Issue 050
June 2009
UFC Fight Night 18
Nashville, Tennessee, 1 April 2009
UFC matchmaker Joe Silva must have the best (yet at times the toughest) job in the world. When you’ve got over 200 fighters across the five UFC weight categories to play with, making matches should be fairly straight forward: A has beaten B, so deserves a shot at C. But while he’s there happily pushing the pieces around on his gigantic 3D chessboard, he’s got people bringing in fresh pieces to play with and adding some excitement to an already fascinating game.
Such was the case with Carlos Condit’s entry into the UFC. The former WEC welterweight champion found himself transplanted into the UFC when the Zuffa-owned sister promotion decided to phase out featuring fights above 155lb. As a legitimate and worthy champion in the WEC, Condit is under pressure to show that WEC fighters were equal to those in the UFC.
His first test was the always-dangerous Danish fighter Martin Kampmann, known as the ‘Hitman’ for his ice-cold demeanour in the Octagon. Kampmann, an undersized but capable middleweight who finally dropped to his natural fighting weight, is somewhere between a gatekeeper and a prospect. He was no easy welcome to the 170lb division, and has his eye on working up the rankings toward a title shot, so he wasn’t there to make things easy for Condit, either.
What transpired was 15 minutes of thrilling, non-stop action with Kampmann squeezing out a split decision win. Condit more than proved his worth as an addition to the UFC, directing the full force of his patented and energetic blend of Muay Thai and submission grappling at Kampmann, who fired back with equal gusto. To put it bluntly, at times they simply leathered the shit out of each other, yet did so with a combination of finesse and fury that more than lived up to it’s main event billing.
WEC 40: Torres vs Mizugaki
Chicago, 5 April 2009
You certainly couldn’t ever accuse Miguel Angel Torres of ducking challengers to his WEC bantamweight title – he fights who is put in front of him without complaint, often giving audiences a thrilling visual treat at the same time. But even though he is ranked the top fighter in the world at his weight, it could have been easy to surmise that no matter how many 135lb fighters the WEC had on their roster, he would still only be the king of a small castle.
To counter any doubts as to Torres’s worth as a champion, the WEC made it their mission to bring in the top talent from around the globe as challengers. When Brian Bowles (Torres’s original opponent) pulled out they made a call to their Japanese contacts and brought in a guy who many insiders saw as not just the best 135lb fighter from the Far East, but the rest of the world: Takeya Mizugaki.
This was by far Torres’s toughest test to date. The 28-year-old survived a tough first round, finding himself chased down and under pressure from the feisty Japanese fighter, but coolly turned things around from the second onwards. Though Mizugaki was relentless with his short, dangerous flurries (one of which opened a big cut on Torres’s brow in the third round), Torres utilised everything (including punches, kicks, knees and elbows) to outwork his foe.
DREAM 8
Nagoya, Japan, 5 April, 2009
It was a case of old school versus the new at the opening round of the DREAM welterweight Grand Prix. Submission ace Shinya Aoki asked to fight veteran Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai, the 45-fight veteran who he had lost to in 2005. Aoki said that Sakurai was too old and lacked the skills to compete against today’s fighters, but Mach put those claims to bed by bludgeoning Aoki into unconsciousness with knees and punches in only 27 seconds.
The welterweight tournament looks to be taking shape nicely, with American Jason High (who won in double-quick time with a nice rear naked choke), jiu-jitsu world champ Andre Galvao (who beat John Alessio with a slick armbar) and London-based Lithuanian kickboxer Marius Zaromskis joining Sakurai to complete the final four.
Bellator Fighting Championships
Hollywood, Florida, 3 April 2009
Bellator FC, a new name on the cable market, held their first show to mostly positive reviews. Bellator have their foot in the door of ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language subsidiary, with an eye to get a second season on ESPN 2. Sponsorship from the likes of Ford Motors and an experienced staff made impressions, but the hectic and unannounced schedule (12 shows in 12 weeks) causes a lack of details prior to shows, meaning many seats were left empty.
