LAS VEGAS, May 20 — The air was chilled just right inside the Cox Pavilion for the inaugural World Extreme Fighting promotion in Nevada as outdoors the mercury skyrocketed in the hot summer-like air.
Almost immediately the two of them got into a grapple-fest. Sauer landed a few good shots but Hinkle seemed ready for it as he countered well. The fight went to the mat early in the first and after a few well-timed moves, Hinkle found himself in a full-mount over Sauer.
This happened twice with Hinkle dishing out a lot of damage in the process. Sauer managed to elude a fight stoppage twice and slipped the mounts but inevitably wound up in the same spot a third time. With very little offense in return from Sauer, the referee called a stoppage of the bout in the first round. The decision was given to Hinkle as he ripped away the title from Sauer.
Marty Helwig versus Jamie Levine was living proof that you can bleed like a cut vein and still manage to stay on your feet. Helwig took on the challenge of dethroning current WEF middleweight champion Levine. Both started off very tentative and it almost seemed like they were really respectful or fearful of each others abilities.
This soon changed when Levine caught Helwig with a left-right combination that cracked open the nostrils. Helwig actually staggered and nearly fell, but Levine was unable to finish the job. He did apply pressure and began firing shots that seemed to land well — “opened the floodgates” would be a nice way to put it.
The blood just seemed to flow from the face of Helwig and the loss of the vital fluid looked apparent as the fight wore on. As the second round passed midway, Helwig launched a flurry and paid for it. He was dropped to the mat by a combo of punches from Levine. The resulting full-mount displayed Levine choking out the challenger. Helwig tapped and lost his chance at the WEF middleweight title.
Jason MacDonald versus Marvin “Beastman” Eastman was hyped up with the expectation of seeing local favorite, Eastman, take on the Canadian.
Eastman was definitely the bigger of the two and made it a point to display that. MacDonald fended off a series of punches that drove him back against the fence. The grappling that ensued showed why Macdonald was in the ring. He made a series of good but ineffective holds that seemed to slow Eastman’s attack.
Eastman returned the favor by pulling MacDonald’s left arm down to the mat and firing right hands. Eastman began to pick up the attack though, flurrying with shots and using his size to out-muscle MacDonald.
The fight continued this way and the match was playing out very well. Round three started off with an ear-rattling kick to the groin of Eastman that halted the fight. The sound alone made some people wince from the thought of being the receiver. Time passed and after about a 10-minute delay the fight resumed, which was accompanied by a wave of cheers from the crowd.
This painful incident helped to incite Eastman as he came out like a monster after they resumed. Eastman’s drive for success seemed to be fueled by a strong desire to bring the pain back to MacDonald. MacDonald countered Eastman’s advance well and nearly submitted him again with what appeared to be a modified triangle. In the end the “Beastman” was just too much for the submission happy MacDonald.
Dan “Norwegian Nightmare” Evensen squaring off against Rob “Bull Rider” Wince. Wince came out early with a takedown, dropping Evensen to the mat early. After they started back up, Evensen swung heavy and landed on Wince, who returned fire.
The fight turned in to a grappling match against the fence. Wince ended the first round by firing a pair of hard stomps to Evensen’s feet. Before the second round began, Wince seemed to collapse and grab his chest. He was unable to continue and the fight was awarded to Evensen.
A very confident Aaron Licciardello stepped into the cage against a taller Mike Seal. This fight was a unique display of intensity and off key humor. Both fighters carried a Thai kickboxing history and it showed as Licciardello and Seal exchanged kicks.
Seal landed an early right knee that bloodied Licciardello’s nose. In response after they were separated, Licciardello smiled and licked blood he wiped from his face. This style of play lasted through all the rounds as both fighters seemed to fight and then try and psych each other out.
Late in the fight Seal swung and landed a roundhouse that landed flush. This was well timed as Licciardello was diving downward when it impacted his chest. He drove through the kick but was virtually unaffected. Seal seemed to amp up his intensity but narrowly missed on a few occasions. Licciardello threw and landed several haymakers to finish the last round. Both fighters did well and in the end the edge seemed to lean to Licciardello. The judges saw it the same way, awarding the fight to Licciardello.
Masoud Rahmani, hailing from Beverly Hills Jiu-Jitsu, came in and almost immediately dropped Buck Kupfer with a good takedown. Kupfer slipped loose and got to his feet, only to be the receiver of a hip-to-hip slam that seemed to jar him. After coming to their feet, Kupfer swung a right kick that Rahmani grabbed and pulled on.
Like a dog with a bone, Rahmani tugged him inward and mounted a viscous takedown. The resulting half-mount put the screws to a bleeding Kupfer. After a lockup they again came to their feet, and Rahmani finished the deal with a series of punches that ended Kupfer's night with by knockout. Rahmani wins in hard punching fashion.
The cards opening fight started out hard and heavy with John Wood planting a good attack and slamming Brodie “Bad Intentions” Farber to the canvas. After a struggle, Wood got to the high mount and threw repeated hammer blows and elbow shots.
Farber came out attacking after the two were stood up, and this was answered as Wood threw and landed a nasty right. Farber offered a few more shots before taking a hard right thigh kick from Wood. After the next break Wood came in hard and Farber countered with a lethal guillotine. Wood, seemingly unprepared for this, could only tap after Farber leaned back and got the submission.