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Our debut card EMMA 1 took place at the Micro Arena in Las Vegas. 353 fans were in attendance and witnessed 10 fights. The final card rating was 152.95.
(170lbs) Dalton McConnell vs. Jason Laszlo
The opening stanza began with McConnell chasing Lazlo across the cage. McConnell was loading up on shots as Laszlo tried to counter with leg kicks. It was slow going until McConnell cut Lazlo with an overhand right. The fight was less than a minute old when Lazlo tried to close the distance and McConnell countered with knee that send Lazlo crashing to the mat. It was an outstanding finish to open the card with.
Dalton McConnell won by KO(Knee) after 0:59 of Round One.
(135lbs) Dylan Smith vs. Clinton Strong
Boxing prodigy Dylan Smith sent out a warning to Bantamweights everywhere. Smith began the fight looking like a man that had places to go. He caught Strong with a nice combination and rocked him with a solid hook. Strong had a rush of blood to the head and tried to steamroll Smith, who backed away and caught him with the sweetest of jabs that knocked Strong out cold after just 9 seconds. Dylan Smith then got down on all fours over Strong and barked like a dog. Thank god he didn’t sniff his bum,
Dylan Smith won by KO(Punch) after 0:09 of Round One.
(205lbs) Apollinaire Aury vs. Pete Prescott
The opening minute featured Aury tried to set the pace, and Prescott sniping from distance. Aury wobbled Prescott with an uppercut only for Prescott to return fire with an overhand right a little while later. Prescott was having more success with his counters. It was hard to say whether it was fatigue or overconfidence but two minutes in Prescott’s hands were noticeably lower. Prescott caught Aury with an uppercut that bounced him off the cage. About three and a half minutes in they stood and traded, testing each others chins. Aury’s face began to swell, and Prescott went in for the kill and walked right into a straight that dropped him. Aury didn’t need to be asked twice and jumped into mount and began pounding away forcing the referee to stop the contest with just 14 seconds left in the round.
Apollinaire Aury won by TKO(Punches) after 4:46 of Round One.
(265lbs)Robert Mohan vs. Vadim Leonov Jnr
Mohan stung Leonov with a hook that had his ears ringing. Less than 20 seconds had gone by when Mohan caught Leonov with a spinning backfist. Mohan followed up with a devastating right hand that dropped Leonov who managed to fling himself back to his feet with the help of the cage. The two fighters wrestled against the cage with Mohan coming out on top. Mohan broke the clinch and threw a combination that finished with an overhand right that had Leonov doing the chicken dance. Thankfully the referee stepped in and waved off the fight.
Robert Mohan won by TKO(Punches) after 0:38 of Round One
(185lbs)Razmik Grigorian vs. Won Chuen Cao
The fight opened rather tentatively with both fighters looking to work from a distance. It continued in much the same vane, with the fighters swatting at flies in the centre of the cage. After two and a half minutes the fighters began to find their range, with Cao throwing an uppercut that wobble Grigorian. Razmik kept headhunting and cut Cao late in the round. Grigorian began to have more success with his leg kicks.
The second round saw both fighters trying to swing to win. When Cao overthrew and ended up off balance Grigorian managed to rock him with a beautiful counter. Cao managed to find his legs and began to take control of the round by mixing up his strikes nicely. Cao’s timing was considerably better and he had the measure of Grigorian’s counter strategy.
The third round took a peculiar turn when Cao slapped Grigorian with an open palm. An attempted head kick by Cao missed and he slipped to the floor, however Grigorian wasn’t alert enough to take advantage of the opportunity. Suddenly Grigorian found his timing once again and wobbled Cao with a straight left on the button. Grigorian began dropping his arms as the fatigue set in which led to Cao dropping him to one knee with a right hook. Swelling appeared on Cao’s face as the damage started to take its toll. Exhaustion set in and Cao began to miss more and more until Razmik Grigorian planted his feet and caught Cao on the chin. He followed up with another barrage of punches forcing the referee to stop the fight in the final round.
Razmik Grigorian won by TKO(Strikes) after 3:17 of Round 3.
(205lbs) Tang Cao vs. Johnny Lydon
Lydon began the fight like a windmill on amphetamines. Tang Cao repeated Won Chuen Cao’s move and slapped Lydon around the chops. Lydon moved into the clinch which backfired as Cao landed the better shots before turning him against the cage. Cao escaped from the clinch only for Lydon to try again. They say that madness is trying to do the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Once again Cao got the better of the close range exchanges. Cao managed to break the clinch again and fired off some nasty leg kicks, frustrating Lydon who returned fire with his own slap. Lydon’s hands began to drop, and so did he when Cao caught him with a clean right hook. Cao followed up with a nasty uppercut that had Lydon looking like the Father of the Bride at a wedding. He was all over the place.
