An accidental foul resulted in a “no contest” in the main event between legendary Jack Dempsey’s great grandson, Josh “Dempsey” Gormley, and Bobby “Zombie” Brents, on last night’s pay-per-view professional bare-knuckle fighting event, “BYB Brawl 1: Brawl For It ALL”, at the Cheyenne Ice & Event Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
“BYB Brawl 1: Brawl For It ALL”, presented by title sponsor Pure and Natural (www.getpureandnatural.com), was the first sanctioned-event promoted by BYB Extreme Series (BYB), bare-knuckles fighting’s most intense combat sports promoter. Nine professional bare-knuckle and two mixed-martial-arts fights were contested inside the “The Trigon”, the most confrontational cage in combat sports.
“Wow,” BYB president Mike Vazquez said about show. “Just as predicted all of the bare-knuckles fights failed to go the distance. It was one TKO after another TKO. They were a bunch of warriors. It was unfortunate the way the main event ended. Dempsey had to wear off some rust. There was no defense, but he turned it on. Something happened and he came back strong. We’re going to treat it as a win because we take good care of our fighters.”
Brents, a former Shamrock FC mixed-martial-arts champion, came out fast and swarmed Dempsey, who was unable to fire punches early in the fight. Dempsey weathered the storm, including a cut over his eye, and came on strong until he accidentally poked Brents in the left eye.
Unable to see clearly, Brents was unable to continue and, according to the Wyoming Commission, the fight was ruled a ‘No Contest” at 2:34 of the first round.
“I feel like a million dollars,” Gormley commented. “When I fight, I’m alive. I’m not out there killing myself.”
“I wish the fight had ended differently,” Brents added. “He didn’t do it on purpose, but I couldn’t see.”
In a clash of contrasting fighting styles, MMA fighter Matt “MFD” Delanoit put Canadian kick-boxer Jake “The Goon” Young’s lights out with one sensational punch, only 49 seconds into the opening round of the co-featured event. Young was out cold before he hit the canvas in what was arguably the KO of the Night.
“That was ****ing awesome,” Delanoit proclaimed. “At the end of the day, it’s just a fight, but bare knuckles are more fun.”
In the Fight of the Year, Colorado light heavyweight Leo Pla. upset Wyoming bare-knuckles star Billy “The Kid” Martin won a bloody battle in a grudge match between two fighters from bordering states. Pla overcame a rough start by catching the previously undefeated (15-0) Martin, the BKB middleweight champion, with a powerful left that knocked him down. He somehow got to his feet, but not for long, as Plan unloaded a stinging body shot as round one ended. The bell couldn’t save Martin and referee ruled that he was finished.
“I knew Billy,” Pla said after the fight. We’ve been on a collision course for 5-6 years. He opened me up. Who cares? The fans wanted to see two guys fight their hearts out and we did.”
“I was feeling good,” Martin commented. “He hit me with a good body- punch and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Pla, will you give me a rematch for my BKB middleweight title?”
In the mixed-martial-arts main event, two-time collegiate national wrestling champion Jamelle “The Beast” Jones used his grappling skills to submit heavyweight Matt “The Attack” Kovacs midway through round one. Jones had two impressive take-downs, the second forcing Kovacs to tap-out.
The most aptly nicknamed bare-knuckle brawler, Christine “Knuckles” Stanley, was too much for Latoya “Lionheart” Burton to handle in a female bantamweight bout. After suffering two first-round knockdowns, Burton showed the guts of a U.S. Air Force veteran who did two tours in Iraq. An aggressive Stanley, however, never let up, using a devastating body attack and effective uppercuts en route to a second-round TKO, when referee
Bobby Wambacher halted the action because Burton had endured too much punishment.
Las Vegas cruiserweight Joey Angelo, who is getting married next week in Hawaii, out-classed his late replacement opponent, game Wyoming favorite Joseph “Goodnight” Guillen, closing the show early in the first round with a sweeping left hook for a technical knockout.
