MFC 27 (11/12/2010)

And we've got another HDNet based MMA show from MFC, my least favorite promotion in like, the whole world. The Voice and Frank Trigg are announcing. Jason Gregor is helping out and doing stuff in the back. But hey - Pete Spratt fight!

1) Bill Fraser vs. Dhiego Lima: Welterweight fight with Lima being in shape and Fraser sorta being in shape. Lima's brother is in the main event.

FIGHT: Lima TKO Rnd 2. Really slowly fought bout with Fraser actually having some success in the clinch and top control. Lima eventually gets some separation, drops the hands with a right to the body, and then comes back up top with a one two and Fraser's hands can't come back up soon enough. Down and out. (0)

2) Ryan Healy vs. Kajan Johnson: Why is this fight made? I have no idea. The other Healy vs. some guy.

FIGHT: Johnson Unanimous Decision. Ugly "exciting fight". (0)

Johnson: Fights fairly well in the first two, getting on top a couple times and nearly stopping Healy with a headkick. But Johnson can't finish the fight then and we end up with a slow end of the second and third. He wins all three rounds pretty cleanly - was never in real trouble. Even when he was on his back, he seemed in control of the fight.

Healy: Hands were down a lot, wrestling wasn't that good (in spite of being from Team Quest), had guts but lost across the board with a couple different 10-8 rounds on one card.

3) Rodney Wallace vs. David Heath: Oh lawd. Not this. Expecting lay and pray hell.

FIGHT: Wallace Unanimous Decision. Not as bad as expected. Still referred to at the conclusion as "uninspired". (1)

Wallace: Wallace usually shoots for the single or double and then lays on guys to win. Here Heath actually did some defending and prevented that being the whole fight. Wallace does show the ability to roll punches and also throw a nice double jab, and the highlight of the fight is a bizarre two legged leaping kick he throws near the end of the first. Not at all effective but interesting. As far as being in trouble, Wallace goes for a throw in the first round and ends up taking Heath on top of him and getting cut. He survives. Wallace does get back control briefly in the third round and has a pair of omaplata attempts that went nowhere.

Heath: Did so little. Terrified of the takedown to the point where he never got off. Then he couldn't stop that either.

4) Razak Al-Hassan vs. Dwayne Lewis: Lewis is from Fort McMurray which is like the worst wasteland in the universe. Al-Hassan had his arm get destroyed on that UFC Fight For the Troops show.

FIGHT: Lewis Split Decision (1)

Al-Hassan: Grabs Lewis, pushes him to the corner, and they stay there most of the fight. Sometimes Al-Hassan gets on top in the first and third. He doesn't do much there. He nearly gets submitted with an omaplata. An omaplata from Dwayne Lewis. Announcers and I both think he got robbed.

Lewis: Better grappler than I thought, actually. Still hits so hard. But he's not a good wrestler to be honest and he's too small against the good 205lb fighters to not get put in the corner and have weight put on him.

5) Pete Spratt vs. Ryan Ford: A rematch of a fight that previously ended with Ford choking out Spratt. Spratt first nearly got KOed with illegal shots after the bell in the first, but since the ref didn't actually separate them or anything, they counted. Yeah.

FIGHT: Ford Submission Rnd 2. In many ways a repeat of the prior fight. Spratt wins the first going away with top control and superior striking. Ford and Spratt clinch and Spratt's cup is probably broken with a knee. Of course, it was accidental, so Spratt loses by TKO on the low blow if he doesn't continue. When he does, he's basically immobile and begging to be taken down. Ford clinches, pushes to the corner, gets the takedown, and then runs shit until getting a RNC. (1)

6) Douglas Lima vs. Jesse Juarez: TITLE FIGHT~ at welter. Can these guys beat John Alessio? LOL NO.

FIGHT: Lima Submission Rnd 3. Not gonna do a lot on this but basically Juarez, a wrestler from the Body Shop, gets takedowns and Lima can't stop them. Easily wins round 1 and 2. He's winning Round 3 but Lima is able to push away a little, get some separation, and then locks in a triangle. He transitions to an armbar and forces the tap. Not an exciting fight by any stretch of the imagination. (1)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Johnson/Healy

KO OF THE NIGHT: Fraser/Lima

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Lima/Juarez

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Even live, MFC isn't any good. Boring ass fights most of the night except for some scrubs and Ford/Spratt II.

D&R Rating: 13% (4/30)

SHOOTO DISC 6A: Vale Tudo Junction 1/20/1996

Oh, okay, these are out of order and it is even marked so in my spreadsheet. Oh well. Should pay better attention. Here's another show from Samurai TV from Korakuen Hall.

