Carolina Fight Promotions put on a great event at the Carolina Crown 2 in Raleigh, North Carolina Saturday night. The card featured seven amateur bouts and seven professional bouts, including two championship fights, and was headlined by former The Ultimate Fighter contestant Vinny Magalhaes defeating Kris Davis, who was a late replacement for Jason Guida, who pulled out of the fight due to a reported back injury.

The amateur under card fights started the night off right as Nick Rahn and Carlos Perez engaged in a back forth battle both on the feet and on the ground. Then Simon Chi and James Ronsick threw down in an absolute war, that at one point featured Chi teeing off on Ronsick against the cage, even dropping him once. The next fight was a women’s fight that Alicia Corey tried to turn into a grappling match against Rachel Dovidio, only to get pounded out in the second. Chris Sutton vs. Drew Allen Stewart was a heavy weight brawl from start to finish, with Sutton getting the better of Stewart on the judges score cards. The final under card bout started strong as Dustin Turbeville took Jimmy Hall down early and worked some submission, but Hall reversed the position and ended the round raining punches on Turbeville’s head. Turbeville’s corner called an end to the contest between rounds, and he was taken out of the arena on a stretcher, but the paramedics later informed me that he was alright.

The main card kicked off with two more amateur bouts which kept the momentum going from the earlier bouts. In the first bout Jeff Loken fought Grant Harris to a unanimous decision, dropping only one round of the fight. The next bout saw George Hickman drop Jeff Tharington in the opening exchange only to have Tharington battle back and put on a great show, finishing out all three rounds. However Hickman got the better of the fight in the judges eyes, and took home a deserving unanimous decision victory.

The first professional bout on the card was a featherweight match up between Justin Dalton and Larry Hughes which started off evenly only to end with a vicious fight ending knee to Hughes as he was coming up off the canvas just a minute in. Watching live there was some question as to whether or not Hughes was still down when the knee was delivered, but the replay showed that it was a clean blow. In the second professional bout, Tomar Washington remained unbeaten (professional and amateur) with a TKO victory over Marcus Thomas in the first round. After the bout began as a back and forth battle, Washington gained top position and pounded on Thomas, forcing the referee to halt the action.

Hometown favorite Pete Martin took on Spartanburg, South Carolina’s Dave Linder in a lightweight contest for the third professional bout, and after controlling the fight early made a mistake and was locked into a tight triangle that forced him to tap. After the fight despite the loss, Martin carried through on his apparent plan to propose to his girlfriend in the cage, and she said yes.

The fourth professional bout of the evening featured the return to action of local hero, and Crossfit NC trainer Billy Dowey after four years of retirement against Jerry Spiegle in a middleweight contest that was one of the most exciting fights of the night. Dowey controlled most of the opening round including using a kimura to sweep Spiegle and delivering some ground and pound before the referee called for a bogus stand up as Dowey had a full mount and was pressing. Dowey got the fight to the ground again, and closed out the round looking for a rear naked choke from Spiegle’s back. Dowey came out in the second breathing heavy and looked gassed, but after an early exchange still scored the takedown, however on the ground Spiegle stalled looking for a stand up and Dowey rested 3-4 seconds between strikes before the referee stood them back up. When they recommenced on the feet they clinched against the cage before Spiegle got a takedown, and then delivered some strong ground ‘n pound. Right at the end of the round Dowey landed an upkick that did little damage while Spiegle’s knee was still on the ground, but the referee didn’t see the knee was down and did nothing about it. Dowey looks completely spent as the third round begins and Spiegle starts lighting him up on the feet before delivering an accidental groin shot as Dowey shot for a takedown. The referee then forced Dowey to continue the fight before giving him his full five minutes, but Dowey doesn’t protest. Spiegle then continued to blast Dowey but can’t put him away, he even threw his hands out trying to prove Dowey was done, only to get thai clinched and eat a few knees. Spiegle broke the clinch and continued to pummel Dowey on the feet before Dowey shoots for a takedown with about thirty seconds left in the fight. Spiegle caught Dowey in a guillotine on the way in, but let it go then Dowey laid on him, resting and bleeding for the conclusion of the fight while the referee just watched. In the end the judges rendered a split decision of 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 for Spiegle.

