NAAFS: Cage Fighting Episode ??? (8/29/09)

Another episode of NAAFS. Kalikas and Hindman are still your crew announcing the fights. This is an outdoor event.

1) Jay Wadsworth vs. Eric Noel : Amateur lightweight bout. Wadsworth is much taller. Eric was a D2 wrestler.

FIGHT: Noel Submission Rnd 2. Good performance by Noel. RNC. (0)

Noel: Obviously a wrestler at heart, but solidly capable of defending submissions (getting out of an omaplata attempt by spinning the right way) and submitting men himself (taking Wadsworth's back and applying the choke). Nothing really learned about standup. His record of 7-5 as an amateur doesn't inspire.

Wadsworth: Sorta active off his back.

2) Huey Contreras vs. Reggie Parks: Welterweight amateur bout. Contreras is billed as 5-0.

FIGHT: Parks TKO 1. Nothing to really say about this fight. Contreras is supposedly the standup specialist, but the Jason Dent trained Parks lands a right hand as Contreras walks into punching range and its all over. (0)

3) Nick Sorg vs. Frank Carabello: Two middling pros for a lightweight title.

FIGHT: Carabello Submission Rnd 2. Okayish fight featuring lots of grappling that isn't all that exciting. Frank ends up landing some tough shots in the second round, and Sorg shoots to try and slow the fight down. Carabello locks him into an armbar after several submission attempts earlier failed, and he gets the tap. (0)

Carabello: Has a decently active guard and is willing to swing. This makes him like so many other guys though.

Sorg: Decent wrestling, nonfactor standing.

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2 out of 10. Some carnage that keeps it from being a total basement dweller of a show, but largely background noise when I was watching.

Action Fight League: Rock-N-Rumble 2 (3/5/2010)

Most confusing promotion in history. Jay Adams, Din Thomas, and Jennifer Boronico are announcing. This event is known for a post fight riot, so you know it is good.

1) Jessica Aguilar vs. Valerie Coolbaugh: 120lb catchweight. Aguilar is a highly ranked women's MMA fighter at this weight, but that doesn't mean much. Her opponent is 4-4 and 35.

FIGHT: Aguilar Submission Rnd 2. Much more competitive than expected. Coolbaugh is game and has solid submission defense. She fends off more than one RNC and a head and arm choke to land solid punches standing. In the end, she taps to a triangle choke. (2)

Aguilar: Really short, though maybe not for this weight specifically. Excellent grappling on the mat. Oh, she's wearing Aoki pants.

Coolbaugh: Throws straight punches, defends submissions fairly well, but more than anything is just tough.

2) Joe Ray vs. Yoandi Inchaustegui: Middleweight bout. Inchaustegui is listed as being Cuban.

FIGHT: Ray TKO/Submission from Strikes Rnd 2. One sided contest. Inchaustegui didn't do anything of value and was banged out from mount when he tapped. (0)

Ray: Not terrible at grappling I suppose. Against a guy with such limited talent, its tough to tell.

Inchaustegui: Brought Ray to the mat into mount more than once in the fight. Apart from bucking out of being mounted, he did nothing offensively or defensively that was effective.

3) Dahfir Harris vs. Cedric James: Heavyweights. Big boys too. Billed as "street fighter vs. street fighter".

FIGHT: Harris KO Rnd 1. Horrible showing. Just dudes swinging with some hugging action. Cedric James actually gets a takedown seemingly by accident. Standup by ref out of mount? Huh? Back to swinging and Jacobs is knocked out after having mounted Harris. Oh, let me mention that the ref for this is Frank Gentile. (0)

4) Alilton Barbosa vs. Keith Johnson: At a 170/175lb weight limit of some sort. Barbosa is claimed as a BJJ world champ and is 33.

FIGHT: Barbosa Submission Rnd 1. Barbosa is transitioning through tons of stuff at rapid fire pace from his back and taps Johnson with a triangle choke. (1)

5) Michael Bernhard vs. Ariel Gandulla: Gandulla has dropped to 185 for this but is still so old. No idea who Bernhard is. Apparently there is bad blood because Gandulla asked for money at ATT and didn't pay anyone back. OOOH.

FIGHT: Bernhard DQ. What a joke of a fight. Bernhard is poked in the eye repeatedly and hit with a knee to the groin, forcing a stoppage. He actually threw around the amateur star Gandulla in the fight and was on top, but nothing else could really be picked up with all the breaks. (0)

6) Oscar Encizo vs. Brian Fuery: Main event. Heavyweights. Fuery is huge and looks like a failed football player. Oh, he was! Former player for the U.

FIGHT: Fuery Submission Rnd 1. Fuery wins with a side headlock after holding it for about 90 seconds. Nothing to note here - Encizo landed a nice low kick, then got taken down, and that was the end of the fight. Fuery I'd seen getting beaten by David Yost, so its not like I think much about him anyhow. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Aguilar/Coolbaugh

KO OF THE NIGHT: James/Harris

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Fuery/Encizo (how often do you see a side headlock finish in MMA?)

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. I can't say this show is a total waste of time because the women's fight wasn't shabby and neither was Barbosa. Everything else should be skipped though.

D&R Rating: 10% (3/30)

hourlong MMA

The TV world has forced some strange things to exist. Among them include compilation shows and "weekly programming" from nobody promotions. As you'll see with some regularity in coming posts, I have a lot of these to watch from M-1's short lived syndicated US TV program (not M-1 Challenge, believe it or not) as well as Bodog and NAAFS.

To clarify, I will review the fights and programs, and since there are no episode numbers, I'm just gonna have to guess using dates of events and what "volume" something may be. In some cases, its pointless to do "fight of the night" when there are only 2 fights shown, and so I won't. I also won't do a "D&R Rating", since its too easy to get a monster number with a comp show.

And now on with another review.

NAAFS: Night of Champions Pt.??? (12/5/2009)

SPONSORED BY US ARMY, TIM LALLY CHEVROLET. Also, buy tickets for Caged Fury 9 on February 20th. No intro for this show. Cage, as always with NAAFS. Steve Hindman, Greg Kalikas, and former NFL player Bobby Jones announcing. Oh, and you can buy NAAFS Fight Music Vol. 1. God, why?

