Vigilant MMA CQ14 Brings on the 4th of July with a Bang, Fists and Kicks

By on July 10, 2021
Photo- Jordan Raiff

          Sure fireworks, hotdogs, and the pool are great things to do for the 4th of July holiday. Yet we often overlook the violence and standing up saying “I’m better thank you” that came with the 4th of July. Well not Vigilant MMA!! Combat Quest 14 took place in Plant City at the KO Addiction center, and the entire card was stacked with action, entertainment, and title fights!! Featuring 5 prelim fights, and 9 on the main card, this was a great way to get ready for the 4th!!!

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Kicking off the prelim card, Jamerson Aguirre took on Jonathan Urbina in a 135lb MMA bout. This was a predominantly ground based match, as both fighters battled for control and position. Ultimately Aguirre was able to win via rear naked choke in the 2nd second round. Winner: Jamerson Aguirre by submission (rear naked choke) Round 2.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

      Up second in 165lb kick boxing was Jaxson Barlow taking on Jayden Brierton. What made this contest incredibly interesting was the age disparity between these fighters. Barlow is 22 and Bierton was 15 years old. It takes some serious stones to step in the cage with someone who is 150% of your age, especially in kick boxing.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

       From the opening bell these two traded kicks to the midsection and thighs as well as some stiff but slightly off-balance fists. Brierton displayed incredible tenacity, as a few shots in the first round looked to end this early. With excellent guys in his corner, this young man hung in there and pushed through the pain while fighting back with vigor nit often seen at his age. Unfortunately, he was caught with a swift head kick in the second round and Barlow was able to take the win by TKO. Winner: Jaxson Barlow by TKO (head kick) Round 2.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Going back to MMA in the 155lb division for the third bout, Jamal Bailey faced off with Frank Rosa in one of the fastest paced fights of the night. At the sound of the bell Bailey launched at Rosa at a full sprint. This forced Rosa to the ground where Bailey was able to find a nearly instant guillotine choke. Somehow Rosa was able to hold off tapping and get out of this hold cleanly.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Despite his battle, Bailey got into a full mount and just rained down bombs. As Rosa struggled to hold on, he rolled to his back and attempted to take the fight back to their feet. Bailey found an opening and sunk in a TIGHT standing rear naked choke to get the victory. Quite possibly one of the best transitions I’ve seen in MMA, and my hat is off to Bailey for finishing this fight so dominantly in the first round. Winner: Jamal Bailey by submission (rear naked choke) Round 1.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

            The fourth fight of the prelims matched Tyler Foster and Mike Delgado in 155lb MMA. Coming out strong, Delgado was able to match some vicious leg kicks with flying fists and devastating take down slams. Once Foster was grounded, he found himself susceptible to the ground and pound of Delgado. Even though Delgado was on the attack, Foster found some terrific defense and was able to get through the round cleanly.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            In the start of the second round Foster came out of his corner with a new game plan, and was able to sink in a guillotine choke, and looked to end the fight. Delgado remained patient, kept his chin down, and was able to keep Foster from fully locking the hold. As a part of this defense Delgado found himself in the mount and was able to rain down more fists before landing a solid arm bar submission to win the bout. Winner: Mike Delgado by submission (arm bar) Round 2.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

            As an intermission special event, the crowd was treated to a solid 20-minute set from local hip-hop artist Jermun. With a rapid flow and solid beats, his message was delivered loud and clear to the crowd and received solid praise from those who caught his piece.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            The final prelim fight was something I had yet to see in person; two 12-year-old 72lb kick boxing kids. Nadir Shalaby took on Sauter Sciuto in a fierce battle. As these two came out and squared up, they sized each other up fiercely and intently. Sciuto attacked quickly with well-placed kicks and punches. However, Shalaby was able to counter with his own shots, and some devastating slamming take downs. As the first round ended, Sciuto found himself taking a bit longer to recover but he pushed on.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

            In the second round Sciuto started out with a change in plans but went back to his original fight style as this change found him being taken down again quickly. Shalaby found his stride and finished the round strong with a vicious kick to the ribs that looked to stop Sciuto, but he again fought through the pain.

