Rumble 3 delivers knock-out entertainment

“Amazing fights” and a “great crowd” helped push Rumble on the Rocks 3 to the status of knock-out entertainment, according to a local martial arts expert.

Steve Joncas, owner and operator of Sudbury Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai Academy, called the March 24 event at the Caruso Club “phenomenal.”

There were seven bouts on the card, and each fight was better than the last, he said.

“This was our biggest crowd yet,,” he said, adding it's a clear indication that the word about Rumble on the Rocks is getting around. “We're happy to be able to do these events in Sudbury, to get this kind of crowd, and to be able to help get some food for the Sudbury Food Bank.”

Fighters from throughout the province travelled to Sudbury for the event.

In the first bout, Paul Fournier from Sudbury MMA went head to head with Mark Goodridge from World Championship Martial Arts. Fournier lost the decision after going all three rounds.

In the second bout, the first female fight of the night, Denise Dinan from Sudbury Muay Thai Academy beat Team Shredder's Maxime Proulx. The fight went all three rounds.

Kliti Shpati of Mixed Martial Arts Academy beat Matar Lo from the Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts in the third bout.

Artem Volkov from Sudbury MMA beat Troy Kennedy of Team Shredder in the fourth bout. This fight was stopped for fighter safety after three standing eight counts for Kennedy.

Flavio Misuraca from Matador Mixed Martial Arts Academy beat Troy Clarke from Team ASFA in the fifth bout.

In the second female fight of the night, Rachel Thomsett of Sudbury MMA emerged victorious against Michelle Bishop of Sudbury Muay Thai Academy.

In the final bout of the night, Dan Claypole of World Championship Martial Arts and Corey Jackson of Team ASFA provided hard-hitting entertainment. Both fighters are champions, winning those titles at previous events, which promised for an intense battle. They didn't disappoint, and Claypole emerged with the victory.

Tagged as Fight the Hunger, the crowd was encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for the food bank. No final tally has been set for how much was collected, but Joncas said he was happy with what he saw in the collection boxes.

Proceeds from the previous events have gone to the Human League Association's P.L.A.Y program, and the Austin Roy Trust Fund — an education fund set up for the son of a member of the gym who was killed in a mining accident in 2011. The past two events brought in about $2,000.

Plans for Rumble on the Rocks 4 are already underway, Joncas said, with the event slated for sometime in the fall. It promises even more fights on the card, “and if we can get the same type of crowd we had tonight, we'd be happy.”

Posted by Arron Pickard