Dustin Philips dominates fight at Worlds Collide

By Case Keefer (contact)

Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

PRIMM—Chad Dietmeyer slid under the ropes and stormed toward the locker room to a chorus of boos moments after his fight against Dustin Philips ended.

Dietmeyer, a previously undefeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist from Tucson, Ariz., took no time to stay and listen to the judges’ decision or to tell Philips, a Las Vegas-based former college wrestler, how well he fought in the Worlds Collide semifinals.

Of course everyone at the Star of the Desert arena witnessed how dominant Philips was in the bout. And everyone knew what the decision would be.

The judges unanimously sided with Philips.

“Sportsmanship is something you wish all fighters had,” Philips said. “Unfortunately, some fighters don’t. I’ve been on the end of his side of it. It’s hard to swallow losing your first fight.”

That’s especially true if it’s in the humiliating style in which Dietmeyer lost. From the opening bell, Philips imposed his will on Dietmeyer in the 155-pound class MMA bout.

Philips trapped Dietmeyer in multiple headlocks and demoralized him with a relentless ground-and-pound attack. Dietmeyer never stood a chance.

“We watched some of his tapes and footage and saw a couple of holes in the way he fights,” Philips said. “He’s great fighter and throws hard, but he gives little tells right before he sets his stuff up. We built our game plan around that.”

Philips, who trains at Xtreme Couture, put on one of the most impressive performances of the day at the Worlds Collide semifinals, which featured six boxing matches and six MMA fights.

All 12 winners advance to the Worlds Collide championship scheduled for Oct. 10 at the Star of the Desert Arena.

Philips will face Nick Reale, a Lake Forest, Cali., fighter, in the finals.

“I’ve got complete confidence no matter who I fight,” Philips said. “When I go out there, I stick exactly to the game plan my coaches gave to me. If I lose, I lost to a better fighter.”

The best fighters Saturday all came from Las Vegas. Of the nine Vegas-based fighters in the event, seven won and the other two, Danny Davis and Robert Otani, fought to a draw in the 180-pound MMA class.

Four of them won by unanimous decision, including Deth Marcus Hall, who defeated Jose Sanchez in a 142-pound boxing bout.

“Absolutely it gives us pride,” Hall said. “I hope we keep it going.”

One of the most anticipated championship matches will be in the 132-pound boxing class, where Las Vegas fighters Rynell Griffin and Johnny Frazier will square off. Griffin and Frazier previously fought to a draw in April.

Frazier participated in perhaps the most competitive fight of the night Saturday. In fact, the match between Frazier and Alberto Soto was so even after the scheduled four rounds that the promoters agreed to go one extra.

Despite sporting a deep gash above his left eye, Frazier thrived in the fifth round. He won by a technical knockout after landing a flurry of jabs that disoriented Soto.

“I’ll put it this way: It takes me a while to warm up,” Frazier said. “I felt tired in the first round, but I fight better as it goes on.”