1) Yuji Fujita vs. Takuya Kuwabara: 74.5 KG, 3X3. Kuwabara has little trunks. Historically Fujita is not a good grappler and Kuwabara is not bad. I sense submissons.

FIGHT: Kuwabara Submission Rnd 2. As expected, Kuwabara ends up dominating action on the mat. He takes down Fujita multiple times and while a first attempt at an armbar at the end of round one ends without a tapout and the bell ringing (and Kuwabara elevated in the air, resting on a rope), he is ultimately successful going for the move again in the second.

2) Hisao Ikeda vs. Yoshiyuki Takayama: Something seems to have happened here in the recording process and I think I have this fight? Not sure? Missed the weight and rounds. I fast forward through to see if I do and yup, I do. Ikeda is in thai shorts, Takayama in shoot boxing apparel.

FIGHT: Ikeda Submission Rnd 3. If you showed this to someone and asked them what year it happened, 1996 might have been the last potential answer. Very modern looking technique in a lot of ways and two concepts on how to win with grappling that are diametrically opposed to one another but the best clash of styles for MMA. (1)

Ikeda: Ikeda is the top control grappler. He has a strong base and looks to dominate position, land punches, pass guard, etc. His standup is pretty lousy and he stands far too vertically, but that's okay because Takayama is no great kickboxer. In round one, he throws Takayama to the mat with a huge suplex and works out of the guard for the remainder. In round two he defends Takayama's attempts to bring the fight down, only allowing it to happen as Takayama pulls guard. In the third, Takayama tries to bring more to the table as far as punching and kicking goes before trying to close the distance, but its never particularly effective and Ikeda still is able to muscle the fight down with him keeping dominant position.

The ref stands them up as Ikeda sorta stands out of the guard, and again they clinch. Ikeda throws knees to the elbows and body before again getting a takedown. He passes his leg over the head of Takayama and locks in a kimura, forcing a tap with 3 seconds left.

Takayama: Good grappler on the bottom who constantly moves and looks to sweep and throw subs. Problem: Ikeda is good enough to dodge these attempts and stronger than Takayama. Takayama never really makes a change in game plan and even though he is losing after two, he chooses not to use what appears to be a clear technical advantage standing. He's just too wild when he comes to press the action and doesn't know how to keep distance and prevent takedowns.

3) Masanori Suda vs. Ganta Haga: Very interesting. Light heavyweight contest (really more like a MMA Middleweight), 3X3 with a future Shooto champ.

FIGHT: Suda Submission Rnd 1. Suda walks right up to Haga at the start of the fight, no strikes thrown, and tries to get a flying armbar. That is how awesome this fight is. Haga defends and strikes at Suda as he tries to get away. Suda keeps him rolling though and eventually pulls an armbar for the win about a minute in. (2)

4) Kimihito Nonaka vs. Ucyuu Tatsumi: Interesting - Nonaka likes wild subs, Tatsumi was sorta well rounded. Fun fact - The UFC had UFC 9 about a month after this event. That featured the David vs. Goliath tourney Don Frye won and Shamrock/Kimo I. Here, a world away, featherweight MMA with basically modern rules as far as action goes and all sorts of wild grappling. And yet younger fans wonder why old timers sometimes have a fondness for Japanese MMA that goes beyond all reason.

FIGHT: Tatsumi Majority Decision. Great fight. Two guys just going for it with sweeps and takedowns and all sorts of weird stuff. Nonaka at one point is basically standing on the thighs of Tatsumi, who is also standing. I don't even know what to call it. (1)

Tatsumi: For the majority of the fight, Tatsumi was on top and doing work - trying to pass, submit, etc. And that's gonna win you a fight, especially when there aren't a whole lot of times the ref would yell CATCH and whatnot. Tatsumi was also more active on the feet too.

Nonaka: Went for some interesting submissions like Suda did (couple wild armbar setups) but overall couldn't really lock anything in and wasn't a match for the perpetual motion of Tatsumi.

4) Jutaro Nakao vs. Yasunori Okuda: This is Nakao's debut; he went on to fight in the UFC, PRIDE, DEEP, Hook N Shoot, Real Rhythm, and Superbrawl, compiling over 40 fights dating up to 2010.

FIGHT: Nakao TKO Rnd 1. He pops Okuda right away with a right hand, clinches, gets a takedown, and then has to stand up again as they're tangled in the ropes. Another body lock, another takedown, mount, and punches come in until Okuda quits.

