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1/29 PILLOW FIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP 'POUND DOWN' PPV REPORT

Pillow Fight Championship - PFC “Pound Down”

1/29/22

Streaming live on FITE TV

I have 3 main things I cover on PWInsider: Beyond Wrestling, ACTION Wrestling and “Odd Shows Adam Sees On The Fite TV Schedule”. On this night, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be watching than whatever the hell “Pillow Fight Championship” is. Seriously, this seems like it’s gonna be my kinda s***. We have 2 single elimination tournaments. 16 men. 8 women. Two $5000 prizes! That’s a lot of pillow fights! They talk about the regulation 2 lb pillows that they are using for all of tonight’s contests. These aren’t sleeping pillows! 

There are some immediate issues with audio sync that are noticeable. They do some interviews with the competitors. They are AWKWARD. The sync issue improves somewhat through the broadcast. The interviews never stop being awkward. It’s kind of amazing in that regard. 

Match 1: Eric Trento vs Vince Edme 

They don’t explain the rules. I KNOW pillows are involved. I guess that’s enough. This is Army vs Marines. Edme is clearly the most aggressive and landing several good head shots. Trento gets rocked a couple times. Edme with a good Superman pillow shot at the end of round 1. Ok cool, it’s 90 second rounds. Trento comes out hot but Edme is dodging and blasting to the head. Spinning back pillow! If they get too close, the ref breaks them up. Trento with a big uppercut pillow! Trento with a good shot but Edme blasts him again as the round closes. They show the rules card. I’ll post that later. Back and forth exchange in round 3. I just noticed the pillow have handles on them. So it’s more like a sack fight? The rules state that 360 moves are worth points to the judges which explains all this spin shots. It’s pretty even through the third until Edme lands a few big shots at the end of the fight. I feel like Edme won this handily but I don’t have the scoring in my head for this yet. So we’ll see what happens…

Winner: Vince Edme (Unanimous Decision)

Now About those interviews…

Match 2: Markus Perez vs Santiago Seijo

Perez is wearing Heath Ledger Joker Makeup. The pre-fight interview is so magically awkward. Santiago’s nickname is Joker…and he’s more of a Jared Leto version. This is a joker fight. Perez is bigger, comes out strong, trying to home run this kick. Perez scores a knockdown! Seijo back up, Perez taking shots but backing him into the corner. Seijo dropped again but back up quickly with a smile. Round 1 ends. Perez doesn’t even go to his corner. Seijo is more prepared in round two but Perez keeps muscling him into the corners with a continuous flurries of pillow strikes. They both take post-bell shots but are still smiling. They are ready for the 3rd round…but this is a 2-round match? The crowd wants a third round but the judges have their scores.

Winner: Markus Perez (Unanimous Decision)

This was not in question but these guys clearly had fun in there. Their backstage interviews are so weird and awkward. They end with them walking down a hallway to the ring in UTTER SILENCE. I’ll get a video of that. It’s kind of amazing. 

Match 3: Reggie Newsome vs Jacob Diaz

This is a match of dudes with MMA experience. Reggie seems better prepared for this. Reggie waits for him to come in, the batters him back so hard he loses his pillow. Reggie throws SO HARD. Jacob gets clocked in the face. 360 shot to the abs. Diaz is just taking a whipping here. Reggie’s cornerman is a 10-year MMA prodigy. Blink. Diaz is a little more aggressive, Reggie is more defensive. Flying overhand shot, Diaz with a 360 hit. Reggie is looking a little winded as Diaz comes in with a flurry to end the second round. These fights are two rounds from here on, I guess? This felt even to me by the end but Reggie won that first round by a LOT. 

