Starved of face-punching after a disgustingly peaceful holiday? FITE has you covered, offering a five-fight, all-Heavyweight card TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 1, 2022) to start the new year off right.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of tonight’s card below, starting with the FITE PPV broadcast at 8 p.m. ET.
The main event pits former WBA Interim Champion Luis Ortiz (32-2, 27 KO) against onetime IBF Champion Martin (28-2-1, 25 KO) in an IBF eliminator, which could put the winner in line for a shot at world title in the near-future. One fight prior, red-hot prospect Frank Sanchez (19-0, 13 KO) faces late replacement Christian Hammer (26-8, 16 KO), who steps in on a few days’ notice after Sanchez’s original foe came down with COVID.
The card will also see Jonathan Rice (14-6-1, 10 KO) look to repeat his shock upset of Michael Polite Coffie (12-1, 9 KO), veteran Gerald Washington (20-4-1, 13 KO) attempt to turn away former Olympian Ali Eren Demirezen, and unbeaten Viktor Faust (8-0, 6 KO) open the show against Georgian slugger Iago Kiladze (27-5-1, 19 KO).
Ortiz vs. Martin Quick Results:
Luis Ortiz vs. Charles Martin — Ortiz def. Martin by TKO at 1:37 of Round Six
Frank Sanchez vs. Christian Hammer — Sanchez def. Hammer by unanimous decision (100-89 x3)
Jonathan Rice vs. Michael Polite Coffie — Rice def. Coffie by unanimous decision (97-93 x2, 99-91)
Gerald Washington vs. Ali Eren Demirezen — Demirezen def. Washington by TKO at 0:27 of Round Eight
Viktor Faust vs. Iago Kiladze — Faust def. Kiladze by TKO at 1:44 of Round Two
Ortiz vs. Martin Round-By-Round Updates:
Heavyweight: Luis Ortiz vs. Charles Martin
Round one: Ortiz working behind his jab. Triple jab. Martin tries to load up on the left. Halfway through. Triple jab and Martin slips. Ortiz tries to press the advantage and Martin sends him to a knee with a counter left. Ortiz pops back up, perhaps a bit too quickly for his own good. Martin looking for the straight left. Ortiz ducks one and counters downstairs. 10-8 Martin.
Round two: Both men throwing straight lefts early. Martin tries to rush with a 1-2. To the body this time, twice in sequence. Long left just misses. Counter left from Ortiz as they trade in the center. Halfway through. Ortiz steadily advancing, lands a stiff counter left that buzzes Martin. 1-1-2, double jab. They trade in the center. Martin goes low-high with jabs. Ortiz’s movement looks a bit hampered. 10-9 Ortiz, 19-18 Martin.
Round three: Martin lands a left downstairs. Solid counter left that Ortiz absorbs. Both hit the body. Halfway through. Both miss on 1-2s. They fire lefts at the same time, then clinch. Martin managing distance this round. Double jab. 10-9, 29-27 Martin.
Round four: Martin looking for early lefts. Decent connection behind the jab. Ortiz with a glancing overhand left, then a double jab. More jabs. On the counter. Halfway through. 1-1-2 lands for Martin. Ortiz to the body, looks for a counter 1-2 as Martin overthrows his left. Stiff jab by Martin. More body work and a long left from Ortiz. Cross counter. He steps in and runs headlong into a jab that puts him on his rear. 10-8, 39-35 Martin.
Round five: Martin just misses with an uppercut as Ortiz steadily advances. 1-2 from Ortiz. Martin to the body, long combo that Ortiz slips. Halfway through. Ortiz digs a good right hook to the body. Martin tries to answer, eats jabs. More body shots from Ortiz and a nice jab. Solid 1-2 from Martin. Ortiz with a good 1-2 of his own. 10-9 Ortiz, 48-45 Martin.
Round six: Ortiz fires a 1-1-2 that makes Martin forget where he is. Ortiz swarms him until he goes down on the ropes, his glove tangled in the ropes. Ortiz on the attack and Martin’s legs don’t look good. Vicious body shots by Ortiz, clean right hook. Martin tries to clinch and stumbles to the ground. Martin gets up but he doesn’t look good enough for the ref. There’s the finish.
