This is a new version of an old review, thanks to 5 new fights falling into my lap that comprised the entire "dark" card. There's a little separation line between new and old stuff. One thing I did do? Change the ratings a little. Buentello/Overeem is now stunningly important and the tattoo artist guy isn't.
----------------------------------------
Joe Riggs was supposed to fight in the tourney, but backed out due to some sort of family tragedy, I believe, bringing Sean Salmon from being an alternate to being in the event itself. Poor, poor, Sean Salmon. The tournament fights are 10 minute bouts of two 5 minute rounds.
----------------------------------------
DARK MATCHES (reviewed 12/09):
1) DENNIS HALLMAN vs. JEREMIAH METCALF: Metcalf is a solid and loved journeyman. Hallman is a even more solid and more beloved journeyman.
Metcalf throws a superman punch and ends up getting in a guillotine attempt that goes down to the mat. Hallman sweeps him as Metcalf tries to stand and get away by grabbing the heel, they trade standing, Hallman ends up on his back, scissors a leg, and rolls Metcalf into a heel hook. Wow! So much fun. (2)
2) CHRIS DRUMM vs. EVAN ESGUERRA: This is at 145 and I have no idea who they are. 3x3 for rounds.
Its a back and forth grappling battle that ends, unfortunately, with Drumm getting hit in the back of the head and refusing to continue, thus winning a DQ. He has never fought since. (0)
3) ALEX CRISPIM vs. CLINT CORONEL: Coronel gave a good account of himself in a previous fight. Crispim isn't anything special.
Slow fight initally that never really speeds up and seems to show off Coronel's sparring partner mentality. Crispim is able to take him down with prolongued clinches, and Coronel is gassed out in the third as a result. Crispim wins and goes on to lose to John Gunderson. (0)
4) ANTHONY FIGUEROA vs. PETE SABALA: Figueroa I just watched on the Playboy Mansion show.
Exciting fight with Figueroa landing huge blows to Sabala, Sabala looking finished, but then randomly coming back, getting Figueroa down (huge slam in round 2), and so on in repetition. One of the best surprises in forever. I had it in favor of Figueroa and he got the split decision. Highly recommended. (1)
5) ERIC LAWSON vs. JOSH NEAL: Lawson still has a SF contract!
Lawson gets trapped in a triangle attempt very early in the round and ends up surviving it the entire 3 minutes. Neal probably could have forced a tap by transitioning to an armbar, but got greedy. Second round? Lawson drops Neal with a right hand right at the bell, takes his back and wins by rear naked choke. Wow. Really fun stuff too. (1)
1) SEAN SALMON vs. JORGE SANTIAGO: This entire event was like the "Jorge Santiago Emerges From Obscurity Show." Salmon had been famous for getting leveled by a Rashad Evans high kick. He does not fare much better here, as I'm sure you know.
Not a whole lot to discuss that's not been brought up before everywhere else. Salmon and Santiago sorta throw strikes at long range and Santiago throws a flying knee. Sometime soon after, Salmon is in seizures and urinating himself. (3)
2) FALANIKO VITALE vs. TREVOR PRANGLEY: There was once a time in recent history where Niko still mattered. He has a win over Yushin Okami, even. But when Robbie Lawler obliterated him on the first Icon Sports card back in 2005, his run as a top middleweight ended. It was the first of three consecutive stoppage losses and began a run of 4 losses in 5 fights. Prangley was in a totally different situation, however. Prangley left the UFC after a losses to Chael Sonnen (deserved) and Jeremy Horn (not deserved), and ended up getting his checks written by Bodog. Fighting chiefly for them, Prangley beat a bunch of very solid fighters like Yuki Kondo, Kyacey Uscola, and Andrei Semenov to get him a spot in this tournament as the favorite.
One of the strangest fights you'll ever see for a variety of reasons. The bout itself was exceedingly close, with Vitale doing a good job landing right hands when there was some distance, but Prangley really doing a solid job in the clinch. There was even crisp body punching in what was an almost all standup affair. Midway through round 2, Prangley accidentally poked Vitale in the eye, causing a scratched cornea. The fight went to the judges, and they ruled it a majority draw, forcing ref Marcus Rosales to pick the winner. I felt Prangley was winning overall, and with Vitale unable to continue to the next round, Prangley was given the nod in the fight. (3)
3) LUKE STEWART vs. BRYSON KAMAKA: Kamaka is a Hawaiian Tomato Can. Stewart is another fighter that Strikeforce is being very careful with so as to build up a fanbase regionally for him.
