|
The Parisian was filled to capacity on Saturday night and the fighters of GFC did not leave the fans disappointed. Only two of the ten fights on the card went the distance and the crowd was treated to some spectacular finishes. GFC earned their highest event rating in the history of the organization and looked to be very much at home in a larger arena. Let's take a look at how the night unfolded:
The first fight was a light heavyweight scrap between Logan Mitchell (14-9-1) and Alexander Marius (14-11). Mitchell landed some heavy blows early that cut Marius open and prompted him to shoot for a takedown and get the fight to the ground. Marius tried to employ some lay and pray tactics, but the referee was having no part of it and stood the fighters back up. Mitchell scored with a few more punches before taking the fight into the clinch. Neither fighter was really able to gain the upper hand in the clinch, but Mitchell seemed to do just enough to earn the favor of the judges in round one. Mitchell came out sloppy in round two, missing with several strikes and eventually ending up on his back after a Marius takedown. Marius again tried to work a lay and pray strategy, but the referee again stood the fighters up. The fighters exchanged blows from a distance and a stiff right hand opened up Marius even more. With both fighters swinging away wildly, Mitchell clipped Marius with a right hand that left him leaning against the cage. Mitchell pounded in and fired away at Marius, who was able to avoid several of the strikes before eating a huge uppercut that knocked him out cold. An impressive TKO win for Logan Mitchell.
Lightweights Elvin Ruez (17-10) and Rocco Kaliea (6-2-1) squared off in the second fight. The first round was a close one that saw Ruez desperately try to take the fight to the ground with no success. In between takedown attempts, Ruez was able to land some nice strikes on Kaliea and even cut him open. Kaliea responded with a counter punching attack and was able to connect with Ruez just enough to earn the nod from one of the three judges. The second judge awarded the round to Ruez and the third judge saw the round as a draw. Kaliea came on strong in round two by continuing to use well placed counter strikes to outpoint Ruez. Ruez was persistent with his takedown attempts, but Kaliea turned him back each time and made him pay with counter blows. All three judges scored the round for Kaliea. The fighters spent a decent portion of round three in the clinch with Ruez eating some heavy strikes. Ruez was able to hit a takedown on Kaliea around the three and a half minute mark and control him on the ground for the remainder of the fight, but it proved to be too little to late as all three judges scored the round for Kaliea. Ruez held his own but Kaliea proved to be too much for him, winning by unanimous decision.
The third fight was another lightweight matchup that pitted Pvt. Palmer (11-7) against Paul Bruens (29-20-1). Palmer sent a message right away, cracking Bruens with a nice punch to the jaw as the fight started. Bruens connected with a body punch and then ate a nasty kick to the body for his troubles. Realizing that standing and trading blows with Palmer was not in his best interest, Bruens shot for a takedown a couple of times and was successful on his second attempt. Bruens went to work looking for a submission, but Palmer defended well and was able to slow the action and force a referee standup. Palmer once again lit into Bruens with some wicked kicks while fending of takedown attempts. Eventually, Bruens managed to land another takedown and again went to work looking for a submission. Palmer was able to fend off Bruens, but the judges awarded the round to Bruens for clearly controlling the action in the round. The second round saw the fighters once again exchange blows from a distance with Palmer clearly getting the better of Bruens. Just over two minutes into the round, Bruens scored a takedown into side control. Bruens attempted to work some ground and pound, but Palmer did an excellent job of avoiding the attacks. The round ended on the ground and once again all three judges awarded the round to Bruens for maintaining complete control of the round. Palmer came into round three firing away and landing some very impressive and damaging blows to Bruens. Bruens absorbed the punishment and weathered the storm, finally landing a takedown with less than a minute to go in the fight. In desperation, Palmer tried to score a submission from the bottom, but Bruens defended with ease. Palmer easily won the final round but with a strong performance in rounds one and two, Bruens picked up the unanimous decision win.
