War On The Mainland (7/14/2010)

This is an all time classic B-show. An instant classic, no less! BENNY RICARDO with his ghericurl is play by play. Color? BAS RUTTEN. YES YES YES.

1) Rick Reeves vs. Gustavo Machado: A Machado to start this off. How awesome is this? Jason Herzog is the ref. Reeves is a former Lion's Den fighter. This is like the best show of the year and I'm 10 minutes in. Landless is a judge too! Unreal.

FIGHT: Machado Split Decision. Didn't expect a standup fight in this. (1) for the Machado name.

Machado: Machado easily wins this, in my opinion, though the judges disagreed. Lots of solid low kicks that forced Reeves to switch stances in round 3. He gets some solid body shots in, two leg lock attempts when it hits the mat; one of the body shots forced Reeves to drop his mouthpiece.

Reeves: Decent fighter but it didn't look like he turned over his fists at all when he punched. Kinda a tough thing to hurt someone when you don't do that. Kicks were light, and he started to transition to a different gameplan in a desperate attempt to change the pace of the fight in round 3 with takedowns. Instead, Machado started getting setups for leg locks. Just didn't have enough to win.

2) Diego Garijo vs. Jens Pulver: A low moment, but an important one nonetheless.

FIGHT: Garijo Submission Rnd 1. Pulver and Garijo trade - Garijo is a significantly larger man, and they're trading. Pulver just can't take the shots though these days - where as the olden days saw him going back and forth with Gomi, a single punch from Garijo drops him hard. He tries to scramble to a single, but gets choked out. (3)

3) Erin Beach vs. Joao Silva: Never heard of either.

FIGHT: Beach Unanimous Decision (0)

Beach: This guy is a lightweight fighting a featherweight. He's not terrible or anything - his takedown defense is at least OK and he's a decent striker. But lightweight is a jammed division. I don't see this guy fitting in.

Silva: Tough guy, takes a lot of punches and gets a hematoma on his face. His takedown attempts are all stuffed and he tries going to pull guard after awhile.

4) Thales Leites vs. Matt Horwich: Oh my god, what a great fight. Horwich is deeply underrated - maybe because he's inconsistent. Great wrestler, tough dude all around. I do worry about where he'll be in 10 years. Leites is, as we discover forever here, totally overrated. This is a FIVE ROUND FIGHT for some sort of title bauble.

FIGHT: Horwich Submission Rnd 4. Just a wild fight...but in slow motion. If I were watching live I'd have had a coronary. (4)

Leites: Leites is so much better technically and it shows for most of the first two rounds. And then after numerous failed submission attempts and getting pushed around by Horwich....he starts to gas with a minute left in the second. Horwich finishes strong. In round three, Leites picks back up a little bit, but again begins to fade at the end of the round, with Horwich proving capable of escaping a doombringing side choke. When the 4th opens, Leites is done.

Horwich: Bas says it best - Horwich makes good fighters look bad. And as this proves, sometimes he beats them. Attaining positional dominance over and over and over again, Leites couldn't finish Horwich. Instead, he ran himself empty over the distance, and Horwich made him pay. He slowly pressed forward with his strikes, ended up spinning around Leites, slamming him down, and then applying a RNC. Totally out of the blue, IMO. Horwich isn't any better than he was 3 years ago, and actually he looks slower on his feet. All those wars are a likely attributing factor to that. But he still has something left, even for fighters on the cusp of the top ten. Great show for Horwich.

5) Jason Lambert vs. Tony Lopez: These are the PWP titles. What? Yeah. This is for the 205 lb version - Originally this was gonna be Lambert/Allan Goes, but Goes fell down the stairs again or something.

FIGHT: Lopez TKO Rnd 2 (3)

Lopez: Lopez is getting pushed around the whole fight by Lambert who does NOTHING aside from try and clinch and hold, and then he lands a knee to the head and takes Lambert out instantly. A couple punches are landed as he slumps.

