Asher Frederick smashes, Ilyaz Mamadaliyev punches way to victory at Ohio Combat League 28
Asher Frederick put on a master class of ground and pound, as he earned his third pro victory in the main event at Ohio Combat League 28 in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday night.
After Johnson started hot with strikes from the outside, Frederick turned the tide beginning in the second round, utilizing is wrestling to get the fight to ground. He really poured on the ground and pound in the third frame, eventually earning the TKO stoppage at 3:25 of round three.
“When I fight people, it doesn’t matter, you can kick my ass on the feet, but the second I get ahold of you, no one is gonna put pressure on you like I do,” Frederick said after the win. “I’m gonna grind you down and break you until you’re dead.”
Frederick’s win capped of a 5-0 night for his Ronin Training Center team, with Andre Small, Mark Trifelos, Shane Magers, and AJ Jones all picking up victories.
In the co-main event, Ilyaz Mamadaliyev put together another impressive performance, earning a second round TKO after starting slow against Dan Boehle. Boehle came out with a game plan to get the fight to the ground, and nearly finished a rear naked choke in the first round. Mamadaliyev survived the choke, and was able to stay on his feet in the second round. He eventually started landing big shots and was able to finish the fight with punches at 3:30 of round two.
“That first round was hard, that choke was tight,” Mamadaliyev said after the fight. “The last loss I had came like that, so you could imagine what I was going through. But I knew he was gonna start fading. They call me ‘The Turkish Machine,’ I just get better as the fight goes.”
Mamadaliyev also capped off a 3-0 night for his Vision MMA team, as Cornell Beachem Jr. and George Nichols also picked up victories.
In the night’s first pro bout, Andre Small snapped a five-fight losing streak to earn a decision over Danny Moore. He utilized his pinpoint striking to keep Moore at bay in the fight that was spent almost entirely on the feet. After the win, Small was emotional about winning his first fight since 2019, saying it was a long road back from losing his mother and he finally put on a performance he can be proud of.
In the amateur main event, Travon Eller continued to impress, as he claimed the amateur middleweight title with a second-round arm triangle submission over defending champion Dom Johns. Eller becomes the first two-division champion for OCL and said after the fight that he plans to go pro for his next fight.
Eller had spent less than a full round combined in his first five fights, which were all knockouts. He has knockouts of 9, 8, 9, and 14 seconds on his record. It looked like it might be another early night for him in the beginning of the fight, as he blitzed Johns with a barrage of punches in the first few seconds. But Johns survived the onslaught and made him work for the victory.
On the amateur side, a couple of exciting fighters made their debuts.
Cornell Beachem is a former national champion wrestler and All-American football player, and he showed off his wrestling with a couple of big slams in the first round. But he changed his game plan after the first, working on his striking and picking his shots en route to a clear-cut decision victory.
After a dozen kickboxing and Muay Thai bouts, AJ Jones finally made his MMA debut, and he showed off his string prowess with a victory highlighted by nasty leg kicks, one of which dropped his opponent and was the beginning of the end of the fight. Jones was also a collegiate wrestler at Kent State and becomes a scary matchup for any amateur heavyweight in Ohio.
Gabriel Harris provided the knockout of the night, finishing Robbie Eggert with a big overhand right just in just 32 seconds to move his record to 2-0.
Mark Trifelos bounced back from a questionable decision loss in his first outing to put together an impressive performance in his second outing. He utilized his wrestling to get the fight to the ground, where he eventually locked in a rear naked choke in round two.
Shane Magers made his debut as well, as the 31-year-old showed that he will be a problem at bantamweight with a dominant performance leading to a first-round arm triangle choke submission.
George Nichols and Ahmad Ahmad kicked off the night with an entertaining back and forth battle that was spent almost entirely on the feet, with Nichols claiming the win via split decision.
Ohio Combat League 28 results:
Pro Bouts:
Asher Frederick (3-1) def. Marquis Johnson (3-6) via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:25
Ilyaz Mamadaliyev (5-2) def. Dan Boehle (4-2) via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:30
Andre Small (2-5) def. Danny Moore (1-5) via Unanimous Decision
Amateur Bouts:
Travon Eller (6-0) def. Dom Johns (7-7) via Submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:45 – Middleweight Title
Mark Trifelos (1-1) def. Austin White (1-1) via Submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2, 1:45)
Cornell Beachem Jr. (1-0) def. Jason Ferari (0-1) via Unanimous Decision
Shane Magers (1-0) def. Skyler Keith (0-2) via Submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:10
Gabriel Harris (2-0) def. Robbie Eggert (0-2) via KO (punch) – Round 1, 0:32
AJ Jones (1-0) def. Tristen Hutchko (1-1) via TKO (leg kick to ground strikes) – Round 1, 1:56
George Nichols (2-4) def. Ahmad Ahmad (1-3) via Split Decision
Performance Awards:
Performance of the Night: Ilyaz Mamadaliyev
Knockout of the Night: Gabriel Harris
Submission of the Night: Travon Eller
Fight of the Night: Asher Frederick vs. Marquis Johnson
