Call to Arms 1 results

Matyushenko wins a decision to Lambert

The Citizens Business Bank Arena hunkers like a 10,000 seat white elephant amidst Ontario, California’s post-Chernobyl landscape. Recently built to house a minor league hockey team, high school graduations and bands long past their expiration date - REO Speedwagon and Styx are set to raise the roof - Saturday night saw the brand spankin’ new venue playing host to the kickoff of Call to Arms, an MMA promotion out of Orange County.

With a monster venue and a card featuring veteran fighters Tiki Ghosn, Jason Lambert and Vladimir Matyushenko and up and comers Karen Darabedyan and Georgi Karakhanyan, Managing Partner Bill Larson and Matchmakers Mike Rush and George Bastrmajyan assembled an event busting with combat sport potential.

The night was decision rich, with seven of twelve fights going to the judges. Most of the excitement was on the under card, with Sevak Megakian earning a great submission over Harold Lucambio via heel hook in round one and Jay Silva taking out Reggie Orr with a flying knee in the second. The ugliest and easily most entertaining moment of the night came at the close of the fight between Jeff Ford and WWE veteran Daniel Puder. At 1:23 in the first round, Ford managed to dislocate his shoulder due to a slip from a botched kick. When he signaled the ref that he couldn’t continue, Puder pounded his chest and taunted the downed fighter, sending the crowd into a boo-nami of curses and catcalls. The tidal wave of disapproval continued over the post-fight interview.

The main event saw Vladimir Matyushenko winning a hard-fought decision over Jason Lambert, with the two veterans trading fists, knees and multiple submission attempts - Matyushenko nearly got caught in a guillotine. After a brief flurry at the start of round three, Lambert was clearly the more gassed fighter. Vlad took advantage by wading in with combos and a vicious slam that secured the round and the fight.

MMA notables “Razor” Rob McCullough and Eddie Bravo were spotted in the crowd, but the highlight on the floor was Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who came out to support Tiki Ghosn in his victory over Brain Warren. Jackson, the clown prince of MMA and a natural comic, pranked the floor audience like a kid and even playfully taunted a woman behind him, who yelled at him to sit down so she could watch the fights.

Despite the sparse attendance and a few kinks with the venue, Call to Arms 1 turned out to be an impressive beginning for the fledgling organization. They’ve already got a sequel scheduled for August 15.

The night’s results:

• Vladimir Matyushenko def. Jason Lambert via unanimous decision
• Tiki Ghosn def. Brian Warren via unanimous decision
• Daniel Puder def. Jeff Ford via TKO (injury)
• Karen Darabedyan def. Joe Camacho via TKO (cut)
• Toby Grear def. Mike Sandez via unanimous decision
• Georgi Karakhanyan def. Albert Rios via unanimous decision
• Chad George def. Alvin Cacdac via split decision
• Matt Major def. Jaime Fletcher via unanimous decision
• Brett Cooper def. Joe Cronin via TKO (cut)
• Jay Silva def. Reggie Orr via TKO (flying knee)
• Sevak Magakian def. Harold Lucambio via submission
• Francisco Rivera def. Johnny Gomez via unanimous decision