This past friday night, June 17th, I attended BlackEye Promotions 4 (a professional and amateur mma event) at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center, just south of Asheville in Fletcher NC. I attended the event as a guest of Diamond Thieves Body Piercing and Tattoo (a major sponsor of the event) and had the pleasure of meeting and watched the fights with Freedom Fighter and Diamond Thieves sponsored fighter Lalani Malley-Mancao. Thanks for the insight Lalani!
Olympian Sara McMann
If you didn’t attend the event you missed some damn good fights… male or female… pro or amateur… it didn’t matter, each fight featured two fighters that gave it their all. Win or lose… the fighters really delivered. There were several female fights on the card, and holy moly… could those ladies really Bang! The top billed female fight was between two Olympians… Sara McMann (USA) v. Julie Malenfant (Canada). Malenfant showed plenty of heart and courage, but was just no match for McMann. Sara McMann is the real deal. The fight friday showed that McMann has the hands to go with her proven Olympic wrestling abilities. Making her one hell of a fighter… so take note fight fans, Sara McMann is on the move up… with a bullet.
McMann wins with TKO in 1st rd
The Ladies “Fight of the Night” was a absolute brawl between Angelica Brotherton v. Glena Avila. One of the best fights I’ve seen in a long time. The fight started with Avila taking a beating, but she showed a ton of heart and came back strong to get the victory (via a arm bar in the 3rd round). After the fight came one of the highlights of the night… the post fight interview with Jay Adams. Man, there probably wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd as emotion just poured over Glena Avila. I’m just glad I was there to see her have that moment. She definitely deserved it!
Ring Girls and Booty Shorts... Oh My!
I guess the booty shorts kinda says it all. No… get your mind outta the gutter! What I’m referring to was the kick ass fights from the guys. Yes, the ladies put on a show (yep, even the ring girls!)… but the guys had some outstanding fights too. The Martino v. Molina fight was a “knock down drag out” that went the distance. Molina was scrapin’ like mad the entire fight, but Martino just seemed a little more technical and always one step ahead of Molina. With his performance, Nickalas Martino won the Freedom Fighter Brand “Freedom Fighter Warrior Spirt Award”. Zach Sharpe and Daniel St. Juste squared off for the featherweight title. As the fight started, it looked to be a pretty even match up… but the fight was stopped at 3:41 of the 1st round with Daniel St. Juste winning due to Sharpe suffering a dislocated shoulder.
Johnny "Buck Nasty" Buck
The main event of the night was for the Welterweight Title, Danny Babcock v. Johnny Buck. The two experienced fighters, Babcock, from Port Saint Luicie, Fla. and Team Animal… Buck, from Fairview NC and Team Husky had a battle for 5 rounds. There was no doubt Buck was the hometown favorite. There were plenty of “Buck Nasty” t-shirts being worn by his cheering fans. But Mr. Babcock apparently didn’t get the “Buck Nasty Day” memo. Early in the fight it was clear that Babcock was the more powerful fighter… maybe because Buck moved up in weight class? Maybe because Babcock came in about 10 pounds over? Well, I don’t know about all of that… but what I do know is that the Team Animal fighter was a beast. Babcock hit Buck with a very loud, nasty head kick in the 1st round. All of the spectators around me were shocked to find Buck still grinding after being hit with such a kick. Babcock control most of the fight with his strength and ability to stop Buck’s numerous take-down attempts. Babcock would kinda shrug off Buck’s take-downs and follow up with a snapping head kick. This counter proved to be very effective for Babcock. In the end, the fight did go 5 rounds but the judges unanimous decision for Babcock sent the “Buck Nasty” faithful heading to the exits disappointed. For Babcock, it has got to be a great feeling to come into someones back yard, crowd cheering against ya, fighting for a title, and going home with the belt. Congrats to Danny Babcock for such a dominate fight and winning the welterweight championship….
A big thank you to the folks at Diamond Thieves Body Piercing and Tattoo as well as the folks at Blackeye Promotions. Can’t wait until next time! Until then… check your TV listings for Blackeye Promotions 4 on Fox Sportsouth and HDnet.
Blackeye Promotions 4 ~Results~
Jason Faglier def Michael Stephens by Submission (Armbar) 2nd rd
Nickalas Martino def Brian Molina by Decision (Unanimous) 3rd rd
Daniel St. Juste def Zach Sharpe by TKO (Dislocated Shoulder) 1st rd
Glena Avila def Angelica Brotherton by Submission (Armbar) 3rd rd
Ediane Gomes def Katrina Alendal by Submission (Ankle Lock) 1st rd
Matt Munsey def Matt Covan by Decision (Unanimous) 3rd rd
Vanessa Mariscal def Colleen Schneider by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 3rd rd
Sara McMann def Julie Malenfant by TKO (Punches) 1st rd
Danny Babcock def Johnny Buck by Decision (Unanimous) 5th rd
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