MFC 29 (4/10/2011)

We've got the debut of MFC in a proper round cage and also their debut in Ontario as they ran a show at the Caesars Windsor Ballroom. We've got Terry Martin, Hermes Franca, Ryan Jimmo, Pete Spratt, and Marcus Davis. Yes indeedy, this is gonna be a quality second rate show. I hope. Or not.

1) Andreas Spang vs. Ali Mokdad: Mokdad is a local boy from Windsor, Spang is Swedish but training in Vegas. No idea who either is.

FIGHT: Mokdad Submission Rnd 1. Mokdad gets the clinch, the takedown, takes the back when Spang tries to stand, and we have a KOTC special. (0)

2) Demi Deeds vs. Pete Spratt: Spratt is a legend who has never been in a bad fight. Ever. It should be noted that Spratt is now 40 years old. Both men are coming in on two loss slides.

FIGHT: Spratt Submission Rnd 2. Tough fight to break down. In effect, you have a very dull first round in which Spratt establishes the distance as well as the ability to get up from Deeds' takedowns and/or defend the shot. Deeds comes straight in, offers no angles, and doesn't really set anything up well and gets raked with punches at the end of the round for his trouble, along with low kicks. The theme continues in round 2, Spratt hurts him badly with a right hand and has to go chasing Deeds around the cage until he falls down. Spratt continues the battering there and then moves to an armbar from side control to force the tap. This is at least the second time that I can remember Frank Trigg being all wowed that Spratt does have submissions. Too bad they only work against crappy fighters. Spratt notes that he's getting old in the post fight interview. (2)

3) Robert Washington vs. Hermes Franca: Washington was on MFC 28 which I neglected to do a review of (but will soon). Franca has been on a tail spin in recent years. Now 36 (officially), he's won only one fight in his last 5, with one of the bouts being a "should be a win" sort of result against Ferrid Kheder.

FIGHT: Franca TKO Rnd 2. Horrible first round where both guys stand at distance and feel each other out. Washington tries to move his body around and throw jabs and stuff to set up his punches, but doesn't really do a good job of it. Its pretty predictable that he throws one jab and then the right hand and when he's going to close the distance. Franca times him jumping in with a looping right and Washington drops and takes a few more shots before the fight is stopped. Nothing to get excited about for anyone involved. (2)

4) Marcus Davis vs. Curtis DeMarce: Davis has fallen so, so far. From welterweight top 15 fighter in the UFC to a guy scrapping with generic lightweights on small casino shows in the course of about 36 months.

FIGHT: Davis Split Decision (2)

DeMarce: Not going to do a lot of breaking down on him because, hey, does he really matter? Some attempts at takedowns, not very good standing compared to Davis (as expected), but more often than not taken down himself or would lose position. He does damage Davis with what is said to be an elbow on the mat from the bottom, but honestly I thought it was a butt. Whatever. No biggie. You want to hear about Davis, right?

Davis: Davis fought this bout like a man trying to reinvent himself for the long run. Problem #1: That should have happened 5-6 years ago when he was in his physical prime. Problem #2: He's not that effective in doing it here against a nobody. Davis fights rounds 1 and the first half of roun 2 as a top control grappler who lies in half guard or guard and lands shots. That is astonishing to see from a guy who used to chase $50K/60K bonuses instead of wins like they were 6 figure paydays. In round 1, he clearly succeeds. In round 2, the cut that forms early on leads to a standup, and as a result of that, DeMarce comes forward and gets his own takedown. This is part of the problem of being a top control grappler - if you aren't the better wrestler, it doesn't really work as a long term plan. Yes, Davis sorta helps the matter by going for a guillotine, and yes, Davis then proceeds to shrimp and turn over and take top control on DeMarce. But this happens again and again as Davis continues to go for low kicks and knees and other strikes that are stupid to throw against a guy who is trying to wrestle you down. Especially when your hands are a million times better than the other guy's and landing at will.

