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North Texas Fisticuffs
There was alot of controversy, revenge and payback coming into this rematch between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, the newly crowned WBA Junior Middweight Champion of the world. A championship belt he lost by taking a beating from Margarito two years ago. Which later became a controversy when Margarito got caught with loaded gloves just before his fight with Shane Mosley. And as expected, it fueled the speculation of whether he had loaded gloves when he fought previously against Cotto. And from the film of that fight, it sure did look like he had something in those gloves, but only Margarito knows. In previous interviews between Cotto and Margarito, Cotto had actual pictures of the mysterious hand wraps of Margarito, which showed evidence of tampering. Even with this pictured evidence, Margarito and his camp continued to deny any wrongdoing.
But in Saturday’s rematch, it was clear that Cotto was not getting hit by anything other than a glove. This time it was Margarito who was getting hit with loaded punches from Cotto and they were legal ones. In front of a large contingent of Puerto Rican (“Boricua”) fans from New York, Cotto started off in the first round connecting with crisp punches with both hands and very good movement as Margarito moved forward. Margarito tried to use his long jab and height advantage, but Cotto landed the better combinations.
In the second round, Cotto caught Margarito with a huge big right and as the round progressed, he caught him with another big right. Margarito again continued to move forward, but Cotto landed the best punches. Just before the beginning of the third round Margarito’s right eye, which he had several operations on before this fight, was already starting to close. Most of the damage to his right eye was from a pounding he had taken in his fight with the pound for pound king of the ring, Manny “Pacman” Paquiao back in 2009. Despite that, Margarito, the aggressor, started to pick up the tempo. He appeared to land just as many punches as Cotto and the round could have been called even.
In the fourth round Margarito continued to put the pressure on with his style of always moving forward, despite getting hit by punches by Cotto. Cotto at this point seemed to become defensive and settled for counter punching. Margarito appeared to have won this round. As the fifth round began, Margarito seemed to have the momentum as he used his jab and his straight right to connect punches on the defensive Cotto. Cotto then connected with a huge good left to the already closing eye of Margarito. He then followed up with the same punch at the end of the round, but it was not enough to win the round.
The sixth round was more of the same as Margarito kept moving forward and Cotto moved backward and around the ring. It seemed as if though he was saving his energy for the latter rounds, but in the eyes of the fans, it looked like he was getting pushed around the ring. And in the eyes of the officials, going backward never looks good to try to make points. Margarito appeared to have won this round as well. In the corner, just before the seventh round, Margarito’s right eye was almost completely shut. Nevertheless, he continued to put the pressure on Cotto and appeared to have landed the most punches. Cotto still connected with several combinations, but it looked like he couldn’t or didn’t want to follow up with more punches. In this fight, he seemed to want to box more and not take any chances.
In the eighth round, Cotto’s corner must have told him to pick up the pace, and he did. In this round, he began to hold his ground and started landing good combinations to the head of Margarito, who at this time could hardly see. It seemed apparent that his corner and he himself knew that now was the time to take advantage of the one-eyed Margarito. It also seemed that he might have been using this time to get a little revenge and punish Margarito. As the round ended, which Cotto clearly won, the doctor went to the corner to look at the eye of Margarito. Although the eye was completely shut, he was allowed to fight on.
In the ninth round, a desperate Margarito came out attempting to land whatever he could on Cotto, but Cotto continued to land with both hands. Cotto must have knew that the end was coming for Margarito and he landed combinations and solid punches with his left hand. He used his coaches strategy of circling his opponent and staying off the ropes and then attacking at the right moment to the eye of Margarito.
Just before the tenth round, the doctors began to look at the closed eyed of the battered Margarito and confusion arose. It took more than the usual time for the doctor to make a decision and just as it appeared that the fight might go on, the fight was stopped. Pandemonium erupted in the ring as the Puerto Rican fans celebrated the win of their favorite “Baricua,” Miguel Cotto. Just as the fight had ended, Cotto walked over to the corner of Margarito and just stared at him for a moment. A moment that Cotto said, “I just simply stood there to look at him. I simply stood there to taste the victory.”
