Irvin Retains WEC Belt in Brutal Fashion; Escovedo, Riggs Win Titles
Under card fights
Josh Gross May 20, 2005
Veteran welterweight Chris
Lytle was pushed to the limit, needing a split decision (29-28
twice, 28-29) to eek past Pat Healy. Sherdog.com scored it 29-28
for Healy.
The opening period was all Lytle, whose impressive balance kept him standing despite several takedown efforts. Though his striking wasn’t crisp, Lytle was able to close the distance and put Healy on the canvas several times. Subsequent submission attempts followed and failed, but a submission or TKO ending seemed inevitable.
Yet Healy never caved.
Lytle’s energy waned over the next 10 minutes, as Healy pulled from a strong reserve. Takedowns, which were impossible for Healy to finish in the first frame, came with regularity in rounds two and three.
In an awful bit of (mis)matchmaking, Lavar “Big” Johnson destroyed Carlos Garcia by knockout, 1:09 of round one. With little to fear Johnson landed accurate power punches and knees before smearing the shorter, heavier Garcia across the blue canvas.
Returning to the cage for the first time since suffering an ugly elbow dislocation two years ago at UFC 42 versus Hermes Franca (the fight went the distance that night), Richard Crunkilton used a subdued approach to stop UK heavy-hitter Paul Jenkins 2:36 of the second round.
Save an early Jenkins’ left hook, the fight belonged to Crunkilton, who grappled virtually anyway he wanted. A second-round takedown saw Crunkilton land consecutive elbows that bounced off the Welshman’s head. The fight briefly returned to the feet, but a way-too-easy ankle pick preceded Crunkilton blasting Jenkins, still feeling an effect of the earlier elbows. Two more blows followed before referee Jon Schorle could jump in to stop it.
Tony “The Tribal Warrior” Alanis fired up the crowd with a first-round knockout of Johnny Fabela. Alanis’ crisp striking was aided by Fabela’s inability to keep his hands up.
A sloppy yet exciting fight saw Steve Ramirez outlast Anthony Gonzales to win by rear-naked choke 4:38 of round one. The two brawlers traded heavy punches before action hit the canvas.
Despite ample opportunity, Gonzales was unable to capitalize on several positions. Ramirez tenacity was the difference, turning the tables late on round one to set up the fight-ending submission.
Josh Green used BJJ 101 to submit Miguel Cosio, 39 seconds after the opening bell. In classic style, a takedown to mount forced the uninitiated Cosio to turn his back, all but ensuring his demise by rear-naked choke.
Justin Levens’ combination of striking and grappling was enough to get past Tony Lopez by rear-naked choke victory, 3:46 of round one. From heavy punches to big takedowns to swift transitions on the mat, the fight belonged to the Ruas Vale Tudo fighter.
Mixed martial arts rookie Cassio Werneck used his BJJ prowess to submit veteran Toby Imada via triangle choke 4:52 of round two. Imada held off the BJJ black belt in round one, stifling the Sacramento-based fighter’s takedowns and exploiting his deficiencies on the feet.
Yet, it was a Werneck punch — the only good strike he landed in the fight — that forced Imada to run from the Brazilian. However, there was little room for him to roam.
Instead, Imada shot for a double-leg takedown. In a matter of seconds, Werneck had maneuvered into position for a triangle choke. There was no getting around it, and Imada was forced to tap.
Thomas Schulte outgunned Raven Seymon, winning by triangle choke 1:29 of round one. As soon as the fight hit the floor, Schulte found room for the submission and locked it in.
Hardly deserving of opening a 13-bout WEC card, Jay Hieron, fresh off a stoppage of Ronald Jhun, needed three rounds to get past tough Pittsburgh, Penn. welterweight Adam Lynn.
Hieron’s first jab of the night hit its mark, stumbling the heavily tattooed Lynn. Between moments of run-of-the-mill ground-and-pound, Hieron found success on the feet with low kicks.
An awkward sequence in which referee Josh Rosenthal called time after an illegal kick to Hieron’s face (his knees were on the floor) allowed Lynn to recover and strongly close out the round. But that was hardly enough, as Hieron controlled virtually the entire 15-minute contest with his consistent wrestling technique.