My takeaways from the fight regarding Davis are this: His legs are shot. You can see it in his lack of real bounce in the ring. It looks like they're not really under him anymore and that everything he does has fragility. If you are a striker primarily and your legs are shot, your career is kaput-ski. Obviously Davis has tried to then transition to a different game, but its not really his game. And he did it far, far too late. He's not getting back to the big show and if he does, its on the basis of a Phil Baroni because he's broke and its the UFC's way of giving alms to the poor old fighters that broke down fighting for them to give them not much money in an attempt to be George Foremans and Randy Coutures.

5) Ryan Jimmo vs. Zak Cummings: Cummings is a balding grappler who is fighting above his best weight against a guy who is much, much bigger than him. Cummings also is a lousy striker, which makes the task even more difficult. Meanwhile, the MFC and HDNet continue to prop up Jimmo, one of the most boring fighters in the game. They note his 14 wins in a row coming in and compare it to guys like Jake Shields and Anderson Silva, who have beaten live bodies. 5 rounder for the MFC LHW title.

FIGHT: Jimmo Unanimous Decision. Impossible to reasonably breakdown on the basis of the fighters. (2)

Cummings comes forward with chopping right hand leads and shots and Jimmo defends them by going backwards and leaning on the cage. Sometimes Jimmo throws body kicks or low kicks. He throws about 3 right hands the whole fight. Both men are bleeding - Jimmo from a headbutt that occurs inside the first 30 seconds, Cummings from a punch to the face. Jimmo wins by inflicting actual damage on his opponent, particularly when he reverses position and ends up on top in the 3rd and 4th round landing blows and seeking kimuras.

This gets to a bigger point to make here and its about Jimmo. Boxing fans know who Jameel McCline is. He was a converted football player turned heavyweight boxer who nearly won the IBF heavyweight title in a fight against best friend Chris Byrd and came to prominence with an early KO of Michael Grant way, way back (2002? 2003?). Anyhow, I remember a poster on rec.sport.boxing saying that he hated Grant because in spite of being a huge beast of a man and being so athletic, he fought like a pussy. He never sat on his punches, leading to an abnormally low KO rate for a man his size. Here was a giant of a man who slap boxed guys he should have walked through.

Jimmo has similarities. He is this huge hulking dude who still has trouble being controlled by wrestlers much smaller than him, or at least in terms of them nullifying his offense. That's problematic. More problematic is his style. Again, huge dude, has power, what does he do? He sits on the outside and throws leg kicks. He still can't time dudes coming in to land shots, his lateral movement still isn't very good, and when dudes shoot in, he can't force them down to the mat himself and beat the shit out of them. I mean, if you can control how the grappling exchanges go, you win fights. Instead, he is a victim of wall and stall time and time again. And he sucks at avoiding punches. He leaves his chin out. 15 wins in a row is great, but man, who does he beat at 205 in the UFC? I'm clueless. I hate to say it, but give him Eliot Marshall in his next MFC fight and go from there.

6) Douglas Lima vs. Terry Martin: YOUR MAIN EVENT. MFC welterweight title is on the line.

FIGHT: Lima TKO Rnd 1. I'm shocked immediately by the size differential. Lima is two weight classes larger than Martin, who himself was actually a light heavyweight at one time. I know at that point that I had made the oh-so-wrong pick when predicting this fight. Lima catches Martin coming forward with a right hand, he drops to a knee, takes a couple more punches, and its waived off. Martin is washed up to the max. He looks like he needs to seriously consider 155 or retiring. (2)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Davis/Demarce

KO OF THE NIGHT: Lima/Martin

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Spratt/Deeds

OVERALL FOR THE SHOW: 5 out of 10. There's some terrifically bad, some kinda interesting, some utterly lousy and soul crushing. This is minor league MMA defined; lots of ex UFC contenders who got somewhere short of the top fighting in a casino ballroom for scraps against no-names. None of them come out looking much better for it.

D&R Rating: 33% (10/30)

MFC 27 (11/12/2010)

And we've got another HDNet based MMA show from MFC, my least favorite promotion in like, the whole world. The Voice and Frank Trigg are announcing. Jason Gregor is helping out and doing stuff in the back. But hey - Pete Spratt fight!

1) Bill Fraser vs. Dhiego Lima: Welterweight fight with Lima being in shape and Fraser sorta being in shape. Lima's brother is in the main event.

