(Props: oneness2004. Fight begins at the 2:40 mark.)
On Friday night, undefeated MMA fighter and CagePotato film criticNick Newell increased his pro record to 6-0, picking up yet another first-round stoppage at XFC 15 in Tampa, Florida. Nick was the aggressor early, slugging opponent Denis Hernandez to the fence and taking him down with relative ease. From there, he softened up Hernandez with ground-and-pound before dropping back into a heel-hook. It’s as surprising as it is painful, and Hernandez is forced to tap. Newell’s attempt at an off-the-cage victory somersault is somewhat less successful, but overall, it’s a great showing from our homeboy. Congrats, Nick.
After the jump: Full results from XFC 15, plus another sick submission from the Ryan Thomas vs. John Kolosci bout.
(Props: oneness2004. Fight begins at the 2:40 mark.)
On Friday night, undefeated MMA fighter and CagePotato film criticNick Newell increased his pro record to 6-0, picking up yet another first-round stoppage at XFC 15 in Tampa, Florida. Nick was the aggressor early, slugging opponent Denis Hernandez to the fence and taking him down with relative ease. From there, he softened up Hernandez with ground-and-pound before dropping back into a heel-hook. It’s as surprising as it is painful, and Hernandez is forced to tap. Newell’s attempt at an off-the-cage victory somersault is somewhat less successful, but overall, it’s a great showing from our homeboy. Congrats, Nick.
After the jump: Full results from XFC 15, plus another sick submission from the Ryan Thomas vs. John Kolosci bout.
– Eric Reynolds def. Jonatas Novaes via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Carla Esparza def. Felice Herrig via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Nick Newell def. Denis Hernandez via submission (heel hook), 1:11 of round 1
– Corey Hill def. Charlie Rader via submission (brabo choke), 3:58 of round 1
– Brandon Sayles def. Imani Lee via verbal submission (punches), 3:09 of round 1
– Ryan Thomas def. John Kolosci via submission (reverse triangle choke), 4:46 of round 1
– Marlon Moraes def. Chris Manuel via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Socrates Pierre def. Phil Daru via unanimous decision
– Anthony Christodoulou def. Bruce Lutchmedial via TKO, 3:59 of round 3
With 7 of his 8 wins coming within the first round (and 5 of those 7 coming within the first 2 minutes!), Josh Shockley was looking to employ an atypical “jab & jog” type strategy against Eric Moon, but “The Monster” would not be having any of that shit, thank you very much. Moon waited approximately 25 seconds before bull rushing into his first takedown attempt like a drunken frat boy chasing a frisbee that is clearly out of his reach. The problem with such an obviously telegraphed double-leg however, is that it gives someone with even below-average reflexes the time to grab that neck, stuff you in a wooden chest, and have a cocktail party around your rotting corpse.
As soon as Shockley locks in a standing guillotine, Moon quits faster than Kim Kardashian (sorry folks, been holding that one in for a while), giving Shockley the victory in just 35 seconds and nearly erasing the memory of his BFC 36 loss to Toby Imada. Even more impressive is the fact that this was not even Shockley’s quickest victory, which was a 15 second TKO via slam back in 2008.
Join us after the jump for the controversial Sledzion/Solomon fight, and the Van Buren and Bezzera submissions:
(Props, as always, to ZombieProphet over at IronForgesIron.)
With 7 of his 8 wins coming within the first round (and 5 of those 7 coming within the first 2 minutes!), Josh Shockley was looking to employ an atypical “jab & jog” type strategy against Eric Moon, but “The Monster” would not be having any of that shit, thank you very much. Moon waited approximately 25 seconds before bull rushing into his first takedown attempt like a drunken frat boy chasing a frisbee that is clearly out of his reach. The problem with such an obviously telegraphed double-leg however, is that it gives someone with even below-average reflexes the time to grab that neck, stuff you in a wooden chest, and have a cocktail party around your rotting corpse.
