Franca, Faber Take Belts From WEC Champions
Under Card Fights
Josh Gross Mar 18, 2006
Tim McKenzie (Pictures) (8-2) unloaded on a slimmed down
Doug Marshall
(Pictures) (9-3) to stop the former
heavyweight challenger 3:35 of round one. An inadvertent knee to
the groin briefly paused the fight, but soon after the aggressive
fighters, competing at 195 pounds, went at each other with blatant
disregard for their personal safety.
On the floor is where McKenzie enjoyed his biggest advantage, and, not surprising, that’s where he won the bout. Allowing McKenzie the space to sit back and deliver punches and elbows at full force, the “Wrecking Machine” blasted Marshall with a hellish elbow that effectively ended the fight. Multiple strikes rained down and the night was soon over for “The Rhino,” a Lemoore fan favorite.
Lodune Sincaid
(Pictures) (8-2) executed a tactical
game plan to defeat James
Irvin (Pictures) (9-3) by unanimous decision
(30-27 three times).
From the outside The Ultimate Fighter alumnus took it to Irvin, a fellow UFC veteran hoping to bounce back after a difficult submission loss to Stephan Bonnar (Pictures). Though he tried unsuccessfully to end the fight via rear-naked choke, Sincaid used takedowns to control position throughout the 15-minute bout.
Finally able to sprawl his way out of Sincaid’s grasp, Irvin used his reach to land shots. But midway through the period Sincaid, tiring and taking punishment, moved to the inside and scored what could have been a fight-saving takedown.
Though the two stood and Irvin continued to press forward, Sincaid smartly refused to give his larger opponent the necessary space to inflict damage. Ignoring the advice of his corner, Irvin threw a massive high kick that missed. In the process he lost his balance and lost all hope of pulling it out when Sincaid dove in to finish a takedown.
Antonio Banuelos (Pictures) (11-2) pounded on fellow 135-pounder James Cottrell (6-3) but could not finish the late replacement out of Sandy, Utah. For three rounds Banuelos, with John Hackleman and Chuck Liddell (Pictures) in his corner, went after Cottrell. His solid performance earned him scores of 30-27 twice and a dominating 30-26.
One can forget just how much action can be packed into a five-minute round. For fans at The Palace who needed a reminder, Olaf Alfonso (Pictures) and “Razor” Rob McCullough (Pictures) provided one.
An unhealthy pace saw both men fly around the cage winging punches and kicks, scoring takedowns and attempted submissions in the opening round.
Though Alfonso (5-4) gained an edge by controlling McCullough (10-3) and going for rear-naked chokes on several occasions, he ended round one with just a slight advantage.
With each exchange on the feet McCullough was that much closer to finding his target, especially with Alfonso pawing a probing jab that left his chin exposed. And when the fighters clashed in the center of the cage to begin round two McCullough unloaded a vicious right cross after a left kick to Alfonso’s midsection that sent the his mouthpiece flying.
Hurt badly, Alfonso looked skyward as his right thigh was peppered with Thai kicks. “Razor” Rob then swept the Mexican’s legs aside and unloaded a huge right hand that appeared to fall from the sky. Two angry shots followed — mostly because referee Jon Schorle, who went to pick up Alfonso’s mouthpiece, was terribly out of position to save the fallen lightweight — and the crowd groaned as the bout ended 12 seconds into the middle period.
Alfonso was prone on the canvas for close to five minutes before EMTs could strap him to a stretcher and lift him out of the cage. Initially it was reported that he’d suffered a broken jaw, but later WEC announced the fan favorite had escaped any serious injury.
Tiki Ghosn (Pictures) can’t catch a break.
Up two rounds to none on Pat Healy (Pictures) (22-10), the flashy welterweight appeared to be on his way to a clear victory. But in an instant that all changed when a missed uppercut extended Ghosn’s arm beyond what it was designed do and his shoulder popped out of its socket.
Afterwards, the four-time UFC veteran said he re-injured the shoulder — the same one Sean Sherk (Pictures) mauled — while sparring with Quinton Jackson (Pictures) four weeks ago.
