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 News from Around Banderas Bay | February 2008 
WFL Main Event Won by Manuel Peña
 Bob Cohen - PVNN
| | Winner of the main event, on the right with hands raised, Manuel Peña of Guadalajara. | 
| | Amateur Josue Rueles of Puerto Vallarta and the Manzanarez Dragon Gym, remains undefeated, winning his 5th fight without a loss. | 
| | Joining in the center of the ring after main event are the main event winner and others. Jesus Gonzalez is right in the middle of the group of seven. | 
| | Two amateurs go to the floor in a Vale Todo fight. | 
| | Popular local fighter via Kansas, winner Jimmy Haynes. | | |
Jesus Gonzalez, owner and Professor of the Tae Muay Gym in Puerto Vallarta presented the first full fight card of Vale Todo or "everything goes" at the Collage this past Saturday night. There were actually 6 Vale Todo bouts, 2 Muay Thai and a Jujitsu fight.
The ring was quite smaller than I expected, but for the first mixed martial arts event held here, it sufficed. The evening was a success but did get a late start as officials studied and modified the hexagon (6 sided) ring for the safety of the warriors.
The main event was won by Manuel Peña of Guadalajara with a 2nd round TKO. Manuel was a late replacement for an injured fighter but proved to be the real deal in his bout against Noe Rodriguez of Aguascalientes as he dominated with brutal and punishing kicks and punches during the 1st round. In the 2nd round he continued the assault, and then took his opponent down, crushing him to the ring floor bringing the audience to their feet. The referee called an end to the bout as safety comes first and he deemed that Rodriguez could no longer defend himself.
There were 5 amateur fights and 4 professional fights, and the co-main event gave the only Puerto Vallarta professional on the card an easy victory as his opponent couldn't fight because of injury. Jose Luis "El Rayo" Uribe was the victor and hopes to compete again in a Vale Todo bout. He is an accomplished Muay Thai fighter with 21 bouts and has fought Vale Todo only once.
The first professional bout was won by Alejandro Perez of Aguascalientes as his opponent Diego Llamas of Guadalajara had to "tap out" in the second round as he couldn't continue. Perez was completely dominating both on his feet and on the ground and had Llamas in a submission hold forcing Llamas to stop the fight on his own accord.
Another popular professional fighter from Guadalajara, who made his Vale Todo debut, was Alejandro "Tanque" Aguilar. Tanque has fought 24 Muay Thai bouts and is a champion in the 67 kilo division and dominated his opponent Raul Rodriguez of Aguascalientes, winning in a 2nd round TKO.
The amateurs wore protective gear, utilizing shin guards and elbow pads to prevent injury and the professionals went at it with only taped hands. First and foremost, the safety of the fighters was most important and the referees did a superb job in making sure to stop any fight that could have hurt a competitor.
The fighter that had the largest crowd support was amateur Jimmy Haynes, an 8 year resident of Puerto Vallarta originally from Kansas, fighting out of Mexican Champion Santiago Manzanares gym and having the advantage of "The Dragon" training him. His match was a tough one against Ernesto Sierra of Aguascalientes, as Haynes preferred fighting while standing and wasn't as effective on the floor. The popular Haynes did however win a decision to the delight of his fans.
Every professional fight did not go the distance as all four winning fighters claimed victory in the 2nd round. One warrior had to "tap out" as he was in a submission hold and two won via TKO as the referees stopped the fight. The 3rd was a victory via forfeit.
Amateur winners were Xochilt Garcia of Talpa in a women's Jujitsu fight, Ramon of Guadalajara in a Muay Thai bout, Mahatma Garcia of Talpa in Vale Todo, Josue Ruelas of Puerto Vallarta and Jimmy Haynes also of Puerto Vallarta.
Hats off to Jesus Gonzalez for bringing an inaugural and successful Vale Todo to Puerto Vallarta, for promoting the event and even working the corner for two of his fighters. Jesus had a busy night, but even stopped and talked with me a number of times to keep me aware of the fighters I had never seen as well as giving me lessons in how to judge a Vale Todo fight. Gracias Jesus! (not at all meaning anything religious). Another card is already being planned for later in the year. |
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