Los Santos Insider | SAFA Charity Fight Night & Ursus MMA Fight Night Recap: June 9th, June 16th

Remington · June 19, 2023

SAFA Charity Fight Night & Ursus MMA Fight Night Recap: June 9th, June 16th

Published by Scarlett Remington, 06/19/2023
Photography by Shun Nakamura, 06/09/2023, 06/16/2023

June 9th, Vespucci Sports Charity Fight Night - Full Gallery Link (Click Here)

Starting with last week's knockout Charity event, SAFA’s first “Celebrity Cage Match”. The final event on the night's line-up, was ex-senator and casino mogul “Edgars Gudlevkskis” against his opponent, one of the city's top influencers, DJ Doux. For me it was incredibly unexpected, coming out of the left field, as it were. Before we could see this fight, however, there were two under-cards and a main event on SAFA’s weekly Fight Night. As usual we saw rookie amateurs and long time hobbyists well known at SAFA go head to head against each other. With four fights on the night's line up, I was in for a good show. Especially seeing as SAFA’s new host, Barry Dunn, returned to bring an air of showmanship to the combat event series. This week Adam Kaminski returned as referee, while his wife Noelle was among the judges panel, accompanied by experts Endymion Atlas, and Damian Samaras. Showing the promotions dedication to providing the best events possible, there was once again a bar catered by The Blue Lion. As well as betting available through pyramid-virtual.com, Pyramid Sports Betting.

In the first fight, we were to see two rookies, Jaythan “The Javanese Juggernaut” Glediansyah, and Cody Hewitt. However it seemed a last minute drop out resulted in Jaythan needing replacement, seemingly he got cold feet which unfortunately also seems to happen a lot more than you’d think. Cody Hewitt, was apparently already replacing someone. Luckily, after a moment, we were blessed with Danijel “Munja” Aleksic in the octagon. Danijel is no rookie, and is well known around SAFA as a stiff competitor and skilled kickboxer.

The first round started with both fighters testing each other's abilities, really taking it slow and trying to find an opening. Aleksic was a bit more aggressive than his opponent but Hewitt highlighted some great defensive tactics. At the end of the round Hewitt was looking steadily ahead, and after a brief moment we got right into round two. The second round was quick and full of furious strikes. Though rocked by the last round, Aleksic took a slow start in the second round. Hewitt, maintaining momentum, K.O’d his opponent in swift fashion with a stiff right hook. This meant Hewitt was walking away with his first SAFA victory under his belt. And while Aleksic didn’t show out the best tonight, he’s still without a doubt a name to look for on any fight card.

Next up we have an Ex-Navy sailor from Portland, Oregon, Takenaka Kido. His opponent, Chechen warrior Malik Varayev is a known factor in the competition, a skilled wrestler. This is another rookie versus established amateur fight, though definitely not your average rookie, Kido’s Navy background lends him some credibility going into the sport. The Navy is renowned for their own fighting competitions, the most popular among servicemen and women being boxing. This led me to be pretty excited to see this fight, no longer are we seeing the average street brawler that you might come across at other promotions, the overall skill level at the competition is clearly on the rise.

Heading into round one we see Takanaka start off defensively, he doesn’t want this wrestler to get him on his back. Likewise Varayev is careful of Takanaka’s takedown technique, he tries to strike from range and put Takanaka off balance. Takanaka keeps his cool and Varayev reaches the end of his tank and slows down at the end of the round, allowing Takanaka to score a takedown before the bell. Round two starts off in a furious exchange of combo’s from each side, though neither fighter can afford to keep that up. Takanaka creates some distance, Varayev pursues but is hammered by counter strikes as he tries to land hits on his opponent until finally one lands square on his cap and sends him tumbling to the mat unconscious. Takanaka takes the action packed bout with a spectacular knockout.

In the last match before the charity event, the night's official Main Event, a five round fight between BJJ and Krav Maga technician Frank “Gyrene” Raynor and challenger Alexander Castillo, a SAFA newcomer. Though as we’ve seen from Zack Lucero’s debut, being a rookie doesn’t mean much because the team at SAFA clearly works hard to put people of similar skill levels in the ring together. Who knows where they found this newcomer, but if they gave him a main event I have no doubt that it’s going to be a show worth watching.

The first of five rounds kicked off, right away the two are showing their skill and calculativeness as they probe one another for openings. They start off by trying to gain a few points, and seeing where they can completely overcome their opponents. Castillo finds his opening and drills into the opposition's defense. Round one ended with Castillo appearing a bit ahead, though it was still anyone’s match. The second round Castillo took the same approach, though this time Gyrene’s defense holds firm and he counters sternly, scoring a knockdown on his opponent in turn. The third round Castillo changed gears slightly, his fancy footwork and aggressive striking breaking through Gyrene’s defense in awe inspiring fashion. The fourth round was over incredibly fast, Castillo knocked out his opponent with a hard midsection shot. He was really working Gyrene’s abs this fight and it took the toll in the end, resulting in a hand raise for Castillo.

First to be introduced in SAFA’s first Celebrity Cage Match, Edgars Gudlevskis, owner of acclaimed Pyramid Sports Bets. Of Latvian origin, Edgars is a well known businessman and politician in Los Santos, and is not someone I expected to see in the ring even if I had heard he was a fan of the sport. His opponent, frenchman and local music industry legend, Julian “Doux” Lebeau of AKAN Records, is also an MMA fan though similarly I am surprised to see him fighting here tonight. The winner's chosen charity will be taking home a healthy donation.

