I spoke with Anthony Johnson after his win at the Pangea fights. This was Anthony’s professional debut and he was very ecstatic over his first round victory.The Pangea fights were held on August 18th at the Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Blvd. The auditorium was about half full with many good seats available.
In the first fight of the night Anthony McDavitt fought Skye Rivera. Although Rivera had a wrestling background Anthony immediately shot in took Rivera to the ground. Anthony maintained top control and started to work his ground and pound game. The referee steps in and stops the fight. It appears that Anthony won the fight after several forearm strikes to Rivera. The referee then announces that Anthony was disqualified for holding the cage and striking his opponent. Anthony’s corner said he did not hold onto the cage and that no warnings were given. Skye Rivera won the fight.
In the second fight of the evening James Gisdorf fought Justin Jorgenson. Justin shoots in on Gisdorf who pulls guard and applies a Tri-angle. Justin picks up Gisdorf and slams him on the ground. Gisdorf sinks the tri-angle further. Justin loses consciousness and the referee separates the two fighters. Gisdorf wins by a tri-angle choke at 40 seconds in the first round.
In the third fight of the evening Jonathan Romero fought Anthony Johnson from Chute Box USA. Both fighters come out trading punches in the center of the cage. Johnson catches Romero with a knee and they both go back into the cage. Johnson tries to finish Romero but both fighters continue to punch it out. Johnson catches Romero with another good punch to the head and knocks Romero to the mat. Johnson quickly moves in and finishes the fight at 1:09, by using his ground and pound style of fighting.
The fourth fight of the evening put Jared Hammam against Richardo Arrivabani. Throughout the first round both fighters exchanged punches in the center of the ring. They went to the ground for a brief moment but ended back up on their feet. Hamman appeared to have the upper hand as Arrivabani began to fatigue and his punches became more wild.
In the second round both fighters came out punching. Arrivabani tries to shoot in on Hamman. He is unable to secure the take down and tries to pull guard. They end up back on their feet where Arrivabani tries another take down. Hamman ends up on top and punches Arrivabani in the head several times before the referee stops the fight at 2:14 in the second round.
The fifth fight of the evening put Mike Corey against Brian Cobb. In the first round both fighters traded good punches and knees. Cobb controlled Corey and took his back trying to sink a choke hold. Corey spins around and ends up in Cobb’s guard at the end of the first round. Cobb dominated Corey in the first round maintaining top control.
The second round goes to the ground with both fighters fighting for position. Both fighters spend the majority of the round on the ground with Corey now punching Cobb from the top position. Corey won the second round.In the third round both fighters came out punching and end up on the ground. Corey showed some good Jiu-Jitsu training trying to work submissions on the ground. Corey wins the decision.
In the main event of the evening, Sherman Pendergrass quickly ended the fight against Aaron Brink. Both fighters came out and locked up in the center of the ring. Pendergrass took Brink’s back. Brink was standing with Pendergrass on his back. Brink pinned Pendergrass back against the cage. Pendergrass submits Brink using a rear naked choke hold.
While at the Pangea fights I hand a chance to speak with the Chute Box Team Fighters about their fights where the team is going.
I spoke with Chute Box instructor Jorge Olivera regarding his last fight with Eastman. Jorge said that he knew Eastman was a wrestler and that he wanted to neutralize his ground came by using his Jiu-Jitsu. Jorge said that Eastman was unable to use his wrestling skills and take him to the ground. Having neutralized Eastman’s wrestling, Jorge now wanted to show that he could out box Eastman and opted to slug it out with him. Jorge said that he was always looking for the knock out and did not want a draw.
Speaking about the Chute Box team Gym, Jorge said they have a reputation to uphold and are going to put out top fighters. Everyone in the gym trains hard and are looking for knockouts when they fight. Jorge said that fighters must prove themselves in the gym first before they can go represent the gym in fights. This is more than apparent when you see Chute Box fighters in the cage..
I spoke with Anthony Johnson after his win at the Pangea fights. This was Anthony’s professional debut and he was very ecstatic over his first round victory.
Kibun: Anthony how do you feel about your victory over Jonathan Romero?
Anthony: I feel great, he was a tough opponent. He took the first punch to his chin and recovered to continue the fight.
Kibun: Where you surprised when he recovered from the first punch and came back and hit you with a right hand.
Anthony: No not really. I knew he was hurt and his punch actually hit my hand. I was able to get my hand between his punch and me so the punch did not hit me in the head. I then punched him again and he went to the ground and I ended the fight.
Kibun: I noticed Romero appeared to be dazed when he hit the ground form the second punch. Is that when you saw an opportunity to end the fight?
Anthony: I did not realize that he was dazed on the ground. I hit him and saw that he went down and just reacted and started to punch him to end the fight.
Kibun: Where can we see expect to see Anthony fight next.
Anthony: I will fight anywhere. I am looking to fight anywhere that they have an opponent for me.
To learn more about Chute Box USA go to their website at www.ChuteBoxUSA.com