Mixed martial arts: Toa shows way with fine TKO

Robert Dean
Robert Dean
The sharks circled and feasted on their prey when Hammerhead Productions held its fight night at the Caledonian gymnasium on Saturday.

Team Hammerhead won all four of its fights, including two South Island International Sport Karate Association title bouts.

Hammerhead spokesman Matt Toa said he was "so proud" of his fighters and all who made the night a success.

Toa, a 31-year-old Dunedin freezing works foreman, led from the front when he won the South Island super heavyweight ISKA mixed martial arts title with a first-round TKO of fellow Dunedin man Blaine Stevenson.

The fight was stopped at the end of the first round after Toa had tagged Stevenson with an overhand right and unleashed a flurry of punches as Stevenson lay on the ground.

After the fight, Toa said he knew he had hit Stevenson with a good shot and was not going to give him a chance to get up.

Stevenson offered no excuses and said when the referee stopped the fight, he was "seeing stars".

Another freezing worker, Robert Dean, won the main event and the South Island ISKA mixed martial arts light heavyweight title when he choked out Christchurch's Shannon Dillion, from the Strikeforce gym.

Dean (21) won his fight in the first round after he fought off a strong start from Dillion.

Dean said it felt "awesome" to win in front of a home crowd and he drew inspiration from the three previous Hammerhead wins.

One of those winners was Brogan Anderson, who was vicious in his first-round win against Sam Casperson.

Anderson epitomised the Hammerhead logo. He was built like a shark and was as equally ferocious when he stopped Casperson with some fine punching and kneeing to the head before he submitted him with an arm-bar.

The other Hammerhead winner was Chase Hayley, who won a points decision in a kickboxing bout against Tim Lawrence from Dunedin's Fi G gym.

The fight of the night featured Hamish Dempsey, from the Strikeforce gym. Dempsey beat Sean Stocker, from New Zealand Fight and Fitness Academy, in a gruelling kickboxing fight in which some big blows were traded.

There was a sombre mood to the night when, before the main event, a minute's silence was held and the ring bell was rung every 10sec for a Dunedin man who died as a result of an accident earlier in the week.

South Island ISKA mixed martial arts title holder Peter Clinch addressed the crowd and gave a heartfelt speech in honour of Dan Wadsworth.

Wadsworth was a trainer at NZFFA and was well respected in mixed martial arts circles.

Other fighters from Dunedin to win were Oliver Bland and Phil Lindsay from Gracie Oceania and Vinnie Lucas from Fi G.

 

 

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