Onni Jokinen (15-8-1) and Billy Bobberson (19-19-1) clashed in the fourth fight in a welterweight battle. Jokinen was the aggressor early on in the fight, throwing crisp punches and kicks and really punishing Bobberson. Bobberson quickly realized that he needed to change tactics and put Jokinen on the ground with a takedown into side control. Bobberson unleashed a chain of submission attempts on Jokinen with absolutely no success. Jokinen managed to pull off an impressive reversal and get into top position. Bobberson continued to attempt submissions from bottom position but Jokinen fought them off with ease, content with just controlling the pace. Jokinen worked his way into full mount towards the end of the round, but did not aggressively pursue a finish. All three judges saw the round in Jokinen's favor. Jokinen once again started quickly as round two opened, assaulting Bobberson with a healthy mix of punches and kicks. Just before the one minute mark in the round, Jokinen cut Bobberson open with a vicious onslaught of punches. Bobberson failed with a takedown and then landed a punch to the head of Jokinen, only to have the favor returned, rocking Bobberson. Jokinen tagged Bobberson with a couple of nice kicks to the body and then staggered him with a right hook and finished him off with another hook that earned him Knockout Of The Night honors.
The fifth fight was an exciting heavyweight matchup featuring Blow Jimmy (18-16) and Optimus Prime (14-9-1). Jimmy came out as the aggressor early in round one but was unable to land with any of his strikes. After a brief clinch, Jimmy shot for a takedown and was able to land in full mount. It looked as if Prime was in serious trouble, as Jimmy rained down punches from the mount and eventually took his back. After being perilously close to being finished, Prime was able to reverse position and spend the remainder of the round in Jimmy's guard. Jimmy fired away at Prime at the beginning of round two, but much like the first round, most of his strikes were unable to find their home. Prime clinched Jimmy about halfway through the round. The fighters exchanged a few blows before Prime failed with a takedown attempt. Prime was undeterred and came right back with another takedown attempt, this one successfully putting Jimmy on the ground. Prime tried to work a few strikes and a submission from top position. Though he was unable to finish Jimmy, he won the round on the judge's scorecards. Jimmy shot for a takedown to start round three and quickly got Prime to the ground. Jimmy got sloppy with a submission attempt that allowed Prime to sneak out and take his back. Once his hooks were in, Prime unloaded on Jimmy with some nasty shots to the head that cut him open. The more Prime pounded a way, the bloodier Jimmy got. With both fighters covered in Jimmy's blood and more pouring out by the second, the referee paused the fight and brought the doctor in to inspect the cut. The doctor deemed Jimmy unfit to continue and the referee awarded the bout to Prime via TKO.
Joe Clark (25-13) came out and made an impressive debut in GFC, picking up a big win over GFC mainstay Mondo Topless (24-8). Topless started the round by relentlessly pursing takedowns. With each missed takedown, Clark would make Topless pay with a solid counter strike. Topless finally was able to get Clark to the ground on his sixth attempt. Topless was unable to capitalize on his advantageous position, failing with a pair of submission attempts and allowing Clark to gain top position. Clark did not remain very active and the referee quickly stood the fighters back up. Topless went right back to shooting for takedowns, but Clark continued to deny him and light him up with counter strikes until the round came to a close. The strategy of Topless did not change and he came out in round two looking for the takedown once again. He was able to get Clark to the ground on his fourth attempt of the second round and then went to work looking for the submission. Topless spent the bulk of the round trying various submissions, but Clark was able to turn back each and every one of them. With roughly one minute left in the round, Clark was able to avoid big elbow strike by Topless and reverse position. In no time, Topless managed to land a switch and mount Clark. Clark desperately wiggled around trying to avoid strikes from Topless and was able to escape the round. With hopes of getting Clark back on the ground, Topless continued his relentless pursuit of the takedown and Clark continued to make him pay. Counter blow after counter blow finally took its toll on Topless and he was rocked by a Clark right hand less than a minute into the round. A huge uppercut wilted Topless against the cage, allowing Clark to put on the punishment until the referee jumped in for the stoppage just 45 seconds into round three.
