As was expected, EUFC 56: Champ vs Champ turned out to be a colossal success and easily the best event that we’ve ever put on! Congratulations to all of our fighters for giving us such a great show. There were ten fights on the card and each one was a crowd pleaser. Fans were treated to beautiful submissions, brutal knockouts, gruelling decision victories and even an upset or two. Enough talk; let’s get straight to the action:
(LHW) Azamat Bagatov vs Charlie Manuel – Opening Bout
Bagatov began his assault with a strong jab followed by a whirling left hook that cut Manuel who now stumbled backwards. Manuel tried to clinch with his opponent but Bagatov was unrelenting and Manuel was sent crashing down with a titanic uppercut! He stood back up and was looking wobbly. It wasn’t long until Bagatov got the KO 2:33 into the first round after landing a clipped right and an almost casual left hook. With this impressive victory Bagatov is now 3-0. This was Manuel’s EUFC debut; he is 5-5 in his MMA career.
(LHW) Joe De La Rosa vs Steve Paige
We knew that Steve Paige would have to keep this one standing to avoid being tapped out by his BJJ purple belt opponent, and for the entirety of the three rounds he did just that. He won a 30:24 UD. De La Rosa lumbered forward looking for the takedown for much of the fight whilst Paige zapped hard punches into his face. Rosa was exhausted after the first round and bloodied by a cut at the start of the second which got progressively worse as the fight went on. Paige is 3-0 and is set to fight Azamat Bagatov in his next fight. De La Rosa (4-2) needs to start working on his conditioning if he’s ever going to be a contender at 205lbs.
(WW) punishment cruel vs Bada Bada
Next we saw punishment cruel take on the submission fighter Bada Bada. Though 50% of the fight took place on the ground, Bada Bada failed to capitalise and each of his submission attempts were foiled prematurely. Punishment had the better of the stand-up game throughout and landed a couple solid takedowns, doing enough to win a 30:27 UD that sees him go 5-4. Bada is 1-1 and, having lost his EUFC debut, has a lot to prove when he next steps in the cage.
(HW) johnny mallon vs mike miller
Both fighters were making their debut in the EUFC and determined to impress owner Crisse Danielsson with their skills. For the whole three rounds they battled it out with each and every punch being thrown with bad intentions and the speed of a devil in one of the most entertaining bouts I’ve ever seen from two fighters with so little experience in MMA. Johnny mallon had the better of the action though and won a close decision victory. Mallon is 1-1 and miller 0-1.
(WW) Efrain Escudero vs Jake Roberts
In yet another entertaining and hard-fought contest, Efrain Escudero defeated Jake Roberts by 29:28 UD, largely due to his great wrestling ability. The fight was largely a grappling match and there were plenty of takedowns and submission attempts as was expected. Roberts looked less well conditioned than his opponent and suffered as a result, losing the last two rounds. Escudero is 3-0 whilst Roberts is 3-3.
(WW) shi poopy vs Lorik Kapllani
Just as advertised, poopy and Kapllani came into the cage looking to knock each other the **** out and quickly. Both came out very aggressively and started trading blows. Poopy stunned his opponent with a big uppercut before catching him flush on the temple with a big right hand; Kapllani was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard. Ouch. Poopy is 2-1 and Kapllani (1-1) in hospital.
(WW) Nate Richardson vs Sebastian Monsson
Emotions were running high for this next bout. These two had already fought each other three times with Richardson winning their last two fights. Monsson was determined right from the get go to drag Richardson to the mat and go for the submission victory with his BJJ purple belt. Though he didn’t quite get the submission, 60% of the fight took place on the ground and Monsson dominated his opponent to win a 30:26 UD. The score is now 2-2 between them and I wouldn’t mind seeing the deciding rematch at some point in the future. Monsson is 6-5-1. This was Richardson’s third loss in a row and so he is now 7-6.
(HW) Joe Hayes vs Dean Martin
For the last of the undercard bouts, Joe Hayes took on the veteran Dean Martin in what proved to be a short, one-sided bout. Martin dropped Hayes with a jab-cross combination fairly quickly. Though Hayes managed to get back to his feet he was dropped almost immediately by yet another big punch. This time Martin pounced on his opponent and Hayes soon tapped out under the barrage of strikes. After 1:20 of round one, Dean Martin gets the victory via submission (strikes) – exciting stuff! Hates is 2-1 and Martin 5-2.
Co-Main Event (LHW) “Havoc” Aschen Breaker vs Damien Thor
Damien Thor was victorious in the co-main event, submitting Aschen Breaker after 1:59 of round one by rear naked choke. Thor fully recaptured his old form and scored with two big takedowns in this fight before using his BJJ brown belt to put Breaker to sleep. This was Thor’s debut in the EUFC and with it he announced his intentions to fight his way to Taka Yoshi’s 205lbs crown. I’m sure he’ll be in some exciting fights in the EUFC in the near future. Breaker’s title dreams are dashed with this loss and he now has a long way ahead of him if he wants to earn a rematch with Taka Yoshi. Both fighters are 8-4.
Main Event (WW) Quandu Zornach vs Josh Garnet
The Sin City and EUFC champion Quandu Zornach faced off against MaliciousIntentFC Champion Josh Garnet in this superfight for the ages. Though no titles were on the line, the fight was scheduled for five rounds. Zornach came into the fight the heavy favourite despite the claims that this would be his first real test.
As always with Zornach, it started with the smoke and the lasers and ‘When You ****ed Grandpa’ reverberating around the Hard Knocks arena. The applause of the crowd thundered above the music as the EUFC welterweight champion made his way to the cage. Garnet’s entrance was decidedly lower key. He strode towards the octagon accompanied by no music, dressed plainly in a white gown with his eyes staring straight ahead.
When the bell went, Zornach came roaring out of his corner and rushed in with a series of punches and kicks that saw Garnet backpedalling. It was clear he was going for the knockout. Garnet survived the early storm, however, and dived in and got the takedown. He began his ground and pound assault whilst Zornach tried for submissions off his back. Garnet managed to advance to full mount and with Zornach panicking he landed a huge shot which rocked the EUFC champion. He followed it up with more vicious strikes that forced the referee to step in.
“Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:22 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Josh Garnet!”
Like some calm killer from a western, Garnet didn’t gloat and instead quietly exited the arena. This was Zornach’s first defeat (14-1) and he’s got another superfight coming up against Rolf Jackson at some point in the future. Garnet has gone back to MaliciousIntentFC but will surely have a place in the hearts of EUFC fans for his terrific performance here tonight.
