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 For the second straight week, Gladiator Fighting Championship filled The Parisian in Las Vegas to the rafters for a night of MMA action. The judges earned their money on Sunday night, with six of the ten fights going the distance. Despite a shortage of highlight reel finishes, GFC still managed to garner the highest event rating in the history of the organization for the second straight week. Here's a recap of the action:
In a rematch of a fight that took place back in January, James Bowens (7-2) accomplished what he set out to do and avenged his previous loss to Shane MacLain (10-12-1). MacLain showed no fear early in the fight, shooting right in for a takedown and putting the BJJ specialist Bowens on his back. MacLain wasted no time going to work with ground and pound, raining down elbows and fists on Bowens and even working in a couple of submission attempts. Bowens managed to weather the storm and tried a submission of his own that MacLain was able to fend off. In defending the triangle attempt, MacLain allowed himself to get sloppy and opened the door for Bowens to latch on a guillotine just before the four minute mark of round one. MacLain quickly found himself in deep waters and was forced to tap out at the 3:44 mark of round one.
The second fight was a welterweight matchup between Damian Roshan (29-15-2) and Bruce Leroy (6-5). Roshan came out and established control early with a dominant ground game. The first round saw him land a couple of nice takedowns and completely control the round with a smothering ground attack. The second round was more of the same, with Roshan consistently being able to bring the fight to the ground and keep it there. Leroy simply could not stay off of his back or mount any kind of offense to speak of. Roshan clinched up with Leroy early on in round three and repeatedly tried to take him to the ground from the clinch. Each time Leroy was able to turn him away and defend extremely well. Finally, towards the end of the fight, Leroy was able to get into striking range and land a few late blows on Roshan. Unfortunately for Leroy, it was far too little too late. Leroy was able to managed to take the last round on the judges' scorecards, but Roshan came away with a clear cut 29:28 decision win.
The featherweights mixed it up in the third fight when Blokada Leningrada (30-13) took on Carlos Monroe (18-9). The first round proved to be a barn burner with both fighters firing away at one another both in the clinch and from a distance. Monroe attempted to bring Leningrada to the ground a number of times throughout the round, but was denied each time. Leningrada started to gain momentum as the fight wore on and really started to press the action, clearly throwing strikes more aggressively than Monroe and repeatedly turning back more of Monroe's takedown attempts. Just prior to the four minute mark in round two, Leningrada drilled Monroe with a jab that rocked him. Monroe was clearly in trouble and Leningrada continued to pour on the punishment eventually clinching up with his opponent and working him over in close quarters. Leningrada finally clobbered Monroe with a nasty uppercut that dropped him to his knees. Leningrada unleashed a flurry of strikes on Monroe that forced the referee to jump in for the stoppage at the 4:25 mark of round two.
The fourth fight featured phenomenal welterweight fighters Anton The Jew (6-0) and Nikira Stag (5-2). Stag gained an early advantage in round one, scoring a takedown in the early going and then landed a few nice blows from a distance. The Jew quickly realized that it would be in his best interest to close the distance and he pulled Stag into the clinch. The Jew showed the superior clinch work, attacking Stag with dirty boxing and landing the occasional knee. Stag was briefly able to break free from the clinch and did land a takedown late in the round, but the damage was done and The Jew won the round. The Jew went right back to the clinch to start round two and was able to hold Stag there and punish him for almost the entire round. Stag managed to break free just after the three minute mark, but The Jew pulled him right back in and continued with the punishment. As the third rounds started, The Jew once again initiated the clinch. Stag was able to pull guard about a minute and a half into the final round, but The Jew managed to slow the action, forcing a referee standup. It did not take long for The Jew to once again get Stag into the clinch and work his magic for the remainder of the round. A very impressive performance by The Jew to keep him undefeated.
Joey De Andreas (17-15-1) was dominant in his GFC debut, using his phenomenal ground skills to absolutely dominate Itor Lamope (14-10-1) in the fifth fight. It only took a few seconds for De Andreas to take the fight to the ground and he spent the entire round absolutely smothering Lampoe, working ground and pound simply exerting tremendous control. De Andreas did not let up in round two, scoring another early takedown and controlling Lamope throughout the round. Lamope attempted to work submissions attempts as the round progressed, but De Andreas defended with ease. De Andreas stuck to the script in round three, again landing a quick takedown to start the round showing complete control and dominance throughout the round. All three judges scored the fight 30:27 in favor of De Andreas.
