Hex Fight Series 12 took place at the Melbourne Pavilion Friday night in front of a capacity crowd. The night, which was telecast live on Fox Sports Australia 505, culminated with three title fights contested in total.
In the main event, Bendigo native Jim Crute retained his light heavyweight title against New Zealand striker Steven Warby which resulted in a tough unanimous decision win, in what was visibly Crute’s toughest test to date. The fight played out to be an action packed battle on the feet, but ultimately Crute’s relentless takedowns and ground game offensive were his major keys to victory.
Throughout the entirety of the match, the two combatants exchanged heavily in the stand up. Warby used his explosiveness to unleash a wild array of strikes, mixing up punches to the head and body. Crute mixed his kicks well, and pressured forward with heavy punches for the most part. Takedowns were constantly an option for Crute as he achieved them successfully with relative ease during the majority of the five round battle, with each takedown he then worked for multiple submission attacks, ground control, and ground and pound. To Warby’s credit, the Kiwi proved to be durable in his submission defense and towards the later rounds demonstrated great takedown defense.
Post match, Crute was very respectful towards Warby’s efforts in the cage and commended Warby as being the toughest opponent he has fought. With the win, Crute continues to add to an impressive 6-0 undefeated record and retains the Hex light heavyweight title. Warby drops to 9-3 with the decision.
In the co main event, popular hometown favourite Callan Potter retained his lightweight title against Western Australian prospect Jack Becker. The highly explosive and fast paced match ended early on in the third round, with Potter connecting with a left hook followed by an overhand right which hurled Becker down to the canvas forcing a stoppage of the bout at 0:32 of round three.
Potter’s resilience and experience came into play as he fought off two rear-naked choke attempts during rounds one and two. Potter remained composed until he worked himself out of the bad positions. Becker was relentless in setting up submissions on these occasions as he peppered away with sharp elbows and punches. Becker opted for wild hooks and uppercuts when the two fighters exchanged on the feet. The champ decided on implementing more of his tools using his kicks and knees to keep his opponent at bay. The fight panned out to be an even display, with both Becker and Potter demonstrating will and great skill in all facets, but in the end experience was a major factor in Potter securing the opportunity to get the finish.
HEX LW Title Fight – Callan Potter KOs Jack Becker in 3R #AndStill pic.twitter.com/Yj6XPBhPzw
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) November 24, 2017
After the match, Potter demanded an opportunity to compete in the UFC. The packed Melbourne crowd then erupted into UFC chants. With the win, Potter (16-6) continues on with a an impressive win streak of eight as he retains the Hex lightweight championship. Becker (6-1) suffers his first loss with the result.
Also on the main card, Tasmanian Stuart Dare put up a valiant effort in his middleweight grudge match against New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya. Dare aimed to grapple early on and surprising to some, decided to go toe to toe in the stand up with the Glory Kickboxing fighter. The middleweight title fight was put to a halt with Adesanya connecting with a question mark kick which knocked Dare unconscious on impact.
awesome head kick KO !
HEX MW Title Fight – Israel Adesanya KOs Stu Dare in 1R #AndNew pic.twitter.com/V9Mndez40l— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) November 24, 2017
Additionally, Australian MMA veteran Greg Atzori handed Victorian Lance Ettia his first loss submitting him midway through round three.
Ben Sosoli KOs Kora Maea in 1R (HEX) pic.twitter.com/5s6QsLZS3T
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) November 24, 2017
nice flying knee from Aidan Aguilera
(TKOd Shem Murdoch in 2R) (HEX) pic.twitter.com/YKPcOHnmKN— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) November 24, 2017
Results:
- Jim Crute (c) def. Steven Warby via Decision (Unanimous) – Hex light-heavyweight title
- Callan Potter (c) def. Jack Becker via KO (Punch), Rd 3, 0:32 – Hex lightweight title
- Israel Adesanya def. Stu Dare via KO (Head-Kick), Rd 1, 4:53 – Hex middleweight title
- Greg Atzori def. Lance Ettia via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3
- Ricky Camp def. Hiroyuki Oshiro via Decision (Unanimous)
- Richard Lockett def. Jordan O’Connor via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Rd 1, 4:32
- Benjamin Sosoli def. Kora Maea via KO (Punch), Rd 1, 2:53
- Aidan Aguilera def. Shem Murdoch via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 2:43
- John Vake def. Stephen Walton via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke), Rd 1
