Results and Recap: Lion Fight Promotions "Battle in the Desert 3"

Primm, NV -- There was controversy in the night’s main event at Lion Fight Promotions “Battle in the Desert 3”. Cosmo Alexandre and Sakmongkol fought for five rounds and it was over it seemed there would be an obvious decision in favor of Cosmo, however, when the verdict was read it was in favor of Sakmongkol to the surprise of everyone. The very passive Cosmo was clearly furious at the result and Sakmongkol himself seemed shocked at decision.

Cosmo was able to score when he decided to engage with Sakmongkol, by the time the fifth round came along Sakmongkol was bloody. It was clear Cosmo was not trying to add any insult to injury, but that might have been his downfall. Instead of going for the finish Cosmo held back in the final rounds rather than trying to finish Sakmongkol, which eventually would go on to cost him the fight. The decision in favor of Sakmongkol was clearly very questionable and Cosmo was not the only person who disagreed with the decision as many fans booed the result when it was announced. It was an unfortunate ending to what had been a great night of fights.

In the night’s co-main event Ky Hollenbeck pushed the pace to retain his WBC Muay Thai middleweight world title. Hollenbeck started the fight by trying to fight on the outside with Chu, but some nicely timed strikes by Chu when Hollenbeck tried to move in changed the pace. Hollenbeck went back to what was expected from him by pressing the action and utilizing his aggressive attacks as well s throwing spinning elbows and flying knees. By the time the fifth round came Hollenbeck was bloodied up be he clearly had tired out Chu. It was clear Chu was a tough opponent for Hollenbeck as he took his best shots and didn’t go down, but when the fight went to the judges it was Hollenbeck took the fight on the score cards with the official ruling being a unanimous decision.

Chaz Mulkey and Remy Bonnel fought a very close fight that saw both fighters fight at a very methodical pace as they each tried to gain the upper hand. It was clear that both fighters respected one another as no one wanted to over commit to anything and they very technical with their strikes. When it was all said and done the judges ruled in favor of Mulkey by split decision. It was clear Bonnel was not happy with the ruling, but the fight was very close. Mulkey wins the WBC Muay Thai international middleweight title in what was a very close fight.

Joe Schilling promised he would finish Brandon Banda early in their WBC Muay Thai national title fight and he kept his word. Schilling came out clearly confident as he kept his hands low and seemed to have no fear of anything Banda presented in the bout. The end came early as Schilling landed a solid knee to the jaw of Banda that sent him crashing to the canvas, he was out before he hit the ground. It was an impressive first round KO by Schilling in the first round to claim his second WBC Muay Thai national title.

Jeri Sitzes and Misty Sutherland fought for three exciting rounds. The fight was back and forth with Sutherland getting the upper hand with her kicks and Sitzes getting the upper hand with her punches. It was an elbow that would be the determining factor as the fight was stopped at the end of the third round after a gash over Sutherland’s eye forced the fight to be stopped. Sitzes defended her WBC Muay Thai international title against a very tough Misty Sutherland and it would have been interesting to see how the fight played out had it not been stopped. Once again an impressive performance by Sitzes as she retains her WBC Muay Thai international title.

In the night’s opening pro bout Anthony Castrejon scored early against Ryan Ratcliffe as he knocked him down with a head kick in the second round. It was all Castrejon after the initial knockdown as he was clearly looking to finish the fight. Castrejon had Ratcliffe bloodied and wounded by the time the fourth round came around and ended things with a series of solid leg kicks. Ratcliffe was not able to get up after a vicious leg kick from Castrejon sent him to the canvas. Castrejon takes home an impressive TKO victory over Ratcliffe due to leg kicks in his second pro fight.

Results:
Pro
Sakmongkol def. Cosmo Alexandre via Unanimous Decision
Ky Hollenbeck def. Simon Chu via Unanimous Decision
Chaz Mulkey def. Remy Bonnel via Split Decision
Joe Schilling def. Brandon Banda via KO at 2:38 of Rd. 1
Jeri Sitzes def. Misty Sutherland via (T)KO (Cut) at 3:00 of Rd. 3
Anthony Castrejon def. Ryan Ratcliffe via (T)KO (Leg Kicks) at 1:06 of Rd. 4

Amateur
Jason Andrada def. Ruben Lahn via (T)KO (Leg Kicks) at 1:08 of Rd. 3
Justin Driggers def. Justin Delcid via Split Decision
Genesis Bravo def. Sally Braddon via Unanimous Decision
Josh Shepard def. Michael Ellison via (T)KO at 1:40 of Rd. 1
Patti Terran def. Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu via Unanimous Decision
Johnny Parsons def. Eduardo Alvarado via Unanimous Decision