The Animal is Back and Unleashed, Scott Heckman victorious at CFFC 39
The Animal is Back and Unleashed, Scott Heckman victorious at CFFC 39
CFFC 39 Results
In his first fight since losing his previously owned Cage Fury Fighting Championship featherweight title to Levan Makashvili back in April, Scott ‘the Animal’ Heckman proved why he is one of the top non-UFC signed featherweights in the world.
The Animal finished off Troy Gerhart with a Darce choke in the third round of their CFFC 39 main event contest officially putting himself on the radar of UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva. Heckman broke his hand when he fought Makashvili and stated after last night’s win “Levan, I know you lost your title recently but I want a rematch, I want revenge.”
CFFC 39 took place at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, Pa., and was the organization’s first promotion at the venue since merging with Extreme Fight Events (XFE) last month. Heckman, a veteran of both brands was the obvious choice as a headliner as he lives locally and trains at both AMA Fight Club in Whippany, N.J., and Chamber MMA in East Stroudsburg, Pa.
Heckman and Gerhart earned the MyMMANews ‘Fight of the Night’ award while Heckman also earned the MyMMANews ‘Submission of the Night.’
The MyMMANews ‘Performance of the Night’ went to Mike Pope as he defeated a very solid and talented opponent in Thad Frick. Frick, like Heckman is a well known wrestler in the area and was favored to win the fight with the backing of the hometown crowd.
The upset of the night came in the form of the evening’s co-main event as Brett Martinez was quickly eliminated by Nate Vantassel.
Full Fight Results below:
Pro Bouts
Troy Gerhart (145 lbs., Tampa, Fla., Gracie Tampa) vs. Scott ‘the Animal’ Heckman (145 lbs., Whippany, N.J., AMA Fight Club)
In the opening round Heckman used his speed to weave in and out as he used both low and high kicks on his opponent. Gerhart snuck in a few strikes that landed but Heckman weathered the storm and threw in a knee that rung Gerhart’s bell. The first round belonged to Heckman and there was some foreshadowing as one read the back of Gerhart’s shorts which said “No judges needed.” Little did he know, their scorecards would not be needed but it would not be in his favor.
Heckman ate a high kick in the beginning of the second round but powered back with a combo. Heckman controlled the pace and worked in a variety of kicks. The crowd rallied behind Heckman as he hit Gerhart hard with a right cross. In the third and final round you could see Heckman getting frustrated with Gerhart and that is when the Animal set in. He landed a left jab that dropped Gerhart to the mat and Heckman applied a guillotine, switching to darce choke and it was not long before referee Bill Bookwalter was calling an end to the contest.
Scott Heckman defeated Troy Gerhart via Darce choke at 3:20 in Round 3
Nate ‘Razzle Dazzle’ Vantassel (155 lbs, Harrisburg, Pa.) vs. Brett Martinez (155 lbs., Palmerton, Pa., Rat Pack Fight Systems)
Vantassel dropped Martinez with a jab early in the round and worked to keep the Palmerton native on the ground when he delivers an illegal knee to the head while Martinez is down. The crowd protests and the fight is temporarily stopped. Once resumed the fight belonged to Vantassel. He pounded Martinez from a full mount and then snuck in a choke forcing Martinez to tap.
Nate Vantassel defeated Brett Martinez at 2:23 in Round 1
Mike Pope (155 lbs, Disciple MMA) vs. Thad Frick (155 lbs, Finisher’s MMA, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, Nazareth, Pa.)
Pope came out to the famed WWE wrestler the Undertaker’s theme music which made the audience wonder exactly who was in the house. Frick was the obvious fan favorite as he hails from local, Nazareth, Pa. Pope clipped Frick early and Frick shot in for a takedown. Pope really worked the arm of Frick. He had two straight armbar attempts and then worked an Omoplata. Pope might have won the first round depending on how judges scored the takedowns vs submission attempts.
Immediately in the second round Frick landed a takedown and lands in the guard of Pope. Pope is the first fighter to really be able to compete with Frick in the wrestling arena as far as MMA goes. Pope was able to land a full mount on Frick but not do much with it, eventually switching to full back control with a body triangle locked in. Pope worked for a rear-naked choke but Frick kept throwing back punches successfully defending the choke and running out the clock.
Frick landed a head kick early in the final round and it dropped Pope for a split second. Pope again assumes back control and snuck in a body triangle flattening Frick to the mat. Frick refuses to be tapped but as he fights off one submission Pope works in another. Pope again has full mount but cannot put away the wrestling standout. With the win Pope moves to 3-1.
Mike Pope defeated Thad Frick via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Chaz Holloway (135 lbs, Baltimore, Md.) vs. Jordan Morales (135 lbs., Sunberry, Pa.)