5) Masato Suzuki vs. Rumina Sato: 3X5. SATO SATO SATO

FIGHT: Sato Submission Rnd 1. Man, this is as wild as it gets in 3 minutes of fighting. They trade head kicks, Sato gets taken down and then it is transition after transition from there on. Sato throws triangle and armbars, sweeps with a triangle, but has to break and stand when they're all in the ropes. Sato again gets the fight down, mounts, and floats over to armbar. Sato is still one of the most exciting fighters of all time. (3)

6) Arnold Sas vs. Kyuhei Ueno: Sas is some dude who Sherdog says is Dutch and from Kamakura Gym. What does that mean? I dunno. Maybe he is a judoka? Probably a kickboxer. Ueno is a great fighter to watch from this time period.

FIGHT: Ueno Submission Rnd 3. Exciting fight again. Sas is game and hurts Ueno, dropping him in round 1 and earning a 8 count when he follows up a left hook with a right hand over the top. (0)

Ueno: He's got submission skills, that's for sure. Its what he relies on pretty much the whole time to win. But you also see that Ueno isn't that much of an athlete. He's like Hideo Tokoro before Tokoro. Its a problem because Sas can basically just power out of everything - he doesn't really know I think to get out of stuff, but he just bullies his way out and punches a lot. Eventually he catches Sas in an armbar from his back in the early part of the third, and Sas rotates himself deep into the submission and even offers a triangle choke doing so.

Sas: Uhh, strong, never fights again, put punches together on his feet.

7) Ruud Alwart vs. Noboru Asahi: Asahi is a nerd but I think is a champ at lightweight or something. Vale Tudo Japan Style rules, 8 min x 3 rounds.

FIGHT: Asahi TKO Rnd 1. Asahi gets the takedown off Alwart's opening leg kick and is immediately in side control. Ruh-roh. He passes to mount and punches Alwart till he quits or something. Its ruled a submission by strikes by Sherdog but its a TKO according to the video here. (4)

8) Erik Paulson vs. Todd Bjornethun: Great fight. This is prior to Paulson winning the light heavyweight title in Shooto as detailed here. Bjornethun beats Akihiro Gono on the same show.

FIGHT: Paulson Submission Rnd 2. Again, UFC had fat guys. Shooto had Paulson trying to get a banana split. Who was the better promotion back then? Right. Bjornethun is in over his head against a guy who was so versatile at this point in MMA history that one has to wonder why the UFC was never able to come to terms with him once weight classes were established a couple years later. Paulson is a better kickboxer and when Bjornethun brings it to the mat to try and make something happen, he instead tries to avoid sub attempt after sub attempt. Paulson breaks Bjornethun's nose with some punches early in the second and then goes for and succeeds with a guillotine, in spite of the arm being in. (4)

Paulson gives a really good interview afterwards. Says that Bjornethun was a strong grappler and surprised him by landing a couple punches when Paulson's hands were down. Paulson says he had trained mostly standup for the fight and only defense on the mat. He then throws down a challenge to Kawaguchi for the title and, yeah. Kawaguchi got beat on.

9) Enson Inoue vs. Andre Mannaart: SOMETHINGYAMATODASHIITHINK. Mannaart gets in the center of the ring and is basically in Inoue's face showing no intimidation.

FIGHT: Inoue TKO Rnd 1. He bashes out Mannaart after taking the mount. He had like the highest mount in history and Mannaart had no idea what to do to escape. The ref jumping in to stop the fight also seems to have hurt Mannaart's shoulder. Classic. Mannaart apologizes afterwards and everyone is cool. And Inoue gets a big trophy. Mannaart states in the postfight backstage interview that as a kickboxer trying this for the first time, hey, he didn't know what the hell he was doing and would like another shot. Inoue is shown backstage with Tiger Mask, in mask. (3)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Nonaka/Tatsumi

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Sato/Suzuki

KO OF THE NIGHT: Alwart/Asahi

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 6.5 out of 10. Some of the scrubby fights were great, yeah, but there were a lot of squashes and beatdowns on the card, even if they were quality beatdowns and squashes. No matter what, no great event is made up of lots of early stops and back and forth battles between randoms.

Ultimate Glory: 2010-2011 World Series First Round (10/16/10)

From HDNet we have this event promoted by Golden Glory featuring a bunch of welterweight fighters and some kickboxing. Bas Rutten is the in ring announcer and occasionally doing color. The event is being held at the Passenger Terminal for cruise ships in Amsterdam. Sadly, Mauro is doing PBP.

1) Robert Jocz vs. Hracho Darpinyan: Jocz lost to Bahadazurada on last years Golden Glory anniversary show reviewed here.

FIGHT: Darpinyan TKO Rnd 1. Dudes trading punches early on, and eventually Jocz (who keeps going to the ropes) gets caught squared up and drops, taking some more punches as he slinks down the corner cover. (0)

2) Roan Carniero vs. Luis Ramos: Interesting fight between two BJJ guys. Ramos is the South American Shooto welterweight champ. Carniero is a UFC vet/reject with lots of other stops elsewhere in the MMA world.

