John Alessio vs Ryan Healy – TheScore Fighting Series
Undefeated Rising Star Josh Hill Earns Unanimous Decision Over Eric Wilson
Forrest Petz Stages Dramatic Comeback, Stops Sergej Juskevic In Two Rounds
Alex Ricci Scores First Round KO on Iraj Hadin To Remain Unbeaten
Lyndon Whitlock scores one of the greatest knock-outs in SFS history
Press Release – HAMILTON, March 16th, 2012 – Before a capacity crowd at Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario, The Score Fighting Series lightweight (155 pounds) main event fighters John “The Natural” Alessio (34-14) of Las Vegas, Nev. via Duncan, BC and “Diamond” Ryan Healy (19-10-1) of Portland, Ore. lit-up the venue with an all-out firefight before Alessio emerged the victor by way of unanimous decision after three rounds.
Fast-rising bantamweight (135 pounds) star Josh Hill (8-0) of Hamilton extended his perfect record with a dominant performance and unanimous decision victory over Eric Wilson (5-2) of Saskatoon in the co-main event.
Both Alessio and Healy came out of the gates ready for a stand-up war, but it was the 32-year-old Alessio, a veteran of UFC, PRIDE and WEC who put Healy down with a sharp jab in the early going and continued to tag Healy with punches throughout the round after Healy made it back to his feet.
Healy began to turn the tables in the second stanza, connecting with punches to the head and body that staggered and gradually slowed Alessio down.
In the third round, a bloody Alessio scored two takedowns on Healy. On both occasions, Alessio took his opponent’s back, but couldn’t finish Healy before the final bell sounded.
“I said coming into this fight that this guy has zero quit in him,” said Alessio. “I said he could take abuse. He dished out abuse too. I hope I showed I can take a pounding. I knew I (shouldn’t) go too crazy on him because he’s one of those guys who will turn it around on you and he did.”
The 25-year-old Hill scored a total of four of takedowns on Wilson over the course of three rounds. Wilson, a seasoned grappler known for his slick groundwork, fought off his back and fended off Hill’s punches from guard position in the first two rounds.
In the third stanza, Hill scored the fourth takedown of the fight and made his way to full mount position, raining down furiously on Wilson with punches. Wilson repeatedly popped his hips up and rolled.
While he was unable to escape the mount, Wilson survived the final round before the Hill was awarded the decision.
In other main card action and what will likely be nominated for Fight of the Year, UFC veteran Forrest “The Meat Cleaver” Petz (24-9) of Cleveland, Ohio staged a monstrous comeback after being sent to the canvas early in the first round with a hook from Sergej Juskevic (11-7-2) of Toronto via Lithuania in a welterweight (170 pounds) battle.
Seemingly out on his feet from Juskevic’s relentless barrage of punches and knee strikes, Petz suddenly showed life and began countering Juskevic’s shots with his own knees and hands before the opening round came to a close.
In the second frame, the high-speed pace continued as Petz rocked Juskevic and sent the Lithuanian import to the ground with a right hand. Petz pounced on the downed Juskevic and fired a series of left and right hands from top position.
After the pace of the action slowed on the mat, the referee stood the two fighters up. Once again, Petz wasted no time going back to work, blasting Juskevic until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight, giving Petz the TKO victory.
In another highlight – not just of this evening but the history of The Score Fighting Series events – Lyndon Whitlock defeated Corey Houston with one of the greatest knock-outs ever seen inside the SFS cage. A mainstay for highlight reels to come.
Twenty nine-year old lightweight (155 pounds) rising star Alex Ricci (5-0) of Woodbridge, Ontario extended his perfect professional record by taking out Iraj Hadin (6-4) of Portland with a single counter left hand that put Hadin on the canvas in the first round of action. Ricci, a dangerous kickboxer, fought off an early takedown attempt by Hadin and exploded on his opponent with a right hand that put Hadin down and brought the fight to an end.
Complete The Score Fighting Series Results:
Main Card:
Lyndon Whitlock def. Corey Houston via KO (punch) – Round 1, 4:28
Shane Campbell def. Derek Boyle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Alex Ricci def. Iraj Hadin via KO (punch) – Round 1, 3:16
Forrest Petz def. Sergey Juskevic via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:25
Josh Hill def. Eric Wilson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
John Alessio def. Ryan Healy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card:
Craig Hudson def. John McPherson via KO (punches) – Round 1, 1:57
Adam Assenza def. John Roche via TKO (verbal submission) – Round 1, 4:17
Elias Theodorou def. Erik Herbert via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jason Meisel def. Mike Sledzion via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
For more information contact:
Mike Afromowitz
Witz End Communications, Inc.
917-566-8754
[email protected]
James Bigg
theScore Media, Inc.
416-977-6787 x 2366
[email protected]
About Score Media Inc.
Score Media is a media company committed to delivering interactive and authentic sports entertainment. Score Media’s primary asset, theScore Television Network (“theScore”), is a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights and live event programming in more than 6.8 million homes across Canada. The Company’s digital media assets include theScore.com and the industry leading mobile sports applications ScoreMobile, ScoreMobile FC and SportsTap which reach over three million unique users per month. Growing from a team of 60 in 1997 to over 290 employees in 2012, Score Media is a revolutionizing interactive media company.
About The Score Fighting Series
The Score Fighting Series is a mixed martial arts promotion operated by Score Fighting Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Score Media Inc. The Score Fighting Series (SFS) features fighters from North America and beyond with the focus on showcasing both established veterans and the sport’s best young athletes. The Series can currently be seen across Canada on theScore on Thursdays at 4pm ET and Saturdays at 1pm ET. Individual fights are also available in the MMA section on theScore.com.