On April 30, 2016, Sheldon Reid took on Julio Calcina at The Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool England at Shinobi MMA Championships: Shinobi War 7. While the match was technically an amateur bout, the stunning knockout that would end the fight was anything but.
Liverpool Vale Tudo representative Sheldon Reid entered the cage that evening with an unblemished amateur MMA record of 2 wins and no losses and was looking to build on the momentum of his first two fights. His opponent, SBG Mainline fighter Julio Calcina, entered the cage with an amateur record of 1 win and 2 losses, and looked to bounce back from the submission defeat he suffered back in December 2015.
At the opening bell, each man tried to find his range as Reid probed with a couple leg kicks and Calcina tried to find his chin with lunging hooks. After whiffing on a couple punches, Calcina was able to clinch with Reid against the cage and bring him to the mat. Reid immediately worked to stand back up, while Calcina made him pay for his efforts with a few solid left hands.
After clinching briefly, the two men separated. It’s at this point in the fight that Sheldon Reid seems to loosen up a bit and get comfortable. Although he is again taken down by Calcina, Reid is able to use to fence to get back up, as he did the first time. Clinched against the cage, Reid takes a hard knee square in the groin, which calls a brief stop to the fight with 17 seconds left in the opening round.
Although clearly in pain, Reid takes his time and indicates to the referee that he is able to continue. Perhaps riled by the shot to his balls, Reid marches straight towards his opponent and quickly unleashes a front kick that would make Anderson Silva blush, earning him both the victory and a highlight reel knockout he can show his grandkids some day.
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Jeff Warsaw is the former executive editor of Long Island MMA Magazine, professional combat sports public address announcer for several NY/NJ MMA and kickboxing promotions, and a proud one-stripe white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the famed Joe D’Arce. He is currently a musician, coffee enthusiast and host of the Stranger In A Strange Land podcast on YouTube.
