Corey Nelson impressed his home crowd in Western Sydney on Friday night winning the inaugural Superfight welterweight title with an impressive TKO victory.
In front of a packed house at Club Punchbowl, Nelson was up against staunch Kiwi Beau Rawiri of Strikeforce Auckland.
Nelson was able to dominate the contest imposing his will in the clinch and displaying a superior wrestling game. Nelson spent much of the fight smothering Rawiri before eventually trapping both of his arms from side control and dominating from the mounted crucifix position. Rawiri tried desperately to escape the onslaught, but he was ultimately unsuccessful. Nelson controlled the position excellently pinning his head against Rawiri’s arm and dropping continued short punches and elbows. He landed a number of unanswered shots before the ref was forced to pull him off at 2.31 of the third round.
The victory marks a notable return to action for the Sydney based welterweight who previously announced his retirement in September last year.
In the co-main event of the night Australian Top Team’s Trent Girdham improved his professional record to 3-0 with a dominating victory over George Malizis. Girdham completely dominated the fight from the opening bell with one judge scoring the contest 30-25 in his favor. At only 18 years of age Girdham proved why he is a bright prospect and one to watch out for in the bantamweight division.
The pro portion of the card was kicked off with the rare sight of two consecutive standing guillotine finishes. Ciaran Dunne was able to finish Paul Traish with a standing guillotine choke against the cage before Ben Watson was able to quickly handle Kiwi Jack Ferguson in the same manner.
The amateur fights were highlighted by the only WMMA contest of the evening with a remarkable knockout victory by Sami Egan. Egan dropped her opponent early in the first round with a spinning back fist that landed flush on the chin. It was not long before Egan would go on to finish her opponent with punches bringing her amateur record to 2-0, both coming by the way of first round knockout.
Results (Pro):
- Corey Nelson def Beau Rawiri via TKO, Rd 3, 2:31 – Superfight welterweight title
- Trent Girdham def George Malizis via Decision (Unanimous)
- Ben Watson def Jack Ferguson via Submission (Standing Guillotine), Rd 1
- Ciaran Dunne def Paul Traish via Submission (Standing Guillotine), Rd 1
Results (Amateur):
- Luke Haberecht def Louay Ishak via KO, Rd 1, 1:09
- Sam Fonua def Grant Brechney via TKO, Rd 1, 2:26
- Sam Egan def Olivia Ukmar via KO, Rd 1
- Mitch Holden def Kieran Adele via Decision (Unanimous)
- Eythan Sykes def Andrew Youssef via Decision (Split)
* Image courtesy of K.O Fight Photography (Facebook Page)