FIGHT: Lima TKO Rnd 2. Really slowly fought bout with Fraser actually having some success in the clinch and top control. Lima eventually gets some separation, drops the hands with a right to the body, and then comes back up top with a one two and Fraser's hands can't come back up soon enough. Down and out. (0)

2) Ryan Healy vs. Kajan Johnson: Why is this fight made? I have no idea. The other Healy vs. some guy.

FIGHT: Johnson Unanimous Decision. Ugly "exciting fight". (0)

Johnson: Fights fairly well in the first two, getting on top a couple times and nearly stopping Healy with a headkick. But Johnson can't finish the fight then and we end up with a slow end of the second and third. He wins all three rounds pretty cleanly - was never in real trouble. Even when he was on his back, he seemed in control of the fight.

Healy: Hands were down a lot, wrestling wasn't that good (in spite of being from Team Quest), had guts but lost across the board with a couple different 10-8 rounds on one card.

3) Rodney Wallace vs. David Heath: Oh lawd. Not this. Expecting lay and pray hell.

FIGHT: Wallace Unanimous Decision. Not as bad as expected. Still referred to at the conclusion as "uninspired". (1)

Wallace: Wallace usually shoots for the single or double and then lays on guys to win. Here Heath actually did some defending and prevented that being the whole fight. Wallace does show the ability to roll punches and also throw a nice double jab, and the highlight of the fight is a bizarre two legged leaping kick he throws near the end of the first. Not at all effective but interesting. As far as being in trouble, Wallace goes for a throw in the first round and ends up taking Heath on top of him and getting cut. He survives. Wallace does get back control briefly in the third round and has a pair of omaplata attempts that went nowhere.

Heath: Did so little. Terrified of the takedown to the point where he never got off. Then he couldn't stop that either.

4) Razak Al-Hassan vs. Dwayne Lewis: Lewis is from Fort McMurray which is like the worst wasteland in the universe. Al-Hassan had his arm get destroyed on that UFC Fight For the Troops show.

FIGHT: Lewis Split Decision (1)

Al-Hassan: Grabs Lewis, pushes him to the corner, and they stay there most of the fight. Sometimes Al-Hassan gets on top in the first and third. He doesn't do much there. He nearly gets submitted with an omaplata. An omaplata from Dwayne Lewis. Announcers and I both think he got robbed.

Lewis: Better grappler than I thought, actually. Still hits so hard. But he's not a good wrestler to be honest and he's too small against the good 205lb fighters to not get put in the corner and have weight put on him.

5) Pete Spratt vs. Ryan Ford: A rematch of a fight that previously ended with Ford choking out Spratt. Spratt first nearly got KOed with illegal shots after the bell in the first, but since the ref didn't actually separate them or anything, they counted. Yeah.

FIGHT: Ford Submission Rnd 2. In many ways a repeat of the prior fight. Spratt wins the first going away with top control and superior striking. Ford and Spratt clinch and Spratt's cup is probably broken with a knee. Of course, it was accidental, so Spratt loses by TKO on the low blow if he doesn't continue. When he does, he's basically immobile and begging to be taken down. Ford clinches, pushes to the corner, gets the takedown, and then runs shit until getting a RNC. (1)

6) Douglas Lima vs. Jesse Juarez: TITLE FIGHT~ at welter. Can these guys beat John Alessio? LOL NO.

FIGHT: Lima Submission Rnd 3. Not gonna do a lot on this but basically Juarez, a wrestler from the Body Shop, gets takedowns and Lima can't stop them. Easily wins round 1 and 2. He's winning Round 3 but Lima is able to push away a little, get some separation, and then locks in a triangle. He transitions to an armbar and forces the tap. Not an exciting fight by any stretch of the imagination. (1)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Johnson/Healy

KO OF THE NIGHT: Fraser/Lima

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Lima/Juarez

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Even live, MFC isn't any good. Boring ass fights most of the night except for some scrubs and Ford/Spratt II.

D&R Rating: 13% (4/30)

MFC 26 (9/10/2010)

This was the 90 minute edited down version that HDNet shows for replays. That means, of course, that there are probably fewer bad fights shown, but with MFC, you can never tell. This is an MMA show headlined by Antonio McKee after all. Its Schiavello on PBP and Trigg on color.

