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2012-10-11 Price: Free Edition: # Previous Issues Submit Article |
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Syndicate 136 ReviewEvent Review: Syndicate 136The Syndicate invaded the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night and performed to a near capacity crowd of 41,520 raving Japanese fans. The fans were treated to finishes in seven of the ten fights on the card and were witness to a pair of tremendous title fights. Let's review the action.
Fabian Cameron (19-9) used his tremendous BJJ to overcome the superior striking of Vladimir Zenin (20-8) and pull off a big win with just seconds left in the first round. Cameron peppered Zenin with some nice combinations early in round one but fell victim to a takedown with just under a minute expired in the round. Cameron started to work some ground and pound on Zenin but got careless and allowed Zenin to slip out and take his back. Cameron wasted no time working his way back into Zenin's guard and started to work some more ground and pound. Once again, Zenin managed to pull off a reversal and get back into top position. Cameron was unsuccessful with a couple of triangle attempts and ate some ground and pound and elbows for his troubles. Cameron attempted another triangle, followed by a guillotine with no success. With Zenin landing punches to the head and body and time winding down in the round, Cameron locked in a tight triangle that Zenin simply could not escape. Zenin tried with all of his might to hold on with just seconds remaining in the round, but he was forced to tap out at the 4:52 mark of round one.
Much to the dismay of the crowd, the opinions of the judges were all over the place in the second fight when featherweights Christian Satanmury (25-10) and Jamie Reyes (10-4) met in the second fight. Reyes was most certainly the aggressor early in the fight, but unfortunately for him, none of his blows were landing. Satanmury hit a nice takedown about a minute into the fight. Satanmury appeared to be content laying and praying, throwing just enough strikes to keep the referee from standing the fighters up. Reyes was trying valiantly the secure a submission from the bottom, but Satanmury was having nothing of it. The round ended with two of the three judges scoring the incredibly close round for Satanmury. After a first round that looked like a grappling match, the second round was the polar opposite, looking like an old school kickboxing battle. The fighters battled back and forth, exchanging stinging kicks and punches. Once again, the judges were split in their opinions with two of them scoring the round for Reyes and one scoring it for Satanmury. Reyes started out round three landing some nice strikes but Satanmury was able to quickly get the fight to the ground with a trip takedown. Satanmury tried to slow the action and grind Reyes down. Reyes simply could not get off of his back until after the four minute mark of the final round. Reyes finally manged to sweep, but Satanmury quickly tried to latch on a guillotine. Satanmury managed to slow the action and wind out the clock, earning the favor of all three judges for the third round. As the decision was ready, a devastated Reyes slumped to his knees while Satanmury exalted in his split decision win.
The third fight was a welterweight battle, pitting EJ Resparzo (17-2) against Marshall Mathers (16-6-1). The fighters traded blows early before Resparzo deposited Mathers onto his back with a nice takedown. Resparzo did a very nice job of mixing ground and pound with submission attempts and even managed to advance to full mount as the round was coming to a close. Mathers was in deep trouble but the round ended before Resparzo could finish him off. The second round saw the fighters go back and forth from the standing position, with Resparzo landing the most significant strikes. Mathers did an excellent job of turning back Resparzo's takedown attempts until around the 4:30 mark of the round when he found himself on his back. Resparzo hit a little bit of ground and pound as the round expired and clearly had a two rounds to none lead heading into the final round. Resparzo started out round three as the aggressor, but Mathers stepped it up as his corner implored him to finish the fight. Mathers landed some very solid strikes on Resparzo and cut him open but simply could not finish the fight. Resparzo picked up his seventeenth career win with a 29:28 unanimous decision.
Welterweights Nai Khanom Tom (22-6) and Sasha Petrova (21-12) squared off in our fourth fight of the evening. The combatants went toe to toe throughout the first round, with Petrova throwing punches and looking to inflict heavy damage while Tom was mixing kicks and punches to wear down his opponent and keep him off balance. Round one was a close one but it appeared that Petrova got the best of Tom. Petrova came out in round two and once again landed some punishing strikes on Tom. Realizing that his chances were not good striking with Petrova from a distance, Tom pulled his opponent into the clinch and went to work. Tom punished Petrova with heavy punches to the head and body and finally rocked him with a vicious knee to the head. Tom smelled blood in the water and finished Petrova off with some huge punches for a TKO win.
