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 UNDERCARD
Juan Manuel Miguel Angel Chavez Sanchez Doritos De La Cruz v Citrio Pavo – 155 lbs
True to form, De La Cruz came out of the gates with guns blazing. He rocked the debutant with a series of vicious punches to the head and landed effectively with some kicks. However, as predicted, Pavo eventually managed to take the Mexican to the ground with a single leg takedown as we approached the two minute mark. De La Cruz managed to avoid Pavo's first submission attempt but sure enough the US wrestler soon managed to get his hands on a loose arm and cranked out the kimura with a textbook finish. This loss now puts De La Cruz at 0-2 in Slaughterhouse, however stylistically the Mexican is an exciting fighter to watch so I wouldn't expect him to be released any time soon – he has room to improve being only 18 years of age and no doubt some heavy drilling in takedown defence could do wonders for his game. That said I would like to see De La Cruz get matched against a fellow striker in his next bout; while he is better than his record might suggest, De La Cruz clearly does not yet have the tools to cope with ground fighters and it would be a shame to see a promising career cut short while there is scope for improvement. Pavo will be undoubtedly delighted to emerge victorious on his MMA debut and we look forward to seeing more of him in the future.
Result: Pavo by first round submission.
The End v Vincenzo Stohr – 145 lbs
The opening bell rang and within a flash “The End” had taken Stohr to the floor. The standup fighter desperately tried to regain his feet but the superior grappling of the Belgian enabled him to progress to mount and from there “The End” ended this bout with a spectacular rear naked choke as Stohr attempted to regain half-guard. No doubt “The End” will be over the moon with how quickly he managed to finish the fight; Stohr is a deadly standup fighter but in this instance he barely had time to throw a single shot and as such the Belgian emerged from this bout completely unscathed. A win here now puts “The End” at 3-1 in his career as he looks to move up the rankings in the featherweight division. This performance also earned the Belgian a well deserved submission of the night bonus, his first post-fight award thus far in his career, and if he continues to perform like this it may not be his last. Stohr will be disappointed that he didn't get the opportunity to showcase his standup talents but there is no doubt in my mind that the Italian Muay Thai specialist will bounce back from this loss better than ever; he works with some of the best coaches in MMA over at the Brutal Force gym in Hilo and they will presumably have some pointers for him when he resumes training on Monday.
Result: End by first round submission.
Hon Mo v Jonathan Estrada – 135 lbs
First of all, an apology – I had questioned Estrada's ability to finish fights in the preview and well... let's just say he proved me completely wrong in this demolition job of Hon Mo. Estrada begun this fight by stringing together some lovely combination punching, after finding himself on the receiving end of some punishing shots Mo quickly decided he wanted to take this bout to the floor. Estrada showed some good sprawl technique as he stuffed three successive takedown attempts but on the fourth such attempt Mo breathed a sigh of relief as he finally managed to take the Philippine to the mat. Presumably Estrada's body blows had taken a bit too much out of him as the Afghan was unable to do much from the top and eventually the referee was forced to stand these two up. For the remainder of the round Estrada continued to connect time and time again with both single shots and combinations and Mo was visibly breathing heavily as the two fighters went back to their corners. Estrada decided to ramp up the aggression even further for the second round and, after stopping a series of takedown attempts, leapt into range with a blistering series of uppercuts and crosses which put Mo on wobbly feet. With a cool head Estrada circled looking for the final knockout blow and timed a massive overhand right to perfection which dropped Mo to the mat, he followed up with a swarm of punches which forced the referee to stop the bout but looking at the replay the Afghan may already have been unconscious at that point. This scintillating performance earned Estrada the knockout of the night bonus against some tough competition later on in the card. Coincidentally it appears that a disagreement with his managerial team now means that Estrada is a free agent so if there are any managers reading this who are looking to pick up a talented boxer it may be worth taking a look at the 26 year old.
Result: Estrada by second round (T)KO.