In the fifth professional bout of the night Preston Marks took on John Owens for the CFP interim featherweight championship. Both fighters looked game at the start as Owens gets the best of the stand up before taking Marks down. On the ground Marks went for a leg lock, which Owens escaped bringing the fight back to the feet. Marks then shot in and eventually worked for and got a takedown. From top position Marks worked some ground ‘n pound from half guard and closes out the round looking for a heel hook, which he secures and torques hard right as the bell sounds to end the round. Owens was slow to get up to go back to his corner, and the fight was stopped before the second round, awarding Marks a controversial doctor stoppage victory.

The sixth professional bout was a welter weight title fight between Jake Whitfield and Brian Keller, and ended up being the only disappointing fight of the night. The first round was back and forth as both men looked to control the fight on the ground. In the second Whitfield controlled the fight from top position for most of the round after an even opening exchange on the feet, and the crowd began to get restless as he mostly delivered punches to Keller’s ribs. In the third round Keller was more active from the bottom looking for submissions than Whitfield was from the top, after Whitfield got the takedown, and also earned to escapes from the bottom in the round. Both fighters came out tentative in the fourth, and Keller seemed to have found his takedown defense and even got a takedown of his own. From his back Whitfield worked a strange rubber guard for a sweep then closed out the round with top control from full mount and half guard, but didn’t do any damage. In the final round Keller seemed to get the best of Whitfield early, stuffing some takedowns, landing a knee on the shooting Whitfield and even gained an escape followed by upkick. The referee then stood them up, Keller landed a strong right while they are standing and then stuffed a shot by Whitfield. The fighters walked around and looked at each other for about twenty seconds before Keller landed a few more blows on the feet and took Whitfield down. Whitfield immediately swept Keller and fended off a triangle attempt before closing out the round landing body shots from full mount as Keller held on trying to stall. The judges gave the decision to Whitfield unanimously, 48-46, 48-46, 50-45.

In the final bout of the evening Vinny Magalhaes made short work of late replacement Kris Davis. Magalhaes opened the fight with a blocked head kick, and then threw an inside leg kick that may have landed low, but Davis continued the fight and took Magalhaes down. Magalhaes then worked his rubber guard and crackhead control to secure a tight triangle forcing Davis to tap just 1:16 into the fight.

FULL FIGHT CARD QUICK RESULTS

• Vinny Magalhaes def. Kris Davis via submission (triangle) – 1:13 Round 1
• Jake Whitfield def. Brian Keller via unanimous decision (48-46, 48-46, 50-45)
  Welterweight Championship
• Preston Marks def. Jon Owens via Doctor stoppage — 5:00 Round 1
  Interim Featherweight Championship
• Jerry Spiegle def. Billy Dowey via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
• Dave Linder def. Pete Martin via submission (Triangle) — 2:45 Round 1
• Tomar Washington def. Marcus Thomas via TKO (strikes) — 4:41 Round 1
• Justin Dalton def. Larry Hughes via KO (knee) — 1:00 Round 1
• George Hickman def. Jeff Tharington via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
• Jeff Loken def. Grant Harris via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
• Jimmy Hall def. Dustin Turbeville via TKO (corner stoppage) — 3:00 Round 1
• Chris Sutton def. Drew Allen Stewart via Unanimous decision
• Rachel Dovidio def. Alicia Corey via TKO (Punches) — 1:38 round 2
• Simon Chi def. James Ronsick via Unanimous Decision
• Nick Rahn def. Carlos Perez via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Pictured: Justin Dalton(red) vs. Larry Hughes(camo)

Tags: Kris Davis, Vinny Magalhaes