Brawl @ Bourbon Street
Chris Bergeron and Tim Pilch fight at Bourbon Street.
Waitresses walked around with shots of whiskey and Jägermeister, men double fisted beers, and halter tops were as numerous as Hester jerseys and Sox gear. But in the middle of all the Friday night euphoria stood a cage.
The Brawl at Bourbon Street was held at its usual location in Merrionette Park, and the event was packed. Alcohol flowed freely, lights and hip hop beats bounced around the cavernous space, and spectators were treated to some great MMA action. The fights were as diverse as they were entertaining, with huge left hooks, rear naked chokes, knockouts, and a few controversies. Here’s a breakdown of some of Friday’s action:
The first fight matched Chris Bergeron against Tim Pilch in the 155-pound division. Pilch was aggressive early and started the fight with a takedown of Bergeron and almost had him in a few early submission holds. But all the grappling left both fighters gassed toward the end of the first round. The second round was much shorter and ended with a swift left kick to Pilch’s face. During his post fight comments Bergeron was flush with success, “I wanted to go a bit longer,” he said. “I like people watching me.”
The second match had good punches by both fighters, but Brandon Fahle notched a standing right to Anthony Corder that gave Fahle a TKO victory.
The third bout was more of a boxing match between Matt Brown and Ted Green. Brown was aggressive early and backed Green into the cage with a fury of combinations. But Brown left his guard down for a moment and Green saw the small opening and landed a huge left hook.
The fourth fight was the most controversial of the night and one of the shortest too. The fight pitted Jacob Morales against Dennis Fisher, with Fisher trying to quickly land an early kick to Morales. The kick was repelled by Morales and quickly countered with a left hook that immediately dropped Fisher. The referee quickly stopped the fight, even though Fisher popped up instantly after the blow. The fight was prematurely stopped and a lot of the crowd took the opportunity to cuss loudly and get drunker.
Andrew West scored a KO against John Finn. Finn had West in a triangle choke early, but West was able to get the KO in the last few seconds of the round.
In the sixth bout, Tim Young lost a lot of his strength halfway through the first round and was the victim of a huge left hook by Ryan Kirwan.
William Anthony after a win. Image courtesy of MManiacs.
The seventh match was the fight of the night. Tony Maldonado and Mike Bartolomucci went the distance (the only fight to do so), and both fighters were evenly matched. Bartolomucci started off very aggressively with a huge take down, but Maldonado counter with his own take down later in the round. The pace of the first round slowed the fighters a tad in the second, but both fighters continued to show good wrestling and kept the pace brisk. Maldonado flashed some knees and kicks in the second, but failed to work the kimura more after Bartolomucci left a few opportunities open. Bartolomucci was able to win on points.
Mike Dombrowski tapped out in the first round after Matt Giancarlo was able to put him in a rear naked choke. Giancarlo was also the winner of coolest tattoos of the night, and the only fighter of the night to sport pink hair.
Eric Blake and William Anthony both fought at 205-pounds, but Anthony looked to be in much fitter condition. Blake looked to be channeling Roy “Big Country” Nelson, but couldn’t take or give out the same kind of punishment as the famous UFC fighter. Anthony was able to win in 42 seconds.
Sean Gee and Miguel Garza both fought at 135-pounds, with Gee winning by KO. Garza was knocked to the mat three times and had to be helped from the ring afterwards.
The final fight of the night saw James Frasure II lose to Danny Somers. The fight ended toward the end of the first round when Somers was able to score a rear naked choke on Frasure. Both fighters were evenly matched and Frasure was able to get opportunities for a few submission holds early, but couldn’t finish off Somers.
Some of the fights were too short and a few patrons complained that they weren’t drunk enough to drive home, but MMA fans were able to soak in enough carnage and fighting for the night to be considered a success.
Cut Throat MMA hosted the fight, and will have their next event on December 2nd in Aurora.
Amateur Fighter Looks to Move Past Personal Demons
Tim Frain will fight December 2nd at Cut Throat's Invasion 4.
Some amateur fighters are motivated to fight by dreams of glory, some fight as a release from the daily grind of their jobs, and others just want to hit people. Amateur fighter Tim Frain will be fighting for something far more personal, the memory of his recently deceased father.
The 40-year-old Frain, who works at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, will step into the ring for the first time on December 2nd for the upcoming Invasion 4 fight in Aurora, IL.
With a record of 0-0, Tim’s journey to the ring is coming much later than other MMA fighters, but the ups and downs of his personal life over the last year has given Frain all the motivation he needs to step into the ring.
Frain, who started fighting at the age of seven when his dad introducing him to boxing, has always had a fighting mindset.
“The fighting part I’ve done outside of the ring, say on the streets. And the high school I went to was a tough high school, so I ended up throwing a lot of fists.”
Although Frain doesn’t have much MMA fighting experience, he’s worked overseas teaching self-defense in Japan. He’s also worked and trained with military personal, Cook County corrections officers and Chicago policemen, and he’s been trained in stick and knife fighting.
At the beginning of the year Frain became a new father and found himself with some time off.
“I kept hearing people talk about this MMA gym Emerald Smoke. And I just wanted to finally do it (train for a fight),” says Frain.
“MMA was a just very natural thing for me to fall into.”
But not long after his daughter’s birth Frain was unexpectedly faced with the shocking news of his father’s death.
Bill Frain, a Chicago firefighter for forty years and a navy veteran, committed suicide in late February after battling prostate and skin cancer.
The loss was devastating to Tim, but his new training gave him the outlet he needed to let out some of the complex emotions he was dealing with.
“I had extra energy. Extra anger. I was training almost too hard, and I injured my shoulder. But it did help to release some of those feelings.”
The suddenness of his father’s passing led Frain to be close-lipped about the news, and only recently did Frain open up to his coaches and trainers.
“My jiu-jitsu instructor suggested I get involved with youspoke.org and got me in contact with one of the founders.”
The organization is a community for those deeply affected by suicide, and allows people a creative outlet to share their story.
While the wounds haven’t healed yet, Frain is ready to step into the ring.
“This has been a personal journey for me, and a hurdle I feel I want to get past. I don’t want the message to be you have to quit things in life, I want my message to be you can push yourself beyond your limits.”
Michael Claire
Online Sport Freaks - Local and National MMA, Football, Baseball and Basketball 