2013-05-04
Price: Free
Edition: #
Previous Issues
Submit Article
Tycoon Times - MMA Magazine
Tycoon Times - The World's Premier Weekly Mixed Martial Arts Newspaper
Corner

ITFL Review: Week 4 Part 2

Event Review: ITFL - Week 4/2
International Team Fighting League
2013-04-28, London, Wombley Arena
Attendance:11,232, Event Rating:431
Author:Sean McDonnel

ITFL Review – Week 4 Pt. 2

Welcome to part 2 of our recap! ITFL came to you live from the Wombley arena in London, England for its 2nd ever PPV event. Our headliner and co-main event are two fantastic battles between our points leader Team Reaper as they bring a 1-0 lead to our 2nd event against Team Syndicate Nutrition. In other team action, Team Dinooo’s Donkey’s brings a surprising 3 to zero lead to the event over team TFP Graphics, while Kaiser leads the Aces of Spades 2-0, and team Misfits comes into the event with a 3-1 lead over team Hells Balls. Let’s take a look at our fight recaps…

Garrick Ballantyne (21-16) vs. Jax Teller (12-4)

Our first fight on part 2 of our weekend is the final match-up between Team Hells Balls and Team Misfits when the ultra-talented striker Garrick Ballantyne took on the 25 yr. old striking phenom Jax Teller. The bell rang for round one and we were underway, and Ballantyne came out landing strikes early before pushing the fight into the clinch position inside the first minute of the round. Garrick was able to maintain this position for the entire round as he worked a nice clinch game with punches and elbows to the face, while also landing with knees to the body to secure the 1st round in the eyes of the judges. Our 2nd round started with the two fighters trading blows at distance for the first two and half minutes of the round with Teller getting the better of the striking. After a clean right hook sent Teller to a knee, Ballantyne closed the distance and engaged his opponent in the clinch, where the two fighters stayed until the end of round 2. The fight was even-steven to start round 3, and both fighters needed to lay it all on the line in order to pull out the victory. Unfortunately for Ballantyne, it was his opponent who landed a big hook that rocked him, and followed up with an uppercut that knocked Garrick out cold. Teller closes strong and gives his team the 4-1 victory.


Teller def. Ballantyne by 3rd round KO


Ogmundur Girsurrson (11-4) vs. Dryden Mitchell (30-11-1)


Up next, Dryden Mitchell looks to continue a strong start by his team in event 1 when he takes on the always tough fighter from Iceland, Ogmundur Girsurrson. Both fighters came out looking to get their strikes off first and the aggression from both men made for an exciting first round. The two fighters were finding mixed success early in the fight, but it was Mitchell who started to wear down his opponent with a brutal muay-thai game with very effective leg kicks to secure the first round 10-9. Our 2nd round looked very similar to the first as it was Mitchell who was starting to tee off on his opponent now. Ogmundur really had a difficult time finding his range in the 2nd round, and it was clear going into the 3rd round that the damage he had been eating was taking its toll on him. Mitchell cruised through round 3, even partially landing a head kick that rocked his opponent. Girsurrson managed to survive until the final bell but Mitchell easily won a unanimous decision.


Mitchell def. Girsurrson by 30-27 Unanimous Decision


 


 


Edward Richtofen (6-1) vs. Tito Hopkins (32-10)


Edward Richtofen did not make it to the correct location before the fight and as a result, his bout with Tito Hopkins had to be cancelled. Tito Hopkins was awarded the full 3 points, and his team was awarded the victory.


Thomas Billington (25-13-2) vs. Latka Gravas (22-13-1)


Our next fight is the 2nd between Team Syndicate vs. Team Reaper but the first of four on this card as Thomas Billington takes on Latka Gravas. The first round started and Latka Gravas came out the aggressor throwing punches and kicks in an attempt to close the distance and engage his opponent in the clinch. After a nice combination, Billington shot in and took this fight to the ground early in the round. Latka Gravas did a good job avoiding any damage and forced the referee to step in and stand the two fighters up. He quickly took advantage of the ref stand up by pushing Billington against the cage in the clinch, where he worked him over for the rest of the round to secure a 10-9 round 1. Thomas Billington did a nice job in round 2 of keeping the fight at a distance and landing his punches before finally landing a counter takedown three and a half minutes into the round. Gravas was again able to force the ref to step in and stand the two fighters back up but Billington did enough to win the round. We entered round 3 with an event fight and Billington was doing a nice job early in round 3 landing his punches that was until Gravas engaged in the clinch half-way through the round and kept the fight against the cage for the rest of the round. The announcer’s gave the fight to Gravas, but it was the judge’s opinion that mattered most and they scored it for Thomas Billington.


Billington def. Gravas by 29-28 Majority Decision


I.P. Daily (8-8) vs. Geralt of Ravia (13-3)


Team Kaiser looked to make it 3-0 against the Aces of Spades by sending their vicious muay-thai specialist to take on an elite level boxer in I.P. Daily. Geralt came out and successfully engaged the clinch position at the very beginning of the round. Daily decided he didn’t like the position and it didn’t take him very long to escape and get back to striking at a distance. Geralt used a leg kick heavy game-plan to try to wear down his opponent and managed to win a very close round 1. Geralt came out landing several jabs and leg kicks to start round 2, and it was a jab in the first minute of the round that rocked his opponent. He immediately engaged Daily in the clinch position, but was not able to keep it for very long. It didn’t matter though, as a big right hand from Geralt dropped Daily like a sack of potatoes and after a few follow up strikes to his grounded opponent the referee jumped in to save the fight.