(this show falls under Hour Long MMA guidelines for the blog, as an aside)

1) Bill Fienberg vs. JP Jaranowski: Bantamweight national amateur title for NAAFS. Jaranowski is said to be 7-0 as an amateur , which might as well be a pro record given the state of MMA. 3 minute rounds.

FIGHT: Jaranowski Unanimous Decision. Not the most thrilling fight to watch by any stretch of the imagination. Jaranowski's record proves meaningless when you see him work off his back - there's nothing there. He just tries to hold on and get a standup. In round 1, that works even though Fienberg is in side control, and Jaranowski lands some solid strikes. Doesn't happen though in round 2 and 3 where he's largely laid on. Naturally, this means that Fienberg loses a UD including a 30-27 card. Uh, what? (0)

Fienberg: Does takedowns. Dominated the action. Lost? Admittedly does nothing but look for superior positions. No strikes to set them up.

Jaranowski: Lands a couple strikes in the first round that might have won that for him, goes for a guillotine in the third, throws some really shitty strikes from his back, and that's enough to win.

2) Daniel Straus vs. Joe Heiland: Pro series Lightweight division. Heiland is listed as 12-0. That is accurate: 5-0 as pro, and 7-0 as an amateur. Full 5 minutes here per round.

FIGHT: Straus Decision. This is considered a pretty major upset by the announcers, as Heiland has a pretty solid set of wrestling credentials and has such a monster record coming in. The first and third rounds were extremely close rounds I felt should have gone to Heiland given his more damaging strikes and/or two successful take downs in round 3, but I'm not a judge obviously. Straus does land some low kicks in the third and cuts Heiland in the first, and those things are probably what scores him the fight with the judges. Only the second was clearly in his favor (stuffing shots, landing blows). (2) for the two good prospects in the fight.

Straus: Counter puncher, doesn't shoot, but can defend the shot quite well. Calm in the ring. Ate a monster right hand, so he probably needs to keep his hands up and move his head. Subsequent wins over Gideon Ray and Travis Perzynski.

Heiland: Very strong wrestler, and in terms of style, picture Jon Fitch. But if you can't score takedowns, its tough to win as a wrestler. He was unable to for the first 12:30 of the fight, and that's a big problem in a 3 round fight.

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4.5 out of 10. You know, the fights were pretty boring, and yet because they're totally new people to me and I can see the full fight and the fighters are actually pretty good...I enjoyed it. You get the sense this matters, unlike most of the Cage Wars stuff I've watched of late.

Vendetta Fighting Championships 1 (9/5/09)

Oh man. 8 man tournament? Check. Strange location (Renaissance Resort, Aruba)? Check. Bas Rutten announcing? Check. You'd think its 2001, but no! Its Vendetta Fighting Championship and 2009 for this show. Your 8 man tourney is at 205, and features guys like Carmelo Marrero, Aaron Stark, Rodney Wallace, and Antwan Britt. Shock and surprise, they never ran another show.

1) Aaron Stark vs. Angelo Arajuo: Two light heavyweights I've not hear of. Stark is a southpaw.

FIGHT: Stark Unanimous Decision. Bout is pretty seriously clipped. Bouts are apparently 2 rounds with a "Sudden Death" round. By what is shown, Stark controlled the first two rounds, but we end up with a 3rd round anyways where he once more controls the fight. (0)

Stark: Good wrestler. We see nothing in the clips of him defending submissions or working on his feet. Maybe he did not?

Arajuo: Can't tell much from highlights. Looks like he was able to defend a little on the mat and took down Stark briefly in the final round, but that's not enough to make a judgement call on the guy.

2) Gregory Milliard vs. Rodney Wallace: No idea who Millard is. Wallace has been in M-1 and recently in the UFC. Short for this weight class.

FIGHT: Wallace Unanimous Decision. Horrible fight to watch. All positioning on the mat with Wallace getting takedowns, a big edit, and then another takedown into side control. Repeat. No damage done. (0)

Wallace: Has takedowns. Can't tell if he can punch or kick worth shit.

Milliard: Did zero. Best attribute is physical strength.

3) Carmelo Marrero vs. Antwan Britt: Strange to see this as a early bout in the tourney. Both guys are decent at least.

FIGHT: Britt Decision. Another seriously cut 3 round "sudden death" fight. This time it was all standup, but it was obviously boring. (0)

Britt: Britt throws some decent jabs and right hands, then defends the takedown well while not being able to get Marrero down himself. He basically controls where the fight happens and wins as a result.

Marrero: As best I can tell, does nothing in particular in the fight. Punching is not very good. Takedowns are from too far outside to mean anything. Again, this is from a 15 minute fight clipped to about 3-4 minutes. One thing is for certain; he's cut by a punch in the opening round.

4) Richard Hale vs. Evan Nedd: Last fight of the tourney's opening round. Nedd is from Aruba.

FIGHT: Hale Unanimous Decision. This fight is clipped also, but less so since things actually happen during it. Nedd gets cut over the left eye and then rocked by subsequent punches he can't see. He is also gassed real early in the first round and can barely get up after the first is over. Nedd starts making a comeback as he's a decent boxer. Hale remembers this is MMA and then takes down and immediately mounts Nedd. Pounds him out before the round is over. (0)

Hale: Horrible game plan as he trades with a former amateur boxer with legitimate skills, only to remember he can grapple at the very end. Easily hit by Nedd, even after Nedd gasses.

Nedd: Has solid boxing and nothing else. I mean, no other tangible skills for MMA. And yet, he nearly wins.

5) Sarah Maloy vs. Rosa Colombo: Women's bout @ 125.

FIGHT: Maloy Submission Rnd 1. Ugly technically, followed by awful reffing. Colombo reaches up to try and pull the arm down and Maloy wins as the ref claims it is a tapout. Craptacular call. Crappy fight. (0)

6) Aaron Stark vs. Rodney Wallace: Semifinal bout.