FIGHT: Carniero Unanimous Decision (2)

Carniero: Fought with a single goal in mind - close distance, takedowns, control. Ramos being as skilled as he was made it so that Carniero only had top position for a couple short periods on the mat during the fight and was even reversed during a trip takedown in the second. His standup is still atrocious (no angles, all to set up bad shots from way outside), and his wrestling isn't that good either. So much of this fight, maybe half, was spent against the ropes with Carniero pushing Ramos and putting weight on him.

Ramos: Better standup with some fluid looking leg kicks. Grappling wasn't bad either. His biggest problem was that Carniero was probably 10 lbs heavier coming into the ring and thus able to muscle him around in the clinch. That alone won Carniero rounds 1 and 3. On the mat, Ramos was an equal, nearly pulling off a sub at the end of the first and reversing Carniero's takedown in the second and getting half guard.

3) Sergey Golyaev vs. John Alessio: Golyaev had a big upset win in a disputed decision over Takanori Gomi in Sengoku, while Alessio has been everywhere there is in MMA.

FIGHT: Alessio Submission Rnd 2. Alessio finishes what was basically him pulling a submission grappling clinic with a kimura, arm stepped over Golyaev's face. Just ran him roughshod, was looking for low percentage submissions for fun (triangle from mount, for instance) before eventually ending the fight in the second. Golyaev couldn't defend Alessio's attempts to change position or stop submission attempts at all. (2)

At this point, the show enters the kickboxing portion. There's a heavyweight kickboxing tournament that is starting on this show, a fight that gets someone into K-1 Max, and a random 167lb superfight. Just in case you're wondering -

Robin Van Roosmalen vs. Maxim Vorovski: For the K-1 Max contract between guys from GG Amsterdam and GG Russia. Good action fight with Van Roosmalen bringing pressure and body punching, slowing Vorovski and winning a decision.

Mourad Bouzidi vs. Anderson "Braddock" Silva: The other Anderson Silva is getting chubby these days and he gets outworked by Bouzidi, who comes forward all fight long, winning a decision.

Brice Guidon vs. Filip Verlinden: Kinda blah kickboxing match with Guidon being big, not knowing how to properly use height, being slow, and having not much power on his armshots. Filip is just hanging out on the outside trying to counterpunch, and not doing a great job of it.

Wendell Roche vs. Stefan Leko: Mad old dudes in the ring. Leko keeps being washed up by retiring in the second due to mystery injury. Why does this guy keep getting fights?

Gohkan Saki vs. Nikolaj Falin: Falin comes forward and takes an unholy beating before getting dropped in the third and stopped. Saki looked great in this bout, and should clean up the GG tourney given the lack of any monster sized guys that he'll need to fight.

Murthel Groenhart vs. Nieky Holzen: Holzen is a regular on GG shows and he and Groenhart have a spirited battle that goes to extension round. Holzen wins the decision but the announcers and a good number of fans feel otherwise. I dunno. I thought it was a close fight. Neither man had the other in a lot of trouble, so it was almost like scoring a points karate contest in terms of trying to figure out who won.

BACK TO MMA~

4) Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Derrick Noble: Bahadurzada is still bald. Noble is taking it on short notice for Nick Thompson.

FIGHT: Bahadurzada TKO Rnd 1. There's a delay in this fight as they stand and strike, but clash heads. Noble gets a cut. Then he gets dropped with a leaping uppercut as Siyar jumps in. Noble drops, turtles up, takes a couple more shots, and the fight is over. (2)

5) David Bielkheden vs. Tommy Depret: M-1 reject vs. UFC reject.

FIGHT: Depret Submission Rnd 1. Bielkheden shoots in, gets caught in a guillotine, kicks his legs a lot and looks at the ref, then Depret sorta closes off the carotid with his body rather than an arm under (as Bielkheden has an arm in) from the mount. Took all of 36 seconds. (1)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Carniero/Ramos

KO OF THE NIGHT: Bahadazurada/Noble

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Depret/Bielkheden

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 5 out of 10. If you liked Thunderbox, this kickboxing tournament is about the same level of talent and production value, but with actual fans in the crowd. That's not too bad. However, I don't rank kickboxing shows. I do MMA. As far as actual MMA goes, the Ramos/Carniero fight actually isn't that bad considering so much of it is "positioning battle" and watching Alessio run a clinic is fun. The rest of it is over in seconds and not really anything I can go out of my way to suggest. OH WOW TWO DUDES YOU DON'T KNOW AND ONE FALLS IN A TRIANGLE IN 36 SECONDS YOU NEED ALL OF THAT you know you don't. And that is OK. Really only worth your time if you really really like heavyweight kickboxing. And I like heavyweight everything, so f' you if you don't.

