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ARCHIVED STORY FALL 2018
Moraza-Pollard protects title at Lion Fight 47
Chip Moraza-Pollard, in the black trunks, versus Remy Vectol on October 6 at Foxwoods.
Photo by John Fulcher
By Brian Woodman Jr.
With contributions by Marc Karmelowicz
(Mashantucket, CT -- Oct. 6)
(Editor’s note: the professional bouts were five rounds and the amateur bouts were three rounds.)
Former MMA competitor Chip Moraza-Pollard was undefeated with eight wins when he defended his world cruiserweight title against Remy Vectol (52-12-2) at Lion Fight 47 -- a Muay Thai event held in the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort and Casino. He secured a 9-0 record that evening in his efficient fight against Vectol with a TKO at 1:17 in the fourth round.
Vectol opened the fight by attempting a few punching combinations. Both fighters were cautious with Moraza-Pollard landing a few glancing kicks. Vectol used lots of lower leg kicks that seem to swing in
an arc.
Both fighters went back and forth during the third round, trading the gamut of strikes. They were in mid-exchange as the round ended.
Vectol opened the fourth round with a boxing combination and cornered Moraza-Pollard before clinching with him. But Moraza-Pollard escaped and appeared to have an edge in the punching exchange that followed. Moraza-Pollard then landed a lower leg kick that brought Vectol to the ground and ended the fight.
The main card opened with a middleweight amateur bout between Ahria Sorbi of Charlotte, North Carolina and Miguel Cadiz of Worcester, Massachusetts. Cadiz earned a victory by unanimous decision.
The next bout, and the first professional fight of the evening, was a heavyweight battle between Lewis Rumsey (0-2) of Williamsport, Pennsylvania and Doug Holland of Westerly, Rhode Island in his professional debut. A large crowd of Rhode Islanders appeared in support of Holland, who won by unanimous decision
Holland opened the clinch-heavy fight by trying to corner Rumsey and hit him with a punching-and-knee combination. Rumsey tried to bring what appeared to be Karate-based striking into the fight, using lots of side kicks. Holland periodically cross-faced Rumsey and generally appeared more dominant.
The next bout was a cruiserweight fight between Cole Fetzner (2-1) of Ottawa, Canada and Samlullah Ahmady (1-3) of Lorton, Virginia. Both fighters appeared visibly exhausted by the third round with Fetzner periodically attempting lots of knees.
Ahmady hit the canvas during the third round, prompting the referee to count to eight. The round ended shortly afterward.
Fetzner knocked Ahmady to his knees early in the fourth round with a punching combination. The referee waved the fight off at :20 and Fetzner won by TKO.
Michael Lawrence of Richmond, Virginia made his professional debut against Julian Nguyen (3-0) of Worcester, Massachusetts. But Nguyen won by TKO at 14 seconds into the fifth round.
The fight opened with the fighters exchanging a variety of strikes with Nguyen leaning toward lower leg kicks and Lawrence clearly favoring overhand punches. Lawrence caught one of Nguyen’s kicks early in the first round and tossed him - something he periodically attempted to do throughout the fight.
Lawrence knocked Nguyen down in the second round with a hook but Nguyen recovered quickly and landed a solid knee to Lawrence’s head. Lawrence later fell to the canvas, promoting a count from the referee before recovering.
By the third round, a visibly exhausted Lawrence threw wild, loping punches that generally missed while Nguyen bled from his forehead. The referee briefly stopped he fight after Lawrence apparently sustained a strike to the groin. Lawrence knocked Nguyen down once and landed a solid side kick as the round ended.
Nguyen floored Lawrence twice during he fourth round. Lawrence also sustained a knee to the groin that prompted a referee stoppage.
Lawrence caught one of Nguyen’s kicks early in the fifth round and tried to punch him before going to the floor. The fight ended shortly afterward.
The preliminary card featured three amateur bouts.
Julius Spain of Arlington, Virginia fought Andrew Murray of Boston Massachusetts in a middleweight bout.
Madelyn Grimaldi of North Kingstown fought Ava Scheininger of Boston, Massachusetts in a super bantamweight bout.
Max Carr of Falls Church, Virginia fought aaron Ortiz of Worcester, Massachusetts in a middleweight bout.
Julian Nguyen, in the black trunks, versus Michael Lawrence at Lion Fight 47.
Photo by John Fulcher
