Camacho continues his UNFC domination with title defence
June’s double header continued on June 13 when UNFC returned to Shinjuku Indoor Arena for UNFC63: Camacho Vs Mitchell. The night was full of stoppages and we saw the future of fighting in Tokyo with some strong undercard bouts.
The dominance of Camacho continued and it looks like this freight train won’t stop anytime soon. He had another win in a solid headliner and the co-headliner showed another big time fighter in up-and-comer Coker is ready to take a step forward.
A night full of entertaining finishes and fighters stepping up to show they are the real deal here with Japan’s premier fighting organization.
Let’s take a look at Saturday’s fights.
[Main Event] Camacho def Mitchell by TKO (Strikes) at 03:09 of Round 5 to retain the UNFC Welterweight Title
Hector Camacho (18-2) defended his welterweight title for the 4th time in a last round late TKO victory. The fight could’ve went either way if it went to the judges, but the champ found his rhythm late to continue his unbeaten Tokyo run in a great headliner.
“Macho” showed his striking prowess throughout, landing 89 total strikes (61%) compared to Mitchell’s 53 (31%). Both his hands and his legs go going and were on target, his Muay Thai a centrepiece as he landed 70% of his kicks to slow down the challenger.
Malcolm Mitchell (15-7) did well to recover after being rocked in the third on the wrong end of Camacho’s world class boxing. Until that point he was doing a great job mixing it up with the champ, but overall wasn’t able to take the fight where he wanted as Camacho’s grappling was just too strong.
Camacho showed his ability to finish with his 9th TKO victory after it looked as if the fighters would see their 12th collective judge’s decision, but instead it was a big right hand from the champ that made certain he was walking away with his 170 lbs belt once again.
Camacho keeps his unbeaten UNFC record alive with his 12th win with Tokyo’s #1 fighting organization and his 8th straight overall title defence. He retains 2nd spot on UNFC’s ‘Most wins in org’ list and regains the #1 spot on the orgs P4P fighters list.
Post-fight he had a few words to say that can’t exactly be repeated here, yet did mention he wanted to take on Chavez next. Mitchell slides down a spot to become the #2 welterweight contender behind Tuke Hong.
Camacho is yet to face Hong so he’ll see a new face in his next welterweight match-up, if things work out that way, but as to the level of competition in the division the champ’s current 170 lbs run looks infallible.
[Co-Main Event] Coker def Iron Tyson by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 30-27 x2)
Akeen Coker (11-1) continued his push toward featherweight gold with his 11th straight win in a decisive victory.
It was the differential in kicking (9 landed to 0), activity in the clinch (8 strikes landed to 3) and takedowns (2 takedowns to 0) that lead to Coker taking the W. Coker kept his game-plan diverse by adding all elements to be the better fighter.
Shogun Iron Tyson (11-6) stayed with his stand-up and although landing more punches, he lacked much else. He’s now 1-1 with UNFC and drops a spot in the UNFC 145 lbs division to #3 and slides down the UNFC P4P fighter list to #14.
Coker pushed up the UNFC P4P fighters list to #4 with his 2nd UNFC win and retains his #1 featherweight contenders spot. He’s arguably currently the top contender in the division and will give the champ a good run for his money.
The Le Grande Promotions reigning lightweight champ is scheduled to face Alex Alvarez for the chance to be a duel promotion title holder in two separate weight divisions, a massive feat. The two will battle it out at UNFC67 on July 11 in a must-see featherweight bout.
Perälä def Morozov by TKO (Strikes) at 01:08 of Round 2
Taisto Perälä (7-2) racked up back-to-back wins with his Round 2 stoppage, making his Tokyo record 3-1 with all wins coming by way of TKO finishers.
Perälä dominated the stand-up, landing a total of 22 strikes (88%) compared to Morozov’s 2 (13%) including the shot that dropped Morozov, a nice hook that led to follow-up strikes to force the referee to call a TKO stoppage.