Winner: Reggie Newsome (Unanimous Decision)

I notice a sign for PFC Kidz in the background. O_O

Match 4: Mike Trujillo vs Terrell Jenkins

Trujillo is a bare knuckle boxer. Jenkins is described as a pillow fight veteran. Trujillo with a hard shot to the face and pushes Jenkins down. The crowd turns on him hard. The ref is all over him for shoving. Trujillo swinging with two hands, Jenkins weathers a storm and blasts him down to the mat. They are swinging WIIIIIILD at each other. Jenkins knocked back at the bell and WOW this was a round! Round 2 kicks off. Trujillo is more reserved and Jenkins works to block more. Trujillo is wayyy  less aggressive and winded and letting Jenkins just hit him. He is leaning on the ropes and can’t continue as the round time expires…the ref is calling this a KO for Jenkins. Trujillo is laid out on the apron catching his breath and his corner helps him to the back. 

Winner: Terrell Jenkins (TKO)

What HAPPENED to Trujillo?!? 

Match 5: Christian Ynasstrilla vs Leo Carvalho

Carvalho hitting the 360 shots early over and over. Ynasstrilla with some strong shots and the ref has to untangle their pillows. Carvalho with a forward roll into a pillow shot! Carvalho lands more of the good shots here in round 1. Round 2 starts wild! Ynasstrilla with a showtime shot! Carvalho with a cartwheel hit! Carvalho blocking well but the ref keeps having to break them apart. Carvalho with a good shot to the head and a jumping 360 shot to end it. I’m not sure who took this. Carvalho had the flash but Ynisstrilla kept hitting solid shots…but did the judges SEE that?

Winner: Christian Ynisstrilla (Split Decision)

This makes sense but it was that close. 

Match 6: Marcus Brimage vs Phillip Aughinbaugh

Marcus Brimage?!? Wasn’t he on TUF? Yes. Yes this is the same man! Phillip apparently had a wild match with one of the Jokers in the last event. Brimage is the smaller man but swinging hard with a double hand technique. Almost a sword technique? Aughinbaugh is taking a lot of shots in the first round. Brimage dodging well as the first round closes. Brimage with a windMill attack! Aughinbaugh turns it up a little since he knows he’s on the backpedal with the judges. Brimage hits some big 360 shots and landing to the head over and over, as he chops down this mountain of a man. The bell rings and they embrace. The result here SEEMS inevitable. 

Winner: Marcus Brimage (Unanimous Decision)

Match 7: Renato Guitart vs Woodley Francois

Francois is dodging some early shots but he turns his back and eats a shot. Guitart is swinging a lot and not hitting much but Francois keeps overcommitting his dodge and taking damage. Hard to gauge this as the first round ends. Francois is more aggressive in round two. He goes back to the dodge game but eats a short 360 to the head. They’re both swinging but not doing much. Francois ducking and weaving but he doesn’t have any time to capitalize on it. I THINK Guitart took this but he’s exhausted. 

Winner: Renato Guitart

Neither guy was impressive here but Guitart did enough to advance. 

Match 8: Hauley Tillman vs Rafael Dias

They get to swinging before the bell rings! Tillman is a showboat. Dias eats big shots but repays them 2-3 to one. Tillman takes his shoes off. He’s smiling and clearly having a blast.  Dias is seeming to be frustrated as Tillman   pauses to pose. We go to the second. Dias wants Tillman to come in. Dias eats a great shot but his chin is good. 360 shot staggers Tillman briefly. He looks tired and Dias is starting walk him down. Tillman covering up as Dias is hitting him at will as the fight ends. The first round might have been even but Dias clearly took the second round by a LOT. 

Winner: Hauley Tillman (Split Decision)

What??? This feels like an upset and likely the judges were influenced by the showboating through the fight. 

Match 9: Leandro Apollo vs Prince Logan

From the entrances, this feels like it might be fun. Prince’s trainer is the same guy who trains Logan Paul. Wild swings from the bell. Both guys swinging but mostly not hitting clean. Prince tries a cartwheel. Apollo hits clean at the halfway mark and Prince staggers back. Apollo goes two handed and CLUBS Logan in the corner. Prince is dancing in the center during the break. Apollo battering Logan around early. Knockdown? Logan kips up…almost. 360 hit, ax chop! The ref has to break them up a few times. Logan tries a wild capo flip strike that hits air as the bell rings. 