FIGHT: Wallace Submission Rnd 2. Another super heavily clipped bout. Wallace and Stark are in what appears to be a boring grappling bout when Wallace, on the bottom, secures a kimura from his back in half guard. Nothing to add with what is said above for both. (0)

7) Antwain Britt vs. Richard Hale: The other semi.

FIGHT: Britt Decision. Boring fight. Again.

Hale: Hands way down in this fight, was getting tagged with jabs left and right. If Britt was a good, world class guy, he'd have won with a straight right hand in the first round. Again, heavily trimmed, so (0).

Britt: See above.

8) Derrick Noble vs. Shonie Carter: Carter is a legend. Noble is some guy who beat Thiago Alves before becoming a full blown journeyman.

FIGHT: Noble Unanimous Decision. Noble has no problem getting takedowns, and on the feet, his strikes hurt Carter and not vice versa. He almost stops Carter in round 1 with a punch standing. No entrance shown or anything.

Noble: Solid workman effort. Looks a little soft, but I doubt he cares. OK all the way around.

Carter: Was finished 3-4 years ago, definitely not any better now. Needs to reconsider his career. Reacted badly to Noble's punches and was thrown to the mat with relative ease.

9) Rodney Wallace vs. Antwain Britt: Here's how Wallace got his contract.

FIGHT: Wallace Submission Rnd 1. This is a fairly boring fight up until Britt slips and falls defending a takedown. Wallace jumps on him and lands a billion punches to the back of the head while Britt tries for a takedown. Wallace grabs an arm and rolls with Britt into an armbar and forces the tap. Only fight shown in its entirety. (3)

Wallace: Threw a punch standing, eliciting the response from Kenny Rice that it was his first such attempt in the tournament. Zero standup from this guy. Does have submissions he powers through, but obviously that didn't help at the UFC level.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Wallace/Britt

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Wallace/Britt

Overall for the Event: 1.5 out of 10. Another unwatchable crapfest that's clipped too. Rodney Wallace got a contract out of this. THIS. Did they even watch it?

D&R Rating: 7% (3/45)

Action Fight League: Unconquered Begins/Rumble at the Rock ??? (9/25/09)

Jay Adams, Din Thomas, and AJ Benza announce this show from the Seminole Hard Rock that has the names of 3 promotions but is really only one. Cage and unified rules.

1) John Kelly vs. Nico Parella: Welterweights. Both guys are so shredded, you wonder what kind of synth is in the water in South Florida. Announcers don't say so much, maybe they can't tell the difference between the two bald white guys in the ring.

FIGHT: Kelly TKO 2. Strange fight. Early on it looks like its gonna be a standing slugout war. Then Kelly gets a takedown and spends pretty much the entire round in top control. Second round, Parella gets the takedown and is actually in crucifix position pounding on Kelly. Kelly bucks like he's trying to break out of mount and succeeds, and actually ends up in top position in half guard. He lands a single right hand on Parella from inside the full closed guard and its lights out. Kelly just lost in Bellator. (0)

Kelly: Very strong, seemingly a decent grappler, but I'm unsure of his takedowns or striking. Seemed a little robotic on his feet.

Parella: Also unnaturally strong for the weight class. Big dude, no bottom game. Zero.

2) Rodrigo "Baga" Ramos vs. Ben Merrell: Welterweights making their debuts. Din Thomas recognizes Ramos because he was supposed to fight him somewhere around 12-13 years ago.

FIGHT: Ramos Submission Rnd 1. Merrell lands a right hand very early, and Ramos ends up stepping way back and then countering as Merrell rushes in. Neither guy was that good standing. Ramos, meanwhile, was pretty solid on the mat, getting dominant position on Merrell. Merrell does escape and gets on top, but shortly thereafter, he's swept and tapped with an armbar. (0)

3) Jessica Pene vs. Angela Magana: Women's bout at 115. Both are top ten ranked at the weight.

FIGHT: Pene Submission Rnd 2. Magana was game and fought decently. But Pene's submission attempts and superior standup was too much. (2)

Pene: Good submissions, decent clinchwork, decent striking. In a weight class that is bereft of talent, she's not bad.

Magana: Looked smaller, but was strong enough to try to powerbomb out of an armbar attempt.

Michael Moorer appears in the ring, announces that he's once and truly retired, and working with ATT guys to train them. Kimbo shows up and Michael is asked if he'd fight Kimbo, responding with his demands of $5 million.

4) Steve Bruno vs. Clayton McKinney: Bruno was once in the UFC for 2-3 minutes. McKinney has a fun haircut. Apparently there is bad blood between these two dudes I don't really care about.

FIGHT: Bruno Submission Rnd 2. Looks like a d'arce choke that ends the fight. Bruno then talks in a cut up postfight interview about being a world champion and UFC vet and....that's all we get to see. (0)

Bruno: Top control grappler. Stocky. Not much on the feet and not really an incredible wrestler or anything. Better than your average dude on the street, but that's a meaningless statement when assessing someone's ability to compete on the world stage. He's what he is, and that's not a top 50 fighter.

McKinney: A striker who is outpowered the entire fight and eventually choked out while trying to get away and to his feet from the bruising Bruno. Decent kicks and I can't give him much else.

5) Bounmy Sonchai vs. Rene Martinez: Martinez is a street brawler hyped as a welterweight Kimbo. Sonchai is 0-2. Oh, they're building him like Kimbo. As previously review on Unconquered 1 from a couple months after this, Martinez was then undefeated. So, no surprise as to what happens here. (0)

FIGHT: Martinez Unanimous Decision

Martinez: Watching Martinez is like seeing later era Kimbo. He is taught to grapple and suddenly thinks he is good at it. Sonchai looks a full weight class smaller than Martinez and yet he never attempts to engage, though when he punches Sonchai just ends up running. Like, full sprint. Martinez goes for a guillotine and its sad - he doesn't seem to know how to extend Sonchai for leverage, he has the arm in, he's moving his legs all over the place...and of course he uses a lot of energy for an attempt that doesn't work. When given the back totally by a gassed fighter, Martinez can't get the hooks in and flatten him out...even when the guy flattened himself out. This is referred to as a "beatdown" and "good test" by the announcers.