Bellator instead are looking for talent before hype. The most famous fighter on their roster would be Eddie Alvarez, who was put under pressure and knocked down by tough Ulsterman Greg Loughran. Alvarez isn’t usually the kind of fighter to shoot in on his opponents, but wobbled by a crunching left hook he fought hard to take Loughran down, submitting him with a guillotine choke.
As the shows consist of four tournaments, the real test for Bellator will be the second and third rounds of the brackets, as injuries among the winners mount. Jorge Masvidal and Toby Imada now face-off just three weeks later in the second round of the 155lb tourney. Alvarez is heavily favoured to win the entire lightweight tournament, but Masvidal and Imada both pose a threat. No details were available at this time on Bellator’s planned events, other than that the entire series wraps up in late June.
Ultimate Fight Night 18 full results
Aaron Simpson def Tim McKenzie via TKO (Punches) 1:40 Rd1
Rob Kimmons def Joe Vedepo via Technical Submission
(Guillotine Choke) 1:54 Rd1
Jorge Rivera def Nissen Osterneck via Split Decision
Tim Credeur def Nick Catone via Submission (Guillotine Choke) 3:45 Rd2
Brock Larson def Jesse Sanders via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2:01 Rd1
Ricardo Almeida def Matt Horwich via Unanimous Decision
Gleison Tibau def Jeremy Stephens via Unanimous Decision
Cole Miller def Junie Allen Browning via Submission
(Guillotine Choke) 1:58 Rd1
Tyson Griffin def Rafael dos Anjos via Unanimous.Decision
Ryan Bader def Carmelo Marrero via Unanimous Decision
Martin Kampmann def Carlos Condit via Split Decision
WEC 40 full results
Rafael Dias def Mike Budnik via Unanimous Decision
Akitoshi Tamura def Manny Tapia via Unanimous Decision
Rani Yahya def Eddie Wineland via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:07 Rd1
Wagnney Fabiano def Fredson Paixao via Unanimous Decision
Dominick Cruz def Ivan Lopez via Technical Decision 3:24 Rd3
Anthony Njokuani def Bart Palaszewski via TKO (Punches) 0:27 rd2
Rafael Assuncao def Jameel Massouh via Unanimous Decision
Ben Henderson def Shane Roller via TKO (Punches) 1:41.Rd1
Joseph Benavidez def Jeff Curran via Unanimous Decision
Miguel Torres def Takeya Mizugaki via Unanimous Decision
DREAM 8 full results
Katsuyori Shibata def Ikuhisa Minowa via Unanimous Decision
Andrews Nakahara def Shungo Oyama via TKO (Punches) 2:00 Rd1
Vitor Ribeiro def Katsuhiko Nagata via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) 7:58 Rd1
Riki Fukuda def Murilo Rua via Unanimous Decision
Jeff Monson def Sergei Kharitonov via Submission
(North-South Choke) 1:42 Rd1
Daiki Hata def Hideo Tokoro via Unanimous Decision
Andre Galvao def John Alessio via Submission (Armbar) 7:34 Rd1
Marius Zaromskis def Seichi Ikemoto via Unanimous.Decision
Jason High def Yuya Shirai via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 0:59 Rd1
Hayato Sakurai def Shinya Aoki via TKO (Knees and Punches) 0:27 Rd1
Bellator Fighting Championships full results
Gary Padilla def Daniel Sarafian via TKO (Punches) 3:04 Rd2
Moyses Gabin def Chris Decaro via Submission (Triangle Choke) 1:33 Rd1
James Brasco def Kevin Abrante via Submission (Armbar) 2:14 Rd1
Lorenzo Borgomeo def Daniel Morales via Submission
(Rear Naked Choke) 3:46 Rd3
Jonathan Brookins def Stephen Ledbetter via Submission
(Rear Naked Choke) 3:32 Rd1
Toby Imada def Alonzo Martinez via Submission
(Rear Naked Choke) 3:26 Rd1
Joe Soto.def Ben Greer via TKO (Punches) 3:40 Rd1
Estevan Payan def Luis Palomino via Split Decision
Yahir Reyes def Nick Gonzalez via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2:11 Rd1
Jorge Masvidal def Nick Agallar via TKO (Punches) 1:19 Rd1
Eddie Alvarez def Greg Loughran via Submission (Guillotine Choke) 2:44 Rd1
