Eastman Escapes Controversy, Nabs Vacant IFO Title
Mike Sloan Jul 8, 2007
LAS VEGAS, July 7 -- The International Fighting Organization's
Steele Cage-promoted "Fireworks in the Cage" was one of the better
events for a small show in years. With 10 fights total, the entire
bill lived up to pre-fight hype as it delivered in almost every
aspect.
There were some knockouts, submissions and controversy, as well as title fights mixed in with an enthusiastic crowd. Local fighter and fan favorite Marvin Eastman (Pictures) looked as good as he has in recent years and took home the IFO light heavyweight title by out-pointing the almost inhumanly tough Rob Kimmons (Pictures) in a five-round affair.
Kimmons displayed one of the sturdiest chins in memory as he easily
walked through many clean punches to the face and kicks to the
head, leaving a frustrated Eastman continually searching for Plans
B, C and D.
The fight was as competitive as they come, though Eastman, a UFC veteran, clearly won the tussle. Kimmons kept things interesting by taunting Eastman after many of the earlier strikes had detonated on his chin, perhaps a way of informing "The Beastman" that he was going nowhere.
The pace continued through rounds three and four, though it wasn't as frantic. Eastman was able to periodically crash painful right hands onto Kimmons' jaw. Kimmons tried to answer back and at times got the better of the exchanges, but still, every round appeared to belong to Eastman. Kimmons inadvertently hit Eastman in the groin in the third that resulted in a four-minute delay, but thankfully for the fans in attendance, the main event inside the Orleans Arena was able to continue.
By the time the grueling war had finally ceased, Kimmons had a swollen left cheek that was cut and it was crystal clear as to who the victor was. Sherdog.com scored the bout 50-45 for Eastman but the ring announcer read the official scorecard as 50-45 and 49-46 (twice) in favor of Kimmons.
Hall of Fame former boxing referee Richard Steele placed the IFO 205-pound belt around Kimmons' waist with a look of horror on his face while Team Eastman jumped around in disgust and disbelief. The crowd angrily booed with shock but thankfully, it turns out the announcer had just read the scorecards incorrectly.
Eastman was awarded with the unanimous victory as well as the belt and order was restored in the cage. Kimmons began chuckling in the cage, too, as he knew he didn't actually win.
In all, the main event between Eastman and Kimmons was one of the better scraps of 2007 and it capped off a solid evening of mixed martial arts action.
It's safe to say that while Chris Guillen (Pictures) was awarded the IFO heavyweight title, he didn't exactly beat opponent Wes Sims (Pictures), another UFC veteran. Rather, Guillen was able to stave off submission attempts long enough for Sims to completely gas out midway through the second round.
The showdown was devoid of action for the most part as Sims resorted to meager sub attempts in the first round but never came close to sealing the deal. He tried a triangle from side-control and held onto the chokehold for about two minutes before Guillen was able to escape.
Gravel-voiced Kevin Randleman (Pictures) and Mark Coleman (Pictures) barked orders at Simms throughout the contest, but Sims was unable to obey their commands. As the minutes ticked away, so did the Hammer Brothers' patience as orders turned to obscenities in order to get Sims' attention. Guillen was able to rock Sims with a right cross late in the first but he couldn't capitalize as Sims' size thwarted any attacks after that punch landed.
Even though he hurt Sims, Guillen looked a little intimidated while the two men were on their feet so Guillen did whatever he could to bring the fight to the canvas. Guillen was able to catch Simms in a few submission attempts as well, such as a Kimura and armbar, but the lurching Simms was always able to escape. Just as the second round ended, a totally exhausted Sims staggered back to his corner where he was unable to continue. Guillen was awarded the TKO victory and the vacant belt while Sims was jeered and booed angrily from the fans when he staggered back to the dressing room.
Eric Payne couldn't have asked for a better way to win the vacant IFO featherweight belt as he secured without question the submission of night.
The durable and resilient Bandon Shelton gave Payne fits for about four minutes as he tossed Payne twice with perfect judo throws and forced him into several precarious positions. The two 145 pound fighters dazzled the fans with a grappling match that would make Dean Lister (Pictures) and Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) proud, but it was the pliancy and superb jiu-jitsu of Payne that proved to be superior.
Shelton was stuck within Payne's guard late in the first when Payne latched on a routine armbar. He had the submission sunk deep but Shelton used his strength and scooped up Payne with only his left arm, slamming him hard onto the canvas. Unfortunately for Shelton, Payne kept the armbar in tact and when Shelton braced his footing to try and slam him again, maybe was one too wise.
