Prospects Tom Deblass and Uriah Hall ride heel hook submissions to wins at Ring of Combat 39

Photo courtesy of Keith Gunther  

Two of the east coasts' best prospects utilized a rare submission hold to capture victories in separate bouts at Ring of Combat 39. New Jersey's ROC returned to the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City for a 12 fight event. Light heavyweight prospect Tom Deblass (7-0) made a trek up to heavyweight for a fight with veteran Randy Smith (14-10-1) and a shot at another ROC title belt.

After a short feeling out process the match hit the floor and Deblass latched on a fight finishing hold. Deblass locked a heel hook submission onto Smith's left leg and the New York big man tapped out at just the 41 second mark of round one. The win for Deblass harkened back to an April 2011 win via Achilles lock over Sean Salmon (18-18).

At 29 years old the unbeaten Deblass remains on track for a possible UFC or Bellator contract before the end of 2012.A strong wrestler with heavy hands Deblass's ground game and defenses have improved on the New Jersey MMA scene over the past 12 months. In the latest ULTMMA.com prospects rankings Deblass checks in at number seven in the light heavyweight division.

New Yorker Uriah Hall (6-2) reached deep into his bag of submissions to pull off a win over Daniel Akinyemi (2-1). A former fighter in the defunct WCL kickboxing league, Hall traded power strikes with Akinyemi in the opening moments of their middleweight contest. Hall seized the submission opportunity in a scramble back to the feet and caught Akinyemi in a heel hook that forced a quick tap out.

The second submission win of Hall's eight fight career came at the 3:58 point of round one. Hall has won two straight since dropping back to back fights versus current UFC fighters Chris Weidman (8-0) and Constantinos Philippou (9-2). The 27 year old Hall's flashy and crowd pleasing striking style should eventually land him a call-up to the UFC or Bellator.

According to the 2012 ULTMMA.com prospect rankings Hall is the number ten unsigned 185 pound prospect in MMA today.

Ring of Combat 39 results
Atlantic City, NJ

Tom Deblass def. Randy Smith by Submission Heel Hook 0:41 R1
Jeff Lentz def. Giovanni Moljo by Unanimous Decision
Pete Sell def. Mitch Whitesel by Unanimous Decision
Uriah Hall def. Daniel Akinyemi by Submission Heel Hook 3:58 R1
Duane van Helvoirt def. Lester Caslow by Submission Triangle Choke 1:49 R1
Ed Gordon def. David Tkeshelashvili by Majority Decision
Jarred Mercado def. Rafael Fagundes Machado by Unanimous Decision
Munah Holland def. Pearl Gonzalez by Majority Decision
James Jenkins def. Dwayne Shelton by TKO (Punches) 1:51 R3
Frankie Perez def. Jeremy Uy by Unanimous Decision
Andre Harrison def. Carlos Fonseca by Unanimous Decision
Whitney Jean-Francois def. Pat Defranco by TKO (Punches) 2:31 R1