Final result: Ortiz def. Martin by TKO
Heavyweight: Frank Sanchez vs. Christian Hammer
Round one: Sanchez fires a jab when Hammer appears to want to touch gloves. Fairly tentative so far. Hammer slowly advancing. They exchange, good counter right from Sanchez before they clinch. Hammer to the body. Sanchez answers in kind. Still circling. Jab lands for him after Hammer tries to open up. Overhand right whiffs, clinch. 10-9 Sanchez.
Round two: Sanchez tries an overhand, clinch. Right hand to the body. Hammer very ponderous, Sanchez not landing much. Now Sanchez goes low-high with a solid pair of shots. Hammer tries a body blow, clinch. More clinching. Sanchez with a right downstairs. 10-9, 20-18 Sanchez.
Round three: Jab-overhand from Sanchez. Not exactly setting the world on fire. Clinch. There’s a solid body shot. Hammer mostly advancing with his guard up and only occasionally throwing. Halfway through. Solid right cross and body shots from Sanchez, clinch. Hammer with a right downstairs before the next clinch. Quality work against the ropes from Sanchez. Clinch. Right downstairs. Hammer ties up. 10-9, 30-27 Sanchez.
Round four: Another right to the body from Sanchez. Hammer wading after him. Sanchez lands an overhand right around the guard. Halfway through. Hammer tries an overhand and ties up. Left to the body, clinch again. Sanchez digs a hook downstairs. Another. He tries to pursue and fire a right. Clinch. 10-9, 40-36 Sanchez.
Round five: Hammer doing this weird thing where he’ll walk after Sanchez and get him to the ropes, but won’t actually throw anything. Counter right by Sanchez. Long stretch of nobody punching. Sanchez lands a right to the body. Really underwhelming from Sanchez; he’ll throw something fast, but it usually bounces off the guard of Hammer, who’s disinclined to offer anything in return. 10-9, 50-45 Sanchez.
Round six: Yeah, this is not a good fight. Hammer’s just walking forward and holding, while Sanchez is trying the occasional potshot that rarely connects. Overhand right to clinch from Hammer. 10-9, 60-54 Sanchez.
Round seven: Sanchez trying to jab, landing very few of them. Clinch. Right hand around the guard. He tries to open up in the corner. Halfway through. Clinch. Hammer with a glancing right, clinch. Sanchez clinch, 1-2 blocked. Lead right appears to land decently well. 10-9, 70-63 Sanchez.
Round eight: Decent combo from Sanchez, starting with the body. Clinch. Overhand right. 1-2. Halfway through. Potshotting as he circles. They trade on the ropes. Solid cross at the end. 10-9, 80-72 Sanchez.
Round nine: Body shots from Sanchez as Hammer does his usual thing of not punching at all for 20 seconds at a time before stepping in with a weak flurry and clinching. Sanchez backs him to the corner and lands a combo before backing off. Body shot, clinch. Clinch. Solid Sanchez body shot, clinch. Sanchez warned for hitting on the break. Another body shot. 10-9, 90-81 Sanchez.
Round ten: They trade rights to the body. Sanchez right hook upstairs, clinch. Body shots. Hammer tries to counter a body shot with a right hand. More body shots from Sanchez halfway through. Counter right to answer a Hammer 1-2. Hammer clinches after backing to the ropes. Clinch. Hammer throws a right hand, gets shoved to the ground, and the ref gives him a count for some reason. 10-8, 100-89 Sanchez.
Final result: Sanchez def. Hammer by unanimous decision
Heavyweight: Jonathan Rice vs. Michael Polite Coffie
Round one: Coffie slowly advancing. Jab from Rice. Neither man committing to anything. Left hook by Coffie. Halfway through the round. Stiff jab lands for Coffie. To the body this time. Rice tries a four-piece in the last 20 seconds. 10-9 Coffie.
Round two: Really just nothing happening so far. Coffie tries a straight left, lands a jab. Halfway through the round. Rice tries a right cross. Coffie straight left. Another a while later. Rice tries a right cross, lands a slow 1-2. Double jab from Coffie and Rice slips. 10-9, 20-18 Coffie.
