Muay Thai at the Mecca: Full results

The Theater at Madison Square Garden hosted its first Muay Thai event in the venue's history. Promoted by Take-On Productions, it drew an impressive 3,203 fans. The full results of every bout are below, and you can read more about the event in Sunday's Newsday.

Angie Babel vs. Prairie Rugilo

The first Muay Thai fight in MSG history was a good mix of back-and-forth action, with Rugilo earning the better of it in the eyes of the judges. She won a majority decision to claim the WKA New York State women’s 120-125 pound title.

Chris Mauceri vs. Tim Schmeier

Mauceri was definitely the more aggressive fighter, constantly moving forward. He landed the more significant strikes to win by unanimous decision. Schmeier was able to catch many of Mauceri’s leg kicks but couldn’t turn them into points.

Rich Brattole vs. Evaristo Hernandez

Hernandez landed a solid front leg kick to Brattole’s face and received a groin shot in return. Round 2 featured an impressive mix of spinning kicks by Hernandez and strong left hooks by Brattole. It was enough to give Brattole the win by stoppage in between Rounds 2 and 3. Hernandez was seen limping backstage and heavily favoring his left knee several hours after the fight.

Brandon Poindexter vs. Joey Hernandez

Hernandez, the bigger of the two fighters at 145 pounds, controlled the first round with his size. He did the same in the second round to win by technical knockout with one second left. Midway through the round, Hernandez got Poindexter up against the ropes and threw four knees, the last of which dropped Poindexter. Hernandez continued the attack, dropped Poindexter with another knee to the body with about 10 seconds left that lead to the TKO.

Andrilo Suarez vs. Freddy Cheung

Freddy Cheung put a hurting on the right rib cage of Suarez, at one point landing four consecutive kicks. The thuds were enough to give Cheung the unanimous decision to win the Take-On Rising Stars Tournament and earn the WKA New York State title at 157 pounds.

Cornell Ward vs. Rudy Felix

Felix landed the more significant leg strikes throughout the entire bout and it was enough to win by unanimous decision in a fast-action fight.

Brian Hutchings vs. Nick Vaughan

Vaughan was the guy used on the promotional banner that hung from the front of Madison Square Garden. How’s that for motivation? Vaughan, a pupil of Kru Phil Nurse at The Wat in Manhattan, did as much damage with his left hand as he did with his left leg in Round 2. Same deal in Round 3. With 1:08 left in the super middleweight title fight, the champion Vaughan knocked out Hutchings with a monstrous left hook in the middle of the ring. Hutchings crumbled to the ground in slow motion.

Steven Hernandez vs. Ariel Abreu

Hernandez, who fights for Pin Point MMA in Lynbrook, nearly got flipped over the ropes and out of the cage in the first round. That’s what can happen when you slip near the ropes and the weight of your opponent is pushing on you. Hernandez incurred no damage from that and continued his aggressive approach. In Round 2, he cut Abreu over his left eye with a series of strong blows to the head. Abreu scored a few leg sweeps in the third round and won by majority decision in an extremely tough bout to score.

Vinny Hui vs. Delroy McCoy

Hui lost a point for a shot to the nether regions, which aided McCoy in winning a majority decision.

Chris Clodfelter vs. Brett Hlavacek

Hlavacek put a beating on Clodfelter throughout the fight. But it was a pair of knees to the midsection that dropped Clodfelter with about 30 seconds left in the first round. Clodfelter had made it back to his feet, but the referee stopped t for the technical knockout.

Anthony Demaio vs. Eric Ruiz

There’s only so many times a fighter can shake his head as if that punch or kick to said head didn’t hurt before people realize that he is getting tagged too often. Such was the case with Demaio, who lost his 120-pound bout to Ruiz by unanimous decision. Ruiz consistently scored points with a big left hook to the head through all three rounds, and he closed out the fight with a strong flurry.

Deshawn Robinson vs. Sean Hinds

Hinds kept kicking. Robinson kept catching that kick and tripping Hinds to knock him to the ground. Robinson also seemed to have the better of the striking in the first two rounds. Hinds had most of his success landing knees from the clinch, then earned a knockdown in the third round which is likely what helped him squeak out a majority draw.

Brian Collette vs. Marcus Taylor

Collette knocked down Taylor midway through the first round with a pair of punches to head. The first one was an uppercut from behind. Taylor went down, got back up, took a few steps then fell down again. The ref just shook his head and called the fight a knockout win for Collete. That’s when the fight really began.

On his way out of the ring, Taylor ran up an aisle and into the crowd to chase a fan. It was unclear if someone taunted Taylor or perhaps threw something at him, but it was instantly invoked Ron Artest in Detroit memories. MSG security got there quickly and nothing happened that would have tarnished the rest of the night.

Ryan Madigan vs. Rigel Balsamico

Balsamico, a well-respected Muay Thai coach from Philadelphia, spent about 10 minutes in the ring performing the pre-fight Ram Muay ritual. His lasted fight two minutes and 21 seconds. He lost. Madigan, who is 5-3 in pro MMA bouts (0-1 in the UFC) spent those 141 seconds punching Balsamico in the head. He knocked him down three times. On the first knockdown, Balsamico appeared to be holding on to the ropes at the standing 8 count then took a few steps and staggered like he was drunk. The fight continued. On the final knockdown, Balsamico again stood back up but was too groggy and wobbly to continue. The referee stopped the fight with 39 seconds left.