If you’re here to read about Murilo Rua running through Tom Watson to claim the Bamma Middleweight strap, have a seat, we need to talk. “Ninja” looked content to stand and bang with Watson early on, but he was clearly getting the worst of the exchanges. By round two, the damage from Watson’s leg kick assault showed in every step Rua took. From there the hobbled fighter served as target practice for “Kong”, whose time at Tristar and Greg Jackson’s has clearly paid off. To his credit Ninja never stopped fighting, at least not until that head kick from Watson put him out on his feet. Following the third round TKO loss, Rua took to twitter to thank his family and friends for their support and to announce his retirement from MMA.
(Frank Trigg vs. John Phillips)
Trigg wasted little time in getting “The White Mike Tyson” to the mat, securing a takedown just thirty seconds into their bout. From half guard, Trigg landed a big elbow and opened up a deep gash over Phillips’s left eye. Blood poured directly into Phillips’s eye and was clearly causing him trouble, but the ground and pound continued until the 2:20 mark, when the referee halted the action to have the cut checked out and cageside physicians called an end to the fight.
Event results, via Bloody Elbow:
Tom Watson def Murilo Rua by TKO Round 3.
Frank Trigg def John Phillips by TKO (cuts) Round 1.
Matt Ewin def Ivan Salaverry by Decision.
Valentino Petrescu def Joao Paulo de Souza by Decision.
Leonoardo Santos def Jason Ball by Decision
Che Mills def Marcio Cesar by KO Round 1
Scott Jansen def Craig Chesters by TKO Round 1
Catalin Zmarandescu def Sharif Mohammed Ali by Submission (Forearm Choke of Shame) Round 1