Payne swept Shelton's right foot with his left arm and once Shelton stumbled to the canvas, Payne switched from armbar to triangle in the blink of an eye. There was no way Shelton was going to escape and he had no choice but to tap out. The outstanding submission came at 4:10 of the first round and Rumia Sato-esque submission allowed Payne to walk away with the belt.
The Undercard Bouts
Joe Cronin had to really work for his guillotine submission of opponent Joey Gorczynski even though the fight was over early in the first round. Gorczynski pressed the action as soon as the fight started and had Cronin on the defensive as he scored a beautiful takedown seconds into the fight.
Cronin was able to scramble back up to his feet and eventually turned the tides in his favor. Gorczynski tried a single-leg on Cronin, but the blue-haired fighter stuffed the takedown until Gorczynski tripped him. Once Cronin was brought to his back, he wrapped his right arm around his foe's neck, closed his guard and forced a tapout. The official time of the submission came at just 1:07 of the first stanza, but it was fun while it lasted.
Chilo Gonzales and late replacement Dan Molina (Pictures) fought a war for just over two rounds as the two grapplers displayed the finest grappling skills of the evening. Molina and Gonzales tried virtually every submission in the book but failed to secure the tapout. Molina was the more aggressive fighter and his steady pace eventually sapped the energy from Gonzales, which paved the way for a stunning TKO victory in the third round.
Molina quickly scored a takedown in the final stanza and once Gonzales hit the deck, Molina pinned both of Chilo's arms via crucifix and quickly rained down vicious elbows. After about 10 unanswered blows, the fight was stopped as a battle-torn Gonzales could not escape the attrition. The official time of the stoppage came at just 0:19 of the third round.
In one of the most action-packed bouts of the undercard, Zac George and Ryan Roberts set a torrid pace inside the cage, exchanging lethal bombs from the start. Roberts was far more aggressive and routinely had George on his back. Roberts tried sinking in rear-naked chokes and armbars, but the slick George was too cage savvy to get caught in those submissions. Roberts did walk into a blazing left hand and was dropped to the canvas but he was able to shake off the cobwebs and resume the action.
However, almost as soon as the barnburner started, it ended, as Roberts was inadvertently kneed in the groin, causing him to collapse in pain onto the canvas. After a five-minute delay, Roberts was unable to continue, therefore resulting in the duel being declared a "No Contest." Hopefully these two will meet again as the fight was clearly the highlight of the undercard.
After a busy opening round, lightweights Lee Gibson (Pictures) and late replacement Taylor Hofman entertained the crowd with a sizzling battle. Gibson was the more aggressive fighter and was relentless in his pursuit of victory. Gibson continued the pace in the second and wound up scoring an impressive second round TKO.
Hofman was able to take Gibson down, but he was eventually swept and fully mounted. Once on top, Gibson unleashed a hellish fury, forcing Hofman to roll away to escape the danger. Gibson immediately seized Hofman's back and pounded away until the ref jumped in, stopping the contest at 2:45 of the second round.
After a relatively action-packed first four minutes, Bao Quach (Pictures) was able to control Del Hawkins (Pictures) long enough on the canvas to trap Hawkins' left arm between his legs. From there Quach flailed away with a series of elbows until referee Josh Rosenthal had no choice but to stop the action. Quach was awarded the TKO stoppage at 4:52 of the opening round after a solid fight.
Late replacement Tyler Stinson made the best of his two week notice to fight Tony Barker, as he wound up stopping Barker with mere seconds to go in the second round. After a back-and-forth battle, a more fatigued Barker backed himself into the fence after he tasted a sizzling left hook from Stinson.
Barker didn't look to be too hurt, but Stinson pounced on his foe anyway and landed several hard punches. Barker was unable to avoid the punishment and began to sag along the fence, forcing referee Steve Mazzagatti to stop the contest. The stellar TKO win for Stinson came at 4:45 of the second round.
The opening bout of the evening didn't exactly electrify the still-sparse crowd inside the arena but that's not to say novices James Funny and Kelly Gray didn't try their butts off to win. The fight lasted the entire three rounds but the action was scattered in spurts across the duration of the contest.