Lambert: He has lost his last 7 now. Lost to Horwich. Lost to V-Mat. Dude is so done, its not funny.

6) Terry Martin vs. Jorge Ortiz: Martin was a fight away from the middleweight title in the UFC once. Ortiz? Well, no, nothing similar. Best career win is Jason Guida. Martin is super cut up at 170 - Looks like a totally different person.

FIGHT: Martin Split Decision. (2)

Martin: Martin wins this fight effectively off of the first two rounds where he's able to acquire takedowns and have control on the mat. As a striker, he has changed little in his move down from heavyweight to welterweight - the punches are still totally wide and he throws fewer combinations than ever. Ortiz clips him with a punch in the second round that seriously rocks Martin's world too. Good body shots, I'll give him that.

Ortiz: Comes on strong in the third round, which makes me wish this was for a shitty belt and went 5. While he wasn't terribly exciting or effectively in rounds 1 and 2, he landed a nice counter that gave him confidence, and in the 3rd round he started to open up more with punches and low kicks. However, his hands and defense were still open enough that he got clipped with frightening regularity.

7) Tim Sylvia vs. Paul Buentello: MAIN EVENT. 285lb catchweight or something. Timmy looks really soft here. Flabby gut.

FIGHT: Sylvia TKO Rnd 2 (4) This is classic Tim Sylvia. At distance, its about the jab and low kicks to control distance. When Buentello gets to punching distance, Sylvia decides to push him into the corner and put weight on him. And then its so effective, he keeps doing it in the second. Buentello tires out and starts taking a beating in the clinch, and when they're separated by McCarthy late in the fight, low kicks start to fell Buentello. He freezes up in the corner, takes a uppercut to the head, and drops hard. Buentello is still the same man as before too - hands are OK speed wise, but he's no great wrestler, he's soft in the middle, etc etc etc. After the fight, Tim Sylvia and Pedro Rizzo discuss a potential future title fight for a belt that will likely never be defended.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Leites/Horwich

KO OF THE NIGHT: Lopez/Lambert

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Garijo/Pulver

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 8 out of 10. No really terrible fights. Even watching it knowing the majority of the results, I was riveted. I kid you not in saying that Horwich/Leites is one of my favorite fights in 2010 - legit skill, a melding of all things that make MMA great as a sport, plus an underdog story. The whole thing is a passion play. I mean some fights could have been better and the random jobber/prospect bouts were nothing special, but whatever. This is a great second tier show. One of the best I can think of in recent memory. The next event is slated for 2011 in Rio, so you can probably kiss them goodbye.

D&R Rating: 48% (17/35)

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)

NAAFS Cage Fighting (6/27/2010)

I missed a week of shows but I'm sure it'll replay one day. So what? The main event is on this program, and this is what matters. Chris Lozano is fighting Jason Dent at a catchweight of 170. None of the rest of this shit matters.

1) Chris Lozano vs. Jason Dent: Among the more meaningful fights ever produced by this promotion, Lozano and Dent represent different sides of a rivalry among camps in the area, as well as a classic crossroads match. One man is looking to move up, the other looking to just hang on. Fake superfight title is on the line to make this a 5 round bout.

FIGHT: Lozano TKO Rnd 4. (2)

Lozano: This is a career highpoint and what got him a contract with Bellator. I'm not gonna slag his performance really because he was dominant up until the point that Dent quit. He never looked like a guy who was really putting everything together and he seemed to be a potential sucker for leg kicks, but his next opponent is not really a strong striker. There's a ton of spinning elbows and kicks thrown through this fight that are wiffs and probably not wise to do against better guys. He didn't really land a punch square until the end of the 3rd round. After that, things start to get easy fast. He drops Dent again early in the 4th but knees Dent in the head rushing after him and landing a bunch of elbows. Just a stupid rookie mistake to pull when he had the fight practically won.

