Maverick MMA 2 Results from Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Photos by William McKee
Fight promoter Willy Sisca held his second mixed martial arts event under the Maverick MMA banner, July 1, from the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
In the main event, Scott Heckman (22-8) and Rob Sullivan (7-6) would fight for the organization’s inaugural featherweight championship. Heckman competed on the first Maverick MMA fight card back in April where he earned a first round submission win over Steve McCabe. That fight was “The Animal’s” first fight back since he announced his retirement from MMA in June 2016.
The first pro fight of the night paired Thad Frick up with Chris Piriz in a bout at 145 pounds.
A lightweight championship fight headlined the amateur portion of the fight card as Gracie New Jersey prospect L.J. Reboli took on Tyler Collins.
Also, Pure MMA’s Quinn Councilor took on Martinez BJJ’s Criszaida Adam, and Bryant Pabon of Finisher’s MMA took on Jason Camacho.
Rob Sullivan vs. Scott Heckman
Speed is the factor here. Heckman is definitely the faster fighter, moving in and out as he strikes, but Sullivan is not too far behind him. “The Animal” throws a spinning back fist but it misses and the two each exchange a few shots that miss before they tie up and the fight is temporarily stopped for an accidental groin shot to Heckman. Once restarted Heckman continues to work for takedowns and tries the spinning back fist again but again a miss. The round ends with the two featherweights each landing a connecting shot. There appears to be a cut on top of the head of Sullivan as blood is visible through his short red hair.
The second round opens with Heckman landing a left jab but Sullivan firing back with a right. Heckman lands a kick to the right side of Sullivan’s body and it echoes throughout the Sherman Theater. They continue to circle one another and land shots, Sullivan connects with a beautifully timed and placed uppercut but Heckman survives. Now Sullivan gets Heckman down to the mat and there is a visible sign of pain on the face of Heckman, unsure of what bothered him. Heckman appears to be ok now as they are back on their feet. They each connect at the same time with a left but it appears that Sullivan landed the better shot. The round ends with each continuing to push the pace but this round could go in favor Sullivan.
The third round brought on the third attempt for the spinning back fist and this time Heckman landed most of it before locking up a guillotine attempt. Sullivan is relentlessly pushing forward however as Heckman continues to land shots. Now Sullivan going in for a takedown but does not get the job done. The cut on Sullivan’s head continues to flow, now the blood is running down his face. The crowd is going crazy for these two fighters. Heckman lands a big right hand. Sullivan still continuing to move forward as Heckman throws both punches and kicks. As the final seconds close in, each fighter throws everything they have but the shots miss. Once the bell tolls the two fighters embrace. Great fight.
Scott Heckman earns a split decision victory to claim the inaugural Maverick MMA featherweight title.
Chris Piriz vs. Thad Frick
In the opening round of the fight we saw Thad Frick do what Thad Frick does. He stalks you down, shoots in, takes you down and works for submissions. Luckily for Piriz however, he was able to survive submission attempt after submission attempt.
The two fighters decided to let their hands go a bit more at the start of the second round. Frick and Piriz stood toe-to-toe and exchanged blows. Frick tied Piriz up and tried to drag him down to the canvas but ate a few elbows to the side of the head in the process.
Frick finally gets the takedown he sought out late in the second round and applies a rear-naked choke. The second round ends with Frick in a dominant position reigning down punches as cornerman and UFC lightweight Jim Miller coaches him on.
Piriz throws a front kick to start the third round and it grazes Frick as he tries to back up. It is evident that Frick wants to take his opponent down, you can tell by the way he looks down at the legs of Piriz seeking out an opportunity. Frick gets him up against the cage during an attempt for a double leg, but Piriz is throwing down shots to the body. The fight ends with Frick working for a takedown but it is incomplete before the final bell. Frick wins a unanimous decision.
After the fight we learned that Chris Piriz broke his hand during the fight.
L.J. Reboli vs. Tyler Collins
Reboli walked to the cage with quite the entourage to include UFC welterweight Mickey Gall, Professor David Adiv, Rich Patishnock, and Kru Sean Diggs. Reboli opened the fight with a push kick but spun himself around in the process and Collins pressed him up against the cage. Once free, Reboli landed a spin kick and a pop erupted from the crowd. Reboli then applied a guillotine but Collins was able to get free. The fight went to the ground where Reboli applied attempted a leg submission but to no avail. Once standing these two fighters began to exchange leather and the crowd is getting amp’d. Collins ends the round with a series of foot stomps.
In the second round Collins lifts Reboli up off his feet and slams him down as Reboli locks up a guillotine. Now on the ground Reboli is on the receiving end of a few heel kicks to the ribs before he switches his position and ends up in guard. The round ends with Reboli in the guard and Collins keeping his hands tied up so no damage can be inflicted.
We move to the third round. After a swinging backfist, Reboli gets the fight to the ground and his corner right in front of Adiv and Gall. Reboli works for a few submissions but Collins gets the fight back to the feet and lands a few knees. Still in Reboli’s corner, Collins now has Reboli pressed up against the cage. Once again the fight goes to the ground where Reboli has his opponent’s back for a brief second before landing in a full guard position. This fight will go to the judges’ scorecards for a decision.
L.J. Reboli is your new Maverick MMA lightweight champion. He also announced that he will be going pro for his next fight.
Quinn Councilor vs. Criszaida Adam
Councilor, a mother of three, opened up the fight with a kick followed by a nice left jab that landed before the two ladies were both throwing leather. The fight then pressed up against the cage where they exchanged the dominant position before the rounded ended. Round one will likely go to Councilor.
In round two, Criszaida came out like a different fighter, reminiscent of early Vitor Belfort, popping all the way across the cage as she landed punches on her opponent. Once pressed up against the cage Criszaida landed a few knees in the clinch but Councilor would not let the assault go without landing a few shots of her own. The round ended with Councilor pressing Criszaida up against the cage and landing a few peppering shots to the body.
In the third and final round Councilor had Criszaida pinned in a corner for the majority of the round as her corner shouted for her to take the fight to the ground. With just five seconds left in the fight was temporarily halted and both fighters sent to their respective corners. It appears as if there may have been an inadvertent blow delivered to a downed opponent. Referee Jimmy Chappell resumed the action and the fight would end just seconds later. Criszaida Adam wins a unanimous decision.
Jason Camacho vs. Bryant Pabon
In the opening contest Pabon used his Golden Gloves boxing experience to pop in a few jabs that landed and stunned his opponent before Camacho landed a superman punch of his own.
From there Pabon took the fight to the ground with a takedown before the round ended.
The second round is where Camacho would gain top control of his own but was unable to inflict a whole lot of damage due to the rules that are provided for amateur fighters.
When the fight went to the ground in the third round, the majority of the control landed in favor of Pabon, who also finished the fight in side control before the final bell.
This fight will go to the judges and was ruled a split decision in favor of Jason Camacho.
Complete Maverick MMA 2 results below:
Scott Heckman defeatd Rob Sullivan via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Thad Frick defeated Chris Piriz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
L.J. Reboli defeated Tyler Collins via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Criszaida Adam defeated Quinn Councilor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Jason Camacho defeated Bryant Pabon via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