As soon as Shockley locks in a standing guillotine, Moon quits faster than Kim Kardashian (sorry folks, been holding that one in for a while), giving Shockley the victory in just 35 seconds and nearly erasing the memory of his BFC 36 loss to Toby Imada. Even more impressive is the fact that this was not even Shockley’s quickest victory – a 15 second TKO via slam back in 2008.
(Ah, 2007. A very fine year for gogoplatas. / Photo via Sherdog)
By Ben Goldstein
Over the last two decades, MMA has evolved so consistently that fighters are still finding new and unexpected ways to destroy their opponents — while causing fans to spit their beers in shock. We decided to take a lil’ spin through MMA history and identify the single most awe-inspiring technique from each year since the sport’s modern inception. We expect you to disagree with us; there’s a comments section just for that purpose. And away we go…
1993:Royce Gracie’s Rear-Naked Choke vs. Ken Shamrock @ UFC 1, 11/12/93
(Fight starts at the 3:54 mark)
You have to remember that in the early ’90s, a well-placed roundhouse kick to the head was considered the pinnacle of martial arts. What Royce Gracie introduced to fight fans in his early UFC run was something much more practical, less flashy, and a little bit scary. Gracie’s submission of Ken Shamrock — and the similar hold he used to stop Gerard Gordeau in the finals — proved that skill beat size, and pajamas beat man-panties.
1994: Dan Severn’s Suplexes vs. Anthony Macias @ UFC 4, 12/16/94
(Ah, 2007. A very fine year for gogoplatas. / Photo via Sherdog)
By Ben Goldstein
Over the last two decades, MMA has evolved so consistently that fighters are still finding new and unexpected ways to destroy their opponents — while causing fans to spit their beers in shock. We decided to take a lil’ spin through MMA history and identify the single most awe-inspiring technique from each year since the sport’s modern inception. We expect you to disagree with us; there’s a comments section just for that purpose. And away we go…
1993:Royce Gracie’s Rear-Naked Choke vs. Ken Shamrock @ UFC 1, 11/12/93
(Fight starts at the 3:54 mark)
You have to remember that in the early ’90s, a well-placed roundhouse kick to the head was considered the pinnacle of martial arts. What Royce Gracie introduced to fight fans in his early UFC run was something much more practical, less flashy, and a little bit scary. Gracie’s submission of Ken Shamrock — and the similar hold he used to stop Gerard Gordeau in the finals — proved that skill beat size, and pajamas beat man-panties.
1994: Dan Severn’s Suplexes vs. Anthony Macias @ UFC 4, 12/16/94
(Fight starts at the 1:53 mark)
Of course, the UFC’s formative years weren’t all about subtlety. The arrival of Dan Severn, followed by his ground-and-pounding spiritual descendants Mark Coleman and Mark Kerr, showed that a hulking wrestler could do just as well as a skinny grappling whiz. The suplexes that Severn pulled off in his UFC debut were straight out of a pro-wrestling match, but my God, they were real. As commentator Jim Brown sums up the performance, “what I’m looking at is a wrestler with a lot of strength, but not the true technique of the jiu-jitso man.” And sure enough, the UFC’s original “jiu-jitso man” Royce Gracie caught Severn in the Octagon’s first-ever triangle choke later that night.
1995: Marco Ruas’s Leg Kicks vs. Paul Varelans @ UFC 7, 3/10/95
It’s not like Marco Ruas was the first guy to throw leg kicks in a vale tudo match, but the technique became part of his legacy due to how he used them — as a savage fight-finisher, perfect for chopping down bigger opponents. During his 13-minute UFC 7 finals match against Paul “The Polar Bear” Varelans, Ruas executed a leg-kick based strategy that hobbled the American behemoth. Varleans became so aggravated that he started kicking back, and seemed to learn how to check the incoming kicks mid-fight. But in the end, the King of the Streets pulverized Varelans’s lead thigh until he collapsed to the mat, unable to defend himself. Of course, if the UFC outlawed fence-grabbing at the time, the fight wouldn’t have lasted half as long. Honorable mention:Ken Shamrock’s kneebar against Bas Rutten @ Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 2.
