Elite 1 MMA “Wild Card” Photos, Fight Recaps and more

Photos by: Melanie Lemieux (click on photo to view album)

MMeh Fighter was cageside at Elite 1 MMA “Wild Card” last Saturday to witness Elite 1 MMA Productions and Casino New Brunswisk’s first MMA event together. The venue was an intimate one which allowed the crowd to be close to the action. The million plus dollar light show set the tone for the evening – an electrifying performing card. What needs  to be understood is some of these fighters are experiencing the emotional evolution, coming into their their very first fight set in such an amazing venue.  Promoter Steve Williams was very happy with the overall success of the show, just short of a sell out. “We had over 1700 fans here tonight” explains Williams. “We are only going to get bigger and better, with ex-UFC fighters to come and more Live Footage Screens for the fans.”

The night was full of great fights and action -  one fighter continuously vomited, some early stoppages, records were broken and a new champ was crowned.  A shout out to the referees and how they were on top of their game during every fight. Here is a quick recap of each fight with results. Send us your thoughts.

Main Card

Elite 1 MMA Light Heavyweight Championship

Chris Johnson def. Steve Skinner by Rear Naked Choke at 3:07 of the 1st round

Both men looked to be in great shape coming into this Light Heavyweight title fight.  The 1st round saw Skinner come straight at Johnson looking to exchange. Johnson would have nothing of it as he was looking to stick and move. It was obvious that he did not want to stand in front and take Skinner’s punches. It proved to be a great game plan. Skinner, at one point, stopped chasing and tried to entice Johnson to exchange with him. Both men got some hard shots in with punches and solid leg kicks. Skinner did tag Johnson with a good right hook. Johnson was quick to recover. Skinner looked to be slowing down rapidly and that’s when Johnson took advantage and got some great body shots in and took Skinner down, where he eventually sunk in the fight- ending Rear Naked Choke. Johnson is now the New Elite 1 MMA Light Heavyweight Champion.

*Between these two fights Jeremy Bernard decided to enter the ring with his manager and challenge Meneka Weva for a shot to slide into the number one contenders spot. The Weva camp seemed to slice through all the crap and decline the offer. In this sport you’re only as good as your last fight. Publicly challenging someone after they won a big fight to try to catapult yourself in the ranks is a poor PR.  As it might have seem entertaining for the fans, the promoters didn’t think much of it.

John Williams def. Larry Brubaker by Ankle Lock at 1:40 of the 2nd round

In a fight that was breaking two Guiness Book of World records, John Williams and Larry Brubaker gave us an entertaining match. Brubaker was able to get some solid body shots in while Williams, who is 70 years old, began to start working his leg kicks. This proved to be the winning game plan, as Brubaker began to hobble after taking a few in the left leg. Early in the second, Williams was able to submit Brubaker sinking in an Ankle Lock. After the fight, both men were awarded a belt for breaking the records for Oldest Fighter to fight professionally and Oldest combined age between two fighters at 119 years.

Promoter Steve Williams gets emotional, publicly congratulating his father (John Williams) for his win.

Meneka Weva def. Troy Demerchant by KO at 3:48 of the 1st round
This was one of the better rounds we’ve seen; both men looking for a KO finish. Weva was throwing some hard shots. Demerchant seemed to have a better flow to his game sticking and jabbing and throwing some big shots of his own. Weva was unintentionally poked in the eye when the fight was halted to allow the cageside doctors to take a closer look. Being in his corner,  it did not look good. His trainers did not want the fight stopped. Weva’s left eye was completely shut when the fight resumed. The action did not slow down, as both men came close to ending the fight with some big heavy body and head shots. From one second to the next, we didn’t  know who was going to get knocked out. The crowd was wild and on their feet chanting. Then Weva rocked his opponent and finished him with strikes. Awesome round and fight.

Shawn Levesque def. Todd Henri  by KO at 3:00 of the 1st round

This fight was quick with Levesque going after Henri with some heavy shots. Both men tried to throw some leg kicks with no damage being done. Henri fought back with some wild punches, but did so with his head down and paid for it. Levesque rocked Henri in their final furry to finish with some strikes once Henri was dazed.

