1) Josh Martin vs. Steve Durig: Both guys are wearing wrestling shoes, so I think I know how they fight.
FIGHT: Draw. (0)
Durig: Honestly doesn't seem like he wants to fight too much. Gets kicked in the groin a couple times and wisely takes the 5 minutes. I think he's better in the clinch too with very basic muay thai technique. However, Martin is stronger and gets him down a couple times to win the first. Durig has a better gas tank and ends up being able to outlast Martin after some desperation grappling, eventually taking his back and beating on him for the final minute of the fight. Honestly, the fight could have been stopped, but I think Herb Dean did the right thing by letting it get to the bell.
Martin: Much stronger; that means his wrestling and control is, stunningly, more effective. In the first round he is able to have a super high mount on Durig, looking sorta like an armbar setup, but instead prefers to pound him out. Durig turns over and escapes through the big, wide open back door though. That outlines a big problem with Martin. Yes, he's a wrestler first, second, and fifteenth. But everything else in the arsenal that you need to succeed on this level isn't present here.
2) Tom Murphy vs. Josh Hendricks: Hendricks was in the UFC for a very short period, and Murphy was too! Murph actually was on TUF Season 2. Weird, huh? So this is kinda a good fight.
FIGHT: Murphy TKO Rnd 1. This is why Murphy got a TUF shot. He clinches up with Johnny Hendricks' D1 wrestling brother, gets a trip takedown, postures up, stands, and throws a right hand through the guard that splats Hendricks. Murphy didn't come out wild and did the job. (2)
3) Buddy Clinton vs. Angelo Popofski: Popofski reps the thumb of Michigan. Clinton was a Travis Lutter guy who was really popular with KOTC brass. Hasn't fought since 2008 though.
FIGHT: Clinton Submission Rnd 1. Easy fight. Clinton comes out firing with a combination that lands 100% on Popofski, drops him, and then he goes to side control and seeks out the kimura. Popofski took his eyes off Clinton when the punches started coming; bad idea. (0)
4) James Lee vs. Walley Keenboom: Lee was a major figure with the MASH fight team in Detroit. Had a fight in PRIDE and the UFC. Again, both men with wrestling shoes.
FIGHT: Lee Submission Rnd 1. Easy win. KOTC special ends in RNC. (1)
5) Forrest Petz vs. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett: Can you ask for more than this? Bennett is jawing at the camera during the stare down/instructions. God bless him.
FIGHT: Petz Submission Rnd 1. Fun fight for what it was. Bennett and Petz swing wildly to start, and Bennett actually gets the takedown. However, it is Krazy Horse, and in an attempt to pass guard, he's swept. He gets back to his feet, to his credit, and we have swinging again, leading to a Petz takedown and eventually a side choke. Bennett goes out instead of tapping. (2)
6) Thiago Alves vs. Jeff Cox: Cox wears grappling pants, Alves is juiced. I mean, you know, he's excited. Not really.
FIGHT: Alves TKO Rnd 1. Cox comes straight out at Alves, backing him up, Alves grabs thai plumb, and BOOM. Knee to face, Cox is out cold against the cage. Alves even circles out and lands like 3 punches flush to an unconscious man. Brutal, fast stuff. (3)
7) Ruben "Warpath" Villareal vs. Dan Bobish: WOW.
FIGHT: Bobish Submission Rnd 1. Another case of a dude not tapping - this time in about 30 seconds to a forearm choke against the cage from side control. Bobish got an easy double as Villareal didn't even change levels or anything. (1)
8) Jason Ireland vs. Jorge Gurgel: Man, this is like the TUF 2 preview show. Gurgel was a hot, hot prospect once. Ireland was also a hot prospect for a time. Yes, this is post knee blowout. Terry Trebilcock joins the booth.
FIGHT: Gurgel Submission Rnd 3. This is a legendary bout among hardcore fans - I'd say its the first really public viewing of Stand And Bang Gurgel. Rather than go to the mat and use his vast knowledge of submission, Gurgel prefers to be the fan favorite and trade with Ireland. So little has changed in 6 years - Gurgel still ignores the openings for thai clinch and knees or uppercuts, and instead throws a lot of wide hooks that land, more often than not, on the arms. He presses the action, which means Ireland is on defense, and he does that by squaring up totally against the cage and not countering until Gurgel expends himself. His counter is generally to shoot for a single, but he occasionally lands blows in the early going on the backfoot. Gurgel goes for a triangle at the bell in the first, a guillotine in the second with a drop to half guard, and neither comes close to finishing it. However, a guillotine around the midpoint in the 3rd is on strong. He gets Ireland down and against the cage, sits up, and has some serious leverage, forcing the tap. Good scrap. (3)
9) Mike Buchkovich vs. Eric "Butterbean" Esch: Buchkovich is listed as 10-0 at this point. In case the name sounds familiar, he was reviewed on AOF 8 beating the hell out of David Yost. Bean is DEBUTING. Yes! Before PRIDE! Crowd is not happy for this because Esch was supposedly going to be put in to fight a local DJ.
FIGHT: Draw. Not gonna bother to review. There may have been a gentleman's agreement in place so that there are no takedowns, as Buchkovich doesn't shoot at all in the first. He lands a lot of jabs on the outside along with right hands, and when there is grappling, it primarily occurs in the second round with Buchkovich pushing Butterbean into the cage. Clearly, Buchkovich should win the decision. (1)
Instead, a draw? Crowd is BOOING. Bean says that the opponent was only chosen a couple hours prior. Oh man. Buchkovich takes the mic straight out of the woman's hand interviewing him and screams "This is BULLSHIT!" only to be yelled at by Tedd Williams immediately after. Crowd is heated. He then says "Butterbean is a good fight!" Then they hug it out. Crowd is still booing, Buchkovich then says he wants to let his 2 year old know he loves her. Amy, the girl interviewing the fighters, asks the crowd if they want a rematch only to be showered with boos.
10) Joey Villasenor vs. Brendan Seguin: Both guys could probably rematch now and it would make good sense.
FIGHT: Villasenor TKO Rnd 1. Some striking from too far away to land from both guys before Joey clinches up. Seguin is pretty tough to take down, to be fair, and they separate. Again, back to distance striking. Villasenor leaps in with a left hook and Seguin is out fold and a total mess. (2)
11) Jarrod Bunch vs. Michael Westbrook: Nothing like a freakshow to headline; two former NFL players, Westbrook being the more well known of the two.
FIGHT: Westbrook Submission Rnd 1. Sometimes, all you can ask is that two guys give it a good effort and don't embarass themselves or the sport. This is one of those occasions where they took it seriously and put forth real effort. Neither guy looked great, but if you compared them to a lot of lousy heavyweights that the sport has been subjected to over the years, hey, look - do these guys really look worse than Brian Vetell or something? Of course not. Westbrook does some nice setups for the shot with his level changes and eventually shoots the double after having defended a takedown attempt of Bunch. He lands some hellacious punches, Bunch gives the back, and we basically have a classic KOTC special with a RNC that takes way too long to finish. And really, for what this is, that's a great victory. (1)
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Ireland/Gurgel
KO OF THE NIGHT: Cox/Alves
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Warpath/Bobish
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 6.5 out of 10. Honestly, this was pretty good. The Butterbean fight is atrocious, but most everything else isn't offensive. There's actually even a very good fight on here. Not a classic as some have labelled, but a very good fight and probably one of the 10 best of 2005. Some pretty brutal beatdowns came with it that entertained because it was high level carnage, and you have a night of fights that's worth buying.
D&R RATING: 29% (16/55)
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