Neither man was ever in danger of being stopped or submitted and the duo's lack of experience paved the way for a rather uneventful affair. With that said, credit must be given to both for giving it their all, even if the fight was on the negative side of the excitement fence. Funny wound up winning a unanimous decision via tallies of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
There were some knockouts, submissions and controversy, as well as title fights mixed in with an enthusiastic crowd. Local fighter and fan favorite Marvin Eastman (Pictures) looked as good as he has in recent years and took home the IFO light heavyweight title by out-pointing the almost inhumanly tough Rob Kimmons (Pictures) in a five-round affair.
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The fight was as competitive as they come, though Eastman, a UFC veteran, clearly won the tussle. Kimmons kept things interesting by taunting Eastman after many of the earlier strikes had detonated on his chin, perhaps a way of informing "The Beastman" that he was going nowhere.
After about 10 scattered and hard strikes struck dead on Kimmons'
face, it appeared as though Eastman had finally found out a way to
actually hurt his opponent when a perfectly-timed overhand right
sent Kimmons to his back midway through the second round. Eastman
immediately pounced and unloaded a furious assault, but Kimmons
summoned some sort of otherworldly powers to survive until the end
of the round.
The pace continued through rounds three and four, though it wasn't as frantic. Eastman was able to periodically crash painful right hands onto Kimmons' jaw. Kimmons tried to answer back and at times got the better of the exchanges, but still, every round appeared to belong to Eastman. Kimmons inadvertently hit Eastman in the groin in the third that resulted in a four-minute delay, but thankfully for the fans in attendance, the main event inside the Orleans Arena was able to continue.
By the time the grueling war had finally ceased, Kimmons had a swollen left cheek that was cut and it was crystal clear as to who the victor was. Sherdog.com scored the bout 50-45 for Eastman but the ring announcer read the official scorecard as 50-45 and 49-46 (twice) in favor of Kimmons.
Hall of Fame former boxing referee Richard Steele placed the IFO 205-pound belt around Kimmons' waist with a look of horror on his face while Team Eastman jumped around in disgust and disbelief. The crowd angrily booed with shock but thankfully, it turns out the announcer had just read the scorecards incorrectly.
Eastman was awarded with the unanimous victory as well as the belt and order was restored in the cage. Kimmons began chuckling in the cage, too, as he knew he didn't actually win.
In all, the main event between Eastman and Kimmons was one of the better scraps of 2007 and it capped off a solid evening of mixed martial arts action.
It's safe to say that while Chris Guillen (Pictures) was awarded the IFO heavyweight title, he didn't exactly beat opponent Wes Sims (Pictures), another UFC veteran. Rather, Guillen was able to stave off submission attempts long enough for Sims to completely gas out midway through the second round.
The showdown was devoid of action for the most part as Sims resorted to meager sub attempts in the first round but never came close to sealing the deal. He tried a triangle from side-control and held onto the chokehold for about two minutes before Guillen was able to escape.
Gravel-voiced Kevin Randleman (Pictures) and Mark Coleman (Pictures) barked orders at Simms throughout the contest, but Sims was unable to obey their commands. As the minutes ticked away, so did the Hammer Brothers' patience as orders turned to obscenities in order to get Sims' attention. Guillen was able to rock Sims with a right cross late in the first but he couldn't capitalize as Sims' size thwarted any attacks after that punch landed.
Even though he hurt Sims, Guillen looked a little intimidated while the two men were on their feet so Guillen did whatever he could to bring the fight to the canvas. Guillen was able to catch Simms in a few submission attempts as well, such as a Kimura and armbar, but the lurching Simms was always able to escape. Just as the second round ended, a totally exhausted Sims staggered back to his corner where he was unable to continue. Guillen was awarded the TKO victory and the vacant belt while Sims was jeered and booed angrily from the fans when he staggered back to the dressing room.
Eric Payne couldn't have asked for a better way to win the vacant IFO featherweight belt as he secured without question the submission of night.
The durable and resilient Bandon Shelton gave Payne fits for about four minutes as he tossed Payne twice with perfect judo throws and forced him into several precarious positions. The two 145 pound fighters dazzled the fans with a grappling match that would make Dean Lister (Pictures) and Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) proud, but it was the pliancy and superb jiu-jitsu of Payne that proved to be superior.
Shelton was stuck within Payne's guard late in the first when Payne latched on a routine armbar. He had the submission sunk deep but Shelton used his strength and scooped up Payne with only his left arm, slamming him hard onto the canvas. Unfortunately for Shelton, Payne kept the armbar in tact and when Shelton braced his footing to try and slam him again, maybe was one too wise.