Sonchai: Didn't do anything good. Had the Ken Shamrock 1996 stance. No bottom game. No top game. No striking. Never won. But he is "not a tomato can". Sure.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Pene/Magana

KO OF THE NIGHT: Kelly/Parella

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Bruno/McKinney

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3.5 out of 10. Aside from the women's fight, which I didn't really care about because, well, its women's MMA, the fights were pretty lousy. Lots of dudes laying on each other and not really rushing for positional changes/submissions/strikes/etc. The main event was particularly terrible. One of the worst main events for an MMA show I've ever seen, to be frank. The most important and best fight on the card were a couple women no one has ever heard of. Sometimes that's how it works.

D&R Rating: 8% (2/25)

THE FIGHT CLUB 10 (3/19/10)

This is from Canadian TV ported over to Comcast Sportsnet something or other. Dustin Nielson and Kris Labelle are announcing. Tim Hague is apparently on this show, as is Victor Valimaki. Unified rules are in order, and we've got a cage. Oddly, none of these bouts are on Sherdog or MMA.tv's fightfinders. Event was held in Edmonton, Alberta.

1) Brandon MacArthur vs. Mitch Clarke: Welterweights. Clarke is 5-0, his opponent 5-14. Oy vey. Oh, MacArthur is bald too.

FIGHT: Clarke Submission Rnd 2. Clarke dominant the entire fight. MacArthur was unable to do anything on the mat other than regain guard as far as defense goes, absorbed a lot of punches, and was taken down multiple times by Clarke. Eventually ends with RNC. (0)

Clarke: Looks uncomfortable standing, to be honest. Kinda reminiscent of Shields standing and striking in that lots of thought is done before anything happens. I don't buy into a guy with no appreciable wrestling background being a great prospect with that style.

MacArthur: Made Clarke work hard for the first takedown. Threw a hail mary spinning back elbow that almost landed. That's all.

2) Tim Smith vs. Sheldon Wescott: More local boys from Canada. Middleweight bout, Smith has the much more extensive pro record, but is clearly smaller.

FIGHT: Smith TKO 1. Kinda a lame stoppage. Wescott rushes Smith with nervous energy, takes down Smith, lands a lot of shots to the gloves, and the ref stops it after a short period of ground strikes. Not much to report on here other than that Wescott bumrushed his opponent and got an early stoppage by the refs that made his strategy look genius. (0)

3) Victor Bachmann vs. Markhaile Wedderburn: Unbelievable prefight video shows the immensely nerdy Bachmann getting verbally crapped on. Wedderburn dances a lot during the entrance. I can't take these dudes seriously if they can't fight. Both mediocre records.

FIGHT: Bachmann Submission Rnd 1. Simple deal; Wedderburn is a striker with no takedown defense and no submissions. He gets taken down twice in the fight, lands nothing beyond a low kick, and eventually just turns over and lets Bachmann try and put the arm under the chin. Looked like he basically quit after the second takedown. Bachmann did do one smart thing; he used the point of his elbow to sort of force Wedderburn to release his grip. (0)

Tim Hague appears, says he can't fight because his opponent pulled out a couple hours ago. His opponent was supposed to be Ed Carpenter, whoever the fuck that is. Okay, so this is the Japanese Wargodz, great.

4) Victor Valimaki vs. Martin Desilets: Valimaki has fought for KOTC, M-1, and UFC in the past. He's okay. Desilets was a TKO regular with a loss to Travis Galbraith. This is for some sort of title belt in the promotion.

FIGHT: Desilets TKO 1. Some of the worst announcing in the history of MMA as "Another low blow! What a great fight!" becomes an actual soundbyte. Dudes throwing leather and throwing a lot of illegal blows is the story here. There's actually a pair of low blows thrown at one point by Desilets and then a hammerfist rabbit punch as a combination. (1)

Desilets: Throws a lot of body shots when the ref is on the right side while pulling the head down with the right arm. When he isn't, he throws directly to the junk. Also threw headbutts. Also threw rabbit punches. Gilbert Yvel would be like "holy shit". This is a huge black mark on how Yves Lavigne does his job, as replays show some low blows being right in Lavigne's face.

Valimaki: Blames the low blows. Also didn't fight his fight at all, allowing Desilets to get right in his wheelhouse and throw wild shots. Ugly slugfest.

5) Jeff Ford vs. Tommy Speer: Yes, Tommy Speer is BACK from the farm. Why? I don't know. Jeff Ford is an old ass kickboxer seen on MFC shows in wars with Pete Spratt (a win) and a pair of losses to Pat Healy.

FIGHT: Ford Submission Rnd 1. Speer's biggest plus as a fighter is that he outsizes almost any welter. Ford is big enough to not get thrown around, and that's a big issue here for him. All his takedown attempts end with Ford on top, and that's not gonna end well for Speer. (2)

Speer: He goes for a leglock in the fight that makes me think that he's learned something appreciable. Later, he ends up defending a botched RNC attempt and gets side control. But that's the end of Speer; Elite Grappler. Ford eventually overpowers Speer and starts battering him. The battering turns into Speer flipping over and then tapping to a choke.

Ford: Losses to gatekeeper Healy still hurt him plenty, but beating a big wrestler like Speer is good for Ford to prove that he has something for grapplers at this stage of his career. I have to say; I was impressed to see him dispatch with Speer like that. Now, getting your leg trapped briefly for a heelhook attempt by Tommy Speer is not great, but he defended well. Crowd really happy.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Desilets/Valimaki

KO OF THE NIGHT: Desilets/Valimaki

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Ford/Speer

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Lots of fast-forwarding in this two hour broadcast with not a single fight making it to the 3rd. Ford/Speer makes Ford look like a potentially decent fighter at 170, so that's really the only positive on the show. But its a pretty good positive.

D&R Rating: 12% (3/25)

CAGE WARS 8: Celtic Rage (10/20/07)

From Belfast in Ireland, the next installment of Cage Wars, this from 10/2007.

1) Michael Reid vs. Steven Nolan: Welterweights. Amateur fight too.

