Karl Moore defeats Josh Clark via unanimous decision to claim vacant light-heavyweight title
Karl Moore was absolutely surgical with taking the back and the rear naked choke, but for every correct move he made, Josh Clark was equal to it. The American showed immense grit as he spent well over two minutes in the first with Moore on his back hammering blows and looking for the choke.
Clark survived the first and came into the second looking to strike, however it was Moore who landed the first big blow of the round with a straight left. Moore landed another straight left and a big uppercut as he looked to assert his dominance in the second stanza. Clark responded however with two decent body shots of his own. Moore followed up with a dominant spell on the ground and took the back again at the end of the second, but once again time was not on his side and the American was saved by the bell.
The pair exchanged body kicks in the third round and it was Clark’s turn to go on the offensive as he landed a straight right hand of his own. Moore showed why he is so highly rated in the last minute of the third as he landed a big left hook on Clark. Clark put on a brave face, but the punch was heard around the 3 Arena.
The pace of the fight slowed a bit in the championship rounds as Clark bloodied the Irish man. This only spurred Moore on however, who ended the fourth with a good combination.
The fighters entered the final round with Moore clearly leading the contest on the judges’ scorecards. A tired Moore fought for a takedown against the cage, while Clark threatened with a standing kimura and a guillotine as he defended the takedown. Moore eventually gained the top position, but Clark remained locked on with the kimura attempt. That was until Moore managed to take Clark’s back for the third time in the contest. An exhausted Clark was deducted a point for holding the glove of Moore. Moore sought the rear-naked choke relentlessly, but Clark defended valiantly. Clark returned to his feet and swung for the fences in the final seconds, landing a big head kick.
A tremendous contest in which Moore deservedly claimed the title, making a very strong case for Europe’s number one light-heavyweight outside of the UFC.
Catherine Costigan defeats Wendy McKenna via split decision
This was a very even fight throughout. Catherine Costigan out-struck her opponent for the majority of the bout, but never seemed to have any power in her shots to trouble Wendy McKenna.
McKenna had her moments throughout and landed arguably the best shot of the fight with a big right hand. Costigan looked the more conditioned athlete and finished the fight stronger with constant pressure, landing combos to the head and body. She secured a takedown at the death to round off a decent return.
Arnold Quero defeats Joe McColgan via split decision
Not often is a fight between two men with such varying experience levels considered a 50/50. However, that was exactly the sentiment when Joe McColgan entered his third professional fight against 18-fight veteran Arnold Quero.
The frenchman, Quero came out the gate fast and looked quicker to the punch, landing some good jabs. McColgan felt his way into the fight and found the distance as the round went on, landing a good body kick.
McColgan took the centre of the cage in the second round but Quero showed good footwork and head movement to limit McColgan’s damage. McColgan did land a huge straight right hand, however it was in between two good takedowns from the shorter Quero. McColgan fought his way back to his feet and took the back of Quero while standing. He tried for the rear-naked choke but ran out of time in the second round.
McColgan needed to come out and chase the fight in the third and he secured a massive takedown but was unable to work for a submission. Quero did enough in the remainder of the round to earn the decision victory.
Hakan Foss defeats Martyn Harris via submission (rear-naked choke) in round one
Håkon Foss dominated this contest throughout and showed that he might not be too far away from challenging Karl Amoussou for the welterweight strap.
Blaine O’Driscoll defeats Darren O’Gorman via KO in round two
Blaine O’Driscoll absolutely dominated the opening four and half minutes of this contest, being the superior grapper and securing top position. Once in position, he peppered Cork man, Darren O’Gorman with punches and elbows, opening up a deep cut.
O’Gorman survived and threatened with an arm bar at the end of the first to demonstrate just dangerous he is. If O’Driscoll impressed on the ground on the first; he impressed on the feet in the second. Landed cleaner and more often than O’Gorman. O’Driscoll finally landed the killer blow after 3 minutes and 22 seconds with a left hand. Impressive victory for the SBG man against one of the best regarded prospects in the country.
Preliminary Card
The untelevised portion of the card saw two impressive debut wins. First, Maciej Grierszewski proved to be ‘magic’ by name and magic by nature as he survived a close scare to overcome Romain Bidet. The Frenchman threatened with a rear-naked choke but Maciej proved his resilience and hung in there, managing to take the back of Bidet and pounding his way to a first round TKO victory.
Eric Nolan was spurred on by the Dublin crowd to win a unanimous decision against Marcin Zembala. Given this was both mens debut, they showed a level of cage IQ beyond what their experience would suggest. After a feeling out process, Nolan dominated the second round and nobody would have blamed the referee for stopping the contest as Nolan continually ground and pounded Zembala. Zembela showed incredible heart and rallied in the third to put the Dubliner in some precarious positions on the ground. However, Nolan would not be defeated on his home patch and overcame to finish the fight the more dominant and secure the judges nod.
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