SummerFist 3 Packed A Punch And Entertained All
IRVINE – The SummerFist Mixed Martial Arts show at Irvine Marriott did not showcase the big names of the Strikeforce event in San Jose on Saturday night, but the combatants were likely just as tough and the 1,356 in attendance seemed entertained.
In the main event, Riverside’s Lorenz Larkin, making his pro debut, was apparently unfazed by the hard stares sent his way by Lateef Williams of Inglewood as the fighters received their instructions in the center of the ring before their heavyweight battle.
Larkin sent Williams to the canvass with a swift right elbow to the chin, landed about 30 seconds into the fight. Williams, (1-1) staggered to his feet in about four seconds but was too groggy to continue and the referee stopped the fight at 40 seconds of the first round.
The best boxing display was turned in by Huntington Beach’s Chris Saunders (155 pounds), who improved to 2-0 with a unanimous decision over Guilherme Cotliarenko of Santa Ana, who was making his pro debut.
In a 160-pound fight, David Jalbert of Fullerton needed slightly more than a minute to secure his first professional victory. Jalbert (1-2) locked in a rear naked choke hold on Cesar Macias of Orange, forcing Macias (1-3) to submit at 1:16 of the first round.
Freestyle specialist Hussain Rasouli of Sacramento had Tommy Casares of Riverside on his back for all three rounds of their 128 pound fight. Rasouli (2-1) scored a unanimous decision by straddling Casares (1-3) and then scoring heavily with elbows and punches.
Camilo Gonzalez’s pro MMA debut was also impressive.
Gonzalez, of Rancho Cucamonga, put James Loften of Riverside on his back early in the first round, and then landed a flurry of punches and elbows before forcing Loften to tap out with a rear naked choke hold at 2:10 of the round.
