KTFO 15

KTFO 15 Historic Event Delivers in Style! Thimote, Martinez, Roman Crowned Champions

KTFO 15 Historic Event Delivers in Style! Thimote, Martinez, Roman Crowned Champions

The first MMA card in New York State since the ban has been lifted delivered a night full of top quality action on this historic evening. The KTFO 15 event took place Friday evening, at The Space at Westbury.

KTFO 15
The Space at Westbury, Westbury, NY.
KTFO switched venues after 14 installments at The Sports Arena in St. James, Long Island, New York. Last night, every seat in the house was occupied in this Historic Theater setting. Ten bouts took place Friday evening in Westbury, New York. 

In the main event, two of Long Island’s top amateur MMA lightweights collided. Paul Thimote and Ryan Castro both came out guns blazing. Every fan inside the theater knew there would be fireworks. Well, it didn’t take long for this firework show to explode when Thimote landed a left head kick that instantly knocked out Castro.

CHECK OUT THIS KNOCKOUT


Thimote’s nine second knockout improved his record to 3-1 and earned the Ultimate MMA Acadmey fighter the KTFO lightweight title. The KO came in the first round of the bout. All nine seconds of the main event was worth the entire price of admission.

In the co-main event, Mike Martinez of Atlas MMA, battled Irvin Averbukh of UFC-Gym – Staten Island. The geography of this bantamweight title bout took place every where throughout the entire three rounds. These two fighters entered the cage with perfect records, at 2-0.

KTFO 15
Martinez on top of Averbukh.

Martinez, a very skilled young grappler, whom used his striking to open up his submission attempts. Averbukh struggled to remain standing, where his skills typically shine. While on their feet, Averbukh chopped at his opponents legs with heavy kicks. The back and forth exchange while these warriors stood forced Martinez to stick to his game plan and utilize his excellent takedowns.

KTFO 15
Mike Martinez after defeating Irvin Averbukh for the KTFO bantamweight title.

Martinez, 18-years-old, displayed a high level of maturity inside the ring. The Atlas MMA bantamweight kept his composure throughout  three rounds, while his transitions on the canvas didn’t allow his foe a chance to counter. Martinez earned his third victory via a split decision by a score of 30-27, 29-28, 28-29. Averbukh dropped to 2-1 in his amateur career.

In the welterweight championship fight, Matt Roman went to war with Clubber Creed of Team Militia. Roman fights of out TSK, and like Creed, he entered the title bout with only a single blemish in his amateur career. 

Roman came out strong throughout the first two rounds. He used his strong grappling skills to take the geography of the fight to the ground. The TSK fighter worked solid ground-and-pound, in addition to several submission attempts. ​

The team Militia fighter, Creed, fought tough throughout three rounds. Unfortunately, Creed struggled to defend the takedown. Roman’s wrestling was the game changer in this bout. The little time that these two fighters spent on their feet, the Jay Issac trained fighter, Clubber Creed, managed to work his jab and utilize his speed against Roman. 

In the third round, Creed revered his opponent and kept find his way to his feet. Creed showed heart inside the cage, as he came out in the third round looking to change the course of the bout. Roman hung-on through the third round, before sealing the final round with a big takedown. Roman won the bout via unanimous decision, by a judges’ score of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. 

Matt Roman on top of Clubber Creed in round 2.

John Gotti fought Ruslan Volinchii at middleweight. Gotti, fighting out of Panza MMA, demonstrated his power with a takedown against the cage. Later on in the round, Gotti’s power was displayed as he rained down heavy fists to the skull of Volinchii while on top of his back. Volinchii, fighting out of Astra Fitness, suffered his first loss. Gotti tacked on another win, improving to 3-1 after pounding down on Volinchii, forcing the referee to call it at 2:38 of round one. ​​

Austin Wolfson of Bellmore Kickboxing improved to 4-0 in the welterweight division Friday evening, after defeating Devin Dickens. Dickens suffered his first loss. The Ultimate MMA Academy fighter, a former wrestler at Nassau Community College, diligently seeked a takedown that scarcely occurred. 