1) Curtis Demarce vs. Tyson Steele: One of these dudes has a friggin' porn name. Both are Canadian fighters from rural provinces.

FIGHT: Demarce Submission Rnd 2. (1) because Demarce doesn't have a bad record, and this is somewhere he could feasibly be built.

Steele: Steele was clearly looking like the better man on the mat - his ability to control Demarce wasn't impressive (Trigg made not of this, in fact), but he was easily able to pass guard on numerous occasions. His standup was rather rigid, he stood straight up, and basically had his chin straight up in the air. In spite of those flaws and getting dropped in Round 1 with a right hand, he probably won the round off his ground work. He got caught though in round 2.

Demarce: I'm not sure what ragingly wonderful thing I can say here about him at first - the striking is not so good. Lots of holding out the lead hand with the right hand drawn back to counter type stuff. And his wrestling isn't that wonderful either. But he can punch a little judging by the putting down of Steele on one shot, and he can also throw his legs around for submissions. He caught Steele trying to pass guard late in the second and was able to put him in a triangle. It was actually pretty slick. He also seems pretty good at getting off the mat, though I'm not sure how much of that is him and how much of that was Steele being mediocre at control.

2) Solomon Hutcherson vs. David Heath: Washout-tastic middleweight contest.

FIGHT: Heath KO Rnd 2 Some notes here - There's a rule in Edmonton or the MFC or both where there's a blood time out if someone is cut. Why? No idea. Hate it. Also, as far as fights go, this is the classic question of effective strikes fight. Hutcherson throws 3 times as many, but its him that is busted up after one round. (2)

Hutcherson: Hutcherson is a good grappler and comes to dirty box right away, low blowing Heath. When the fight is on the mat following wide double left hooks that Hutcherson lands, Heath tries for a submission that Hutcherson easily shrugs off. He throws a lot of small pitty pat shots for points but Heath gets busts Hutcherson's nose from the bottom. In the second, Hutcherson establishes that his standup hasn't gotten any better and ends up suffering the indignity of a knockout.

Heath: Kinda mediocre first round for him as he really doesn't dominate anywhere and gets clipped standing. He lands the biggest strike of the fight from his back to Hutcherson's nose, and it really turns around the fight in the second. Hutcherson seems seriously labored about halfway through that round, which is almost entirely standup action, and Heath begins to start mixing up the strikes. He lands a spinning back fist, a jab squarely on the face and fakes out Hutcherson with a well done feint-superman punch that knocks him out. However, Trigg again makes good comments on the contest - he notes that both men are totally straight up with hands down, and that any head movement combined with a jab/cross to the liver would probably end the fight instantaneously. These guys just aren't at the level to make those sorts of defensive moves or see holes like that.

3) Dwayne Lewis vs. Mike Nickels: This is a fight? Amazing. I'm strangely attracted to this useless 205lb contest. (2)

FIGHT: Lewis KO Rnd 1. Not a lot to say about the fight. Nickels fights ridiculously badly - Jonathan Wiezorek level strikes. Lewis catches him windmilling with uppercuts as he holds the head down early and does it again about 45 seconds later. Terrible stop by the ref, as the second uppercut forces Nickels down and he turtles up, only to absorb more shots as the ref just stares on.

4) Jesse Taylor vs. Tom Watson: Oh man, the trimmed version means no KONG entrance. Again - this is a fight? I mean I can't believe they are spending money on Tom Watson but whatever. This again is a fascinating and bizarre contest. Why have Kong in a fight where he will probably have to do stuff off his back? Can he?

FIGHT: Taylor Unanimous Decision. I would sit here and break down both men, but it isn't that tough. Its incredibly easy, actually. Watson can't stop the takedown or Taylor's guard pass. Taylor takes him down over and over and even gets the back numerous times, nearly finishing the fight. Kong's few moments in this fight actually come when he's able to shake Taylor off his back for a few moments and get on top. Those moments never last long. (3)

At this point Guy Mezger joins the commentary booth, apparently because Antonio McKee talked trash about him, stating that he would pay Guy Mezger $5000 if he could stop his takedown. Guy's response? "I don't know where he is gonna find that money. I heard he borrowed gas money to get here." Oh man.

