Tara LaRosa, Wilson Reis win at Locked in the Cage 1 in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – Tara LaRosa dominated Friday at Locked in the Cage 1 in her first fight since March, once again showing why she often draws consideration as the best female pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts.

LaRosa, from Woodstown, N.J., took 17 seconds to land a takedown on Valerie Coolbaugh, who delivered the first punch, a stiff hand that landed but did not back up LaRosa. LaRosa worked Coolbaugh along the fence, then moved her to the middle of the cage, where she achieved mount.

LaRosa took Coolbaugh’s back, sank in a rear naked choke and forced her to tap at 3:58, improving to 18-1 for her career.

Coolbaugh’s last two losses have come to perhaps the two top fighters at 125 pounds, in LaRosa and Rosi Sexton.

Bellator veteran and former EliteXC champ Wilson Reis quickly took down Dwayne Shelton in each round en route to a dominant unanimous decision victory in the co-headlining 145-pound match.
In the first round, Reis got into Shelton’s half-guard and kept Shelton near the fence while increasing his position. Shelton kept Reis close as it moved toward the middle of the cage, never allowing the Brazilian jiu jitsu wizard to pass.

The second round, Reis took 19 seconds to get a takedown into Shelton’s half-guard. Shelton was forced to defend and never mounted any offense, temporarily yielding the mount but quickly getting back to guard. Reis exploded back into his opponent’s half-guard and tried to flatten out Shelton while working ground-and-pound. Shelton struggled but kept getting Reis back into guard.

Round three was more of the same, as Reis shot 16 seconds in and took 11 more to complete the takedown, with Shelton protecting in guard. After a minute on top, Reis shoveled Shelton to the base of the fence, then worked him a few feet around the perimeter. Reis stayed in Shelton’s guard but occasionally stood and tried to land blows rather than posture. He began to draw blood from Shelton’s nose in the final minute to emphasize the victory.

Tuam Phan was slated to fight Shawn Clay but, according to Pham, Clay did not show up for the bout.

Timmy Williams finished Jamall Johnson in a middleweight bout with a rear naked choke at 3:30 of the first round in the professional debut for both fighters. Johnson got on top early, but Williams eventually swept, passed Johnson’s guard, took his back and secured the choke, flattening him out and forcing a tap.

In the promotion’s first championship amateur fight at 145 pounds, Brylan Vanartsdalen won via unanimous decision over Phil Ferraro, showing a well-rounded game standing and on the ground.