Photo-Jordan Raiff

            The final round was more of the same; trading shots with Shalaby scoring more take downs in a devastating fashion. One of his final take downs looked to put Sciuto directly on his head, and quite honestly, I was worried he had done some serious damage to himself, but he got back up and shook it off. I’ve seen grown men get taken down softer than he was and quit; suffice to say ‘quit’ is not in either of these young men’s vocabulary. As they went to the cards Shalaby took the win by unanimous decision, with both fighters and corners showing great respect to one another. Winner: Nadir Shalaby by unanimous decision.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Moving forward to the main card, Brendan Meldrum and Kevin Francis faced off in 170lb MMA. These two started off their contest in a more targeted manner as they sized one another up. Trading jabs and leg kicks, the experience and expertise from both competitors was on full display. At the end of the round there were some great punches, take down attempts, and choke holds.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

            The second round was largely the same as the first with both fighters making even advances on one another. It’s rare to have a truly even round, and this round delivered exactly that.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Round three was a whole other animal. Francis was able to land an amazing slam that looked to have winded Meldrum severely. Due to his presence of mind Francis was able to transition this into a guillotine choke and looked to have the bout won, however as Meldrum battled out these two warriors remained on the ground. Shortly before the bell Francis found himself trying to hold out in a deep arm bar, and he was able to do so successfully. As the cards were read, Meldrum found himself the winner by split decision, and quite honestly from my perspective it could have gone either way. Winner: Brendan Meldrum by split decision.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Up second on the main card Brad Bordwell took on Emmitt Rigby in 185lb boxing. Almost right out of the gate Bordwell found himself on the mat from a stiff liver shot. Taking the seven count, he got his feet back under him and battled back with strong defense and intelligent footwork to escape the round.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            The second round found Rigby making small adjustments and setting up a vicious left uppercut-right overhand combination to send Bordwell to the canvas where he found himself unable to continue, thus giving Ribgy the TKO victory. Winner: Emmitt Rigby TKO Round 2.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Tiegen Holmes and Dakota Trice squared up in the 155lb MMA for the third fight. While they seemed evenly matched for the first 20 seconds, Trice quickly picked apart Holmes and caught him with an incredibly solid right hook to send him to the canvas. Holmes was unable to find his feet thus giving Trice a decisive and impactful win by TKO. If anything, Trice was putting everyone in the 155lb division on notice; he wants that title. Winner: Dakota Trice TKO Round 1.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Quickly following up was Aldo Dominguez battling Winston Ward in 160lb kick boxing in the fourth bout. Each man came out swinging, Dominguez with the legs, Ward with the fists. Through the first two rounds Dominguez was throwing more shots, with Ward taking more targeted shots. This onslaught of shots sent Ward’s cup flying out of his trunks and on to the mat. Somehow with help of his corner, Ward was able to get everything back in place. This can be hard enough to do in MMA gloves, let alone while wearing boxing gloves.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            As the fight progressed Dominguez was able to take down Ward a few times with some missteps on both parts, and racked up more and more points. Ward had been increasing his shots and making more of a mark, but not enough to do it. Dominguez had thrown more than enough shots to earn the unanimous decision, despite neither fighter exiting the cage too worse for the wear. Winner: Aldo Dominguez by unanimous decision.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Going back the 185lb division, this time in MMA Chris Torres took on Justin Dorsey for bout number five. With fast and well-aimed punches Torres came out looking to back Dorsey into the cage, and he found success getting in there. Unfortunately, Dorsey knew exactly what he was looking for and found a quick slip of the arm while grappling with Torres on their feet. This resulted in a solid and quick guillotine choke that left Torres with no choice besides to tap out. Dorsey had scored one of the best examples of this submission on the entire card. Winner: Justin Dorsey by submission (guillotine choke) Round 1.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            After that submission it was time for another musical act. This time Von Really grabbed the mic to entertain the crowd. His Tampa beats and rhythm was linking up with a solid amount of the crowd as he performed a nearly non-stop 25-minute set. The energy as he left the cage was palpable.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Fight number six featured Malik Battle facing Markevian Williams for the 125lb MMA title. As these two battled in the first round, the action remained largely on their feet. With the relatively even striking abilities, this was shaping up to be a great contest for the fighters and the crowd. The biggest thing that stuck out in this round was the solidity of Williams’ kicks. You could hear the pads slap as they found their mark.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

