
Fienberg
Advances to the Finals at Midwest Combat Challenge 9
by Jake Digman
(11/09/09
– Akron, OH) – With less than a month to go until Night
of Champions, the NAAFS made a pit stop this past Saturday at Chapparell’s
Community Center in Akron, OH for Midwest Combat Challenge 9. The
fans in attendance were treated to a great night of action, featuring
new names being introduced to the series and some very familiar
faces.
The
final National Amateur Championship fight for Night of Champions
was set at Midwest Combat Challenge 9 when #3 Bill Fienberg (4-1)
of Ohio BJJC defeated Josh Castro (8-3) of Lancaster Academy of
MMA by Unanimous Decision in the main event. Fienberg now sets his
sights on the unbeaten #1 ranked JP “The Jackhammer”
Jaranowski (7-0) for the 2009 National Amateur Bantamweight Championship.
The
co-main event featured new blood entering the NAAFS scene, as Team
Tru Fighter’s Nate “The Robot” Mango (6-2) defeated
Kelli Gottardo (3-2) by Rear Naked Choke at 1:36 of the first round.
Look for Mango to be a force in the National Amateur Featherweight
division by the time 2010 rolls around.
Midwest
Combat Challenge 9 also witnessed the successful returns of two
prominent National Amateur Middleweight fighters of Strong Style
Fight Team. Brook Park’s “X-Rayted” Ray Halasz
(3-0) showed no signs of rust in his TKO victory over Mike Bothwell
(2-1) at 1:33 of the first round. Afterwards, an elated Halasz dedicated
the victory to the memory of his father who had recently passed
away. Halasz’ s teammate “Chocolate Thunder” Milan
Wesley (4-2) was equally as impressive in his first round TKO victory,
after being out of the cage for over 2 years. These could be two
more potential names to keep an eye on for 2010.
The
National Amateur Women’s division was also on display at Midwest
Combat Challenge 9, with two fights taking place. In the first fight
at 145lbs; Erie, PA’s Nola Hessom (1-0) made a successful
MMA debut making short work Trisha Barr with a first round Guillotine
Choke victory in just 40 seconds. The second women’s bout
took place at 130lbs and saw Rachel “The Rage” Dovidio
of Team Corps improve to 2-0 by defeating Brandy Bennett by TKO
at 2:58 of the first round. Living in North Carolina, but originally
from the Canton area this was a successful homecoming for Dovidio.
With the first ever National Amateur Women’s Champion being
crowned at Night of Champions, look for even big growth next year
and beyond for one of the NAAFS’s most popular divisions.
The
NAAFS would like to thank all the great fans for coming up and showing
your support at Midwest Combat Challenge 9. A special thank you
goes out to Dillard’s Department Stores, SportsTalkCLEVELAND.com,
Rev 3 Energy Drink, Tim Lally Chevrolet, SportsTime Ohio, BetonFighting.com,
D-A Specialty Company, Cliffside Key Club, the United States Army,
and Mr. John P. Lennon for your support of the NAAFS!
QUICK
RESULTS
135
lbs - Bill Fienberg 4-1 (Ohio BJJC) over Josh Castro 8-3 (Lancaster
Academy) by Unanimous Decision
145
lbs - Nate Mango 6-2 (Team Tru Fighter) over Kelli Gottardo 3-2
(Wauseon MMA) by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:36 of Rd 1
185
lbs - "X-Rayted" Ray Halaz 3-0 (Strong Style) over Mike
Bothwell 2-1 (Mad Dog Fight Team) by TKO @ 1:33 of Rd 1
130
lbs - Rachel "The Rage" Dovidio 2-0 (Team Corps) over
Brandy Bennett 0-1 (Dark Water Fight Team) by TKO @ 2:58 of Rd 1
185
lbs - "Chocolate Thunder" Milan Wesley 4-2 (Strong Style)
over Cliffton McNair 1-2 (Kaged Kombat MMA) by TKO @ 2:47 of Rd
1
185
lbs - Corey Bresson 2-1 (Kombat MMA) over Chris Bradley 2-4 (Instigator)
by Unanimous Decision
135
lbs - Aaron Kent 4-1 (Nutter MMA) over John Nemeth 2-2 (Golden Dragons
Fight Team) by Unanimous Decision
135
lbs - Shawn Goolsby 3-2 (Vander) over Abe Peterman 6-5 (Elite Combat
Team) by TKO @ 2:18 of Rd 2
155
lbs - Andrew Jordan 1-0 (Kick MMA) over Matt Cavazos 0-1 (Red Dragon
Fight Team) by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:38 of Rd 1
170
lbs - Manny Soto 1-0 (Vander) over Jeff Himes 0-1 (Doylestown, OH)
by TKO @ 1:47 of Rd 1
145
lbs - Nola Hessom 1-0 (Harris International) over Trisha Barr 0-1
(Team Kana) by Rear Naked Choke @ :40 of Rd 1
145
lbs - Francis Healy 1-0 (Mad Dog Fight Team) over Stanley Van Pelt
0-2 (Independent) by Tapout From Strikes @ 1:40 of Rd 1
PHOTOS

Francis Healy of Mad Dog Fight Team makes his debut

Nola Hessom vs Trisha Barr

Andrew Jordan vs. Matt Cavazos with the most exciting debut fight
of the night

Corey Bresson with the ground and pound on Chris Bradley to win
the unanimous decision

Mr. & Mrs. Digman cageside

Milan Wesley looks to finish in round 1

Jake Digman & Nichole Long

Future NAAFS fighters?

Rachel Dovidio vs Brandy Bennett

Rachel Dovidio victorious over Brandy Bennett

Mr. Lennon having a good time dancing cageside

Ray Halasz has fans!

NAAFS Cage Girls

Kevin, John & Dan enjoying Midwest Combat Challenge 9

Nate Mango finishes off Kelli Gottardo

Nate Mango has amazing ink

Castro ready for battle

Bill Feinberg gets ready to enter the cage

Castro vs Feinberg

Feinberg moves on to December and the National Finals
About
the NAAFS
The
North American Allied Fight Series is the region's premiere mixed
martial arts organization featuring top amateur and professional
prospects along with some of the sports premier fighters includin,
Jason Dent (Current NAAFS Lightweight Champion), Forrest Petz, Ryan
Madigan, Josh Hendricks, Ben Rothwell, Jeff Cox, Dan Bobish, Paul
Bradley, Noah Inhofer, Matt Brown, and Joe Heiland among others.
The television program NAAFS Cage Fighting can be seen domestically
Sunday nights at 11 pm EST on the television home of the Cleveland
Indians, SportsTime Ohio, nationally via Direct TV and Dish Network.