Tag: Tampa Gold Club

Vigilant MMA crossed the bridge to bring their unique blend of boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing, and MMA to Pinellas County. Held at Banquet Masters on 49^th St. in Clearwater, FL this was a relatively stacked card, especially given how many people stepped up on short notice to take these fights. Bringing in some of the best amateur fighters in the country, their shows never fail to disappoint.

Boxing had its only appearance on the card for the opening bout. With Joe Boroff and Keith Hart Jr. coming to the cage for 160lb action, it was a solid bout. While Hart certainly looked to have the advantage in both experience and size, Boroff was no slouch. Both fighters traded solid shots over the first two rounds, with Boroff gaining a sizable strike advantage.

The final round featured a shift from both fighters. As Hart pushed further towards an aggressive strategy, Boroff started counterpunching more, giving him a distinct advantage on the inside. The judges and the fans saw a clear-cut victory coming for him, but Hart wouldn’t give up even when pressed into the cage. Going to the cards, Boroff was able to take the decision cleanly.  Winner: Unanimous by Decision

Ike Yousef and Joseph Musse stepped into the cage next in 125lb MMA. In an absolute slugfest, Musse found himself battling out of submission holds and used that aggression to set a dominant tone for the entire first round. Despite his aggression, Yousef wouldn’t stay down or give him enough to build on.

In round two Musse kept that aggression that saw him firing off more shots, but Yousef wasn’t giving an inch either. While they returned to the ground a few times, Musse kept the fight progressing no matter where he found himself. It was surprising not to see Yousef busted open before the end of the round.   

The final round was an absolute barnburner. Both fighters pushed the envelope and pushed for the win. No matter what the other was striking with, there was a stellar counter waiting to get launched. Yousef seemed to settle into a solid rhythm and at one point looked like he could end the fight early in the round, but Musse had that something extra that kept him going. It was more than enough too, as he was able to take the decision in a hard-hitting contest. Winner: Musse by Split Decision

Hopping over to youth MTKB, the 127lb division saw Dillon Rivero and Matthew Thomas squaring off. This being Dillon’s first time in the MTKB division, he was anxious to get in there and make his debut. Hunger like this often leads to mistakes, but he was incredibly resilient in his attacks and listened to his corner well.

The second round saw Thomas trying to mount a stronger offense. While his strikes were consistently increasing, they didn’t find their mark quite as well as in the first round. He had a tremendous setup with the right high kick, but Rivero was able to counter or slip the full strength of the shot time after time. As the round wore on, you could clearly see the exhaustion on both fighters’ faces.

Final rounds are where two things consistently happen. The striking is stepped up, and neither corner wants to leave the end up to the judges, so they try whatever they can to get a clear win in the books. For Thomas, this meant taking any opening he could find to try and fire a shot off. Considering how gassed the young man already was, this meant slower shots and more of an opportunity for Rivera to counter and point. This secured the decision for Rivero quite easily. Upon announcing his decision, he and his parents were honored in memory of his brother Jordan who recently passed.  Winner: Rivero by Unanimous Decision

Khalil McKinnie and Danny Lowe rounded out the early card in 175lb MMA. Opening up with a slow-motion flying kick, Lowe missed his mark dearly. As if channeling his inner Rick James, McKinnie slammed Lowe to the canvas with “F*ck yo couch” fury. Landing shot after shot, and moving Lowe quickly into position, McKinnie was able to secure a quick Rear Naked Choke for the win in the opening round. Winner: McKinnie by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Opening up the main card, Ross Parker and Blake Menard squared off in 160lb MMA. With ruthless aggression, Menard used his compact size to work his way inside, and quickly take the fight to the ground. Even though he was in the mount, Parker found a way to slip and get Menard’s arm under control and looked for a submission. The strength of Menard kept him from tapping and getting out of the round despite Parker even getting a guillotine choke in briefly.

Round two opened up with Parker looking to use his reach more to his advantage but missing the mark a few times. Menard forced it back to the ground yet again and seemed to have a great advantage as Parker was forced to look for multiple submissions from the guard. He nearly had a triangle locked in, but Menard was able to posture up enough to keep it from locking in fully.

