SOCA Fights once again took over the Hangar at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa, CA for the second Fight Club OC show of 2024. It was another sell out night of fights that featured contestants from all over the southland!
Opening the night was Riverside’s Adrian Trujillo (1-1) vs. Ventura’s Michael De La Cruz (2-4-2) in a 4 round, welterweight boxing match. Both fighters wanted to set the tone for what kind of night it was going to be at Fight Club OC. Trujillo was game but De La Cruz met him every step of the way. Round after round it became a carbon copy of the last, with Trujillo pressing the issue and De La Cruz catching him with pinpoint punches. Ultimately, De La Cruz threw more and landed more and that allowed him to take a 4 round decision over his tough foe.
We stayed with boxing for bout number two as Santa Ana’s Ricky Frausto (6-2 1KO) brought it to Provo, Utah’s Juan Higuera (7-1 3 KOs) in a 4 round round Light Heavyweight bout. Frausto and Higuera wasted no time getting to know each other in round one. However, the tenor of the fight changed when Higuera caught Frausto coming in TWICE with two big uppercuts seconds from one another. After that, Higuera was just a bit faster, sharper, and more on point than the erstwhile Frausto. In the end, that paid off for Higuera as he won a 4 round decision.
Moving into the discipline of MMA we saw Trever Devestern (0-1) from Lancaster (in his pro debut), taking on Las Vegas’s William Gibson (3-1) in a 3 round welterweight contest. As you already know, MMA at Fight Club OC always brings the crowd to their feet. This bout opened with Deverstern taking an unintentional low blow from which he sadly never recovered. Ultimately, it came down to the experience of Gibson vs. the inexperience of Devestern. Gibson met Devestern every step of the way and just out outmaneuvered him all over the ring. Devestern was game but he dropped a 3 round decision to Gibson.
Going back to boxing, house Fight Club OC fighter (by way of Honolulu) Jordan Panthen (8-0 7KOs) battled the warrior Ravshan Hudaynazarov (19-6 14KOs) of Las Vegas. Scheduled for 8 rounds in the the middleweight division, Panthen needed just 2 rounds to overwhelm his foe. The first round was fairly pedestrian, however, once Panthen took a few shots in the second, he roared back with a barrage of punches and the fight was stopped shortly thereafter.
The boxing beatdowns continued when LA’s Dorian Mendez (3-0 2KOs) took on Ezra Rabin (1-6 1KO) from Oakland in a 4 round super lightweight slugfest. Rabin attempted to jump on Mendez but Mendez literally counterpunched him to oblivion. He landed shot after shot with such accuracy, keeping his composure, so that Robin’s corner tossed in the towel at 2:55 of round number 2.
Closing out the show was yet another Tequila Mandala Young Champions bout! Set for 3 rounds in the heavyweight division, SOCA Fights wanted to end the show with a BANG and a little bit of history! This was a Fight Club OC maiden voyage as Sean Sharaf (3-0) from Santa Ana fought Lancaster’s Chadricc Kindle (0-2), in the first MMA bout to ever vie for a Tequila Mandala Young Champions Belt! Sharaf was a man on a mission as he came out hell bent on literally beating down Kindle. However, Kindle was game and did his best to survive and land punches. Ultimately, it was too much and Sharaf got Kindle down later in the round. He proceeded to lay on the ground and pound and referee Mike Bell called a halt to the proceedings.
With only 2 shows in the books, this year at Fight Club OC is looking like it might be it’s most action-packed yet! Join us again on June 20th from The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in beautiful Costa Mesa, CA! Grab your tickets HERE! As you know, shows are already selling out weeks before showtime because everyone knows this is where fights are guaranteed!