DCBooks
06-05-2006, 09:25 PM
Mixed Fighting Championship 7 Review
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MFC 7- USA vs Russia III in Atlantic City delivers an exciting night of Mixed Martial Arts
Setting themselves apart once again with a USA versus Russia themed main card, and their first title bout, MFC 7 delivered an exciting star studded event Saturday June 3rd at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Mixed Fighting Championships have built a fan base catering to Philadelphia fight fans and supporters of the local New Jersey talent like Chris Ligouri and Tara Larosa. The show also had a large contingent of Russian fans in the audience that added to the international flavor of the evening. “USA! USA!” chanting fans were met with cheers for the Russian fighters who held their own. The visitors won 2 out of 4 matches against the American team on a night with some very close fights. Pride heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko was on hand to support members of his Red Devil Sport Club fighting on the card, and spent plenty of time to posing with fans and signing autographs.
Another big surprise of the night was the arrival of UFC middleweight champion, Rich Franklin, working the corner of under-card fighter, Mike Patt. Surely one of the easiest jobs in history, Patt threw two punches in his match with Yasuke Matsuda, the second of which landed square on Masuda's jaw ending the match in only 20 seconds by referee stoppage.
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UFC Champ Franklin in Patt's corner
The next match proved to be more competitive as Kinici Yamamoto and Kaream Ellington quickly exchanged kicks and punches until the fighters clinched and Ellington lifted Yamamoto over his shoulder with a suplex. Both fighters scrambled for position, and Yamamoto rose to his feet, trying for a standing kimura. He mistakenly leaned too far forward trying for the submission hold and instead caught a solid knee to the face, dropping the Japanese fighter unconscious to the canvas just before the end of the first round.
Like the previous Mixed Fighting Championship, ladies' bouts were the highlight of an exciting event. Shana Busler put on an impressive fight for the first two rounds, out-striking her opponent Amanda Buckner, and escaping tight spots on the ground. The judges decided it wasn’t enough, and the fight went to a third round which pleased the crowd enjoying the back and forth battle. Buckner gained the upper hand when she stood up from Busler’s guard and rained down a series of heavy shots to her opponent’s head which from my perspective both knocked out and woke up Busler before the referee could stop the flurry and end the fight.
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Busler delivers knees to Buckner
Jersey favorite Tara Larosa came close to disappointing the crowd when in the first minute of the first round her opponent, undefeated Hitomi Akano, took her down, and then landed a brutal series of blows to Larosa’s face. To Tara’s credit, she remained focused. Wiping blood from her nose, she weathered the first round, to come back and dominate the following two and win a unanimous decision.
Looking to improve over his performance at MFC 6, Fight Factory’s Steve Haigh went two very close rounds with Japanese fighter Toraji, and the judges decided a third was warranted. In the third Steve dug deep and earned a unanimous decision from the judges.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/webmfc7haigh_edited.jpg
Fight Factory's Steve Haigh victorious
New Jersey’s hard luck kid, Joey “Knockdown” Brown, continued his string of losses after a valiant effort against much taller fighter Vadim Kulchinsky. Brown showed enormous heart, fighting from tough positions, but never succeeded in launching much of an offensive. Brown struggled to lock in several submissions, but for the most part spent two rounds being held down by the bigger Russian. The judges gave Vadim Kulchinsky a unanimous decision.
At MFC 6 Matt Lee won a boring victory decision over Steven Haigh in what looked to be 3 rounds of shadow boxing, but perhaps this match proves that styles make fights. In a very exciting fight, Matt weathered a vicious attack by Red Devil Sport Club’s Vladimir Zenin, and kept his composure, coming out fighting when Zenin failed to maintain his flurries. Lee turned it on once again in the second round and won by Referee stoppage after gaining the mount and blooding the Russian fighter.
