New Mexico Boxing

Crane, Sanchez victorious at King of the Cage!

by Matt Martinez

After a night of quick finishes, Santa Fe’s Alberto Crane and John Mahlow thrilled the crowd last night when King of the Cage returned to Sky City Casino in Acoma, NM.

After a year layoff, Crane, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and former KotC lightweight champion, took on tough John Mahlow in the best fight of the night and two-round war.

In the first round, Mahlow was somewhat dominant, double under-hooking Crane and slamming him to the mat. As if to say, “I got more for you . . .”, Mahlow was immediately up and stepping back.

For the rest of the round, Mahlow’s aggression and ring generalship won him the round, and he was careful not to let Crane take the fight to the ground.

In the second, things changed after Crane shot a double-leg takedown, taking Mahlow down to the mat where he is most comfortable. There, he went to work on a ground position, eventually locking Mahlow in a deep choke, forcing him to tap out.

In the semi-main, Diego “the Nightmare” Sanchez continued to roll over opponents. This time, the victim was Ray Elbe, and Sanchez was able to take the fight to the ground where he pounded Elbe for a first round tapout win.

Other pro results include:

Al Delgado won by knockout over Benji Vasquez.
Darrell Priddy won by tapout over Jimmy Westfall (punches)

Amateur results:

Ray Moreson won by TKO over Sean Bolen (Ref Stopped Fight)
Jerome Martinez won by tapout over Paul Smiley (Guillotine Choke)
Tom Pless won by tapout over Leo Urquidez (Triangle Choke)
Jonathan Olivias won by tapout over Damian Riplee (Rear Naked Choke)

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