The only thing keeping Healy in the fight to that point was his toughness.
Swift kicks and punches punctuated Ghosn’s entertaining performance. His ability to avoid takedowns also impressed and Healy did not seem to be on par with the Huntington Beach, Calif.-based welterweight.
But as has happened in the past, lady luck was unkind to the proficient kickboxer and the out-of-nowhere injury stunted what was an otherwise solid effort in the cage.
Ghosn’s camp lobbied to have the result changed from a loss to No Contest or victory. But the WEC correctly ruled that because the injury occurred as part of a legal maneuver and not an unintentional foul it could not change the result.
Like his brother Pat, Ryan Healy (Pictures) (7-0-1) was victorious. Facing Phillip Wyman (Pictures) (1-1), a student of Ken Shamrock (Pictures), one of the most famous Irish names in mixed martial arts, the younger Healy won by rear-naked choke 3:18 of the opening period.
Wyman took an early edge by out-grappling Healy, but that quickly turned on the strength of the Irish-American’s left hand. Standing above Wyman, who worked from the open-guard, Healy slammed a mean left that bloodied the Lion’s Den fighter’s face.
Healy turned up the heat and connected with another series of punches on the downed Wyman, at which point the lightweights went to the canvas. Struggling to regroup, Wyman exposed his neck and Healy capitalized for the rear-naked choke victory 3:18 of the opening period.
Call it a sweet left hook or The Luck of the Irish, but Indianapolis, Indiana’s Jake O’Brien needed just 14 seconds to finish Portland, Oregon’s Jay White (Pictures).
O’Brien, now 3-0, stumbled after a kick to the inside of his lead leg, but stalked White (1-5) with consecutive left hooks, the last of which connected hard and dropped the heavyweight face first to the blue canvas.
Taking his fight on short notice, Joseph Martin (3-3) got on the winning track Friday against Tony Alanis (Pictures) (4-3). The welterweights went after each other but it was Martin who often scored first. A solid opening round lead into the second, which Martin dominated. The end came as Martin forced an Alanis’ tapout from heelhook 2:26 of round two.
Middleweight Kenny Ento (Pictures) (3-1), fighting in front of his hometown fans, weathered early aggression from Jimmy Dexter (Pictures) (0-2) to score an armbar victory from the guard 1:20 of round one.
On the floor is where McKenzie enjoyed his biggest advantage, and, not surprising, that’s where he won the bout. Allowing McKenzie the space to sit back and deliver punches and elbows at full force, the “Wrecking Machine” blasted Marshall with a hellish elbow that effectively ended the fight. Multiple strikes rained down and the night was soon over for “The Rhino,” a Lemoore fan favorite.
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From the outside The Ultimate Fighter alumnus took it to Irvin, a fellow UFC veteran hoping to bounce back after a difficult submission loss to Stephan Bonnar (Pictures). Though he tried unsuccessfully to end the fight via rear-naked choke, Sincaid used takedowns to control position throughout the 15-minute bout.
Putting Irvin on his back and pounding on the former heavyweight,
clearly won rounds one and two for Sincaid. But the closing stanza
wasn’t as easy for the personable fighter.
Finally able to sprawl his way out of Sincaid’s grasp, Irvin used his reach to land shots. But midway through the period Sincaid, tiring and taking punishment, moved to the inside and scored what could have been a fight-saving takedown.
Though the two stood and Irvin continued to press forward, Sincaid smartly refused to give his larger opponent the necessary space to inflict damage. Ignoring the advice of his corner, Irvin threw a massive high kick that missed. In the process he lost his balance and lost all hope of pulling it out when Sincaid dove in to finish a takedown.
Antonio Banuelos (Pictures) (11-2) pounded on fellow 135-pounder James Cottrell (6-3) but could not finish the late replacement out of Sandy, Utah. For three rounds Banuelos, with John Hackleman and Chuck Liddell (Pictures) in his corner, went after Cottrell. His solid performance earned him scores of 30-27 twice and a dominating 30-26.
One can forget just how much action can be packed into a five-minute round. For fans at The Palace who needed a reminder, Olaf Alfonso (Pictures) and “Razor” Rob McCullough (Pictures) provided one.
