Courtesy of Knockout Publicity:
Julian Erosa and Brandon Hempleman captured CageSport championships following impressive performances April 28 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. (SEE PHOTOS)
In the main event of Halquist Productions’ Cagesport XIX, Erosa emphatically claimed the featherweight title after submitting Ryan Mulvihill in the fourth round. Erosa, of Yakima, and Mulvihill, a Spokane native, had plenty of supporters. Mulvihill spent much of the fight on his back attempting to lure his foe into one of his traps, while Erosa preferred to stay on his feet.
In the fourth round, Mulvihill took down Erosa and looked to capitalize, but got caught in a vicious guillotine choke, which ended the fight at 1:43.
Erosa is now 7-0 with 6 wins by stoppage. Mulvihill falls to 5-3 (4 wins by stoppage).
In the co-feature, Idaho native Brandon Hempleman claimed the CageSport bantamweight belt by knocking out rising star and crowd favorite Jeff “TNT” Hatton. The Aberdeen native dropped Hempleman in the early going with a huge right hook, but the tides quickly turned. The visitor connected with a hard knee and Hatton was suddenly on the defensive.
Hempleman proceeded to land a number of strong punches which Hatton was ultimately unable to defend against, forcing the referee to halt the contest at 2:55.
The victory raises Hempleman’s record to 6-1, four wins via stoppage. Hatton slips to 6-1 (6 stoppages).
“I’m very impressed with what I saw in the two title bouts,” said promoter Brian Halquist. “Erosa’s becoming the face of the CageSport series and Hempleman came here and beat one of our bright young stars. Regardless of who won and who lost, this was a great night of action for the fans.”
In undercard action, Richard Steele protegee Mihai Cotruta, heavyweight Richard Foster, Cory Vombuar, Angel Diaz, Harrison Bevens, David Courchaine, Jeff Degenhardt and Chris Wheaton all scored impressive stoppages.
LEARN MORE
• To see photos from Cagesport XIX, click here (photos courtesy of Federal Way freelance photographer Todd Dearinger).
• The CageSport series returns to the Emerald Queen Casino on July 14. For more information, go to Halquistproductions.com.