The fight restarts though and Dent starts to get wild and throws a bunch of spinning kicks and stuff to land a desperation shot. Lozano doesn't move the right way which is maddening, but he responds with punches as Dent tries to come forward. This is just a mismatch of a physical nature - Lozano likes to throw fancy shit and can. I mean there is a crazy spinning elbow that Lozano lands and it busts open the side of Dent's head. Just classic thai shit. But he has nothing to worry about from Dent. Its just him trying to hit a moving heavy bag. The athletic commissioner stops the fight after the 4th and Lozano wins.

Dent: Boxing fans might remember John Brown and Carl Daniels. During the late 1990s, both men were minor contenders and faced big names (Mosley and Hopkins respectively) for world championships, though they lost at that level. After losing at the world title level, both men slowly fell into the position of being opponents. With time, they began to move up in weight to offer themselves up as losses to increasingly bigger men. Brown is still fighting today - he's a junior welterweight. He's 1-6 in his last 7. Daniels is 1-7 in his last 8, up from middleweight to light heavyweight.

Dent is going in that direction. When you are fighting guys well above your natural weight, you can only win if you have serious technical advantages. Dent is a fine journeyman who puts on a fun fight, but he is not going to outclass a serious middleweight or welterweight contender. He is not a puncher. His submission game is so-so. He's a good wrestler, but in the fight with Lozano, he didn't even clinch until late in the second. At that point he didn't seriously chase a takedown either. Instead, he engaged in a glorified kickboxing match that he had no advantage in participating in. He never controlled the action or really went to change the location of the bout. He was the opponent through and through.

OVERALL FOR THE SHOW: 4 out of 10. The announcers sold this as the greatest NAAFS fight of all time. Yikes. It was basically a one sided beatdown. Think Shad Smith vs. Duane Ludwig in slow motion.

NAAFS Cage Fighting (6/13/2010)

Recorded on its debut, this episode was recorded on 6/5/10 and features the debut of John Hawk, NAAFS heavyweight champ, at light heavy.

1) Bill Morosetti vs. Reggie Parks: Amateur welterweight fight. Parks I've seen twice before easily dominating guys. How will he do here?

FIGHT: Morosetti Submission Rnd 2 (0)

Morosetti: There's a lot of guys like this out there - the archetype is perhaps Travis Lutter. You get fighters that are pretty good on the mat but not really great wrestlers. They don't really show you anything on the feet in fights like this either, so who knows what they can do when a fight doesn't get to the mat in the way they want? Parks wasn't prepared to really stop submissions from a guy who can transition between things like Morosetti.

Parks: Didn't really do anything here aside from escape from a submission early and end up on top getting mostly neutralized.

2) John Hawk vs. Doug Sparks: I've seen Hawk before - can't say I was impressed. Sparks? Who?

FIGHT: Sparks Submission Rnd 3.

Sparks: In Doug Sparks' rather unknown record, he's 12-2 as an amateur, having lost to the two best fighters he's faced (Bellator vet Josh Martin and KOTC title challanger Anthony Lapsley). As a pro, he was a mere 1-0 entering this fight against the undefeated former heavyweight Hawk. The men Sparks has typically faced are welterweights and middleweights, and his physical appearance makes it clear that he too is naturally somewhere in the 180lb range as a competitor. Maybe smaller. So what can he do against a much larger man with such a glitzy record when he is so much shorter and so soft?

Well, 30 seconds in Sparks scores a double leg takedown and ends up taking the back of Hawk. This is a fight that is athleticism and size against skill and technique. In the case of this bout, technique triumphs. He takes Hawk's back in every round and while he loses the position twice looking for an armbar on both occasions, he does minimize strikes from Hawk and goes for a number of submission attempts as well as sweeps. Hawk tires in round 3 and Sparks gets a takedown that leads into the rear naked choke finish that comes with a mere 8 seconds remaining. In the post fight interview, Sparks thanks teammates who have cancer, training partners, and the Noid. In short, Sparks rules and is a hero to the sport.

