By Jeff Zimmerman at triadside

In the main event of the inaugural Triad Combat, former heavyweight boxing world title contender Kubrat Pulev stopped former 2X UFC heavyweight champ on his feet in the first round at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX, in front of 20K plus raucous fans that included a concert from heavy metal band Metallica. Team Rampage won 14-11 over Team Shannon.

Pulev showed he was clearly better on his feet than the Brazilian jiujitsu specialist Mir as he landed early to the head and body of Mir. Mir showed good movement and even got Pulez in a clinch, but soon after Pulev was able to get Mir off him. And with one second left in round one of the scheduled 9, Pulev landed an overhand right that was quickly followed up by a left hook that sent Mir to the ropes as he appeared to be out on his feet. Referee Dan Miragliotta looked at Mir closely and waved it off with Mir still standing.

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In the co-main event, former NFL player and UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione went right after boxer Alexander “The Great” Flores in the first round as he tried to knockout out Flores with big bombs early. Flores survived the opening onslaught as he was outweighed by almost 30lbs coming into the fight as Mitrione weighed in at 272.2 and Flores 244.5, and came away with the unanimous decision 68-64, 67-65, 68-64.

After Mitrione came out fast in the 1st round, he quickly jumped on Flores again in the 2nd round and dropped Flores with a combination of blows to the head and body. Flores survived and had his moments in the center of the Triad, but each time Mitrione used his weight and got inside where they both threw punches in the clinch to the head and body with little effect. Flores showed off his boxing skills in the 6th and 7th round as he landed clean combinations and uppercuts. The judges favored the pure boxing of Flores as he earned the hard fought decision. The win for Team Shannon cut the deficit to 14-6 against Team Rampage.

In addition to having a very successful run with the UFC and Bellator, the 43-year-old Mitrione also played in the NFL for the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. The heavy-handed Flores of Rowland Heights, CA owns a record of 18-3-1 with sixteen knockouts as a professional boxer.

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Former UFC star Mike Perry escaped Texas with a hard-earned split decision over veteran boxer Michael Seals in a middleweight clash in the Triad to put Team Rampage up with a commanding lead of 14-3. Perry got dropped in by a counter left hand in the 4th round, but was relentless as he kept the pressure on the 39 year old Seals who had a boxing record of 25-3, 19 KOs coming into the fight.

Perry came out strong from the opening bell digging hands to the body and a double left hand to end the round although Seals countered with a big shot of his own. After getting drop in round 4, Perry stayed on the inside the following round and Seals could not keep him off. Perry was on the attack in round 6 and in round 7 both guys mixed it up to the final bell. The scores read 67-65 twice for Perry and 67-65 for Seals as Perry, despite the knockdown, earned his first win in the debut of Triad Combat.

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Former Bellator MMA fighter representing Team Rampage welterweight Derek Campos out of Lubbock, TX squared off against fellow Texan and boxing contender Brian Vera over seven tough rounds. Campos dropped Vera in the 1st and 2nd rounds to win a majority decision and put Team Rampage up 11-3 over Team Shannon.

Campos dropped Vera with a left hook in the opening round as he showed his overall striking skills and again in round 2 with another left hook but was unable to put away the 39-year-old Vera who is aptly nicknamed “Warrior.” By round 3, it was an all-out brawl as Vera started to land his big right hand and uppercuts on Campos. From round 5-7, both fighters took turns landing big shots, but neither could land the finishing below.

In the end and with two knockdowns, Campos won a majority decision with scores of 67-63, 66-64 and 65-65. Referee Dan Miragliotta deducted a point from Campos in the 2nd round after the second knockdown for hitting Vera when he was down.

Vera, originally from Fort Worth, TX, has fought the likes of Any Lee (2x), Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (2x), James Kirkland and Sergio Mora (2x) in his 17+ year boxing career. Vera’s brother, Gilbert, also boxed and his half-brother Leonard Garcia is a former MMA star.

Campos, 33, fought for Bellator MMA for almost a decade and has an overall MMA record of 20-11.

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MMA fighter Albert Tumenov let his hands go just enough each round to beat the underwhelming boxer Scott Sigmon over seven rounds. Tumenov landed his one, two from time to time to the head while Sigmon mostly covered up. The crowd expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of action and booed throughout. The final scores read 70-63 for Tumenov as he earned the unanimous decision and put Team Rampage up 8-3 after three fights.

Sigmon, at only 34, has had 52 total fights as a boxer that includes the legendary Roy Jones Jr. in 2018 in Jones hometown of Pensacola, FL, where he lost a unanimous decision. Sigmon also fought J’Leon Love early in 2015 and lost by UD in that one as well. Love is now part of the training team for mega social influencer and now boxer Jake Paul.

Tumenov, 29, is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former amateur boxer. Tumenov competes in the welterweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut where he is the two-time ACA Welterweight Champion.

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Featherweight MMA fighter Alexa Culp out of Missouri and fighting for Glory MMA put Team Rampage up 5-3 with quick work against the overmatched boxer Angelina Hoffschneider. Culp landed a flurry of unanswered shots to the head of Hoffschneider before she finally dropped to the canvas. Hoffschneider got to her feet, but it was clear she was done as referee Dan Miragliotta waived it off. The official time was 46 seconds of the 1st round of the scheduled five.

Hoffschneider out of Denver, CO, had not won in her four fights as a boxer in a pro career that started in 2019. Culp showed great striking as she made her MMA pro debut in 2020 at Invicta FC 41.

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Featherweight boxer Harry Gigliotti (9-3, 3 KOs) squeaked out a super competitive split decision against MMA fighter Jacob Thrall (6-5-1) in the opening bout Saturday night of the new Triad Combat as part of Triller Fight Club at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, to win the first fight of their inaugural launch.

Both guys went toe to toe from the opening bell in a back and forth first round. Thrall opened up round two and landed a big overhand right and left to the body on Gigliotti before Gigliotti tossed Thrall out of the triangle ring temporarily. By the third round, Thrall was switching stances from southpaw and orthodox as both guys were swinging wide and hoping to end the fight with one big punch. After a brief poke to Thrall’s eye, Gigliotti used good distance as he landed a solid uppercut and a hook to the head. In an all out 5th and final round, Thrall and Gigliotti once again swung for the fences as the bell sounded.

The scores read 48-47 twice for Gigliotti and 48-47 for Thrall as Gigliotti won the first ever fight in Triad Combat and put Team Shannon up 3-0. The team concept is led by Team Captain’s, former UFC and MMA superstar Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and on the boxing side, former heavyweight champ Shannon Briggs best known for his “Let’s Go Champ” catchphrase.