Michael Scheisse (36-16) looked good in his GFC debut taking a unanimous decision win over Richard Cullen (17-14). Both fighters appeared to be content with keeping the fight standing with Cullen looking to attack the body while Scheisse targeted the head. Cullen attempted to keep the fight in clinch, but Scheisse was clearly more comfortable at a distance. The second round saw Cullen again try desperately to clinch up with Scheisse. Cullen's efforts failed miserably and he was clearly outpointed in round two. Round three saw Cullen finally establish a solid clinch position and deliver some blows to Scheisse, but to his surprise, Scheisse stood in there with him and tried to deal out some punishment of his own. Cullen hung in there, but simply wasn't able to land very many significant strikes, leading the judges to award the fight to Scheisse 30:27.
The seventh fight was a fantastic light heavyweight matchup between Puppy Love (21-13) and Helio James (24-11). The fighters engaged in a spirited standup exchange to start the fight before Love secured a takedown about a minute and a half into the round. James spent the remainder of the round looking for submission opportunities from the bottom while Love exerted control and mixed in some effective ground and pound. James tagged Love with a few stiff strikes early in round two while fending off takedown attempts, but he eventually succumbed to Love's relentlessness and was put on his back. Just as in the previous round, Love controlled the pace of the fight and worked some ground and pound while James tried to find a way to submit his opponent. James pulled off an excellent reversal with just under a minute to go in the round. James was unable to capitalize on his improved position and Love moved ahead two rounds to none. James was able to turn the tables in round three, landing some very nice strikes before shooting for a takedown of his own. James was able to drill Love with some ground and pound and eventually work his way into mount. Love was able to hold on a survive the round, giving him a 29:28 decision win.
Welterweights Tomasz Szczerek (14-5-1) and Ruud Blaylock (13-6-1) mixed it up in our eighth fight. The first round saw the fighters spent the early part of the round in the clinch with Blaylock firing away with knees that Szczerek warded off with ease. Szczerek took a very defensive posture in the round, defending and controlling the action while throwing infrequent but well timed counter strikes. The round ended on the ground with Szczerek exerting complete control and winning the round on the judges' scorecards. Szczerek showed a little more aggression in round two, landing some nice strikes from a distance. Blaylock decided about midway through the round to take the fight to the ground, but quickly found himself being swept by Szczerek and in a tough position. Szczerek was once again able to take complete control of the action and win another round. The final round saw a great deal more striking take place, with Szczerek gaining a fairly decisive advantage. Blaylock was never really able to find his range and gain any momentum. All three judges scored the fight 30:27 in favor of Szczerek.
The co-main event was a matchup for the GFC welterweight title, with Mark Two (17-8) looking to make his first title defense against Luke Skywalker (21-7). The first round was a tremendous back and forth standup exchange between the two fighters with the momentum shifting wildly from one fighter to the next. Two tried multiple times to get the fight to the ground but was unable to make it happen. It was a tremendously close round, but it appeared that Two likely won the round. Two once again shot for multiple takedown early in round two, but Skywalker was able to fend them off. The fighters had some spirited striking exchanges from a distance until Skywalker briefly clinched up with Two and drilled him with a knee to the gut. Skywalker then pushed Two away and Skywalker continued to throw strikes while Two was focused on trying to land a takedown. At around the two and a half minute mark, Skywalker crushed Two with an uppercut that rocked him. Just when it appeared that Two had regained his bearings, Skywalker landed another uppercut that sent Two to the ground. Skywalker sat back and looked at the referee to see if he was going to stop the fight, but Two somehow managed to get back to his feet only to have Two drill him with yet another uppercut. This time as Two hit the ground, Skywalker was on him like white on rice, following up with brutal punches until the referee called for the stoppage.
The main event was a slugfest between a pair of the heavyweight division's heavy hitters Alex Rios (13-6) and Rick Ruent (16-5). The big men spent most of the first minute of the fight clinched up and pounding away on one another. Each fighter sustained a cut in that initial exchange and had blood pouring from their heads. Once the fighters separated from the clinch Ruent began to take over, landing multiple damaging strikes on Rios and opening his cut even further. As the second round commenced, Ruent went right back on the attack, repeatedly working over Rios' cut. With Rios covered in blood, Ruent pulled him into the clinch, looking for the kill. He landed a heavy elbow squarely on Rios' cut that splattered blood everywhere. With blood running into Rios' eyes, the referee called in the doctor who deemed Rios unfit to continue. Ruent was awarded the victory via TKO.
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