Issue 018

October 2006

Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California, 22^nd July 2006

By Brad Doerges

Photographs by Dave Mandel

The rebirth of the WFA began in Inglewood at the Forum. Signing many large name fighters to its first pay-per-view event, the WFA was out for a share of the increasingly large American PPV market. Having secured celebrities such as Bas Rutten, Matt Lindland and Rampage Jackson for its first event in four years, and rumoured to be close to signing names such as Tito Ortiz and Cro-Cop, the WFA looks to do more than become just California’s premier MMA event. With this sentiment in mind, King of the Streets did not disappoint. 

‘The Law’ damaged but not broken.

The main event of the evening featured the always-entertaining PRIDE FC veteran Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson versus UFC veteran Matt ‘The Law’ Lindland. In the end Jackson may have had the toughest win of his career. “I thought I was gonna crush him… I thought I was gonna knock him out in the first round.”

Though he was moving up a weight class, Lindland slammed Jackson and sunk in two deep chokes that both looked as thought they may finish the fight. In the end Jackson wasn’t happy with his performance. “I wanted to break the law! He surprised me… A spinning back fist, a kick to the head… What the hell? He’s supposed be trying to hug me!”

The Law took the first round, taking the fight to the fence where he was able to dance with Quinton until Rampaage caught a knee and hoisted him up for a trademark Jackson slam. Showing some good jiu-jitsu skills, The Law was able to slickly manoeuvre from half guard to Quinton’s back. From there Lindand got his hooks in and nearly sunk a rear naked choke. Jackson never flinched though, getting to his feet then gently shaking Matt off, escaping the choke and putting the Law on his back. Although Quinton had escaped disaster, it was evident that Matt took the round.

The second was neck and neck with Matt getting an impressive double leg slam, but Quinton was able to clinch the round by landing a quick one-two combo that had the Olympic Silver Medalist dazed. The third round, much like the others, was too close to call. Quinton once again dazed his smaller opponent but Lindland fired back with the newest weapon in his arsenal- a sharp high kick. In the end the fight came down to a bad decision on Matt’s part. After landing a knee to Rampages head, Lindland went for one of his patent choke slams with about a minute and a half left. “It was on, he was gurgling.  I could have kept it up and not gone for the finish but I wanted to finish the fight” said Lindland after the fight. Quinton was able to escape the guillotine and worked a little bit of ground and pound as the bell sounded.

When asked about the decision Matt was a bit disappointed with the judges. “Well it was a close fight. Depends on what they are judging on, if they are judging on big slams then he won the fight - if they are judging on the guy who was trying to win the fight then I did.” Although he lost Matt still wants to fight the best. “I originally signed in this organisation to fight Tito(Ortiz).” But with all the talk about Lindland looking to take on Ortiz and fighting Jeremy Horn in the IFL, Matt still hasn’t lost his focus on the UFC 185lb belt. “I would love to beat up Franklin.”

Rutten kicks off his ring rust.

The co-main event fight featured MMA legend Bas Rutten in his long-awaited return to the ring against last minute replacement Ruben Villareal. Villareal replaced Kimo Leopoldo after he tested positive for steroids two days before the event. Although the steroids had been prescribed by a doctor for rehabilitation of an injury, California’s athletic commission does not allow any type of performance-enhancing drugs to be in a fighters system during a fight. Unfortunately for Kimo, this is not the first time (and probably not the last) he has tested positive for steroids. 

Villareal, a giant of a man who sidelines as a pro-wrestler, put on an impressive display in his last fight against former UFC tournament winner and PRIDE veteran Don Frye. Although the fight ended in a draw, many onlookers felt as though Villareal was robbed of the decision.  

Regardless of Villareal’s credentials, Bas Rutten is the three-time King Of Pancrase and a former UFC Heavyweight champion. Although Bas had taken 7 years out from fighting, he is still in great shape, and regularly boasts of his ability to outlast most of the (far younger) guys in his camp. 

The crowd roared as Rutten entered the ring, and true to form, he would not disappoint. Rutten, an excellent submission grappler, is best known for his striking, and he looked to keep it standing. Surprisingly, the much larger Villareal looked to trade with the Pancrase veteran, but was clearly no match for the seasoned vet. “I hit him and he was like ‘Man you’re fast… and you hit hard too’” Bas stated after the fight. “Not hard enough” I said! 

