Shark Fights 15

Shark Fights 15
May 27th

Chris Camozzi vs Joey Villasñor

Shark Fights 15
May 27th

Chris Camozzi vs Joey Villasñor

Chris Camozzi vs Joey Villasñor

Smokin Joe!!!

Chris Camozzi vs Joey Villasñor

RIO RANCHO, N.M. -- There was plenty of disappointment to go around following the Shark Fights 15 main event on Friday night.

The quality of the evening’s featured bout was not the problem, as Joey Villasenor and Chris Camozzi fought tooth-and-nail for 15 competitive minutes at the Santa Ana Star Center. But, when the judges’ scorecards were revealed, both fighters were left to contemplate the most unsatisfying of all results: a draw.

In the aftermath of the decision -- scored 29-28, 28-29 and 29-29 -- the general consensus from both camps was that Villasenor took the opening frame on the strength of his takedowns and positional dominance, and Camozzi followed by finding his range in the second, most notably landing several knees and uppercuts in the period. The final round was the most difficult to score, as Villasenor and Camozzi had a series of spirited exchanges.

It was judge Robert Romero who saw the bout 29-28 for Camozzi, while Jenna Vasquez had it 29-28 for Villasenor. Mark Sanchez had the bout 29-29, cementing the split draw.

As he iced his shins with his Colorado-based team around him, Camozzi reflected on missed opportunities.

“There’s more I could have done,” said the “Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 competitor. “I don’t blame the judges myself. All in all, I just tried to keep coming forward, put the fight to him and just keep him backing up.”

Meanwhile, Villasenor almost didn’t make it to the cage after battling the flu all week. The illness persisted such that the Strikeforce veteran considered withdrawing from the bout on Wednesday. But it was the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product’s first scheduled fight in his home state since 2005, so he battled through the final five pounds of an exhausting weight cut and then battled Camozzi for three rounds in hopes of putting a two-fight losing streak to rest.

“I came this far -- I prepared to fight. I didn’t want to let anybody know. Camozzi was tough; even with that, I felt like I went in there and did my job,” Villasenor said. “I hate to be biased, but I felt I won the fight. I just couldn’t believe it was given a draw.”

Trainer Greg Jackson asserted that Villasenor won the fight by doing more damage in the final round.

“The third round, if it’s a back-and-forth battle, who did the damage?” Jackson said. “Obviously, if you look at the stitch around [Camozzi’s chin] ... and he’s bleeding from his nose -- obviously, Joey did the damage.”

Villasenor received a small measure of vindication in his post-fight exchange with Camozzi. It was then that the Colorado native told his opponent that he felt Villasenor had won the fight.

“I didn’t get half of my win purse, because it wasn’t [technically] a win,” Villasenor said. “But it was worth it that my opponent acknowledged that he felt I won the fight.”