The night's first tournament bout featured Shawn Fagan of Kingston, NY against Diarmaid McGregor of Boston, MA. Fagan was a last minute replacement for Hiro Perrera of Washington D.C. who did not make weight for the tournament. From the start of the fight Fagan pressed the action as he looked to work the body and legs of McGregor. Despite Fagan’s aggression McGregor seemed comfortable counter fighting as he looked to work the head and body of Fagan with some strong punches. The fight was close from start to finish as both fighters connected with solid strikes. Fagan’s aggression seemed like it should have paid dividends as the fight reached the judges scorecard, but they saw things differently as the fight was awarded to Diarmaid McGregor via split decision.
The night’s second tournament bout featured two undefeated fighters in Troy Sheridan of Toronto, Canada and Phillip LeGrand of Brooklyn, NY. Both fighter’s met in the center of the ring early on and exchanged, but it became apparent that Sheridan was the aggressor. After two tightly contested rounds things really picked up in the third round, it looked like rock em’ sock em’ robots in the ring as LeGrand and Sheridan began to unload on each other. A huge left hook by Sheridan planted LeGrand on the canvas, but he was able to beat the referee’s count. Smelling blood like a shark in water, Sheridan presses the action looking to finish the fight and forces LeGrand against the ropes where he unleashes a flurry of strikes. Despite LeGrand not hitting the canvas, the referee could have easily stopped the fight , but instead gave LeGrand another count. The action resumes and a tough Sheridan again moves in to finish the fight, as he has LeGrand on wobbly legs before the bell rings and ends the fight. A very resilient Phillip LeGrand made it to the judge’s scorecards where Sheridan is awarded a unanimous decision.
The night's third tournament bout featured Josh Fitzsimmons of Hamilton, Canada against Adam Edgerton of Louisville, KY. Both fighters came out swinging. Fitzsimmons found a place for his uppercut early as he connected with it on several occasions. However, it was a big left hand that put Edgerton on the canvas. The bout ended at 1:51 of the first round.
The final fight of the tournament quarterfinals featured Richard Huang of Queens, NY against Chris McMillan of Calgary, Canada. Huang came out aggressive while McMillan looked to close the distance and work from the clinch. McMillan had a significant height advantage and it showed when they clinched as he clearly was able to use his height to gain better positioning. McMillan looked to be pacing himself and picking his shots while Huang was throwing punches in bunches. McMillan began to press the action in the second and he picked up the pace a barrage of knees to the body of Huang forced the referee to step in and give Huang a standing eight count. Huang seemed fatigued and was not able to continue and McMillan was declared the winner at 1:51 of the second round.
Chris Kwiatkowski and Robert Blake met in the night's first pro match. Both fighters came out working their kicks and were picking their shots. Kwiatkowski landed a hard right early on and Blake encouraged it. Kwiatkowski dictated the pace as he was pressing the action, but both fighters were methodical in their attacks. In round four the action picked up as both Kwiatkowski and Blake were throwing some heavy punches, but Kwiatkowski was more effective with his boxing. Kwiatkowski was able to solidify his performance pressing the action in the fifth round and once again using his boxing to gain the upper hand. In the end Kwiatkowski took home a unanimous decision on the judges scorecards.
Troy Sheridan and Diarmaid McGregor met in the tournaments first semi-final fight. Sheridan took the center of the ring and looked to take control early. Sheridan cornered McGregor and unleashed a flurry of strikes that forced McGregor to take a knee. McGregor came out after the count and looked to press the action, but a left hook from Sheridan connected and put McGregor on the canvas. McGregor was not able to get back to his feet as Sheridan punched his ticket to the tournament finals via KO at 1:49 of the first round.
Josh Fitzsimmons and Chris McMillan were looking to fill the other finals slot and from the start Fitzsimmons was looking to make it a quick fight. Fitzsimmons was throwing with bad intentions early as McMillan seemed to be flustered by his aggressiveness, but McMillan hung in tough and fought back and connected with a head kick as the round ended that sent Fitzsimmons to the mat. Fitzsimmons made it out of the round and once again came out aggressive in the second round. McMillan seemed to be in trouble again as Fitzsimmons connected with elbows to the body. Fitzsimmons punches continued to find their mark until the referee gave McMillan a count. McMillan’s nose was bloodied as the fight continued, while Fitzsimmons continued to press the action looking for the finish. McMillan made it out of the second round and in the third round came out showing new signs of life as he connected with several solid shots that seemed to have Fitzsimmons in trouble. Despite McMillan connecting with some solid shots Fitzsimmons continued to push forward until the end of the fight. In what was a very exciting fight Josh Fitzsimmons took home a unanimous decision from the judges.
