Fighters Only

Issue 012

April 2006

Colisee de Laval, Laval, Quebec, Canada

January 28^th, 2006

By Lisa Pancino

TKO, Canada’s premier mixed martial arts promotion, has been noticeably scaled-down as of late. The first change was in the size of the venue, shifting from their usual grand arena-type site to a smaller, more ‘intimate’ theatre arrangement. The latest TKO presentation also saw the shift in location from the lively city of Montreal, Quebec to the remote location of Laval, a city to the north of Montreal.

Although scaled-down in size and location, the level of production and athletic talent presented at TKO 24: Eruption, sees no other rivals in Canada. With several last minute changes to the fight card, TKO management worked diligently to re-assemble a number of matches in time for fight day. With replacements found (and with one fight essentially dismantled in order to produce another) TKO had a complete line-up ready for the fans.

Hominick vs. Fujimoto

In the main event of the night, TKO Super-Lightweight Champion Mark Hominick put his belt on the line against the relative unknown Japanese Pancrase fighter Naoji Fujimoto. With such a deep talent pool of Super-Lightweights in Canada, one must question why an opponent was brought in from half way around the world.

Although the two have nearly the same amount of fight experience on paper, Hominick demonstrated the composure and patience of a seasoned veteran, while Fujimoto showed the explosive excitement of a rookie.

Rushing across the ring at the bell, Fujimoto charged out of his corner and tried for a quick takedown on the tough stand-up fighter. Hominick, although predominantly known for his dangerous Muay Thai skills (he trains with arguably Canada’s highest touted Muay Thai coach, Shawn Tompkins), has been developing his ground game as of late with the help of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert, Jeff Curran. His refined takedown defence skills were apparent, as Hominick avoided not only the first takedown, but also a second follow-up attempt, forcing Fujimoto to fall to his back. More comfortable on his feet against the submission stylist, Hominick opted to back off and let Fujimoto get back up.

Desperate for the takedown, Fujimoto shot in again, but was caught by a hard right, timed to perfection by Hominick. Following with a flurry of strikes, Hominick pursued his opponent, but failed to connect with the majority of his attempts. Fujimoto responded, throwing several hooks to open up a small cut near Hominick’s right eye, but not delivering enough power to rock the solid chin of Hominick.

The second round played out as a mirror image of the first, until Fujimoto’s takedown attempt backfired on him, landing him on the mat with Hominick mounted on him. After turning to give up his back, he managed to escape, and locked on a threatening heel hook just as the round came to an end. In a final, fateful takedown attempt at the start of the third round, Fujimoto fell back to half-guard after unsuccessfully charging Hominick. Hominick mounted his opponent, and Fujimoto turned to expose his back again. Hominick did not allow him to escape for a second time, sinking in his hooks and locking on a rear naked choke. Hominick defeated Fujimoto at his own game, and caught the submission victory at 2:23 of Round 3.

Menjivar vs. Faber

Sharing the marquis that night was an international superfight between two of the world’s most exciting and highly ranked Super-Lightweight fighters, Ivan Menjivar and Urijah Faber. The two fighters, both well rounded and dangerous from any position, kept the pace fast and furious from the opening bell. Fighting for position and wrestling for a takedown, the two were almost equally matched in a battle of strength and skill.

Menjivar jumped to guard in an attempt to bring the Abu Dhabi veteran Faber to the ground but Faber, in a show of sheer strength, hoisted Menjivar up high in the air and slammed him back down to the mat. Unable to free himself from Menjivar’s guard, Faber began to deliver elbows from that position until the round came to a close.

Exploding out of his corner for the second round, Faber kept Menjivar on the defence with a fast flurry of hands. With his opponent backing up, Faber shot in for a takedown, but Menjivar quickly reacted and effectively defended. With the action moving at a furious pace, Menjivar tried for a spinning back fist, missing with it, but rotating full-circle managed to land a stiff right hand. As Menjivar found his way to Faber’s back, Faber moved to escape, and was still on the ground when Menjivar threw an illegal kick to his downed opponent’s head.

The kick opened a large cut over Faber’s eye, and the doctors were summoned to examine it. The bout was called to a stop due to the cut, but both fighters agreed that the cut was probably attained some time before the illegal kick. Due to the stoppage being the result of an illegal kick, however, Menjivar was disqualified for the prohibited manoeuvre, and Faber was declared the winner after 2:02 of Round 2.

Round-Up

Dave Parizeau vs. Chris Horodecki

Pairing up two of Canada’s newest and youngest up-and-comers, rival teams from Ontario and Quebec pitted their ‘next big thing’ against each other in this match up. Parizeau moved up in weight for this bout, moving from the 145lb division up to the 155lb category, while Horodecki is a natural 155’er. Horodecki was spared from submitting to a solid kimura attempt by Parizeau as the fight was restarted due to the ropes interfering. Horodecki took Parizeau back to the ground, where he was able to get to Parizeau’s back and ground and pound his way to a TKO victory at 2:48 of Round 1.

Rich Clementi vs. Fabio Holanda

In a bout that saw a lethargic and overweight (weighing in almost 8lbs over the 155lb limit) Holanda take on UFC veteran Rich ‘No Love’ Clementi, Holanda astonished many people by controlling most of the fight, despite his sluggish and fatigued performance. Scoring numerous takedowns and opening up a gaping cut on Clementi’s face, Holanda was winning the fight on the judges’ scorecards as the third round passed the half-way mark, but in a bizarre turn, Holanda seemed to lose all energy and turtled on the ground. With Clementi over him and with less than a minute left in the fight, the ref called a stop to the contest, giving Clementi the TKO win at 4:12 of Round 3.