On the evening of January 19, 2014, Battlefield Fight League brought Metro Vancouver a rare treat of having an MMA pioneer to showcase his skills. Former UFC fighter and TUF alumni, “Mr. International” Shonie Carter, challenged the young BFL welterweight champion, Matt Dwyer at the River Rock Casino.
BFL 27: Dwyer vs. Carter The Aftermath
The first round was evenly contested, as Carter and Dwyer both had success in striking and grappling exchanges. In the second round, Dwyer began to find a rhythm using his long reach and timing — also landing several hard body and leg kicks on Carter. Unfortunately, Carter was stepping in as one of the attempted leg kicks landed very hard directly on to his groin cup. The thud from the impact was distinctively heard over the live audience. Carter almost used his full recovery time, but gritted through the pain and continued the match. Immediately at the end of the round, Carter collapsed into his corner and was unable to answer the third round bell. The referee called a stop to the bout and Dwyer retained his BFL welterweight title.
In the co-main event, BFL amateur heavyweight champion, Adam Santos, made his long awaited return against challenger, Jamie Smyth. Smyth came close to winning the title as he dropped Santos to the canvas with a series of powerful punches. The champ defended the ground and pound, and a rear naked choke attempt and regained his composure. Within the last 30-seconds of the round, Santos swept, and gained top position. He rained down his own ground and pound and was able to convince the referee to stop the bout with one second left in the round. Santos retained the title, but is expected to graduate to professional status in his next bout.
Other notable bouts:
Ash “Smash” Mashreghi has found the perfect fit in training with the team at Iron City, as he continues his onslaught on the BFL welterweight division. Mashreghi showed why he is a fan favorite with his showmanship and emotion as he egged on his opponent, Mark Dobie, for a brawl. As Dobie obliged, Smash struck with enough precision and power to stop his with a bloody TKO.
Two BC veteran fighters put on the fight of the night as Darwin Douglas and Bill Fraser went to war. The fight was back and forth as both fighters came out calculated but aggressive. Fraser landed well placed kicks and well disguised super man punches. In the end Douglas received all three judges nods with landing the most blows including several hard leg kicks, and a head kick at the end of round 1 that made Fraser walk back to his corner on sea legs.
MMASucka.com’s Top Three bouts of the night:
1. Darwin Douglas vs Bill Fraser
2. Bryce Gougeon vs. James Foster
3. Marco Viedas vs David Chen
MMASucka.com’s Top Three fighters of the night:
1. Ash Mashreghi
2. Justin Aujla-Field
3. Daniel Richard