Ring of Combat XI (8/18/06)

Skipping ahead a bunch of events because the video is unavailable, we go to Ring of Combat XI, held at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. Looks like its in a ballroom. Show is such a mess - it aires the "main event" first and then goes backwards I think? Rob Taliento and some other dude I don't know are announcing. The other guy is named Ralph? The event is taped with one camera that the quality of is galling. Tenyeh Dixon/Stephen Cloud is supposed to be watchable but doesn't work.

1) Israel Gomes vs. Adriano De Lima Periera: Some sort of super lightweight belt? Said to be the main event, and this is the start?

FIGHT: Periera Submission Rnd 1. He gets a takedown, punishes Gomes, forces him to flip, RNC. Blah. (0)

2) Radji Bryson-Barrett vs. Dave Rose: Middleweight contest of some sort.

FIGHT: Bryson-Barrett TKO Rnd 1. Stuns Rose early and then follows up as Rose falls to his back. Stop eventually comes in the first. (0)

3) Sean McCann vs. Scott Conlin: Heavyweights.

FIGHT: McCann TKO Rnd 1. Clubberin and someone falls down. Both guys are hurt at various points in the 30 seconds this lasts. (0)

4) Laura D'Auguste vs. Megumi Yabushita: Featured co-main event women's bout. This was actually a rematch of a split decision that occurred over in Japan. 3 5 minute rounds, which I didn't expect to be honest.

FIGHT: D'Auguste TKO Rnd 1. Close competitive fight in the first with Yabushita, a judoka, going for some cool looking throws but D'Auguste doing a solid job keeping herself in good positions and being on top or even taking the back after attempted throws. She also dominates the standup. Yabushita ends up injuring her wrist at the end of the round trying to go for a big throw and can't continue. Not that great to watch. D'Auguste doesn't fight again. (1) Semi relevant women's bout.

5) Richard Boine vs. Joseph Bentz: Lightweights. Boine is making his debut. This is the opening fight of the night, but shown in the middle. Uhhhh.

FIGHT: Boine TKO Rnd 2. Pretty much all Bentz shooting in, not getting doubles, and then Boine starts taking advantage by getting switches and top control. He hurts Bentz at the start of the second standing and then stops him not too long afterwards with a flurry of wild shots. Neither guy has done much of anything ever. (0)

6) Phillipe Nover vs. Dave Drago: The reason to watch this show.

FIGHT: Nover Submission Rnd 1. Easy fight for Nover, who tags Drago with punches early, hurts Drago, and gets him to the mat. When there, Drago tries to escape and gives up his back real fast. Submission comes after only mild struggle. (1)

7) Andrew Montanez vs. Steve McCabe: Montanez has a nickname of "Strong Island". He's also a career journeyman from Frank Shamrock's school.

FIGHT: Montanez Submission Rnd 2. Kind of an interesting fight. McCabe opens both rounds of this fight with shots that drop Montanez - head kick in round 1, wild right hand in the second. Both times Montanez immediately closes the distance and gets a clinch. He does a decent job of staying on top for much of the first and in the second he scrambles from underneath McCabe and gets a rear naked choke, taking the opponent's back as he tries to rise. (0)

8) Tom Pursell vs. Joseph Thompson: Bigger looking guys - 185.

FIGHT: Pursell TKO Rnd 1. He grazes Thompson with something that looks more like a thumb to the eye and Thompson goes down in a heap, then gets punched a ton while Pursell is on top. Whatever. Dumb fight. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Montanez/McCabe

KO OF THE NIGHT: Pursell/Thompson (may even have been a dive)

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Periera/Gomes

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2.5 out of 10. Interesting women's fight that is aborted as it gets good and Philipe Nover headlines an otherwise lackluster card of beatings and carnage.

D&R Rating: 5% (2/40)

Ring of Combat II (12/7/02)

Hitting the WAY WAY WAY back machine through gofightlive.tv, its Lou Negligee or whatever his name is and his MMA promotion from Joosey. How long ago is this from? The first round is 10 minutes. I don't even know if there IS a second round. Practically no one in the crowd. Matt Serra is one of the announcers. Other dudes? Chris Lewis, Ray something ("Martial Arts Expert") and Lou Neglia. Two bouts aren't uploaded but can be pulled up on Youtube. Both of those are kickboxing with dudes you do not know. The ring is straight out of the Everlast catalog. Maybe an 18ft ring?

1) Kadir Kadri vs. Mike Ryan: Kickboxing bout.

