Dewey's Diva
06-10-2006, 11:28 AM
http://presstelegram.com/sports/ci_3921452
Article Launched: 6/10/2006 12:00 AM
Overeem earns decision over Belfort
MMA show in San Jose draws over 10,000 fans
By Daniel Frias, Staff writer
Inside SOCAL
SAN JOSE ? With the San Jose Sharks out of the NHL playoffs they were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by Edmonton fight fans eager to see some blood and action along with an unfortunate mishap were in good company Saturday night as Strike Force put on its second Mixed Martial Arts show at the HP Pavilion.
Strike Force held California's first-ever sanctioned MMA event here in March. The show turned out to be a huge success, setting a North American attendance record for an MMA show with 18,265 fans.
This time around 10,374 screaming fans saw Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (16-7-0) in the main event against Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem (24-7-0).
Belfort walked into the cage with purpose and conviction, ready to avenge a loss he suffered via guillotine choke to Overeem in Pride Fighting Championship "Total Elimination 2005" last year. When the bell sounded, however, Belfort waited patiently for Overeem to come to him and picked his spots, introducing Overeem's face to his left hook. The Brazilian then took down the big Dutch man and tried to secure a rear-naked choke, but Overeem avoided it. Belfort then tried to ground and pound but Overeem was able to defend it well.
In Round 2, Overeem came out with a big swing and Belfort countered with a takedown. Overeem got up and got caught in Belfort's guard. Both fighters continued to clinch throughout the second half of the round with neither taking a clear advantage.
Not much happened in the final round other than a few missed kicks and punches by both combatants. They spent of most of the time on the ground, not doing anything, and a large contingent of unsatisfied fans left with less than two minutes remaining in the fight.
Two judges scored the fight 29-28 and one had it 30-27, all in favor of Alistair.
Alistair said after the fight he wants a shot at Tito Ortiz.
In just the second MMA fight of his career, hometown hero and world San Shou kickboxing champion Cung Le took on "Mr. Unbreakable" Brian Warren. Le a kickboxing champion, former state wresting champion and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, caught Warren with a vicious right to the jaw early in the fight. He followed that with a quick left and then hit a wobbling Warren with a straight right that landed flush and knocked Warren out in the middleweight contest.
"I don't train to beat anyone, I just train to better myself," said Le, who holds a 17-0 kickboxing record. "I want to thank my opponent and all the fans for coming out."
Le (2-0) now holds two wins over Warren, having defeated him in 2004. That particular fight, however, was fought under Shan Shou kickboxing rules and not cage-fighting rules, which allow for a more aggressive style of fighting.
"When it comes to this type of fighting (in the cage) nobody can say anything bad about him," said Warren. "Le is tough as hell."
Gilbert Melendez ( 12-0) may want to consider a career in boxing. The MMA fighter showed great technique and good defense in his war with ex-Strike Force lightweight champion Clay Guida (18-3). A split decision (48-46, 50-45, and 50-45) crowned Melendez as the new champion.
After a well-fought first round wrestling match, Melendez started connecting solid left-right combinations to the head of Guida. Melendez also avoided Guida's takedowns with sprawls. He continued to dominate in the third and fourth rounds behind a stiff jab and good shots to the head and the body. Melendez connected with a tremendous left hook that sent Guida to the floor seconds before the third round ended.
Melendez, of San Francisco, continued to box the tough and gritty Guida, of Johnsburg, Ill., with counter punches and shots to the head and body.
Local celebrity Bobby Southworth (12-4-0) of The Ultimate Fighter fame, had a homecoming of sorts when he made his return to cage fighting against James Irvin (10-3) after a 14-month layoff. His fight inside the six-sided cage was cut short when he knocked his opponent out of the cage 17 seconds into the opening bell.
The 36 year-old Southworth, who last fought at Ultimate Fight Night in a loss to Sam Hoger, looked in really good shape and, after putting Irvin in a clinch, pushed Irvin toward the cage's entrance door and knocked the three-time UFC veteran down on the onramp.
Irvin could not get up and lay on the floor for several minutes. He finally sat up, still woozy from hitting the back of his head, and needed help back to the locker room. The light heavyweight match was ruled a no-contest after Irvin couldn't continue.
Santa Rosa's 22 year-old prospect Tyson Griffin (7-0) took on UFC and K-1 expert Duane "Bang" Ludwig (13-5-0) in a Lightweight match. Fans booed as neither fighter committed to any type of offense. Finally Tyson took Ludwig down and was in his guard trying to land punches. Ludwig defended well, but Griffin stayed on top of him and eventually found an opening, hitting Ludwig with a barrage of punches until the referee stopped the bout at 3:57 of the first round.