            The second round featured more takedowns, with Battle squeezing with all his might to hold on to and tire Williams as he scrambled for the wall of the cage. Finding it, Williams was able to get back to his feet, and score a takedown of his own. Turning over and now in the full guard, Williams was able to largely keep Battle’s head pinned to his chest and make him force the fight back up as the round ended.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            At the start of the third round Williams emerged from his corner looking completely refreshed and unleashing a barrage of strikes on Battle. While Battle was able to keep his feet under him, his strikes in response were not quite finding their mark. Williams blocked and slugged Battle against the cage, uncorking more and more punches until the ref had seen enough and declared the fight over by TKO. Williams letting out a victorious roar as he walked away victorious, before giving thanks above. Winner: Markevian Williams by TKO Round 3.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            The featured bout of the evening was bout seven for the 155lb MMA title between Jose Gallegos and Tyler Keating. Springing into action, both fighters came out swinging, with Gallegos dominating the first 2.5 minutes of the first round. With both fighters trading positions, the biggest moment of the round was when Keating was stacked up and fending off strikes from Gallegos one after the other.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Round two featured Keating mounting a larger ground attack with various fits of ground and pound with mixed in hammer fists. Gallegos showed expertise beyond his recorded experience by defending against them and avoiding significant damage. Even when locked in to laying on his belly, Gallegos found a way to fight out and keep moving forward.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Round three was a massive take down and submission battle. With Gallegos going for the guillotine choke, and Keating just missing a strong side kimura lock (among others) these two were putting on a showcase. Battling back towards their feet before Gallegos stacked up Keating to rain down more fists as the fight’s time ticked down to 0:00. With three very close rounds this decision would largely come down to what was most important to the judges, and Gallegos showed two thirds of them what they wanted to see to win the title. Winner: Jose Gallegos by split decision.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            The co-main event would be for the 170lb MMA title between Robert Batey and Marcellus Wallace. Wallace came out swinging and sent Batey crashing to the mat quickly and holding his head. It wasn’t certain if he was doing it for protection or due to injury. Showing no give, Wallace pressured in and fired down shots for a short time, until Batey was able to hook his legs and put him down. This resulted in a battle for leg and ankle lock positions for submission. As the two combatants wrestled around, Wallace found a strong angle lock, forcing Batey to submit. While a quicker co-main event, this was one solid contest. Winner: Marcellus Wallace by submission (ankle lock) Round 1.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Featuring the 145lb MMA title on the line, this was a great main event on paper and boy did it deliver. With Sam Kilmer taking on Adam Amado, these guys showed up ready to mix it up. Quickly moving in on one another, Kilmer was able to slip on a rear naked choke while mounting Amado’s back and slipping his half hooks in and out. As the two men took to their corners, there was a lot left to go.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Round two started off with a strong stand-up brawl, until Amado caught Kilmer’s ankle and sent him crashing to the mat. Holding a brief mount, Amado found himself throwing fists that weren’t phasing Kilmer at all. As Kilmer found holes, he looked to work Amado around and briefly found himself in a headlock before taking over in the mount again. With the round coming to an end Kilmer was confidently in control and keeping Amado down.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            Third and final rounds can always be tricky, and this one was trickier than most. As Kilmer pinned Amado to the fence, the power to the building went out. As the ref attempted to separate the fighters in the darkness, fans did their best to illuminate the ring by cell phone light. With chants of ‘let them fight’ rang out, Amado and Kilmer took advantage of the extra time to catch their breath despite coaches not being able to enter the ring. After 3 minutes or so the lights were back on, and the ref put them back in position from where the power failed. Kilmer was able to plan more during this time, and quickly battled Amado down to the ground. With Amado attempting to keep Kilmer from sliding up, he found himself backing his head into the fence. This new stopping point gave Kilmer an advantage to work Amado over and to take his back once again. As he swung his fists down and in, they repeatedly found their mark, thus leaving Amado nothing left to do but defend himself intelligently and wait for the bell. As the cards were passed in, fans were chanting for Kilmer, who took the win by unanimous decision. This was a solid fight, and both men gave their all. Winner: Sam Kilmer by unanimous decision.

Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff
Photo- Jordan Raiff

            As always Vigilant MMA had an action-packed card, and if you weren’t there or catching it on Fite TV you are really missing out. They’ll be back in action for September 11th, and the location will be announced soon on their Instagram @vigilant_mma. This organization is one of the best I’ve covered. The fights are always action packed, the card doesn’t get stale, and the production is top notch.

Photo- Jordan Raiff

Categories: Boxing, Featured, Other Sports, Sports
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