FIGHT: Reid Unanimous Decision. Its listed on the screen as a submission, but clearly is not. Nothing to see here: Reid mounts Nolan, does nothing. Spends probably 10 minutes of the fight in mount, 4 in half guard or guard, then a minute in some other position. Better than Nolan in every way. Only one fight since, another decision win. (0)

2) Ali McClean vs. Ryan Roddy: Lightweights. A pro bout, thankfully. I think.

FIGHT: Roddy Submission Rnd 1. McClean tries to take off Roddy's head when Roddy wants to touch gloves, and Roddy responds by dominating him on the mat and eventually getting the triangle off his back (after a failed armbar attempt) to end the fight in 88 seconds.

3) John Smith vs. Moen Takalou: Oh man. Takalou is so bad. Smith is an ex-kickboxer, as we know from previous shows.

FIGHT: Takalou KO 1....or not. Catches Smith who is otherwise tooling him and drops him hard with a punch. He then attacks Smith voraciously and forces a ref stoppage. After the ref jumps in, Takalou tries to stop the downed Smith. Poor Takalou gets a No Contest instead. (0)

4) Peter Duncan vs. Arman Soufi: Lightweights. Duncan clearly larger.

FIGHT: Duncan Submission Rnd 1. When watching Soufi, it looks like he doesn't know how to do anything, and then he does some crazy looking escape and makes it work. But Duncan eventually rolls into an armbar and forces a tap. Duncan's first win in 4 fights. Soufi not much better. (0)

5) Chris Stringer vs. Michael Angelista: Lightweights. Based on what I've seen, easy night for Angelista.

FIGHT: Stringer Submission Rnd 1. And that is why they have the fights. Stringer comes out fast, swinging with tight punches and kicks. Angelista closes and goes for a single, but gets caught in a guillotine. He tries to slam out but needs to tap. Had the arm in, BTW. (0)

6) Brian Kerr vs. Paul Murtagh: Welterweights I don't know.

FIGHT: Kerr Submission Rnd 2. All Kerr in this fight. He lands a bunch of clean shots early in the fight and the announcers mention his ammy record in boxing. Murtagh nearly pulls off a miracle submission after being dropped with a punch as he locks in a triangle and transitions to an armbar, but Kerr escapes, and that is all that for Murtagh. He ends up getting caught in a guillotine in round 2 and gets DDTed to boot in a desperate attempt to get a takedown. (0)

Kerr: Good submission defense, solid striking. Last fight in MMA.

Murtagh: Bleeder. All submissions, nothing else.

7) Lee McKibbin vs. Bastiaan Rejen: Middleweights.

FIGHT: McKibbin Submission Rnd 1. McKibbin beats the "submission specialist" with an armbar after Rejen is in top control early in the first. Took forever to finish. (0) Nothing inspiring to mention here about either man's technique. McKibbin's wrestling isn't that great and Rejen clearly wasn't prepared to see a submission attempt come at him.

8) Daniel Abrol vs. Tim Estes: Lightweight bout. Estes is from the US and looks to be about 12.

FIGHT: Estes Submission Rnd 1. Powpowpow swinging for the fences, though with some technical panache, and then they roll on the mat a little wildly. Abrol gets the fight back up and we have some clinch fighting. Abrol looks to throw Estes and gets defended against well. Estes throws him down and starts smashing with punches, forcing Abrol to roll over and eventually this leads to a RNC. Estes' last win. (0)

Abrol: More of the same from him. You see the massive lack of solid grappling, and frankly Estes was doing a solid job of striking with him. Abrol had a tough time with the jab.

Estes: Threw basic 1-2s with single jabs, outgrappled a guy who didn't grapple, forced the submission. Really should have never lost mount in the first round, but perhaps he wasn't even totally understanding that he had such a dominant position.

9) Colin McKee vs. James Orso: Welterweights.

FIGHT: McKee TKO 2. All McKee in this bout. Orso had nothing for him on the mat, and it kept going there. McKee regularly went for submissions and dominant positions in the fight, but was a bit sloppy and lost them when he probably had good shots at finishing. McKee was gassed after 3 minutes, and in the second just ended up getting sucked down and pounded out. (1)

Orso: Tried to wrestle, but nothing when on the mat for McKee. Since went on to beat Danny Abiddi.

McKee: This fight turned around McKee's career. He's won 8 straight going to Feb. 2010. Nothing I could see about standup, but he's a solid grappler who understands the basics of positioning rather well.

10) Cliff Wheatley vs. Augusto Frota: Lightweights. Frota seems like a decent fighter. Wheatley is an American and very lanky. (0)

FIGHT: Frota Submission Rnd 1. Wild, WILD striking to start the fight that looks like a pansy slap fight. Frota then decides to take down Wheatley and from there easily pounds the American and forces him to roll over to his stomach. Wheatley says in the post fight interview "I flat out got my ass kicked!"

11) Jimmy Mills vs. Colin Davidson: Light heavyweights. Another USA/UK bout.

FIGHT: Mills Submission Rnd 1. Total domination by Mills as he takes down Davidson and cuts him badly with GNP, then eventually forces the tap with a head and arm choke. (0)

Mills: Soft around the midsection. Really soft. Lost to Kevin Casey. Generic wrestler guy.

Davidson: Short notice opponent, not any good at anything, best I can tell. Should find a different profession. No reason to get beat up like this for no money.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Kerr/Murtagh

KO OF THE NIGHT: Takalou/Smith

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Stringer/Angelista

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2 out of 10. Not the worst show I've seen but lots of uninspiring with some Jobbers Get In Offense fights.

D&R Rating: 1% (1/55)

Real Fighting Championships 8 (2/23/07)

Another installment of RFC from Tampa. Guy Mezger and Jay Adams on the mics.

1) Mike Foster vs. Jorge Boechat: Welterweights I've not heard of I don't think. Foster is a lot bigger.

FIGHT: Foster TKO 2. Boechat pulled guard and later in the second goes for a toehold. Foster gets around to the back and throws punches that land on the shoulder and gloves, but Boechat doesn't really defend it or anything, so its stopped even though he's not the least bit hurt. Boring fight. (0)

Foster: Big. Avoids submissions. Not much else.

