Olson beats Chattelle again in stunner; Howard rocks Louck to sleep in opening round

LINCOLN, R.I. (April 12th, 2013) – John “Doomsday” Howard punched out Jason Louck, and, quite possibly, punched his ticket back to the big stage, while Dennis Olson sent Todd Chattelle back to the drawing board Friday at Twin River Casino.

Howard (18-8, 9 KOs) the former Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) veteran from Boston, knocked out Louck (15-11) 23 seconds into the opening round of their middleweight bout, and Olson beat Chattelle for the second time in his career, choking out “The Hulk” in a surprising finish in the first half of Friday’s co-main event.

Howard caught Louck with a clean left hand early in the fight, following by a right and another hard left to the chin, sending Louck to the canvas for good. With the UFC set to return to Boston later this summer, Howard could get the call after making quick work of Louck and winning his fifth consecutive bout since the UFC released him in 2011.

“I just went for it. I saw an opening and went for it,” Howard said. “If I go back to the UFC I’m representing Rhode Island.”

Chattelle (11-9), who lost to Olson in his professional debut in 2007, dominated Friday’s rematch early, catching Olson (13-7) with an overhand right that sent his opponent to the canvas and nearly ended the fight. Olson worked his way back up, only to eat a series of short uppercuts that again left him dazed against Chattelle’s non-stop onslaught. Just when it appeared Chattelle had the upper hand, and, perhaps, the inside track toward a much-needed win, Olson scored a quick takedown and subsequently submitted Chattelle with the north-south choke to stun the pro-Chattelle crowd at Twin River.

“He rocked me like four times in that round,” Olson said. “I just tried to keep pushing. Todd is a big, strong 185 pounds, but I knew if I pressed in the later rounds, his cardio would give up on him. I just kept working and working, and it worked for me.”

In a highly-anticipated battle between two of the region’s top featherweights, Rob Font (6-1) of Boston one-upped himself Friday, beating previously-undefeated Lucas Cruz (6-1) by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, less than two months after taking out former top-ranked featherweight Saul Almeida at Twin River. Both fighters switched positions throughout the fight in what was an evenly-matched bout, but Font credited a strong finish in the fight’s final two minutes as the difference on the scorecards.

Cruz had previously beaten veterans John Ortolani and Pete Jeffrey along with undefeated featherweight Andres Jeudi prior to Friday’s loss to Font.

“Lucas is a stud,” Font said, “and I only want to fight studs. I pushed a little harder in the end and came out on top.”

Providence lightweight Keenan Raymond (1-0) started the night with a win in his professional debut, submitting last-minute replace Ralph Johnson (5-5) of Worcester, Mass., via a rear-naked choke at the 2:44 mark of the second round. After a slow start, Raymond picked up the pace in the second round and essentially overwhelmed Johnson with a series of short elbows before locking in the choke.

Jersey City veteran Emmanuel Walo (3-1) picked up a big road win as he handed Milford, Mass., welterweight Toby Oden (1-1) the first loss of his career by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Walo won the first two rounds on each scorecard with his exceptional takedown defense and ground game and overcame a furious charge by Oden in the third to secure the win.

Flyweight Jimmy Grant (4-1), also of New Jersey, scored another win for the Garden State out-of-towners with a first-round submission win over Woonsocket, R.I., native Kody Nordby (3-1). Grant won it with a mounted D’Arce choke at the 1:19 mark, leaving the previously-unbeaten Nordby unconscious with his back to the canvas. East Providence, R.I., lightweight Nate Andrews (4-0) also made quick work of his opponent, knocking out Asa Zorn (1-1) of Connecticut 32 seconds into the opening round. Zorn went for the takedown, but Andrews caught him with a knee to the chin on the way, sending Zorn face down to the canvas and forcing referee Kevin MacDonald to stop the fight.

Featherweight Shaun Marmas (5-4) of Coventry, R.I., spoiled Thomas Evans’ comeback attempt, submitting Marmas via armbar at the 4:21 mark of the opening round. Fighting for the first time since April of 2012 due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident, Evans (2-2) was forced to tap out late in the round once Marmas reversed his takedown and locked in the armbar. Marmas had lost four of his last six bouts entering Friday.

Cambridge, Mass., bantamweight Kin Moy (2-0) pulled off one of the more surprising wins of the night, turning the tables on fan-favorite Dinis Paiva Jr. (3-4) of East Providence, R.I., and earning the submission victory 57 seconds into the second round. Paiva dominated the opening round with several big takedowns in addition to his exceptional stand-up game, but he got caught early in the second trying to go for a single-leg takedown and Moy subsequently choked him out with the guillotine to end the fight.