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ITFL Review – Week 5 Part 2
Welcome back fight fans! The ITFL invaded the Wombley Arena in London, England for part 2 of its fight-filled weekend. Dinooo’s Donkey’s bring in a 2 to 1 lead over Team Kaiser from our part 1 of our weekend. In other team action, Reaper leads the Misfits 2 to 0, team TFP Graphics has a 2-1 lead over the Aces of Spades and lastly team Syndicate and Team Hells Balls come in tied at 1 fight apiece. Let’s take a look at how the action went down as these teams fight for the lead at the half-way point of our tournament.
Latka Gravas (23-13-1) vs. Garrick Ballantyne (21-17)
The night kicks off with two elite kick-boxers who have struggled thus far in the tournament when Latka Gravas faced off against Garrick Ballantyne in a fight that was sure to stay on the feet. Both fighters came out fairly aggressive in the minute of round 1, but Ballantyne decided to close the distance and engage the clinch. The two traded strikes back and forth in the clinch for the remainder of the 1st round with Ballantyne getting the better of the position by landing nice elbows and punches in close. Garrick Ballantyne came out landing early in round 2, and it was clear the good work he did in the clinch helped wear down his opponent. Gravas was doing his best to stay in this fight but when the bell rang to end the 2nd round it was evident that he’d need a finish to pull out the win for his team. Latka Gravas really came out trying to end this fight early in round 3, and after a succession of strikes in the first minute of the round it appeared as though he hurt Ballantyne. Gravas then used the oldest trick in the book by looking low before throwing a vicious head kick that ended the fight.
Gravas def. Ballantyne by 3rd round KO
Levi James (4-7) vs. Dan Leighty (16-6-1)
Our next fight is a pure striker vs. grappler fight when elite level kick-boxer Dan Leighty took on BJJ brown belt Levi James. The fight got under-way and James did a very nice job getting this fight to the mat early on by landing a nice takedown into guard. Leighty did a nice job getting a reversal and the top position but after James started to work his submission game from his back, Leighty took the opportunity to push off and get back to his feet. Dan Leighty started to work his striking game over the next two minutes forcing James to shoot and land another takedown but into side-control this time. Leighty did a great job escaping the terrible position and got back to his feet but it was short-lived as James immediately put him on his ass again. Leighty quickly scrambled back to his feet and engaged the clinch position where the two stayed until the end of a very close first round that was given to James. In the 2nd round, James had a difficult time landing his strikes and Leighty’s superior striking skills were really showing as he was able to keep the fight on the feet the entire round. One that he won quite handily, and we had an even fight going into the 3rd round. Dan Leighty came out and engaged the clinch in the 1st minute of round 3 and was able to keep the position there and work his opponent over with a great clinch game for the remainder of the round.
Leighty def. James by 29-28 Unanimous Decision
Dragon Slayer (8-3-1) vs. Artie Lange (16-10-1)
Our next fight is a battle amongst two alliance-mates in a fight for bragging rights and in Lange’s case, pride. Artie Lange seems to be everybody’s favorite punching bag in this tournament, a subject that is really starting to infuriate him and his management. The first round got under-way and Lange came out the aggressor trying to use his boxing skills to out-work his opponent. Slayer was doing a nice job trying to utilize his muay-thai game throwing mostly kicks in this fight. There was a brief exchange in the clinch during the first round, but most of the round was spent at a distance with the two fighters exchanging strikes in a very close round that was won by Artie Lange. Both fighters came out swinging again in round 2, and right at the minute mark of the round Dragon Slayer landed a nice right hand that sent Lange crashing to the mat. Slayer showed good patience waving Lange back to his feet and following up with a brutal head kick that ended the night of his fellow Cocksmen.
Slayer def. Lange by 2nd round TKO
Jeremy Voda (12-7) vs. Ogmundur Girsurrson (11-5)
Jeremy Voda looks to bounce back from his first loss of the tournament when he takes on Ogmundur Girsurrson. Both these teams are looking to get back in the play-off hunt so one of them needs a really big week here, big fight for both teams. Ogmundur Girsurrson came out landing with strikes early in the round and forced his opponent to try to drag this fight to the ground, which he did successfully with a takedown to half-guard in the 1st minute of the opening round. The two fighters spent the entire round going back and forth on the ground with Jeremy Voda definitely getting the better of the position. Voda came out doing better in the striking exchanges in round 2, but again secured a takedown in the opening minute of the round and was again able to keep the fight on the ground for the entirety of the round. We entered the 3rd and final frame with Girsurrson needing a finish to win the fight but unfortunately it was not meant to be as he gave up another takedown very early in the final round and couldn’t get the fight back to standing at any point during the round. Voda once again shows his superior ground skills.
Voda def. Girsurrson by 30-27 Unanimous Decision
Edward Richtofen (7-1) vs. Dan Smith (18-7)
The last fight to round out our under-card is between two big power punchers when Edward Richtofen took on Dan Smith. The first round got under-way and Richtofen came out the aggressor mixing in a nice kick game with his punches. A nice upper-cut by Richtofen opened up a nice cut on his opponent, but Smith turned around landing an upper-cut of his own that also opened up a cut. Dan Smith closed the distance and engaged the clinch position around the 1 minute mark in the round, and the two fighters traded shots against the cage for over 3 minutes before Smith separated and went back to striking at a distance. A very entertaining round 1 that was awarded to Edward Richtofen and we entered the 2nd with both corners trying to stop their fighter’s cut from bleeding. Edward was getting the better of the striking exchanges to start round 2, and around 90 seconds into the round landed a big head kick that rocked his opponent and then dropped him with a big left hand that finished Smith’s night.
