Ledbetter Crowned Champ in Macon
By Jim Terwoord
The beautiful, modern Macon Centreplex Coliseum was the site of the Revolution Fight League’s “Relentless” MMA promotion on Saturday, May 17th and the GeorgiaMMA.com caravan was on hand for the show. A great place for a fight, we hope the RFL has many more at this first class facility. More importantly, we hope they continue to give us more cards like this one, which provided one of the most exciting nights of MMA action in the Peach state in recent memory.
Headlining the card in the main event for the AFL Featherweight Championship was WEC veteran Stephen Ledbetter (6-1), who took on Johnny Bedford, a last second (two weeks) stand in for Ledbetter’s original opponent, Charles Wilson. Wilson suffered a torn ACL while training for the fight and Bedford manned up to take the bout against the formidable Ledbetter on very short notice. No stranger to the cage, Texas native Bedford brought a 6-3-1 record along with him, but ran into the Hardcore Gym buzzsaw that is Stephen Ledbetter. (To see our prefight Ledbetter interview, click here).
The fight started violently, with the aggressive Bedford attacking Ledbetter with a flurry of feet, fists and elbows – then he turned it up a notch. A former D3 collegiate wrestler, Bedford took Ledbetter to the ground and had the Georgia crowd wondering whether his recent layoff had made him rusty. Not to worry! Staying calm and cool, with flexibility that conjured up BJ Penn, Ledbetter caught the game Bedford in a leg triangle and slowly, steadily tightened the noose, causing the Texan to tap at 2:21 of the first.
At the post fight press conference Ledbetter owned up to being rusty and complimented his opponent, who he claimed gave him all he could handle in their brief battle. But he was also very proud of his biggest win and was obviously stoked. Even a question from his trainer, Adam Singer, about a rematch with Bedford couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. Great job Stephen!
Veteran Ben Pierce (Rush MMA) took on Kamrin Naville (Valdosta MMA) in a 155 pound match just before the main event. The aggressive Naville attacked Pierce furiously, flailing away with a storm of punches before taking him down near the fence. Pierce fought well from his guard, but it was obvious that Naville was a very strong dude. In the second, Naville again managed to take Pierce down and Pierce countered with an attempted leg triangle. Naville continued to scramble and managed to gain side control shortly before sinking in a triangle choke that caused a Pierce tapout at 3:24 of the second. After the fight, our Michael Lynn asked Naville about his weight and Naville admitted to a beefy 158 at the weigh in. Ben Pierce was awarded a portion of Naville’s purse due to the excess weight.
Neil Hayes (Unit 2 Fitness) and Robert Turner (Highlander Fight Team) tangled in a pro light heavyweight battle on the undercard. Turner, the better wrestler, took Hayes down with a nasty crash early on and just kept it coming. With a dominating mat attack, Turner gained full mount and gave Hayes a ground and pound facial that Botox won’t help. Hayes tried valiantly to counter with jits, but the powerful Turner was having none of it, earning a TKO by referee stoppage at 3:56 of the first.
Tony Hunter (Rush MMA) and Heath Davis (Hamby Freestyle) got it on in a 186 pound match up that you missed if you blinked. The “ripped and shredded” Hunter bull rushed Davis, who simply stepped back, sunk in a deep choke and let the guillotine do the work for him. It was over in 27 seconds.
John Cofer (Unit 2 Fitness) and Lawson McClure (Matrix MMA) went at it in a 150 pound match that had a lot of crowd “involvement.” For some reason, the Macon crowd did not like Mr. McClure, who accommodated them with several “bring it on” gestures from inside the cage. Cofer brought it for them, dominating the match with superior wrestling skills. In the second, he took down McClure several times with beautiful double legs and flattened him on his stomach along the fence, gaining a win by rear naked choke.
Michael Gordon (Fighter’s Alley Florida) and Shawn Snow (Valdosta MMA) had another “quickie” in a 155 pound contest. Gordon charged out and took down Snow, who quickly reversed, gaining Gordon’s back. Sinking in strong leg hooks, Snow gained a deep rear naked choke, earning a victory in 59 seconds.
Bryan Goldsby (Rush MMA) v Joey Marimberga (Spartan Fitness) engaged in a 136 pound “Braveheart” battle without the broadswords. Goldsby was longer, stronger, faster and better on both his feet and the floor. But Marimberga kept coming; a “Chuckie” version of the energizer bunny, absorbing all manner of leg, knee and fist shots that left him bloody, but not humbled. A unanimous decision by Goldsby, but a gutsy display of “testicular tenacity” by Marimberga. Great fight guys.
Sam Grizzle (Hardcore Gym) and Dickie Wilson (Valdosta MMA) locked up in a battle of light heavyweight beef eaters in a battle with enough power to provide the lighting for the cage. Hardcore Gym cooking has always served Grizzle well, but he had his problems with the powerful Wilson, who managed to throw him off from underneath more than once with unbelievable strength. Not to be denied, Grizzle stuck to his guns in the second, taking down Wilson, gaining his back and taking him out by rear naked choke.
Aaron Hall (Rush MMA) and Payton Owens (Hardcore Gym) got nasty in a 156 pound amateur bout in which Hall stopped Owens early in dominant fashion with a tapout by anaconda early in the first. Earlier, Jason Glow (Rush MMA) and Chase Delong got the night’s battles off to a rowdy start with an aggressive, energetic bantamweight battle that had both fighters swinging for the fences. Delong won a unanimous decision, but it looked a lot closer than that to us.
This one had it all – a spectacular card, fantastic action, a new champion and a six foot dancing girl with 2 foot high spiked Mohawk. I’m not making it up fans – you had to be there. The card, production, organization and professionalism displayed by the RFL were superb. We can’t wait for their next event which is scheduled for June in Kentucky. We’ll be there!
Jim Terwoord
GeorgiaMMA.com
|
