PHOTO BY ALEIA DYE
Empire struck back once again on April 7 and gave MMA fans in the mid-south an early Easter treat. These athletes left everything in the cage and showed how hard work and dedication in the gym pays off. “Fight of the Night” honors definitely goes to Jesse Parker and Brian Adkins. This fight was back and forth action for two rounds before Parker was able to secure a triangle choke for the victory. “Knockout of the Night” went to super-heavyweight Roy “Kong” McCrary. It only took one round for McCrary to knock out his opponent, and after the fight he got on the mic and told the crowd that he cannot wait to be back and that he is the top super-heavyweight in the world and will take on all challengers. “Submission of the Night” went to Cameron Cain. His opponent got the better of him in round #1, but Cain stayed patient and was able to land a rear naked choke in the second round to put away his opponent. Other highlights of the evening were:
- Chris Hawk is back in the win column and showed just how dangerous of an opponent he is and why he is ranked in the top 5 in the state.
- Jacob Noe is just about ready for that next level with a dominating win over a game opponent in Roman Pizzolato.
- Jaleel Willis showed how much of an advantage he has over nearly every other fighter in the area because of his dominating wrestling skills. It took him only one round to defeat his opponent.
FULL RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
AMATEURS
- (195 catchweight) Cameron Cain defeated Marcus Morton via RNC in round #2
- (middleweight) Frankie Shugart defeated David Young via TKO in round #1
- (welterweight) Jaleel Willis defeated Law Purifoy via TKO in round #1
- (bantamweight)Jesse Parker defeated Bryan Adkins via triangle choke in round #2
- (lightweight) Adam Denton defeated Steven Cornelius via TKO in round #1
- (heavyweight) Jeremiah Trundle defeated Jay Thron via TKO in round #1
PRO
- (super-heavyweight) Roy McCrary defeated Mike Williams via KO in round #1
- (lightweight) Harry Johnson defeated Enoch Bricker via RNC in round #1
- (middleweight) Abe Wilson defeated Mike Ward via triangle choke in round #1
- (middleweight) Chris Hawk defeated Derek Lehmann via RNC in round #1
- (light heavyweight) Jacob Noe defeated Roman Pizzolato via RNC in round #1
*Empires next show will be on June 23*