Round three: Coffie tries a 3-2. Body shot. Stiff jab up top. Decent combo in center ring. Rice largely content to flick out a lethargic jab. Halfway through. There’s a decent right hand. Coffie’s answer misses. Rice right hand and body jab, takes a glancing left hook in return. 1-2 lands. Firing jabs. Coffie to the body. Coffie jab, Rice 1-2. They trade jabs. Coffie tries a 1-2. 10-9 Rice, 29-28 Coffie.
Round four: Coffie looking a little more aggressive to start the round. Now he slows back down. Jab exchange. Solid right by Rice a minute in. 1-2, clean jab, then another 1-2 that takes Coffie’s legs out. He’s still up but Rice is looking for the kill. Coffie turtling on the ropes. Halfway through the round. Solid jab from Coffie, eats a cross, now they’re trading. Clinch. Overhand right from Coffie. Clean jab to answer an ugly overhand. Coffie gets a bit of steam and flurries before getting clinched. Rice 1-2-1. Coffie tries an uppercut. Jab exchange. 10-9 Rice, 38-38.
Round five: Coffie pressing hard to start. Rice may have punched himself out. Things slow back down before long. Coffie tries a lead left. Short left hook. Coffie tries an uppercut, eats an ugly chopping right. Halfway through. Rice throwing leaden 1-2s. Coffie to the body, jab behind it. They’re both pretty much spent, but Coffie is less awful at the moment. 10-9, 48-47 Coffie.
Round six: Both men just jabbing at this point. Decent right jab by Coffie from southpaw. Right hook attempt. Rice tries a long right. Halfway through. Nice counter right by Rice, then another pair of long ones that get Coffie’s attention. Rice tries to open up in the corner but is too gassed to do anything. Jab exchange. Three straight right hands from Rice. Jab splits the guard. Coffie with a decent body shot. Clean 1-2 again from Rice. 10-9 Rice, 57-57.
Round seven: Coffie lands a tired 1-2 to the body. Jab upstairs. Rice 1-2. 1-2-3-1 lands for Rice and Coffie slowly backs to the corner. Halfway through. Coffie’s left eye looks like it’s closing. Sweeping hook by Rice. Right cross, 1-2 on the ropes. Solid right cross. Glancing hook, 1-2 lands. Coffie tries an overhand right after eating a jab. Another 1-2 from Rice before the bell. 10-9, 67-66 Rice.
Round eight: Early right crosses from Rice. Coffie tries a very labored left, lands a body jab. This is very sad at this point. Halfway through. Clinch. Coffie body shot, Rice cross. 1-2-1 from Rice. He tries a four-piece, avoids a body shot. Coffie tries a left downstairs. 10-9, 77-75 Rice.
Round nine: Coffie coming out a lot more aggressively. That lasts maybe 30 seconds before it’s back to them sucking wind. Nice overhand left by Coffie. 1-2 lands for Rice on the ropes. Halfway through. Quick jab by Coffie. Rice just misses with a right cross. Body shot. Jab downstairs, 2-3 behind it. Counter right. Stiff jab for Coffie. Again. 10-9, 87-84 Rice.
Round ten: Rice a smidge more active to start this final round. Long right cross lands. Two more, met by a decent flurry from Coffie. Coffie 1-2. Coffie puts himself on the ropes for a while. Body shot. Halfway through. Rice counter right. Two more right hands connect. 1-2. Again. Solid cross. Jab exchange. 10-9, 97-93 Rice.
Final result: Rice def. Coffie by unanimous decision
Heavyweight: Gerald Washington vs. Ali Eren Demirezen
Round one: Demirezen slowly advancing. Neither man committing to jabs yet. 1-2 lands for Washington. Jab downstairs. Demirezen falls just short with an overhand right. Double right by Washington. Demirezen backs him to the corner, can’t land halfway through. Another 1-2 lands for Washington, then a shorter right hand. Demirezen pressures and they trade on the ropes. Washington fires a three-piece. He tries to double up the right, clinch. 10-9 Washington.