One of the more exciting fights occurred in the middleweight contest between Mike "Crazy Boy" Seal (17-14-1) fight and Eugene "The Wolf" Jackson (14-9-1).
The Muy Thai kick boxer got in trouble early when a high kick got him caught in a guillotine choke from Jackson. The much taller Seal escaped and managed to use his reach advantage to ground-and-pound Jackson from the guard position.
Jackson got up and caught Seal with some good punches which Seal responded to with knees of his own and followed that up with an uppercut. Jackson connected some more solid punches while Seal responded with more knees and kicks prompting both fighters to smile and touch gloves.
The second round continued the same way until Jackson caught a kick from the bloodied Seal and took him down midway through the second round and proceeded to dole out punishment ground and pound style forcing referee Cecil Peoples to halt the bout at 2:49.
A moment of silence was held during the event for Ryan Bennett who died on March 31, 2006 in a car accident. Fans stood as the bell tolled ten times to honor Bennett, a highly respected MMA television commentator and writer.
Josh "The Punk" Thompson (29-3) showed why he is a UFC and Pride standout demonstrating his great fighting abilities in a high-impact lightweight attraction against Harris "The Hitman" Sarmiento (20-14).
Sarmiento proved to be a tough competitor almost going the distance. But the Hawaii native couldn't handle the experience of the battle tested Thompson who forced Sarmiento to tap at 3:19 of the third and final round via a front choke hold.
Former WWE star Daniel Puder (3-0) opened the main card against Tommy "The Law" Tuggle (0-2) in a heavyweight fight.
Puder, winner of the WWE Tough Enough contest, came out with a Royce Gracie-style kick and was caught by Tuggle who took him to the ground.
It was to no avail, however, as Puder got him in an arm bar and forced a submission just 28 seconds into the fight to remain undefeated.
Puder grabbed the microphone after the match, reminiscent of a WWE wrestler, and thanked the hometown fans for coming out to support. "I've had two fights," said Puder, who decided to turn down a lesser contract from WWE to join Strike Force. "My first fight ended in one minute and 54 seconds and now this one ended in 28 seconds. I'm training real hard with some of the best fighters in the world.
"These fights are a lot more stressful (than WWE)," added Puder. "Hopefully after a couple more fights I'll be feeling better. I'm having fun. As a lifestyle training full time, eating and sleeping right it's hard. But it's also very rewarding."
Article Launched: 6/10/2006 12:00 AM
Overeem earns decision over Belfort
MMA show in San Jose draws over 10,000 fans
By Daniel Frias, Staff writer
Inside SOCAL
SAN JOSE ? With the San Jose Sharks out of the NHL playoffs they were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by Edmonton fight fans eager to see some blood and action along with an unfortunate mishap were in good company Saturday night as Strike Force put on its second Mixed Martial Arts show at the HP Pavilion.
Strike Force held California's first-ever sanctioned MMA event here in March. The show turned out to be a huge success, setting a North American attendance record for an MMA show with 18,265 fans.
This time around 10,374 screaming fans saw Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (16-7-0) in the main event against Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem (24-7-0).
Belfort walked into the cage with purpose and conviction, ready to avenge a loss he suffered via guillotine choke to Overeem in Pride Fighting Championship "Total Elimination 2005" last year. When the bell sounded, however, Belfort waited patiently for Overeem to come to him and picked his spots, introducing Overeem's face to his left hook. The Brazilian then took down the big Dutch man and tried to secure a rear-naked choke, but Overeem avoided it. Belfort then tried to ground and pound but Overeem was able to defend it well.
In Round 2, Overeem came out with a big swing and Belfort countered with a takedown. Overeem got up and got caught in Belfort's guard. Both fighters continued to clinch throughout the second half of the round with neither taking a clear advantage.
Not much happened in the final round other than a few missed kicks and punches by both combatants. They spent of most of the time on the ground, not doing anything, and a large contingent of unsatisfied fans left with less than two minutes remaining in the fight.
Two judges scored the fight 29-28 and one had it 30-27, all in favor of Alistair.
Alistair said after the fight he wants a shot at Tito Ortiz.
In just the second MMA fight of his career, hometown hero and world San Shou kickboxing champion Cung Le took on "Mr. Unbreakable" Brian Warren. Le a kickboxing champion, former state wresting champion and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, caught Warren with a vicious right to the jaw early in the fight. He followed that with a quick left and then hit a wobbling Warren with a straight right that landed flush and knocked Warren out in the middleweight contest.
"I don't train to beat anyone, I just train to better myself," said Le, who holds a 17-0 kickboxing record. "I want to thank my opponent and all the fans for coming out."