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You know, they don’t call him “Brutal” for nothing. In an absolute one-sided dominating fashion, Colleyville’s “Brutal” Johnny Bedford emerged victorious in his UFC debut Saturday night on The Ultimate Fighter Finale at the Pearl at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
Bedford made his UFC debut on the heels of his appearance on this past season of the popular UFC reality show. In against fellow cast member Louis Gaudinot, Bedford made the most of his first opportunity in the Octagon by simply beating the smaller Gaudinot from pillar to post. Though both fighters were fighting at the bantamweight limit of 135, Gaudinot looked much, much smaller when compared to the 5’10” Bedford. This became even more evident as Bedford proceeded to beat the tar out of Gaudinot over the course of the fight. Punches, kicks, knees, and elbows were all thrown with reckless abandon by Bedford who literally beat the fight out of Guadinot in route to a third round stoppage.
It was as impressive a performance as a fighter could hope for on the biggest stage of their career and with the win we should expect to see more of Bedford in the UFC Octagon very soon.
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XKO Middleweight Main Event
Josh Foster (5-3) SUB RD 2 (Triangle) JJ Holmes (2-3)
Time of Submission: 2:18 RD 2
What is up with these East Texas Boys? Longview, TX established itself as a haven for fighters with absolutely no quit in their hearts. Josh Foster inarguably exemplifies this trait as he rallied back from a the brink of defeat at the hand of the uber-talented JJ Holmes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Early on the fight was all Holmes. The wrestling/grappling stand out utilized his patented double leg takedown to completely control the opening round. Even when the fight was on the feet it was Holmes who did the most damage with some punishing knees while in the clinch. Holmes continued the beating into the second round but Foster would not go away and Holmes seemed to slow as the round went on. Finally, Foster seized his moment as he was able to pull Holmes into his guard and lock on a quick triangle. At first it appeared Holmes would power through it but Foster made the necessary adjustment to sink the choke in even deeper putting Holmes to sleep and securing the unlikeliest of victories.
XKO 180 Lbs. Catchweight Fight
Hayward Charles (3-2) SUB RD 1 (Triangle) Andre Kavanaugh (2-2)
Time of Submission: 0:45 RD 1
Kavanaugh is an intimidating presence to say the least. After all, the man is built like a tree stump and is as fast as he is strong. Unfortunately, Kavanaugh ran up against a fighter who lacks any sense of fear in the cage in noted jiu-jitsu practitioner Hayward Charles. Despite catching a number of hard punches in the early seconds of the fight Charles was able to quickly pull guard and caught Kavanaugh in an absolutely airtight triangle choke that left the Austin native little other option than tapping out. To say it was an impressive win would be a vast understatement.
XKO Flyweight Fight
Randy Villarreal (8-6) TKO RD 1 (Strikes) Frank Ortega (4-7)
Time of Stoppage: 2:41 RD 1
Randy Villarreal has long-lamented the fact that he would prefer to fight at the flyweight limit of 125 pounds. Unfortunately for Villarreal opponents at that weight class are few and far between so the majority of his career has been spent fighting opponents much bigger than himself. Saturday night Villarreal finally got the flyweight fight he had been longing for and if his performance is any indication of what he is capable of doing at 125 then the flyweight division may be collectively put on notice. Against Ortega, a very dangerous fighter with sick jiu-jitsu, Villarreal was merciless in his aggression. Despite Ortega trying in vain to take the fight to the ground and work from his guard Villarreal seemed more than willing to accommodate him on the ground. Once Villarreal was able to take the full mount he rained down a seemingly endless assault of elbows that left the referee with little option other than to waive a halt to the bout.
XKO Bantamweight Fight
Eliazar Rodriguez (1-1) SUB RD 2 (Rear Naked Choke) Homer Garcia (0-1)
Time of Submission: 1:07 RD 2
In what turned out to be your classic “grappler vs. striker” match Rodriguez, thie grappler in this scenario emerged victrious with a workman like performance. However, early on it appeared that Garcia’s boxing would rule the day as he got off to a quick start battering and bloodying Rodriguez’s face behind a stiff jab and fluid combinations. Rodriguez would rally back in the second round with some punches of his own but once he took Garcia to the ground the fight was over as he deftly slipped in a perfect rear naked choke to secure the victory.
