FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Campbell Fighting Camels began the 2023-24 season on UFC Fight Pass winning 7 of 10 bouts on their way to a 25-9 victory over the Army Black Knights in the Battle at Liberty held at Fort Liberty Wednesday evening.
 
The match was highlighted by Taye Ghadiali's win by fall (3:47) over Lucas Stoddard. Caleb Hopkins challenged his teammate for the biggest victory on the night, defeating No. 13 ranked Ben Pasiuk at 184 pounds by major decision, 8-0.
 
"I was just excited that I got to put on for Campbell, win, and do some big things for UFC Fight Pass," said Ghadiali. "There was a lot of hype around this event. It feels good to get the first one out with all the jitters and to prepare ourselves for this weekend. Now it's time to forget about this and start thinking about the next match."
 
The evening began with the 157 match. True freshman Chris Earnest faced off against Nate Lukez, ranked #25 on Intermat. After falling behind 6-2 after the first period, Earnest kept it close in the second. With 35 seconds left in the third period, Earnest scored a takedown to make the score 6-5. He accumulated over a minute of ride time throughout the match to give him the extra point needed to push the match to overtime.
 
Earnest scored the winning takedown just seconds into the overtime period to earn his first collegiate victory, 9-6.
 
"It was pretty nerve-wracking, not going to lie," Earnest said after the match. "I just tried to take in the whole experience, running out of the plane, the announcers, all of it and just enjoy the experience. Afterwards, getting that win, just amplifies it to the next level."
 
Four other Camels recorded wins on the mat. Austin Murphy returned after a year away with a 4-2 win over Gunner Filipowicz. Levi Hopkins scored a 4-point near fall in the third period on way to a 6-0 victory over Danny Lawrence.
 
Domenic Zaccone and Chris Rivera rounded out the victories for the Fighting Camels. Zaccone used three first-period takedowns to defeat Braden Basile, 12-10. Rivera was locked in a battle against Zach Keal, 1-1 after three rounds. He scored the takedown in overtime to secure the 4-1 victory.
 
#29 CAMPBELL 25, ARMY 9
125 | #26 Ethan Berginc (Army) def. Zander Phaturos (Campbell), Dec 6-1
133 | #12 Domenic Zaccone (Campbell) def. Braden Basile (Army), Dec 12-10
141 | Chris Rivera (Campbell) def. Zach Keal (Army), Dec 4-1
149 | #30 Trae McDaniel (Army) def. Justin Rivera (Campbell), Dec 7-0
157 | Chris Earnest (Campbell) def. #25 Nate Lukez (Army), Dec 9-6
165 | #31 Dalton Harkins (Army) def. Dom Baker (Campbell), Dec 4-1
174 | #30 Austin Murphy (Campbell) def. Gunner Filipowicz (Army), Dec 4-2
184 | #20 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) def. #13 Ben Pasiuk (Army), MD 8-0
197 | #27 Levi Hopkins (Campbell) def. Danny Lawrence (Army), Dec 6-0
HWT | #15 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) def. Lucas Stoddard (Army), Fall (3:47)
Individual and Team rankings according to Intermat

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