LEMOORE, Calif., May 19 — World Extreme Cagefighting heavyweight champion James “Sandman” Irvin was impressive in victory Thursday night outside The Palace Indian Gaming Center, stopping Doug “The Rhino” Marshall with a crunching knee to the face 43 seconds of round two.
It was a brutal affair that had both fighters — and those sitting at ringside — bloodied and battered; though Marshall clearly took the brunt.
“That guy’s a monster,” Irvin said of Marshall after the fight. “His head is filled with concrete.”
If there was one question mark surrounding Irvin coming into tonight’s bout it was his chin, particularly since this was his return to fighting after the only loss of his career, a February 2005 knockout in the UFC by Mike Kyle.
There would have been easier ways to step back into the cage than against the hard-nosed Marshall.
Throughout the fight’s only full round, Irvin loaded up with big right hands. Knees from the clinch along with a powerful takedown that lifted the 5’10” 250-pound “Rhino” off his feet complimented Irvin’s performance.
But Marshall — who garnered a reputation as a survivor after previous WEC bouts — endured, connecting with his own heavy punches.
Each time “The Rhino,” fighting a half-hour drive from his home in Visalia, put fist to chin (and there were several bombs that seemed heavier than Kyle’s KO shot) Irvin remained sturdy.
Rather than making the mistake of backpedaling while Marshall attacked, the Sacramento, Calif.-based Irvin circled to create angles for his ceaseless string of angry shots, including low kicks that dented the challenger’s lead left leg.
At the end of round one, a crimson mask encased Marshall’s face, and for a brief moment it seemed as if he wanted out of the fight. But the minute or so between rounds energized him — as it did Irvin, who, despite his Abercrombie & Fitch looks, wasn’t exactly pristine through one round either.
A flying knee from the champion marked the beginning of period two. Though the athletic move missed, it was a foreshadow of things to come. Soon after, the two rams met in the center of the cage; Irvin, taller and faster, maneuvered into perfect Thai-clinch position.
Now against the cage fencing, the champion waited for an opening. When it came he plastered Marshall’s face with a brutal right knee, which forced the sickening sound of mangled nose cartilage to reverberate cage-side.
The big man slumped to his left and fell backwards. Sensing that this blow was enough, Irvin allowed the stunning brutality end.
He was correct: further punishment was unnecessary.
“I just want to tell everyone, sorry if I disappointed you,” said Marshall to the several thousand fans that packed the outdoor venue by the night’s main event. “But that motherf___er hit me so g__damn hard.”
Coming off the heels of the UFC disaster versus Kyle it was an inspired effort by Irvin, who tonight fought outside the opening round for the first time in his short career. He will now opt to relinquish the WEC heavyweight belt, and instead try his considerable hand at a lighter 205 pounds — a weight in which Irvin and his handlers believe he’ll thrive.
The evening’s co-main event featured an emotionally charged showdown for the WEC Native American lightweight title between “Apache” and “Tachi” Kids, Cole Escovedo and Poppies Martinez.
Escovedo survived a strong performance from his rival to take the belt by doctor’s stoppage 59 seconds of period two. Martinez fought well early, using his noticeable size and strength advantage (Escovedo is a natural 145-pound fighter) to bully the Fresno, Calif. fighter around the cage.
In front of his hometown fans Martinez was inspired, egging Escovedo into a stand-up war while escaping the trap of dealing with the strong submission fighter on the canvas.
Though he seemed to inflict the heavier damage it was Martinez who showed the physical signs of being in a fight, bleeding around his left eye and nose, after the opening period.
Escovedo’s strongest attacks came when he went low on Martinez with kicks. Between rounds, the “Apache Kid” heard his corner ask for more of that, to which he responded by blasting Martinez with two ripping low kicks that forced a gimpy “Tachi Kid” to the clinch.
Seconds later Martinez fell to the canvas while grasping his left knee. The pro-Poppies crowd reacted strongly, asking the “Tachi Kid” to forget the pain to fight. Oddly enough, Escovedo did the same, yelling at Martinez from across the cage to stand and fight.
But Martinez was in no condition to continue. The doctor at ringside put a halt to the contest and cited a potentially torn ACL as reason why.
The Tachi throng edged towards the cage, begging to finish Escovedo where Martinez couldn’t. To his credit, the “Tachi Kid” gave credit to and shook hands with Escovedo, which went a long way in tempering the anger that had enveloped the largely native crowd.
When it was Escovedo’s turn to talk, the crowd showed him little respect, refusing to allow him to say what he wanted. Pending the severity of Martinez’ injury, a rematch would seem likely.
The evening’s other title fight saw Arizona’s Joe Riggs plow through Kansas City’s Rob Kimmons to capture the vacant WEC world middleweight belt.
From inside Kimmons’ guard, Riggs smashed his challenger with thudding elbows to the face. The barrage continued until Kimmons tapped 1:24 of round one.