SHARKSPAGE

War of the Heroes 7 hybrid Muaythai Kickboxing/MMA card in Santa Clara featured a prodigious 17 fights

KRISTINA ALVAREZ (R) QUALIFIED FOR IFMA W.C. IN THAILAND WITH WIN

YOMEL COLON LANDS A PUNCH AGAINST VICTOR CHAN

WOTH WILL RETURN TO SANTA CLARA CONVENTION CENTER NOVEMBER 13TH

War of the Heroes FC7 Muaythai Kickboxing/MMA Championships presented by Fairtex and X-Fight Promotions held their seventh event Saturday, September 18th. After venturing to Pleasanton for WOTH6, and postponing the first-ever WOTH event in Thailand due to political unrest, the hybrid fight series returned to its home at the Santa Clara Convention Center for a solid 17-fight card in front of a boisterous crowd.

Mountain View’s Nathan Fairtex (5-3) earned knockout of the night with a straight knee that crumpled Sheldon Gaines (2-2) in the full Pro Muaythai main event. After being peppered with push kicks and low inside kicks early, Nathan dropped the Muaythai Academy fighter with a knee to the midsection along the ropes. Gaines could not regain his feet after a 10-count.

Professional Muaythai fighters in Thailand often take the surname of the gym where they train. Nathan Willet, an instructor at Fairtex Mountain View, has taken the name Nathan Fairtex. In a past interview while training at Fairtex Bangplee in Thailand, Nathan described his favorite Muaythai style as ‘Lizard style’, with a focus on footjabs. In the ring in Santa Clara his style was compact and deliberate, but he threw strikes with heavy power.

Another featured fighter on the card was American Kickboxing Academy fighter Gabriel Carrasco, a USMF title holder. A headliner earlier this summer at the Born to Fight amateur MMA competition in Fremont, the undefeated Carrasco (13-0) faced off against Striking Unlimited’s Roman Isbell (5-2) in a co-main event Muaythai bout.

Isbell has a lightning quick kick, but Carrasco is one of the more polished competitors on the local scene. A series of knees to the body, and a violent trip takedown saw reality set in early for Isbell. It became more of a counter striking effort for Isbell in the first, keeping his distance and trying to time Carrasco as he came in.

Gabriel Carrasco kept up a strong pace at the end of the first, and in the second round he dropped Isbell with a short right hook early. Isbell took the 8-count, but became more tentative in the following minutes. Carrasco became more aggressive in the third, accidently landing an illegal knee to the head in the clinch, then missing with a right high kick and nearly sailing over the ropes with his follow through.

Isbell tried to stand with Carrasco at the start of the fourth and final round, but he ducked into a solid right hand and was sent to the canvas. The technical Isbell, who was throwing spinning back kicks and backfists earlier in the fight, was deep into survival mode. The first right hand Carrasco through after the break split his guard, and knocked Isbell back into the ropes. Carrasco stormed forward and landed nearly a dozen uncontested strikes before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight 44 seconds in.

Another popular American Kickboxing Academy fighter Eric Luna (12-1), who earned a gold medal at the IFMA World Championships last year in Thailand and also is a USMF title holder, suffered a knockdown/slip early in his fight with New World Combat’s Mario Martinez (9-2). Luna immediately launched into high gear, scoring two quick knockdowns of his own and ending the fight.

Fairtex San Francisco’s Daniel Kim (1-0) earned the loudest applause from the crowd upon his entrance into the ring. In his pro Muaythai debut which served as a WBC ranking match, Kim fended off the intial rush by Victory MMA’s Karl Santiago (0-1), also making his professional debut.

Kim made effective use of the clinch game, locking in Santiago tight and negating his long reach. After a referee seperation, Kim landed a low kick, straight left combo that backed Santiago into the ropes. Santiago tired significantly, losing steam on his kicks and losing mobility to fend of Daniel Kim. Kim nearly ended the fight with a kick that landed flush at the end of the first.

Not fully recovered for the second round, Kim sent Santiago to the mat with a push kick in the corner. Kim continued coming forward with a large volume of punches until Santiago was effectively out on his feet. A short elbow to the jaw dropped Santiago and ended the fight.

The hybrid pro/amateur Muaythai kickboxing event also featured a pair of professional mixed martial arts fights. Combat Sports Academy’s Val Ignatov (1-2) defeated Bay Area Boxing’s Florencia Sinogul (1-2) with an armbar 1:01 into the first round. After scoring a trip takedown and establishing side control, Ignatov quickly moved into full mount. He transitioned into an armbar to force a quick tap. Charles Grace and World Team USA trained Osmar Delima (6-1) also earned a first round submission with a north-south choke against San Jose’s David Barrios (4-5) 1:47 into the first round. Delima had top control over Barrios in the corner, eventually locking in the choke and forcing the Nor Cal Fight Factory fighter to tap.

On the undercard, Blue Ocean Thai Boxing’s Kristina Alvarez defeated World Team USA’s Jade Hayes in a very tightly contested fight. One month earlier up the road in San Mateo, the San Diego native Alvarez earned the IKF Super Lightweight West Coast title with a win over Katie Toliano. With a back-and-forth win over Hayes on Saturday night, Kristina Alvarez qualified to represent the United States Muaythai Federation at the upcoming IFMA World Championships in Thailand.

Also successful on the undercard, Shiela Adamos defeated Felicia Valdez, Unlimited MMA’s Josh San Diego defeated John Laset, Chris Casal defeated Andrew Moy, Jesslyn LeCap defeated Gabby Aguinaldo, Malia Spanyol scored an early knockout over Jennifer Tung, USH Fight Team’s Chrisente Joaquin defeated Tal Sagev (former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le was in the corner of Joaquin), Victor Chan defeated Yomel Colon, Josslyn Mikow and Adrianna Savannah fought to a 3-round draw, and Eisrael “Is” Verdusco scored a flamboyant win over Michael Kempf.

War of the Heroes 8, presented by Fairtex, X-Fight Promotions and the USMF, will return to the Santa Clara Convention Center on November 13th. Qualifiers to represent the United States will compete at the IFMA World Championships in Bangkok from November 27th to December 5th. On August 28th, the USMF represent the United States at the first Sportaccord Combat Games in Beijing, China. Overseen by the International Olympic Committee, the opening ceremony featured guest appearances representing 13 different styles of martial arts combat. Along with ambassador Jackie Chan, Jet Li (Wushu), Miss Thailand Ganvintra Photijak (Muaythai), Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (Sambo), and Don “the Dragon” Wilson (Kickboxing). Jill Guido was one of the 16 athletes selected to represent Muaythai in the opening ceremony. She was accompanied by USMF coach Cheryl Garcia and USMF President Anthony Lin.

A photo gallery from WOTH 7 is available here. A highlight video will be posted soon.