwick def Musa Toliver via Decision (unanimous) 3:00 R3
Martin Bautista def Aaron Miller via TKO (ref stoppage) 1:53 R2
Ismael Gonzales def Ben Gonzales via KO 1:21 R2
Jessie Juarez def Eric Meaders via Submission (ref stoppage) 0:51 R4