The final round saw both fighters looking to land some amazing shots, and Menard got them numerous times before they ended up back on the mat. Battling more decisively, Menard kept Parker on the defensive nearly the entire round. With Parker in a position to be submitted numerous times, Menard looked like he was about to take the win at a few different points. To his credit, parker pushed his way out and nearly had the submission by guillotine choke at the end of the round, but the bell rang before he finalized it. Menard had done enough to take a close but unanimous decision in his favor. Winner: Menard by Unanimous Decision

Sameer Abedrabbo and David Pierluissi squared up in a rematch from CQ20 in 125lb MMA. While the opening round featured some drops to the canvas, both fighters seemed determined to use some excellent standup offense to wear down their opponent. Pierluissi seemed more prepared to eat some slightly off-target shots in order to land the stiffer strikes.

Round two brought out more ground attacks, with Abedrabbo defending himself adequately and mounting a more aggressive offense when given the opportunity. The defense of Pierluissi was nothing less than outstanding yet again. The takedowns and strike trades were far cleaner than their experience would suggest.

The final round was all Pierluissi. No matter what Abedrabbo did, a counter or cleaner shot was coming at him. This attack ended up on the ground yet again, with Pierluissi looking for the victory by TKO or submission, but Abedrabbo kept a relatively solid defense and was able to prevent any real submission holds. The overwhelming offense from Pierluissi gave him the unanimous decision. Winner: Pierluissi by Unanimous Decision

In the featured bout and end of MTKB for the night, Jaydan Rivero and Collin Walker squared off in the 137lb youth division.  Coming out it was like watching someone fight a mirror as these two opened trading nearly identical strikes. While none of them were landed solidly enough to drop their opponent, they were solidly targeted, especially at their age.

The second round showed Walker settling down and taking advantage of the bit of nerves that seemed to be plaguing Rivero. Granted with each strike, Rivero was timing his opponent better, and eating them like they weren’t anything more than marshmallows. These strikes led to more lockups and grounding each opponent. Walker continued to look solid as his volume was far exceeding his targeting and timing.

The final round brought out a faster and more vicious attack from Rivero. He was attacking Walker with a ferocity that quickly found Walker against the cage, and Rivero looked like he was ready to end the fight quickly. To his credit, Walker battled his way out of the corner and struck back even harder. Going all out for the final 10-seconds, Walker was able to stitch up the unanimous decision.   Winner: Walker by Unanimous Decision

In the co-main Gabe Piria and Argenis Castro for the 135lb MMA title. Castro came out firing some calculated strikes. With picture-perfect accuracy with his fists, it looked like Piria could be done for very quickly. His counterattacks and strong chin kept him in the fight and able to run some solid opposition before the round ended.

Piria’s offense during the second round was more pinpointed and direct than in the opening round. Looking to establish the tempo, he seemed to catch Castro off guard, and force him to circle in a tempo he just wasn’t comfortable with. Despite this, Castro was able to get Piria to change up his style with some fierce overhand rights that put him into the fence.

Final rounds are where you get to see what a fighter is really made of. For Piria, that’s an iron jaw and fast legs that kept him upright more than once. For everything Castro fired off, Piria was taking it and moving forward. By advancing with more vigor, Piria was able to get the judges on his side, and he took a split decision that easily could have gone either way.  Winner: Piria by Split Decision

In the main event, Nick Weaver and Morquez Forest battled it out for the 170lb MMA title. While duking it out, Weaver quickly got the fight to the ground, and he seemed to thrive while working from the guard. As these two warriors wrestled around, Weaver got a beautiful toe hold locked in, but Forest was able to escape the hold and the round.

Forest was not going to let this happen again. From the get-go, he came out and got Weaver to the ground with a brutal attack. Forcing Weaver into a defensive posture he couldn’t do much but block from, Forest was able to dominate him directly and with a rough attack. To his credit, Weaver kept trying to reach for the foot, but Forest was unwilling to give the leg, and instead mounted his back and rained down blows until the ref was forced to step in and call the fight. Winner: Forest by TKO at 2:35 of Round 2

Vigilant MMA will be returning on October 22^nd at the Tampa Gold Club on Adamo Drive!!! CQ 23 promises to bring another action-filled, and violent event. You will not regret coming to see the future stars of combat sports today!! You can find tickets and PPV information on social media @vigilant_mma, their website at www.vigilantmma.com, and don’t forget to check out their channel on Roku!!!