Joe “Superhero” Lile didn’t need a red cape or special powers to knockout Clint Anderson in spectacular fashion at Rocktagon XXV “Prepare for Battle.”
On Saturday night, hundreds of mixed martial arts fans filed into the Crane Bay Event Center in Indianapolis for a full night of professional and amateur action. It marked Rocktagon MMA’s first event in Indiana but, after a great night of fights, it certainly won’t be the last.
Lightweights Lile and Anderson served as the main attraction in a bout that didn’t even make it out of the first round.
Lile started right off the bat taking the center of the cage and forcing Anderson on his heels with strikes. Anderson, who seemed tentative to engage on the feet, was never able to find his rhythm. He finally made the costly mistake of throwing a kick with his hands down, which Lile immediately countered with a straight right hand.
On wobbly legs, Anderson tried to secure a takedown out of desperation, but Lile simply angled off and dropped him with a pair of vicious uppercuts. The referee stepped in at 2:17 of the first round to call a halt to the action.
After the fight, Lile admitted he had worked extensively on countering kicks in training camp. “We watched some of the video and knew he was going to step in with a bunch of kicks. My game plan was to step in and punch and counter the kicks, and I knew it was working.”
The night of first round finishes continued in the co-main event bout between welterweights Tony “Twotimes” Ledbetter and Keith “Stone” Cunagin.
In a bout consisting of takedowns and ground scrambles, Cunagin always found a way to end up in top position. He was eventually able to pass to side control and posture up for some elbows.
Ledbetter raised his arms in an attempt to shield himself from further punishment, which left him open to an arm triangle choke. Cunagin wasted no time in latching on the hold and waiting for Ledbetter’s body to go limp at 2:14 of the first round.
In his post-fight interview, Cunagin gave the credit to his corner for talking him through the fight. “He’s real lengthy and strong. He surprised me with his hip movement. That’s why I kind of kept my distance when he was on the ground. I kind of felt like I could outwrestle him. I felt a little stronger once I got him down. Once I hit that outside single, my corner kept saying ‘go in that direction, go in that direction.’ I got good corner men on my side, went in that direction and ended up getting the arm triangle.”
In the rest of the pro bout lineup, lightweight Austin “Cougar Bait” Tweedy held onto his perfect record with a first round TKO victory over Doug Stapleton. Tweedy hardly broke a sweat in securing an early takedown, transitioning to mount and raining down unanswered punches for the stoppage at 1:26.
Middleweight Muhammad “Hurricane” Abdullah had his hand raised after going the distance with Jared “War Angel” Bailey. There was a lot of energy expended by Bailey, who failed at many attempts to get the fight to the ground. Abdullah was brilliant in switching from the thai plum and single collar tie to load up on uppercuts and knees from the clinch. In the end, all three judges saw the bout in Abdullah’s favor and handed him the unanimous decision.
38-year-old Reggie “Contract Killer” Parks proved age is nothing but a number in his astonishing performance against Kyle “Cowboy” Nickle. Many may have mistakenly viewed Parks as a steppingstone for a rising star, but he repelled any such notion with a TKO win at 2:35 of the first round.
Before the pros took center stage, a solid night of novice action was capped off by the crowning of two new Rocktagon MMA advanced amateur champions. James “Bad Touch” Mogollon submitted Gary Widget with a guillotine choke at 1:10 of the first round to become the first ever Rocktagon MMA Lightweight Amateur Indiana Title and Robert Duke led the way for the big boys by securing an impressive TKO stoppage over Trey Ross at 2:47 of the first round to become the first Rocktagon MMA Indiana Light Heavyweight Amateur Champion.
In other bouts, Vanessa “Lil Monster” Demopoulos gutted out a tough split decision win over Caylea “The Banshee” Borges in women’s action; Derek Bratton handed Kyle Ettner his first loss with a hard split decision victory; Adam Hayden took a lopsided unanimous decision over Bryan Grimm; Brian Siddons survived a late triangle choke attempt to earn a unanimous decision over Tylor Warner and Wes Barber submitted Sinhue “The Dark Prince” Mockobee at 2:16 of the second round with an arm triangle choke.
Rocktagon XXV also featured live music by American Wi-Fi, opportunities for fans to try out the IndyWest Harley-Davidson Jumpstart Bike, and guest appearances by UFC veteran Sean “Big Sexy” McCorkle and the former Heavyweight Champion of the World Lamon Brewster.
The Rocktagon MMA “Journey of Champions” Pro-Am National Tour will continue on May 4 with Rocktagon XXVI “Veni, Vedi, Vici” in Cleveland with additional stops in California, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin this summer.
Founded in mid-2010, Rocktagon MMA has successfully completed 25 events on two coasts and is the only promotion able to offer four types of shows to meet the needs of various markets: all amateur, all professional, Pro-Am, and Rock-n-Rage. Rock-n-Rages are premium events combining the cage of mixed martial arts with the stage featuring live musical performances by well-known artists.?
To find out more about Rocktagon MMA, go to www.RocktagonMMA.com or text MMA to 36000. Fans may also follow Rocktagon MMA on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
