Fight Club OC from the Hangar at the OC Fair & Events Center hit the start of the holidays hard in idyllic Costa Mesa, CA this past October 23. The sold out crowd was treated to brawls, batterings, bludgeonings, and beautiful displays of boxing.
Opening the show was a 4 round, middleweight boxing match between Santa Ana’s Arian Sharifi (2-2-1) against another Santa Ana native Peter Emmanuel Gonzalez (0-3). These two 160 pounders wanted to raise the temperature in this opening bout and they certainly did that. However, it was not with blistering action. Rather these two fighters patiently stalked one another over the distance of their four round contest. Ultimately, Sharifi did just a bit more to keep Gonzalez at bay, off kilter, and out of sorts and that is how he took the decision over his game foe.
Moving to a 3 round MMA bout in the flyweight class saw two fighters making their pro-debuts. Israel Lua (1-0 1KO) from Anaheim battled Dante Patron (0-1) from San Diego. These warriors both came out hot, with Lua literally running out to meet Patron in the center of the ring. Lua achieved some takedowns in the first and generally seemed to be in control. In the second, he just overwhelmed Patron with shots and takedowns from all angles. Then, after some sustained ground and pound, the referee took mercy on Patron and waved the bout over in the second round.
Switching back to boxing, fans were given a 4 round welterweight bout with Jesse Zuniga (3-3 1KO) vs. William Davis (5-3-2 1KO) in pulsating match-up. Zuniga was, literally, in over his head against the much taller and lankier Davis. It was a fairly even battle all the way through, with Zuniga pressing and Davis countering. Davis even scored a flash knockdown in the first, although it seemed like Zuniga was off balance. In the end, Davis just did more things that impressed the judges and that’s how he scored an upset, four round decision.
Returning to MMA, fans were treated to a 3 round Bantamweight bout between Anaheim’s Steve Mora (6-6) against Ricardo Dias (10-9) from Huntington Beach. It was the beach vs. the streets, and these these contestants came to kick up some sand! Mora made it quick, too. After a few exchanges, Mora clipped Dias on the chin and Dias appeared to be out as he splattered on the canvas. That’s when Dias jumped on him with some hammer punches and the referee spared Dias any unnecessary punishment.
Next up was fan favorite Jessica Rico from Santa Ana, making her pro-debut against Qianyue Zhao (1-2) from Capitola in a four round, flyweight boxing slugfest. Making Rico’s debut performance even more special was that it was for the Tequila Mandala Young Champions belt! Rico and Zhao really gave the fans a show as they both came forward in this pitched battle. Rico gave it everything she had, but Zhao was just a little quicker and sharper. Zhao dodged in and out all during their contest, landing punches over the top and straight down the middle to get a decision over the extremely popular Rico.
Sticking with boxing, the co-headliner saw middleweights Dante Kirkman (6-0 3KOs) (from Palo Alto) against Wesley Vanderlinden (4-2-1 4KOs) (from Simi Valley) in a 6 round contest. These fighters wasted no time getting down as Kirkman countered with shots to blunt the offensive of Vanderlinden. Kirkman kept a measured approach in the first, but then really put his punches together and literally overwhelmed the outgunned Vanderlinden in the 2nd.
Ending the night was a 6 round bout in the super featherweight division. Local hero Johnny Canas (8-0 3KOs) of Santa Ana found himself in against Fresno’s David Reyes (3-5-1 2KOs).
Since this was the final contest of the night, neither combatant wanted to take a backwards step. As it turned out, the bout featured Reyes coming forward and Canas countering him every step of the way. Throughout the 5 rounds the bout lasted, Reyes had his moments but it wasn’t enough. Eventually, the referee felt Reyes had taken too much punishment and the bout was halted in the 6th round.
Fight Club OC returns to the The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa on December 11th! Get your tickets NOW as everyone knows this is where fights are ALWAYS guaranteed! These shows are selling out shortly after they are announced so grab your tickets soon.
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