FRESNO, Calif., Oct. 7 — Paul Buentello (Pictures) will never be mistaken for Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) or even Andrei Arlovski (Pictures). But tonight against 41-year-old David “Tank” Abbott, Buentello did his best impression of a fast heavyweight, both with the pace he appeared to move in the cage and the time it took him to complete his evening’s work.
After the first exchange, which saw Abbott wing wild hooks while Buentello stayed much tighter with his attack, “Tank” sported a cut just above his left eye. Three Buentello punches were fired for one of Abbott’s and soon the fighters came to work on the inside.
“I had him up against the fence. I hurt him, saw it in his eyes,” said Abbott, relying on the words of his corner since he could not recall much of what happened during the fight. “I hurt him when I hit him with a couple of hooks. I should have stayed on top of him. Oh well. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.”
Judging by the crowd’s reaction after the short contest, few fans were there to watch Buentello, a former No. 1 contender for the UFC heavyweight belt. Yet it will be the American Kickboxing Academy-trained heavyweight, now 21-8-0, they remember, mainly for the beautiful lead right he uncorked between Abbott’s porous defense that smashed its way into the veteran’s jaw and had him careening to the canvas liked a toppled statue.
“I didn’t see it coming,” said Abbott, whose record dropped to 9-12-0. “A little flash knockout.”
“He closed the distance on me,” recalled the 36-year-old Buentello, who wore a few nicks after the fight but nothing substantial. “I tried to work the uppercuts and I’m sitting there thinking man this isn’t the game plan. So I pushed away and circled, saw the opening and I was going to hit him with bad intentions, and that’s what happened.”
Despite heavy heart, Thomson finishes Ludwig
With memory of the recent passing of his father driving him into the cage, lightweight Josh Thomson (Pictures) refused to allow a prepared Duane Ludwig (Pictures) to reign victorious Saturday.
Thomson needed nearly two full rounds to do it, but with just 24 seconds remaining in the second period he secured a beautiful guillotine choke that forced Ludwig to tap out of the fight.
Before the submission, Ludwig, respected most for his Muay Thai credentials, fought valiantly against the motivated wrestler.
Thomson took the fight to the floor in the opening seconds, yet Ludwig played a competent butterfly guard, both with one and two feet on the inside. For much of the opening round, Thomson controlled Ludwig on the floor, at one point even gaining control of the striker’s back.
Towards the end of the period, Ludwig seized on a transition and found himself on top. He returned the favor, dropping short blows to the side of Thomson’s head before taking back-control and nearly sinking what would have been a shocking rear-naked choke. But Thomson escaped and offered a wry smile to “Bang” as they headed to their respective corners following the end of the round.
“I felt calm, relaxed,” Thomson (10-2-0) said. “There was a little Vaseline from my face and his face on my fingers, so I went to grab the gloves and it slipped off. I got a little worried cause it was already around the neck. But other than that I felt fine. Once I controlled the hand again I felt fine. You weren’t going to choke me.”
Thomson began round two by countering Ludwig’s fast hands with a crisp takedown. Taking punishment on the bottom, Ludwig’s right eye showed signs of closing and referee Jon Schorle paid close attention to the damage.
Yet “Bang,” now 13-6 in MMA and victim of consecutive losses for the third time in his career, continued to survive on the bottom. All Thomson needed, however, was a sliver hope. That came when Ludwig attempted to kick the wrestler away so he could stand. Instead, Thomson seized Ludwig’s neck and fell back for the submission.
“As soon as I realized his hand slipped off I sunk it in a little bit deeper and that’s when I was fine sitting back for it,” Thomson said. The effort paid off and Ludwig tapped at 4:36 of round two.
“I just wasn’t going to lose tonight,” Thomson said after. “I set in my mind that I was going to set the pace right off the bat and I think you guys noticed I did. I came out there fighting the way I used to fight. The way I fought Hermes (Franca). The way I fought Yves (Edwards). I came out to control the fight. When I fight like that I don’t think anybody can beat me. I don’t think so.”