Triton Fights 1: Recap

On Friday night, February 24, the newly-formed Triton Fights promotion marked its debut event with a successful card featuring up-and-coming amateur MMA talent from NYC and Long Island. Fans packed The Space in suburban Westbury, Long Island, NY and were treated to some impressive finishes, and back-and-forth main card action, as well as a number of inaugural title fights.

The main event featured John Gotti, representing Panza MMA, taking a unanimous decision victory over Soca BJJ black belt Anthony Wolters. The electric atmosphere in the crowd signaled that this was the fight cans came to see, with both fighters having a contingent of fans, though Gotti’s supporters could better be described as a legion that filled more than half of the venue. The first round started out competitive, with the Hicksville native Wolters landing solid leg kicks, both fighters battling evenly along the cage in the clinch, and Gotti scoring a takedown and top control to finish the round.

The second and third rounds were less competitive, as Gotti, who looked to be the bigger and stronger fighter, showed superior wrestling and scored early with takedowns in both frames. Wolters tried to move his hips in search of a submission or sweep but was unsuccessful, as Gotti scored with groud and pound to the body, and occasional bursts to the head, which left little question as to the judges’ decision. Gotti improved his record to 5-1 and said in his post-fight interview that he wanted to prove that he could handle a black belt on the ground. He claimed Triton’s Welterweight title in the process.

In a highly anticipated women’s Strawweight bout, Olympic boxer Jennifer Dugwen was unsuccessful in her MMA debut against Queens’ Destiny Quinones. Dugwen came out flicking a jab, looking to press an obvious advantage on the feet, but Quinones played it smart and exploited Dugwen’s still-developing grappling game as she successfully closed the distance in each round. Dugwen showed promising instincts as she displayed good balance in staying on her feet at times, escaped a deep armbar in the first round, and reversed a takedown to claim top position and take the second round. However, Quinones was able to time her opponent’s strikes, duck Dugwen’s punches, and score takedowns repeatedly in rounds one and three. She achieved mount twice, and earned a decision.

In a featured Lightweight bout, Alex Oliveira had no need for judges. The Brazilian looked to be in tremendous form despite taking this fight on short notice, as he used his Jiu Jitsu skills to snatch a first round rear naked choke submission on Donovan Levi. Oliveria scored an early takedown with ease, immediately passed guard, and achieved mount. Levy surrendered his back after absorbing a torrent of strikes, and the end came shortly thereafter.

Bellmore Kickboxing’s Austin Wolfson took a hard-fought unanimous decision over Russell Pititto, in a bout that was contested at Middleweight despite both fighters weighing in close to the Welterweight limit. Pittito struck for double- and single-leg takedowns in rounds one and two, but failed to capitalize on the position in a meaningful way, as Wolfson’s repeated attempts to get back to his feet made it difficult for Pititto to land strikes. For his part, Wolfson was successful in getting back up and landed hard punches to the body while defending takedowns against the cage. In the third round Wolfson seemed to have more gas left in his tank, as he pressured his opponent and brought Pititto to the ground in a front headlock, which he used for control and to strike the body. Wolfson improved to 5-0 with the victory.

Johnny Pierro had to shave his head to help make weight, but showed no ill effects on the day of the fight as he kicked off the main card with a first round submission victory over Johnny “Thor” Shun from Elmhurst, Queens. Pierro, who represented UFC Gym Staten Island, landed an early takedown into Shun’s half guard. From there he advanced to the full mount and secured a “kata gatame” arm triangle choke to coax the tapout at 1:47 of the first round.

The undercard revved the fans up with many highlight-worthy finishes and wild brawls. Brooklyn’s Jose Rodriguez (UFC Gym Staten Island), took a unanimous decision over Brian “Venom” Guerrero (Ultimate Fit Zone). Both fighters came out with a furious pace, but overall Rodriguez landed a takedown in the first round and was more effective with his hands, in a fight that brought the fans to their feet.

Danny Maldonado (Pure Hart Training Center) dominated Mamdou Nasr (Kai Next Level MMA) with a tight grappling game, in claiming victory by arm-in guillotine at 1:37 of the second round. The fight was not competitive, as Maldonado landed slam takedowns in each round against the cage and transitioned between positions on the ground seemingly at will, to claim his first MMA victory, which followed his first proper training camp.

Andrews Rodriguez (Victory Martial Arts) submitted Gabriel “El Tiburon” Rosario (UFC Gym Staten Island) with a triangle choke from his back at 1:18 of Round 1. Stepan Prokopyak (Renzo Gracie) also submitted his opponent, Dylan Mendez (Five Points Academy), at 2:36 of Round 1. Mendez survived a brutal-looking armbar from full mount by Prokopyak, only to find himself ensnared in a rear naked choke moments later, forcing the tap.

In the opening bout of the evening, the evening’s only knockout ended in an unfortunate fashion. After a brief feeling out process, Mike Jardine knocked Alex Santiago out with a clean punch at 2:11 of the first round. Although his opponent was out cold from the punch, Jardine landed a follow-up punch on the ground before the referee stepped in to wave off the contest. Jardine celebrated, and the fans cheered when Santiago returned to his feet, but the referee deemed the strike to the downed opponent illegal under New York’s amateur novice rules, and the result was officially deemed a No Contest.

Fight Coverage: Kyle Antonelli