The Main Event Manchester yet again put on another night of extremely thrilling and technical fights, as the promotion presented The Road to the Main Event from the Village Hotel in Ashton-under-Lyne; a feeder show for their May 23 2015 Birmingham super event.
61kg A Class Andrew Lofthouse (Evolve, Manchester) def. Ant Ferguson (Knowlsey Academy, London) via KO (RD 4)
In the main event, Manchester’s Andrew Lofthouse scored the victory in emphatic fashion, after a real test against Ant Ferguson. It was the Knowlsey Academy fighter who started the brighter, as he pushed the pace early on, landing some big kicks. However Lofthouse showed some flamboyance, as he became more confident with his shots after finding his range. The Evolve fighter would even fight with his guard down to implore Ferguson closer. This would be a huge mistake for the Londoner as Lofthouse landed a deadly spinning elbow strike and knee combination to take a very important win.
70kg A Class Andy Primrose (Griphouse, Scotland) def. Sam Jackson (Supergym, Knutsford) via unanimous decision
It was a disappointing night for the Supergym sensation Sam Jackson, who was unable to show his usual talent against a very tough challenger in Andy Primrose. Jackson was originally scheduled to face Mike Egan, who was forced to withdraw through injury. In stepped the Scottish number one thai fighter, who showed his class with a worthy performance against one of England’s biggest prospects. Primrose was working the left high kick all fight and he managed to keep Jackson at distance with it. Despite the result, there were lots of promising signs from “Super Sam” in a very close fight. Jackson showed brilliant movement to avoid some heavy shots from the Griphouse man, but the loss mainly came down to Jackson’s inability to throw more strikes, as he looked happier to stand and counter instead of going toe-to-toe with the Scot.
84kg A Class Carlos Degraca (Evolve/Team #OO, Manchester) def. George Davis (Shinkick, London) via TKO (1:30 RD 4)
It took four huge right knees for Carlos Degraca to stop the durable George Davis in a superb showing from the two A class fighters. Degraca looked capable of the finish from the first bell, as he landed a higher volume of strikes to his opponent. It was clear that the Team #OO man was working the body of his opponent and in round four he managed to crumble Davis with four of the most volatile knees you will ever see.
59kg B Class Ian Gibson (Sasiprapa, Liverpool) def. Chris Taylor (Jai Muay Thai, Leeds) via unanimous decision
Sasiprapa’s Ian Gibson controlled Chris Taylor for a unanimous decision win as the Liverpool based fighter used his aggression to keep Taylor at bay.
61.5kg C Class Martyn Kemp (Evolve, Manchester) def. Filmon Mebrhatu (Master As, Manchester) via TKO (1:10 RD 3)
Martyn Kemp looked world class in his win over Filmon Mebrhatu, as the Evolve entered the arena to Spandau Ballet’s Gold for the best walkout song of the night. If Kemp’s song was something to dance about, his performance was all the more impressive after overcoming an early ambush from Mebrhatu. Kemp knocked down his opponent in round three with a devastating knee to the head, to which Mebrhatu collected himself briefly before Kempt repeated his actions to score the TKO. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kempt in a B class bout on May 23rd.
65.6kg C Class Leyton Collymore (Northern Spirit, Sale) def. Tyler Liptrott (Evolve/Team #OO, Manchester) via unanimous decision
These two Greater Manchester based fighters put on a storm of a fight, as Leyton Collymore took the decision win over a very capable Tyler Liptrott. The fight started as a stalemate, with both men trying to find their range, but after a good first round from Lirptrott, it was Collymore who came into his own. It was the Northern Spirit fighter who started landing the crisper shots, putting together the better combinations, alongside an imposing clinch to win the bout.
Results from The Road to the Main Event undercard
50kg C Class Dakota Ditcheva (Northern Spirit, Sale) def. Jennifer Gallagher (SMTC Glasgow) via unanimous decision
Dakota Ditcheva showed why she is considered one of the best muay thai prospects in the country, across any gender. The Northern Spirit girl was under fire from Jennifer Gallagher in the first 30 seconds of the fight, as the firry Scot pushed the pressure on the UK golden girl. However, Ditcheva showed her experience, despite her young age, and slowly shut down her SMTC Glasgow opponent over five rounds. Despite Ditcheva’s dominance, Gallagher fought valiantly, and both of the girls put on the best fight of the night.
72.5kg B Class Adi Woods (Imperial, Gym, Southport) def. Craig Jones (Macclesfield Thai) via majority decision
Adi Woods kept his unbeaten record intact after a majority decision win over previously ranked A class fighter Craig Jones. It was one of the closest fights on the card, and it looked as if Jones would get the early victory after dropping Woods in the second round with a vicious head kick. However, the Stockport based fighter fought on valiantly. Jones seemed to push the pace throughout the fight, but the judges awarded the decision to Woods, who took less damage later on in the fight.
64kg C Class Matthew Barton (Supergym, Knutsford) def. Billy Slack (Singkhao Muay Thai, Warwick) via unanimous decision
Fighting out of the highly regarded Supergym, Matthew Barton put on pone of the most impressive victories of the night, as he completely dominated Billy Slack in a C class bout. Barton was the aggressor from the start and utilised his left body kick to keep Slack at bay. Barton dropped his opponent with that very move twice in the fight on his way to definitive win.
63.5kg B Class Luke Bennett (MASDA, Liverpool) def. Myk Estlick (Spartans, Whitworth) vs via majority decision
A very good performance from Luke Bennet saw him topple the highly regarded Myk Estlick in the first undercard bout of the evening. It was Bennett who landed the cleaner shots throughout the fight, and saw a lot of success with his combination strikes. Estlick was never really out of the fight, but due to his MADA opponent’s high work rate, it lead to a disappointing loss for the Whitworth fighter.
Supporting results from The Road to the Main Event
67kg C Class Ashley Wheeldon (Salford Thai) vs Joel Millar (Next Generation, Liverpool) was a majority draw
73kg N Class Paul Hughes (Evolve, Manchester) def. Sam Jagger (Jai Muay Thai, Leeds) via unanimous decision
58kg C Class Cody Ditcheva (Northern Spirt, Sale) def. Kyron Miller (Hanuman, Darlington) via unanimous decision
65kg C Class James Setchell (Erawan Thai, Co. Durham) vs Billy Swann (Sasiprapa, Liverpool) was a draw
62.5kg B Class Jake Jenks (Evolve/Team #OO, Manchester) vs Rian Mercer (JC’s Gym Accrington) was a draw
53kg N Class Kane Smith (All Powers, Stockport) def. Dylan Hardy (Bates’s Gym, Manchester) via unanimous decision
Photo Credit – The Main Event