Alex Lesnar v James Darmody – 135 lbs
The second matchup between these two fighters was a carbon copy of the first, albeit on accelerated time. Darmody dominated the opening standup exchanges landing several blows to the body and stringing together a series of effective combinations. But around the two minute mark Lesnar feinted with an overhand right and moved into the clinch. Darmody was the more active fighter up against the cage but soon Lesnar pulled guard and worked for a quick armbar which he executed to perfection. This win now puts Lesnar at 10-10 and in good shape moving forward; but he surprised the crowd by stating he wanted a title shot. An impressive victory on his Slaughterhouse debut nonetheless, you have to question whether Lesnar is quite on the level of the likes of Hannu Haapana and Victor Sweet – while it's good to see the 19 year old is aiming high he will need to prove himself against even tougher opposition before he can start thinking about the bantamweight belt. Meanwhile, a disappointed Darmody did offer a very original excuse for his performance: “'I blame God for this loss. He wasn't with me tonight, he usually is, but he must be mad at me or something”. Darmody shouldn't be too disheartened with the result but no doubt putting in some hard work in training could pay dividends (and perhaps less in the way of ecclesiastical musings).
Result: Lesnar by first round submission.
Bimbo Dynamite v George Miller – 135 lbs
Well tonight was certainly the night for early finishes. Dynamite stunned the crowd by taking Miller, a skilled grappler in his own right, to the floor soon after the opening bell and secured a rapid victory thanks to some vicious ground and pound which forced the early stoppage after just 58 seconds. Miller will be devastated to lose in the manner he did, perhaps he is just not used to working off his back but considering he bested Dynamite the first time these two met this will come as a disappointment. This debut victory now puts Dynamite at 1-0 in his Slaughterhouse career, his next fight is yet to be confirmed but if he continues to perform like this he will definitely be one to watch for the future.
Result: Dynamite by first round (T)KO.
Mac Gruber v Dagur Egilsson – 145 lbs
There was a lot of speculation before hand as to the different ways Gruber might approach this fight and we heard rumours that he had been drilling takedowns in the week before the fight. However, in this instance he barely time to implement any sort of plan as Egilsson dominated the standup from the word go. Connecting with an impressive 91.7% of strikes thrown, Egilsson swiftly took control of this bout and with just over a minute on the clock dropped the American with a left hook to the temple which put him out cold. It's hard to know what Gruber could have done differently, yes perhaps a few of his strikes were too wild and perhaps he could have cut back on the number of missed combinations thrown, but this was an out and out domineering performance by Egilsson – bar a lucky takedown, it became rapidly evident this fight was only going to go one way. This victory puts Egilsson in excellent position to start making his case for a title challenge, there are a few bigger names ahead of him but a few more first round KOs and he may find himself in discussion to mount a bid for the belt. Meanwhile it appears that Gruber has announced his early retirement from the sport, at only 25 it's disappointing to see such a young fighter go but we wish him all the best in his pursuit of ventures less punishing on the body.
Result: Egilsson by first round KO.
Saiyan Southbrook v Holt McCoy – 205 lbs
Saiyan Southbrook continued in his rise to prominence with an impressive victory over Jiu Jitsu black belt Holy McCoy. As predicted Southbrook dominated the standup exchanges but more impressively showed significant improvements in his ground work. McCoy managed to take the younger fighter to the ground three times in this bout (albeit after numerous failed attempts) and every time Southbrook immediately managed to find the escape. At 23 years of age Southbrook is quickly becoming an exciting prospect to watch – his boxing and work in the clinch has always been entertaining, but tonight we witnessed a versatility hitherto unseen. This fight ultimately ended via way of TKO at the end of the first with Southbrook finishing the older American off with a vicious elbow from within the clinch, but this was no freak knockout: Southbrook had dominated the exchanges from the opening bell and by the end of the round it seemed to be only a matter of time before the finish came. McCoy will be disappointed that he was unable to keep Southbrook on the ground and, with a Slaughterhouse record of 0-2, is still in search of his first win; however, with both of these losses coming against extremely tough opponents he will be hoping that a slightly easier matchup will help him get back on track.
Result: Southbrook by first round (T)KO.
