“March Badness”, the hybrid boxing/MMA event promoted by Square Ring Promotions is going down tonight, Saturday, in Pensacola, Florida. Headlining the card will be boxing legend, Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Omar Sheika. The MMA portion of the card will feature former WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley vs. Jason Guida, who is the brother of UFC fighter, Clay Guida and Jeff Monson vs. Roy “Big Country” Nelson in a heavyweight headliner. PRO MMA (promma.info) will be providing live round by round updates and results.

Dennis Hallman 169 lbs. vs. Danny Ruiz 170 lbs.
rd.1 – Hallman takes down Ruiz right away. Showing why Hallman was the only man ever to submit Matt Hughes TWICE (both times in under a minute), he took Ruiz’s back with one hook and sunk in the rear naked choke for the tap out at 1:50. Dennis Hallman def. Danny Ruiz by submission (RNC) in rd.1

Din Thomas 144 ¾ lbs. vs. Gabe Lemley 144 ¾ lbs.
rd.1 – The fighters clinch up. Lemley is very aggressive and not shy to trade with the veteran. Both guys throwing punches but Din landing more combinations. Lemley not landing anything significant. Finally, after a couple of minutes, Din gets Lemley against the ropes where he lands about four punches and then a big knee to the chin that puts Lemley out. Din showed all boxing crowd in attendance what MMA striking is all about. Din Thomas def. Gabe Lemley by KO (punches & knee) in rd.1

Din called out singer, Chris Brown, after the fight saying if Rhianna needs a man to kick his ass to let him know and that it’s not cool to put your hands on women like that. He got loud applause for the statement.

Bobby Lashley 251 ½ lbs. vs. Jason Guida 232 lbs.
rd.1 – Great round for Guida. He survived one big punch by Lashley. They stayed clinched in the corner for much of the round. Lashley kept looking for a takedown but could not get Guida down.
rd.2 – Lashley gets a huge slam on Guida then remains in top control for the rest of the round, punishing the body and an occassional head shot. Guida tried punching from the bottom but did not go for any submissions.
rd.3 – Lashley shoots in and Guida catches him in a guillotine. It is tight and it takes Lashley a little while to get out. For a moment you think he may tap, But Lashley escaped and finished off the round on top with more ground and pound. Once again it is proven that size matters. 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for Lashley. Bobby Lashley defeats Jason Guida by unanimous decision

Roy Nelson 262 lbs. vs. Jeff Monson 245 ¾ lbs.
rd.1 – Nelson got a takedown and maintained control for awhile until Monson was able to get up. Nothing significant landed really by either fighter.
rd.2 – Nelson got another takedown and kept the pressure on Monson for the entire round. Monson mostly played defense and did get Nelson off of him pretty quickly from the ground.
rd.3 – This round was more of a slug match with both guys trying to end the fight. Both guys landed some decent shots. The clinch played a very important part in this fight. The round and the fight probably went to Nelson. 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Monson. Jeff Monson defeats Roy Nelson by unanimous decision The announcers and crowd seem to think it was a bad decision. I have to agree.

Boxing

12 Rounds – NABO Light Heavyweight Championship
Roy Jones Jr., (52-5, 38 KOs), Pensacola, Florida 173 ¼ lbs. vs. Omar Sheika (27-8, 18 KOs), Paterson, NJ 175 lbs.
rd.1 – The crowd is going nuts as Jones throws everything at Sheika, pounding him with combinations to the body and head shots. Great round for Jones.
rd.2 – Sheika had a few good shots but for the most part it was Jones’ speed that made the difference once again. Great hooks to the body and power punches landed by Jones.
rd.3 – Jones still won this round but Sheika is not going anywhere. Sheika clipped Jones on the chin a couple of times when he got him trapped in the corner.
rd.4 – Jones is having a ball, landing numerous very hard left jabs almost at will. After the round Jones shakes his butt for the crowd.
rd.5 – Omar Sheika was taking numerous blows to the head that opened a cut. He was never rocked but he was getting hit very hard. Sheika had nothing to offer, the ref realized this and stops the fight.
Roy Jones, Jr. defeated Omar Sheika by TKO (referee stoppage) in rd.5 Omar Sheika fought his heart out. He was upset the ref stopped the fight because he wasn’t hurt but he was getting pummeled. This is very different from an MMA stoppage where it would not get stopped while a guy is on his feet still fighting.

All in all it was a great card and I would say a real success by bringing MMA and boxing together for one memorable night of fights.

Roy Jones, Jr. said after the fight he will be back to fight again in Pensacola, much to the cheers of the crowd. He made it very clear he is not retiring.

2 thoughts on ““March Badness” LIVE round by round updates & results from Pensacola, Florida”
  1. All-in-all good night of fights, but some terrible decisions by the judges. The boxing match on the undercard and the Monson decision were absolutely wrong.

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