Winner: Leandro Apollo (Unanimous Decision)

We have our first round complete on the men’s side, time to switch to the women’s tournament. Note: we are two hours deep into this show. If my math is right, we might have at least two hours more to go.

Match 10: Claire Lawson vs Kendahl Voelker

Lawson has a soccer background, Voelker is a pro volleyball player. Voelker also has a noticeable height advantage. Voelker comes out hard. Lawson is swinging but Voelker is swinging REAL hard and hitting 360 shots. Voelker slips and hits the mat. Lawson backed into the corner but fights out. Good first round. Great flurry to start! Lawson gets staggered but fires back and Voelker hits the mat and rolls back to her feet. Voelker looking tired but still swinging. Lawson hitting some good body shots. Trading high energy as the round ends. Super even, this could have gone either way. This one was a lot of fun.

Winner: Kendahl Voelker (Split Decision)

Match 11: Istela Nunes vs Kristen Froelich

Nunes went 6-1 in UFC. Froelich is here to have fun. Based on the interview, she might be worried. Nunes gets a series of good shots to the head early. Nunes has significantly more power and speed in her shots. Froelich is connecting but there isn’t much behind them. Nunes owns the first round handily. Nunes stuns her quickly in the second. 360 shots hitting hard. Froelich trying to move but she’s getting massively out worked through the round. Easy win for Nunes. Props to Froelich for hanging in there.

Winner: Istela Nunes (Unanimous Decision)

Match 12: Yajaira Cunningham vs Carina Damm

Carina trains with America Top Team but Cunningham has her own MMA experience so isn’t fazed at the test in front of her. These two go right at it from the start. Cunningham has great footwork but Damm is connecting a little more. Damm doing a good job of punching the pillow shots out of the air. Round 2 kicks off. Cunningham backing Damm up but Damm takes the center. Cunningham missing with wild swings. Damm gets baited in to swing and miss a lot as Cunningham bobs and weaves. Cunningham did a great job with her defense but Unsure if it was enough.

Winner: Carina Damm (Unanimous Decision)

Again, I think Damm just hit more shots, even though Cunningham was able to dodge a lot of them. 

Match 13: Meriah Hall vs Yashira Millayes

Hall is 2-0 at PFC. Yashira has a very bubbly personality. She’s excited…Hall wants to eat that energy up. Yashira is moving but Hall walks her down with big swings. Yashira is smiling and having a great time and baiting Hall in. Hall doesn’t fall for it and the last third of the round feels like a stalemate. Round two opens and Yashira is bouncing right back into the fight. Hall comes in harder this time, big swings. Yashira is swinging back and defending but there’s not a lot of urgency in her attacks. Pretty even here but I think Hall took this barely.

Winner: Meriah Hall (Unanimous Decision)

So this ends the women’s tournament first round. We get a commercial for the PFC Kidz. And a highlight of  a kids match from earlier in the night. 

Match 14: Markus Perez vs Reggie Newsome

Markus took off his Joker makeup for this one. They start heavy. Reggie with a big shot but Perez keeps coming and back Reggie to the corner. These trades are awesome. Reggie’s pillow breaks and he has to use a pink one and he’s sad about it. This is the hoss fight of pillow fighting. Wild first round. These guys are starting to get mad at each other and have to get backed off during the break. This is crazy, Perez with 360 shots but mostly they are smacking back and forth. How do the judges score this??? Reggie loses his pillow, Perez keeps swinging, Reggie shoved him off, this almost turns into a real fight! Security has to break these two up and I’m not sure where this fight is now….they have 30 more seconds to fight. They get swinging but there is tension between them. The bell rings and they hug it out now that it’s over. Holy hell this was bonkers. I think Perez took this but with the judges dock him for the fight? 

