***Photo Credit to Lisa Jordan (lisaseyeview)***
It was another great night of fights two Fridays ago, at in downtown Boise, Idaho! November 10 saw the 14th edition of Front Street Fights go down at CenturyLink Arena. As always, SBG Idaho was well represented, with five athletes competing, and it was another strong showing from the Tribe! Results are as follows-
Kyle Aslami defeats Rudy Coronado via KO at 2:21 of Round 1
Aslami comes out aggressive, chopping the leg of Coronado with a kick followed by a side kick to the body. Coronado clinches and drags Aslami to the ground with a headlock, but Aslami immediately pops back up to his feet, securing a clinch of his own and presses Coronado against the cage. The two separate and Aslami counters a lazy left with a nice right hook. Aslami uses outstanding head movement and footwork to avoid Coronado’s punches, while landing hard counters of his own. A lazy, looping overhand right from Coronado leaves himself open for a right hook from Aslami that stumbles the Mountain Home fighter against the cage. Aslami swarms with a flurry of punches, Coronado instinctively comes up on a double leg and drives Aslami to the other side of the cage, taking him down, but Aslami pops back up. A scramble ensues, and Coronado hits another headlock takedown. Aslami defends and pops back up again, pressing Coronado back up against the cage, while peppering his opponent with knees to the body. Aslami momentarily separates before landing a huge left hook that sends Coronado face-first into the canvas. Aslami jumps on top of the fallen fighter, but referee Tom Supnet saves Coronado from any further damage at 2:21 of the first round giving Aslami a big win in his MMA debut!
Edgar Sorto defeats Noah Shultz via submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:18 of Round 2
Shultz spends the first half of round chopping the lead leg of Sorto with inside and outside low kicks while using his head movement and footwork to stay out of harm’s way. A body kick is caught by Sorto, who uses the opportunity to clinch with Shultz. Shultz uses the clinch to press Sorto against the cage and secure a takedown. Shultz immediately passes to mount and smothers Sorto, who rolls the SBG fighter over. Shultz uses the opportunity to set up and secure a triangle with 30 seconds left in the round. Edgar fights the submission, but Shultz is persistent, smoothly switching from triangle choke to armbar, keeping Sorto in danger until the round ends. Round 2 starts with both men exchanging punches and Sorto initiating the clinch. Shultz changes levels and takes Sorto back down to the ground. Sorto does a good job using his butterfly hooks to maintain distance and disrupt Shultz’s base to avoid the pass and any damage. As Shultz attempts to pass, Sorto is able to sweep, where he ends up on top in Shultz’s closed guard. Sorto peppers Shultz with punches from the top but leaves himself open to another triangle attempt from the SBG fighter. Shultz continues to beautifully transition from triangle to armbar, however the cage makes it difficult for him to make the adjustments needed to get the finish allowing for Sorto to end up on top of a turtled Shultz, eventually securing both hooks. Sorto peppers Shultz with punches which gives an opportunity to slip an arm in for a rear naked choke. Shultz defends, but eventually taps to the choke at 2:18 of the 2nd Round.
Benjamin Hollier defeats Justin Sims via submission (Rear Naked Choke) at :25 of Round 1
Hollier wastes no time changing levels and securing a double leg takedown at the base of the cage. The Reno fighter attempts to stand, but Hollier transitions to the back immediately, sinking both a rear naked choke and his hooks. Sims tries to defend and gets back to his feet before tapping to the choke at 25 seconds into the first round. A flawless performance from the SBG bantamweight!
Kyle Frost defeats Joe Boerschig via Unanimous Decision
Frost wastes no time jumping in with a right hand and changing levels to secure a body lock takedown on the fighter from Bozeman, Montana. Boerschig defends from half guard, but Frost is eventually able to secure full mount before his opponent turns and immediately gives up his back. Boerschig defends the choke attempts and turns into Frost’s full guard, immediately having to defend an armbar from Frost. A scramble ensues and both men end up back to their feet, but not before Frost eats a big knee coming up. Boerschig lands some punches, but eventually is taken back down to the ground with a trip from Frost. Frost struggles to pass the half guard of the larger, taller fighter but finally succeeds, moving to full mount. Frost peppers his opponent with punches and short elbows, but Boerschig is doing a good job mitigating distance by clinching Frosts head, Frost is finally able to separate and lands two hard elbows. Boerschig gets him back into clinch range from mount bottom, eventually regaining half guard where the two men spend the remainder of the round. Round 2 starts with Frost landing a hard kick to the body of Boerschig and Boerschig retaliates with a few punches of his own. Frost is struggling to find a way inside the reach of his much taller opponent, eating a few punches and knees each time he jumps into range. Frost is finally able to secure a body lock 90 seconds into the round and secures another takedown with a little over 3 minutes left in the round. Frost fights past the half guard and achieves full mount, he lands a few punches that cause Boerschig to turn, briefly giving him a rear naked choke before Boerschig gets his shoulders back to the mat in mount. A late flurry from Frost leads to another rear naked choke opportunity that is cut short by the bell. Both men are visibly tired at the beginning of the third round, a Frost takedown is stuffed by Boerschig who comes back with a combo that backs Frost up before a flying knee attempt from Boerschig allows for Frost to take his opponent back to the ground. Frost smothers Boerschig from the closed guard, while defending a kimura attempt. Frost peppers Boerschig with punches, but the grueling pace has caused both men to slow down, prompting referee Tom Supnet to issue a standup with two minutes remaining. A hard right and a knee to the body from Frost causes Boerschig to attempt a takedown of his own that Frost defends and uses to drag his larger opponent back to the mat into side control with a minute left in the fight. Frost starts to pin Boerschig’s arm with his shin to set up some elbows, before Boerschig regains half guard where he holds on until the final bell. In the end it was Frost picking up the hard fought unanimous decision victory (30-26, 29-27, 20-27) against a tough, game opponent in his professional debut!
