Lisa Edinger, USKA Fight Night Philly 2

Lisa Edinger comes up strong in main event at USKA Philly Fight Night 2

Lisa Edinger pleased the home crowd as she scored a 29-28 unanimous decision on all 3 judges scorecards last night in the main event (125lbs) at USKA Fight Night Philly 2, over the much heralded Canadian, Taylor McClatchie.

McClatchie had been undefeated as an amateur, and was fresh off her pro debut at GLORY Kickboxing where she finished her opponent with a highlight reel head kick.

Lisa Edinger, USKA Fight Night Philly 2
Taylor McClatchie (left) vs. Lisa Edinger (right)

Edinger felt like she was being considered the underdog and said she had something to prove.  The first round, McClatchie succeeded in making the fight mostly in the clench, where she tried to land some knees, and a couple of head kicks after creating some space.  Edinger was ready for it and blocked several attempts, but was mostly the defensive fighter that round.

In round 2, Lisa was able to keep some distance, and let her hands go to work.  She landed numerous scoring combinations and avoided the clinch.  Halfway through the round, Edinger landed cleanly with a right elbow right below the eye. The damage was visible as McClatchie was cut open and wobbled.  Another elbow and some more strikes ensued, but she was able to survive the round.

In the 3rd round, Lisa continued to score on combinations and showed a good chin when she was countered.  Another dominant round for her as she went on to have her hand raised and felt plenty of love from the crowd.

In the co-main event, Demeko Boyd (7-0) took on Jesse “the Wolfpup” Burke (6-1-1) for the lightweight (155) title.  This was my fight of the night. Boyd landed tons of knees and some kicks all 3 rounds as Burke pounded the body with shots and combinations to the head.  Three rounds of trading both on the inside and the outside.  Boyd had a huge reach advantage, but Burke was fearless and took knees as he tried to land uppercuts. This fight went to the judges and was scored 29-28 28-29 and 29-28 for the split decision Demeko Boyd.  The 2300 Arena was screaming throughout this entire fight, with good reason.

Sean Morgan,  fighting out of Algeo MMA and Kickboxing moved to 3-0 as he won the unanimous decision against Gracie 717 debut fighter, Miles Lee.  Morgan used his long legs and reach advantage throughout the contest and keeps impressing.  185 lbs

Ben Windle won his debut vs Michael Barrick..155 lbs

Criszaida Adames (3-0) MMA made her kick-boxing debut and continues to blossom into one of the area’s top female prospects. Head trainer Will Martinez wanted Criszaida to work on her striking, and she looked comfortable and calm taking a dominant 30-27 (on all 3) unanimous decision over Nell Diebel (1-0) at 120 lbs. Adames will be returning to the cage soon and is a name to keep an eye out for. She has skills everywhere and an excellent camp behind her at Martinez BJJ, and she is very fun to watch.

Abdul Halimi of Rami Elite, scored a 30-27 unanimous victory over Alex Snyder 155 lbs

Grant Swift got the split decision over David Harr 145 lbs

John Naji  by TKO at 1:12 of round 2 over TJ McDonough 200 lbs

Lucas Larue 30-25 on all 3 for a unanimous decision over Rashaun Day 170 lbs

Jeff Knapp 29-28 on all 3 scorecards for a unanimous decision over Alex Grego 185 lbs

author avatar
'Beautiful' Bob Meloni
Commentator for Art of War Cagefighting. More than 15 years experience in the PA/NJ regional MMA circuit. Commentator/post fight interviews. Television/media/event production.  USKA Fight Sports media and production. The story of the fighter is what Bob loves about the sport. From the lowest level, to the highest, he only cares about the two warriors who do battle once the cage doors close. Everything else is secondary. Without their blood, sweat, and tears, he would not be here enjoying every minute.