HAYWARD, Wis., July 23 — Every time “game day” comes around, whether it’s a big show like the UFC or a small, local show, my stomach is twisted in knots. Literally puke-sick from the nerves and anticipation of fights, you’d think I was the one stepping in the cage.
Returning the eight-man tournament to Hayward after a five-plus year absence (EC 29, November 1999) that bread top MMA stars Matt Hughes, Dave Menne, LaVerne Clark, Chris Lytle, Joe Doerksen and Dave Strasser, Cox indulged fans once again.
“What makes tournaments like this so exciting,” Cox told fans on the Internet prior to the event, “is that all the fighters are stars in their own area … makes for some great fights.”
Speaking with several of the camps pre-fight, they couldn’t agree more, each confident their man would take it to the top. Aside from the eight-man middleweight tournament, fans selling out the casino venue anxiously looked forward to Dave Menne’s first worthy opponent in a very long time, Team Quest fighter Ed Herman.
The venue was also stacked with “Champion Row,” where MMA greats Matt Hughes, “Lil Evil” Jens Pulver, Rich Franklin and Jeremy Horn were available for photo ops and autographs, not to mention TUF cast member Josh Rafferty, who was one of the night’s three judges.
Never have the words “a back and forth fight” rang so true than last night’s main event. When I say “back and forth,” I mean both figuratively and literally as Menne, a former UFC middleweight champion, traded knees with Herman.
Working the clinch, each fighter took his turn pressing the other against the cage, landing Muay Thai knees to his opponent’s thighs, abdomen and chin. Menne took his turn, working away at Herman, only to have the action roll, with Herman pressing Menne against the cage, scoring with strikes.
Special guest referee, Matt Hughes, broke the clinching pair apart. Menne attempted a takedown, but Herman sprawled in defense. The two clinched, and the alternate kneeing continued. Separated again, Menne landed a chest shot on Herman, the slapping sound vibrated through the cage.
Again clinching, Herman’s unsteady footing made it appear as though he twisted his right ankle, but the Team Quest fighter continued, seemingly unaffected.
For the third time, Hughes split the clinching twosome apart. Menne landed a solid right to the side of Herman’s head, and Herman answered with a jumping right knee, soundly connecting with Menne’s chin. He then flipped the Minnesotan over — Menne’s turn to respond. He picked Herman up and slammed him back to the mat. With that, the back and forth, five-minute first-round action stopped at the sound of the bell.
As the two rested in their corners, you couldn’t help but notice the evident exhaustion on Menne’s face. Something was not right. With time up, Hughes readied to start the bout. But Menne, stumbling away from the cage, fell to his knees and began motioning to the left side of his groin.
Though Hughes gave him a chance to catch his breath, the chance was not enough and Menne stopped the bout before the second round could begin. Menne, Cox revealed post-fight, had suffered an injury to his left groin during training in previous weeks. With the victory, Herman and is now said to have earned a shot in the UFC.
The eight-man middleweight tournament was nothing less than thrilling. The championship pit Brock Larson against Miletich fighter, Ryan McGivern.
Earning their way to the finals, both fighters looked stronger and more charged than their previous two battles. McGivern, cornered by Pulver, instantly shot in at the start of the bout. But Larson defended well.
Standing against the cage, McGivern worked a kneelock, but gave up and instead went for what appeared to be Larson’s ankle. Larson positioned for the keylock and sunk it, forcing McGivern to tap at 2:09 in the first.
Larson was awarded the eight-man middleweight tournament championship, as the ecstatic crowd, chanted, “Brock! Brock! Brock!”
In the semifinals, Larson defeated MidAmerican Martial Arts Academy fighter Ryan Jensen. The bout began with Jensen landing a right kick to Larson’s face, but Larson quickly slammed him to the mat. Immediately back on their feet, Jensen positioned for a guillotine and held it, though not nearly tight enough to faze Larson, as the pair rolled to the ground, then stood again.
Larson slammed his way out of it, forcing Jensen to the mat. Larson assumed position and ground and pound his way to a victory via ref stoppage at 1:39 in the first.
The other semifinal bracket saw McGivern topple Team Quest fighter Joey Guel. McGivern began the bout by shooting in, but Guel defended well until somewhere along the way he was cut, or more like gashed, above his left eye. At 2:30 in the first, the bout was called via doctor stoppage.