When Villareal almost kneed a rib that Bas had injured during training, the Dutchman turned to throwing low kicks. Although Bas had not trained kicks after suffering a groin injury early in his training, they didn’t lack any impact. Several hard and unchecked low kicks dropped Villareal to the mat, and the ref was forced to stop the fight. “I would like to thank Marco Ruas for this win” said Bas, referring to Ruas’ famous win over Paul Varelans way back in 1995, when the Brazilian introduced the world to the effectiveness of low kicks. 

Ricco gets his revenge

In a rematch of a WEC super heavyweight championship fight, former UFC heavyweight Champion Ricco ‘Suave’ Rodriguez took on Ron ‘H2O’ Waterman. In the first fight Waterman dominated the clinch and the groundwork and was able to pound out a decision. This would not be the case in the rematch. 

Though he’s carrying some extra weight, Ricco came out looking very lightfooted for a man of his stature, and he began delivering hard rights to the flat footed wrestler. After one of the rights connected and had Waterman hurt, Ricco cornered him and began unleashing a barrage of left and rights, but was unable to knock H2O down. At the end of the round Waterman was visibly dazed and battered. The doctors felt he was unable to continue and stopped the fight between rounds, giving Ricco a win he desperately needed. 

Machida quick but monotonous

The man hyped as the only fighter to defeat UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, Ryoto Machida, took on journeyman Vernon ‘Tiger’ White. Machida has wins over fighters like Franklin, Stephan Bonnar and BJ Penn, yet is virtually unknown to US fans. On the other hand, White has been the stepping stone in many successful fighters careers, including Jeremy Horn, Chuck Liddell, and even Frank Shamrock. 

Machida showed how he outstruck the heavy-handed Franklin by showing his quick hands and even quicker feet. Throughout the fight Machida dominated by landing a few shots then backing out, frustrating Vernon, who was unable to land any strikes to the Brazilian. Late in the third Vernon bullrushed in for a takedown, but Machida was able to sidestep and throw White to the mat, where he quickly gained sidemount. Although the fight was lacklustre, it was more than obvious Machida deserved the unanimous decision. 

Salaverry kicks into high gear

In middleweight action UFC veteran Ivan Salaverry took on Team Quest fighter Art Santore. Santore played right into Salaverry’s hand by chasing the Matt Hume-trained fighter around the ring. Salaverry picked his shots and picked them often, repeatedly landing punches and high kicks to Santore’s bearded face. Although Santore was able to take Ivan down in the second he elected to stand back up, not wanting to test his fate in Salaverry’s guard. Salaverry used this opportunity to land a high kick, followed by a crushing left hook that sent Santore tumbling to the mat. From there he was able to finish the fight with strikes from in the full guard until the ref saved Santore from more punishment. 

Mayhem dominates Sincaid

In light heavyweight action fan favourite Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller proved to be too much for Ultimate Fighter contestant and WEC light heavyweight champ Lodune ‘Vanilla Gorilla’ Sincaid. After watching Sincaid dominate UFC vet James ‘Sandman’ Irvin, I figured this match would be highly competitive, but I was sadly mistaken. Miller started his deconstruction of Sincaid by kneeing him several times to the midsection, dropping his opponent to the mat. From there Miller made short work of Sincaid, taking his back, softening him up with strikes and getting him to tap from a rear naked choke. 

Summary

Kickboxer and Huntington Beach native Rob McCullough took a decision victory over the durable Hawaiian Harris Sarmiento, avenging a decision loss from way back in January 2004. McCullough has won his last seven fights now, whereas Sarmiento has lost his last five. 

Marvin Eastman of Las Vegas drew with Chute Boxe USA representative Jorge Oliveira. The two kickboxers cancelled each other out, with neither man able to impose their game. In contrast, top European Martin Kampmann said yes to a last minute call that saw him take on Edwin Aguilar. Kampmann had been busy training at the Las Vegas Xyience training centre, and dispatched his opponent in typically clinical fashion with a first round stoppage via strikes.  

Full Results

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson def Matt Lindland via Split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bas Rutten def Ruben Villareal via TKO (Ref stoppage- low kick) 3:24 Rd1

Ricco Rodriguez def Ron Waterman via TKO (Doctors stoppage) 5:00 Rd1

Ryoto Machida def Vernon White via Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Ivan Salaverry def Art Santore via TKO (Ref stoppage- strikes) 4:18 Rd2

Jason Miller def Lodune Sincaid via Submission (Rear naked choke) 4:29 Rd1

Rob McCullough def Harris Sarmiento via Unanimous decision (30-27)

Marvin Eastman drew with Jorge Oliveira (30-27, 29-28, 29-29)

Martin Kampmann def Edwin.Aguilar via TKO (Ref stoppage- strikes) 2:43 Rd1