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)
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