Round two: Demirezen continues his slow advance. Good combination work on the ropes. Washington looking to keep a jab in his face. Demirezen tries a double left hook and eats a clean right cross. Solid movement by Washington, who blocks an overhand right. Right cross gets through, though. Heavy right cross from Washington briefly stings Demirezen halfway through. Demirezen tries to open up in the corner. Tight right lands for him, Washington 1-2 in response. Cross counter by Demirezen, eats a left hook. Combo by Washington. They trade on the ropes. Left hook by Washington. 10-9, 20-18 Washington.
Round three: Demirezen plodding forward, doubles the jab. Washington to the body. Demirezen avoiding the early combos and lands a double left hook. Overhand right just misses. Doing better work with the pressure so far. Long lead right. Washington goes low-high with right hands halfway through. Two-piece inside. 2-1-1 by Demirezen, eats a right hand. Washington jabs. Washington doing better in the latter half of the round. Demirezen sneaks a hook around the guard. 1-1-2. Heavy overhand right and a left hook behind it. Landing on the ropes. Uppercut-hook by Washington backs him off, left hook behind it. 10-9 Demirezen. 29-28 Washington.
Round four: Same as before, Demirezen plodding on as Washington looks to keep him at bay. 2-1 from Demirezen. Washington firing jabs, lands to the body. Right hand around the guard. Double hook by Demirezen. Halfway through. Tries to open up in the corner, then clinches. Low-high rights from Washington. Demirezen double hook on the ropes. Overhand right lands for him but Washington is back in control this round. Solid right from Demirezen in the corner. 10-9, 39-37 Washington.
Round five: Washington continuing to do well for himself at range. Body shot. Demirezen persistent but not landing consistently. Halfway through. There’s some nice work on the ropes from Demirezen. Washington left hook. Solid lead right by Demirezen. Good right by Washington, Demirezen answers in kind. Nice work in the corner. Washington sneaks a right around the guard and eats an overhand in return. 10-9 Demirezen, 48-47 Washington.
Round six: Washington looking like he’s running out of steam. Still landing some decent shots, just can’t keep Demirezen off of him. Right hands on the ropes. Demirezen left hooks. Combination lands for him. Heavy left hook. Washington to the body. Demirezen getting inside consistently, landing well. Halfway through. Jab from Washington. Demirezen 1-2, Washington jabs. Nice uppercut lands for Washington. Demirezen opening up on the ropes. Washington with a decent right that’s answered in kind. He slips, ref marks it as such. 10-9 Demirezen, 56-56.
Round seven: Solid right from Demirezen, who easily backs Washington to the corner. He’s by far the fresher of the two, and while Washington’s still landing on occasion, Demirezen’s just marching after him with impunity. Heavy left hooks. Washington absorbing a lot of punches. Solid right lands for him, though. Decent combination. Stiff jabs from Demirezen. Washington with a decent sequence. Demirezen walks him to the corner. Washington body shot. 1-1-2 from Demirezen lands clean. Lead left hook. Washington with a good right. Hard left hook by Demirezen, absorbs a right hand. They trade on the ropes. 10-9, 66-65 Demirezen.
Round eight: More of the same; Washington having the occasional burst of success off the back foot but Demirezen walking through it. The ref doesn’t like how Washington looks and waves it off.
Final result: Demirezen def. Washington by TKO
Heavyweight: Viktor Faust vs. Iago Kiladze
Round one: Faust looking to jab early. He steps in with a three-piece and a left hook floors Kiladze hard. Kiladze manages to beat the count and tries to throw with him. Stiff jab from Faust. Again, then a clean 1-2. Suddenly, Kiladze slams home a counter right that wobbles Faust and sends him to his knees. Kiladze tries to follow up when Faust beats the count, only to run into a left hook that drops him again. Two hard rights and Faust is hurt again. Clinch. 1-2 lands for him. Both calmed down, neither landing clean. There’s a hook from Faust, some questionable clinch punches from Kiladze in return. 10-8 Faust.
Round two: Stiff jab lands for Kiladze early on. They trade left hooks soon after, then Kiladze clips him with an overhand right to even up the knockdown count. He beats the count with time to spare. Kiladze coming on, warned for hitting behind the head. Kiladze landign most of the left hooks he throws, but Faust stings him with his own before flooring him with a 1-2. Kiladze again beats the count, but the ref waves it off. Kiladze replies by punching the ref. Ugly ending to a great fight.
Final result: Faust def. Kiladze by TKO
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