5) Luciano Azevedo vs. Antonio McKee: McKee supposedly got a UFC contract out of this. Go figure.

FIGHT: McKee TKO Rnd 1. McKee gets the takedown with a big slam, then does his usual laying and one shot at a time thing. However, McKee lands a brutal elbow about 3 minutes in that slices Azevedo's forehead wide open with probably a 20 stitch cut. Fight is paused and then stopped due to the cut. (3)

6) Ryan Ford vs. Douglas Lima: Who is Lima? Apparently his best or most recognizable win to me is Eric Davila. Ryan Ford is the Canuck Jamie Jara. Like most things Canadian, he is not as good as the original.

FIGHT: Lima Submission Rnd 2. (2)

Lima: Seems pretty solid as far as submission technique goes. I can't say anything about him as a striker from this fight. Is he a bigger Luis Azevedo? Maybe. I can't tell.

Ford: Play to your strengths. This is a statement used in every sport. In the first round, Ford was nearly submitted early on and was basically nullified when he was in top position from doing anything. In the second, he shoots for a takedown after setting it up with a one-two, tries to turn around after getting stuffed, and then gives up the back. Lima grabs an armbar, making this the second of Ford's three losses by that. Boneheaded, poor game planning.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Demarce/Steele

KO OF THE NIGHT: Lewis/Nickles

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Demarce/Steele

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 5.5 out of 10. This is a lot better than the average MFC show has been, in part because the fights end before they turn into boring shit fests. Still, you can see that the terrible matchmaking hasn't been fixed. McKee fighting a guy who can't hope to stop the takedown? Check. Ryan Ford promoted to the top of the card? Check. Jesse Taylor fighting someone who can't stop his shot? Check. I mean, its like Pavelich has no idea that guys who can wrestle will. Does someone actually sit there and look at making fights people would want to see? Or is he just taking a list of guys, cutting up names, putting them in a hat, pulling them out, and making sure it comes out under what the casino site fee is?

D&R Rating: 43% (13/30)

Maximum Fighting Championship 25: 5/7/10

From the Northlands Expo Center in Edmonton. This is the hour and a half edit of the show from HDNet. Mezger and Schiavello announce.

1) Richie Hightower vs. Gavin Neal: Neal is the favorite here against the TUF veteran from a failure of a season.

FIGHT: Neal Submission Rnd 1. (1)

Neal: Really the only guy to discuss here - he drops Hightower with the first punch he really lands, takes his back, and eventually chokes him out.

2) Luigi Fioravanti vs. Pete Spratt: Spratt is a great vet to watch, but may be getting close to the end. He's also looking at the end of his career, and made to order for Luigi.

FIGHT: Spratt TKO Rnd 3 (2)

Spratt: Mezger makes an interesting note during the second round - Spratt was once a guy who could throw more than one thing at a time. Now he's gone to one technique at a time. The transitions and combinations aren't there. You can call it "sharpshooting" if you like, as he does. I call it "getting old". Spratt is visibly old. And yet, old as he might be, Spratt still has killer instinct and is still live every time he gets in. How many 20-17 guys can you think of that have that sort of attitude? His scrambles keep him in the fight and ultimately he drops Fioranvanti coming in and pounds him out.

Fioranvanti: Lifeless performance - his takedowns are solid in the early part of round 2, but he can't keep Spratt down. His standup can't compete with Spratt (as few can), and that's a big problem with a kickboxer as skilled as Spratt.

3) Emanuel Newton vs. Dwayne Lewis: Lewis I last saw laying out Marvin Eastman. Newton was on TUF sorta and is a solid journeyman type.

FIGHT: Newton Unanimous Decision (2)

Newton: Newton starts the fight by taking down Lewis and then nearly losing by omaplata. No one loses by omaplata, illustrating both the absurdity of Lewis going for it and also by nearly losing by it for Newton. Newton ended up in this position in the MFC as a fighter because his takedowns weren't enough to beat decent sized middleweights with wrestling cred, and his cardio was suspect past round 2. In that sense, Lewis wasn't going to teach us much on paper. He wasn't a top wrestler, wasn't a big 205lber, and really occupied the space of a gatekeeper more than a serious contender. Newton dealt with him as one might expect a top 50 light heavyweight to do against a top 100 fighter. No great smashing, just a basic display of takedowns and top control. The weaknesses of Newton's size and striking ability were also on display, as Lewis was able to power his way up at times and land some wild punches.