Hawk: Hawk has more of that physically drawn, flabby but oddly solid and concave look that Tim Sylvia has. He is strong and proves capable of escaping a few submissions, but his ability to fight off his back is practically nonexistent and seems to be predicated on giving up his back and hopefully shrugging the man on it off before he taps him. His ground and pound is as slow and ponderous as it was in his heavyweight title fight, and his striking on the mat isn't very good either. He seems to daze Sparks with a punch in the clinch at the end of the second that drops him and is the most meaningful piece of standup in the contest, but it doesn't amount to much and he doesn't dare go after the man on the mat in fear of getting submitted. (1)

OVERALL FOR THE SHOW: 6 out of 10. I don't think you're gonna see anything outrageous here skill or fightwise. But what you do see is the rise of MMA's next great cult figure (imo of course).

NAAFS Cage Fighting 6/6/2010

Taped from 6/6. Fight At the Flats w is where this stuff was recorded one year to the day before, and we've got SEAN SALMON in the main event.

1) Cody Butzer vs. Russ Halsey: Butzer is an amateur with a pretty strong record, was a high school wrestler, and went to jail for a year after getting convicted of trafficking. Amateur bout at 170.

FIGHT: Butzer Submission Rnd 1. Halsey did nothing, so let's talk about Butzer. First, he has some legal issues it seems, because he hasn't fought in a year plus. Its too bad. He has some serious athleticism based on what I saw here. His hands were low and his standup robotic, but once the fight could be dragged to the mat, he was absolutely dominant. I don't know that his takedowns were that fantastic, but he's got good core strength. Apparently he beat the hell out of a pizza dude and googling his name brings up a whole lot of people that don't like him. Whatever. I don't know this dude so for I all I know he's loyal to his people and doesn't give a fuck about anyone else. I know lots of great people that got involved in some serious shit and it doesn't make you a bad dude. He's the most interesting prospect I've seen fighting ammys in NAAFS in awhile. Still, inactivity? Legal problems? (0)

2) Marcus Kuck vs. Chris Lozano: They spend some time hyping Lozano as a prospective pro. Like would I care about a career amateur fighter in this sport?

FIGHT: Lozano KO Rnd 1. Easy KO over an overmatched opponent. You know where he's going now? He's fighting Yoshiyuki Yoshida in Bellator. This after stopping Jason Dent in a 5 rounder. (2)

3) Allan Weickert vs. Sean Salmon: How far has Sean Salmon fallen? And this is last year. Pro series middleweight title.

FIGHT: Weickert Submission Rnd 2. (0)

Weickert: Easily the better of the two men standing, though I suppose that's not a stunning fact when you consider that Sean Salmon was KOed by Rashad Evans with a headkick. He doesn't have very good takedown defense and so Salmon keeps taking him down, and Weickert is able to take advantage of it in the second by getting an armbar.

Salmon: Salmon can take guys down on nifty singles, but his submission defense is terrible and his standup equally bad. Even after being KOed a hundred times. Including the time he PISSED HIMSELF.

OVERALL FOR THE SHOW: 3 out of 10. Lots of chatter. Lots of slick edited pieces. Fights? Not so great.

Raging Wolf 8: Cage Supremacy (7/17/10)

This is a bizarre card, Nuri Shakir is in the main event? LOL. Also, Tonya Evinger and COREY HILL VS. KIT COPE. Luigi Fiorivanti and Jarrod Card are joining Jay Adams here.

1) Aljamain Sterling vs. Zech Lange: Lange is undefeated, Sterling is 4-1 and his loss is to Lange is that one blemish. Lange's from Bomb Squad. This is at 135 for an amateur title that is cooked up, so its 5 3 minute rounds.

FIGHT: Sterling Unanimous Decision.

Sterling: Decent striker, has good size for the weight, but his wrestling is pretty suspect. He got taken down a number of times, and while he could return the favor here and there, you still don't want to see the guy on his back if you expect him to go far. He kept going for a inverted triangle in the 5th round which was kinda cool and also got sorta caught in a near twister position, so I think he needs to stick to his grappling basics.