Another local favorite, Chris Ligouri, battled another fierce Russian opponent from Fedor’s Red Devil’s, Eric Oganov, who consistently brought the fight to the ground, but often found his opponent in the superior position once they got there. Ligouri eventually got full mount and rained down blows, winning by a referee stoppage in the third round.
In the last of the Russia versus USA matches Jerome Smith came out swinging, but when he felt what the big Russian, Sergey Kaznovski had to offer in return he decided he have a better chance on the ground. Once down though his fortunes didn’t change. After a stand up, Kaznovski landed blows sending Smith to the mat and earning a referee stoppage in the first round.
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Kaznovski wins one for mother Russia
Finally, the fight Philadelphia had been waiting for, Fight Factory’s rising star, Eddie Alvarez, faced off against journeyman Derrick Noble for the Mixed Fighting Championship’s welterweight title belt. Alvarez has recieved criticism for the level of fighter he’s faced and dominated thus far in his career. Noble's experience, including a recent match in the the UFC, had fans hoping to see a true test of Eddie's skills. Sadly, little new could be determined from this match-up, as Alvarez came out swinging against the southpaw, and quickly found his mark. Alvarez won his seventh straight victory by strikes in 1 minute 1 second of the first round when his blows knocked Noble down and out in his own corner. Alvarez continued to draw cheers from the crowd as he leapt to the ropes and cried out his victory. As Fedor looked on, the beautiful MFC championship belt was placed around their new champion.
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Eddie Alvarez is crowned the first MFC Champ
For Philidelphia and New Jersey, fans had plenty to be pleased with, and even the Russians weren’t totally disappointed with the nights results. With the final tally between the Americans and the Russians being equal at two wins each, hopefully the Red Devils will wish to avenge their losses and return in the future for another exciting event.
--Thanks to the Rachel, KidMiracleman, MFC, and Bodog.net
-Jim "DCBooks" Kirkland (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/member.php?u=270)
More photos and discussion of this event and review here. (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?p=462831#post462831)
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/mfc7TITLE.jpg
MFC 7- USA vs Russia III in Atlantic City delivers an exciting night of Mixed Martial Arts
Setting themselves apart once again with a USA versus Russia themed main card, and their first title bout, MFC 7 delivered an exciting star studded event Saturday June 3rd at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Mixed Fighting Championships have built a fan base catering to Philadelphia fight fans and supporters of the local New Jersey talent like Chris Ligouri and Tara Larosa. The show also had a large contingent of Russian fans in the audience that added to the international flavor of the evening. “USA! USA!” chanting fans were met with cheers for the Russian fighters who held their own. The visitors won 2 out of 4 matches against the American team on a night with some very close fights. Pride heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko was on hand to support members of his Red Devil Sport Club fighting on the card, and spent plenty of time to posing with fans and signing autographs.
Another big surprise of the night was the arrival of UFC middleweight champion, Rich Franklin, working the corner of under-card fighter, Mike Patt. Surely one of the easiest jobs in history, Patt threw two punches in his match with Yasuke Matsuda, the second of which landed square on Masuda's jaw ending the match in only 20 seconds by referee stoppage.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/webmfc7014_edited.jpg
UFC Champ Franklin in Patt's corner
The next match proved to be more competitive as Kinici Yamamoto and Kaream Ellington quickly exchanged kicks and punches until the fighters clinched and Ellington lifted Yamamoto over his shoulder with a suplex. Both fighters scrambled for position, and Yamamoto rose to his feet, trying for a standing kimura. He mistakenly leaned too far forward trying for the submission hold and instead caught a solid knee to the face, dropping the Japanese fighter unconscious to the canvas just before the end of the first round.