FIGHT: Kadri Decision. Didn't really pay attention. I don't care at all about western kickboxing, especially at a lower level like this and this old. I can watch much higher level stuff like this off of Altitude TV at like 2AM. Not rated.

2) Andy Ruggerio vs. Eric Certo: No idea who they are. Never heard of them ever. Ruggerio is some sort of judoka I guess?

FIGHT: Ruggerio Submission Rnd 1. Why break these dudes down too much? Both cannot punch or kick. Ruggerio is smaller, but he's a better grappler, and this being MMA? That matters. There's some weird stuff like a standup in side control because the fight is near the ropes...I think. Both are so unbelievably raw that by comparison to the modern day, you don't see stuff like this outside of amateur MMA events. Not only that - the submission comes almost 9 minutes in. That's like as long as amateur fights are over 3 rounds.

Back to talking about the fight itself. Ruggerio has a nice throw early in the round which is what impresses me most. He finishes the fight with a forearm choke across the throat, which is like the easiest submission to defend IN THE WORLD. Certo lost a following amateur bout, Ruggerio never again fought. (0)

3) Erick Shaver vs. John Rotendella: Heavyweights. Shaver has shoes on, Rotendella has a shirt.

FIGHT: Shaver Submission Rnd 1. Shaver and Rotendella clinch after some early bomb throwing that lasts for like 2 seconds, Shaver gets a trip takedown and then gets a really nice hammerlock from side control that forces a tap. Erick Shaver later lost an ammy bout to Jay White. (0)

4) Elvis Garcia vs. Themi Papadimitriou: Garcia is from TIGER SCHULMANN'S.

FIGHT: Garcia Submission From Strikes Rnd 1. Garcia is chased down by Papagreekdude to start as he tries to throw almost chambered kinda punches, gets grabbed, taken down, and Garcia pounds him out in short order. Papadimitriou never fought again and Garcia only did a couple times, the last time being in 2006. (0)

5) Pete Sell vs. Ted Govola Jr.: Drago in the early early early days. This is his second pro fight.

FIGHT: Sell Unanimous Decision. Ridiculously close fight, actually. Govola spent most of the fight/round on top while Sell was able to sweep with an omaplata early and later just a sort of basic sweep from butterfly. Govola meanwhile lands some tough shots to the head. More terrible reffing with Sell nearly extending a kimura from the bottom on Govola, but the ref breaks it up in the middle of it and forces them to restart from the center of the ring. Govola Jr. had a pretty extensive career for the next three years fighting mostly for Mass Destruction, a now defunct Massachusetts based promotion from the weird presanctioned prebanned presanctioned days. (1)

6) Kadir Kadri vs. Steve Anshelewitz: Wasn't Kadri already on this card in a kickboxing match? Kadri is a Kempo guy, it says on the profile.

FIGHT: Anshelewitz Submission Rnd 1. Not fun to watch. Kadri can't even come close to keeping Anshelewitz off him or from taking him down. He powers out of some submissions but that's about the best he can do. Anshelewitz no longer fights and might be working as an electrician. Kadri doesn't fight either. Interesting side note - Kadri's other MMA fight is a loss at the Mohegan Sun at ROC 1 to Luke Cummo of all people. That event exists on tape as "Martial Art World on MSG" with an airdate of 11/24/02. And no, I don't have a copy. Nor am I rushing to get it. Maybe one day? (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Sell/Govola

KO OF THE NIGHT: Some kickboxing fight you can only see on youtube

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Ruggerio/Certo

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2 out of 10. I won't complain about shit like the production because it doesn't matter. This is a nothing event with nothing fighters aside from Pete Sell, who at this point looks and fights horrible. The fights themselves are not eyegougingly bad, so its a two, but the old school style karate favoring kickboxing is fucking mind blowing bad to watch. Every 30 seconds a spinning heel kick is thrown and none of them ever land. Remember, there is no kicking with the shin, just the foot. Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh I hate that. Plus the best commentator is Matt Serra.

MaxFights Ballroom Brawl IV (1/8/2010)

This is a bit of a well known event because of a major upset that took place during it. This is pretty much a two camera setup with both being DV cams. The show was held at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines, IA.

1) Justin Ford vs. Mark Henry: Ford is a judoka, I hear. Weight? Dunno at first. They keep calling the guy Killborg that Ford is fighting. Amateur bouts.

FIGHT: Ford Submission Rnd 1. Total domination. He's taken down early, but Ford sweeps with a kimura being the bait, and then he forces Henry to flip over and get choked out. (0)

2) Luis Saldana vs. Tony Crowder: 1-0 vs. 12-6. Featherweight amateur bout.