1996: Gary Goodridge’s “Goose Neck” Crucifix vs. Paul Herrera @ UFC 8, 2/16/96
Let’s just say that Big Daddy didn’t earn his 4th-degree black belt in Kuk Sool Won the old-fashioned way. But when the former arm-wrestling champ and all-around tough guy made his UFC debut, he at least knew how to pull off a rather nasty grappling maneuver that would leave his opponent’s head wide-open for elbow strikes. As Goodridge told us in his final “Ask Gary” column, “I was shocked like everybody. Since I practiced my counter-move the night before I was ready, but surprised it worked that easily.” Though Jon Jones pulled off a variation of this finish against Vladimir Matyushenko in 2010, the Goodridge Goose-Neck hasn’t been duplicated in the Octagon since, which is probably a good thing. Honorable mention:Bas Rutten’s liver shots against Jason Delucia @ Pancrase: Truth 6.
Friday night’s Prestige FC 3 event in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, was headlined by portly slugger Eric “Butterbean” Esch (14-10-1) against Sandy Bowman (3-0), a 40-year-old local fighter who Sherdog identifies as a former lightweight who swelled up to 223 pounds for the opportunity. Esch held a 150-pound weight advantage in the cage, but it wouldn’t be of any help that night.
Ten seconds after the bell, Bowman lands a head-kick that topples ‘Bean like a defective Weeble. After some elbows from Bowman from the top, Esch realizes that he ain’t getting up without assistance, and taps due to strikes at 0:54 of round 1.
Friday night’s Prestige FC 3 event in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, was headlined by portly slugger Eric “Butterbean” Esch (14-10-1) against Sandy Bowman (3-0), a 40-year-old local fighter who Sherdog identifies as a former lightweight who swelled up to 223 pounds for the opportunity. Esch held a 150-pound weight advantage in the cage, but it wouldn’t be of any help that night.
Ten seconds after the bell, Bowman lands a head-kick that topples ‘Bean like a defective Weeble. After some elbows from Bowman from the top, Esch realizes that he ain’t getting up without assistance, and taps due to strikes at 0:54 of round 1.
Butterbean had actually fought two weeks earlier in Quebec, getting stopped by an Eric Barrak guillotine choke at Instinct MMA 1. Hopefully this marks the end of his Canadian tour.
Also on the Prestige FC 3 card, a lovable loser named Dave Logan (1-10) earned the first win of his career when he scored a doctor’s stoppage TKO over Travis Moritz, and MMA blogger/hot chick Erin McDougall won her amateur debut with a first-round TKO of Tara Letendre.
("Look, Brandon, I’m sorry. If you take your hand away, I promise I won’t slap you in the face again." / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)
UPDATE: A clip of Silva playing Vera like a bongo has been added to the end of this post…check it out …
("Look, Brandon, I’m sorry. If you take your hand away, I promise I won’t slap you in the face again." / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)
UPDATE: A clip of Silva playing Vera like a bongo has been added to the end of this post…check it out while it lasts.
The third round of Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera at UFC 125 represented one of the most humiliating beat-downs in recent MMA history, as Silva seemingly got tired of punching Vera about midway through the round and just started slapping him in the face until the fight was over. With Vera’s job likely on the line that night, it was the worst possible final impression to leave with his bosses — as if that mangled schnozz wasn’t enough.
After the fight, top light-heavyweight contender Jon Jones fired up Twitter and posted the following: "Wow that slapping was so disrespectful.. id love to give him a slap in the face…Dominating someone in a fight is 1 thing, looking to simply humiliate them is another..Traditional martial artist always seemed to show honor and respect.. Anyways what’s done is done, I’m headed to the gym to make sure nothing like that ever happens to me."
We say: Eff the haters, Thiago. You’ve just joined a very select group of MMA fighters who have demonstrated their dominance through slapping and spanking. The other members of the MMA Bitch-Slap Hall of Fame are after the jump…