As they make their way to the ring both men look excited, and well prepared. Neither of them has an air of nervousness about them, and it sounds like they’ve both been training hard for this moment. Round one starts and Doux comes out swinging on Edgars, who takes a rough looking punch to the face. Wasting no time however, Edgars strikes back with a right hook and clips Doux. They spend a second locked in a clinch, sending blows while grappling, then break apart and go straight back into throwing combos. The first round is extremely high octane, and both show skill as they deftly slip and counter strike each other's jabs. Doux maintains a slim points lead going into round two, he goes in on the bell extremely fast just like the first round, but this time Edgars slips and counter strikes. Doux takes the sign and changes up his strategy, both fighters take a slower approach trying to score points where they can without taking any hits themselves, but this mostly falls off as each exchange sees both fighters take a number of strikes from the others combo. The second round ends and Edgars has brought the score back neck and neck going into the final round. In the final round Edgars takes on a fully defensive strategy, purposefully staying on the back foot as Doux aggressively strikes in an attempt to punch right through Edgars’ guard. The crowd goes wild with cheers and jeers as the Referee gets between the fighters, Doux clearly out of breath and rocked. Both competitors showed grace and respect at the end of the fight, and took a moment to shout out their selected charities and announce an increase of donations, bringing the total dedication of this charity event to $400,000.

All in all it was a truly spectacular event, the city should not sleep on any future SAFA events or you might miss out on a really great show. Plus with music from DJ Dano, and alcohol provided courtesy of The Blue Lion, makes the event a truly unique experience where you can get a good drink and watch an entertaining show.

June 16th, Ursus MMA Fight Night - Full Gallery Link (Click Here)
On to this week's event, where we saw more locals going head to head for the chance to be known as San Andreas’ best fighter. While we didn’t have a spectacle like the Celebrity Cage Match to look forward to tonight, we did have an entirely different treat. SAFA’s first ever female fight card, showing that the promotion only continues to grow. Another sign of the company's growth is that this event marks the move to 4 fight cards per night, expanding to 3 undercards and a main event. It was another amazing night with high energy host Barry Dunn, DJ Dano on the mix decks, Noelle Kaminska as Referee tonight and on the judges panel, Damian Samaras, Jackson Hayes, and Endymion Atlas.

The first fight was the women's card, where we saw Amélie Lévesque face off against her opponent, Cleopatra Klaproth. Amélie is apparently a fighter from Montreal, a BJJ expert, and is known for cutting a path through the Bellicose circuit and dominating the competition. Cleopatra on the other hand, a Hawick local and self-proclaimed street fighter. Given the match ups we’ve seen at SAFA in the past I’m reluctant to count her out despite facing a decisively more ‘professional’ and technical opponent.

Round one kicked off with a flurry of strikes from both sides. Each highlighting footwork, defense and counter striking. Watching the first round it was a lot closer than one might expect, in the end it was hard to determine if either had gained a lead and both women scored a knockdown. This seemingly put both fighters on notice as they both panicked to try and switch up their techniques several times in round two. Cleopatra however scored a knockdown and came up looking ahead on the fight cards at the end of the round. A bit more adjustment from Amélie in the third round, and perhaps a bit of exhaustion on Cleopatra’s side, meant that Amélie could score a final knockdown of her own before the clock ran out. After a moment of waiting for the Ref to consult the judges, a split decision had two judges scoring the fight as a draw. Though one judge, Jackson Hayes, scored 23-24, in favor of Klaproth. With the fight finished, Amélie Lévesque expressed disdain with having a draw on her record and loudly challenged Cleopatra to a rematch down the line, to which she happily accepted.

In the second fight we saw Malik Varayev return to face off against Kendrick “Scarface” Robinson. Varayev, SAFA’s Chechen Warrior, is coming off a defeat last week and is clearly eager to show that he isn’t someone to count out. He’s training, and he’s after those main liners heads. His opponent, on the other hand, is coming off the back of a win in his debut match up, and is no doubt feeling confident in his ability to compete.

This fight was quite the doozy, and it was over in a flash! Malik dominated his opponent in the first round, scoring a knockdown. The second round didn’t last much longer, Malik taking Scarface down and forcing a submission via a stunning rear naked choke, in what I believe is SAFA’s first submission finisher.

As for the third fight of the night, we saw two sparring partners, Zack “The Spitfire” Lucero and Cody Hewitt go head to head. Zack, with one loss, zero wins, and Cody with the opposite record. The first two rounds were striking heavy, and mostly high action. Whereas by the end of the third round both fighters were slowly targeting one another, trying to run out the bell and win by the grace of the judges scores. This tactic paid off for Lucero, who was unanimously declared victor by the judges score.

The final fight of the night was SAFA super star, Sam Morris, against Alexander Castillo. Both have proven to be some of the toughest competitors the state has ever seen. Castillo is a LS county Deputy and a Kickboxing aficionado. As for his opponent, Morris is a long time hobbyist and student of VS MMA, a wrestling and boxing knockout. The event kicks off and Morris puts on the heat against Castillo. They take four rounds, but Castillo struggles to keep up on the scorecards, he takes a knockdown in round three but gets knocked out in round four.

It’s clear as one of SAFA’s best, Morris is striving to improve, and eventually challenge Yang for a rematch. Yang is without debate at the top of the MMA circuit at the moment, boasting an undefeated record in SAFA. But with that another show stopping smackdown of an event comes to an end, and I can honestly say it remains as one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a Friday night in Los Santos.