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 Saturday night marked the third event in Gladiator Fighting Championship's brief history and it proved to be another outstanding event. Despite some unusual judging and an unprecedented two draws on the same fight card, the capacity crowd in attendance came away satisfied. Contenders are beginning to emerge and GFC is making a real name for itself in Vegas. Let's take a look at how the night unfolded.
The first fight on the card was the first heavyweight matchup in the history of GFC. Kane Jariaso (1-1) and Asamov Greydorian (1-1) went to battle to get the nigh started. The fight started out at a quick pace with the fighters exchanging punches early until Jariasco took the fight to the ground with a powerful takedown. Oddly, Jariasco quickly decide to stand back up only to follow up with a couple of unsuccessful takedown attempts. Jariasco finally brought Greydorian into the clinch and then pulled guard. Jariasco managed a submission attempt that Greydorian was able to easily deny before standing back up. Greydorian landed some very impressive combinations from a distance and warded off a a few more takedown attempts before finally being taken down again. Greydorian got himself into some trouble on the ground as the first round came to a close, but he did enough in the standup game to win the round by a razor thin margin. The second round saw Jariasco take the fight into the clinch and then pull guard, only to pay for his decision. While he hoped to land a nice submission, he ended up being on the receiving end of some well placed ground and pound throughout the round, leaving no doubt that Greydorian won the round without question. Jariasco desperately spent the third round trying to get the fight back to the ground but Greydorian was having no part of that plan. He repeatedly denied Jariasco's takedown attempts while peppering him with nice combinations in the mean time. In the end, all three judges scored the fight for Greydorian, making him the first heavyweight to ever win a fight in GFC.
The second fight was one of the closest fights that we have seen to date in GFC. Lightweights Sergei Korobkov (5-4-1) and Rocco Kailea (3-2-1) fought their hearts out in this back and forth war. The fight looked like a kickboxing match early on, with both fighters throwing a wide array of punches and kicks. Around the halfway point of round one, Korobkov shot for a takedown and landed it into full mount. Korobkov tried to work some ground and pound, but Kailea easily defended it, frustrating Korobkov and forcing him to stand up. Once the fighters stood back up, the kickboxing match was back on with hands and feet flying everywhere. With neither fighter gaining a clear advantage, one judge scored the round for Kailea while the other two scored it a draw. The second round started out much the same was as the first. Both fighters were throwing punches and kick wildly until Korbokov scored a takedown into side control about half way through the round. Korbokov attempted to work some ground and pound but had little success. Eventually the action slowed to the point that the referee stood the fighters up. No sooner did the fighters get to their feet and Korbokov hit another takedown and finished off the round with a little more ground and pound. All three judges were in agreement and awarded Korbokov the round. The final round saw Korbokov try valiantly to take the fight back to the ground, but Kailea turned back each of his attempts. Kailea punished Korbokov throughout the round with stinging kicks to keep him off balance and disrupt his game plan. With the round clearly going to Kailea, the decision was read and the fight was declared a majority draw, much to the disappointment of the exhausted fighters.
James Bowens (5-0) entered the third fight undefeated and kept his record unblemished when he took on Clifford Donovan (0-1). Bowens took the fight to the ground immediately and quickly transitioned into side control when Donovan tried a submission. Bowens very deliberately worked his way into proper position and locked in an arm triangle that Donovan could not escape, earning the win at the 1:59 mark of the very first round via tap out.
Fight number four produced the second draw of the night when Ben Harper (20-15-2) squared off with Anthony Kiedis (17-9-2). Kiedis pulled Harper into the clinch in the early going and paid the price with a nicely delivered knee to the head by Harper. Kiedis made a few attempts to pull Harper to the ground before finally succeeding. Harper was able to quickly reverse position and get back to his feet. After a brief time in the clinch, Kiedis was able to get another takedown but Harper was once again able to scramble back to his feet. Kiedis finally hit yet another takedown but was unable to capitalize on his position, forcing the referee to stand the fighters up. The round ended with both fighters in the clinch jockeying for position but neither really getting the upper hand. The judges did not seem to know what to do. One scored the round a draw, a second scored the round for Kiedis, and the third scored the round for Harper. The second round saw Kiedis get cut early on and saw him score an early takedown. As in the previous round, the was unable to stay active enough for the judge's liking and was forced to stand up. The fighters worked the remainder of the round alternating in and out of the clinch. Harper appeared to land the most significant shots and show the most aggression. All three judges awarded Harper with the second round. The third round saw Kiedis score two takedown in the round and work some solid BJJ in an attempt to submit Harper. While he wasn't able to secure the finish, he did enough to earn the nod of the judges for round three. As the scorecards were totaled, one judge scored the fight a 29:29 draw, the second judge scored the fight 29:28 Kiedis, and the third judge scored the fight 29:28 for Harper, resulting in a draw.