Fedor Morozov (10-4) most likely walked back to his corner ahead after the first round, after he successfully took the fight south with a trip takedown. He managed to land some ground and pound and finish the round on top for some nice control time to dominate that area, but his stand-up just wasn’t as polished.
Morozov immediately called for a rematch after all was said and done, whilst Perälä seemed overwhelmed with emotion yet didn’t forget to thank his fans. The Finn completes his current run with UNFC in a positive fashion and chalks his name next to the #6 spot in the welterweight division.
Perälä joins his training camp ahead of the ITFL tournament in which he’ll look to join team mates Bruce Wayne, Antoni Kristofer Hong, Bernhard Adelhard, Diego Bustamante, Algot Von Panzerhosen and Dante Cross Furia.
The Jamaican has now lost both of his Tokyo bouts after a 7 fight win streak entering into his UNFC contract and slides down a spot to #10 in the Fighter Elite MMA welterweight rankings.
Beloff def Giantsbane by KO (Strikes) at 04:52 of Round 1
Viktor Beloff (7-5) bounced back from a 2 fight losing streak in emphatic fashion with a late round 1 KO to make it 7 KO/TKO’s from 7 wins, 6 with UNFC.
“Valyok” rattled off two excellent combinations to firstly knockdown Giantsbane, hurt him with the second then landed a big uppercut that finally put things to bed.
Tormund Giantsbane (5-2) landed a good amount of leg kicks (11) and had the better accuracy before the combo’s, but his Muay Thai just wasn’t enough for the excellent boxing and power of Beloff.
The Russian heavyweight moved into the #5 265 lbs contender spot with the win. After two losses to big time heavyweight contenders, including the current champion, he’d be happy to get the monkey off his back and return to winning form.
Giantsbane seemed a little unhappy with the loss, losing in his debut with UNFC and afterwards becoming manager-less as he joins other free agents. He had a few fiery explicit words to say to Beloff before he left the UNFC cage.
Tsoi def Datsik by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Viktor Tsoi (10-5) took the judge’s nod in a good display of striking to earn himself his 3rd straight and 4th with UNFC.
Tsoi controlled the stand-up, landing 58 overall strikes (50%) compared to Datsik’s 30 (42%), 18 of which were kicks (compared to 10) and managed the only takedown of the fight late in round 2 to win the ground game.
Daniel Datsik (4-2) did manage to get more done in the clinch, landing 11 (52%) compared to Tsoi’s 8 (32%) but he just lacked the ability to get off as many strikes and land as many as the eventual winner.
Tsoi is now 4-3 with UNFC and when it comes to the featherweight division he breaks into the top 10, climbing from #12 to #9. The Russian rock pioneer has the ability to make a big impact, we’ll see if he can continue this fight streak moving forward.
Undercard
The prelims proved to be a finisher’s delight and really got the crowd going with 4 round 1 TO stoppages. Boyd McGuire (7-3-2) got his fourth UNFC win and Bill Bronson (5-1) continued his strong UNFC start to headline the prelims.
Daft Young (5-1) got his third straight judge’s nod with UNFC with a Split decision. Liquid Gold (4-3) and Lukas Hanak (3-3) also recorded first round stoppage wins to open up the night.
Undercard short results:
McGuire def Mifune by TKO (Strikes) at 03:53 of Round 1
Bronson def Nogueira by TKO (Strikes) at 03:40 of Round 1
Young def Machado by Split Decision
Gold def Winner by TKO (Punches) at 03:57 of Round 1
Hanak def Kingsley by KO (Punches) at 02:56 of Round 1
UNFC63: Camacho Vs Mitchell sponsors:
Sun-Tzu: The fight gear spawned from the greatest battles on earth, punched to perfection by shaolin monks to outlast mankind.
Sponsorship is available with Sun-Tzu for all UNFC Tokyo fighters. Get in touch with owner ‘The Philosopher’ to represent Tokyo’s #1 clothing company. Sponsorship deals are available for both new and old fighters.
Coming Up:
UNFC64: Larusso Vs Kraken at Shinjuku Indoor Arena on June 20
