MartialNarrative's Review

Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja

I enjoyed this event very much. There were only a few high profile ranked matchups but be Co-Main was a true No.1 contender eliminator. I’m not sure if the Winner will be the next fighter to challenge for the belt, but their next fight will be a title challenge. The Main Event was for Undisputed Flyweight Gold and due to how the first fight ended where Pantoja blew his elbow out in the first few moments there is now a chance to settle who is truly better and the Flyweight Champion. So the weight of those two matchups as well as the other performances through out the night made up the the lack of ranked names on the card. Some my favorites included Casey O’Neills slick sweep and arm bar entry from bottom, Chito Vera’s 3 highly affective rounds and the finish by fighter wave off, and of course Sean Sharaf knocking Gable Stevenson out cold in the first exchange halting all the hype and ego checking a certain group of people and fans. As for the Co-Main, wow. Although Arman took some Damage early and Ruffy looked as though he could defend the takedowns and find his marks as the fight continued we will never know. Arman put the pressure on, Ruffy did well but Arman was getting what he wanted out of it and landed some nice shots. Its very hard to be so skilled that you’re opponent has to consistently keep their hands low to defend the takedown, it’s even more impressive to have that skill and be intelligent and affective enough to capitalize on it. Armans work earlier in the fight paid off and just as the bell was about to ring Arman shoots in pushing Ruffy to the Cage and Brings a nasty Hellbow over the top sleeping Ruffy out and then landed another on his way down for good measure. Arman will fight for the belt next. The Main event is exactly what you expect from an Undisputed Title Fight, especially with these two. Pantoja started strong and had a lot of success and took a round or two. But his style stayed the same and his paced lowered. Van learned, grew, and changed during the fight and was only going upward as the fight ended. He took over and never turned back. Pantoja is tough as can be but doesn’t utilize his skill and technique enough. Van has a hall of fame level expectation based on his age and what he’s shown. My fight if the night was Van vs Pantoja and my Finish of the Night goes to Sean Sharaf. My overall event rating is a 7.5, just above average location, the advertising was average, the commentary was average, some nice finishes and incredible results but the event lacked a certain mystic quality, lacked big name ranked matchups, lacked some technique and high level fights, but hit hard with in unexpected finishes, upsets, and violence.