Jackson Wins at the Wire; Rutten Enjoys Return
Under card Bouts
Josh Gross Jul 23, 2006
Ryoto Machida
(Pictures)’s anticipated U.S. debut
devolved into a rather boring affair versus Vernon White (Pictures). In the end, the judges at
ringside ruled unanimously for the Brazilian, who was promoted
heavily as the only man to defeat UFC middleweight champion
Rich Franklin (Pictures).
Had Franklin and the Machida that showed up tonight fought, it’s hard to argue that the Brazilian would be the undefeated fighter.
Boos first spilled out from the rafters in the middle of round one.
They intensified as the bout wore on, and unfortunately the crowd’s
disdain wasn’t motivation enough for either Machida or White to
change the pace.
By the third action had grinded to a halt. But because he scored a takedown and briefly held side-control, Machida was awarded a unanimous decision.
“Mayhem” went after Sincaid, best known for his stint on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, at the outset, using a Thai clinch to deliver a series of knees to the midsection.
Eventually Miller brought the fight to the floor, where he neatly secured back-control. Though Sincaid refused to go down easily, Miller just needed the right moment to lock in a fight-ending choke, and he took it.
Miller will now prepare for an ICON middleweight title fight against Robbie Lawler (Pictures).
Ivan Salaverry (Pictures) made relatively easy work of Art Santore (Pictures), a scrappy but outgunned middleweight.
Prancing around the ring with the sort of grace that fans have come to expect from him, the long-legged Salaverry fired arching kicks, with most either glanced off Santore’s arms or crashed into his legs. But it was evident early that Salaverry was going to be too much for the Dan Henderson (Pictures)-trained fighter.
That didn’t stop Santore from trying to make a fight out of it.
Following a rather disheartening opening period, Santore forced the contest to the ground. But playing in Salaverry’s guard can be a dangerous game, and Santore was cautious enough to make referee Cecil Peoples stand the fighters back to their feet.
Salaverry then unleashed a snapping high kick that swiveled Santore’s chin. A beautiful left hook put Santore to the canvas, where Salaverry followed with strikes that tore open his foe’s face, forcing a stoppage in the second period.
Somewhere buried deep in Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures)’s 298-pound frame is the man that put away Randy Couture (Pictures) to capture the UFC heavyweight belt.
Despite carrying the sort of girth that might qualify him for a spot on “The Biggest Loser,” the fast-talking Puerto Rican showed tonight that he remains an incredibly athletic and dangerous fighter.
Having already faced and lost to Ron Waterman (Pictures) in the WEC, Rodriguez knew all to well what could happen if he allowed his huge opponent to control the pace of the fight. So Rodriguez, as best as he can manage, came out and danced around.
Soon he discovered the effectiveness of the overhand right, which he used several times to breakdown his foe. A series of shots bounced off the slowing Waterman and the super heavyweight’s left eye started to noticeably swell.
Rodriguez continued to pound away on the wilting Waterman, who now had attempted and failed to put “Suave” on his back. As the bell sounded to end the first, both fighters were clearly fatigued, yet it was Waterman who received the attention of California State Athletic Commission medical officials. After some deliberation, Rodriguez was named the winner when referee Nelson Hamilton stopped the contest on advice of the ringside physician.
If there’s a course to be taught on attacking the legs, “Razor” Rob McCullough (Pictures) should be on the short list of fighters to teach it.
From the opening bell, The Huntington Beach, Calif. lightweight viciously went after Harris Sarmiento (Pictures), smashing the sort of penetrating low kicks into the Hawaiian’s lead leg that will have him walk with a limp for the next week or two.
Sarmiento, normally a scrapper, never came forward and it didn’t take long before he was simply standing in front of his quick foe. Action moved to the floor briefly in the third, with McCullough firing down fast punches. He could not, however, put Sarmiento away, and after three lopsided rounds McCullough had swept the fight according to all three judges.
Preliminary Action
After three less than compelling rounds, light heavyweights Marvin Eastman (Pictures) and Jorge Oliviera’s shared a split draw in the final preliminary contest.
Though Eastman, the WFA 205-pound champ during the promotion’s previous incarnation, appeared to gain the upper hand in rounds one and two by bloodying the Brazilian under his left eye, the Las Vegan refused to press the action. Oliveira’s strongest round, mostly due to his aggression, was the third.
When it came time to render a decision, all three judges disagreed about the outcome. Sherdog.com scored it an unconvincing 29-28 for Eastman
Martin Kampmann (Pictures) stopped Edwin Aguilar (Pictures) 2:43 of the first round, landing multiple strikes on the feet before Aguilar fell to the canvas. Kampmann, who replaced Brazilian legend Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures), followed Aguilar to the canvas and landed another strike, forcing referee Cecil Peoples to dive in and rescue the Tijuana fighter.