Lange: Too much in terms of flashy technique over basics. No need to over represent the thai shorts, dude. Wrestling wasn't too bad but he got taken down as often as he got the double. Not much of a submission game that I could see.

2) Corey Hill vs. Kit Cope: Hill was an exciting prospect - until his leg snapped. Oops. Cope has a ridiculous record and is more famous for going down hills in tires and banging a chubby Gina Carano than his MMA career.

FIGHT: Hill Submission Rnd 1. Nothing to see here, honestly. Hill gets dropped with a right hand shooting in and nearly stopped, but gets to drag Cope into his guard where he locks up a triangle that is SLOWWWWWWW. He's going nowhere big. (1)

3) Tonya Evinger vs. A.J. Jenkins: Women fighting! Innovation!

FIGHT: Evinger TKO Rnd 2. BTW, the crowd made ZERO noise this whole fight until the end. Nothing. Totally silent. Did they all leave? You could hear the shutter of a ringside camera over the fighters and fans.

Evinger: Looked solid. Got the takedown early in rounds 1 and 2 and totally dominated from there. Just smashed her opponent.

Jenkins: Dominated totally and completely. Had no offense, got busted up pretty bad. Evinger was all over her.

4) Alan Arzeno vs. Nuri Shakir: Arzeno is 3-2. Shakir is 14-17. This is the main event. This is a welterweighttitle fight. Shakir is really a lightweight. Jesus.

FIGHT: Shakir Submission Rnd 4.

Shakir: Opens this fight dropping Arzeno with a jab. Oh boy. Shakir dominates every aspect of the fight, easily counterpunching Arzeno's subpar striking and taking him down on occasion. He cuts up Arzeno in the process of battering him, and takes him down as Shakir flurries with wild strikes. When this occurs in the 4th round, it spells doom for Arzeno. Shakir is far superior on the mat and ends up grabbing an armbar as Arzeno tries to get away from him and stand.

Arzeno: Takes a battering on his feet, leaving him gassed out and in trouble by the midway point. On the mat, he's not even second rate, suffering the indignity of being submitted by a guy who just isn't an elite fighter.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Shakir/Arzeno

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Shakir/Arzeno

KO OF THE NIGHT: Evinger/Jenkins

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Shakir smashing a total pretender is kinda fun, as is seeing Corey Hill/Kit Cope being a real fight.

NAAFS Cage Fighting (5/16/2010)

Taped 5/22, originally aired 5/16 I think. Fights were taped 4/24/2010.

1) Milan Wesley vs. Bob Rech: Who? Amateurs I think.

FIGHT: Wesley Submission Rnd 2. Lots of Rech having top control and positional dominance. However, Wesley has some skill and heart - he dropped Rech early in the fight with a punch, though he didn't really get to capitalize off it. In the second, Wesley scrambles to his feet, and is able to grab a rear naked choke from a sort of side position. (0)

2) Blaine Bailey vs. Tony Metsch: 150lb amateurs, I think.

FIGHT: Metsch Submission Rnd 1. Metsch is wild standing and so is his opponent. He gets this to the mat after Bailey shoots a single having been hurt by a punch, so I guess its not really his choice. Still, he sets up the triangle immediately and slowwwwwwly applies it. (0)

3) James Rankin vs. Nelson Best: Amateur heavyweight fight. Rankin is quite built, Best not so much.

FIGHT: Best KO Rnd 2. Huge knock out as Rankin drops his hands to exchange and eats a 3 punch combination. He never saw the right hand coming behind the jab. Neither guy looked great otherwise. They rushed Best to his feet for no good reason. (0)

4) Neal Craft vs. Mickey Hughes: Pro fight at middleweight. Craft is claimed to be 13-5, but that's with ammy fights. Reality? 2-3 as a pro.

FIGHT: Hughes TKO Rnd 1. Mismatch in reality. Craft throws some kicks early then gets dragged down and whooped on. (0)

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2.5 out of 10. A mammoth KO but none of the fights were any good.