Lewis: Most damaging technique in round 2? An upkick. When standing, he rarely engaged fearing the double.

4) Wilson Gouveia vs. Ryan Jimmo: Gouveia is up to 205 to fight Jimmo, who has continued to build himself an ever enlarging record against third rate opposition in less than thrilling performances.

FIGHT: Jimmo Unanimous Decision (3)

Gouveia: Listless. Soft in the middle. When taken down, Gouveia had nothing offensive to pull. Heck, he had little to defensively to point at either. He actually looks to be about the same size naturally as Jimmo - perhaps they can match up Leites with Jimmo in the future?

Jimmo: throws a lot of kicks and not many jabs to set them up, so they only rarely land with any sort of force. Jimmo is still a lousy finisher - he has Gouveia hurt badly for about the final 2 minutes of the second round and can't do anything with him. I mean, nothing. Gouveia even goes to the wrong corner after the round and sits. And he hurts him again in round 3...and again doesn't follow up. Jimmo is clearly not ready for the big time.

5) Jesse Taylor vs. Thales Leites: Taylor was among the dumbest men in TUF history. Leites found himself outside the UFC after a shocking loss to a journeyman.

FIGHT: Leites Submission Rnd 1. (4)

Taylor: Taylor is a wrestler at heart. If you are a better wrestler than him, you will beat him. Jay Hieron did. If you are a submission expert, you will beat him. Leites is and does. Taylor's skin is apparently paper thin, as he suffers a bad cut while shooting a double. How? Not sure, but he does. Taylor breaks out of a pair of submission attempts inside the guard of Leites to get triangled.

Leites: Is his standup improved? Are his takedowns? Who knows.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Spratt/Fiorivanti

KO OF THE NIGHT: Spratt/Fiorivanti

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Leites/Taylor

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Just about every fight was one sided, some just ending sooner than others. Spratt's win was exciting as it was unforeseen.

D&R Rating: 40% (12/30)

Maximum Fighting Championship 23: 12/4/09

Another MFC show is now long in the books. With each set of fighter releases by the UFC, they seem to get stronger and stronger, picking up more and more solid but unspectacular fighters to face off against one another. That is obviously present in the matchmaking here: Jason McDonald/Solomon Hutcherson is the co-main, and the main is a bout between two BJJ masters in Thales Leites and Dean Lister.

1) JOE CHRISTOPHER vs. JESSE JUAREZ: Some dudes who are welterweights.

Christopher pulls guard early in this fight and instantly, one must wonder what he even thinks his chances are. Juarez is in a great deal of trouble during a toehold attempt that some terrible refereeing allows him to escape from by basically going through the ropes. Ah, Pancrase style breaks. Except that's not actually legal. From then on, Christopher has issues. He continues to push for leglocks and takes strikes to the face, then is pushed into the corner and is hit with more. Juarez ends the round riding Christopher's back, having cut him with an elbow. Round two is more of the Christopher-trying-to-fight-on-the-ground show, and it ends about as well. Matter of fact, so is round 3. Juarez dominates this fight by defending Christopher's attempts to take dominant positions, riding the guy most of the fight, and hitting him a lot. Unanimous decision for the journeyman Juarez. (0)

2) DWAYNE LEWIS vs. MARVIN EASTMAN: Eastman is starting to get real old now. Lewis is some doofy white guy.

Eastman takes down Lewis early and is in the full guard. Ref moves this to center, and Eastman just lays there throwing some shots. Ref eventually stands these guys up, and to no one's surprise, they clinch. What is surprising is what happens next; they push each other around a little bit, and then Lewis lands a few uppercuts in the clinch. Eastman goes down and Lewis keeps trying to hit him while the referee tries to stop him. Eastman's chin is all shot to pieces. Lewis wants to fight Rob Macdonald, by the way. (1)

3) ART SANTORE vs. BRYAN BAKER: Baker is a WEC vet. Santore is a vet of everything. I mean everything.

