Road to the gold

About Me: Alika Webb

I’m writing this article to sketch my personal history with title fights because I took a short notice fight for a vacant title. By the time this article is published that title fight will be over and my title fight record will either have improved or I will stay winless in title fights. I’m hoping it won’t be the latter.

0-1

Let’s go back to my first title fight, my fighter Jason Boma was challenging then bantamweight  champion Joko Diaz. Joko Diaz at that time was a Brazilian jiu jitsu beast while Boma was more known as a tough wrestler with some decent BJJ. In that fight Boma showed off his improved boxing but it was Joko Diaz’ grappling that gave him the unanimous decision.

0-2

Up next was another grappling showdown. My fighter Erik Quin was  a mediocre wrestler with some decent BJJ who despite having a 3-2 record managed to get a title fight against a fellow BJJ practitioner. The title was vacant at the time and despite the difference in records – 3-2 for Erik Quin and 3-0 for Miguel Sinaloa – I was pretty confident my fighter had better wrestling so I went for a lay and pray tactic on the ground and I was hoping both their BJJ would cancel each other out. Unfortunately it didn’t go as I expected it to go. Sinaloa won by Americana submission at the end of round one.

0-3

My third title fight was a classic striker Vs Grappler match. Xavier Gracie was my best fighter at that time, a high level grappler against a striking machine called Chaly Kwidama. They had met once before and despite Gracie controlling most of the fight with his grappling it was the power of Kwidama that reigned supreme. The rematch was not at all what I expected it to be, Kwidama easily kept Gracie at bay with some kicks and knocked Gracie out with a huge punching combination. Kwidama retained his title after a mere 34 seconds in the first round.

0-4

Jason Boma Vs William McGregor was an unexpected surprise at that point in time. Before that fight happened I had a falling out with the owner of the org Boma was in. I had declined to fight a guy clearly way stronger than Boma and we had a long argument about it. When he realized I wasn’t going to cave in, he kept sending me fight offers that were a little bit more fair but with only 2 days notice. I was so pissed off about that I eventually asked to be released from my contract. Luckily I was able to get a new contract elsewhere really quick and I was offered an immediate title fight.

McGregor was a Muay Thai fighter but all his wins came by submission. As I mentioned before, Boma was known as a tough wrestler with some decent BJJ. I knew I couldn’t win standing so I went with an aggressive approach to take the fight to the ground and it worked. Almost the entire fight was fought on the ground, it was a back and forth grappling clinic that ended in shocking fashion, with only 2 seconds left on the clock in the fifth and final round McGregor managed to sneak in a perfect triangle choke and Boma was forced to tap.

0-5

After a long resting period Jason Boma was granted a rematch with the champion McGregor in hopes of repeating their fight of the year candidate performance. The champion showed great improvement in his grappling and easily submitted Boma with an armbar in the middle of the first round. Boma retired after that disappointing loss.

0-6

Now we arrive at a point in time where I had a really good relationship with UFL owner John Hetfield so good in fact that all my fighters where contracted to the UFL. When I was given another chance to fight Kwidama for the title with Xavier Gracie I was a little surprised. Xavier Gracie was 1-2 in his last three fights but he was still ranked high. The real reason for the rematch was probably the lack of real contenders in the middleweight division. Chaly Kwidama dominated that division for a really long time and managed to improve his game at a really stunning pace. While Kwidama was working really hard to become a better grappler I was more interested in taking as many fights as I possibly could in a short period of time. This in retrospect could be considered a mistake but I don’t see it that way. Back then I didn’t have VIP so if I didn’t fight as often as possible I might have quit this game. The trilogy ended similar to the second fight: Kwidama dominated and knocked out Gracie after a minute in the first round.

0-7

John Hetfield then sold the UFL and I didn’t want to stay in that organization because I felt there was a bad vibe. I was right by the way, that org died shortly after I left. Xavier Gracie then got another shot at the gold after a four fight winning streak. His opponent John Kruger was just like Xavier Gracie, a high level grappler. The only difference was the striking, Kruger simply had better striking and that proved to be the difference in that fight. Kruger won by KO at the end of round 2. Gracie retired after that fight.

0-8

Duncan McAlister then faced Jack Potatos for the vacant title, an elite heavyweight collision. McAlister is the first free agent that I picked up and he immediately got a title fight. The fight was pretty much a kickboxing match. I admit going into that fight I was a little too cocky and it showed. After McAlister dominated the first round Potatos came back with a vengeance. The clinch proved a vital component in this fight, Potatos rocked McAlister in the clinch and then dropped him with an uppercut, a few seconds later the fight was over. Potatos won by TKO after four minutes in the fourth round.

0-9

Kira Miyata, a strong BJJ fighter with decent boxing was 4-0 when he received his first title shot. I had first received a fight offer that I honestly doubt I could have won and so I decided to decline the fight. After talking about it with the org owner I was asked if I wanted to face the champion instead, I accepted immediately.

Kira Miyata Vs James Dean Rockefeller was a battle of undefeated prospects. James Dean Rockefeller is the perfect example of an all-round fighter. Striking, clinching, grappling, submitting, ground striking, … he can do it all and that’s what happened in that fight, he dominated wherever the fight took place and was awarded a unanimous decision.

0-10

Before Duncan McAlister had his fight of the night battle with Jack Potatos, he was first offered to fight Frankestein Mir for the title, I don’t know why the fight didn’t happen back then but it did happen a little over a month later. Even though both heavyweights are elite martial artists, McAlister is primarily a striker and Mir is primarily a grappler. So this is another classic striker Vs grappler match. McAlister was considered the better striker, but it was again the clinch game that cost him this fight. Mir softened McAlister up in the clinch then took him down and finished him with his superior grappling. Mir won by armbar submission in the third round.

0-11

James Chandler Vs Dick Hertz was a battle of grapplers. James Chandler started out as a wrestler that I first wanted to turn into a grappler with some boxing, then I changed my mind and wanted to turn him into a boxer and then I just gave up on him. I signed him to an org where I thought he’d do okay in before I’d eventually release him and he did manage to lay and pray his way to victory against first opponent. That victory was the last of his five fight winning streak and got him a title shot. The champion – Dick Hertz – was also a grappler but had better BJJ, therefore I wanted to play it safe and lay and pray my way to victory and it did work in the first round. Hertz then turned things around in the second round by taking Chandler down and succeeded in controlling Chandler on the ground. In the third round Chandler managed to take Hertz down first but Hertz was just a little more aggressive and he managed to catch Chandler in an armbar at the end of the third round.

0-12 or 1-11?

As I mentioned in the beginning of this article I received a title offer on five days notice. Duncan McAlister will fight Rutger Crax for the vacant UPF Hilo heavyweight title. Both are knockout artist with some strong grappling skills. Who will be victorious and who will be the new heavyweight champion? Find out at UPF Hilo 55 on November ninth 2013. 

Article views: 179
» Donate to this author