Boechat: No standup to speak of, not the most active off his back, but relies heavily on it anyways. His last fight was for EXC and he got tapped with a reverse triangle.

2) Josh Powell vs. Dieulhomme Chera (J Lee): 140lb bout. Powell is Team Punishment I think?

FIGHT: Chera Submission Rnd 1. Total ownage by J Lee, who nearly ends it in under 20 seconds with a guillotine. Then he transitions to a triangle after that when Powell's head pops out, and then to a straight armbar. That's it. Nothing really to review other than that Powell has an active guard but also a losing record now. (0)

3) Patrick Barrentine vs. Jon Schall: Heavyweights. Barrentine is from Jorge Gurgel's school and FAT. Schall got a easy KO his previous fight.

FIGHT: Barrentine Submission Rnd 1. Total domination from the 5'11'' 265 lb Barrentine. He gets Schall down on his back and Schall is useless there. In an attempt to push away Barrentine while Barrentine is looking to pass (he does the entire 4 minute fight), his leg is caught and he ends up tapping to a heel hook. (0) Neither has done anything.

4) Chris Oddo vs. Miguel Gonzalez: More heavyweights! Oh gee. Gonzalez is 290.

FIGHT: Ugly fight with dudes hugging, doing throws, getting incredibly dominant positions, and just losing them with complete ease. Gonzalez went from mount directly to standup without even his opponent bucking. Oddo had a rear naked given to him, misses, and then has his back taken in 5 seconds time. Sloppy grappling everywhere. Somehow they make it to the end of the first, and I am forced to see a second round. Oddo gets his eyesocket messed up in some clinch fighting and basically turns away and the ref is forced to step in. Gonzalez may be undefeated, but hasn't fought in 27 months. (0)

5) Courtney Martell vs. Liz Posener: This is the main event? Are you for real? 135. Neither of these girls are top anything right now in female fighting. Martell is way outsized.

FIGHT: Posener Submission Rnd 1. Martell gets her down to the mat and then promptly gives Posener her arm. After failing 3 times, Martell finally taps to an armbar. (0) Posener can sorta do submissions I guess and Martell should find a different hobby.

Oh, wait, it appears that this was the typical hour and a half program, but Sun Sports told me it was 1 hour. GREAT. So the real main events aren't even on here. If I ever watch this again, I'll update it.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Foster/Boechat

KO OF THE NIGHT: Oddo/Gonzalez

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Powell/Chera

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 1 out of 10. Total waste of time.

D&R Rating: 0%

Raging Wolf 6 (1/23/2010)

This show is from just outside Niagara Falls at Seneca Casino/Hotel. Jarrod Card and Jay Adams are announcing, with Mike Brown and Jon Jones guesting here and there. Some really interesting matchmaking too: Luigi Fioravanti vs. Shane Primm is on this show as the headliner. Corey Hill fought on the card in the real main event, but it wasn't available for taping due to Hill's UFC contract.

1) Eric Herbert vs. Oliver Kimmions: Heavyweights. Heavy is a key here, because they are chubsters. This is apparently an amateur bout, BTW.

FIGHT: Herbert Submission Rnd 1. Easy fight for Herbert as he shoots real early, takes down Kimmions, ends up with an RNC. Herbert is the new Raging Wolf Amateur Heavyweight Champion. Fuck these belts. (0)

Kimmions: Did nothing.

Herbert: Needs to drop to middleweight. Possibly even 170, since he's 5'11''.

2) Christina Domke vs. Bethany Marshell: Women's fights. Domke looks a little ragged with the tattoos. Fight taken on 9 days notice. 5 minute rounds.

FIGHT: Marshell Submission Rnd 1. Marshell gets a d'arce super early standing and basically drags down Domke into unconsciousness. 20 seconds. No point in reviewing further. Marshell on a different planet.

3) Allan Arzeno vs. TJ Sumler: Northeast Regional Raging Wolf Welterweight Championship of the World Not fucking kidding. One dude is 2-1 and the other 3-0. Enough with the fucking title belts. Worse yet, this is a full 5 rounds.

FIGHT: Allen Arzeno UD. 5 round fight that was almost all standup. Sumler threw single jabs and shots, and Arzeno, a brawler, countered with kicks and right hands. Near the end of the 5th round, a knee was thrown by Sumler while Arzeno was in 3 point, and gets a point taken away to sinch it up. (0)

Arzeno: Gutsy guy who bleeds easily; had a couple cuts on his face from the punches. Dropped in the first round. Mezger style kicks that do not much damage. Basically won because his opponent let him.

Sumler: Had the distance he wanted, technically seemed better. But he didn't move his head and allowed himself to be timed the way he was punching. Also thumbed Arzeno in the eye multiple times in the fight. Sucker for low kicks. Nearly caught in an ugly armbar attempt in round 1 after trying to finish off Arzeno from a knockdown started with a right hand. Looked gassed 6 minutes in.

4) Luigi Fioravanti vs. Shane Primm: Fioravantai in the prefight interview segments say Raging Wolf is the equivalent of UFC. Me = LOL. He's also still soft in the middle. This is a three round fight. Yes, two UFC vets aren't fighting for a title, but some guys that you have never heard of did.

FIGHT: Fioravanti UD. Total domination by the former welterweight gatekeeper. Primm simply cannot do anything with him. (2)

Fioravanti: The same as always. His midsection is really soft, he's always looking for takedowns and control, though he doesn't really go for any submissions. Luigi gets cut very badly at the end of the fight somehow after defending a kimura. Primm never had him in trouble with submission attempts on the mat.

Primm: Fioravanti took his back standing and on the mat repeatedly. He just had no answer for Luigi any time he'd turn around on him. The only thing he was effective was (and Fioravanti agreed) were some knees in the first round that led Fioravanti to go to more of a wrestling strategy to win. Any time you're this easily controlled on the mat, there's a problem.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Arzeno/Sumler

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Domke/Marshell

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 1.5 out of 10. Best aspect was the length of time it took to watch with the commercials and interview bits. The fights were either lousy and long or terrible and short.

