The tournament began with Absolute Combat Alliance’s Tom Jones taking on McGivern. Shooting in, the Miletich fighter cut the bridge of his nose, an injury it seemed future opponents would capitalize on, but didn’t.
Team Tompkin’s fighter Chris Clements faced a very nervous looking Guel in the tournament’s first round in what would be the biggest upset of the night.
The Canadian, who later admitted to feeling extremely nervous coming into this event, connected well at the start of the fight as Guel fell to the mat. Guel attempted a guillotine, but failed to lock it in as the two grappled on the ground.
With one minute left in the first, ref Scott Valeen stood the pair up. Guel connected with a left, but again fell to the mat. Clements took advantage of the unsteady fighter, landing very solid and smooth lefts, elbows and forearms until the bell stopped the action.
At the start of round two, Clements was cut about his right eye, and Guel appeared more relaxed as he shot in and took Clements’ back. Clements immediately reversed and positioned for a rear-naked. Guel answered by attempting an unsuccessful armbar, and the two were stood up. Guel slammed the Canadian and unproductively attempted a guillotine. Round three saw Guel get the takedown and lock a rear-naked choke, earning him the victory at 56 seconds of round three.
Damarcus Johnson, of Jeremy Horn’s Elite Performance in Salt Lake City, faced eventual tournament winner Larson in the opening round. The crowd, heavily stacked if not completely filled with Larson fans, booed the Utah-native as he entered the cage.
The bout began with Larson shooting in, and though Johnson defended well, the Minnesotan won the takedown. The two scrambled, and Larson stood, hovering over Johnson. Johnson sent a kick upward and connected with Larson’s mouth. Unfazed, Larson dropped bombs and began pushing Johnson around the mat by his feet. More bombs were dropped from above, when the ref stood the downed Johnson.
Round two saw a more comfortable looking Johnson, who landed a kick to the again unfazed Larson. After slamming Johnson to the mat, Larson began raining lefts. In round three, Johnson sent a right knee, but the on-fire Larson simply caught it and took Johnson from behind, forcing the relatively newcomer to tap due to keylock 1:02 in the third.
The last of the tournament’s quarterfinals spotted Jensen defeating Cincinnati’s Neil Rowe. After trading on their feet, Jensen earned the takedown. With Franklin in his corner, Rowe picked Jensen up and slammed him back to the mat. The slam wasn’t enough, however, as Jensen positioned, then sunk a rear-naked choke 2:00 into the first.
The alternate bout of the night pit Sean Huffman against Eddie Sanchez, however bout was cancelled due to a death in Sanchez’ family. Our prayers are with you, Eddie.
After the event ended, the crowd and the fighters were buzzing and most hung around the casino for more pictures and signatures. No fighter could feel bad about his performance, as it was a night of incredible fights. If anything, we’re just thirsty for more. What will The Godfather come up with next? My stomach is still in knots thinking of it.
On a personal note: To the guy sitting three rows behind me, who sarcastically said as I sat in my cage-side seat next to judge and Miletich fighter Spencer Fisher, “What does it take to be a [reporter] these days,” and then offered me a whopping $3.50 to trade spots … e.a.s.y.