Fury Fighting Championships returned to the Humble Civic Center for Fury FC 9. The 14 fight card had 15 bouts, which featured 10 pro bouts and 4 amateur bouts.
Two amateur heavyweights kicked the night off. Fred Zamora faced the debuting Logan Eckert, and it didn’t last long. Eckert landed a clean right cross to drop Zamora, and then rained down heavy strikes to finish the fight by TKO in the first round. Next was Mike Trevino against Matthew Morris. Morris controlled the first round with takedowns, but by the second round both guys showed fatigue. Trevino was able to tough it out and pour it on Morris, eventually getting the second round TKO.
The third bout was supposed to be Aaron Valdes and Dequette Reed, but Valdes failed to make weight, missing by three pounds. With Valdes unable to cut more weight, Reed declined the fight.
Next up, Johnny Lovings faced Jordan Chesser. Both fighters were looking to gain dominant position with their grappling skills, but it was Lovings who controlled the fight by stay on top and landing hard strikes. Chesser attempted a couple of triangles from his back, but was never able to lock them in. Lovings would go on to win a split decision. The last fight of the amateurs was Timothy Messer against Josh Altum. Messer took Altum down and landed clean strikes from the top position, but Altum locked in a triangle and put Messer to sleep in the first round.
The first pro bout was former Garcia Promotions Lightweight Champion, Leroy Vasquez, making his pro debut against Tank Gonzales. Vasquez walked Tank down, was able to get the takedown, and locked in the rear-naked choke in the first round once Tank gave up his back. Another fighter was successful in his pro debut when Jake Heffernan took on Adonis Saucedo. Saucedo was able to escape several submission attempts in the first round, but Heffernan was finally able to lock in the rear-naked choke in the second.
Nick Gay took on David Armas in his pro debut, and there were a lot of suplexes. Gay was able to control the fight by staying glued to Armas’ back, constantly looking for chokes. Armas spent the entire fight trying to shake Gay off, whether it was on the ground or on the feet. Gay went on to earn the decision. Following that was Arthur Ashton and Josh Wilson. Wilson displayed his technical striking early on, but Ashton was able to land a knee to the sternum that hurt Wilson and put him on the canvas. After a few hard strikes, the ref stepped in to call the fight in the first round.
Next was Gerzan Chau taking on Jose Ceja. Both went back and forth landing solid strikes, but it was Ceja who was able to connect with the hard punches. Chau constantly looked for the takedown, but Ceja was able to defend, and also able to land some of his on. Ceja would get the decision, but suffered a deep laceration on top of his head for his trouble. The following fight was a heavyweight matchup that didn’t last long. Juan Torres came out confident and even taunting Gary Harling early on. Torres secured a takedown that Harling was unable to get up from, and landing strikes that he was unable to defend. The ref would stop the fight in the first round.
The Fight of the Night was between Cameron Graves and Delis Borges. The fight stayed on the feet the entire time, Graves the patient counter puncher, while Borges the aggressive power puncher. Borges threw, and landed, several spinning attacks throughout the fight, but Graves’ patience is what helped him stay composed and picking shots. Graves would earn the decision.
Levi West was looking to earn his first win as a professional against the veteran Jon Kirk, but once again came up short. West came out using his wrestling and grappling to dictate the pace of the fight, but Kirk’s experience helped him survive some close calls. West was able to land some hard shots in the second round while Kirk’s hands were low, but made a mistake when looking for the takedown. With his neck exposed, Kirk was able to sink in a guillotine choke and get the tap.
The co-main event ended in devastating fashion, where it may have been a better decision for Sam Mohammed to no-show his fight against Ike Villanueva, than to take the L the way he did. “Hurricane” Ike landed a right hand that put Mohammed out cold for several minutes early in the first round.
The main event between Ricky Turcios and Akira Smith had many high points. Smith was able to show his striking display early on, but it was Turcious who was able to control the fight with his wrestling. Smith was able to defend the takedown early on, but after suffering a broken arm in the first round, it was tough for him to defend later on in the fight. Turcious attempted several submissions, but Smith was able to escape. Turcious would go on to win the fight by decision.
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