Keha Anoki (7-1) battled back from being battered in round one of his lightweight matchup with Clifford Donovan (2-2) to pick up a huge comeback victory and score his third consecutive Submission Of The Night award. It looked like it was going to be Donovan's night early on as he cut Anoki open, knocked him down twice, and rocked him all within the first minute and a half of the fight. Donovan clinched up with Anoki and launched a brutal assault of knees to the head and body for the better part of the round. Anoki showed unbelievable heart in absorbing all of that punishment and staying in the fight. As the round came to an end, Donovan shook his head in disbelief that Anoki had survived. In the second round, everything changed. Anoki blocked a head kick from Donovan and scored a slick trip takedown. He then went right to work looking for the submission, dropping back and latching on a knee bar. Donovan appeared to be in shock and was unable to escape and had no other option but to tap out at the 36 second mark of round two.
The eighth fight was the rubber match of a trilogy between two fighters who do not like each other one bit. Bobby Tupper III (19-19) and Terry Smith (10-5) met for the third straight time with both fighters intent on settling the score. Things looked to be going Tupper's way early in the fight as he secured a takedown and launched a relentless chain of submission attempts on Smith. Smith wowed the crowd at around the two and a half minute mark as Tupper III attempted a triangle and Smith picked him up and slammed him and then deftly moved into side control. Tupper III quickly recovered and went right back to working his submission game, but Smith decided to stand up and get out of danger. After being on the receiving end of an open handed slap from Smith, Tupper III took him right back to the ground with a takedown and continued to work his submission game. Smith survived the round but Tupper III clearly took the round on the scorecards. The second round started out much like the first, with Tupper III landing a takedown and going to work looking for submission. Smith managed to fight him off and get back to his feet, getting out of danger. Smith decided to clinch up with Tupper III which proved to be a good decision, as he was able to punish Tupper III with heavy punches and elbows, earning the nod from the judges for round two. The third round saw Smith initiate the clinch early, but Tupper III was able to score a takedown and go to work looking for submissions again. Smith pulled off an impressive sweep that landed him on top of Tupper III in full mount. Smith looked unsure of what he wanted to do, and his indecisiveness caused the referee to stand the fighters up. Smith was able to once again clinch up with Tupper III and go back to a full on assault of punches and elbows. Just past the three minute mark, Smith cut Tupper III open with a big elbow. Sensing a moment of weakness, Smith started to really unload on Tupper III, knocking him down and rocking him with some brutal hooks to the head. A dazed Tupper III regained his feet only to be drilled with another elbow strike and a flurry of punches. The referee had seen enough and waved off the fight, giving Smith the win via TKO at the 4:08 mark of round three.
The co-main event saw Ansgar Axelsson (13-2-1) put his light heavyweight title on the line against upstart challenger Dick Tanner (14-6). For the first two minutes of the fight, the fighters went toe to toe with one another, viciously throwing punches and kicks with Axelsson getting the better of the exchange. Tanner tried to clinch up with Axelsson just past the two minute mark, but Axelsson was having none of it and quickly broke free. The fighters went back to brawling for the remainder of the round, with Axelsson continuing to maintain the advantage. The second round was just a continuation of the first with both fighters coming out ready to throw down. Roughly a minute and a half into the round, Axelsson rocked Tanner and knocked him down with a huge uppercut. Axelsson allowed Tanner to get back to his feet and really started to stalk him. Tanner tried to mount some semblance of an offense but he was still woozy and couldn't land anything. Axelsson moved in for the kill and dropped Tanner with a big right hand and then followed up with a flurry of ground and pound until the referee stopped the fight at the 2:23 mark of round two. The winner and still GFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Ansgar Axelsson.
Frank Sigurdsson (23-10) and Stuart Redman (32-24) came together and locked horns in the main event that pitted two of the top heavyweight contenders in GFC against one another. Sigurdsson started quickly, cutting Redman within seconds with a stiff jab. Redman moved into the clinch but Sigurdsson had no interest in engaging from there and was able to quickly break free. After a brief exchange, Redman once again pulled Sigurdsson into the clinch and quickly followed with a takedown. Redman was unable to capitalize on his dominant position and after a period of little activity, the referee stood the fighters up. Redman failed with a few takedown attempts and came up on the short end of some striking exchanges with Sigurdsson. As the three minute mark passed, Sigurdsson dialed up the intensity and started to really unload on Redman. Redman's cut was opened further and very shortly after, he ate a straight right hand that dropped him. Sigurdsson quickly pounced his fallen opponents and proceeded to pound him out until the referee jumped in for the save.
Article views:
171
» Donate to this author |
