Dan Bobish’s “Ultimate Cage Battles” returned to Parma, Ohio last night for a stacked night of fights, and “Bombs Away” did not disappoint on any front, with 11 of 13 bouts on the night ending without the help of the judges, including six fantastic knockouts.
In the night’s main event, Northeast Ohio’s own Matt Masterson (9-3) continued his meteoric rise of 2011, earning a hard-fought unanimous decision over Team Vision MMA product Marcus Finch (4-4-1). Masterson earned his third victory of the year, blasting the iron-chinned Finch with shot after shot and nearly locking in multiple submissions.
The co-main event featured the UCB return of Marcus “Iron Dragon” Reynolds (8-7), who discharged a right hand on Evolve MMA product Brandon Ezzo (5-5) that put him on Queer Street, and finishing touches from Reynolds gave him the impressive knockout. After the bout, Reynolds called out Bellator middleweight Brian Rogers for a rematch of their 2010 bout, but after Rogers politely explained to him that he was signed to an exclusive contract, Reynolds settled for a highly intriguing matchup with Rogers’ former teammate Masterson, a bout that will take place in September.
The inaugural UCB world featherweight title tournament kicked off on the night, and Justin “The Hawk” Steave (1-0) and Josh “El Cabron” Tyler (3-0) set up a date for September as well, as both earned impressive submission victories over very game opponents. Steave made a successful pro debut after 17 amateur bouts, using impressive technical striking and an adept ground game to put away the ultra-tough Chase “The Nerd” Piatt (1-1). Tyler handed late replacement Andrew Carrillo (5-1) the first loss of an 11-fight pro and amateur MMA career, breaking his will with a devastating body shot midway through round one that eventually turned the bout in his favor. The Yamasaki Academy product and former Division I wrestler earned his most impressive professional victory with powerful striking and a high level ground game.
Ultimate Cage Battles will return to Parma, Ohio on September 24 with another world-class mixed martial arts event.
Full results:
Amateur Bouts:
Yousef Abdel-Salam (1-0) defeated Phil Hurt (1-2) by 1st rd. TKO
Edwin Taylor (1-0) defeated Aubrey McDaniel (0-1) by 1st rd. TKO
Jesse Plotner (1-0) defeated Sam Torres (0-2) by 1st rd. Submission
Jeff Smith (2-0) defeated Chris Papp (1-3) by 2nd rd. TKO
Maurice Page (2-1) defeated Jeffrey Reynolds (0-2) by 2nd rd. TKO
Mark MacDonald (4-3) defeated Dru Schottenheimer (5-4-1) by 2nd rd. TKO
Phil Masterson (1-0) defeated Jeremy Maguire (0-1) by 2nd rd. TKO
Brandon Seylor (4-1) defeated Ronnie Jordan (3-1) by Unanimous Decision
Andrew Law (7-2) defeated Alvin Worells (5-2) by 1st rd. Submission
Pro Bouts:
Justin Steave (1-0) defeated Chase Piatt (1-1) by 2nd rd. Submission
Josh Tyler (3-0) defeated Andrew Carrillo (5-1) 3rd rd. Submission
Marcus Reynolds (8-7) defeated Brandon Ezzo (5-5) by 1st rd. KO
Matt Masterson (9-3) defeated Marcus Finch (4-4-1) by Unanimous Decision