EDIT: Funny thing today - I also reviewed a NAAFS show I had already reviewed. A first! So if you think you saw something earlier, you did. And now it is gone and this is in it's place.
1) Eddie Fyvie vs. Anthony Morrison: Morrison was in the WEC very briefly. Fyvie never really made it that far.
FIGHT: Fyvie Submission Rnd 1. (1)
Fyvie: Fyvie goes to buttscoot the second Morrison gets even a little close to him. Morrison though falls for it and ends up inside the active guard of a decent BJJ artist. Fyvie nearly locks up a triangle with not much of a setup, and while Morrison shrugs it off and powers through once, a second attempt later in the round is successful at a tapout.
Morrison: Strong guy who's standup was way too dangerous for Fyvie to consider engaging with for even a split second, but was also nowhere near enough of a grappler to take advantage of what is traditionally a dominant position.
2) Bill Scott vs. Joe Diamond: Two guys at light heavyweight, but well under the 205lb weight.
FIGHT: Scott Submission Rnd 2. Both guys come at each other so crouched over, you can tell they expect to grapple and not trade at all. Seriously, one uppercut and this show is over. (0)
Diamond: Diamond is the bigger guy and gets takedowns and whatnot for the most part in this fight, and wins the first round pretty comprehensively. But he leaves his head and arm out pretty often and Scott takes advantage of that.
Scott: Scott is a smaller, not terribly skilled but competent BJJ artist and wrestler who is overpowered by a bigger man but makes up for it with better technique, forcing an armbar submission in the first round. He has a few other moments - briefly resisting a takedown of Diamond in the first and almost reversing position. There's also a near sweep with a triangle attempt in the second before the submission that ends the fight.
3) Anthony Vetro vs. Chris Schlesinger: Weight max here is 198lbs? Both are lumpy still.
FIGHT: Schlesinger Submission Rnd 2. (0)
Vetro: Pudgy. Can defend the takedown for a couple minutes against a smaller man.
Schlesinger: Master of the wild right hand lead/shot into clinch against the ropes. He spent most of the first round there. Maybe 3 minutes worth, come to think of it. And so it was the small victory of him going to a single while pushing the man in the corner, then dropping to trip the other ankle and get the man down that brought me joy. He then rolled very loosely for some submissions he didn't get like a RNC and an armbar and the round ended. In the second he shoots right away again, but gets a big takedown and Vetro turns and gives the neck in little time.
4) Mike Medrano vs. Anthony LaDonna: Welterweight division. LaDonna is a passable fighter.
FIGHT: Medrano TKO Rnd 2. (0)
Medrano: Medrano looks a lot like Matt Serra. A lot. And he hits like him too, as can be judged with LaDonna being out cold after a single right hand to the head. He's a strong fireplug of a guy with a propensity to fire hooks and move linearly. That's like, I dunno, a lot of guys. Not a real BJJ "artist" so to speak. If he is, he's barebones into control and high percentage stuff.
LaDonna: Made the mistake of trading with Medrano when it didn't really serve his purposes and gets laid out with a right hook. During the fight he generally ends up underneath the stronger Medrano but is skillful enough to avoid getting hit too hard or anything like that.
5) Dave Branch vs. Alexis Aquino: Interesting middleweight bout with guys who are real prospects. Well, Aquino was. He's soft around the belly in this fight.
FIGHT: Branch TKO Rnd 1. Lots of feeling out here that turns out to be more uncomfortable standup than anything else. Both guys want to grapple, and their skills are negating each other. Branch eventually ends up closing the distance, getting underhooks, elevating and slamming Aquino, then moves to full mount to pound him out. And pound him out he does. (1)
6) Dom Stanco vs. Marc Berrocal: 175 lbs?
FIGHT: Stanco TKO Rnd 2. Berrocal had previously been seen getting run over at ROC 18 and this isn't that much different. To save myself writing more than I need to, Berrocal has some iota of talent. He escapes a RNC and a straight armbar that most would have tapped too. But he is in those positions because he's not a particularly great grappler, he lacks the core strength against a solid, well built wrestler like Stanco to get him down, and on the occasions he defends something and gets on top afterwards, he either doesn't have time to make anything of it or gets swept. Stanco keeps him grounded to the mat and pounds him out with punches in the second. (0)
7) Douglas Gordon vs. Levon Maynard: Journeymen locking horns. Both dudes are ripped physically.
FIGHT: Gordon TKO Rnd 1. In the early part of the round, Gordon takes down Maynard after catching a body kick in what looks to be a primarily standup fight. And that suspicion is affirmed as Gordon doesn't really do a whole lot with the top position. Certainly he created the idea in Maynard's mind that the takedown was a real possibility once the fight was stood back to the feet, and that probably played on his mind as, later on, Maynard ducked down into a clinch with Gordon and instead ended up eating a right hand to the temple and another right hand uppercut after it that dropped him and ended the fight. (0)
8) Ricardo Romero vs. Constantinos Philippou: Interesting fight! Nontitle bout for Romero's light heavyweight title. Romero comes in looking soft.
FIGHT: Romero Split Decision. (2)
Romero: Honestly, I came into this fight with no expectations, and I guess I have to say that anyone who picked Philipou to win is an idiot. Romero consistently got positions and takedowns throughout the bout, even opened the fight up with a slam. I wasn't that impressed with his finishing technique, but I suppose he has won 6 subsequent fights inside the distance. Didn't seem to like the mount at all - really preferred and chased after side control.
Philippou: Wanted to box, didn't want to grapple so much. Unfortunately then for him, he spent most of the fight on his back trying to defend kimuras and the like. I'm willing to entertaing the largely kickboxing based first round to Philippou because he was outworking Romero. Romero does strike like he's Frankenstein after all. And also important is the fact that he's really a middleweight and settled at 185 later in his career. I guess you can ask what the loss in the TUF opening round for season 11 meant when he got tapped by Joseph Henle. I'm not sure I put a lot of stock in that being terrible for him. It was so early in his career.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Phillippou/Romero
KO OF THE NIGHT: Gordon/Maynard
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Fyvie/Morrison
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 5 out of 10. Quality issues that didn't bother me regarding production aside and the lack of the actual main event, this is a not so bad show in the great scheme of things. Finishes? Sure. Decision with quality fighters? Yes, actually. I liked not hearing terrible announcers and PBP men.
D&R Rating: 10% (4/40)
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