Like the previous Mixed Fighting Championship, ladies' bouts were the highlight of an exciting event. Shana Busler put on an impressive fight for the first two rounds, out-striking her opponent Amanda Buckner, and escaping tight spots on the ground. The judges decided it wasn’t enough, and the fight went to a third round which pleased the crowd enjoying the back and forth battle. Buckner gained the upper hand when she stood up from Busler’s guard and rained down a series of heavy shots to her opponent’s head which from my perspective both knocked out and woke up Busler before the referee could stop the flurry and end the fight.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/webmfc7035_edited.jpg
Busler delivers knees to Buckner
Jersey favorite Tara Larosa came close to disappointing the crowd when in the first minute of the first round her opponent, undefeated Hitomi Akano, took her down, and then landed a brutal series of blows to Larosa’s face. To Tara’s credit, she remained focused. Wiping blood from her nose, she weathered the first round, to come back and dominate the following two and win a unanimous decision.
Looking to improve over his performance at MFC 6, Fight Factory’s Steve Haigh went two very close rounds with Japanese fighter Toraji, and the judges decided a third was warranted. In the third Steve dug deep and earned a unanimous decision from the judges.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/webmfc7haigh_edited.jpg
Fight Factory's Steve Haigh victorious
New Jersey’s hard luck kid, Joey “Knockdown” Brown, continued his string of losses after a valiant effort against much taller fighter Vadim Kulchinsky. Brown showed enormous heart, fighting from tough positions, but never succeeded in launching much of an offensive. Brown struggled to lock in several submissions, but for the most part spent two rounds being held down by the bigger Russian. The judges gave Vadim Kulchinsky a unanimous decision.
At MFC 6 Matt Lee won a boring victory decision over Steven Haigh in what looked to be 3 rounds of shadow boxing, but perhaps this match proves that styles make fights. In a very exciting fight, Matt weathered a vicious attack by Red Devil Sport Club’s Vladimir Zenin, and kept his composure, coming out fighting when Zenin failed to maintain his flurries. Lee turned it on once again in the second round and won by Referee stoppage after gaining the mount and blooding the Russian fighter.
Another local favorite, Chris Ligouri, battled another fierce Russian opponent from Fedor’s Red Devil’s, Eric Oganov, who consistently brought the fight to the ground, but often found his opponent in the superior position once they got there. Ligouri eventually got full mount and rained down blows, winning by a referee stoppage in the third round.
In the last of the Russia versus USA matches Jerome Smith came out swinging, but when he felt what the big Russian, Sergey Kaznovski had to offer in return he decided he have a better chance on the ground. Once down though his fortunes didn’t change. After a stand up, Kaznovski landed blows sending Smith to the mat and earning a referee stoppage in the first round.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/webmfc7russianflag.jpg
Kaznovski wins one for mother Russia
Finally, the fight Philadelphia had been waiting for, Fight Factory’s rising star, Eddie Alvarez, faced off against journeyman Derrick Noble for the Mixed Fighting Championship’s welterweight title belt. Alvarez has recieved criticism for the level of fighter he’s faced and dominated thus far in his career. Noble's experience, including a recent match in the the UFC, had fans hoping to see a true test of Eddie's skills. Sadly, little new could be determined from this match-up, as Alvarez came out swinging against the southpaw, and quickly found his mark. Alvarez won his seventh straight victory by strikes in 1 minute 1 second of the first round when his blows knocked Noble down and out in his own corner. Alvarez continued to draw cheers from the crowd as he leapt to the ropes and cried out his victory. As Fedor looked on, the beautiful MFC championship belt was placed around their new champion.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/webmfc7eddieb.jpg
Eddie Alvarez is crowned the first MFC Champ
For Philidelphia and New Jersey, fans had plenty to be pleased with, and even the Russians weren’t totally disappointed with the nights results. With the final tally between the Americans and the Russians being equal at two wins each, hopefully the Red Devils will wish to avenge their losses and return in the future for another exciting event.
--Thanks to the Rachel, KidMiracleman, MFC, and Bodog.net
-Jim "DCBooks" Kirkland (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/member.php?u=270)
More photos and discussion of this event and review here. (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?p=462831#post462831)