D&R Rating: 10% (2/20)

CAGE WARS 7: Scotland the Brave (10/20/07)

Lots of CWC has appeared on Fightzone TV recently. Of that which has been shown, this is the oldest show thus far. A live view on the fights can be fine back at Total-MMA, as done by Iain Liddle here: http://www.total-mma.com/2007/08/04/cage-wars-scotland-the-brave-live-results/

1) Ciaran Kelly vs. Jamie McKenzie: Who are these guys?

FIGHT: Jamie McKenzie MD. Terrible fight to watch. Dudes rolling all over the mat apparently hoping to look bad in the ring. (0)

McKenzie: Hurt Kelly with some strikes early, but on the mat he was terrible. He was mounted several times in the second and third rounds, and it was only the propensity of the British judges to score for minor damages from strikes that saved him in this one.

Kelly: Had one solid takedown in this fight - otherwise he was on the mat either from falling down from punches or just some mangled throw attempts where he ended up on his back. And yet, he was able to turn over McKenzie and get in dominant positions many times, landing solid shots. Neither looks like a serious competitor.

2) Andy Hillhouse vs. Luis Vagner: Heavyweight fight. Both dudes are pretty muscled up.

FIGHT: Luis Vagner TKO 2. Dreadful. (0)

Vagner: Won on strikes, not a striker. Wild haymakers and arm punches. Zero defense. Went for an armbar that took forever to set up and try to execute, then didn't finish. Hasn't fought now in almost 3 years.

Hillhouse: 1-4 career record.

3) Dean Caldwell vs. Antony McIllroy: Welterweights? Maybe? Dunno?

FIGHT: Caldwell Submission Rnd 1. McIllroy gets the fight down, then gets swept, is laid on for awhile, and eventually is caught in a choke. Its said to be a anaconda but looks a lot more like a d'arce to me. (0)

Caldwell: Slow to do much on top, AKA Dean Lister Syndrome. Doesn't seem to be much of a wrestler. Strikes as much on the ground as does Dan Severn, AKA not at all. Can't beat people without setting stuff up. No fights since.

McIllroy: Balding. Got laid on. Had green shorts.

4) Martin Begley vs. Ivan Mussardo: Welterweights.

FIGHT: Mussardo Submission Rnd 1. A win for the German by guillotine in under 30 seconds. Just jumps into guard and grabs the choke at first opportunity. Nothing to say about either from this. Mussardo lost to Daniel Weichel, the best fighter he's ever faced. (0)

5) John Smith vs. Gareth Hindz: Welterweights.

FIGHT: Smith Submission Rnd 2. Gareth had controlled the fight almost entirely in top control, and Smith hadn't been working for anything. All of a sudden he starts to move his hips and Hindz doesn't even defend it. (0)

Smith: Decent low kicks standing - apparently he had 15 pro kickboxing bouts. However, he looked hapless on the mat until going for his one and only submission attempt.

Hinds: Top control grappler with no submission defense.

NOTE: A commercial appeared for an MMA cruise. Really. Apparently you can fight there and become an Open Waters Champion. Amazing.

6) Michael Angelista vs. Kevin Karney: Missed the weight class, but its clear watching that I don't really need to go back and find out.

FIGHT: Angelista TKO 1. Angelista had some issues with Karney going for submissions off his back during the fight, but Angelista was overwhelming athletically and ended up beating him down from the mount. (0)

Angelista: Some decent strikes, nearly caught in a really sloppy armbar attempt. 1-3 now.

Karney: Has heart, some submission ability, but this was his last fight.

7) Paul McVeigh vs. Christian Binda: Lightweights. McVeigh is very pale.

FIGHT: McVeigh Submission 1. Binda looks to bang and gets caught with strong counters and meaty takedowns. He ends up shooting in when that early gameplan doesn't work out and is actually pretty successful with GNP. But McVeigh is able to grab the leg as Binda stands out and gets a kneebar. Binda tries to defend with an illegal stomp (which he isn't warned for) but it doesn't prevent a tapout. (0)

McVeigh: Decent fighter with decent takedowns and a counter punching style. Adequate, good at the Commonwealth level, not really an international level guy.

Binda: Had a good double and was gutsy. Not much else to go on though.

8) Moien Takalou vs. Daniel Abrol: Lightweights I think.

FIGHT: Abrol TKO 1. Ugly fight with Takalou only having one frame of offense with an armbar attempt early in the first and getting pounded otherwise. (0)

Abrol: Decent striker. Rangy. Lost to Danny Van Bergen.

Takalou: Honestly, this dude did almost nothing right and took a pounding. Ugly. 1-7 career record.

9) Chris Stringer vs. Casimir Bendy: Another lightweight bout. Bendy actually fought in the WEC and for Shooto, losing in both shows. He does have a couple nice wins though against Niko Puhakka, Andre Winner, and Mikhail Malyutin.

FIGHT: Bendy Submission Rnd 1. Bendy gets a nice big takedown early and tries to pass guard. Stringer gives him his neck and gets submitted. The end. Basically a good ol' fashioned KOTC special. (1)

Bendy: Nice takedown, but not much standup exhibited at all. After that, it was rudimentary. You can see here why he beat Winner (now a prospect of sorts): Winner's a kickboxer, and Bendy exploited that big time.

Stringer: Didn't do anything. Losing career record.

10) Peter Duncan vs. Augusto Frota: Lightweights. This is the main event.

FIGHT: Frota Submission Rnd 2. Duncan is a strong guy and has some decent submission defense, but against a wizard like Frota, he's bound to get caught. Frota grabs the guillotine and while Duncan tries to slam out, its pointless. Almost a bulldog choke when there's finally a tap. (1)

Frota: Frota has legitimately great BJJ. Its not just a situation where he can get top control and dominate someone there. He's rolling for stuff constantly. He's never really beaten anyone great and doesn't currently rank internationally, but could.

