By Evan Jacobs at ringside

Starting off 2023 with another sell-out, Englebrecht Promotions & Events came back to the Hangar at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa, CA with a bang!

The opening bout saw Long Beach’s Julian Bridges 2-0 (2KOs) blitz Hawthorne’s Michael Jackson 0-1 in the first minute of their bout. Bridges connected with nearly every shot he threw and the scheduled four round Super Lightweight bout was stopped in short order.

Next up was another four round boxing match in the Super Welterweight division that saw Anaheim’s Antonio Garcia 3-0 (3KOs) taking on debuting Slava Mayzus 0-1 from Phoenix. Mayzus came out moving, with Garcia patiently waiting to land his vaunted right hand. The bout moved along that way and Mayzus’s movement slowed and Garcia really went to work. The crowd cheered as the fighters traded shots towards the end of the 2nd. The third round saw Garcia continue his dominance as Mayzus tried but was just outgunned by the rangy Garcia. The fourth round was academic as Garcia landed the harder shots repeatedly, and the referee stopped the bout due to the amount of punches Mayzus had taken throughout the night.

Moving into the discipline of MMA, Huntington Beach’s Kohl Laren battled Antioch’s James Guidry in a three round lightweight bout that saw both combatants debuting. Both contestants came out singing and they took that enthusiasm into their fight. There were a lot of naked kicks to open the first round, as both fighters studied one another. The second round had the fighters striking more and trying to capitalize on the other’s mistakes. There were lulls in the action, but it was clear that both fighters respected the power and skills of the other. The third round seemed to be the deciding stanza as Guidry came out landing multiple right hands to the head. He was the busier fighter in this stanza, even dropping Laren with a short left hook, and that allowed Guidry to take the decision.

Next up was a fun European MMA/So Cal Swordfighting contest between Fullerton’s Myles Cupp and San Francisco’s Jonathan Ying. The crowd cheered throughout this fun contest before the main event.

Closing the show was the Tequila Mandala Fight of the Night! This was a four round super middleweight bout between Anaheim’s Ruben Cazales 4-0 (3KOs), fighting Antonio Alfaro 3-5 (3KOs) from the San Fernando Valley. These two warriors engaged one another from the jump, as they felt the other out. Two minutes into the round, after throwing some shots on the inside, and with Cazales against the ropes, he landed a shot on Alfaro, who stood on the inside too long, that ended the night.

It was another great night of fights at Fight Club OC! They will be returning on April 13th from, where else, The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in beautiful Costa Mesa, CA! Don’t delay as 2022 was a super successful year with every show on the docket selling out weeks before showtime.