Despite a last minute push to get Adam Arredondo (Pictures) licensed, his fight with Antonio McKee (Pictures) was cancelled after a dispute over weight. Arredondo did not have his blood work prepared as last as Friday evening, but in an effort to save the fight quite an effort was undertaken. In the end, it didn’t matter and neither man would step into the cage.
Had Franklin and the Machida that showed up tonight fought, it’s hard to argue that the Brazilian would be the undefeated fighter.
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By the third action had grinded to a halt. But because he scored a takedown and briefly held side-control, Machida was awarded a unanimous decision.
Jason Miller put on two
displays tonight. The first saw him dance his way to the cage and
toss money with his likeness where Benjamin Franklin’s ought to be
into the crowd. The second came in the cage, where he out-classed
Lodune Sincaid
(Pictures) to win by submission 4:29
of round one.
“Mayhem” went after Sincaid, best known for his stint on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, at the outset, using a Thai clinch to deliver a series of knees to the midsection.
Eventually Miller brought the fight to the floor, where he neatly secured back-control. Though Sincaid refused to go down easily, Miller just needed the right moment to lock in a fight-ending choke, and he took it.
Miller will now prepare for an ICON middleweight title fight against Robbie Lawler (Pictures).
Ivan Salaverry (Pictures) made relatively easy work of Art Santore (Pictures), a scrappy but outgunned middleweight.
Prancing around the ring with the sort of grace that fans have come to expect from him, the long-legged Salaverry fired arching kicks, with most either glanced off Santore’s arms or crashed into his legs. But it was evident early that Salaverry was going to be too much for the Dan Henderson (Pictures)-trained fighter.
That didn’t stop Santore from trying to make a fight out of it.
Following a rather disheartening opening period, Santore forced the contest to the ground. But playing in Salaverry’s guard can be a dangerous game, and Santore was cautious enough to make referee Cecil Peoples stand the fighters back to their feet.
Salaverry then unleashed a snapping high kick that swiveled Santore’s chin. A beautiful left hook put Santore to the canvas, where Salaverry followed with strikes that tore open his foe’s face, forcing a stoppage in the second period.
Somewhere buried deep in Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures)’s 298-pound frame is the man that put away Randy Couture (Pictures) to capture the UFC heavyweight belt.
Despite carrying the sort of girth that might qualify him for a spot on “The Biggest Loser,” the fast-talking Puerto Rican showed tonight that he remains an incredibly athletic and dangerous fighter.
Having already faced and lost to Ron Waterman (Pictures) in the WEC, Rodriguez knew all to well what could happen if he allowed his huge opponent to control the pace of the fight. So Rodriguez, as best as he can manage, came out and danced around.
Soon he discovered the effectiveness of the overhand right, which he used several times to breakdown his foe. A series of shots bounced off the slowing Waterman and the super heavyweight’s left eye started to noticeably swell.
Rodriguez continued to pound away on the wilting Waterman, who now had attempted and failed to put “Suave” on his back. As the bell sounded to end the first, both fighters were clearly fatigued, yet it was Waterman who received the attention of California State Athletic Commission medical officials. After some deliberation, Rodriguez was named the winner when referee Nelson Hamilton stopped the contest on advice of the ringside physician.
If there’s a course to be taught on attacking the legs, “Razor” Rob McCullough (Pictures) should be on the short list of fighters to teach it.
From the opening bell, The Huntington Beach, Calif. lightweight viciously went after Harris Sarmiento (Pictures), smashing the sort of penetrating low kicks into the Hawaiian’s lead leg that will have him walk with a limp for the next week or two.
Sarmiento, normally a scrapper, never came forward and it didn’t take long before he was simply standing in front of his quick foe. Action moved to the floor briefly in the third, with McCullough firing down fast punches. He could not, however, put Sarmiento away, and after three lopsided rounds McCullough had swept the fight according to all three judges.
Preliminary Action
After three less than compelling rounds, light heavyweights Marvin Eastman (Pictures) and Jorge Oliviera’s shared a split draw in the final preliminary contest.
Though Eastman, the WFA 205-pound champ during the promotion’s previous incarnation, appeared to gain the upper hand in rounds one and two by bloodying the Brazilian under his left eye, the Las Vegan refused to press the action. Oliveira’s strongest round, mostly due to his aggression, was the third.
When it came time to render a decision, all three judges disagreed about the outcome. Sherdog.com scored it an unconvincing 29-28 for Eastman
Martin Kampmann (Pictures) stopped Edwin Aguilar (Pictures) 2:43 of the first round, landing multiple strikes on the feet before Aguilar fell to the canvas. Kampmann, who replaced Brazilian legend Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures), followed Aguilar to the canvas and landed another strike, forcing referee Cecil Peoples to dive in and rescue the Tijuana fighter.
Despite a last minute push to get Adam Arredondo (Pictures) licensed, his fight with Antonio McKee (Pictures) was cancelled after a dispute over weight. Arredondo did not have his blood work prepared as last as Friday evening, but in an effort to save the fight quite an effort was undertaken. In the end, it didn’t matter and neither man would step into the cage.