Winner: Reggie Newsome (Split Decision)

The crowd doesn’t like the decision but I’m fine with it. Perez did some unsporting things that provoked Newsome. Arguably, I’d have DQ’d them both because it required a pull apart. It’s past Midnight and I’m getting tired. This is still going but there’s very little dead air in the show. This thing moves, especially now that they’ve stopped with the interviews and fight entrances. They’re just getting the new fight into the ring while the winner of the previous does their victory stuff. This should make the rest of the show go quicker.

Match 15: Terrell Jenkins vs Christian Ynisstrilla

Ynisstrilla runs in. Jenkins with a couple of solid shots but Ynisstrilla throwing more. Jenkins finds his range and hitting when he wants. Ynisstrilla pushes the pace and is able to dodge some bigger swings. He tries the showtime hit again. Jenkins really owned the first. Ynisstrilla comes out fast in the second but Jenkins throwing big. Even the blocks Ynisstrilla puts up look like they hurt. Jenkins might be gassing as he slows down. Ynisstrilla gets into closes for a few good shots but it’s probably not enough to change the judges mind.

Winner: Terrell Jenkins (Split Decision)

I’m surprised this was a split! We’re getting info that Renato Guitart forfeited his match so Marcus Brimage gets a bye into the semi-finals against Reggie Newsome.

Match 16: Hauley Tillman vs Leandro Apollo

Tillman is showboating again, Apollo has a  brief problem with his pillow but comes in hard with several flurries. Hauley with a big hit sends Apollo to the corner. Tillman getting a few good overhand shots in. Hard to call this round. Apollo comes in with another flurry. Tillman forces several break ups but he’s getting hit in the head a lot here. Apollo’s two hand technique lets him swing a lot but Tillman is hitting most of what he swung for. I think Apollo took it but I lost that bet against Tillman last time.

Winner: Hauley Tillman (Unanimous Decision)

What?!?! Unanimous??? Hauley says the 5k prize money is going to equipment and gear for his new king fu school. 

Match 17: Kendahl Voelker vs Carina Damm

The women’s semi finals kick off. Voelker has the height advantage again. Voelker goes to a two hand stance right away and backing Damm up. Big swinging shot staggers Damm. Voelker comes in but Damm swings and catches her off balance and Kendahl goes down. Voelker hits some great shots with great aggression in this round but she DID go down. Damm swings 360 to open but Voelker just keeps coming hard. Some confusion over weather Damm is slapping Voelker. Damm might have weathered the storm as Kendahl is slowing her assault. Voelker still hitting clean to the head so we’ll see what the judges think. 

Winner: Kendahl Voelker 

Match 18: Meriah Hall vs Istela Nunes

This could be awesome. Hall is undefeated and Nunes is a MMA monster. Either way, it feels like this could decide the tournament. Hall comes out with the big swings, wild trade. Hall tries keep her distance. Nunes catches a couple of good shots before this round finishes with a wild trade.  Round two is more fast trading. Nunes hits a few good shots but starting complaining that she got elbowed. These two leave it all on the mat as the round comes to a close. Nunes may be an experienced MMA fighter but Hall felt every bit her equal in this contest. 

Winner: Istela Nunes (Split Decision)

Wow, what a fight! Hall loses her undefeated status but she absolutely did her damndest to not roll over.

Match 19: Marcus Brimage vs Reggie Newsome

This is interesting since Brimage’s opponent gave him a round of rest. Reggie just had that highly emotional war with Perez. Brimage is still outsized here though. Brimage sticking and moving and taking some huge 360 swings. Reggie gets space  and hits some good overhand shots. Marcus using the pillow as a shield. The ref has to correct Brimage on his grip. Reggie with a few power shots but Brimage is trying to keep moving as the round ends. They’re having fun. Fast trading in the second. Reggie hitting way more, Marcus stays in the pocket but working some good blocks here. Great block into a spin shot! Brimage is super fast and blocking great, clean 360 shot. I think Brimage took this, Reggie was super aggressive but Brimage’s defense was on point here.