Early in the fight the wraps on the gloves of Holloway came undone and referee Bill Bookwalter recognized it however Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission Director, Greg Sirb, instructed to keep the fight going because the fighters were in the midst of action and Holloway was applying a leg lock submission. Once the two fighters broke free the action was temporarily halted to correct the wrapping.
Holloway has a ruise forming over his left cheek. He started the second round with a kick flush to the face of Morales. Morales didn’t like the way it felt and took the fight to the ground, pressing his opponent up against the cage and delivered some hammer fist to the soft spot on the face of Holloway. Holloway eventually took control of the round moving to side control where he issued several knees to the body. The round could go to either fighter.
The third round of action showed each fighter working in small jabs and punches to the head and body while on the ground. After the fight Morales apologized stating that he hurt his hand during the fight which is why he focused on takedowns. With the win Morales remains undefeated and moves to 3-0 as a pro.
Jordan Morales defeated Chaz Holloway via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Advanced Amateur Bouts
Ian Brofsky (170 lbs, Tri State MMA) vs. Ricardo Pena (170 lbs., Reading, Pa., American Top Team Hammer)
Brofsky clipped Pena early on and was able to apply a power guillotine but it did not finish the job. He then scooted down underneath his opponent and applied another attempt at the guillotine but Pena escaped. Then as the two fighters stood up there were two exchanges where Pena was rocked on his feet and stumbled to the mat. Brofsky followed him to the canvas and worked an inverted armbar forcing Pena to tap in the first round.
Ian Brofksy defeated Ricardo Pena via armbar at 2:27 in Round 1.
DJ Tharrington (Sicklerville, N.J.) vs. Mike ‘No Mercy’ Serano (Lancaster, Pa., 135 lbs., Gracie 717)
Serano was able to pull a big slam on Tharrington but also put himself in a guillotine choke in the process. Tharrington held onto the choke but No Mercy fought his way through it, got up and as Tharrington attempted a slam of his own Serano applied a choke of his own. Serrano slipped his weight to the side, reached his other arm under to secure and Tharrington tapped.
Mike Serano defeated DJ Tharrington via power guillotine choke at 1:42 in Round 1
Amateur Bouts
Zak Kelly (Lancaster, Pa., 155 lbs, Gracie 717) vs. Leonardo Da Silva (155 lbs, Bethlehem, Pa., American Top Team Hammer)
Kelly got a takedown on Da Silva and took his back and attempted to work a rear-naked but Da Silva was able to escape and worked his own rear-naked choke after getting back control of Kelly. It appeared as if Kelly was tapping but it happened just as the time expired and the fight would go to the second round.
In the second round Da Silva worked from the ground locking up an arm and attempting a submission while landing shots to the body.
This is Sparta. Right out the gate in the third round Da Silva ran across the cage and delivered a push kick. The two fighters started challenging one another, calling each other out after they landed a punch or kick. In the end Kelly landed a takedown and as the time expired the two men left it all in the cage and helped each other up and embraced with a hug and raised one another’s hands.
Leonardo Da Silva defeated Zak Kelly via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Andy Segovia (169 lbs., Tiger Schulmann MMA) vs. Devon Jacobus (165 lbs., American Top Team Hammer)
Jacobus came out the box with some deafening leg kicks but ate a few jabs for the effort. The round was temporarily halted as Segovia delivered a few kicks to Jacobus’ twig and berries. Once the round resumed Jacobus landed a takedown and blood flowed over the body of Segovia. At first it was hard to immediately decipher where the blood was coming from but as the round ended and the two fighters stoop up you could see the trickle from the nose of Jacobus.
In round two it was Jacobus who was taken down and the blood continued to flow from his nose. With Segovia in Jacobus’ guard Coach Rod Guignet shouted instructions to his fighter but he was unable to complete the sweep and submission .
The third round opened with Jacobus being taken down again and the blood is really starting to flow from the ATT Hammer fighter’s nose. The fight remained on the ground with Segovia peppering the body of his opponent. As the third and final round concluded Jacobus stood up and the look of disappointment was apparent as he realized he had been defeated. The young ATT Hammer fighter will be back.
Andy Segovia defeated Devon Jacobus via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Edwin Smart (262 lbs). vs. McQueen “the Mad Titan” Ovando (294 lbs., American Top Team Hammer)
When boys these size throw leather someone is going to get hurt. Each heavyweight threw a bomb early on stunning their opponent before the two locked up and Smart took Ovando down to the mat where he worked for an armlock submission before time expired in the first round.
In the second round again the fighters used their size to propel the power packed punches but it was Ovando who received the brunt of the force. Smart worked in a powerful knee in the clinch and in the closing seconds of the round the two men traded barbs before being pulled apart by referee Bill Bookwalter.
In the opening seconds of the third round the two giants again looked to rearrange their opponent’s facial structure before Smart took the fight to the ground again. With the final 10 seconds in the fight Smart took Mad Titan’s back and the result would be awarded at the hands of the judges.
Edwin Smart defeated McQueen Ovando via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
