Superfight 1 recap and results from Sydney: Greg Atzori submits Abel Brites in the main event

From the same team behind prominent Sydney based promotion Cage Fighting Championships (CFC), the debut event from Superfight took place Friday night at Club Punchbowl in South-western Sydney.

Although the promotion’s first fight card was hampered by late cancellations due to injuries, it didn’t take away from what was an entertaining night of mixed martial arts.

The main event featured a high profile battle of local title holders as Fightworld Cup lightweight champ Greg Atzori came up against Brace and Hex FS champion Abel Brites. Both fighters were coming off short turnarounds, with Atzori successfully defending his title against Nick Robin earlier in the month while Brites picked up the biggest win of his career when he submitted Nick Patterson in late July. In the end on Friday night, Atzori spoiled the party by submitting the local favorite in the first round.

A respectful touch of gloves got the main event underway. Brites immediately went to the body with kicks. Atzori caught one of them and lifted Brites up high, but the Lion’s Den product grabbed the neck of the Queenslander. Atzori was cautious in the situation and worked to free himself first before dropping Brites to the canvas. Brites went to work from the bottom and locked up an arm-bar. Atzori did well to escape, however Brites moved to another tight looking arm-bar straight after. Once again Atzori broke free and moved to side control. Brites continued to look for submissions, adopting a high guard, however Atzori opened up and connected with a number of short hard right hands. Brites rolled to his knees and Atzori claimed his back before he landed with more short punches and now knees. Atzori sunk in the rear-naked choke and with both hooks in he got the submission victory, silencing the pro Brites crowd.

Result: Greg Atzori def Abel Brites via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 4:02

The other pro fight of the evening featured a short lived explosive heavyweight clash between Australian Top Team’s Nathan Luff and Isi Fitikefu from the Lion’s Den Academy. With the crowd behind him, Fitikefu rushed in and lifted Luff up over his head before slamming him hard to the canvas. From side control, and after a few short punches, it wasn’t long before he locked up a Kimura and got the tap. The local favorite immediately climbed the fence and celebrated his strong showing with the crowd.

Result: Isi Fitikefu def Nathan Luff via Submission (Kimura), Rd 1, 1:20

In a featherweight bout on the night, Lion’s Den product Josh Rao and Joey Agostino from Northside MMA met in what was primarily a chest battle up against the cage which saw Rao walk away with a well deserved unanimous decision.

It was Rao who controlled the first two rounds in the clinch and with takedowns. However in the final round, Agostino came out aggressive with punch combinations. He connected with a punch which dropped Rao. From there he moved to mount and searched for a submission, however Rao escaped and the fight came to an end in a scramble.

Result: Josh Rao def Joey Agostino via Decision (Unanimous)

Featherweights Robby Lara (Roots) and Trung Ho (Cabra Kai) fought a closely contested, entertaining battle which after three rounds of fast paced action was awarded to Robby Lara unanimously.

Ho opened proceedings with a leg kick before driving in for a single-leg takedown. Lara showed good defensive skills and attacked the neck of Ho with a guillotine. Ho escaped before driving in for another takedown attempt, but once again he couldn’t quite finish it. After separating, it was Lara who looked for the takedown, and he got it with about 15 seconds left in the opening round, leaving him little time to capitalise on the position and the round came to an end.

Round two commenced with an exchange of leg kicks. Ho also unleashed a head kick, however it was blocked by Lara, who landed with a pair of right hands early on in the second. Ho got the fight to the ground soon after and moved to mount, briefly. With the pace of the fight increasing, Lara drove in and scored a takedown of his own and worked to half guard. There, Lara uncorked a handful of right hands on Ho, who had adopted a high guard and the round soon closed out.

Both fighters made their intentions clear at the start of the final chapter and really let their hands go. Ho connected with a kick to the body and followed it up with a takedown. He soon found Lara’s back, however Lara reversed and gained top position against the cage. Ho, however, grabbed a leg and dragged Lara back down. After a failed guillotine attempt from Lara, Ho moved to side control. With the fight closing out, Lara scrambled and regained top position before landing a short shot to the bloodied up nose of Ho.

Result: Robby Lara def Trung Ho via Decision (Unanimous)

In the sole welterweight bout, Jacob Malkoun from PMA stopped Dean Bradley from Lion’s Den Academy with a one punch knockout early on in the second round.

This fight started with a standup exchange which saw Malkoun gain the upper hand early. Malkoun began to find a home for his left jab, a theme that would play out throughout the encounter. Bradley drove in for a takedown, however he was unsuccessful. Bradley did land with a handful of leg kicks however. Malkoun fired back with a punch combination as Bradley continued to move forward throughout the first round.

More jabs from Malkoun landed to begin the second frame. He backed them up with a solid right hand, which Bradley ate and continued to come forward. A second right landed from Malkoun, however, and that’s where the forward momentum ended for Bradley, and so did his night as he was sent crashing to the canvas. It would be some time before he regained his feet to hear the verdict read out.

Result: Jacob Malkoun def Dean Bradley via KO (Punch), Rd 2, 0:43

In the show opener, Paul Traish (Traish MMA) submitted Luke Haberecht (Lion’s Den Academy) with an arm-bar just 1:15 into the fight.

An aggressive start from Haberecht forced Traish into a takedown. He worked to mount soon after, however Haberecht scrambled and wound up in top position. Haberecht transitioned to what looked like a leg lock but Traish grabbed an arm and got the tap with an arm-bar.

Result: Paul Traish def Luke Haberecht via Submission (Arm-Bar), Rd 1, 1:15

Following the main event, the promotion announced that their second event will take place in February of next year.