SANTA CRUZ — Raul Ortiz, a Scotts Valley High alum, and Tim Pham, of Richmond, Virginia, both won their MMA fights by unanimous decision to secure titles at Central Coast Fighting Championships 6 at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium on Saturday night.
CCFC owner Daniel Compton teamed with New Money Fight Club (NMFC) for their first hybrid show, which featured 10 mixed martial arts fights, three Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu matches, seven Muay Thai fights, and one Escrima stick fight exhibition.
Ortiz (5-1-0), who lives in San Jose and trains at Dark Horse Gym, defeated Valley Fight Series 18 victor Gavin Geronimo (1-3-0), of Salinas, for the CCFC bantamweight title in the co-main event.
Ortiz previously trained at several gyms in Santa Cruz, so the win his “backyard” was extra special.
Ortiz said he hasn’t taken off his championship belt since being crowned. He said Monday that he has slept it with the past two nights, and held it with one hand while showering.
“The Santa Cruz martial arts community built me into what I am today,” Ortiz said. “So to win that belt for the first time, kinda ‘hometown hero,’ where it all started, felt awesome. It felt right.”
He said he was grateful to all the people who opened their doors for him and allowed him to improve.
Ortiz used combinations to set up his takedowns in all three rounds to earn control against Geronimo.
“I executed the game plan,” Ortiz said. “My gas tank was where I wanted it to be.”
Ortiz said he remembers very little of his match. “I blinked and it was done. When I’m totally in that flow state, I remember walking in and leaving; I don’t remember anything about the fight. I go on autopilot and everything becomes a blur.”
Ortiz plans to compete in 10-15 amateur fights, including some in Muay Thai, before turning professional. He’ll compete for NMFC’s title at 145 pounds in Oakland on Nov. 22.
“I want to get so comfortable that when I go in, I’m like, ‘Yo, there’s no situation I haven’t seen,’ ” he said of his potentially lengthy amateur career.
Pham (4-3-0), competing as an amateur for the last time, beat King City’s Gabriel Gutierrez (4-1-0) for the CCFC lightweight title in the co-main event.
In other bantamweight action, San Jose’s Isaiah Luna (1-1) won by unanimous decision. Gilroy’s Juan Padilla (2-1) won with his ground-and-pound attack in the third round, and Morgan Hill’s Joshua Saldivar (1-1-0) earned a split decision over San Jose’s Jaseeck Constantino.
Soledad’s Nate Olivas (1-0-0), a former Monterey Peninsula College lineman who trains at Salinas Valley MMA, beat Santa Cruz’s Alejandro Vasquez (1-3-0), of Garth Taylor Jiu-Jitsu and Martial Arts, with a doctor’s stoppage in his first round.
In flyweight action, Elk Grove’s Sayed Farid Anwari (1-1-0), of Team Alpha Male, won in the first round with his ground and pound attack, and Bryan Perez (1-1-0) of San Jose, won with a standing guillotine in the second round.
Featherweight Calvin Truong (2-5-0), of Fremont, earned a unanimous decision, and San Jose’s Veronica Mendoza (2-2-0) earned a unanimous decision in her catchweight bout.
In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu action, San Jose light heavyweight Dylan Lai, and Gilroy’s Andrew Toste earned wins with rear-naked chokes, and San Jose middleweight Dylan Lane won with a heel hook.
In Muay Thai action, San Jose’s Krish Bajwa earned a unanimous decision over Hercules’ Hunter Pozzi to claim the NMFC title at 145 pounds.
San Jose’s Cung Le Jr. won by unanimous decision over Scotts Valley’s Cesar Moreno in their Muay Thai fight at 160 pounds.
Santa Cruz’s Rusty Helm earned a third-round knockout of Santa Cruz’s Grant Wolf at 145 pounds.
Lake Tahoe’s Matt Nolan beat Santa Cruz’s Emilio Felix by split decision at 210 pounds.
San Jose’s Devin Tiffer won his fight at 147 pounds after a doctor’s stoppage in the second round.
Santa Cruz’s Shanee Martin won her fight at 132 pounds by unanimous decision, and Hercules’ Owen Foster earned a unanimous decision at 145 pounds.