Two ammy titles awarded at Premier FC 23 in Awagawam, MA event

Premier FC 23 provided nine bouts, including three professional fights, to a boisterous crowd. The event included two amateur title fights and consisted mostly of finishes.

The restaurant Chez Josef in Agawam, Massachusetts hosted the June 3 event.

The first title fight was for the vacant 185-pound belt. Team
Link’s Pat Casey (6-1), whom also holds Premier FC’s 185-pound belt, defeated Castantino Gemelas (4-3) of FAA (Fighting Arts Academy) by decision to win the strap. Although both fighters exchanged shots, Casey appeared dominant and stalked Gemelas during the earlier rounds, Gemelas landed a kick in the fourth round and almost reversed the direction of the fight, attempting an arm bar submission as the round ended. But Casey shot at and took Gemelas down, winding up in his guard until the fight ended.

The next title fight, a heavyweight bout between Ray Sherwood (2-0) of Ultimate MMA and Mike Leverette (4-2) of Garage MMA, came to a swifter end. Sherwood shot out and took down Leverette, grounding and pounding him until the referee waved the fight off at 1:18 in the first round.

The next fight was a professional bout between Erick Santiago (2-1), also of Team Link, and Timothy Wheeler (who contracted for the fight at 135 pounds, according to information from Premier FC). Santiago, who contracted at 140 pounds, ground-and-pounded Wheeler (1-4) and ended the fight at :11 in the first round.

The next professional bout was a 125-pound women’s fight between Tammy Worrick (0-2) of Extreme Ambition and Lisa Blaine (1-0) of Ultimate MMA.  Blaine unloaded a punching combination on Worricjk at the end of the first round after a lot of clinching. During he second round, Blaine hit Worrick with a combination that sent her falling straight backwards and stunned. The fight ended at 2:23 in the round with Blaine winning by knockout.

The main event, a 205-pound bout between Mike Diorio (1-0) of Cortland MMA and Sean Evans (1-2), was the only other fight that went to a decision. Diorio won by split decision.

The first round started off with clinching and was marked by cautious stand up. It climaxed with a furious punching exchange.

There was a brief stoppage during the second round, by which time Evans had a cut on his cheek. Evans attempted a flying knee during the exchanges.

Diorio rushed Evans as the third round opened and unleashed a punching combination on his upper body. Although the strikes went back and forth, Diorio appeared more dominant and seemed to push the pace. The round ended in mid-clinch.

The evening opened with a heavyweight amateur bout between Nicholas Brown (0-5) and R.J. Hayes (2-6). Brown verbally submitted at :42 in the second round following strikes on the ground.

The next bout was a 165-pound amateur fight between Jason Showers (0-1) of Extreme Ambition and Jason Thomas (1-0) of Diverse Academy. The first round included simultaneous submission attempts but Thomas wound up on top of Showers in a bully mount and began throwing punches. The referee waved the fight off at 2:29 in the round and a visibly exhausted Thomas, who won by TKO, collapsed.

Arslan Otchiyev (4-3), also of FAA, won the next fight -- a 145-pound amateur bout with Diego Lopez (1-1) of Juniko.

Lopez went for Orchiyev’s neck from the bottom after they went to the ground during the first round -- Otchiyev attempted side control as the round ended.

During the second round, Otchiyev brought the fight to the ground and submitted Lopez at 1:03 with a rear naked choke.

The fourth fight, a 155-pound amateur bout, also ended with a rear naked choke in the second round. Miguel Cuevas (3-0) of Battlecrew defeated Harrison Adamo (2-1) of Ultimate MMA  at 2:32 in the round.