Stellar Fights 47 – Sleeper Bouts
Tomorrow night, Delaware’s long running regional amateur mixed martial arts promotion, Stellar Fights, will host their 47th event. The event will take place at the Wicomico Civic Center ins Salisbury, MD. It will be the first time the promotion will be at a venue this big and it will be the first time that Stellar Fights will house only professional MMA fighters entirely on their card. Although the card is loaded with fighters from all over North America, the matchups seem very competitive on paper. With a few of the fighters making their professional mixed martial arts debut and some fighters owning over eight professional fights or more, the card is poised to put on a show for the Civic Center. While there are some obvious fights that will be in the running for fight of the night, I wanted to point out two fights that are flying under the radar and should not be missed.
The first bout I would like to highlight is a featherweight bout between two experienced pros, Andrew Cruz (7-4) and Kevin Chung (5-2). Both fighters have faced some stiff competition during their time as professionals and collectively they have competed at ONE, Bellator, Shogun Fights, and the LFA. Chung has lost his last two fights in a row and Cruz has gone 1-1 in his last two fights, which has added some motivation to get back on the winning track for both men. Chung is feeling more confident about this fight than he ever has saying “I took no short cuts, I trained my ass off, and I feel really confident and really good.” Cruz also pointed out that he purposely looks for tough fights saying “I chase big fish” in reference to the level of competition he seeks out.
When asked about his thoughts on his opponent Chung added “I’m good on the feet, good on the ground, I just don’t see any particular area where he’s going to beat me.” Cruz was very direct in saying that his plan was to take him down and beat him up and said “we’re not getting a decision; we’re getting a finish.” Cruz has faced a handful of opponents who have gone on to sign with the UFC, and when asked if he thought he was on the radar of the UFC Cruz said “I feel like I’m just a few fights away, I just got to rack up those wins together.” Cruz also believes that going after the toughest fights will payoff saying “that’s going to get me to the top the fastest and that’s what I’m looking for Saturday night”. Both men are highly motivated to get back on the winning track on Saturday. Talking to them you could see neither of them are going down without a fight in a match up that is even, they both share the same goal, and heart may be the deciding factor.
The second match I’d like to focus on is another featherweight bout between Luke Staley and Ian Radford that is flying under the radar. Both of these fighters have little to no professional MMA experience but they each have had at least six amateur fights. Staley has the only professional fight out of the two as Radford is making his professional debut. The two men are equally humble and easy going and had hardly a negative thing to say about their opponent. But actions speak louder than words, and if that is any indication then we are all in for a treat. Radford has seen the judge’s scorecards three times out of the seven amateur fights he’s had, and Staley has not seen a decision in his last four fights dating back to 2018.
Staley is 0-1 as a pro and more eager than ever to even out his record and add a win to his resume saying the “the difference between an 0-2 professional fighter and a 1-1 professional fighter cannot be understated”. Staley referred to getting a win this weekend as a “pivotal point in his career” and declared, “I need this fight; I’m very determined to get my hand raised Saturday”. Radford is not phased at all making his professional debut Saturday and making his first trip to the east coast coming from Las Vegas. Radford said he had watched some footage on his opponent and noted his scrappy style but said he believed Staley would be in for a “long night” come Saturday. With Both Staley and Radford determined to record their first professional win Saturday, one is going to get what they want and the one of them is going to be let down. These two fights are not being talked about enough but are sure to give the Salisbury crowd what they have been waiting for in the Stellar Fights maiden trip to the civic center.
*card subject to change*
