February 16, 2018 – Los Angeles, CA – Lion Fight 51 took place from the Los Angeles Coliseum, under the Olympic flame in a night of professional Muay Thai action.
In tonight’s main event we saw undefeated Lion Fight World Cruiserweight Champion, Chip “The Surgeon” Moraza-Pollard defend his title against veteran challenger, Juan Cervantes and in the co-main event Lion Fight North American Lightweight Champion, Jordan Harris faced off against Amine “The Moroccan Freak” Fallafrikh.
Here are tonight’s results as follow:
Featherweight (125 lbs.) – Victor “Dynamite” Saravia (6-5) vs. Reece “Titan” Thomson (9-4)
Round One – Thomson leads with a roundhouse kick to the body and got a receipt for it from Savaria. Savaria is lightly tapping above Thomson’s leading left knee but never takes a full kick at it causing Thomson to change to a southpaw stance. Thomson lets his hands fly but hesitates to throw a kick to finish the combination.
Round Two – Thomson is the one engaging his opponent by setting up with his kicks but also the one fighting off the ropes. Although Thomson is the one throwing more, fighting off the ropes isn’t helping his cause as Saravia is the one throwing the heavier strikes.
Round Three – Savaria is being the aggressor this round and forcing Thomson against the ropes instead of Thomson retreating to them on his own. Savaria is unloading his hands and creating an opening with his jab to the delight of the crowd. Thomson is hesitant to throw his kicks, which opens him to to Savaria’s strikes. Thomson throws two teep kicks that creates distance between him and his opponent, but it might not have been enough to finish him that round.
Round Four – Thomson’s hesitation creates opportunity for Savaria, who finds an opening with every stalled offensive. Thomson is the taller fighter but is not fighting to his stature as he has spent the majority of this fight in corner. A mouse is forming under Savaria’s eye and with a last few seconds of offensive from Thomson, this round comes to a close.
Round Five – Thomson has woken up this round but it might be too-little-too-late for this fight if it goes to the judges. Thomson is throwing that teep kick finally and his jumping one got him caught with a left hook. Savaria has an answer for every strike Thomson throws at him.
Your winner by unanimous decision (50-45, 5-45, 49-46) Victor Savaria!
Middleweight (150 lbs.) – Eddie “Silky Smooth” Abasolo (10-1) vs. Greg Rowe (10-5)
Round One – Abasolo has Rowe off balance from their very first exchange. The two men go back-and-forth on body kicks that would have left the average person gassed out. Every kick from the ropes Rowe throws, Abasolo has a smooth counter or block, hence the nickname.
Round Two – Abasolo has put the hurt on Rowe that he almost flung him through the middle ropes! At this point Abasolo is picking his shots, not that Rowe isn’t a strong fighter, but Abasolo is in his zone.
Round Three – Rowe is finding his footing, but Abasolo is unleashing all eight limbs on his opponent, including three knees from the clinch and a series of elbows. Rowe is gassed and has very little in his responses to Abasolo’s offensive.
Round Four – After a wardrobe malfuction with Rowe’s cup, the round is underway. The one thing you don’t want to fail you in a Muay Thai fight is a faulty cup. Rowe slips but upon his return to his feet, Abasolo continues to dominates him.
Round Five – Rowe’s big offensive move is sweeping Abasolo to the canvas but that only fires him as he continues with a leg attack. Rowe still has a lot of fight left in him as his punching combination has improved in the final round.
Your winner by unanimous decision, Eddie Abasolo!
Lion Fight North American Lightweight Title (135 lbs.) – Jordan Harris [Champion (5-0)] vs. Amine “The Moroccan Freak” Ballafrikh (10-3)
Round One -Harris drives Ballafrikh into the corner but gets tossed to the ground. Ballafrikh throws a teep, they two men exchange blows from the clinch and Ballafrikh catches Harris’ spinning heel kick to sweep him to the ground, but that doesn’t stop the champion, who catches a jumping front kick and throws the Moroccan to the ground. Bellafrikh and Harris are fighting in the first like it’s the final round and the crowd is loving it!
Round Two – This so far has been a night of kicks and sweeps as both men are equally talented in their striking abilities. The pace is still hot and heavy, but that last strike cut Ballafrikh on the right cheek. That cut has make the Moroccan more focused and has that drive has forced the champion to slow down.
Round Three – Harris fakes a kick to the body and connects with the head, but Ballafrikh retaliates with a body kick of his own and after eating a front elbow, he sweets the champion to the ground. Harris sweeps Bellafrikh and lands on him into the ropes. The final elbow from Harris leaves Bellafrikh smiling as the champion is breathing heavy through his mouth, which could indicate a broken nose, but the champ still has fight in him as he sweeps Bellafrikh, quickly bounces back up and dumps Harris to the ground.
Round Four – Harris drives Bellafrikh to the corner but the challenger sweeps the champion after a knee to the body. After eating a few elbows in his own corner Bellafrikh smiles and dances in his own corner to indicate that Harris can’t hurt him. Harris drives Bellafrikh into his own corner, throws a couple of elbows but after dumping Harris, Bellafrikh hovers over the champion.
Round Five – Bellafrikh lures Harris in against the ropes only to tie him up for a few knees, but the referee slaps Bellafrikh on the rear end as a warning. Bellafrikh has gash open on the left side of his head from an elbow and is losing a lot of blood. The referee stops the fight to clean up the blood and the bout continues. The crowd is clearly behind Harris but Bellafrikh won’t go down, even with the revitalized champion. Harris targets that cut again with an elbow and this one only has 10 seconds left in the fight!
Your winner by unanimous decision and new Lion Fight North American Lightweight Champion, Amine Bellafrikh!
Lion Fight World Cruiserweight Title (185 lbs.) – Chip “The Surgeon” Moraza-Pollard [Champion (9-0)] vs. Juan Cervantes (30-8-1)
Round One – The fighters touch gloves and Cervantes leads with a body kick, but the much taller challenger looks too be a little off balance with his kicks. The champion catches a front kick and sweeps Cervantes to the canvas. Cervantes is fighting tall but Moraza-Pollard continues to close the distance to make his strikes effective. The champion catches a kick and instead of sweeping punches Cervantes in the mid-section.
Round Two – Cervantes leads with a jab as Moraza-Pollard throws a kick at the same time, which landed harder. The champion is setting up his punches with low kicks and has checked several of Cervantes’ kicks. The strikers are both being very calculated in what they are willing to throw, but virtually everything connects.
Round Three – The pace has slowed but the strikes have intensified as the challenger sweeps the champion to the ground. For every offensive strike a counter has been made by the opponent. Cervantes’ nose is bloodied, while a mouse is opening up under the champion’s left eye.
Round Four – The champion is letting all eight limbs fly as Cervantes continues to move forward, his body turning lobster red from all the punishment he’s received.
Round Five – Here we go, this one is for the Lion Fight World Cruiserweight Championship! Everyone is finishing strong as they are fighting for more than a belt but for all the honor and respect that comes with those titles. It took one body shot and Cervantes receives a standing eight count after that knock down. Twice, Cervantes’ mouth piece as come out and the referee warns him about it. The champion catches a front kick and counters with a left hook. Moraza-Pollard has Cervantes on the ropes and is chopping away at the taller challenger.
Your winner and still Lion Fight World Cruiserweight Champion, Chip Moraza-Pollard!
Tune in on March 16 for Lion Fight 52 from Dublin, Ireland on CBS Sports.