The tournament finals featured two Canadian fighters as Troy Sheridan from Toronto and Josh Fitzsimmons from Hamilton were looking to take home the tournament crown. Both had one decision and one KO victory on the night coming in the tournament finals. Sheridan was undefeated coming into the tournament and as looking to be the first undefeated fighter to enter the Friday Night Fights tournament to leave without a blemish on his record. In the tournament's history twice have undefeated fighters entered the tournament and neither was able to make it out of the tournament with their perfect record intact.
Unlike his previous two fights, Fitzsimmons didn't look to press the action early. Sheridan initiated the clinch early and went to work with knees. Sheridan connected with solid shots to the body after a break from the clinch. Despite initiating the clinch again Fitzsimmons was able to land some powerful strikes that wobbled Sheridan before the referee stepped in and gave him an eight count. Despite receiving the count Sheridan continued to press the action. In the second round both fighters came out aggressive, but it seemed as if Sheridan was getting the better of Fitzsimmons as he seemed to have him hurt on a few occasions. Fitzsimmons was able to hang tough and make it out of the round. At the start of the third round both fighters came out looking to finish the fight. A short right hook from Fitzsimmons connected flush and Sheridan went crashing to the canvas face first. He was not able to answer the referees count as Fitzsimmons capped of the night’s tournament in stunning fashion.
In the night's main event Florida's Alex Berrios and Philadelphia's Rigel Balsamico came out calm and collected as they both looked to pick their shots. Berrios began to connect with solid strikes midway through the first round and Balsamico was clearly in trouble as Berrios began to pick his shots and connect. A right at the end of the round knocked out Balsamico's mouthpiece and sent him to the canvas, but Balsamico made it out of the round after clearly being in trouble. Berrios came out picking his shots at the start of the second round and connected with a head kick and some solid punches. Balsamico showed life after connecting with a big right, but Berrios responded with some solid strikes of his own. Berrios was connecting with his calculated attacks at will while Balsamico was clearly hesitant in the fight. Berrios began the third round looking to finish the fight and he clearly had Balsamico in trouble as he connected with some nice combination and at one point a nice fling knee. Balsamico was simply in survival mode when, from the cinch, Berrios unleashed a barrage of knees to the head and body. Balsamico turned away as the referee stopped and started the count. When the referee asked Balsamico if he could continue, Balsamico shook his head and replied, "I'm done". The end came at 2:05 of the third round as Alex Berrios took home a very impressive (T)KO victory.
Results:
AJ Pearson def. Nick Parenty via KO at 0:58 of Rd. 1
1st Round of 8-man Tournament:
Diarmaid McGregor def. Shawn Fagan via Split Decision
Troy Sheridan def. Phillip Legrand via Unanimous Decision
Josh Fitzsimmons def. Adam Edgerton via KO (Punch) at 1:51 of Rd. 1
Chris McMillon def. Richard Huang via (T)KO (Knees) at 1:51 of Rd. 2
Danny Rangel def. Chris Martinez via Split Decision
Jacques Preira def. Sentwali Woolrich via KO (Head Kick) at 0:53 of Rd. 1
Chris Kwiatkowski def. Robert Blake via Unanimous Decision
Semi-Finals of 8-Man Tournament:
Troy Sheridan def. Diarmaid McGregor via KO (Punches) at 1:49 of Rd. 1
Josh Fitzsimmons def. Chris McMillan via Unanimous Decision
Ruby Calabrese def. Daniella Budlimic via Unanimous Decision
Chris Mauceri def. Derrick George via Split Decision
8-Man Tournament Finals:
Josh Fitzsimmons def. Troy Sheridan via KO (Punch) at 0:19 of Rd. 3
Main Event:
Alex Berrios def. Rigel Balsamico via (T)KO (Knees) at 2:05 of Rd. 3
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