BJJ black belt Damon Pierce (19-10) found his was back into the win column with a dominant first round submission win over Billy Paxton (11-7). Paxton came out of his corner aggressive and throwing everything that he had at Pierce, but missing with everything that he threw. Pierce dropped Paxton with a single leg takedown less than a minute into the fight and went to work with his outstanding ground skills. Pierce quickly advanced to the mount and started dropping bombs on Paxton. Pierce rocked Paxton and went for the kill, looking for an arm triangle that Paxton was somehow able to fend off. Pierce slipped into side control and continued to unleash punishment on Paxton while mixing in slick submission attempts. Pierce worked his way back into mount and had Paxton in serious trouble. While attempting to get out of trouble ,Paxton turned to his side, allowing Pierce to take his back, sink in his hooks, and latch on a tight rear naked choke. Paxton refused to tap and drifted off into unconsciousness. Pierce picked up a nice win and Submission of the Night honors for his performance.
Hjalmar Klason (27-14) started his fight with Kenji Akiyama (20-9) off with a bang, dropping Akiyama immediatley with a huge combination to start the fight, cutting him open in the process. Klason pounced right on Akiyama, looking to score some ground and pound, but soon found himself on his back and mounted after a phenomenal sweep. Akiyama then took Klason's back and appeared to be close to ending the fight before Klason managed to score a reversal. Klason landed some ground and pound but once again allowed Akiyama to get back into top position. The fighters exchanged submission attempts as the round came to an end and Klason won the round for inflicting the most significant damage. Klason came out aggressively in round two but had difficulty landing his strikes. Akiyama came out of nowhere with a huge head kick that dropped Klason and cut him. Akiyama waved the groggy Klason back to his feet and peppered him with strikes. Klason managed to connect with a straight punch but Akiyama unleashed a huge uppercut that dropped Klason. Akiyama jumped on Klason like white on rice and finished him off with a series of punches that forced the referee to jump in for the stoppage.
Jose Martinez (23-8-2) put on a clinchwork clinic in our seventh fight, outlasting John L. Sullivan IV (22-7-1) in a action packed slugfest. Sullivan landed some heavy strikes early in the first round, but Martinez quickly took the fight to the clinch and was able to keep the fight there for the bulk of the round, getting the best of Sullivan. Sullivan hit a beautiful spinning kick to start round two but soon found himself again stuck in the clinch. Martinez was able to control the second round and wear down Sullivan with well placed strikes and solid timing. Sullivan was able to keep the fight at a distance for the majority of the final round but simply could not mount an effective offense against the shifty Martinez. Martinez got Sullivan back into the clinch for the final minute of the fight and put an exclamation put on his performance with a few final strikes. Martinez looked impressive on his way to a 30-27 unanimous decision win that was a real crowd pleaser.
Alexander Ratskin (22-8) made a compelling argument for getting a shot at the heavyweight title with an impressive win over Sergeant Peppers (25-8-2). Peppers was able to secure a takedown early in round one and spent the majority of the round controlling Ratskin with strikes and wearing him down with excellent wrestling. Ratskin managed to force a standup late in the round, but it was too late to impress the judges. Ratskin came on strong in the second round, outstriking Peppers both from a distance and briefly in the clinch. Ratskin found more success from the clinch in round three, landing punishing punches to the head and body. With time winding down, Ratskin rocked Peppers with a nasty shoulder strike and ultimately dropped him with a huge right hand and then finished him off with a flurry of punches with just four second left in the fight.
Sam Fox (20-9) entered the cage looking to successfully defend his heavyweight title for the first time, but Austin Powers (16-3) had other ideas. Fox and Powers chose to stand and bang throughout round one with neither fighter backing down. Fox found himself eating more punches than he was dishing out and Powers clearly had the upper hand heading into round two. Powers continued to pour on the punishment in round two, keeping Fox off balance with clean striking. Fox was the aggressor as the third round began. He knew that he needed to show something and win a round. Powers continued to use his proven strategy of peppering Fox with stinging strikes and rocked him with a beautiful combination just past the three minute mark. Fox was swinging wildly and appeared to regain his legs when Powers drilled him with a combination followed by a huge shot to the jaw that left him looking up at the lights. The heavyweights came away with Fight of the Night honors and Powers walked away with the heavyweight gold and the Knockout of the Night award.
Smokudju Womba (20-3) picked up an astounding 13th straight win with a victory over Codi Gale (16-6). Womba dumped Gale on the ground early in round one and simply wore him down the entire round with ground and pound and submission attempts. Gale was able to turn back a takedown attempt early in round two from Womba, but then it was more of the same, with Womba picking up a takedown and working Gale over with tremendous ground work. Gale was able to keep the fight standing briefly in the third round, but once again, Womba put him on his back and went to work. Gale was able to pull off a nice sweep but Womba was unphased, slipping on a lazy triangle and then suddenly tightening it up and forcing Gale to tap at the 3:57 mark of round three. Another impressive title defense for the light heavyweight, Champion, Smokudju Womba!
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