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ITFL Review – Week 6 Part 1
After the most eventful 2 weeks in ITFL’s short history that included a fighter quitting then un-quitting, the loss of an entire team and the future of the tournament up in the air we are happy to say that the show will go on! That was never more evident after this weekend’s exciting action when part 1 of our weekend came to you live from the Camden Conference Centre in London, England on May 26th, 2013. A special thanks to Dirk Copeland, Blunts All Day and Chuck W. for stepping up to the plate and helping us out to get this tournament to the finish line. Let’s get to the great action!
Jan Dudek (23-7-1) vs. Bam Boon 1 (12-11)
Our night kicked off with the first match-up between Team Kaiser and Team Hells Balls when Jan Dudek took on Bam Boon 1 in a fight that was sure to be a slugfest. The first round got underway and Boon 1 came out as the more aggressive fighter, but was having a hard time finding range with his punches. He was having a bit more success with his leg kicks but Jan Dudek appeared to be the more effective striker in round 1 landing a high percentage of his strikes before moving the fight into the clinch position for the last minute and half of the first round. After winning a close first round, Dudek came out and again instigated the clinch early in the 2nd round. Boon 1 wasn’t having it though and quickly broke the position but proved to be a moot point as seconds later a nice hook by Dudek had Boon 1 rocked and after missing a telegraphed body shot Boon 1 ate a vicious counter right hand that knocked him out cold.
Dudek def. Boon 1 by 2nd round KO
Artie Lange (16-11-1) vs. I.P. Daily (9-9)
Next up on the card was everybody’s favorite punching bag Artie Lange as he took on I.P. Daily. Both fighters came out looking to dictate the pace in this fight but it was Lange who was the more active fighter early in the fight. Artie was backing his opponent down with a furious pace landing a decent amount of his head shots. His aggressive style saw him got sloppy at times in the first round though as well as he ate a bunch of counter shots. Overall though Artie had a great first round and definitely was up on the judge’s scorecards going into the second. Both fighters came out landing early in the 2nd round but after a missed body kick by Lange he ate a nice right hand to the jaw. Daily followed up with another right hand that hurt Lange and backed him up against the cage, Daily proceeded to follow up with vicious combinations until Lange collapsed under the pressure and was forced to tap out.
Daily def. Lange by 2nd round TKO
Boy Bubby (14-4-1) vs. Ogmundur Girsurrson (11-6)
Up next was our first fight between Team TFP Graphics and Team Reaper Combat-wear as Reaper sent out their young stud Boy Bubby to take on Ogmundur Girsurrson. The first round got under-way and Ogmundur looked to land a big 3 punch combination that Bubby did a nice job avoiding. Girsurrson stalked forward and walked right into a jab, but landed a body shot in the process. Bubby then landed a vicious combination that dropped Ogmundur to the mat and quickly followed him into side control. It wasn’t long after that Bubby landed a vicious shot on the ground and followed up with several unanswered strikes forcing the referee to jump in and save Girsurrson. The big knockout by this young star forced Ogmundur to withdraw from the tournament and part ways with his management.
Bubby def. Girsurrson by 1st round TKO
Garrick Ballantyne (21-18) vs. Geralt of Ravia (14-4)
Our next fight was the 2nd between Team Kaiser and Team Hells Balls as two high level strikers squared off when Garrick Ballantyne took on Geralt of Ravia. Both fighters came out mixing their strikes up well early in the opening round, but Ballantyne decided to close the distance and engage the clinch position 30 seconds into the fight. Geralt was getting the better of the clinch position before eventually deciding to pull guard and work his submission game from guard. After Ballantyne forced a ref stand-up Geralt immediately closed the distance to get back in the clinch position. He must’ve felt like he was better there because it wasn’t long after a nice right hand had Ballantyne rocked and then Geralt showed great killer instinct landing a vicious knee right up the middle and followed up with another knee and this fight was over.
Ravia def. Ballantyne by 1st round TKO
Michael Rodalgo (22-13) vs. Sir Jecht (13-6)
Michael Rodalgo makes his debut this week in ITFL after the Donkey’s withdrew from the tournament. He’s proven to be a very durable fighter in his career with the ability to stand and trade or get this fight to the ground and use his black belt in jiu-jitsu to win fights. His opponent this week is Sir Jecht a former Olympic wrestler, so expect to see a fair amount of ground action in this one. The first round got underway and Jecht ate a couple nice shots by his opponent before landing a real nice combination. Rodalgo immediately shot in and landed a nice takedown into half-guard and worked for almost the entire round securing a 10-9 first round. After a lunging right hand missed by Jecht early in the second round, Rodalgo landed a really nice counter takedown into guard. Sir Jecht did a nice job avoiding damage and forced the referee to stand the fight up, but gave up another takedown on the very next move of the fight, but this time Rodalgo landed in half-guard. Once again the referee was forced to stand the fight up after Rodalgo was un-able to get anything going on the ground. He would not be discourage though landing a third takedown in the round and finished another round he won on top of his opponent. The third round got underway and Jecht would need a finish to pull off the comeback, but unfortunately found himself on his back inside the first minute of the round again. This time Rodalgo was able to get the mount position and started landing big shots that put his opponent in trouble and it wasn’t long until this fight was over.
