Lion Fight 19: Results & Pics
Chris Mauceri def. Coke Chunhawat (UD)
Foxwoods Resort Casino hosted yet another successful Lion Fight Productions Muay Thai event last Friday night. Despite having to scrub the original main event due to champion Fabio Pinca contracting the flu, the show went on with Jo Nattawut flying in on less than a day’s notice to fight Sean Kearney in a catchweight bout that put Kearney at a two weight class disadvantage. It says a lot about a promotion when its fighters are willing to step up to that extent, and the fans certainly appreciated it.
Kearney put up a good fight against the bigger and more experienced Nattawut, but in the end he was no match for Jo’s punishing kicks and expert work in the clinch. The unanimous decision went to Nattawut — his second win in as many Lion Fight appearances.
The co-main event was a closely-contested fight between Chajmaa Bellakhal and Jeri Sitzes, who also took the bout on short notice. Bellakhal was able to push the pace throughout the fight to edge out a split decision.
******
Other fights of note:
With his Muay Thai record standing at 2-0, upstart Pedro Gonzalez raised the stakes again and took on another underdog fight, this time against the veteran Rungrat Sasiprapa — but he was unable to pull off the upset. While his striking was as impressive as ever, he failed to leverage it efficiently and instead stayed in the clinch with Sasiprapa, which turned out to be a fatal mistake. Sasiprapa forced Gonzalez to fold late in the fourth round. Still, this was easily the most exciting and entertaining fight of the night.
Meanwhile, Chris Mauceri was able to defy the odds by besting the super-experienced Coke Chunhawat and earning the unanimous decision. Huge win for Mauceri.
The first fight of the evening pitting Julian Nguyen and Nick Valentino was also the shortest one, and it featured some devastating striking by Nguyen that prompted the referee to rescue a bloodied Valentino less than two minutes in. Great performance by Nguyen to improve his record to 3-2 and hand his opponent his first loss.
Lion Fight
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Jo NATTAWUT def. Sean Kearney (UD)
Chajmaa BELLAKHAL def. Jeri Sitzes (SD)
Ognjen TOPIC def. Rungravee Sasiprapa (UD)
Rungrat SASIPRAPA def. Pedro Gonzalez (TKO @ 2:42 of Rd 4)
Chris MAUCERI def. Coke Chunhawat (UD)
Julio PENA def. Matt Doherty (UD)
Benjamin ANTON def. Niko Qirjazo (UD)
Emily BACK def. Elizabeth Silveira (MD)
Brian BOGUE def. Jeovanny Tovar (UD)
Julian NGUYEN def. Nick Valentino (TKO @ 1:47 of Rd 1)