The opening period was all Lytle, whose impressive balance kept him standing despite several takedown efforts. Though his striking wasn’t crisp, Lytle was able to close the distance and put Healy on the canvas several times. Subsequent submission attempts followed and failed, but a submission or TKO ending seemed inevitable.
Advertisement
Lytle’s energy waned over the next 10 minutes, as Healy pulled from a strong reserve. Takedowns, which were impossible for Healy to finish in the first frame, came with regularity in rounds two and three.
In the bout’s final 40 seconds, Healy suffered a nasty gash to the
top of his head, causing blood to pour down his face. That visual
may have been enough to sway the judges who saw it for
Indianapolis, Indiana’s Lytle.
In an awful bit of (mis)matchmaking, Lavar “Big” Johnson destroyed Carlos Garcia by knockout, 1:09 of round one. With little to fear Johnson landed accurate power punches and knees before smearing the shorter, heavier Garcia across the blue canvas.
Returning to the cage for the first time since suffering an ugly elbow dislocation two years ago at UFC 42 versus Hermes Franca (the fight went the distance that night), Richard Crunkilton used a subdued approach to stop UK heavy-hitter Paul Jenkins 2:36 of the second round.
Save an early Jenkins’ left hook, the fight belonged to Crunkilton, who grappled virtually anyway he wanted. A second-round takedown saw Crunkilton land consecutive elbows that bounced off the Welshman’s head. The fight briefly returned to the feet, but a way-too-easy ankle pick preceded Crunkilton blasting Jenkins, still feeling an effect of the earlier elbows. Two more blows followed before referee Jon Schorle could jump in to stop it.
Tony “The Tribal Warrior” Alanis fired up the crowd with a first-round knockout of Johnny Fabela. Alanis’ crisp striking was aided by Fabela’s inability to keep his hands up.
A sloppy yet exciting fight saw Steve Ramirez outlast Anthony Gonzales to win by rear-naked choke 4:38 of round one. The two brawlers traded heavy punches before action hit the canvas.
Despite ample opportunity, Gonzales was unable to capitalize on several positions. Ramirez tenacity was the difference, turning the tables late on round one to set up the fight-ending submission.
Josh Green used BJJ 101 to submit Miguel Cosio, 39 seconds after the opening bell. In classic style, a takedown to mount forced the uninitiated Cosio to turn his back, all but ensuring his demise by rear-naked choke.
Justin Levens’ combination of striking and grappling was enough to get past Tony Lopez by rear-naked choke victory, 3:46 of round one. From heavy punches to big takedowns to swift transitions on the mat, the fight belonged to the Ruas Vale Tudo fighter.
Mixed martial arts rookie Cassio Werneck used his BJJ prowess to submit veteran Toby Imada via triangle choke 4:52 of round two. Imada held off the BJJ black belt in round one, stifling the Sacramento-based fighter’s takedowns and exploiting his deficiencies on the feet.
Yet, it was a Werneck punch — the only good strike he landed in the fight — that forced Imada to run from the Brazilian. However, there was little room for him to roam.
Instead, Imada shot for a double-leg takedown. In a matter of seconds, Werneck had maneuvered into position for a triangle choke. There was no getting around it, and Imada was forced to tap.
Thomas Schulte outgunned Raven Seymon, winning by triangle choke 1:29 of round one. As soon as the fight hit the floor, Schulte found room for the submission and locked it in.
Hardly deserving of opening a 13-bout WEC card, Jay Hieron, fresh off a stoppage of Ronald Jhun, needed three rounds to get past tough Pittsburgh, Penn. welterweight Adam Lynn.
Hieron’s first jab of the night hit its mark, stumbling the heavily tattooed Lynn. Between moments of run-of-the-mill ground-and-pound, Hieron found success on the feet with low kicks.
An awkward sequence in which referee Josh Rosenthal called time after an illegal kick to Hieron’s face (his knees were on the floor) allowed Lynn to recover and strongly close out the round. But that was hardly enough, as Hieron controlled virtually the entire 15-minute contest with his consistent wrestling technique.
