On Saturday June 27 a crowd of 3,300 fans gathered at the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. Everyone in attendance was treated to a night of fast paced action and witnessed first hand why Joe Cavallaro’s World Championship Fighting is the premier fighting organization in all of the Northeast.
The card served 14 entertaining bouts, any of which could have headlined the WCF’s 7th show.
The honor of headlining the card went to middleweights (185lb) Woody Weatherby and Dan Keefe.
For 2 rounds, both Weatherby and Keefe fought close with Woody having the edge on the stand-up and Keefe controlling the ground. Dan was able to grind it out on the floor enough to force the bout into a 2-minute overtime. The 3 rd round started with Keefe rushing in for a single leg and securing the take down giving him the edge in the eyes of the judges.
Keefe (white trunks) takes side control on Weatherby
The Weatherby and Keefe fight might have been the final bout of the night but without a doubt the evenings most anticipated fight was Premier Fighter, Calvin Kattar taking on BMAC product Rodrigo Almeida.
The heavily pro-Kattar crowd reigned boos as the undefeated Almeida calmly strolled to the ring. The boos quickly turned to cheers as Calvin walked out accompanied by Hulk Hogan’s “Real American” song.
In the opening moments Rodrigo immediately shot in for a double leg but Kattar was able to sprawl and avoid the take down. Almeida then attempted to pull guard which resulted in Kattar landing in the mount. Kattar was able to land some effective strikes to the side of Rodrigo’s head but the ground specialist quickly escaped and both men were back on their feet. Almeida once again shot in for a take down but left his neck exposed and Kattar was able to capitalize, sinking in a guillotine and pulling guard. Rodrigo was forced to tap at the 2:16 mark of the 1st round.
Kattar working from top position
With his impressive string of victories one has to wonder how soon a title shot is on the horizon for the Calvin.
In what had to be fight of the night, Damien Trite and John Benoit slugged it out for two rounds as each men showed how tough they truly are. Benoit was able to land some brutal leg kicks and each men had their moments when trading punches. However it was Benoit who was more effective on the ground and came close to submitting Trite on several occasions. Ultimately the judges awarded the majority decision in Benoit’s favor.
If Trite and Benoit was “fight of the night”, then you have to give Greg Rebello and Jerry Spiegel the award for “Best/Worst” song entrances of the night. Spiegel marched in to a very questionable song selection, “Birthday Sex”. In what had to be homage to the recently deceased Michael Jackson, the Mark Dellagrotte trained fighter came out to Jackson’s “Beat it”.
Rebello dominated the full 2 rounds and should have put Spiegel away several times. However, the very tough and game Spiegel was able to get back on his feet anytime Rebello took him down. The judges scored the bout in favor of Rebello unanimously.
The WCF announced their next show would be in the fall. Visit www.WCFFIGHTING.com for details on their upcoming card.
Quick Results:
Dan Keefe (Brickhouse) def. Woody Weatherby (Renzo Gracie NH) — Split Decision
Calvin Kattar (Premier Fight Team) def. Rodrigo Almeida (BMAC) — Submission (Guillotine Choke)
2:16 R1
John Benoit (Renzo Gracie NH) def. Damien Trites (Wai-Kru) — Majority Decision
Greg Rebello (Sityodtong) def. Jerry Spiegel — Unanimous Decision
Tom Moreau (Valor) def. Don Carlo-Clauss (Bomb Squad) — Majority Decision
Elias Rivera (Dog Pound) def. Scott Rehm (Pro Elite/Florian MMA) — Submission (Heel Hook) 2:43 R1
Travis Bartlett (Irish) def. Guillermo Echuaca (Zulu) — TKO (Punches) 2:18 R1
Saul Almeida (Rivera MMA) def. Dan O’Keefe (MMAT Center) — Submission (Inverted Peruvian Necktie) 1:16 R1
Nick Evangelous (Fenix Fight Club) def. Matt McKusker (Champions) — TKO (Punches) 2:41 R1
Aniss Anlhajjajy (BTT) def. Aaron Petrucelli (Mass BJJ) — Majority Decision
Marcos Escalante (BMAC) def. John Walsh — Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:24
Zack Burhans (Bomb Squad) def. Jeff Silva(Premier Fight Team) — Unanimous Decision
Nelson Gaipo (Rivera MMA) def. Ryan White(SSSF) — TKO (Punches) 1:07 R1
Noah Wiseman (BJJ Revolution) def. Steve Beck — Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:50 R1