I'm not gonna bother doing play by play because, frankly, no one is going to read it for this. Lots of wild standup throughout the fight; Baker is dropped in the first round with a left hook, later throws down Santore after catching a kick and cuts him badly with strikes on the ground. Santore goes for submissions and catches shots to the head. The second nearly doesn't happen due to the cut, but Santore continues to soldier forward and there's tons of back and forth standing. Santore seems to land more early on in the second but is only able to throw arm punches; as the round continues, he ends up getting plastered with punches and drops his mouthpiece. The third starts wild with swinging but eventually falls into a routine of Baker landing more effective blows (even sidekicks) as Santore is gassed but full of heart. Baker wins a wide decision in an entertaining fight. (2)

4) EMANUEL NEWTON vs. RYAN JIMMO: Jimmo lost on TUF a long time ago, Newton never got that far. Here they fight.

Tenative standup to start the fight; Newton jumps in with a combo and clinches, eventually getting a takedown. Jimmo gets back up. Newton again with a trip, and Jimmo is up again. They clinch till the bell. Next round; Clinch all round long. Third round: Clinch, clinch, Jimmo lands a high kick (sorta), Newton clinches again. They do trade a little more, and then they clinch again. Ugly, slow, boring fight that Jimmo wins on account of him throwing some dinky slaps in the clinch. (2)

Before the next fight, highlights are shown of the evening's earlier attractions, including one fight cancelled after someone hurt themselves getting in the ring. Hilarious.

5) JASON MACDONALD vs. SOLOMON HUTCHERSON: Middleweight bout that will, supposedly, give some clarity to MFC's less than thrilling scene at 185.

Macdonald gets a takedown and moves to full mount. This looks ugly. He works a triangle from top control and Hutcherson rolls and then slams his way out. When back on the feet its a clinch that MacDonald singles his way out of, straight to top control. Hutcherson sweeps to half guard, but himself ends up reversed, gives up his back, then is nearly armbarred as the round ends. Hutcherson lands a hard shot that drops Macdonald early in the second and lands some GnP as he tries to sweep to side control. Macdonald gets and elevator sweep, takes Hutcherson's back, and hangs in with a body triangle for awhile before transitioning to the mount/side control and a arm and head triangle choke that doesn't close the show when the bell rings.

After two rounds of escapes from Hutcherson, Hutcherson again drops Macdonald in the third and follows him down...straight into giving his back. Hutcherson turns into full mount instead, bucks out, and is on top. No action occurs, a ref standup happens, and Hutcherson's big chance standing is present again. Macdonald hurts him with a punch, shoots, Hutcherson defends, ends up on top, and Macdonald works rubber guard as the round ends. Clearly, this is Macdonald's fight. Except it ends as a draw. What? (2)

6) DEAN LISTER vs. THALES LEITES: Two former UFC stalwarts against one another after being cut from the promotion. Excitement? A BJJ war? No. Of course not.

Lister shoots the single, pulls guard, and Leites passes to side control, then stands up. Leites then decides to make this a standup fight, with Lister being totally useless standing and getting hit with low kicks. WAIT, DOOT DOOT DOOT NEWSFLASH: They added up the cards wrong and MacDonald won. Oh, isn't that nice. This fight? Oh, well, Lister pulls guard a lot and does nothing when he's on his back. When its standing, Leites lands low kicks. Lister gets cut by an elbow in the third. Terrible fight. Leites wins a UD. (4)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Santore/Baker

KO OF THE NIGHT: Eastman/Lewis

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: N/A

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3.5 out of 10. So sick of MFC shows; Never live up to whatever low hope you have for them.

D&R Rating: 36%

Maximum Fighting Championship 21: 5/15/09

I know, this is late. There's a lot of late coming because I've been writing in my notebooks and not posting. But that will CHANGE, DOGG. Way more reviews to follow.

Like all MFC events, this is somewhere in Canada and features lots of TUF rejects and shit.

1) ARON LOFTON vs. MARVIN EASTMAN: This is at 185. Aron Lofton comes from Team Triton, home to some of the most hapless fighters I've ever seen.

