MMA fans in or near Portland Oregon were blessed with 2 fight cards this weekend, first time we've ever had 2 in a row like that.
Eric Hooiman def Curtis Williams, r1 gnp:
Hooiman took down Williams and pounded him into submission in a minute or two.
Scott Trayhorn def Carlos Ibarra, r2 verbal tapout:
Trayhorn is a local 6th grade teacher. This fight had a slow pace but seemed to keep the fans into it anyway. Trayhorn mostly outboxed Ibarra (who looked to me to be way over 205), in r1 he spent much of the round mounted on Ibarra or on his back looking for the rear naked. In r2 Trayhorn started to land all of his shots, and while none of them seemed to hurt Ibarra, he was clearly gassed and couldn't avoid any of the punches. Finally during a lull in the action Ibarra motioned for the corner to throw in the towel (ala Ken Shamrock), they tried but the towel didn't clear the fence, so Trayhorn got in a couple extra shots before the ref stopped it.
Isaac Schaaf def Zac Combs, r1 gnp KO: Schaaf was perhaps the most impressive fighter on the card, he came out with 2 big slams and punished Combs with GNP, landing a couple solid shots about 2 minutes in that left Combs sprawled out on the mat for a bit. Schaaf was extremely aggressive and fun to watch.
'Chris'(?) def Kenny Davis Jr, r1 towel thrown in due to rear naked: David Banuet was a no-show and this kid Chris took the fight on short notice (couldn't hear the last name.) He took Kenny down immediately and controlled him on the ground, eventually getting his back and sinking in a rear naked. While Kenny was trying to punch out of the choke, his corner threw in the towel.
Troy O'Connor def Steve Morris, r1 guillotine: Morris shot in immediately and got a solid takedown, but walked right into the guillotine in the process. He struggled to break free but eventually tapped about a minute in. O'Conner was very humble despite his impressive victory, giving the 47 year old Morris much credit. "just because I won the fight that doesn't mean Morris is any less of a man...he's a tremendous person and competitor, I give him all the credit in the world." (Those weren't his exact words, I'm just paraphrasing the best I can remember.) I was impressed by the respect O'Connor showed.
Ocean Baker def Cameron Cuarisma, r1 armbar: Cameron took him down, but then Ocean transitioned to the armbar and won in I beleive 19 seconds. If my memory is correct, this is the 2nd time in a row that Cuarisma has lost due to a quick armbar.
cont...
Cory Devela def Matt Armstrong, r2 ref stoppage due to punches standing: I don't often criticize the referees and Hagen usually does a fine job, but in this case it was a poor stoppage. Throughout the entire first round Armstrong tried for the single leg, shooting low almost to the ankles. Devela simply would not go down, and several times got Armstrong in a crucifix type position, and landed several punches from weird angles as Armstrong continued to go for the takedown. R2 was more of the same, and midway through the round I think Armstrong finally realized that he wasn't going to get the takedown and had no choice but to stand and trade. Both guys threw a couple big shots and Devela landed a hard, crisp punch that stunned Armstrong...and the ref immediately jumped in and stopped the fight.
It was too bad, because Devela was well on his way to winning legitimately, he looked to be stronger fighter and have more energy left. But now it almost appears to be a tainted victory. The one punch only briefly hurt Armstrong who immediately argued the call. Devela may have been able to follow up and finish Armstrong, but it wasn't fair to either fighter the way it ended up.
Lisa Ward def Danelle Miyamoto, r1 rear naked: In my opinion, the ladies put on the best fight of the night. Both came out aggressively right at the opening bell, Danelle landed a good punch to the mouth then they hit the mat with Lisa on top. She was striking aggressively and got rear mount and went for the choke, but Danelle escaped, and moments later had a tight armbar of her own sunk in. Lisa hung tight and was able to escape, and within about 30 seconds had rear mount again, got the hooks in and flattened Danelle, who had no choice but to tap. Terrific action fight.
Jim Pope def Michael Garner, r1 gnp: Pope gets the takedown, starts throwing punches, and I'm not sure if the ref stopped it or Garner tapped, but it was within about 30 seconds.
Mel Locke def Brian Brittle, r1 tapout due to rear mount: Locke immediately lands a flurry of hard punches and knees standing, rocking Brittle, but Brittle gets the takedown. He's unable to do anything with it and within moments Locke sweeps him and is now on top. Brittle gives up his back trying to escape, and immediately upon being rear mounted, he taps. Locke didn't even have time to throw a punch or look for the rear naked, Brittle tapped immediately once Locke got his back.
Kyacey Uscola def Justin Bergin, r1 KO: They came out throwing hard punches, but both guys showed good technique, no wild haymakers. After a brief exchange, they went to the mat. I can't even remember which fighter was on top, but it doesn't matter because nothing happened on the ground and seconds later they were back on their feet. Bergin landed a hard low kick. They trade punches again, this time Uscola, who is known for his heavy hands, lands one right about on the temple and Bergin goes down. Uscola follows up and fires a couple more punches and Bergin taps. Not sure if it goes down as a KO or TKO, doesn't really matter. Bergin looked super impressive in his last fight so I'm sure he'll be back, he just got caught. Uscola comes off a loss to win the 205 title.
Whew! Sounds like it was an exciting show!
Thanks for the pbp.
Well if you don't like long boring decisions, you would have loved this show...11 fights, none of which went the distance
Thx for the recaps.
no prob. ttt for Oregonians
ttt