Winner: Marcus Brimage (Split Decision)

Brimage is off to do some yoga and prep for his upcoming match in the finals.

Match 20: Terrell Jenkins vs Hauley Tillman

Much respect between these two. Tillman with some good openings. Jenkins is all defensive but hits a flurry of body shots. Tillman catches Jenkins coming in repeatedly. Tillman’s defense game is good here. Jenkins lands right in the face and Tillman is smiling through it. Round two. Jenkins hitting from the overhand. Tillman gets them twisted. Uppercut from Tillman! They are having fun! Chess match shots back and forth. They trade a little more but Jenkins seems to think it’s over and it’s not in his favor. Do the judges agree? I can’t bet against Tillman again.

Winner: Hauley Tillman (Split Decision)

Tillman just has to take out Marcus Brimage so he can get kung fu equipment for the kids!

Match 21: Kendahl Voelker vs Istela Nunes (Women’s Tournament Finals)

Voelker has the height and reach advantage but Istela is a professional fighter. This is the final so it’s three rounds with $5k on the line. They trade insanely fast to start. Both taking shots, Voelker can’t possibly keep this ice for three rounds. Nunes with a 360 back hit. Nunes with a solid 360 spin to the face and it’s SOLID. Kendahl is stopped in her tracks but keeps swinging. Round one ends. The ref reminds them of the rules as they has disagreements over some elbows being used in the previous round. Nunes ducking weaving, fighting from the inside fast. Voelker slowing down and Nunes takes her breath with more body shots. Voelker clips the head several times but Nunes keeps coming and lets Kendahl punch herself out. Round three. Nunes looking good, Voelker is tired. 90 seconds to go. Voelker swinging for the KO but she eats a lot of shots. Nunes walking her down but Kendahl isn’t stopping. Voelker loses her footing right at the end and goes down. The third round ends and Nunes team hits the ring to celebrate. They are CONFIDENT in this result.

Women’s Tournament Winner & New PFC Women’s Champion: Istela Nunes (Unanimous Decision)

Great fight. They present Nunes with a giant check for 5k and the inaugural PFC Women’s Championship Belt!

Match 22: Marcus “The Yoga Ninja” Brimage vs Hauley “The Champ” Tillman (Men’s Tournament Finals)

Tillman with a great overhand shot out of the gate. Brimage is finding his distance and landing to the body but Tillman is using his block/overhand swing strategy that has worked for him so far. Brimage comes right at Tillman and forced him to engage. Round two. Tillman is shirtless and covered in ice by his corner. Brimage with fast wild shots! Tillman gets a few good ones in but Marcus keeps coming! Tillman takes a huge 369 shot and he knows he’s in trouble. He’s trying to block but he’s slowing. Round three. Btw, Brimage has been doing yoga poses in between every round. Marcus with the flurry, Tillman coming over Brimage is hitting body shots at will. Tillman is hitting to the top of the head but Brimage keeps coming. The bell rings, both guys raise their hands. I think Brimage got this but WHO KNOWS!

Men’s Tournament Winner and New PFC Men’s Champion: Hauley Tillman 

WHO KNEW!!! Hauley Tillman won the money for the kids!!! I don’t know what fight the judges were watching but I’m glad Tillman gets to buy gear for the kids. They give Hauley Tillman a giant check and his new championship belt! 

And that’s it for PFC Pound Down! It is 1:35am! This went 4 and a half hours! So this was a LONG show. I know MMA PPV’s tend to go long but 22 fights later, I am exhausted! I might suggest when they do this again (and they should), maybe only do two 8-person tournaments. The 16-man side just felt so long….but I wouldn’t have traded that Joker fight for anything. So yeah, this was a lot fun! I have no idea if this is happening again in the months to come…but check it out if it does? Until then! 

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