I.E. Fight Night Conflict Recap and Results

On Saturday, July 20, the Inland Empire’s premier mixed martial arts organization held another successful event. I.E. Fight Night held its Conflict event in Ontario, CA. The night was filled with 11 fights, four of them being for title fights. As typical with all I.E. Fight Night events, the card on Saturday night was filled with exciting action and was capped off with the crowning of the organization’s first champ-champ.

The night’s main event featured a champion vs. champion match as current middleweight champion Sarek Shields dropped down in weight to challenge welterweight champion Alexander Cruz for the 170-pound title. After a competitive first round, Shields was able to take control of the fight and secure a rear-naked choke for the win.

The night’s co-main event was a gritty bout between Miguel Gil and Brandon Dwyer. Gil put his bantamweight title on the line and was successful in his defense by earning a unanimous decision victory. Gil used his strength and grappling skills to nullify much of Dywer’s offense.

The light heavyweight championship bout saw Riley Miller use his superior jiu-jitsu skills to capture the title from Dillon Menrad. Miller needed less than two minutes to take Menrad to the ground and secure an armbar for the submission win.

The final title fight of the night saw David Zelner defeat Yenok Kopushyan via a first-round TKO. The fight started out with Kapushyan being very light on his feet and throwing strikes. Zelner was able to null Kopushyan’s offense by grabbing ahold of him and pushing him up against the cage. When the two were separated by the referee, the action picked back up. After a brief striking exchange, Zelner landed a huge overhand right that sent shock waves through the crowd. Kopushyan, to the surprise of everyone in attendance, did not go down but he was clearly stunned. Zelner kept his composure and went in for the finish. He took Kopushayn down and finished the fight with some ground and pound.

Also on the card was a grappling exhibition between Dana Hernandez and Danielle Walters. The meeting between the two was originally supposed to be an MMA bout but Walters and her camp had stated that she suffered an ankle injury and could not compete in an actual fight. The bout was changed to a one, five minute round grappling exhibition. Walters would win the match and then proceeded to dance and jump up in the air seemingly forgetting about her ankle injury. Hernandez, who trains out of Threshold MMA in Ontario, CA was not happy nor was her camp about the night’s situation.

Below you can see the full results from I.E. Fight Night Conflict:

Fortino Mendez def. Robert Banzzini via TKO in round 1 at 1:09
Tyrik Woods def. Daniel Garcvia via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Lightweight Championship: David Zelner def. Yenok Kopushyan via TKO in round 1 at 1:56
Light Heavyweight Championship: Riley Miller def. Dillon Menrad via submission (armbar) in round 1 at 1:24
Andres Meza def. Robert Torres via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Alberto Ruiz def. Kevin Robinson via TKO in round 1 at 1:28
Khalil Howard def. Christian Zahler via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Grappling Match: Danielle Walters def. Dana Hernandez via unanimous decision
Matteo Colazingari def. Trevor Johnson via submission (armbar) in round 1 at 1:38
Bantamweight Championship: Miguel Gil def. Brandon Dwyer via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Welterweight Championship: Sarek Shields def. Alexander Cruz via submission (rear-naked choke) in round 2 at 1:50