Lion Fight 14 took place last night in Las Vegas, NV. The night’s main event featured a bout between France’s Gregory Choplin and Suriname’s Marco Pique. Choplin was able to out point Pique to take home a unanimous decision victory. With the win, Choplin has now won three consecutive fights while Pique has a three fight win streak snapped with the loss.
In the night’s co-main event Jorina Baars and Cris “Cyborg” Justino met in a five round affair that demonstrated how technique can outweigh strength and aggression. Justino came out with her trademark aggression, but Baars was more than happy to sit back and counter her attacks. Baars officially knocked down Justino in the first round with a head kick and in the fifth round with a spinning heel kick, although referee Tony Weeks missed at least two other occasions throughout the fight where a knockdown should have been issued. Justino hit the canvas from a teep in one occasion and from a knee on another, both times they were ruled slips by the referee. When it was all over it was clear that Baars had done everything needed to win the fight and the judges agreed as they awarded her a unanimous decision.
Shane Oblonsky shocked the Muay Thai world by defeating Malaipet Sasiprapa by unanimous decision. The consensus coming into the fight was that Malaipet would defeat Oblonsky, but that was not how things played out. Oblonsky pushed the pace through the fight backing up Malaipet and continuously firing punches, kicks and anything he could get off to keep the action going in his favor. It was a tremendous performance by Oblonsky, especially after not having fought in over a year.
In other action Victor Saravia made his professional debut with an upset victory over Anthony Castrejon. Saravia showcased his power after knocking down Castrejon on multiple occasions and stopping him in the third round. Gaston Bolanos also made a successful pro debut with a fourth round (T)KO over Brian Del Rosario.
Results:
Gregory Choplin def. Marco Pique via Unanimous Decision
Jorina Baars def. Cris “Cyborg” Justino via Unanimous Decision
Shane Oblonsky def. Malaipet Sasiprapa via Unanimous Decision
Eddie Abasolo def. Jonathon Wyderko via Unanimous Decision
Victor Saravia def. Anthony Castrejon via KO at 2:43 of Rd. 3
Gaston Bolanos def. Brian Del Rosario via (T)KO at 1:57 of Rd. 4
In the night’s co-main event Jorina Baars and Cris “Cyborg” Justino met in a five round affair that demonstrated how technique can outweigh strength and aggression. Justino came out with her trademark aggression, but Baars was more than happy to sit back and counter her attacks. Baars officially knocked down Justino in the first round with a head kick and in the fifth round with a spinning heel kick, although referee Tony Weeks missed at least two other occasions throughout the fight where a knockdown should have been issued. Justino hit the canvas from a teep in one occasion and from a knee on another, both times they were ruled slips by the referee. When it was all over it was clear that Baars had done everything needed to win the fight and the judges agreed as they awarded her a unanimous decision.
Shane Oblonsky shocked the Muay Thai world by defeating Malaipet Sasiprapa by unanimous decision. The consensus coming into the fight was that Malaipet would defeat Oblonsky, but that was not how things played out. Oblonsky pushed the pace through the fight backing up Malaipet and continuously firing punches, kicks and anything he could get off to keep the action going in his favor. It was a tremendous performance by Oblonsky, especially after not having fought in over a year.
In other action Victor Saravia made his professional debut with an upset victory over Anthony Castrejon. Saravia showcased his power after knocking down Castrejon on multiple occasions and stopping him in the third round. Gaston Bolanos also made a successful pro debut with a fourth round (T)KO over Brian Del Rosario.
Results:
Gregory Choplin def. Marco Pique via Unanimous Decision
Jorina Baars def. Cris “Cyborg” Justino via Unanimous Decision
Shane Oblonsky def. Malaipet Sasiprapa via Unanimous Decision
Eddie Abasolo def. Jonathon Wyderko via Unanimous Decision
Victor Saravia def. Anthony Castrejon via KO at 2:43 of Rd. 3
Gaston Bolanos def. Brian Del Rosario via (T)KO at 1:57 of Rd. 4
The fact that they matched Malaipet with someone with less than a dozen pro fights should already indicate that there's nothing surprising about Malaipet losing. It is the classic case of matching an older Thai fighter who is no longer competitive with someone younger with more stamina to see how things turn out. Malaipet looked gassed by Round 2 and couldn't execute more than a single attack at a time. The lack of combos is a complete contrast to the younger Malaipet who used to fire multiple vicious kicks on his opponents and is pure indicative of his age in a demanding sport. So while someone who just tuned into Muay Thai may be shocked, it should not be shocking to those who have been following the game for more than a decade. Malaipet does still have an iron chin and no one seems to be able to knock him out. Good showing for Oblonsky but for him and all of Malaipet's future opponents, he is no longer the same Malaipet and should have retired a while back had he been in Thailand. Also, why do they keep calling every Thai fighter in the U.S. a Lumpinee Stadium champ? There is no record to even suggest that Malaipet was ever a Lumpinee Stadium champ.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Jorina vs Cyborg - well, it was exciting because Cyborg has such a dominant image in fight sport - that it was almost super entertaining to see someone take it to her in striking.
Next up? Would love to see Aikpracha Meenayothin vs. Kevin Ross - as the two fighters only know how to move forward. Aikpracha having dominated Fabio Pinca is on a tear and Kevin Ross just doesn't get tired.