Payne swept Shelton's right foot with his left arm and once Shelton stumbled to the canvas, Payne switched from armbar to triangle in the blink of an eye. There was no way Shelton was going to escape and he had no choice but to tap out. The outstanding submission came at 4:10 of the first round and Rumia Sato-esque submission allowed Payne to walk away with the belt.
The Undercard Bouts
Joe Cronin had to really work for his guillotine submission of opponent Joey Gorczynski even though the fight was over early in the first round. Gorczynski pressed the action as soon as the fight started and had Cronin on the defensive as he scored a beautiful takedown seconds into the fight.
Cronin was able to scramble back up to his feet and eventually turned the tides in his favor. Gorczynski tried a single-leg on Cronin, but the blue-haired fighter stuffed the takedown until Gorczynski tripped him. Once Cronin was brought to his back, he wrapped his right arm around his foe's neck, closed his guard and forced a tapout. The official time of the submission came at just 1:07 of the first stanza, but it was fun while it lasted.
Chilo Gonzales and late replacement Dan Molina (Pictures) fought a war for just over two rounds as the two grapplers displayed the finest grappling skills of the evening. Molina and Gonzales tried virtually every submission in the book but failed to secure the tapout. Molina was the more aggressive fighter and his steady pace eventually sapped the energy from Gonzales, which paved the way for a stunning TKO victory in the third round.
Molina quickly scored a takedown in the final stanza and once Gonzales hit the deck, Molina pinned both of Chilo's arms via crucifix and quickly rained down vicious elbows. After about 10 unanswered blows, the fight was stopped as a battle-torn Gonzales could not escape the attrition. The official time of the stoppage came at just 0:19 of the third round.
In one of the most action-packed bouts of the undercard, Zac George and Ryan Roberts set a torrid pace inside the cage, exchanging lethal bombs from the start. Roberts was far more aggressive and routinely had George on his back. Roberts tried sinking in rear-naked chokes and armbars, but the slick George was too cage savvy to get caught in those submissions. Roberts did walk into a blazing left hand and was dropped to the canvas but he was able to shake off the cobwebs and resume the action.
However, almost as soon as the barnburner started, it ended, as Roberts was inadvertently kneed in the groin, causing him to collapse in pain onto the canvas. After a five-minute delay, Roberts was unable to continue, therefore resulting in the duel being declared a "No Contest." Hopefully these two will meet again as the fight was clearly the highlight of the undercard.
After a busy opening round, lightweights Lee Gibson (Pictures) and late replacement Taylor Hofman entertained the crowd with a sizzling battle. Gibson was the more aggressive fighter and was relentless in his pursuit of victory. Gibson continued the pace in the second and wound up scoring an impressive second round TKO.
Hofman was able to take Gibson down, but he was eventually swept and fully mounted. Once on top, Gibson unleashed a hellish fury, forcing Hofman to roll away to escape the danger. Gibson immediately seized Hofman's back and pounded away until the ref jumped in, stopping the contest at 2:45 of the second round.
After a relatively action-packed first four minutes, Bao Quach (Pictures) was able to control Del Hawkins (Pictures) long enough on the canvas to trap Hawkins' left arm between his legs. From there Quach flailed away with a series of elbows until referee Josh Rosenthal had no choice but to stop the action. Quach was awarded the TKO stoppage at 4:52 of the opening round after a solid fight.
Late replacement Tyler Stinson made the best of his two week notice to fight Tony Barker, as he wound up stopping Barker with mere seconds to go in the second round. After a back-and-forth battle, a more fatigued Barker backed himself into the fence after he tasted a sizzling left hook from Stinson.
Barker didn't look to be too hurt, but Stinson pounced on his foe anyway and landed several hard punches. Barker was unable to avoid the punishment and began to sag along the fence, forcing referee Steve Mazzagatti to stop the contest. The stellar TKO win for Stinson came at 4:45 of the second round.
The opening bout of the evening didn't exactly electrify the still-sparse crowd inside the arena but that's not to say novices James Funny and Kelly Gray didn't try their butts off to win. The fight lasted the entire three rounds but the action was scattered in spurts across the duration of the contest.
Neither man was ever in danger of being stopped or submitted and the duo's lack of experience paved the way for a rather uneventful affair. With that said, credit must be given to both for giving it their all, even if the fight was on the negative side of the excitement fence. Funny wound up winning a unanimous decision via tallies of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
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