An unhealthy pace saw both men fly around the cage winging punches and kicks, scoring takedowns and attempted submissions in the opening round.
Though Alfonso (5-4) gained an edge by controlling McCullough (10-3) and going for rear-naked chokes on several occasions, he ended round one with just a slight advantage.
With each exchange on the feet McCullough was that much closer to finding his target, especially with Alfonso pawing a probing jab that left his chin exposed. And when the fighters clashed in the center of the cage to begin round two McCullough unloaded a vicious right cross after a left kick to Alfonso’s midsection that sent the his mouthpiece flying.
Hurt badly, Alfonso looked skyward as his right thigh was peppered with Thai kicks. “Razor” Rob then swept the Mexican’s legs aside and unloaded a huge right hand that appeared to fall from the sky. Two angry shots followed — mostly because referee Jon Schorle, who went to pick up Alfonso’s mouthpiece, was terribly out of position to save the fallen lightweight — and the crowd groaned as the bout ended 12 seconds into the middle period.
Alfonso was prone on the canvas for close to five minutes before EMTs could strap him to a stretcher and lift him out of the cage. Initially it was reported that he’d suffered a broken jaw, but later WEC announced the fan favorite had escaped any serious injury.
Tiki Ghosn (Pictures) can’t catch a break.
Up two rounds to none on Pat Healy (Pictures) (22-10), the flashy welterweight appeared to be on his way to a clear victory. But in an instant that all changed when a missed uppercut extended Ghosn’s arm beyond what it was designed do and his shoulder popped out of its socket.
Afterwards, the four-time UFC veteran said he re-injured the shoulder — the same one Sean Sherk (Pictures) mauled — while sparring with Quinton Jackson (Pictures) four weeks ago.
The only thing keeping Healy in the fight to that point was his toughness.
Swift kicks and punches punctuated Ghosn’s entertaining performance. His ability to avoid takedowns also impressed and Healy did not seem to be on par with the Huntington Beach, Calif.-based welterweight.
But as has happened in the past, lady luck was unkind to the proficient kickboxer and the out-of-nowhere injury stunted what was an otherwise solid effort in the cage.
Ghosn’s camp lobbied to have the result changed from a loss to No Contest or victory. But the WEC correctly ruled that because the injury occurred as part of a legal maneuver and not an unintentional foul it could not change the result.
Like his brother Pat, Ryan Healy (Pictures) (7-0-1) was victorious. Facing Phillip Wyman (Pictures) (1-1), a student of Ken Shamrock (Pictures), one of the most famous Irish names in mixed martial arts, the younger Healy won by rear-naked choke 3:18 of the opening period.
Wyman took an early edge by out-grappling Healy, but that quickly turned on the strength of the Irish-American’s left hand. Standing above Wyman, who worked from the open-guard, Healy slammed a mean left that bloodied the Lion’s Den fighter’s face.
Healy turned up the heat and connected with another series of punches on the downed Wyman, at which point the lightweights went to the canvas. Struggling to regroup, Wyman exposed his neck and Healy capitalized for the rear-naked choke victory 3:18 of the opening period.
Call it a sweet left hook or The Luck of the Irish, but Indianapolis, Indiana’s Jake O’Brien needed just 14 seconds to finish Portland, Oregon’s Jay White (Pictures).
O’Brien, now 3-0, stumbled after a kick to the inside of his lead leg, but stalked White (1-5) with consecutive left hooks, the last of which connected hard and dropped the heavyweight face first to the blue canvas.
Taking his fight on short notice, Joseph Martin (3-3) got on the winning track Friday against Tony Alanis (Pictures) (4-3). The welterweights went after each other but it was Martin who often scored first. A solid opening round lead into the second, which Martin dominated. The end came as Martin forced an Alanis’ tapout from heelhook 2:26 of round two.
Middleweight Kenny Ento (Pictures) (3-1), fighting in front of his hometown fans, weathered early aggression from Jimmy Dexter (Pictures) (0-2) to score an armbar victory from the guard 1:20 of round one.
