With big shows going on Saturday Night at the UFC and Bellator, it turned out to be Iron Tiger 78 that stole the attention of the MMA world with an incredible card from North Olmsted Ohio. Iron Tiger is part of the world renown Alliance MMA Fight Series.
The promotion was riding the momentum of a widely successful Iron Tiger 77 the night before Thanksgiving, and carried that excellence into tonight’s huge card. They will continue to build off of that excitement next Friday Night in Columbus for Iron Tiger 79 in Columbus Ohio at Express Live.
You can learn more about Iron Tiger by visiting them here
http://www.irontigerfightseries.com/
The crowd was worked into a frenzy by the time the Grudge Match main event of Frank “The Tank” Caraballo took on Antonio Castillo Jr. It was so loud you couldn’t even hear yourself think. A sign of a great fight card that had the crowd fully invested and into every single fight.
With that being said, let’s get right to the action. It was a big night for Strong Style Gym as they went 5-1.
Bout One – Miguel Francisco submitted Jack Sears in round one.
Recap – Francisco quickly proved to be far too fast for Sears to keep up with, and it was only a matter of time before he got his back and sunk in the choke.
Bout Two – Ryan McDermott defeats Clinton Coleman by ref stoppage.
Recap – Fatigue seemed to set in for both fighter’s midway through the second round. McDermott was able to get his second wind long enough in the third round to put Coleman away by ref stoppage as a knockout was only seconds away.
Bout Three – Mark Martin defeats Levi Plaugher by first round injury.
Recap – What could have been a great fight ends quickly due to a freak knee injury to Plaugher. The early word was a possible ACL tear.
Bout Four – Myles Robinson defeats Nick Gabel by first round knockout.
Recap – Make no mistake about it, Myles Robinson is the real deal and looked incredible tonight. He landed knee’s at will until eventually Gabel was out on his feet. Robinson trains at Strong Style and it is paying off. I’d look for big things from him soon.
Bout Five – Isaiah William over Kyle Booth by UD 29-28
Recap – A razor thin decision went the way of William. Booth did enough on his feet to win round one, but after that, it was all William who out worked him on the ground. There wasn’t much too this fight, but again, William did just barely enough to steal any doubt and capture the win.
Bout Six – Ryan Santana choked out Jason Denk in round three.
Recap – I had Denk up two rounds to one when this occurred. He held the slight edge all fight until Santana put him to sleep. Denk does deserve a special award for not tapping out, he showed a lot of heart in the defeat. Santana landed a great hook to drop Denk to start the second round, but Denk was able to get up and get control. However, with seconds left in the fight, it was Santana applying his trade to perfection and putting Denk to sleep.
Bout Seven – Keith Froelich defeats J’Mar Moore by UD 30-27.
Recap – A slow fight with not too much action. Moore seemed tentative all fight despite constant urging from his corner to get moving. Froelich was patient and it paid off as he piled up the points.
Bout Eight – Alex Johnston defeats Ty Mee’s by UD 29-28 to become Iron Tiger Featherweight Champion
Recap – For a title fight, it seemed a bit slow at times. Johnston outwrestled Mee’s long enough to capture the gold.
Bout Nine – Chad Kelly defeats Tony Dipiero in Round two by ref stoppage.
Recap – This was a great fight that saw Chad Kelly drop bomb after bomb on the iron chin of Tony Dipiero. It was a bloodbath as the beating continued shot after shot. Despite never falling over, the ref had seen Dipiero take enough abuse and stepped in as it was clear Dipiero could no longer defend himself despite still standing.
Bout Ten – Tobiaus Taylor defeated Quentin Gaskins by UD 29-28
Recap – Tobiaus Taylor took Gaskins down and stayed on top of him for the last two rounds and it was enough to win. Quentin simply didn’t have it tonight and Taylor capitalized. He didn’t do too much to win, but he didn’t do anything to lose either. A safe strategy by Taylor paid off.
Bout Eleven – AJ Dobson defeats Montel James by UD 30-27
Recap – Dobson played it safe, moved to 3-0 and earns a chance to compete for The Ultimate Fighter’s Upcoming season that starts this Tuesday. James kept going for that big shot, missing and getting taken down where it would stay each and every time.
Bout Twelve – Alexsa Camur defeats David White by ref stoppage in round two.
Recap – This fight was electric as both men absolutely brought it in that cage. A wild first round saw Camur almost get choked out, and also saw David White almost get knocked out as well. In the end, it was a barrage of strikes by Camur that put White away as the crowd erupted in what could have been the fight of the night!
Bout Thirteen – Jose Martinez defeats by Elijah Harris by ref stoppage in the first round.
Recap – A great tune-up for Martinez who stays unbeaten and looked incredible doing it. Martinez will join Dobson on The Ultimate Fighter this Tuesday night.
The Main Event – Antonio Castillo Jr defeats Frank “The Tank” Caraballo by SD 28-29,29-28,29-28
Recap – A great game plan for Castillo Jr paid off as he controlled the ground game in the first two rounds, and hung on late in the third to avoid getting beat. Frank may have had the crowd behind him, but Castillo may have had the bigger heart, faster feet and the will to avenge a loss. This victory was many years in the making for Castillo and now fans are already talking trilogy fight between the two.
I had the chance to speak with a victorious Castillo after the fight who had this to say, “I had to not beat myself every day at practice. I told myself in the beginning of camp that I lost to him last time because I beat myself and got in my own head. I knew that this time I had to avoid that happening.
My strategy coming in was to stand and strike with him and it would chip away. But, we got into a scramble instead. He has wrestling skills, but that is my home on the mat. I was not playing it safe in the third round and I wanted to get him into my corner. The canvas on his side was a little slick and I wanted to keep him on my side. This feels amazing!”
http://www.irontigerfightseries.com/
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