Le (2-0) now holds two wins over Warren, having defeated him in 2004. That particular fight, however, was fought under Shan Shou kickboxing rules and not cage-fighting rules, which allow for a more aggressive style of fighting.
"When it comes to this type of fighting (in the cage) nobody can say anything bad about him," said Warren. "Le is tough as hell."
Gilbert Melendez ( 12-0) may want to consider a career in boxing. The MMA fighter showed great technique and good defense in his war with ex-Strike Force lightweight champion Clay Guida (18-3). A split decision (48-46, 50-45, and 50-45) crowned Melendez as the new champion.
After a well-fought first round wrestling match, Melendez started connecting solid left-right combinations to the head of Guida. Melendez also avoided Guida's takedowns with sprawls. He continued to dominate in the third and fourth rounds behind a stiff jab and good shots to the head and the body. Melendez connected with a tremendous left hook that sent Guida to the floor seconds before the third round ended.
Melendez, of San Francisco, continued to box the tough and gritty Guida, of Johnsburg, Ill., with counter punches and shots to the head and body.
Local celebrity Bobby Southworth (12-4-0) of The Ultimate Fighter fame, had a homecoming of sorts when he made his return to cage fighting against James Irvin (10-3) after a 14-month layoff. His fight inside the six-sided cage was cut short when he knocked his opponent out of the cage 17 seconds into the opening bell.
The 36 year-old Southworth, who last fought at Ultimate Fight Night in a loss to Sam Hoger, looked in really good shape and, after putting Irvin in a clinch, pushed Irvin toward the cage's entrance door and knocked the three-time UFC veteran down on the onramp.
Irvin could not get up and lay on the floor for several minutes. He finally sat up, still woozy from hitting the back of his head, and needed help back to the locker room. The light heavyweight match was ruled a no-contest after Irvin couldn't continue.
Santa Rosa's 22 year-old prospect Tyson Griffin (7-0) took on UFC and K-1 expert Duane "Bang" Ludwig (13-5-0) in a Lightweight match. Fans booed as neither fighter committed to any type of offense. Finally Tyson took Ludwig down and was in his guard trying to land punches. Ludwig defended well, but Griffin stayed on top of him and eventually found an opening, hitting Ludwig with a barrage of punches until the referee stopped the bout at 3:57 of the first round.
One of the more exciting fights occurred in the middleweight contest between Mike "Crazy Boy" Seal (17-14-1) fight and Eugene "The Wolf" Jackson (14-9-1).
The Muy Thai kick boxer got in trouble early when a high kick got him caught in a guillotine choke from Jackson. The much taller Seal escaped and managed to use his reach advantage to ground-and-pound Jackson from the guard position.
Jackson got up and caught Seal with some good punches which Seal responded to with knees of his own and followed that up with an uppercut. Jackson connected some more solid punches while Seal responded with more knees and kicks prompting both fighters to smile and touch gloves.
The second round continued the same way until Jackson caught a kick from the bloodied Seal and took him down midway through the second round and proceeded to dole out punishment ground and pound style forcing referee Cecil Peoples to halt the bout at 2:49.
A moment of silence was held during the event for Ryan Bennett who died on March 31, 2006 in a car accident. Fans stood as the bell tolled ten times to honor Bennett, a highly respected MMA television commentator and writer.
Josh "The Punk" Thompson (29-3) showed why he is a UFC and Pride standout demonstrating his great fighting abilities in a high-impact lightweight attraction against Harris "The Hitman" Sarmiento (20-14).
Sarmiento proved to be a tough competitor almost going the distance. But the Hawaii native couldn't handle the experience of the battle tested Thompson who forced Sarmiento to tap at 3:19 of the third and final round via a front choke hold.
Former WWE star Daniel Puder (3-0) opened the main card against Tommy "The Law" Tuggle (0-2) in a heavyweight fight.
Puder, winner of the WWE Tough Enough contest, came out with a Royce Gracie-style kick and was caught by Tuggle who took him to the ground.
It was to no avail, however, as Puder got him in an arm bar and forced a submission just 28 seconds into the fight to remain undefeated.
Puder grabbed the microphone after the match, reminiscent of a WWE wrestler, and thanked the hometown fans for coming out to support. "I've had two fights," said Puder, who decided to turn down a lesser contract from WWE to join Strike Force. "My first fight ended in one minute and 54 seconds and now this one ended in 28 seconds. I'm training real hard with some of the best fighters in the world.
"These fights are a lot more stressful (than WWE)," added Puder. "Hopefully after a couple more fights I'll be feeling better. I'm having fun. As a lifestyle training full time, eating and sleeping right it's hard. But it's also very rewarding."