'Violent Bob Ross' wins main event of 1st fight card at new North Versailles venue

Nine minutes went by much faster than Luis “Violent Bob Ross” Pena thought it would. During the inaugural 247 Fighting Championships card Saturday night at Sunny Days Arena in North Versailles, Pena, who fights out of Little Haiti, Fla., didn’t think he would win on the scorecards against a hometown fighter.

However, Pena earned a split-decision win, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28, over Pittsburgh fighter Khama Worthy, earning revenge for a defeat he suffered to Worthy when they fought in the UFC in June 2020.

Worthy won that meeting by submission. No submissions were allowed under the pro kickboxing rules in the rematch. Pena was nervous when the first two scorecards read were split between the men.

“I was,” Pena said. “I was nervous going into the decision because he had success. I had a lot of success too. I felt going into the decision I had done enough in the third. I had the knockdown in the first and I knew I won that.”

Worthy found plenty of success with a thudding overhand right. He was able to land the looping shot to the top of Pena’s forehead consistently.

“I was trying to find the range,” Worthy said. “He had good range. His cross was better than the last time I fought him. He was able to get in better.”

There was a contested moment in the first round. Worthy hit the canvas after the two engaged in striking. Worthy felt he had slipped, but the referee ruled it a knockdown and started the count.

Getting the knockdown early helped Pena settle in.

“I felt like it took me a little too long to get started,” Pena said. “I was a little hesitant. I let him have too much success with that overhand right.”

The attendance for the event was 1,000 people.

“The venue was great,” Worthy said. “It sucks I lost here. It was a great venue, and I hope they put on more shows here.”

Travis Hudson scored an upset in the co-main event. Musa Alsulaimani, who trains with UFC fighter and former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal, scored a knockdown in the first round but couldn’t finish off Hudson. Alsulaimani had the largest group of fans who traveled with him, making it a hostile crowd for Hudson.

Hudson rallied in the second round to score a submission win by rear naked choke. Hudson, who is from Kentucky, improved to 1-2 on his career.

“I’ve fought in front of a lot of crowds as a high school athlete. It doesn’t affect me,” Hudson said. “All I hear is my team. I have a good support system behind me.”

Branko Busick, a former Bellator fighter, won the other professional fight on the card. He beat David Richardson by ninja choke.

TJ Sloan had the honor of being the first fighter to win in the venue. Sloan, who is from Woodstock, Va., improved to 3-0 in his career with a decision win over Greensburg’s Chad Miller in an amateur lightweight MMA bout.

Sloan was supposed to have his first-ever fight at the arena, but it was pushed back due to logistical issues when permits delayed the arena opening. He used the time in between to pad his resume with two more wins.

When 247 Fighting Champions general manager Hunter Homistek reached out about fighting at the promotion’s event in the new venue, he was ready. Sloan scored a second-round knockdown to help secure the win.

“I said without a question, man,” said Sloan. “It’s a blessing in the sky. That’s the biggest thing. It’s all God, man.”