One of the most anticipated matchups in the heavyweight division — #4 ranked Ryan Phillips vs. #5 ranked Duane Crespo!!
Crespo flattened his last opponent with a crushing one-shot knockout of Matthew “Stretch” Strickland. Phillips is coming off a three-round war with Rob “One-Eyed Wolf” Perez that Dana White hailed as an instant classic.
But as Phillips was preparing for the matchup, he felt a pop in his right arm (his striking arm). He was ultimately diagnosed with a complete tear of his bicep tendon.
Despite the crippling injury, Phillips refuses to pull out of the match and decides he will strike with his left arm.
“Chop my arm off, put me in the ring man,” Phillips said. “I’m about to come with the thunder. My left is still strong.”
Round 1
Crespo wins the coin toss and elects to strike first. He opens with a powerful right hand, but Phillips eats it!
Phillips returns fire with his left hand but is called for a clubbing shot. It’s clear he doesn’t have the same accuracy with his left.
Round 2
Crespo kicks off Round 2 with another huge right. Once again, Phillips eats it.
Phillips hits back with a clean left but fails to crumble Crespo.
Round 3
Crespo’s 3rd strike is his best — unloading a monster right on Ryan’s bruised face. Once again, Ryan eats it — impressing Dana White and the rest of the Power Slap team.
Phillips digs deep to try and finish Crespo with his final slap but can’t get the job done.
Crespo wins by unanimous decision, but Phillips earns everyone’s respect for his gritty performance.
“Congratulations to Duane on a great win but I’m going to come back and I’m going to get it back,” Phillips said.
After the match, Dana praised both strikers — “I see both of these guys having a bright future in Power Slap.”
The action continues next week with three more explosive matchups!!
Catch an all new episode of Power Slap: Road to the Title every Wednesday on TBS at 10pm et/pt.