Geralt def. Daily by 2nd round TKO


Jan Dudek (22-6-1) vs. Dan Smith (18-6)


Our main card kicks off with another fight between Team Kaiser and the Aces of Spades, and the Aces are in desperate need of the win as they look to not fall behind 4-0. Dan Smith would need to look to use his fight ending power to help him overcome the more skilled and experienced Jan Dudek. Both fighters came out aggressive in round 1, but Smith closed the distance and engaged the clinch position just before the 1 minute mark of round 1. It was a position he would briefly break before re-engaging as the two fighters spent the majority of the first round against the cage with Smith being much more effective from the position to secure a 10-9 round 1. The 2nd round looked very similar to the first as Dan Smith engaged the clinch early, and the two fighters spent most of the round against the cage with Smith again being much more effective from the position, and he took a 2 round lead going into the final frame. He wouldn’t need long to win the fight, as an opening 1-2 combination to start the round dropped his opponent to his back and despite flailing his arms in attempt to block the follow up hammer-fists, the referee jumped in to save the protesting Dudek.


Smith def. Dudek by 3rd round TKO


Dan Leighty (15-6-1) vs. Boy Bubby (12-4-1)


Up next on our card was an interesting match-up between the super talented Dan Leighty as he looks to put his team on the score-board when he faced off against rising young star Boy Bubby. Dan Leighty came out extremely accurate in the first round, while his opponent looked to unleash big power shots on his opponent and mix in his takedown attempts. Leighty closed the distance and pushed his opponent against the cage in the clinch position but seemed to have little success there early, and it eventually led to a big slam by Boy Bubby. Leighty did a nice job avoiding any damage on the ground and forced the referee to step in and stand the fight up just after the 3 minute mark of the round. Dan Leighty managed to out-strike his opponent the rest of the way and won a very convincing round 1. Dan Leighty came out landing at will in round 2, and the young stud Bubby just looked completely overmatched in this fight. We entered round 3, and Bubby would need a finish to pull this fight out of his hat, but it just wasn’t his night when an overhand left rocked him, and then a big head kick followed by a combination by Leighty ended Bubby’s night. Team Syndicate gets on the board, as they were down 2-1 against the team point leading Reaper Combatwear.


Leighty def. Bubby by 3rd round TKO


Katsuro Sato (20-8) vs. Jeremy Voda (11-7)


Jeremy Voda was a wanted man this week when Team Kaiser’s captain asked all of his fighters who their preferable match-up was, every single one of them called out Voda. Despite some pre-fight mind games by Roger the Aces put their superstar against another ground specialist in Katsuro Sato. Voda came out looking to get this fight to the ground, and was successful with an early trip takedown into side control. After a failed kimura attempt from side control, Voda allowed his opponent to regain the half-guard. Sato immediately jumped on a guillotine attempt, and once he regained full guard and squeezed tight he forced the tap-out just past the minute mark in the first round.


Sato def. Voda by 1st round submission (guillotine)


Frank Esposito (32-13) vs. Sergei Skylar (19-4)


Our co-main event of the evening was a grappler vs. striker match-up when grappling ace Sergei Skylar took on the double elite striker and former Empire title contender Frank Esposito. The little man Skylar came out very aggressive in round 1, and it seemed like Esposito had a difficult time catching the much quicker fighter on the feet. Skylar managed to dive through with a nice takedown into half-guard 90 seconds into the round and managed to keep his opponent down for several minutes before Esposito worked his butterfly guards and landed a nice sweep and stood up off his opponent. Frank Esposito came out landing his shots early in round 2, and it seemed as though he might’ve finally found his range. After a missed leg kick however, Sergei Sklyar landed a very nice counter takedown into guard. He managed to keep the fight on the ground for the rest of the round, and went into round 3 up two rounds. The last round didn’t go much better for Frank. Skylar landed a nice takedown very early in the round and worked a very effective ground game eventually getting to full mount and landing several heavy shots from the position before hurting Esposito badly and forcing the referee to step in with 4 seconds left in the fight.


Skylar def. Esposito by 3rd round TKO


Tweedle Dee (23-5-1) vs. Dennis Wise (24-9)


Our main event of the evening is a fantastic match-up as Tweedle Dee squares off against Dennis Wise. Both fighters come into this fight undefeated in the tournament thus far, and this would be the deciding fight as both teams come into it tied 2 fights to 2. Dennis Wise came out looking to score points early in round 1 knowing that at any time Dee could secure a takedown and possibly steal rounds in the judge’s eyes. His game-plan was very effective in round 1, landing a lot shots and keeping this fight on the feet for over 4 minutes of the round. Despite giving up the late takedown, Wise did plenty enough to win the round. Dennis was able to keep this fight on the feet for over 4 minutes in the second round as well, but this time Dee was much more effective standing and the late counter takedown into half-guard just secured what was a very close round standing. We entered the last round tied at two fights and two rounds apiece and this team showdown would literally come down to the final 5 minutes of the fight. Dee came out hobbling on his front leg after eating some heavy leg kicks by Wise and took the fight to the ground to avoid any more leg kicks. Wise did a very nice job avoiding damage and forced the ref to step in and stand the fight back up. It was Tweedle Dee who was getting the better of the striking though and after another takedown later in the round he did enough to pull out the final round and the final fight for his team, giving them the team victory over the #1 team entering the week.


Dee def. Wise by 29-28 Unanimous Decision


 

Article views: 209
» Donate to this author

Editorial Staff
Tycoon Times Discussion
Tycoon Times - MMA Magazine MMA Tycoon
MMA Chat Room
MMA Forum