Friday Night Fights – Recap

Friday Night Fights held their second show of the year at the Ball Street Ballroom this past Friday. Many of the best WKA judges refereed the bouts, with thirteen action-packed fights on the card filling the venue with excited fans. Fighters came as far as Florida, leaving behind their sunny weather for a chance to fight for glory in the cold New York wind. As always, the event ran smoothly and on time, with three spectacular knockouts and many seat-gripping fights. New York Fighting was in house, with photographer Josh Brandenburg (@drinkandsmilenow) capturing the action and Pari Aryafar (@pariunderthesea) ringside and reporting. Full results listed below.

Bout 1:

160 lbs 

Tai Pierce–Tiger Schulmann’s (2-0) vs. TJ Ryan–Gleason’s Gym (1-1)

Heated first bout, at the end of 3rd round Ryan corned Pierce with a flurry of punches. Despite a lot of back and forth, Pierce took the Win by Unanimous Decision.

Bout 2:

127 lbs

Pedro Saldana–Coban Muay Thai (0-2) vs. Briseno “Santi” Santiago–Westchester Fight Club (2-0)

Santi came with a head kick early in the first round and dominated fight from there. Low kicks were a prominent part of the fight, which Saldana was able to sweep Santiago with in R 3. Santiago took the W with Majority Decision. 

Bout 3:

135 lbs

Danny “Danny Boy” Ramirez–Tiger Schulmann’s (4-1) vs. Van Lopez–Tampa Muay Thai (4-5)

Danny got several head kicks in the bout, but also impressively managed to place and alternate in head punches and body shots. He knocked Van down in the beginning of the 3rd round, and deservedly took home the Unanimous Decision.

Bout 4:

125 lbs

Andrea Paloian–Church Street Boxing (1-0) vs. Meg Hall–Extreme Lacosta (0-2)

An impressive ammy debut for Paloian. She dominated the ring craft of the fight and kept Hall moving. Hall utilized her height advantage and was able to sneak in many jabs, but Paloian used her footwork to press forward and eventually corner Hall to strike her numerous times at the end of R 2 and in most of R 3. Paloian took a Unanimous Decision, leaving her opponent with a bloodied nose.

Bout 5:

125 lbs

Danielle Rind–Renzo Gracie Academy (4-3) vs. Grace Aveen–ITC Training Center (4-2)

Much of the first round consisted of a rough back and forth clinch, and a few elbows that didn’t land completely. Rind managed to sweep and head kick Aveen early in R 2, as well as dump her two more times. Aveen returned the sweep in R 3, but swept again shortly after. After some time off, Rind proved she’s here to stay with a Unanimous Decision.

Bout 6:

144 lbs

Frank Estrella–Estevez Muay Thai (2-0) vs. Frank Aguilar–Extreme Lacosta (1-2)

Estrella dropped Aguilar several times early on in the out, but Aguilar was able to sweep him back. The men showed they were not here to play with their aggressive back and forth countering. It was a strange fight with the men falling on top of each other, but Estrella’s heavy kneeing and crosses at the end of R 3, almost knocking Aguilar out, secured his win by Unanimous Decision.

Bout 7:

144 lbs

Michael Gosiewski–Church Street Boxing (0-3) vs. Bart Tabaszewski–Physical Culture Collective (1-0)

Gosiewski appeared very nervous but managed to control the ring craft as Tabaszeswki utilized his length to counter. Despite Gosiewski’s strong first round, Tabaszeswki came back strong in R 2, giving his opponent a bloody nose. In a shocking turn of events, Tabaszeswki knocked out Gosiewski early in the third round, winning his first fight in spectacular fashion.

Bout 8:

125 lbs

Jennifer O’ Leary–Estevez Muay Thai (2-1) vs. Carmen Corchado–King’s Thai Boxing (4-0)

The bout started off with a lot of action as Corchado threw several combinations to put 

O’Leary in a corner. O’Leary worked to keep her at distance by teeping but Corchado came in quickly for a clinch. Corchado’ dominance was apparent throughout the fight, as she continuously set up her strikes for maximum efficiency and impressive sweeps in R 3. She took home another Unanimous win, perfecting her record to 4-0.

Bout 9:

147 lbs

Justin “The Moose” Muslija–Tiger Schulmann’s  (8-2) vs. Yorrick “Yo Rock” Anderson–Class One MMA (4-0-1)

Muslija tagged Anderson early in the fight with some powerful shots, leaving Anderson with red marks on his face. Anderson countered by using his length to get a few highly coveted head kicks. However, every time Anderson attempted to close the distance, Muslija would slip in his punches. Anderson came back strong in R 3 with head kicks, taking the win via Split Decision.

Bout 10:

105 lbs

Michelle “Guam Bomb” Diaz–Renzo Gracie Academy (6-1) vs. Layal Shafee–Tampa Muay Thai (17-8)

Diaz dominated the first round, with a strong clinch game and the ability to move Shafee around the canvas. R 2 had Diaz dumping Shafee to the ground, but Shafee countered by catching her kicks and sweeping. Diaz put her elbows on display in R 3 as Shafee pulled her into clinch. Despite an extreme difference in the amount of fights, Diaz took home her 6th win by a Split Decision.

Bout 11:

183 lbs

WKA Amateur Light Heavyweight Title

Ariel “El Asesino” Abreu–Camp Undefeated (14-4) vs. Tim “Lo Life” Lo–Sherwood Parks (23-3)

Lo took the beginning of the first round to find his distance, hitting Abreu with several hard body kicks. Towards the end of R 1, Lo kicked Abreu square in the jaw, effectively knocking him to the ground and knocking his opponent out. Within a matter of seconds, “Lo Life” takes him the WKA Light Heavyweight belt.

Bout 12:

165 lbs–Pro

Gaius Ebratt–5 Points Academy (3-1) vs. Michael “The Scotch Cowboy” Stevens–Tampa Muay Thai (9-7)

The two men jumped in immediately to clinch, but “The Scotch Cowboy” came in with an elbow and knocked Ebratt to the ground. Ebratt still managed to pull himself up, despite being wobbly and stumbling around, but judges declared it a knockout win for Stevens. At one minute and one second of the first round, Stevens hands Ebratt his very first loss.

Bout 13:

160 lbs–Pro

Chris “The Black Panther” Lukusa–Anderson’s Martial Arts (13-2-1) vs. Elvis “Super” Gashi–Westchester Fight Club (18-0)

Gashi knocked Lukasa down in the first round, as both men threw powerful shots at one another. Lukusa countered Gashi’s powerful head kicks with his own crosses, but would shell up instead of parrying when Gashi retaliated with jabs. The two would get messily entangled during their clinch, finding that fighting at a farther distance served both of them better. Gashi opened R 3 with a powerful head kick, prompting Lukusa to press forward with his strikes. With three hard-fought rounds behind him, Gashi improves his perfect record to 18 wins.