Matt Jones defeats Fabio Serrao via Unanimous Decision for the FSF Featherweight Title
The FSF Featherweight title bout starts slow with Jones throwing/landing single kicks to his Brazilian opponent and using his footwork to keep out of countering range. Serrao changes levels and shoots in on Jones, initiating a clinch and pressing Jones against the cage. Serrao works hard to take Jones down while peppering strikes to the head and legs, but Jones does a great job of keeping his balance and posture, causing a stalemate. With two minutes remaining in the round, the referee separates the two men. Jones throws a spinning back kick that misses. Serraro retaliates with an outside leg kick that is checked by Jones who uses his jab to back the Brazilian up against the cage before stepping back to the center. Jones lands a hard kick to the body, then changes levels and dumps Serrao to the ground with a takedown, before stepping back and allowing Serrao to stand as the round ends. Round 2 starts with Jones backing Serrao up with an a wide array of kicks. Serrao charges forward hard with a flurry of punches before changing levels for a double leg that puts Jones on his back a minute into the round. Jones does a good job maintaining a safe guard distance allowing himself some space to get back to his feet against the cage. Jones is able to create some separation for a few knees that allow him to reverse the position and place Serrao against the cage. Jones attempts a spinning elbow before separating. Jones stays active with his jab and kicks, keeping Serrao at distance until a looping overhand from Serrao finds its mark, followed by a knee and another right from the Brazilian fighter. Jones regains his composure and attempts a jumping knee before pressing his opponent against the cage. Referee Tom Supnet separates the two fighters with a minute left in round 2. Jones looks for a single leg against the cage before attempting another spinning elbow and Serrao comes back landing some hard punches of his own. Jones covers and uses his footwork to get to safety. Jones lands a hard straight right of his own before clinching with Serrao to end the round. Jones spends the opening minute of round 3 pawing with his jab, using it to find range and a home for a low kick that lands and a few wild strikes that miss the mark before closing distance and using the clinch to push his opponent up against the cage. Jones is using great control to keep Serrao there, but referee Tom Supnet separates the two again to push action. Jones lands a spinning back kick that sends Serrao back to the cage. A single leg takedown from Jones is defended by Serrao. Jones changes levels and looks for a double leg that Serrao defends, pushing Jones against against the cage to look for a takedown of his own. Serrao exits the clinch behind punches before both men return to the center of the FSF cage. Jones comes in with another spinning elbow that grazes the Brazilian fighter, causing him to back away. Jones throws a kicks that Serrao catches, taking Jones to the ground. Jones does a great job of using his closed guard to stay safe until the round ends. The championship rounds start with Jones again pawing with the jab to set up two hard outside leg kicks. Serrao misses a stumbling overhand right that Jones avoids with ease. Jones continues to chop away at the legs of Serrao, causing the Brazilian to shoot for a telegraphed takedown, which Jones defends easily. Serrao persists, pressing Jones against the cage. Jones reverses and keeps Serrao controlled until Supnet separates them again. Jones keeps the Brazilian at a distance with hard potshots until the end of the round. The 5th round continues where the 4th left off. Jones does a great job of perplexing Serrao with his footwork, while landing hard single strikes including a hard spinning back kick to the body. Halfway through the round Jones is able to secure another strong takedown. On the ground Jones does a great job of neutralizing the guard of the BJJ Black Belt, while landing a few punches from the top. A frustrated Serrao tries to goad Jones into jumping further into his guard, but Jones retains his composure and stays the course staying on top while landing punches until the final bell. A great show of skill from “The Stripling Warrior”, paying off in a unanimous decision victory (50-44, 50-45, 49-46) and the Front Street Fights Featherweight title!
