Battle in the Desert 5 - Schilling vs Marcus

ProMMAnow.com Joe Gugelman

LAS VEGAS - Lion Fight: Battle in the Desert 5 takes place this evening at the Joint at The Hard Rock in Las Vegas and is headlined by WBC Interim World Muay Thai Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Schilling (12-1, 10 KOs) taking on undefeated contender Simon Marcus (22-0, 17 KOs) in a non-title bout. The winner will take home not only his own purse, but the purse of his opponent as well, a rarity in combat sports.

Also, WBC International Middleweight champion Chaz Mulkey (7-4, 3 KOs) will square off with two-time world champion Gregory Choplin (59-9, 22 KOs). Rounding out the top of the card, muay thai legend Phanuwat "Coke" Chunhawat (146-24, 24 KOs) takes on rising challenger Matt Embree (19-3) for the vacant WBC international lightweight championship.

Main Event - Light Heavyweight (175 pounds) / Non-Title Bout
Joe Schilling (Los Angeles, CA) (Champion) vs. Simon Marcus (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

LOTS of trash talking in the pre-fight video interviews that they showed before these two came out.

Round 1 - Here we go. The crowd is electric, HEAVILY in Schilling's favor. They trade leg kicks. Both seem to be swinging for the KO early. Hard kick to the body by Marcus. Straight right by Schilling gets through the guard. Marcus appears to have a mouse under his left eye. Marcus is able to trip Schilling to the ground from the clinch. He connects with a HUGE left hook and Schilling is down! He's back up before the 10 count, but he looks out of sorts. He's immediately dropped again by a front kick to the face followed by a hard right elbow to the jaw, and this time the ref waves it off during the standing 10 count.

Official Decision: Simon Marcus def. Joe Schilling by TKO at 2:50 of round 1

Co-Main Event -Middleweight (160 pounds) / WBC Super Fight (non-title bout)
Chaz Mulkey (Las Vegas, NV) (Champion) vs. Gregory Choplin (Miami, FL/ France)

Round 1 - Both men feeling out their opponent in the first part of the round. Mulkey catches a kick and lands a jab on Choplin. Big knee to the body by Choplin. High kick by Mulkey is blocked. Right hook by Mulkey stuns Choplin and sends him back on wobbly legs. Head kick lands for Mulkey. Straight left lands for Mulkey. Choplin lands a right over the top. 10-9 Mulkey

Round 2 - Choplin lands a leg kick to start the round. Kick to the body by Choplin. Mulkey with a teep kick. Choplin returns the favor. Choplin throwing lots of kicks to the body, some blocked. Big inside leg kick moves Mulkey off his center of gravity. Big left hook to the body by Choplin. High kick is avoided by Choplin. Choplin lands a few knees in the clinch before being separated. Straight left gets through for Mulkey, followed by a body kick. They clinch as the round ends. 10-9 Choplin

Round 3 - Kick by Choplin lands to the groin, Mulkey shakes his head and keeps pressing forward. Choplin drops him with a flurry of punches capped by a hard right and Mulkey is on the ground. He's right back up though. Choplin throws him to the ground in the clinch. Chaz is failing to keep his hands up. Choplin checks a leg kick. Mulkey lands a short hook as they come in for the clinch. Mulkey sweeps the leg and gets a big crowd pop before the bell rings. Don't think he did enough to overcome the knockdown though.10-9 Choplin

Round 4 - Head kick by Mulkey partially lands. Choplin throwing multi-punch combos now. He trips Mulkey, who maintains his balance. Jab lands for Choplin, followed up by a nice body kick. Choplin throws him to the mat from the clinch. This time it's Choplin hitting the ground from a Mulkey trip. Choplin appeared to hurt the leg of Mulkey, and followed it up with a head kick that was mostly foot. Body kick by Choplin. Another leg kick by Choplin, chopping away at that lead leg. Head kick by Mulkey just misses and he hits the deck from the effort. Mulkey finishes the round backing Choplin into the corner, landing a few punches. 10-9 Choplin

Round 5 - Choplin kicks the back leg of Mulkey, who nearly falls to the ground. Body kick by Choplin. Leaping right lands for Choplin. Mulkey is thrown to the mat again from the clinch. Teep kick by Choplin. Both men land kicks to the body of their opponent. Straight left lands for Mulkey. They clinch in the corner and Mazzagatti steps in to pull them apart. Mulkey completes a throw just before the bell. 10-9 Choplin

Official Decision: Gregory Choplin def. Chaz Mulkey via unanimous decision (50-44, 49-45, 49-45)