Jamie Leblanc def. Brad Webb by TKO at 1:35 of the 2nd round

Brad Webb took this fight on one weeks notice. His 1st fight nonetheless. He showed some good defensive skills on the ground, but you could tell Leblanc was the better fighter. Webb was throwing some wild punches and not connecting hid foe. Leblanc took Webb down at will. Leblanc offered a great mix of leg kicks, strikes and ground control. At the beginning of the second round, Webb was continuously looking to his corner for advice. He looked tired and hurt. Leblanc took him down in early in the 2nd round and finished Webb with strikes.

Matt Turple def. James Clark Unanimous Decision

This three round war was exciting to watch. Turple was looking to unload with his right hand the whole fight. He did a great job of countering without getting tagged by Clark. Clark was looking for the KO with some wild punches.  They both got a fair amount of damage done with kicks to the body and legs. Both guys earned their stripes tonight. Turple took every round to a Unanimous Decision.

Wild Card Bouts

Brad Duguay def. Leo Duciaume by Rear Naked Choke at 2:49 of the 1st round

Both Duguay and Duciaume looked like they were pumped for an intense match. Once the bell rang they began to circle when Duciaume started to cough.  Not long after a small exchange which saw Duguay throw some vicious leg kicks, Duciaume began to vomit on the mat. The bout was halted. The doctors and trainers were both offering Duciaume different takes on his situation. Pale looking Deciaume,  decided to continue on. Duguay continued his attack by taking Duciaume down and eventually sinking in the Rear Naked Choke. Duguay Advances to the Semi Finals with a good shot at winning the Wild Card Tournament. Even after the bout was over, an ill looking Deciaume continued to be sick, complaining about his nerves and his mouthpiece.

Phil Boone def. Dave Spence by TKO at 3:13 of the 2nd round

This was excellent back and forth action. Both Boone and Spence went to work early and showed some good defensive skills.  Boone was sinking in a nice Standing Guillotine Choke, but Spence was able to stay calm and slip out of it. Spence then began to throw some strikes on the ground, but Boone was able to defend quite well. Both men continue to work on the ground. Spence tried several attempts to sweep Boone to the ground eventually succeeding with a nice hip toss. In the second, both men had some nice exchanges with Boone getting the best of Spence with knees and strikes. Boone was able to take the win by TKO. Great fight.

Shelby Murray def. Chance Whalen by TKO(strikes) at 3:59 of the 2nd round

This fight was all Murray. It looked like Whalen wanted to throw down, but just never let any combinations go. Murray began to work on Whalen’s front lead leg with some nasty kicks. Murray then threw a Superman Punch and connected. He began to get cocky, too cocky being so early in the fight. It didn’t matter as he was the one doing all the damage. Whalen was not able to get anything off. Once the 2nd round started, it was much of the same until Murray took Whalen down and slowly began his ground attack. His elbows cut Whalen open in the back of his head. Whalen tried to defend himself, but was not looking to get out of his position. The Ref had no choice but to step in and halt the bout in Murray’s favor. Shelby Murray will be heading to Semi Finals.

Jon Williams def. Justin Bourgeois by Arm Bar(verbal tapout) at 4:21 of the 1st round

Well this was a one sided beating with Bourgeois getting the best of Williams. Bourgeois has vicious leg kicks and strikes. He has bad intentions when he throws anything at his opponent. Williams took some damage in the first round including a bad eye poke. The doctors looked at it and gave the final decision to Williams  if he wanted to continue.  Williams, despite taking a lot of damage, got back in to try to finish the fight. His corner kept yelling at Williams to take Bourgeois down to work a submission. Then that’s what he did after taking a few more nasty shots from Bourgeois. He put Bourgeois’ arm in a Kamura and began to pull it back. At one point his own cornerman had to look away, as it looked ready to snap. The ref quickly jumped in to halt the bout after Bourgeois was forced to verbally tap out. Williams has a lot of work to do before his next fight. The crowed booed, disappointed with the outcome.  The rest of the fighters should be thankful that he took out Bourgeois. They should also pay attention to his Jiu Jitsu game.

Elite 1 MMA, Steve Williams explained to MMeh Fighter that they are on schedule to return in the Fall with their next card called “High Stakes”, again in partnership with Casino New Brunswick. Keep checking the MMeh Fighter Gallery for all of this event’s photos.