FIGHT: Saldana Submission Rnd 1. BTW, he was the 1-0 fighter. Looks almost like he uses that modified grip on a guillotine from half guard that Jason Von Flue used to choke out Alex Karalexis back in the dizzay. Realllllly cool. (1)

3) Casey Clayborn vs. Bryan Houston: Indiana vs. Nebraska. Dudes look a lot bigger.

FIGHT: Houston TKO Rnd 1: Houston tosses him to the mat early but Clayborn works his way back up. Once he gets separation from Houston, he's tagged with a total arm punch hook. Clayborn is basically done before he hits the mat. (0)

4) Anthony Kellen vs. RJ Harris: Kellen is so much smaller. SO MUCH.

FIGHT: Kellen Submission Rnd 3. Interesting fight - RJ Harris beats the hell out of him with strikes, but nothing has a lot of force on it and Kellen walks through all of it. He seems to get an armbar submission in round 2 that the ref breaks up, forces the fighters to the feet, and then restarts after. Weird. In round three, Kellen again wades through strikes and gets taken down by RJ Harris. Harris ends up getting triangled shortly thereafter and loses. Kellen has a ton of heart. Just a ton. But he needs a real camp to get him further, and fighters his size. Good fight but not exceptional and worth going out of your way for. (1)

5) Steve Hernandez vs. Rick St. John: 130lb fighters. St. John takes the fight on one hour notice.

FIGHT: Hernandez TKO Rnd 1. Ridiculous fight. St. John was unprepared completely and gets tossed around, and then gets mounted. Punches come in and this fight is over in about a minute. Most basic story in MMA. (0)

6) Corey Simpson vs. Brody Jay: Who? Simpson is a journeyman at the lowest level of the sport and the announcer seems to mention something about Simpson having made "bad choices". LOL. Okay. 3 minute rounds

FIGHT: Simpson Split Decision. Lousy decision IMO as Simpson does nothing but loop crazy punches a couple times in the opening two rounds and is otherwise pushed into the cage by Jay and gets low kicks and jabs landed on him. Lousy fight to watch, neither looks particularly interesting for the future. (0)

7) Josh Neer vs. Matt Delanoit: Delanoit is actually quite a bit heavier than Neer here. Still a low level journeyman to a higher level gatekeeper.

FIGHT: Neer TKO Rnd 1. Takes down Delanoit a couple times, fends off a misshapen heel hook attempt, and then finally gets the mount and smashes in Delanoit's head with elbows. (2)

8) Hermes Franca vs. Eric Wisely: Lightweight bout featuring Franca, who just a couple of years ago was competing for the UFC lightweight title.

FIGHT: Wisely TKO Rnd 1. Franca gets the takedown very early in the bout and does not much with it,. Actually, Wisely is throwing more off his back than Franca does from the top. Franca tries to transition to mount, but Wisely escapes the position and stands over Franca, allowing him to rise. Franca gets up and eats a slow looping left hand that everyone in the building saw coming but him. He falls to the mat and eats punches until the ref stops the bout. (3)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Kellen/Harris

KO OF THE NIGHT: Wisely/Franca

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Saldana/Crowder

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Its a really short event, so that is nice. The fights? Some really suck and are a waste, and there's a couple interesting amateur fights. The real reason you watch any of this is to see Franca get KOed by a nobody. Interestingly, I stated when I saw Wisely's fight in Mainstream MMA VIII that while he lost a fight in the post script, I think he could rebound. I'd like to A) pat myself on the back for that B) note that I almost NEVER EVER say that about guys who lose fights on this level.

D&R Rating: 17.5% (7/40)

Shooto "I Reconquista" (Disc 5): 1/18/1997

I have no idea what is on this show, but it could be EPIC. This is Shooto, after all. The words "Erik Paulson" are emitted by the dude talking in the control room during the long opening. Then some dude is interviewed - is it Masanori Suda? Can't tell. The show seems to be titled "I Reconquista".

1) Ed Wedding vs. Yoshiyuki Takayama: These dudes were small. Like 61 KGs and change it said? 3 3 minute rounds. Wedding's bio says he did filipino stickfighting. Awesome. He also wears shootboxing pants. And he trained with Fernando Vasconcelos! Oh man. That is a blast from the past.

FIGHT: Takayama Unanimous Decision. Highlights shown of round one and two: mostly Wedding getting caugh in a heel hook and rolling out of it. Round three is shown in complete, and it consists of Takayama basically closing the distance, clinching, getting the fight down, and then operating inside the guard while Wedding is effectively helpless at this primordial stage. (0)

2) Hiroyuki Kojima vs. Yuji Fujita: Slightly bigger dudes - 72.2KG for Jojima, 70.4 for Fujita. Fujita has no idea how to stand. Moarrrrr shootboxing trunks for Kojima. More 3 minute rounds.

