ShoFight 20 Features Upsets and Electrifying Action

[keithlewis]

ShoFight 20 Features Upsets and Electrifying Action


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 aired live on Fight Network and will air on Pay-Per-View in the U.S. 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 ... 9148732416, and on Twitter @ShoFIGHT.