Tag: Danillo Villefort

(Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski [right] connects with a right on Mike Kyle Saturday night at WSOF 5 | Photo by Lucas Noonan/WSOF)

By Elias Cepeda

Andrei Arlovski showed resiliency for the second fight in a row Saturday night in the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 5 event in New Jersey, this time coming away with a win. Last March, Arlovski had his jaw broken after taking extra punches from Anthony Johnson when the referee allowed the first round to go on past the bell but fought on for the duration of the bout, ultimately losing a decision.

Saturday night, the recently un-retired Mike Kyle dropped Arlovski twice, once in the first and once in the third round, but “The Pitbull” came back each time and scored enough himself to be awarded winning scores of 29-28 by all three ringside judges. Arlovski took the fight on a month’s notice after Johnson himself was injured and had to pull out of the fight with Kyle.

“It was a great fight,” Arlovski said after the bout. “[Kyle is] a top fighter, and I really appreciate him for this fight.

In the WSOF 5 co-main event, middleweight David Branch won a decision over Danillo Villefort on the strength of dominating take downs and ground grappling. With the win, Branch has earned a shot at the WSOF middleweight belt. His opponent for the inaugural middleweight title bout has not yet been announced.

In heavyweight action, Derrick Mehmen knocked out Rolles Gracie in the second round. Throughout the first round, Gracie was able to stay safe and use his grappling effectively against Mehmen but in the second stanza, his opponent connected with a clean right hand on the feet that put Rolles out in unintentionally hilarious fashion.

In a strange turn of events, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board officials called off a middleweight tournament bout between Elvis “The King” Mutapcic and Jesse “JT Money” Taylor just moments before the two were scheduled to hit the cage.

According the commission, Mutapcic took a prescription pill that had not been cleared for use.

“There were some prescriptions that weren’t given to our doctors during the physicals and that weren’t approved by us, the commission,” a commission official said. “So since we don’t know what they are and what they do, we canceled the fight.

Mutapcic insisted he hadn’t taken any pills and that the inspecting New Jersey state commission officer may have mistaken him for his manager, who is currently using medication for a heart condition.

“I really don’t know what happened, what [the inspector] saw,” Mutapcic said. “She might have been taking some medication, herself. I put in a good 10-week training camp. I worked my ass off. I know Taylor’s ready. I’m not sure if she mistaken me for my manager, who has a heart prescription. He was the one that had it. We’re all dressed the same – same T-shirt, same hat. I mean, there’s four of us, and she’s pointing me out, that I took it. I say I’ll take a blood test. I’ll give a hair sample if they need it. I’ve got nothing in my system. I’m completely clean.”

Full WSOF 5 Results

Main Card
-Andrei Arlovski def. Mike Kyle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Dave Branch def. Danillo Villefort via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Derrick Mehmen def. Rolles Gracie via KO, 2:40 of round 2
-Georgi Karakhanyan def. Waylon Lowe via submission (guillotine choke), 3:37 of round 1

Preliminary Card
-Rick Glenn def. Artur Rofi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Jimmie Rivera def. Sidemar Honorio via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
-Richard Patishnock def. Gregor Gracie via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
-Ozzy Dugulubgov def. Andrew Osbourne via submission (achilles lock), 1:12 of round 2
-Neiman Gracie def. Darren Costa via submission (armbar), 3:57 of round 1