Fickett Prevails at Shine Fights 3

The event didn’t go off without a hitch, but at least it happened. After the fiasco involving Don King, a lack of an official doctor and other issues cost the promotion their Mayorga vs. Thomas event, Shine Fights was able to get their third event in the books, which can be an accomplishment in and of itself for mid-tier promotions these days. One man who is very happy that the event didn’t fall through is Drew Fickett, who won the one-night lightweight tournament and took a step towards revitalizing his career in the process.

Emanating from the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma after having to change states due to athletic commission disapproval, the lightweight tournament turned into a showcase of sorts for Fickett, who advanced without any problems by tapping out the submission-deficient Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett in his first fight.

However, Krazy Horse was not overwhelmed by Fickett on the ground, as he pulled off a nice sweep in the early going and looked pretty good overall. Until he got caught with a late-first round standing guillotine choke, it looked like it was going to be a competitive, possibly long fight.

Immediately after that bout, Dennis Bermudez become the second fighter to advance to the semifinals, defeating Shannon Gugerty by unanimous decision by using the age-old recipe that calls for a cup of control, two cups of takedowns and a pinch of striking. The fight was rather uneventful, save for one moment where a takedown attempt by Bermudez sent both fighters through the ropes, out of the ring and onto the floor. Fortunately, no one was hurt and Bermudez was able to get right back to out-wrestling his way to the second round.

The other decisions were not so clear-cut, and many exercised the tournament’s “sudden death” third round, which would be called for whenever the judges were undecided after two rounds of action. The first of two split decisions came when Kyle Baker beat James Warfield in three rounds. Warfield was active early, but dropped the second round when Baker nailed a takedown and subsequent ground and pound. The third round was just about the same as the second, but Baker sustained a cut above his eye that kept him from advancing in the tournament.

The other split decision came when UFC veteran Rich “Cleat” Crunkilton squared off with Carlo Prater for a three-round battle. After dropping the first round, Crunkilton was able to use takedowns and effective striking to take the fight into overtime, where he continued his strategy to take the split decision nod.

Of course, the problem with these types of tournaments is that injuries often keep winners from advancing, and that happened a second time with Crunkilton. He was heavily fatigued from the three-round fight and had to drop out due to what was called a rib injury. This allowed Prater to continue in his place. The other replacement was alternate Charlie Brown, who won the only preliminary bout against Brian van Hoven to earn the right to step in as an injury replacement.

The first semifinal fight was between Fickett and Bermudez, but Bermudez was not able to create another tasty decision dish out of his time-tested recipe this go round, as Fickett craftily secured a rear naked choke just two minutes into the first round to advance to the finals. Fickett was ready and willing when Bermudez came to the mat to capitalize on a slip by Fickett, and smoothly took his opponent’s back to trigger the fight-ending submission opportunity.

So, Fickett was able to advance to the final round with a fairly full tank, but what about his opponent? Well…not so much.

Prater would be Fickett’s opponent, after he overcame a close first round against Brown by landing a couple of takedowns and controlling Brown en route to a majority decision victory. Still, Prater was obviously at a disadvantage going into the final bout. He had thought his night was over, had taken his hand wraps off and everything before being notified that he was back in things. Then, he fought to a decision yet again, advancing to face a comparatively fresh Drew Fickett.

It all played out as you might expect, with Fickett securing another rear naked choke against Prater, this time also in just over two minutes of the first round. Prater was game, but clearly wasn’t up to the task of fighting for a third time in one night against a fighter of Fickett’s caliber.

Will Fickett be able to capitalize on the momentum you gain from winning three times in a single night? Who knows. Both he and Shine Fights are facing an uphill battle of sorts, but I’d give Fickett better odds to reach prominence than Shine, despite their efforts.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Carlo Prater, Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, Dennis Bermudez, Drew Fickett, James Warfield, Kyle Baker, Rich Crunkilton, Shannon Gugerty, Shine Fights, Shine Fights 3