This past Saturday September 15th, 2012. The Dutch fighter Hyram Rodriguez successfully captured the first ever European MMA lightweight title with his Unanimous Decision win over the Danish fighter Kenneth Rosfort-Nees. The Holland based fighter had met his adversary once before, losing in his opponent’s hometown in Copenhagen through a highly controversial decision.

In this rematch however, Hyram left no doubt as to who was the better fighter, winning a clear-cut victory on all 3 judges’ scorecards eliminating the disappointment of the previous decision. The entire fight was extremely high-paced, in which Hyram connected repeatedly in the stand-up with quick combinations and several crucially timed takedowns. His opponent Kenneth seemed, especially in the beginning of the rounds, to dominate in his ability to use his size to control Hyram against the cage, but once the Dutch fighter fought himself out of the clinch he repeatedly impressed in the final minutes of the rounds.

With this victory, the new European MMA lightweight champion re-established his formidable standing amidst the MMA community, and clearly showed he is an upcoming fighter ready for the bigger leagues. It will be interesting to see how the future plays out for this new champion.
© Raoul de Mos

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