XKO Middleweight Fight
Ciprian Hangan (2-0) TKO RD 1 (Strikes) Chris Collins (0-1)
Time of Stoppage: 1:37 TD 1
I freely admit that watching Cipian Hangan fight is a guilty pleasure of mine. The guy is a non-stop whirling dervish of tenacity and his penchant for knocking people out has quickly earned him the praise of fight fans here in North Texas. Given his love of standing and banging with his opponents it often comes as a surprise that Hangan is a judoko expert with over 20 years of experience. However, none of that judo was on display against Collins who was overwhelmed with the non-stop aggression and tornado flurries of punches that has Collins hitting the deck multiple times in the round. Eventually Hangan grew tired of toying with Collins and after dropping him again with a hard right hand before raining down punishment that promoted the referee to stop the fight.
XKO 175 lbs Catchweight
Aaron Culpepper (1-0) UD Steven Cloud (0-1)
Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
For a pair of fighters making their pro debut both Culpepper and Cloud put on a technical battle that belied their inexperience as professionals. While it became pretty evident that Cloud was looking to take the fight to the ground to exploit his jiu-jitsu prowess it was Culpepper’s stricking and submission defense that carried him over three exciting rounds to victory. Despite being as game a fighter as one could ever see in the cage, in the end, Culpepper was simply too much and his boxing and impressive ground and pound carried him to an impressive victory.
XKO Welterweight Fight
Josh Lee (8-7) SUB RD 2 (Rear Naked Choke) Roy Spoon (7-4)
Time of Submission: 3:27
Joshua Lee upset the apple card in the night’s opening bout with a thorough domination of highly touted contender Roy Spoon. Lee wasted little time in displaying his incredible wrestling ability in securing takedowns and ground control throughout the opening round forcing Spoon to work of his back for the majority of the rounds. In the second Spoon looked to right his ship and caught Lee shooting in with a tight guillotine seconds into the round. However, Lee would not be denied and after some nice transitions on the ground was able to sink in the rear naked choke that put Spoon to sleep.
All Photos courtesy of Becky Malone/www.NorthTexasFisticuffs.com no comments
The Dr Pepper Arena in the North Dallas suburb of Frisco played host to a night of MMA action as Fight Game brought together some of North Texas’ most talented fighters under one roof to give fight fans their MMA fix.
In the evening’s main event Sean Spencer, fighting out of Guy Mezger Combat Sports, gave his hometown fans in Frisco reason to cheer as he gutted out a three round unanimous decision over Derrick Krantz of Marshall, TX. Spencer had his hands full throughout the fight as Krantz never gave up an inch in the battle and made Spencer work for everything. Fortunately for the fans of Spencer their fighter was more than up to the challenge and behind some terrific boxing and excellent takedown defense was able to bloody and batter the face of Krantz who may very well be the poster child for toughness. In the end Spencer was awarded the fight by scores of 30-27 on all three cards to improve his record to 7-1; Krantz falls to 10-5 in defeat.
In the evening’s co-main event Mohler Jiu-Jitsu’s Jason Sampson saw unblemished record disappear as New Mexico’s Josh Montoya effectively spoiled Sampson’s homecoming. The fight was as close as war as one will ever see as Sampson came out the gates roaring behind some vastly improved boxing and his awe-inspiring takedowns. Sampson’s relentless pressure in the opening rounds seemed to indicate that the fight would not last the scheduled rounds but Montoya would rally back in a fiercely contested second round. With this fight being a rematch of their bout in August, a fight in which Sampson emerged victorious via an armbar, Montoya apparently did his homework and worked hard to seal up his takedown defense. This paid dividends Friday night as Montoya was able to evade some of the takedown attempts Sampson threw at him. With Montoya able to stuff some of Sampson’s takedown attempts the fight became more of a stand up affair than many would have anticipated. Whereas Sampson appeared to be loading up everything on his shots, Montoya looked to simply score using quick flurries to neutralize Sampson’s advances. The third round was pivotal as both fighters attempted to leave it all on the line. While Sampson kept pressing forward Montoya would counter with quick hands and some hard body shots that looked as if they hurt Sampson. However, Sampson would end the fight strong trying in vain to end the fight with a rear naked choke.