The fifth fight was the second heavyweight matchup on the card and saw Blow Jimmy (17-14) take on Fred Sanford (13-8). The first round was a neck and neck battle with Jimmy throwing punches and Sanford throwing kicks. Neither fighter gained a clear advantage but a takedown by Jimmy about midway through the round seemed to give him the edge in the eyes of the judges. The second round was more of the same, with Jimmy launching heavy punches at Sanford while Sanford tried to chip away with kicks. The tide started to turn towards Jimmy as the round wore and Jimmy clearly took the round with a takedown into mount near the end of the round and subsequent ground and pound. Jimmy managed another pair of takedowns in the third round and again showed his ability to out strike Sanford. Each of the three judges scored the fight 30:27 for Blow Jimmy.
Bada Bada (19-17) was lured into a boxing match with Jesse Wolfe (16-8) in our sixth fight and it did not turn out in his favor. Wolfe threw crisp punches with authority to keep Bada off balance. As the fight entered the halfway point of the first round, Wolfe drilled Bada with a huge overhand right that rocked him. Bada dropped his hands for a brief second and Wolfe leveled him with a massive hook that knocked him out cold, much to the delight of the crowd.
Not to be outdone by Wolfe, Puppy Love (18-12) entered the cage looking for a highlight real finish, and he got it agains James Woods (17-10). Woods simply had no offense whatsoever and continued to eat nasty head punches from Love. With less than a minute gone in the round, Love smashed Woods in the temple and sent him tumbling to the canvas. the crowd was in a frenzy after the two jaw dropping knockouts.
In another incredibly close fight, Rolando Garcia (27-14-2) narrowly escaped with a decision win over Jean Charles (11-7). Charles came out swinging early in round one, looking to inflict some damage, but quickly found himself on the ground after Garcia pulled guard. Garcia went on to unleash an wide array of submission attempt but Charles fought them off deftly. Though he was not able to secure a first round finish, Garcia was able to impress two of the three judges enough to win the round. Charles came back strong and dominated round two with some very solid boxing and clinch work that Garcia had no answer for. The third round saw Garcia impose his will on Charles by taking him to the ground and once again unleashing a chain of submission attempts on him. Garcia was not able to force Charles to tap, but by winning the third round decisively, he secured a 29:28 split decision win.
The co-main event was a middleweight battle between Payakaroon Bot (9-2) and Brutal Delux. Bot looked to get the fight into his comfort zone early on and pulled Delux into the clinch almost immediately. Delux was able to get himself into good position and scored a takedown on Bot. Delux did a phenomenal job of working ground and pound and submission attempts on Bot, having him in serious trouble. Bot somehow managed to survive and escape, living to see the next round. Round two saw the fighters paw away at each other from a distance before Bot secured the clinch with only about a minute left in the round. Once in the clinch, Bot took it to the next level, drilling Delux with a massive knee and following it up with a huge elbow strike. Delux was rocked and Bot showed no mercy, delivering another knee and monster elbow shot that dropped Delux to his knees and finished the fight at the 4:42 mark of round two.
The main event of the evening was a highly touted light heavyweight matchup between Tony Masters (10-3) and Sam Anderson (21-11). Masters came out aggressive early on and was taking Anderson to task, but at around the two minute mark, Anderson was able to secure the clinch and seemed to get the best of Masters for the remainder of the round. Master was not deterred and came out firing again in round two, landing some nice strikes on Anderson. Anderson did manage to bring the fight back into the clinch, but Masers was able to get a takedown and control Anderson on the ground to take round two. Round three saw Masters take Anderson down quickly and go to work looking for a submission. The crafty Anderson was able to pull of a stunning reversal into mount and spent most of the final three minutes of the round unloading on Masters with ground and pound and winning the round with ease. Masters bounced back strong in round four, first getting the better of Anderson striking from a distance and after displaying good clinch work finishing the round strong on the ground after a takedown. With both fighters having won two rounds, it was all on the line in the fifth and final round. Masters came out swinging and hit an early head kick that had Anderson rocked. Masters continued to pour on the punishment and finally drilled Anderson with a massive uppercut that sent Anderson tumbling to the mat. Masters pounced him like a rabid dog, forcing the referee to dive in for the save at the 49 second mark of the fifth round.
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