FIGHT: Kojima Unanimous Decision. Highlights of one and two again, and its of Kojima with takedowns immediately and control. Round three starts and that happens again, with Kojima going to mount and trying to get a GNP win. Fujita bucks him and ends up on top for awhile, and even attempts a leg lock as the bell rings. Nowhere near enough. (0)

RESTART @ 33:00

3) Hisao Ikeda vs. Jin Akimoto: More little guys. 3x3 min rounds, Maybe a 61KG limit? Both are under it by a decent amount.

FIGHT: Akimoto Unanimous Decision. Pretty simple fight to understand, even being highlights only for 1 & 2 - Ikeda can't stop takedowns (as proven in the Uchuu Tatsumi fight) and Akimoto does that over and over. When Ikeda tries to scramble or improve position, he either gets swept (as in the third round when he somehow ends up on top for about 5 seconds early on) or nearly gets guillotined. (0)

4) Tomoaki "Syohnan" Hayama vs. Ron Balicki: Balicki is the smaller man by about 3 pounds or so and is wearing shootboxing trunks. 3X3.

FIGHT:Balicki Unanimous Decision. Full fight shown. Last MMA fight for Balicki. (0)

Hayama: How do you lose the fight when you're in the dominant grappling position most of the fight? Easy. Shooto scoring. To be honest, it may have been fair here. In round one he has the mount for 2 minutes and accomplishes nothing because he's fending a guillotine off. In round 2, Bailicki actually has to control for a good amount of the round, and in round three, where Hayama is again on top, he also has to contend with another arm in guillotine attempt that limits his actual offense from inside the guard to maybe 20 seconds.

Balicki: Loves the guillotine. Loves it loves it loves it. Seems to almost be a karate based kickboxer the way he stands and throws; research says that's probable given his roots in Inosanto's school. Today, Balicki is a martial arts instructor with a slick website that features a picture of the arm-in guillotine from round 3 prominently on his site.

5) Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Takuya Kuwabara: A young 21 year old Sakurai competes here.

FIGHT: Draw. Highlights are shown as is a full third round, but Sakurai clearly seems to be overwhelming Kuwabara most of the fight with activity and positioning. Sakurai's corner laughs at the call. (3)

6) Kenji Kawaguchi vs. Naoki Sakurada: This is a big deal. That is made certain by the video pieces introing it. Sakurada enters to the Superman theme song. I think this is for the 82KG title? I have no idea.

FIGHT: Uh, no decision. Not really a fight? Looks to be a 3 minutes exhibition with Kawaguchi getting repeated takedowns. Sakurada is apparently retiring and this is some sort of retirement bout with flowers handed to him, and a bell ceremony and a trophy and shit. (NA)

7) Masato Fujiwara vs. Akihiro Gono: Oh man.

FIGHT: Gono Unanimous Decision. Again, only the 3rd if shown in full. In the final round, Gono "knocks down" Fujiwara by catching a kick and then punching him. Should have been called a sweep, but hey, those are the breaks. Fujiwara was looking for nothing but takedowns the whole fight and really didn't seem to have much for Gono other than the rush to clinch/shooting for a double. (3)

8) Uchu Tatsumi vs. Mamoru Okochi: Not the Mamoru.

FIGHT: Tatsumi Unanimous Decision. Rounds 3-5 were shown in full. Tatsumi is still first and foremost a top control wrestler. He shoots for takedowns, generally gets them, and doesn't really work to finish. Its enough to justify a decision though. Okochi has a nice sweep in the 4th as Tatsumi tried to get to mount, but that was basically the most exciting thing seen in the highlights of two rounds and three full ones. (1)

9) Stuart Harrison vs. Erik Paulson: Yay! Erik Paulson! He looks a little soft here

FIGHT: Paulson Submission Rnd 2. Just runs a clinic on Harrison - takedown early in the first, is in side control, tries to show off by getting a triangle choke from side control. Time runs out though. In the second, he gets another takedown, mounts, and then gets the armbar. Purely academic. (3)

10) Rumina Sato vs. Ricky Botelho: YESSSSSS

FIGHT: Sato Submission Rnd 3. Fight is shown in full. Sato actually has some trouble on the mat in the first, which would probably go to Botelho. However, Sato comes out strong in round 2 and lands some strikes that hurt Botelho (punctuated with a headkick). In round three, the fight goes to the mat as Sato rolls for a heel hook. Botelho tries to escape under the ropes away from the hold, but is forced to tap out. (3)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT & SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Sato/Botelho

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Lots of clipped fights unfortunately, only one really good one. Lots of names though.

D&R Rating: 29% (13/45, Kawaguchi/Sakurada not counted)