With just a pair of amateur MMA bouts behind him, Adelaide’s Sav Caruso made a successful pro debut at MMA Down Under 5 on Saturday night, outpointing the vastly more experienced Jeff King of Sydney.
The 91kg catchweight encounter headlined the 11 bout fight card at the Adelaide Arena in South Australia.
King accepted to face the NAGA (North American Grappling Association) champion on just week’s notice following Steve Kennedy’s late withdrawal due to illness.
Co-headlining the show was a lightweight tilt between Bellator veteran, Cleber Luciano, and Perth based Irish fighter, Patrick Conroy. A 5th degree BJJ Black Belt under Royler Gracie, Luciano, 40, submitted the 27 year-old with a Kimura in the opening frame.
In other results from the night, local fighter Myles Simpson upset Brace bantamweight tournament hopeful Giancarlo Embradora of Sydney.
Results:
- Sav Caruso def Jeff King via Decision
- Cleber Luciano def Patrick Conroy via Submission (Kimura), Rd 1
- Myles Simpson def Giancarlo Embradora via Decision
- Michael Flaherty def Rainer Fumera via KO, Rd 2
- Zack Hook def Jerick Panes via Submission, Rd 3
- Micheal Fitzgerald def Trent Deboo via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3
- Shane Mitchell def Richard Blake via Submission (Verbal), Rd 1
- Tyson Van Den Ende def Goran Olujic via Decision
- Jack Scudds def James Blair via Decision
- Sean Gauci def Gavin Toyama via Decision
- Loki Price def Jaraad Ali via Decision (Split)
*Event results via promotion