Make no mistake, the fight was close and a strong case could be made for either fighters but in the end the scorecards read 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 in favor on Montoya. With the win Montoya improves his record to 10-7; Sampson tastes defeat for the first time falling to 8-1 with the loss.
Bubba McDaniel was able to nullify the charges of Eric Schambari to gut out a unanimous. While the fight may not have been the most action packed bout one will ever see you have to appreciate the relentless submission attempts that were in abundance during the fight. Surprisingly, it was McDaniel who nearly ended the fight on multiple occasions with triangles and some tight guillotines. All of this despite McDaniel claiming to not hold a belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Schambari reported to be a BJJ black belt. In the end the fight boiled down to a war of attrition and ultimately it was McDaniel who emerged victorious. With the victory McDaniel improves to 19-6 while Schambari falls to 13-4 in defeat.
Arlington’s Douglas Frey, Mohler Jiu-Jitsu, made it a short night against Houston’s Tim Snyder, fighting out of 4oz Fight Team. After some cautious moments in the opening seconds, Frey deftly shot in a secured a takedown. With the takedown secured, Frey moved in for the kill and after securing an airtight guillotine Snyder was left with no other option other than to tap at the 2:59 mark in the opening round. With the win Frey improve his record to 10-7; Snyder drops to 12-9-1 in defeat.
Saekson Janjira-trained Charles Byrd looked impressive in his vicious domination of Robert Agee, Gladiator Academy, earning a pretty one-sided unanimous decision. Bryd wasted little time in establishing his Muay Thai pedigree opening up the fight with crisp inside le kicks that were then punctuated by an overhand right. This combo seemed to befuddle Agee who soon found his left eye bloodied and his legs unsteady after eating a big right hand from Byrd in the opening round. Credit has to be given to Agee for surviving the early onslaught of Byrd but the second and third rounds didn’t fair any better for him. Byrd was simply too tenacious to be stopped and even in the round that Agee nearly submitted Byrd with a rear naked choke, the third, he found himself penalized a point for holding the cage. None the less, the night belonged to Byrd and his big right hand. With the win Byrd improves his record to 4-2; Agee falls to 2-2 in defeat.
In what turned out to be a spirited battle, George Pacurariu, Octagon MMA, improved his record to 4-1 with a unanimous decision victory over Austin’s Michael Lytle, fighting out of Austin Extreme Sparring. The action was furious early on as both fighters winged punches at one another. After trading a number of bombs in the opening round, the fight went to the ground where each fighter had their moments with some short punches on the inside but is looked as if Pacurariu was the more comfortable combatant in this realm. The fight came down to the third round and it was there that Pacurariu took control of a fading Lytle to grind out the round and win the decision. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Pacurariu and with the loss Lytle falls to 1-2.
Sean Holden, fighting out of Guy Mezger Combat Sports, made his professional debut a successful one coasting to a unanimous decision victory over Wes Linsley, fighting out of Wylie Boxing Club. Holden controlled the tempo and utilized a smothering ground game to keep Linsley, who is a noted amateur boxer, from using his perceived advantages on the feet. While Linsley did enough to prevent Holden from ending the fight early it was clear that this fight belonged to the Guy Mezger trained prospect. In the end all three judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Holden who sees his record go to 1-0; Linsley falls to 0-2 in defeat.
The night started off with bang as Neal Ewing, fighting out of Octagon MMA, improved his record to 2-0 with a second round rear naked choke of Jabari Shakur, fighting out of Phalanx MMA. Ewing used his superior wrestling acumen to control the pace of the fight and was able to secure a number of takedowns in the opening round. However, credit has to be given to Shakur who, despite making his pro debut Friday night, was game throughout the contest and was able to weather much of Ewing’s storm. Still, Ewing proved to be the better man this night as he deftly slipped in a rear naked choke at the 1:52 mark of the second round.
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CSTV got the exclusive one-on-one interview with Dallas’ own Sean Spencer as he readied for his main event bout this Friday night in Frisco, TX.
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