Wolfson’s strong physical physique managed to keep the fight standing, which is where the Bellmore Kickboxing fighter shines. Dickens applied strong pressure, forcing Wolfson to defend takedowns and counter strikes while his back was against the fence. Wolfson eventually earned a unanimous decision after three rounds of action, by a judges’ score of 30-26, 30-27, 30-27. 

Another action pack bout occurred at heavyweight. Chris Zito, of Invictus MMA, battled Brandon Piscak, of Seldon MMA. Zito weighed in at 255-pounds, giving him nearly thirty-pounds over Piscak, whom weighed in at 225lbs. Piscak remained perfect, improving to 2-0 with the victory. Zito fell to 0-1 after losing his MMA debut via a unanimous decision. 

Piscak started strong land heavy shots and caught Zito in the first round with a head-kick. Zito showed tremendous heart after falling to the canvas, he resurrected back to his feet immediately. Zito went on to land powerful overhand shots that clearly was hurting Piscak. Though Zito landed big shots through the entire bout, Piscak landed a higher volume of strikes, which led to the 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 unanimous decision victory. 

KTFO is sanctioned by USMTA, a third-party sanctioning body. The USMTA leads New York State in regulating events and their standards of practice are first class. 

The USMTA (United States Muay Thai Association) is the first NYSAC (New York State Athletic Commision) approved third-party sanctioned event in NY history. The USMTA sanctioning body events were still recognized previous to the ban being lifted, but no one was officially approved with a License. USMTA license number is…..Lic-2016-000001 #1. 

USMTA offical License- Lic. #2016-000001.

KTFO set a standard for Long Island and City promotions that make it to follow. Ten amateur bouts took place, sanctioned by the USMTA, with excellent match-making. Out of the ten bouts, five ended with a finish and the other half went to the judges score cards. 

Fans witnessed two amazing head-kicks, a vicious ground-and-pound TKO, a couple of impressive submissions, a split-decision, and a few unanimous decisions. 

KTFO 15 took place at The Space at Westbury for the first time in the promotions history. The theater reached full capacity, exceeding a 1000-plus MMA fans. 

Nic Canobbio, the KTFO President, continues to create an atmosphere for hardcore MMA fans, as well as families coming to support their fighters. Dan Canobbio and Jason Griggs Commentated the action while the event was being streamed through FloCombat.com. 

KTFO 16 is scheduled for December 16, 2016. Venue and card are still both unknown. Be sure to follow@MyMMANews in social media for updates about upcoming news about KTFO. 

KTFO 15 Fight Card:

Main Card

155 lbs.- Paul Thimote def. Ryan Castro via KO (head-kick), In Round 1, at 0:09.

135 lbs.- Mike Martinez def. Irvin Averbukh via Split Decision, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.
170 lbs.- Matt Roman def. Clubber Creed via Unanimous Decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

185 lbs.- John Gotti def. Ruslan Volinchii via TKO in Round 1, at 2:38.

170 lbs.- Austin Wolfson def. Devin Dickens via Unanimous Decision, 30-26, 30-27, 30-27.

Preliminary Bouts

155 lbs.- Christian Acerbo def. Tyler Portelli via Unanimous Decision via 20-18, 20-18, 20-19. Due to blood and doctors stoppage, after two rounds they went to the judges score cards.

170- Johnny Pierro def. James Moore via referee stoppage, due to a submission (arm triangle), in Round 1 at 1:07.

HWT- Brandon Piscak def. Chris Zito via Unanimous Decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

135 lbs.- Mike Fitzroy def. Juan Peneloza via Submission (Arm bar), in Round 1 at 1:33.

CW-190- Darren Jehle def. Steve Taylor via Unanimous Decision – 30-26, 30-27, 30-27.

author avatar
Kyle Carroll
Kyle Carroll is a Long Island, N.Y. native and avid MMA and amateur wrestling fan. He has been a part of the wrestling community for nearly 20 years. Carroll has six years of experience coaching high school wrestling. His father coached high school wrestling over 35 years, passing on his strong knowledge. Carroll has been reporting MMA news since January 2011. The former wrestler’s coverage includes the 2012 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, 2013 & 2016 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championship, and numerous MMA events (Bellator MMA, King of the Cage, North American Fighting Championship, and Glory).