GUNDERSON, GROVE TAKE HOME WINS AND TITLES
IN NIGHT OF UPSETS AND GREAT ACTION AT SHOFIGHT 20
Main card of event to be broadcasted on Pay-Per-View on July 1st
Springfield,
Missouri (USA): This past Saturday, the O’Reilly Family Event Center in
Springfield, Missouri played host to ShoFIGHT 20, the first pro event
in the company’s history. In the main event, John Gunderson made good on
his welterweight debut, as he defeated fellow UFC vet Karo Parisyan via
TKO to take home the ShoFIGHT 170-pound title. The co-main event
showcased a back-and-forth scrap between TUF season 3 winner
Kendall Grove and rising Strikeforce star Derek Brunson. In the end,
Grove had his hand controversially raised via split-decision. The win
garnered Grove the ShoFIGHT middleweight belt.
ShoFIGHT will air on Pay-Per-View on July 1st.
“It
was an electrifying night of action for our local fight fans, and our
fans up in Canada,” said ShoFIGHT Promoter JT Tilley. “From Gunderson to
Grove to Beerbohm…there were some very memorable performances Saturday
night. I can’t wait for the rest of the U.S. fans to get to see ShoFIGHT
20 on Pay-Per-View!”
After
being taken down early in the fight, Gunderson (33-13-2) landed a
brutal knee to Parisyan’s (20-9) eye, which was the beginning of the end
of the fight. “Guns” quickly grabbed a guillotine, and Parisyan tapped
at 2:47 of the first round. “The Heat” grabbed his face immediately in
obvious pain. It was the first time he’d ever tapped out in an MMA cage.
“I
was happy to get a big win and bring back another belt to my gym at
Xtreme Couture,” stated Gunderson. “I plan on going back to my natural
weight class at 155 pounds, but I look forward to defending my ShoFIGHT
belt, regardless.”
After
enduring an opponent change on only four days’ notice, Grove
(15-10-0-1) went from facing a 5’8” pro boxer in Terry Martin to a 6’1”
former amateur wrestling champion in Derek Brunson (9-1). The lanky
Hawaiian handled the adversity, grabbing a highly-scrutinized
split-decision victory over his less-experienced opponent. He worked
effectively from his back, and Brunson was unable to take advantage of
his takedowns. As a result, Grove came out with the win and the belt.
“I’m
happy I got the win, though I wish I would have finished him,”
explained Grove. “I was training for Martin for my whole camp, and then a
week before my fight my opponent changed to Brunson, who is a totally
different fighter. Our fight was at 190 pounds, and I was already
on-point at 185 pounds. So, mentally, that messed me up a little. But
I’m a fighter. I was ready to fight, so at that point, pulling out
wasn’t an option. I came into this sport to fight and that’s what I did.
We always wish we could have done better, but I feel like I put on a
good fight. Don’t get me wrong…Brunson’s a great wrestler. But he got
takedowns and did nothing with them. I did more on my back than he did
on top.
“As
far as what’s next, as I’ve said, I am a fighter, so I’m ready to
fight. I have no injuries from Saturday’s fight, so whoever calls next,
I’m game. Until then, I will continue my training in preparation of
defending my belt,” he concluded.
Other
notable winners on the card include Strikeforce Lyle “Fancy Pants”
Beerbohm, who bloodied PRIDE vet Marcus Aurelio en route to a dominant
decision victory, Jonatas Novaes, a quick TKO winner in his bout with
UFC vet Drew Fickett, Chris Gruetzemacher, who now has won ten straight
fights, as well as Bellator vet Dustin Phillips and former UFC fighter
Matt Lucas.
Here are the full results of ShoFIGHT 20:
Main Event - ShoFIGHT Welterweight Championship
John ‘Guns’ Gunderson defeated Karo ‘the Heat’ Parysian via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:47 of the 1st round
Co-Main Event - ShoFIGHT Middleweight Championship
Kendall ‘Da Spyder’ Grove defeated Derek Brunson via split-decision
Lyle ‘Fancy Pants’ Beerbohm defeated Marcus ‘Maximus’ Aurelio via unanimous decision
Mike Wessell defeated Matt Kovaks via TKO (punches) at 4:50 of the 2nd round
Jonatas Noveas defeated Drew Fickett via TKO (punches) at 0:51 of the 1st round
Chris ‘Gritz’ Gruetzmacher defeated Roli Delgado via TKO (elbows) at 3:24 of the 3rd round
‘Smilin’ Sam Alvey defeated Lucas Lopes via TKO (punches) at 1:39 of the 1st round
Chris ‘Crazyman’ McDaniel defeated Charles ‘Kid Kaos’ Bennett via submission (triangle choke) at 2:52 of the 1st round
Sevak Magakian defeated James ‘JP’ Reese via unanimous decision
Dustin Phillips defeated Allen Gibson via unanimous decision
Mike Brazzle defeated Karen Darabedyan via TKO (punches) at 4:15 of the 1st round
Matt ‘Luke Duke’ Lucas defeated Lucas ‘the Hillbilly Lightstorm’ Overcast via unanimous decision
Jacob ‘Straight Jacket’ Ritchie defeated Robert Saborudden via TKO (punches) at 3:28 of the 3rd round
Jason Ignacek defeated Gary Michaels via unanimous decision
ShoFIGHT’s next event is a “ShoFIGHT Contender Series Event” on July 28th in Branson, Missouri, which will be followed by their next pro PPV event, ShoFIGHT 22, on Sept 8th. Stay tuned to ShoFIGHT.com for more details!
For more information on ShoFIGHT, please visit http://shofight.com/. ShoFIGHT can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/ShoFight-MMA/113079148732416, and on Twitter @ShoFIGHT.
Contact: Phil Lanides
Publicist/Owner
Publicist/Owner
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