PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 24th, 2014) – Not even Shedrick Goodridge beating Todd Chattelle could upstage the upset of the night Friday at Twin River Casino.
On a night where Goodridge dominated Chattelle over the course of three rounds and featherweight Rob Font kicked off the year with another impressive win, underdog Kin Moy stole the show with a unanimous decision win over fan-favorite Andre Soukhamthath on the undercard of “CES MMA XXI.”
Facing his toughest test to date, Moy (5-0) ended Soukhamthath’s seven-fight win streak and kept his own perfect record intact by winning the final two rounds of his three-round bantamweight battle with Soukhamthath to earn a 29-28 score on all three cards. Soukhamthath (8-2) looked sharp early, dropping Moy twice with a pair of rear leg kicks and dominating the opening round, but once Moy took the fight to the ground, the momentum shifted.
Moy nearly choked out Soukhamthath in the second and although Soukhamthath fought his way back and controlled most of the round, Moy dominated the final minute. With the fight even at a round apiece, Moy took control early in the third, keeping Soukhamthath on his back and not allowing him to get to his feet. Unable to work his stand-up, Soukhamthath dropped the last two rounds and suffered his first loss in eight fights.
Starring in his 10th bout under CES’ promotional guidance, Chattelle (12-10) broke his right hand early during his main event bout with Goodridge (5-6) and never recovered. The New Jersey native dominated the stand-up and earned several key takedowns to take control of the fight midway through the opening round, winning unanimously, 30-27, on all three scorecards.
Font (9-1) made quick work of his opponent, New York’s Ahsan Abdullah (5-5), dropping him early in the opening round with a flying knee and unloading with a barrage of right hooks that Abdullah somehow survived, but the fight didn’t last much longer as Font – a bit weary from the punches – a locked in a d’arce choke moments later and finished Abdullah for good at the 3:48 mark. Font, the reigning CES MMA featherweight champion, has won eight consecutive bouts.
Desperately looking to end a two-fight losing streak and get his first win since 2012, bantamweight Dinis Paiva Jr. (4-5, 2 KOs) of East Providence, R.I., came out firing on all cylinders, stopping Franklin Isabel (4-7) of Chelsea, Mass., with a series of unanswered strikes at 1 minute, 48 seconds of the opening round.
In an exciting bantamweight bout, Shaun Marmas (5-6) of Coventry, R.I., and unbeaten Salem, Mass., native Matt Doherty fought tooth and nail until Doherty finally finished the bout via rear-naked choke at the 2:12 mark of the final round.
This was a strong, technical ground-and-pound match with both fighters jockeying for position through the first two rounds, though Doherty maintained the edge by reversing most of Marmas’ takedowns and keeping the momentum on his side. Doherty opened the third by dropping Marmas to the canvas with a knee and ultimately taking his back to sink in the rear-naked choke.
Keeping his impressive streak of knockout wins alive, heavyweight John Johnston (5-0, 5 KOs) of Melrose, Mass., flattened South Carolina’s William Baptiste in the opening round with a head kick so vicious it even sent Johnston to the canvas, too.
Johnston appeared on the verge of ending the bout in the opening seconds when he dropped Baptiste (2-1) in the center of the canvas and began pounding him with hammer fists, but Baptiste eventually fought his way back to his feet. Moments later at the 1:49 mark, Johnston caught him with a head kick that prompted the referee to immediately stop the bout. Johnston has now won all five of his fights by knockout.
Exciting newcomer Kyle Bochniak (1-0) of Winthrop, Mass., wasted no time getting the win in his professional debut, choking out the overmatched Peter Bertucci (0-1) of Hyannis, Mass., via rear-naked choke 1:05 into the opening round of their featherweight bout. Bochniak immediately took Bertucci to the canvas, took his back, and applied for the quick submission.
Fighting as a last-minute replacement for the injured Sylvester Murataj, Johnston, R.I., middleweight Tunde Odumoso (2-2) evened his record with a dominant win over the scrappy Adam Quitt (1-4) of Framingham, Mass., 30-27, on all three scorecards.
Odumoso was the faster, more effective striker, peppering Quitt and bloodying his opponent’s face midway through the second round. Quitt tried to press Odumoso against the cage and drag him to the canvas to utilize his wrestling, but Odumoso’s takedown defense was on point, allowing to fight in stand-up mode for all three rounds. By the third round, Odumoso began boxing circles around Quitt, mixing in a few knees to the midsection and rear-leg kicks to keep Quitt at bay.
Making his Twin River debut, Boston lightweight Bekzod Abdurakmonov (5-0) kept his perfect record intact with a dominant win over Philadelphia’s Andrew Osborne (7-8). Abdurakmonov scored a quick takedown and eventually took Osborne’s back to earn the rear-naked choke submission at the 1:54 mark.