Peter Duncan: Don't see much from him, to be entirely honest. Again, there's strength there, some heart, but not much else. No surprise that he has a losing record.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Frota/Duncan

KO OF THE NIGHT: Abrol/Takalou

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Frota/Duncan

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 1.5 out of 10. This was terrible to watch. I mean, just not fun at all. So many bad fighters who would need to be booked against homeless people or random children from the audience in order to score victories on the West Coast of the US. Frota's BJJ exhibition was really the only thing worth seeing.

D&R Rating: 4% (2/50)

UWC 6 (4/25/09)

Another show from UWC. Its Jay Adams with Luke Thomas of Bloodyelbow fame being colorman in this show from Fairfax, VA. Lots of quality "national fighters" like, uhh, War Machine.

1) Kris McCray vs. Ronnie Wuest: Couple of local boys at 185. Neither is really big for the weight. Wuest is some scrappy white guy with bad tats; generally this means he is not good. Note: This fight shows up incorrectly in fightfinders.

FIGHT: McCray Sub Rnd 1.Total domination by McCray against an overwhelmed opponent. (1)

McCray: Easily dominated a guy with a slow shot who looks pretty old. A little soft around the middle.

Wuest: Did nothing right, completely dominated. Hasn't fought since.

2) Frank Camacho vs. James "Binky" Jones: Binky fought for EXC at one point and his win against Al Buck was reviewed here a couple years back. Camacho I'm not familiar with. Lightweights hovering around .500.

FIGHT: Camacho TKO Rnd 2. Decent grappling bout that the fans are mildly into that ends suddenly with a right hand to Binky Jones. (0)

Camacho: Camacho is young and a decent wrestler but nothing too exceptional on the mat. He got up from Jones' takedowns and defended all the submission attempts, though against a better practitioner, he might have gotten submitted with the armbar when he slammed his way out of it early in the first. Camacho had pretty generic boxing but that was enough to stop Jones cold. Landed shots after Jones was clearly out and tried to kick him while he was down as the ref was jumping in late.

Jones: He is a solid enough hand that he'll test whoever he's in with, and that was the case for most of the bout. He was getting tagged during the second round where all the standup action occurred, and pushed his punches. Solid sweep takedowns, but the small cage was helpful in Camacho getting to the fence and climbing back up to the standup position.

3) Jose Villarisco vs. Mikey Lovato: No idea who they are. 125lbs.

FIGHT: Lovato Unanimous Decision. A turd of a fight; Villarisco is a much larger kickboxer while Lovato is a tiny midget who seems like he might be soft at 115. Yet, in spite of the physical disadvantages, Lovato takes down Villarisco repeatedly and easily wins round 1 and 2. In round 3, Lovato is dropped with a punch and Villarisco is on him like white on rice. Lovato is tired, but continues to shoot after recovering from the punch with no success. The horn goes off early because the time keeper screws up, and we go to the cards, where Lovato wins because the fight isn't scored 10-8.

Luke Thomas is incensed later and writes up lots of angry things on his website as a result, stating that its a "robbery" of the young Villarisco. Its as if the embarrassing nonperformance turned in by Villarisco for most of the fight would have otherwise gotten him a WEC contract and had the 125lb weight class built around him. (0)

Villarisco: Decent size for 125, I guess, since it is barely a weight class in MMA. Some OK striking that would get torn up by M-16.

Lovato: Chubby wrestler with a penchant for gassing and head kicks. Might have success if there was a 115lb weight class like in Shooto.

4) Damian Dantibo vs. Ron Stallings: Stallings is the local product and probably being set up to win. 185.

FIGHT: Dantibo KO 1. Dantibo lands a left high kick early and Stallings is out. (1)

Dantibo: From LA, where people train for real reals. Stallings gets levelled.

Stallings: Has awesome corn rows.

5) Marcus Foran vs. Joey Kirwin: Foran is from Greg Jackson's camp. 185. Foran also looks real soft.

FIGHT: Kirwin Submission Rnd 1. Domination from the start on the part of Foran, but he kept up working for submissions and got the guillotine. (0)

Foran: Strong guy who could probably drop a weight class, but too much force used to defend the submissions (pulling leg straight out of a figure four position, for instance) rather than technique. Kirwin is able to lock in a guillotine when Foran gets to aggressive for top control.

Kirwin: Decent submission guy. Can't tell much more than that. Not a strong wrestler.

6) War Machine vs. Reshad Woods: Woods has a huge height advantage in this 175 lb catchweight fight.

FIGHT: War Machine Submission Rnd 2. Back and forth scrap that was fought loose and fast but ended with War Machine getting the rear naked choke in the second. (1)

Woods: Positives for Woods are that he's tough and has really cool muay thai shorts. Negatives: Stamina is questionable, since he was worn out in the second round. Can't wrestle. Defensive grappling exists to such an extent that he can buck a guy like War Machine out of mount, but does that mean much in a global context?

War Machine: Same guy he's always been. He's exciting to watch against guys at this level because he will always struggle, but any dude who gets hit in the head like this with his psychological issues isn't gonna get better.

7) Mike Easton vs. Josh Ferguson: For the 135 lb belt in the promotion. Easton has some ridiculous tiny trunks on. Ferguson is the smaller man by a clear degree.

FIGHT: Easton Submission Rnd 1. Ferguson is too small to really hurt Easton, and while he gets on top, he gets stuck in a guillotine with the arm in and taps. Easton's strength made that happened. (1)

Easton: Solid grappling and had some good hip movement, but you can see how tough a time he has in the clinch with Ferguson, who is active and not much else in terms of throwing punches, knees, and shoulders.

Ferguson: Decent fighter from what I can see here, but nothing is really proven about his standup. He gets on top of Easton in full guard but its only by defending a throw and countering it with his body weight. Flat overpowered.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: War Machine/Woods

KO OF THE NIGHT: Dantibo/Stallings

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Foran/Kirwin

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. This is the War Machine show. Anytime he appears, you know its a spectacle and this is no different. But he also makes for exciting fights and frankly, on shows like this, that's not so bad. The rest of the show is filled with AKSHUN! mismatches and a couple outright terrible fights.

D&R Rating 11% (4/35)