A thoroughly combat educated crowd had the pleasure of attending Pure FC’s third event this past Saturday at the historic Milwaukee Theater.
Headlined by veterans Chris Manuel and Rick Glenn, the card featured eight amateur bouts and four professional.
In the Main Event, Milwaukee local Rick Glenn continued to make his case for top billing as he defeated Chris Manuel with unanswered body shots from the turtle position in the 3rd round. Glenn kept the fight at close distance throughout most of the affair with hellacious clinch work against the cage peppering Manuel with dirty boxing and elbows for most of the fight.
Post-fight, Glenn appeared to be healthy and quite ready to get back in the cage sooner rather than later.
Co-Main Event featured Joey Diehl in a highly competitive scrap with Jay Pressley. It appeared as if Jay got touched up early falling not once but twice in round 1. But Jay fought with perseverance and purpose unswayed by early trouble.
Toward the 2nd and into the 3rd Pressley began working his takedowns and was able to put Diehl on his back multiple times.
Frustration must have set in because Dielh was actually warned and then docked a point late in the fight due to illegal up kicks to a grounded opponent.
With a point docked and fighting off of his back the majority of the way, Diehl took the loss via split decision.
It took little time for Jonas Flok to pound his way into a dominant victory over Tyeray Knuckles. Knuckles came out swinging early with a crisp jab and solid head movement. But that was of no consequence for Flok who took it upon himself to make sure Knuckles saw every inch of the ceiling constantly landing takedowns.
After an especially hard takedown midway into the 2nd Knuckles tried a pretty nifty butterfly sweep which gave Flok the opportunity to turn Knuckles over. Once turtled, Flok began a savage attack forcing Knuckles to tap to strikes.
In one of the night’s most exciting battles, Tim Cho defeated Josh Marsh by unanimous decision. Cho showed a real knack for shooting and completing takedowns here, which was no walk in the park considering Marsh’s excellent sprawl and inability to give an inch. What March wouldn’t give, Cho straight took, never quitting and working a high pressured offense on a way to victory.
The amateurs showed much promise and were just as entertaining as the professionals. Stand outs included a very stoic and battle ready TJ Solp Apel as well as Bryan Fry.
I’m interested in seeing what becomes of Heavyweight Gabriel Sayeg, who displayed some fantastic kicks for such a big guy. The dexterity in which he threw was a most pleasant surprise for an amateur.
I’m intrigued by Nelly Thompson, who by far got the biggest pop of the night (outside of Glenn) and looked like he could do some serious damage with more seasoning and experience.
It was also great to see Antonio Aguilar pick up a victory and amateur title at the expense of fellow competitor Kevin Surber.
As Pure FC continues to grow, it’s easy to be excited about their future and the future of the sport in Milwaukee. The intimacy of the Theater made for an exciting night, and Milwaukee locals did their best to show their gratitude and appreciation.
If their next card, planned for July is as fun as this weekend’s, Pure FC should be around for as long as they want to be.
Full Results
Amateur Card
265 Josh Moody (Red Schafer MMA) def Pe Dotson (Independent) via RNC RD1 2:46
205 Nelly Thompson (Pura Vida BJJ & MMA) def Ricky Castillo (Castillo MMA) via Split Decision
125 Bryan Fry (Felipe Barbosa Jiu Jitsu) def Ricardo Pacheco (Pura Vida BJJ & MMA) via RNC RD2 1:30
145 Josh Schmidt (Pura Vida BJJ & MMA) def Raven Welsch (Nevermore MMA) via RNC RD1 1:27
265 Gabriel Sayeg (Pura Vida BJJ & MMA) def Kegan Chavez Adrenaline Fight Team via TKO RD2 1:56
170 Jason Strzelecki (Pura Vida BJJ & MMA) def Zach Stander (Total Devastation Fight Team) via TKO RD1 0:39
135 TJ Solp Apel (Felipe Barbosa Jiu Jitsu) def Michael Albanese (Pura Vida BJJ & MMA) via Unanimous Decision
265 TITLE Antonio Aguilar (Pura Vida BJJ & MMA) def Kevin Surber (Estus MMA) via RNC RD1 1:51
Pro Card
145 Tim Cho (Team Curran MMA) def Josh Marsh (Roufusport MMA) via Unanimous Decision
155 Jonas Flok (Highland Fight Systems) def Tyeray Knuckles (Rothwell MMA) via SUBMISSION (STRIKES) RD2 3:06
125 Jay Pressley (Roufusport) def Joey Diehl (Team Curran MMA) via Majority Decision
155 Rick Glenn (Pura Vida MMA, 360 BJJ) def Chris Manuel (American Top Team) via TKO RD3 2:04
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