Cobb catches Fickett with first-round finish: Davis, Westcott, Lima among other winners at MFC 30Brian Cobb survived a series of serious submission threats, turned the tide of his fight in a quick flash, and scored a surprising TKO victory over Drew Fickett in the co-main event of the Maximum Fighting Championship’s MFC 30: Up Close & Personal on Friday night.
The event aired live on HDNet Fights before a packed house at the Mayfield Convention Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.
Cobb (19-6), who was making his MFC debut, was in deep trouble after being taken down in the corner with Fickett eyeing a fast submission victory. Fickett (41-14) looked to have the win sewn up as he took Cobb’s back, secured a body lock, and went for a rear-naked choke followed by a neck crank. But “The Bandit” eventually slithered out of harm’s way and turned into Fickett’s guard to begin raining down right hands. When Fickett’s head bounced off the mat for the second time, referee Vern Gorman stepped in to halt Cobb’s attack with just 16 seconds left in the first round.
“Without a doubt, the biggest win of my career,” said Cobb, the Bakersfield, California, product who racked up his fourth straight victory. “It was a true honor to fight Drew Fickett and I am extremely happy with this win.”
While Cobb moves into title contention for the MFC’s lightweight belt, it was a gut-wrenching setback for Fickett which ended his winning streak at five.
In the night’s other co-main event – a rematch four years’ in the making – Marcus Davis made it two in a row over fellow distinguished veteran Pete Spratt with a clear-cut unanimous decision. Both fighters landed some significant blows, particularly early on, but it was Davis’s work in the clinch combined with a couple of key takedowns the earned him the edge. Davis (19-8) had a few moments where he was within range of putting a barrage of strikes together, but ultimately had to settle for catching Spratt with some sporadic shots.
The victory was the second for Davis in the MFC, while Spratt (22-20) in now even at 3-3 in the organization. One judge saw Davis take all three rounds for a 30-27 count, while the other two judges had it 29-28.
There was no doubt as to who won the most-anticipated rematch in MFC history, even though Sheldon Westcott and Thomas Denny went to the judges’ scorecards for the second straight time just as they did in their clash at MFC 28 which was ruled a draw.
Westcott’s size and strength were the critical differences, and the ever-improving welterweight prospect, who was fighting in front of a huge throng of home-town supporters, had smooth sailing en route to a unanimous decision. All three judges had Westcott (5-1-1) taking it 29-27 – Westcott was docked one point in Round 3 for blows to the back of the head.
Westcott was in control right from the start, alternating over the first two rounds of dominating with ground-and-pound as well as several attempts at a guillotine choke. The third round was the most action-packed of the bout. Both fighters were on the mark with stinging right hands in the opening moments before Westcott banged Denny twice more with rights that stunned the wily veteran. Westcott reverted back to submission attempts, going again for the guillotine followed by a dangerous looking arm-triangle, but neither were enough to finish Denny (27-19-1).
Still it was a dominating performance by Westcott, who might next face the winner of the bout that preceded his on the card – Dhiego Lima.
Lima (6-0) looked every bit the role of the MFC’s top welterweight prospect as he stormed through Jamie Toney and carved out a knockout finish just 2:47 into Round 1. Toney, who fights out of Bas Rutten’s gym in Los Angeles, California, did catch Lima with a solid strike early on, but the Atlanta, Georgia, product, didn’t appeared fazed at all. Lima then blasted Toney (14-7) with a right hand that dropped him to the canvas, and he followed up with a series of hammerfists that brought referee John Braak rushing in to halt the assault.
The win was Lima’s third in the MFC – first inside the opening round and second by knockout.
After two hard-luck decision losses, Curtis “The Demon” Demarce appeared to have racked up a third when the judges’ scores were read on this night. However, a scoring error was discovered shortly after the verdict was announced, and Demarce, who calls Brandon, Manitoba, home but fights out of San Diego, California, was deemed the winner in his tussle with Robert Washington. It was a much-needed win for Demarce (11-9) after his controversial split-decision loss to Richie Whitson at MFC 28 and a razor-thin judges’ outcome that went against him in his battle with Marcus Davis at MFC 29. For Washington (9-4), it was his third straight loss in the MFC.
Opening up the HDNet Fights broadcast was a Submission of the Night performance from Andreas Spang (6-1). “The Sweet Swede” is more regarded for his striking but his second attempt at a guillotine choke ultimately forced Cody Krahn (10-4) to tap out much to the dismay of his home-town in Edmonton. It was a clutch win for Spang, the native of Stockholm, Sweden, who fights out of Las Vegas, Nevada, after he was submitted by Ali Mokdad at MFC 29.
The Knockout of the Night came in the final preliminary bout when Edmonton’s own Mukai Maromo (5-2), who was making his MFC debut, dropped Scott Cleve just 36 seconds into their contest. A straight left to the chin and a follow-up body kick from Maromo did in Cleve (4-1).
In the night’s opening bout, the trilogy between Edmonton rivals Garrett Nybakken and Jevon Marshall came to a fast conclusion. Nybakken (3-2) caught Marshall right on the jaw with a precision strike and Marshall (2-3) was done before he hit the mat only 16 seconds into the fight.