Knee to head from thai clinch, fight over in less than a minute. Stewart is going from that to Riggs. (0)
4) ANTHONY RUIZ vs. BOBBY SOUTHWORTH: Non-title bullshit as Southworth is a champion of some sort for them. I remember Southworth being IFC champ and having fought in PRIDE and thinking, "wow this guy should totally win TUF" and boy that did not happen. I think he's in his late 30s now too.
The first round plays out as Southworth attempts for takedowns and ground control and Ruiz beats him up standing. Ruiz is hardly any sort of world beater, nor does he look the role, but Southworth looks uncoordinated and flat here. He falls down throwing a kick, for instance. Still, Southworth does enough on my card by pushing around Ruiz and holding top control against a guy with no bottom game to win the first round.
Second round is very short. In the standup, Ruiz starts landing shots and Southworth's face is apparently made of tissue paper. He cuts over and under both eyes and is flailing from being hurt. Ruiz takes him down, but the referee prompts a time out to check the cuts. The doctor thinks they are way too bad and Ruiz wins. (1)
5) LEMONT DAVIS vs. BRIAN SCHWARTZ: This is set for three three minute rounds. Schwartz is a popular local kickboxer making his debut.
Nothing about this fight excites or really interests. Schwartz has a history in TKD and likes sidekicks, which in MMA can get you taken down if they don't land. And that's what happens. His sprawl is mediocre at best and Davis, while clearly not any sort of high end fighter or legendary kickboxer, is able to match a lot of what Schwartz does on his feet and mixes in actual ground technique as well. Davis wins a 29-28 decision and most of the fight is booed. (0)
6) ALISTAR OVEREEM vs. PAUL BUENTELLO: I have been very hard on Buentello over the years, and its deserved. The one UFC I've gone to he fought in the main event of and lasted a whopping 15 seconds. He's never show that he's any better than being KOTC Heavyweight champion, which is a title I hope he was handed again. Overeem looks so huge here. I have no idea how he made 205 in PRIDE but he may actually be the naturally bigger man of the two, given how much of Buentello's weight is straight flab.
A beatdown of epic proportions. Buentello's best moment is towards the end of the first when he escapes a cool guillotine attempt with a nice little spin out. Otherwise he is utterly controlled and beaten on like he's a heavyweight punching bag. Overeem sinks a knee about a foot into his sternum and Buentello falls down and taps out in the second round. Overeem was always the best free agent on the market as far as heavyweights go since PRIDE went under, but this put the wax stamp on that. (4)
7) TOURNAMENT FINAL - TREVOR PRANGLEY vs. JORGE SANTIAGO: Prangley comes into the fight a little beat up for that fight with Vitale. Santiago is fresh as a daisy.
Prangley moves slow in the ring, just like a guy who fought two hard rounds would. Santiago pounds him with low kicks and right hands. You gotta set up shots, and Prangley wasn't able to tell where the next punch was gonna come from, leaving his arms out to defend neither. Santiago took full advantage of it and launched a flying knee that landed in Prangley's chest. He just crumbled. Santiago wins and you have to wonder why the UFC isn't interested in a guy knocking people out with flying knees and shit. He's a hell of a lot better a fighter than he was when he fought Belcher or Leben. (3)
8) CUNG LE vs. SAM MORGAN: Sammy Morgan's career highlight reel is like, him getting fucked up.
Ho hum, Cung Le squash match. Le throws a lot of stuff that lands clean and doesn't hurt much, making him like a really flashy version of Guy Mezger and has some cool takedowns and takedown defense. Morgan gets KOed by a body kick and lots of people waive the free Vietnamese flags they were given at the door. I guess I'll give it a (2), since I have no idea what to consider Cung Le internationally at 185.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT(S): Overeem/Buentello. Glorious.
KO OF THE NIGHT(S): Santiago/Salmon. Your average card doesn't have this many impressive KOs by knee, but Santiago/Salmon was a KO of the year contender.
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT(S): Hallman/Metcalf
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 7.5 out of 10. With the added bouts, there's a new depth to this show. Fun fights amongst the nobodies and monster KOs. This would be a card of the year contender if it was a UFN. Interesting note: The D&R rating went down appreciably with the change in number of fights. Oh well. Another thing I need to work out.
D&R RATING: 30% (20/65)
No comments:
Post a Comment