Round Two began with a bang as Cao dropped Lydon immediately. Lydon managed to get back to his feet and desperately tried to clinch. Cao started landing so Lydon grabbed hold of him for dear life. The two exhausted fighters clung on to each other. Cao dropped Lydon with an uppercut and followed up hard causing the referee to wave the fight off.
Tang Cao won by TKO(Strikes) after 1:27 of Round 2.
(185lbs) Hendrik Vermeulen vs. Captain Gonza
The fight began with Vermeulen looking to counter and Gonza dropping bombs. The Captain found Vermeulen with a right hook and dropped him momentarily. Vermeulen’s defences were less than tight as he continued to drop his hands low. There is a reason only Muhammed Ali got away with it. Gonza continued to snipe at Vermeulen’s head, his predictability making it easy for Vermeulen to counter. Gonza threw out a leg kick only for Vermeulen to drop him with a perfectly timed counter right. The Captain scrambled to his feet only to be caught by an outstanding superman punch that knocked him out cold.
Hendrik Vermeulen won by KO(Superman Punch) after 2:07 of Round Two
(145lbs) Gustavo Figueroa vs. Mason Rogers
The opening minute was dominated by Figueroa whose jab and move strategy was working to perfection. Figueroa started looking for a one punch finish which Rogers easily avoided. Rogers began to retreat and starting aiming leg kicks to manage the distance. Rogers grabbed hold of Figueroa only to receive a few punches to the head for his troubles. Rogers once again clinched up and was dominated by Figueroa.
The second round began with the fighters swinging at each others shadows. Figueroa’s movement was superb preventing Rogers from getting a paw on him. Very little happened in the mid section of the round with the fight only coming to life in the last minute when Rogers finally began to land. The round came to an end with Rogers right cheek beginning to swell up.
The final round saw Figueroa landing more shots and Rogers having some success with his body kicks. Figueroa continued to be elusive and was landing more shots than his opponent. The constant head shots took their toll and Rogers began bleeding from the nose. The final minute saw Figueroa begin to taunt his opponent. The judges cards were announced with Figueroa taking it 30-27 on all three scorecards.
Gustavo Figuero won by Unanimous Decision.
(185lbs) Donnie Larkin vs. Davido Monto
At the sound of the bell Larkin forced the clinch and pulled guard and started throwing up triangles like he was at a rave. The grappling show continued with Larkin attempting a guillotine and Monto content to try and twist Larkin’s legs into various painful contortions. Larkin managed to reverse position and the effort was visible on both fighters. He passed to side control and began working the ground and pound. Monto remained a submission threat from his back. Monto managed to reverse the position close to the end of the round .
Round Two began with some actual punches with Larkin coming off better. It wasn’t long before Larkin pulled guard once again and the submission competition continued. Larkin managed to reverse position. Monto threw up some desperate triangles while Larkin was content to control the position and throw the occasional elbow. As the round went on Larkin managed to connect with some big shots.
The final round began with Larkin forcing the fight into the clinch and Monto taking him down with a hip toss. Monto landed a nasty elbow and almost caught Larkin in a kimura. Larkin managed to sweep once again demonstrating his superb defensive grappling. An exhausting Larkin looked to stall as Monto kept trying to find a way to submit him. Half way through the round Monto caught Larkin in a guillotine and very nearly finished the fight. When Monto tried a sweep Larkin managed to mount him and saw the rest of the round out comfortably. Larkin took the fight 30-27 on every judges scorecard.
Donnie Larkin won by Unanimous Decision.
(185lbs) Morten Larsen vs. Eliz Gracie
The fight got off to a flier with Larsen cutting Gracie in the first 10 seconds. Gracie looked badly out of shape and Larsen took advantage and dropped him with a combination and it was over. Eliz Gracie took the microphone to announce his retirement from MMA.
Morten Larsen won by KO(Punches) after 0:18 of Round 1
Summary
It was one hell of night that saw eight finishes from ten fights. Dylan Smith won KO of the Night in a fight that took the same amount of time as I do to make love. Twice. Fight of the Night went to the utter madness which was Captain Gonzo and Hendrik Vermeulen. The superman punch was the icing on the cake. An honourable mention goes to Robert Mohan who looked fantastic in his Evolution debut. And finally, I just want to take this opportunity to thank all fighters and their managers from making it an unforgettable night.
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