Hunter Akbar v Maddox Rayborn – 185 lbs
Any bout between a pure boxer and a submission specialist is primarily going to be determined by one thing – takedowns. In this instance Hunter Akbar was on point with his takedown attempts. The first round opened up with a swing and a miss from Rayborn and Akbar immediately countered taking the fight to the floor. Rayborn's attempts to improve position mostly proved futile and soon Akbar was looking for submission opportunities. A desperate Rayborn started looking to the ref in the forlorn hope of a standup but Akbar was simply too active on the ground for that to become a possibility. Credit to Rayborn for managing to survive through the first but when Akbar successfully shot for the takedown at the start of the second he had soon worked into side control and secured the arm triangle. Rayborn can take some heart from this performance for the improvements he has made in Jiu Jitsu and at the age of 21 there is still ample time for him to take his game to the next level as disappointing as this loss may have been. Akbar will be delighted with his return to winning ways as he proved he still has what it takes in his twilight years.
Result: Akbar by second round submission.
CO-MAIN EVENT
Monster Hero v Michael D Amato – 265 lbs
This heavyweight bout had the potential for fireworks and sure enough we were treated to six minutes of back and forth action which earned both these warriors a fight of the night bonus. At the start of the fight Hero came out swinging with some wild strikes while Amato opted for crisper precision punching – Amato landing with more accuracy but also finding himself on the receiving end of some crunching kicks. With less than a minute gone in the round, Amato connected with a huge uppercut which sent the Indonesian crumpling to the mat. Down but not out, Hero responded by taking Amato into the clinch and softened him up with some nice striking before using a judo throw to bring the fight to the floor.
From top position Hero tried to work the ground and pound and, although Amato showed good defence on the ground, the Indonesian managed to connect with several brutal blows. The round came to a close and soon the referee was ushering both fighters out for the second. Hero had soon managed to take the fight into the clinch and it looked like he might take Amato to the floor once more but the American showed good technique to push off and escape from Hero's grasp. With the fighters back to circling Amato decided to step it up looking for a big finish and sure enough he soon got another knockdown with another huge uppercut which landed flush. A dazed Hero managed to stagger to his feet and Amato wasted no time in bringing this bout to a conclusion with a huge right hand which put Hero out cold. A massive victory for Amato which will greatly strengthen his chances of a title challenge – current heavyweight champion, Magnus Cross, is due to meet RP McMurphy at Slaughterhouse 11 but based on recent performances Amato could find himself in line to take on the winner of that bout. Hero will be frustrated not to pick up a win on his Slaughterhouse debut but a fighter of his quality should be back to winning ways in no time.
Result: Amato by second round KO.
MAIN EVENT
Roger Machado v Otocanin Zmija – 265+ lbs Title Fight
It's always disappointing to see a bout get stopped due to a cut, especially so in a close fought contest, but that is precisely what happened here in our main event of the evening. The previous two matchups between these two opponents have predominantly been grappling battles so it was interesting so see Zmija mixing it up by avoiding the takedown and looking to trade shots. The strategy played out well for him in the end, he clearly displayed he is the better standup fighter and it was thanks to his improved striking that he won this bout. Approximately fifteen seconds into the first round Machado had sustained the cut which ultimately rule him out of the fight, but the Brazilian had soon taken the fight to the ground and was in search of submissions. Zmija did well to avoid Machado's attempts to secure a rear naked choke but the Brazilian retained dominant positions for the remainder of the round.
Following the break, Machado came out and immediately dropped in with a well executed takedown attempt, however this time Zmija immediately landed the sweep and emerged on top. From there Zmija managed to score with some ground and pound but was mostly content to control the position which led to the referee stepping in. This suited Zmija's purposes quite well because he was immediately able to resume targeting the cut on Machado's forehead and with some further precision strikes opened up the laceration even further. With Machado now bleeding heavily the doctor was forced to call the fight to halt, leaving the winner and new super heavyweight champion by way of TKO, Otocanin Zmija. Disappointing to see the bout end in such a way and, although Zmija was probably ahead on the scorecards, with three and a half rounds still to go there was plenty of time for Machado to turn things around. Nonetheless a deserved victory for Zmija as he celebrates his first career title. Machado next fight is yet to be confirmed (and he will presumably need some time to recover from the wounds sustained over the course of this bout) but keep an eye out for Zmija who will face Paulo Lazaro next in his first title defence at Slaughterhouse 11 in December.
Result: Zmija by second round (T)KO (doctor stoppage).
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