Friday, November 24, 2017
By Greg Gulas
CAMPBELL
Last week, Dalton Rosta made a prediction said that his match-up with Joe Iorio would be over during the first minute of their fight.
He was wrong.
Rosta (4-0) needed a little over a minute into the second round, disposing of Iorio (2-1) by TKO to win the main event of Wednesday’s “St. Lucy’s Fight Night 10” MMA card at the Palermo Center.
Nicknamed “Rampage,” the Laurel High graduate drew blood over Iorio’s left eye in the first-round, continuing his assault in the second until the fight was stopped at the 1:10 mark.
“I felt like he disrespected me at the glove tap, which only made me get more involved in the fight,” Rosta said. “I hit him on the side of the ear and he spit out his mouthpiece, twice. I was wrong with my prediction, but I’ve still yet to have one of my fights go the distance. Now, I’m looking for a title shot.”
In the co-main, heavyweight Tracy Wiant (7-4-1) of Sligo, Pennsylvania might want to rethink his cage exit (he has repeatedly said that this would be his last fight) after having to settle for a draw against Cleveland’s James Rankin (6-3-1).
“That was fun tonight, but at 37 years old beatings like this make it tough to keep going,” Wiant stated. “MMA is a very selfish sport and our team, Nowhere MMA, just celebrated its 10th anniversary. I got into this sport 10 years ago at 28 years of age, which is much older than when most fighters begin. I have a wife and three children and I’m just not ready to sacrifice my family anymore.”
In the opening bout of the night, Pittsburgh’s John Relic earned his initial cage win and needed just 1:36 of the opening round to do so as he stopped Josh Person (0-3) of Sharon by neck crank in a 145-pound battle.
Barberton’s Tristian Fouts made his successful debut when he posted a first-round TKO over Brenden Monstwill of Pulaski at 165 pounds.
Fouts said growing up in a neighborhood where he always had to defend himself, only helped prepare him for his initial cage foray.
“I had a lot of pent up aggression and used that to my advantage tonight,” Fouts stated. “I grew up in a neighborhood where I got beat up just because I was small. I just wanted to get my feet wet this first time out with the main goal to throw body shots, keep my hands up and hit him about the face. I wanted to make him tap out fast, but must admit that he had a lot of spirit in him.”
Pittsburgh natives Darren Williams and Kaleeq Anderson made their debuts at 170 pounds debuts with Williams earning a second round TKO (1:55).
Warren’s Tyler Cobbins (1-0) scored a second round TKO over fellow Warren resident Ryan Dailey (0-3) in a 185 match-up while a 160 pound scrap featured Freddie Simmons of Akron posting a KO just 52 seconds into his match with Sharon’s Demarco Hosch (0-2).
Cobbins’ goal was to use his jab, but avoid Dailey’s jab at all costs.
“I expected him to wrestle me to the ground, but he caught me a couple times in the opening round,” Cobbins explained. “I tried to stay on the outside so in the second round, I used my striking to get him to the ground. When I got him on the ground, I pounded him out.”
Chase Boyde’s original opponent did not show, so he and close friend Malcolm Hudson of Pittsburgh hooked up at 185 pounds with the “Croatian Crowbar” winning by submission (inverted triangle choke) just 1:40 into the fight.
“Malcolm and I are good friends, yet I think we were both apprehensive about fighting one another,” Boyde noted. “I work with Dalton [Rosta] on grappling and that’s where I learned the inverted triangle, so I did it tonight and was able to get a tap-out in the first round.”
In a 145 pound pairing, Pittsburgh’s Tijuan McCray-Turner improved to 2-0 with a first-round submission (rear naked choke at 2:01) of Huntington, West Virginia native Kalil Franks (2-3).