|
ITFL Week 2 Review Pt. 1
The International Team Fighting League kicked off week 2 of its action on March 30th, 2013 live from the Hard Knocks arena in London, England. Big matches were set as the two teams tied for Group B’s lead squared off as Team TFP Graphics took on Team Syndicate Nutrition. Also in Group B action, Team Kaiser faced off against Team Misfits as these two teams try to stay out of the cellar. Group A action saw two of the top 3 ranked teams in last week’s power rankings go head to head, as Team Reaper Combat-wear took on the team favorites Dinooo’s Donkey’s. Last but not least, we saw Team Aces of Spades Nutrition take on last place team Hells Balls. Let’s have a look at some of the fight re-caps!
Rage Blade (29-15-2) vs. Pete Damato (19-15)
Our first fight of the night saw Rage Blade take on Pete “Hands of Stone” Damato. Both these fighters came out looking to bang right from the opening bell, and it was clear early that this fight had no chance at going to the ground. Damato looked like he might make it interesting very early in the fight, as Blade got sloppy lunging in with a right hand and ate a straight right hand counter for his troubles that opened a up a cut on him. Fortunately for Rage Blade, he tightened up his boxing and started to pick Damato apart by pushing a tough pace. At around the 2 minute mark of round 1, Blade landed a nice uppercut which really rocked Pete, about 30 seconds later he landed another devastating uppercut which floored him. Blade showed great patience by forcing his opponent to get back to his feet and very soon after landed an overhand right, followed up by a few strikes and “Hands of Stone’s” night came to an end.
Blade def. Damato by 1st round TKO
Edward Richtofen (6-0) vs. Latka Gravas (21-12-1)
Our next fight is one I was definitely looking forward too, as these two fighters exchanged some pretty nasty words before the fight. Richtofen is quoted as saying he would tear his eyeballs out and eat them, shit them in his mouth, resuscitate him with a defibulator just to hammer-fist his face into play-dough. That’s some pretty disgusting shit right there, I think Richtofen is in need of a psyche evaluation and ITFL is willing to foot the bill for the safety of the rest of its fighters. Both fighters came out looking to try to back the other fighter up which led to some pretty good back and forth action early. Richtofen was able to get the clinch position around the 1 minute mark of the 1st round and dominated the rest of the round from that position even rocking his opponent late in the round. Gravas did have some good moments in the clinch, even landing an elbow over the top that opened up a cut right before the end of the round but it was Richtofen who won the round in the eyes of the judges. Round 2 looked pretty identical to round 1 except Richtofen took the fight to the clinch immediately this time, and spent about 5 minutes beating Gravas up against the cage. Latka knew he needed a finish in round 3 and landed a few nice shots early in the round but it was Richtofen who ended the fight with a straight left hand, with some follow up GNP and the referee dove in for the save.
Richtofen def. Gravas by 3rd round TKO
Ogmundur Girsurrson (11-2) vs. Toby Diaby (25-10)
From the opening bell it was clear this fight was going to be about which fighter could dictate where the fight took place. Girsurrson came out early landing heavy blows that were clearly making Diaby uncomfortable, and Diaby looked to take the fight to the ground early because of it. He landed his first takedown about 40 seconds into the round, but Girsurrson did a good job avoiding damage and quickly scrambled back to his feet. Diaby quickly got the fight back down to the ground, but once again Girsurrson did a good job at avoiding damage, and again scrambled back to his feet. Ogmundur pushed the pace on the feet for the rest of the round, landing a nice 3 punch combination right before the end of the round that rocked Diaby, who was lucky to be saved by the bell. Unfortunately it didn’t do him much good because Girsurrson came out early in round 2 landing a big head kick that rocked Diaby, and followed it up with a nasty uppercut that ended the fight.
Girsurrson def. Diaby by 2nd round KO
Dan Smith (17-5) vs. Garrick Ballantyne (21-14)
Our next fight saw two very skilled strikers square off as Garrick Ballantyne squared off against Dan Smith. Round 1 started and saw Dan Smith come out aggressive, and swinging with bad intentions, and it didn’t take him long to land a right hand that rocked Ballantyne, and he quickly finished up with a straight right hand down the middle that put Ballantyne out cold, what a brutal knockout that was, wow!
Smith def. Ballantyne by 1st round KO
Jeremy Voda (10-6) vs. Bam Boon 1 (12-7)
In week 1 of our tournament, Jeremy Voda was able to pull off the upset of the week and received a $50,000 bonus for his efforts. This week, he looked to continue his surprising run in ITFL by defeating a man who was very vocal going into this tournament. The bell rung and they were under way, and it was clear from the get-go that Voda wanted no part of standing and banging with Bam Boon, as he desperately attempted to get this fight to the ground early. Boom was doing a good job pouring on the pressure, and stuffing takedown attempt after takedown attempt early in the round, but Voda did manage to get a trip takedown into side control 3 minutes into the round and ride out top control to finish round 1. Early in round 2, Voda was able to counter a leg kick with a shoot takedown and began to work away with his ground strikes. After dropping back for a leg, Boon 1 was able to get on top but made the mistake of sitting in the guard of a superior jiu-jitsu practioner and he paid the price for it.