Richtofen def. Smith by TKO round 1
Jax Teller (12-5) vs. Frank Esposito (33-13)
Team Misfits enter this fight down 3 to zero in the team scoring and desperately need a win to try to stop the bleeding this week. Frank Esposito is a grizzled veteran who has been in there with some of the best fighters in the world, and hoped to use big fight experience to move 1 step closer to a sweep. Our first round got under-way and Esposito came out dictating the pace of the fight trying to back his opponent up with his elite boxing game and mixing in brutal leg kicks. Frank attempted to get this fight into the clinch early in the round, but his opponent was having none of it and broke away from the cage. Frank closed the distance again and pushed the cage into the clinch with 2 minutes left in the round. He managed to keep the fight against the cage and worked his opponent over for the final two minutes to win a dominating round 1. Teller came out and landed a nice combination in the first minute of round 2 that opened up a nice cut on Esposito. The two fighters traded strikes back and forth for the entirety of the round with Esposito barely getting the nod. We entered the final 5 minutes of this fight with Teller needing to get the finish to pull of the win. He came out and closed the distance and engaged the clinch very early in the round. Teller would try to work his opponent over in the clinch for over 2 minutes before separating and striking at a distance. Jax Teller again landed another big combination that seemed to really hurt Esposito and this was his big chance to close the fight. Unfortunately Esposito showed great survival skills and made it to the end of the fight and pulled of a close decision victory.
Esposito def. Teller by 29-28 Unanimous Decision
Bam Boon 1 (12-10) vs. Tweedle Dee (24-5-1)
Tweedle Dee has looked like one of the serious contenders for the individual prize so far in the tournament. He looked to continue his impressive run so far with another win when he faced off against Team HB’s Bam Boon. Both fighters came out looking to land big shots early in the fight but Dee ducked down and landed a nice takedown into side control. A failed arm-bar attempt by Dee allowed Boon to escape and got on top in guard. The fight stayed on the ground the entire first round as the two fighters went back and forth but after the first 5 minutes the round was awarded to Dee. In the 2nd round, Tweedle Dee came out looking to mix it up more on the feet now, and around 90 seconds into the round landed a nice right hand that rocked Boon 1. He followed that up with a nice 1-2 combination that knocked his opponent out cold.
Dee def. Boon 1 by 2nd round KO
Stanley Burrell (14-5-2) vs. Geralt of Ravia (13-4)
In our marquee team match-up of the week Dinooo’s Donkey’s entered this fight with a 2-1 lead over Team B group leader Team Kaiser. Ravia would look to tie this thing up in hopes for a come from behind victory in this team competition. Burrell came out very aggressive in the first round and was practically landing at will, never really giving Geralt of Ravia a chance to react let alone a chance to throw back. After the first round came to an end it was a very dominating round for Stanley Burrell and Ravia would need to have a much better round 2. The 2nd and 3rd rounds looked very similar to the first round as Burrell came out very aggressive and practically landing at will. He never gave Ravia a chance at doing much in this fight and after 15 minutes of fighting we had a very clear and dominant decision.
Burrell def. Geralt by 30-27 Unanimous Decision
Jan Dudek (22-7-1) vs. Nick Fury (26-4)
In our co-main event of the evening Nick Fury looks to make it 5 fights and 5 finishes to keep his streak going as the individual point leader. Dudek really needed a win for his team here to keep them in the hunt for the playoffs in the team competition. Both fighters came out fairly aggressive but Fury closed the distance and engaged the clinch very early in the round. Fury proceeded to unleash a relentless clinch game over the next 4 minutes and a big knee to the head with seconds left in the round finished the night of his opponent.
Fury def. Dudek by 1st round TKO
Dirk Diggler (22-7) vs. Dennis Wise (25-9)
Our main event of the evening is between Team Misfits as they try to avoid the sweep against Team Reaper Combat-wear when Dirk Diggler takes on Dennis Wise. The first round got under-way and Diggler came out looking to land bombs early in this fight and was eating counter shots for his trouble. Dennis Wise engaged the clinch but quickly broke from it in the 1st minute of the round. Diggler and Wise traded punches and kicks for the rest of the round with Wise opening a cut on his opponent at one point, but it wasn’t enough for the judges who gave the round to Dirk Diggler. Wise came out getting the better of the striking exchanges early in round 2 before closing the distance and engaging the clinch position, one which he managed to keep for the rest of the round as he worked Diggler over against the cage. We entered the 3rd and final round with an even fight and this one would come down to who wanted it more. Diggler came out and seemed to take the early lead in round 3 landing some pretty nasty leg and body kicks, but it was a pretty close round throughout. Wise finished strong over the last minute however to steal the close round from Diggler as well as the close fight.
Wise def. Diggler by 29-28 Unanimous Decision
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