2012-08-23
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NLFL 11 - Warlock Review

Event Review: NLFL 11 - Warlock
AD Rising Stars
2012-08-18, Montreal, The Underground - Montreal
Attendance:1,000, Event Rating:88
Author:Paul Repooc

I guess my hot streak of correctly predicting fights has come to an end. I went back to being mediocre unlike NLFL 11- Warlock which was awesome! If I had rented this card on pay per view and there were so many quick finishes I would feel ripped off. This is MMA Tycoon so I love it! I don’t want to waste any more time, let’s get to it.



Reggie Turner vs. Joey Cacho

The night started off with a light heavyweight tilt between Reggie Turner and Joey Cacho. This is what was going through Cacho’s head after the fight “why didn’t I just stay in the clinch?” Good question. He was getting beat up in the clinch but once he tried to pull guard and the fighters separated his night was over. Reggie Turner landed with two beautiful head kicks and didn’t need anything else to win the fight. Joey Cacho is going to have to rebound after this one as he has lost three fights in a row. Reggie Turner by TKO at 1:53 of the first round.



Chael Sonnen vs. Zanderson Zilva

Talk about telegraphing a game plan. Chael Sonnen made it very clear that he didn’t want to fight at NLFL 11- Warlock unless it was on the ground. He had absolutely no luck in taking down Zilva who showed great defensive wrestling skills. A heavy body kick followed by a beautifully timed right hand set up the finish for Zilva. After that he landed a huge overhand right which finished the job. Chael Sonnen has now lost in all three of his NLFL appearances and can only hope he gets another shot to prove himself. For Zilva it was a great debut and we will definitely be seeing this guy again. Zilva by KO at 1:31 of round one.



Christian Creed vs. David Abbott

This fight was the definition of “ground war”. Christian Creed dove in right away and got a takedown. He almost got caught in a triangle attempt from David Abbott. He escaped by showing some physical strength as he picked up the unsuspecting Abbot and slammed him into the mat. Abbott quickly executed a brilliant switch and got top position. Then, just like musical chairs, Creed gets a switch of his own, ends up in mount and attacked viciously from the dominant position. Initially he was close to securing an Americana; Abbott escaped only for Creed to once again attack the arm. He cranked it this time and forced Abbott to tap due to armbar submission at 1:34 of the very first round. What a fight!



Chris Benoit vs. Jack Hayes

You know who should get submission of the night? The armbar, because it was everyone’s favorite method of forcing the tapout. Jack Hayes showed up to the fight in training camp form, he looked gassed from the opening bell. Too many tacos? Who knows. One thing is for sure, Hayes is going to want to book a doctor’s appointment to have his arm looked at. Chris Benoit scored two takedowns and after the last one he took advantage of a tactical mistake by Hayes, locked onto an arm and made Hayes scream like a girl. Chris Benoit by Armbar submission (surprise, surprise.) I would have to say that Benoit bounced back quite nicely from his first professional loss.



Kyde Repooc vs. Brock Lesnar

If you took a bathroom break figuring you wouldn’t miss much of this fight, you were dead wrong. Unless of course your bathroom breaks are less than 40 seconds in length. Apparently Lesnar’s game plan was to take his opponent down, which he did by slamming Repooc on his butt. But, once the fight was on the ground Repooc showed why he is a BJJ Brown Belt, he executed a perfect armbar and poor Lesnar was left on the mat squirming in pain. Kyde Repooc wins by Armbar submission at 0:38 of the first round. What a pro debut for the 18 year old Repooc. The sky is the limit for this kid!



Maurice Robinson vs. Levi Jones

In my preview of NLFL 11- Warlock I mentioned that Levi Jones would leave with sagging self-confidence. I thought it was a clever play on words. Instead, Jones left the event with confidence so tight he resembled a pair of skinny jeans. From the opening bell Maurice Robinson appeared very tired. He may have over-trained for this fight. An overhand right from Jones was the beginning of the end for Robinson. Levi landed a couple of more punches for good measure as the single shot was all he needed to get the victory. Levi Jones by TKO at thirty two seconds of round one. Jones may be a force in the NLFL middleweight division for a long time. NLFL 11- Warlock was a great night for dudes who were making their pro debuts!



Jawz Gauthier vs. Damian Drake

Next up was another middleweight battle between Damian Drake and Jawz Gauthier (Love the name!). In the short time that this fight lasted these two men went toe to toe. It was Gauthier that landed the first solid shots and then Drake took over. He charged in with a flurry of punches, most of which found their target. Although I think that if the ref had not stepped in we may have been in for three straight rounds of a classic beat down. Instead the referee must have felt bad because he stepped in and brought a stop to the action at 1:56 of round one. Damian Drake is now 2-2 (NLFL 1-1). Congratulations to Drake who showed he can take a shot and still come back to win a fight.



NLFL Lightweight Championship

Ray Oliver vs. Marcus Davis

The title fight was the only one to make it past the first round at NLFL 11- Warlock. It didn’t last much longer but compared to all the first round stoppages it was a marathon. The first round saw both fighters trade the top position and they were both looking for submissions. However, it wasn’t until the second round that one of them was able to lock up a submission and force the tap. Ray Oliver took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself and secured an armbar that forced Davis to tapout. Ray Oliver is the inaugural NLFL Lightweight Champion. I look forward to him making his first title defense in the future. Ray Oliver is victorious by way of armbar submission at 1:30 of the second round.



Co-Main Event

Harlan Crowe vs. Antonio Silva

In the opening seconds the two fighters traded shots that didn’t land. Then Harlan Crowe used a beautiful fake to get a takedown. From there he softened up his opponents with solid ground strikes. Silva made one attempt for a submission but ended up giving Crowe side control and it didn’t take Harlan long to capitalize on the mistake. Once he knew he had Silva hurt, Crowe got the mount and finished off a dazed Silva with more ground and pound. Harlan Crowe remains undefeated with a record of 4-0 (NLFL 1-0). I am not sure what is up next for the newcomer, I do know that he has put himself in position for either a title shot or a main even slot. Harlan Crowe by TKO at 2:56 of the very first round.



Main Event!



Gareth McCall vs. Routine Maintenance

The main event of the evening was a middleweight bout between Gareth McCall and Routine Maintenance. Routine was hoping to build on an impressive win in his last fight at NLFL 5- Peacemaker when he got the TKO victory over Damian Drake. Gareth McCall was looking to stay undefeated and he did just that. One thing is for sure, McCall’s clinch is nasty and so are his elbows and knees. He opened up a cut on Maintenance’s face and he just continued to make the cut worse with his aggressive offensive attack. Hey, Routine Maintenance is definitely a gamer, if the ref hadn’t got the doc to take a look Maintenance most likely would have continued to fight. The doctor only needed on look to determine the cut was too bad for Routine to continue and he called a stop to the fight at 3:45 of round 1. Your winner by TKO (Cut) is Gareth McCall who improves to 4-0 (NLFL 1-0). The NLFL middleweight division is full of talent and another fight to add to the list is Gareth McCall!



You couldn’t have asked for more action. NLFL 11- Warlock was a night of quick finishes and tough guys making their NLFL debuts. A fight card like this is why I enjoying doing these previews and reviews, even if they paid me real money I’d still do it for free! Have a good one and don’t forget that NLFL 12- Sheherazade takes place on August 26th at the Underground in Montreal, Quebec!

Until next time,

Brent Haugh

 

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