Lofton's best blow; a low blow at the start. He does take down Eastman later in the bout but Eastman powers him over onto his back. Lofton seems like a decent wrestler when he's able to get himself up, but Eastman is a better wrestler and pushes him around. He slams Lofton near the end of the first round. Lofton jumps in with strikes and gets taken down at the start of the second, and its not much longer until elbows from inside the guard force the stoppage. Eastman wins and will undoubtedly return. (1)

2) RYAN JIMMO vs. MYCHAL CLARK: Jimmo lost to Antwain Britt in TUF prelims, who then got injured and left and then ended up losing to some nobody in DC or something. He's rebounded nicely though with 3 wins leading into this though, including one over Rick Roufus. Yes. That Rick Roufus (as if there were others!). Clark is a jobber.

Jimmo fights hella vertical: No wonder the UFC hasn't brought him back. Standup is boring too, since Clark is terrified. His best moments of the fight are a takedown which he is promptly swept from and Jimmo is into mount dropping bombs until the bell sounds. Round 2 features Clark giving up his neck for a guillotine, being taken down with a trip, getting his takedown attempts stuffed or reversed, and so on. Third round is more of the same, except that Clark goes for desperation submission attempts like the Saku Kimura and whatnot. Jimmo wins a UD and does the robot and I'm left thinking that there's a reason the UFC never bothered to call him back. (1)

3) JOHN ALESSIO vs. ANDREW BUCKLAND: Alessio is a somebody and Buckland is 8-3 against nondescript competition.

Buckland kicks a little. Alessio clinches, throws a knee to the head, and then goes for a guillotine. Buckland isn't remotely prepared for the mat with a guy like Alessio, and he ends up getting mounted, punched, and then RNCed. (1)

4) TRAVIS GALBRAITH vs. DAVID HEATH: Maybe the most pointless "major" 205 lb fight ever in any promotion.

Heath throws arm punches for combos. Does anyone wonder why he isn't in the UFC? In spite of this, the experienced Galbraith does not much other than throw some low kicks. Heath gets hit with the jab a bit but still causes Galbraith to swell up a little in spite of landing practically nothing. Heath's round in my book. Entering the second, its more of the same. Galbraith shows some flashy kicks he learned in Kempo classes that do nothing. Heath lands a combination and some jabs and they're the only effective strikes. Another round for Heath.

The final round arrives, and really it is close enough for anyone to take. They proceed to have a crap round with an eye poke and a low blow. Heath wins the round with his subpar standup and cleans up the fight in my mind. Naturally, Galbraith wins a UD. Huh? (1)

5) MIKE COOK vs. BOBBY LASHLEY: Cook comes out with a wrestling mask. You know the rest of this story.

Cook shoots on a amateur wrestler! He gets choked out! He makes sure to sell it by kicking his legs! (2)

6) TREVOR PRANGLEY vs. EMANUEL NEWTON: Newton was a guy who got a high ranking by some because he was a 205lb fighter outside the UFC. Prangley is a 185lb journeyman. WHAT WILL HAPPEN. Oh, Prangley wins.

Okay, so that's a but unfair to spoil it like that. But Newton wasn't conditioned for 5 hard rounds and it shows. Newton gets more takedowns and has better dirty boxing in the first, but from then on, its all Prangley. Prangley runs into trouble twice: he lands a low blow in the 3rd chat causes a 10-8 round, and Netwon does hurt Prangley with a punch in the 4th. Aside from that, Prangley is able to get himself out from under Newton when taken down and has superior kicks and punches to Newton's largely arm punch reliant defense. Prangley lands a high kick at the end that hurts Newton and breaks his foot simultaneously; a lucky break (oh the puns!). Prangley is your MFC light heavyweight champion. Will he ever defend? Does anyone give a fuck? (3)

KO OF THE NIGHT: Lofton/Eastman (not really a choice)

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Buckland/Alessio (ditto)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Prangley/Newton

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 5 out of 10. This is a largely forgettable event featuring what looks to be a thrown fight as its most notable contribution to MMA. Prangley winning a world title of some sort might interest someone, but 205 ain't his best weight and honestly Newton ain't all that. To be fair, it was more competitive than not even when Prangley was racking up rounds

D&R Rating: 30% (9/30)