In a super heavyweight MMA fight, Jermayne “Redman” Barnes blocked a leg kick and his momentum knocked 305 1/2-pound Lamar “The Abomination” Cannady-Foster through the cage door entrance. Cannady-Foster was physically unable to continue fighting and, according to Wyoming commission rules, the result went to the scorecards. Barnes was awarded the win by way of a third-round unanimous decision.
It was unfortunate for him to go out of the cage,” Vazquez noted. “It wasn’t the first time that’s happened, though. Checkout You Tube and you’ll find other cases. Dada trained in it, but we never had two 300-pound guys fighting in it before.”
In the “Special Dawg Fight Trilogy Match” between bitter Miami middleweight rivals, Mike “Dragon Hulk” Trujillo won the rubber match and hometown bragging rights, registering a first-round knockout against Alphonso “Chocolate” Frierson. Trujillo cracked Frierson with a short right and Frierson took a knee, but Trujillo took-out Frierson shortly afterwards.
Florida cruiserweight Lorenzo “The Juggernaut” Hunt cooked his opponent, Atlanta chef Robert “Real Business” Brown, Jr., in an entertaining, back-and-forth brawl. At the end of the first round, Hunt was went sprawling from a body punch as the first round ended. Hunt came back in the second round with a vengeance, stalking and then stopping Brown with a brutal right, resulting in Brown landing face-first on the mat. Referee
Dave Braslow immediately ruled the fight was over without counting.
Dominican welterweight John Michael “JoMi” Escoboza, an original backyard brawler, decked Brian “Stone Handz” Jackson with a stiff right-jab in the second round, closing the show a little later with a lethal left to Jackson’s stomach, who was in clear agony and unable to rise from his knees.
The opening fight of the night set the tone as three-time U.S. Army boxing champion Albert “Speedy” Martinez dropped former International Muay Thai titlist Robert “Billy Bad Ass” Fletcher twice in the opening round. Fletcher, a bantamweight from Georgia, beat the count after the second knockdown, but he was on wobbly legs, and referee Dave Braslow waved off the fight for a technical knockout.
DADA 5000 TO RETURN IN “BYB BRAWL 2”
Iconic back-yard brawler Dada 5000, who was a color commentator on this evenings’ PPV event, announced that he will fight for the first time in more than 3 1/2 years at “BYB Brawl 2”, which will be held on a date and venue to be announced soon.
“I feel that the game is missing critical pieces and I’m the answer,” Dada 5000. “I excited to fight once again and, trust me, I still have a lot to offer.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
BARE KNUCKLES
MAIN EVENT – HEAVYWEIGHTS BK
Josh Gormley, Miami, FL
“No Contest”
Bobby Brents, Springfield, IL
CO-FEATURE – WELTERWEIGHTS
Matt Delanoit, Omaha, NE
WTKO1 (0:49)
Jake Young, London, Ontario, Canada
CRUISERWEIGHTS
Joey Angelo, Las Vegas, NV
WTKO1 (1:00)
Joseph Guillen, Red Springs, WY
Robert Brown, Jr., Atlanta, GA
WTKO1 (1:00)
Lorenzo Hunt, Jacksonville, FL
LIGHT HEAVYEWIGHTS
Billy Martin, Casper, WY
Leo Pla, Parker, CO
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Mike Trujillo, Miami, FL
WKO1 (2:20)
Alphonso Frierson, Miami, FL
WELTERWEIGHTS
John Michael Escoboza, Coconut Creek, FL by way of Dominican
WKO2 (0:20)
Brian Jackson, Cheboygan, MI
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Albert Martinez, Valdosta, GA
WTKO1 (2:23)
Robert Fletcher, Park Rapids, MN
FEMALE BANTAMWEIGHTS
Christine Stanley, Lakebay, WA
Latoya Burton, Ashville, NC
MMA
SUPER HEAVYWEIGHTS
Jermayne Barnes, Fort Lauderdale, FL
WDEC3 (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Lamar Cannady-Foster, Detroit, MI
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Jamelle Jones, Coeur d’Alene, ID
WSUB1 (1:24)
Matt Kovacs, Everett, WA