Rodalgo def. Jecht by 3rd round TKO
Greco Roman (12-11) vs. Katsuro Sato (21-9)
Our next fight is a battle between two ground specialists, so it will be interesting to see if their ground games cancel each other out and leads to a stand-up war, or if this will be a bout contested mostly on the ground. The first round got underway and we got the answer to our question very early in the round when Katsuro Sato shot in and secured a nice takedown into full-guard. His opponent immediately started working his submission game but after 3 failed attempts from guard, Sato managed to slip into side-control. It didn’t take long for Roman to work his way back to half-guard and the two fighters traded submission attempts for the remainder of the round with Sato maintaining the top position throughout. Our 2nd round looked very similar to the first with Katsuro Sato landing an early takedown in the first minute of the round and maintaining the top position for the entire round as the two fighters traded submission attempts. We entered the 3rd round with Sato up 2-0 and this time it was Roman who managed to land the early takedown. Sato managed to get a sweep and after a failed omaplata attempt by his opponent dove into side control. Katsuro got the mount right at the two minute mark of the round and started to unleash some heavy ground and pound on his opponent and at 3:23 of the final round the referee was forced to step in and save Greco Roman.
Sato def. Roman by 3rd round TKO
Latka Gravas (23-14-1) vs. Colin Hendry (24-9-1)
Colin Hendry makes his ITFL debut after having a long career in Ascension’s 155lb division. His management couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to set his fighter up against another 1 of Louie Depalma’s fighters as Hendry’s debut was against Team Syndicate member Latka Gravas. Our first round got underway and both fighters came out aggressive looking to dictate the pace in the stand-up war. Hendry took the lead hear and was finding good success with his head and body punches as well as mixing in a few leg kicks. Gravas did have some good moments in the first that included a right hook that dropped his opponent to 1 knee and a counter right hand that opened up a cut on Hendry but the first round was a close one that was given to Colin Hendry. The second round looked very similar to the first round with Hendry being the more aggressive opponent and finding decent success with his punches. Gravas closed the distance and clinched at one point to slow his opponent down but Hendry worked hard to escape the position and finished the round strong in another round that was his. In the 3rd round it was clear that Hendry’s early work was paying off as he was starting to run away with the fight now and Gravas would need to hope for a big finish to pull off the come-back. That big shot would never come and this fight went to the judges, and they came back with a unanimous decision.
Hendry def. Gravas by 30-27 Unanimous Decision
Jeremy Voda (13-7) vs. Jax Teller (12-6)
Jeremy Voda would look to stay among the individual points leaders but he would need to get this fight to the ground when he took on an elite muay-thai striker in Jax Teller. Our first round got under-way and Voday would get this fight to the ground immediately landing a nice takedown into side control. Teller would quickly scramble into half-guard but after a few failed submissions by his opponent he managed to sneak out and take Voda’s back. There were a few nice scrambles when Voda managed to reverse the position and get into Teller’s guard, but then another scramble saw Teller get on top in Voda’s guard. This would prove to be a dangerous position for Teller as Voda started throwing up submission attempts from that dangerous guard of his and it was his 2nd attempt that he cinched on a triangle and then switched it to a beautiful arm-bar and forced the tap.
Voda def. Teller by 1st round Submission (Triangle-armbar)
Dan Leighty (16-7-1) vs. Maximus Scott (29-12)
We had another ITFL debut on the card as Maximus Scott steps up after fighting exactly 1 week ago and coming into this fight not at full energy as he takes on Team Syndicate’s elite kick-boxer Dan Leighty. Our first round got under-way and Leighty was very successful with his strikes early in the first round even landing a nice head-kick that opened up a cut on Scott. Maximus would rebound with a few nice strikes of his own and after Leighty threw a rather predictable looking body shot, Scott countered with a takedown into side-control. Maximus managed to keep the fight on the ground for the rest of the round and managed to turn the 1st round around and steal it from Leighty. The 2nd round got under-way and Leighty wasn’t nearly as successful with his strikes to start this round. The two fighters traded strikes for the beginning part of the round but after a poor cross from Leighty missed, Scott managed to again land a counter takedown this time into full-guard. Dan Leighty managed to land a beautiful switch into full-mount and maintained that position for the rest of the round. We entered the 3rd and final round with a tied fight and the next five minutes of the fight would determine the out-come. Maximus Scott managed to get a nice takedown inside the first minute of the round. Scott effortlessly slipped into side control and started to work some nice ground and pound from that position. Leighty did manage to get back to half-guard and eventually used that position to stand back to his feet. Max landed a few strikes and after a lazy body kick attempt by Leighty landed a nice counter takedown into side control and worked his ground game until the bell rang signaling the end of the fight.
Scott def. Leighty by 29-28 Unanimous Decision
Karl Denke (26-9-1) vs. Frank Esposito (34-13)
Our main event of the evening is another battle between Team TFP Graphics and Team Reaper Combat-wear as Karl Denke squared off against Frank Esposito. The first round got under-way and both fighters landed some nice shots in the opening minute of the fight. After a missed combination by Denke he landed a nice single shot to the head that opened up a cut on Esposito. Denke then landed a nice 4-punch combination, but then ate a 3 shot combination by Esposito right before the 1 minute mark of the 1st round. The two fighters traded strikes at a distance for just over two minutes before Esposito closed the distance and engaged the clinch position. He worked his opponent there until the last minute of the round when Denke broke from the clinch and landed a nice takedown, but it wasn’t enough to win the round. In the 2nd round Esposito came out very aggressive and started to wear his opponent down with a lot of leg kicks and head and body punches. Esposito cruised through round 2, and we entered the last round with Denke needing a big finish. Esposito came out aggressive in round 3 and was again working over his opponent with strikes before moving into the clinch position a little after 3 minutes into the round. Denke would use that position with 30 seconds left in the fight to land a nice hip-toss into side control and had 1 last chance to finish this fight. Unfortunately for him it wouldn’t come and we had a clear winner in this one.
Esposito def. Denke by 30-27 Unanimous Decision
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