Voda def. Boon 1 by 2nd round armbar
Jax Teller (10-4) vs. Viktor Kafka (18-9-1)
Our main card kicked off with two promising fighters in their mid-twenties trying to get into the win column in our tournament. Both fighters came out looking hungry from the start of the fight, and it was easy to tell this 1 was going to be a close fight. Kafka started the fight as the aggressor, coming forward with head punches and leg kicks. He was also looking to get this fight to the ground early. After a nice combination from Teller opened up a cut on Viktor, he countered a clinch attempt with a double leg into half-guard. He didn’t do much damage from the position but was able to stay active and remain on top for the majority of the first round, easily winning the round in the eyes of the judges. Viktor was able to land another takedown thirty seconds into the 2nd round, but this time he was not able to keep the top position very long, as Teller scrambled and got on top. Kafka was able to avoid damage, and force the ref to stand these two back up. Teller out-struck Kafka the rest of the way, taking the fight into the clinch briefly. Kafka was able to break quickly but not before eating a nice elbow from in close. A close round, but the announcer’s cage side scored it for Jax Teller. In round 3, it was Teller who was able to instigate the grappling pinning his opponent up against the cage in order to work his thai-clinch. He was able to hold the fight there, for about 3 minutes before swatting away a takedown attempt. Kafka was able to get a takedown and keep the fight on the ground for the last minute of the fight, but it wasn’t enough in the judge’s eyes as the fight was awarded to Teller.
Teller def. Kafka by Majority Decision
Thomas Billington (23-13-2) vs. Richard Lightfoot (18-7-1)
The next fight on our main-card saw the first match-up in the highly anticipated team battle between Dinooo’s Donkey’s and Reaper Combat-wear. Billington came out the starting gate as the aggressor, really pushing a fast pace early in this fight. Richard Lightfoot was able to instigate the clinch around the 1 minute mark of the round, and these two warriors traded shots back and forth in close for the most of what was a very close 1st round. Lightfoot came out a little more active early in round 2, and found himself on his ass for his troubles as Billington was successful with a double leg takedown into guard. It didn’t take him long to dive into side-control and then Lightfoot was really in trouble. Thomas was able to ride out the top position for the rest of the round. He never landed any devastating blows, but certainly did enough to even the fight at 1 round a piece. Lightfoot came out early in the 3rd round looking like the fresher fighter, as he picked Billington apart on the feet for the first 90 seconds of the round before pushing him against the cage in the clinch position. Lightfoot was able to remain there for the rest of the round, as he worked over his opponent from in close, pulling off a win in a very close fight.
Lightfoot def. Billington by 29-28 Unanimous Decision
Luka Beck (15-4-1) vs. Artie Lange (15-8-1)
The 3rd fight on our main-card saw two fighters from the same camp square off in a fight that would give 1 manager bragging rights for his fighter. Luka Beck started the fight trying to walk his opponent down with a lot of head punches and leg kicks. He was landing a decent percent of his strikes early on, and that helped set up his takedown 90 seconds into the round. Lange did a nice job avoiding most of the ground and pound thrown by Beck and the ref stood the fight up after another 90 seconds. Lange started to score with some nice counter shots the rest of the round, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judge’s opinion and Beck went up 1-0. Beck came out as the aggressor in round 2, but Lange again was doing a nice job of countering Beck’s strikes even landing with a nice 4 punch combination. Beck dominated the round though, with his octagon control and landing more strikes then his opponent and we went into the 3rd round with Lange needing to finish the fight. Luka instigated the clinch early in the 3rd round. The two men battled back and forth against the cage for close to two minutes, when Lange was finally able to escape and get back to striking at a distance. The two traded strikes back and forth right up until the final bell, in a close round the ring-side announcer’s gave to Artie Lange. That wasn’t enough to win him the fight though, and he came out complaining about the judges after the fight.
Beck def. Lange by 29-28 Unanimous Decision
Dakota Royer (29-12) vs. Katsuro Sato (18-8)
In our co-main event of the evening former Ascension middleweight champion Dakota Royer took on ADCC world champion Katsuro Sato. The bell rang for round 1, and the fight was under-way and Sato came out as the aggressor looking to get this fight to the ground early. He dropped down with a powerful takedown into guard early in the 1st round and was able to keep the dominant position for close to 2 minutes of the round when the ref finally stood the fight up due to lack of activity. Sato was working his striking pretty well, eating only a couple counter shots on his way to another takedown right at the 4 minute mark of the round. Katsuro was able to hold the top position for the last 60 seconds of the round, and went up with a clear 10-9 round 1. The 2nd round saw Sato come out and again try to get this fight to the ground, but this time Royer was able to keep the fight standing, landing damaging counter blows that opened up a cut on his opponent. With 30 seconds left in round 2, Royer landed a nice right hand that opened up Sato’s cut even worse, and he quickly got the fight to the ground to protect it. Royer clearly won round 2, and we entered the final round with the fight up for grabs. Both fighters traded shots on the feet for the entirety of round 3, as Royer was able to keep the fight on the feet. He also was able to land the heavier shots, and out-strike his opponent on the way to a close decision victory.
Royer def. Sato by 29-28 Unanimous Decision
Boy Bubby (11-3-1) vs. Tito Hopkins (31-10)
In our main event of the evening, we had another pivotal match-up in the Team Dinooo’s Donkey’s vs. Team Reaper Combat-wear showdown. Boy Bubby came out landing body shots early in round 1, and did a nice job setting up a takedown into Hopkins guard. Tito was able to avoid damaging blows by Bubby and landed a beautiful switch into full mount. After 1 brutal shot from mount, Boy Bubby found himself in real trouble, just showing how powerful Hopkins hits. He was able to recover his senses, and eventually get back to half-guard where he forced the ref to stand the fight up. The two fighters exchanged shots, with Bubby landing a nice head kick, and securing another takedown to finish the round. Round 2 started with a brutal head kick knockdown by Bubby, and he followed Hopkins to full-mount. At 1 point, he tried to secure an arm-triangle but decided instead to retain the dominant position and made the right choice as he pounded Tito Hopkins out a few seconds later. A brutal finish, and another impressive victory for this young fighter.
Bubby def. Hopkins by 2nd round TKO
Article views:
260
» Donate to this author |
