They punched, they kneed and they kicked and grappled.
The four-bout main card delivered in spectacular fashion at the Xtreme Fighting Championship at the Edgar Centre on Friday night.Two fights ended via knockout, one via submission and one via a unanimous decision.
In the welterweight MMA main event, Christchurch’s Cheyne Turahui (Universal Vale Tudo) took his undefeated record to two wins when he knocked out Papamoa’s Paul McMah (East Coast BJJ).
McMah (three wins, four losses) controlled round one while landing some vicious legs kicks, a thumping body kick and a perfectly executed head kick, while Turahui’s best shots were a couple of slapping lower leg kicks and a short crisp left hook late in the round.
McMah was for the most part on top in round two before it all came unstuck with just over one minute left.
Turahui closed the gap and caught McMah up against the fence before clipping him with a sharp left-right hook combo. McMah hit the deck and Turahui unloaded from a crouched standing stance before referee Apii Taia stepped in.
In the co-main event, Team Hammerhead Kickboxer Nic Aratema (13-9) produced some of the best form of his six-year career when he beat Aucklander Craig Marshall-Hughes (7-12-1 draw) via a round three flying knee knockout.
Aratema was quite simply ferocious with his kicking variety. He landed several audible stinging body kicks and one sublime head kick, in particular, before splitting Marshall-Hughes’s nose open with the flying knee.
Welterweight Tommy Leoni (Hammerhead) picked up his first MMA win in three fights when he submitted Christchurch’s Dan Reveley (Universal Vale Tudo) via a round two standing guillotine choke.
After the fight, it was revealed Reveley had fought on with a broken arm after round one.Invercargill’s Trulin Toa Toa produced plenty of raw power as he slugged his way to an impressive debut light heavyweight MMA decision win. All MMA fights were amateur three, three-minute rounds.
XFC New Zealand director-promoter and Hammerhead coach Matt Toa said he was stoked with the support from the fans and he was beaming with pride over the heart displayed by all competitors.
Others winner were Mel Webster, Levi Beatie, Anne Wilson, James McBride and Greg Stevenson-Wright.
Hammerhead strawweight Sarah Archer added another Australasian belt to go with her XFC one when the Dunedin MMA fighter won the Path to Hex strawweight title in Melbourne on Saturday.
