Controversial End Greets Showtime’s MMA Debut
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Japan’s Riki Fukuda
(Pictures) made short work of
Pontotoc, Mississippi’s Chris
Gates (Pictures). An explosive double-leg takedown
put Fukuda (7-2-0) on top, where the middleweight connected with
two heavy left hands. Gates (6-3-0) covered to avoid additional
shots, and the referee saved him at the 1:18 mark of round one.
“I’ve been hit a lot before,” said Gates, “but I have never been caught by a perfect shot like that.”
Mississippi lightweight John-David Shackelford had a tough time
with Floridian James
Edson Berto (Pictures), the brother of up-and-coming
boxing Andre Berto, losing by TKO at 2:27 of the first.
With Berto family patriarch Diesel in the corner, Edson measured his distance before landing a stunning left hook. Despite being hurt, Shackelford dodged an explosive flying knee and halted the attack by putting Berto on his back.
With his dad imploring him to push forward, the young lightweight responded by slamming his left leg into Shackelford’s midsection. A short left hook to the chin followed and Shackelford went down but not out.
Berto (11-3-1) followed with strikes, including the end sequence in which he illegally propped himself against the cage for better leverage. Immediately after the referee called a halt, Shackelford’s corner exploded into the circular cage and verbally went after the official.
“My whole team is thoroughly disgusted at the way the referee handled this fight and the way it was stopped,” Shackelford said. “He was holding the cage and hitting me — I had no way to defend myself. I couldn’t because he was anchored in. The result of this should be a No Contest.”
Don't tell Adriano Pereira (Pictures) that fighting just outside his adopted hometown of Memphis, Tenn. earns him any sort of home field advantage.
Californian lightweight Javier Vazquez (Pictures) earned a split decision (29-28, 29-29, 27-29) over Pereira in the best fight of the Internet-televised card.
Pereira (4-2-0) took an early advantage over “Showtime,” putting the former King of the Cage 155-pound champion on the canvas, where he unloaded wild hammer-fist strikes. After nearly two minutes of punishment, Vazquez, the nose of his bridge bloodied, stood knowing another barrage like that and he was likely done for.
“He punched me in the head more than I like,” said Vazquez, who sported a large mouse under his left eye following the 15-minute fight.
He remained calm and began to pick away at Pereira with single punches to the body and head. Twice Pereira attempted to put Vazquez on the floor, but he was rebuffed, making a potential 10-8 frame a close 10-9 on the Sherdog card.
Vazquez rebounded nicely in round two.
A double-leg by the Californian put him in position to score, and despite Pereira’s reputation as a grappler Vazquez rather easily passed guard to side-control. He trapped Pereira’s left arm and pounded away with punches and elbows before transitioning to mount.
This is where Vazquez really put Pereira through his paces, landing punches and elbows for nearly the entire round. In a mirror image of the first, a late reversal from Pereira appeared to prevent a 10-8 period, this time in favor of “Showtime.”
The third and final period was odd. Vazquez shot in for a takedown despite owning an advantage on the feet. Pereira illegally grabbed the fence to stop from going to the floor, and Vazquez attempted to recover by going to back-control. But the Brazilian denied Vazquez and soon they returned to the feet.
Bent over, his hands on his knees and his mouthpiece dangling from his mouth, Vazquez worked on weak legs for the rest of the period, pushing his strikes rather than crisply delivering them.
Pereira, with much of the round remaining, could not capitalize. Only in the final minute did he connect with a power combo and takedown that, on the Sherdog card, secured him the round and the fight.
“This guy was much tougher than I thought he would be,” admitted Vazquez (11-2-0). “I knew it was close and I’m always scared when it goes to the scorecards, especially when I’m fighting in the guy’s hometown.”
Pereira disagreed with the scoring.
“I definitely felt I won,” said Pereira, who had former UFC middleweight champion and Brazilian Top Team leader Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) in his corner. “This is a very bad decision. It was a close fight but I know that I pulled it out at the end. The only time I was hurt is when I kicked him.”
Having had a cup of coffee at middleweight — and spilling it all over himself — Mike Pyle (Pictures) returned to welterweight, a division in which he flourished, to dominate Ross Ebanez (Pictures) on the floor before finishing with a rear-naked choke at 1:55 of the first.
“It was short and sweet, just like I like it, just like I love it,” said Pyle, who halted a two-fight skid with the win.
Much of the filing in crowd put their support behind Pyle after he was announced as fighting out Memphis, Tenn. The former WEC 170-pound champion, who fell on hard times during a recent stint in the International Fight League, rewarded his fans with a nice double-leg takedown.
Pyle easily passed to side-control and took Ebanez’s back. Showing virtually every position one can use to control from behind, Pyle finally forced Ebanez to tap out after he forced the Hawaiian to his stomach.
“I made a mistake, [and] feel really bad,” said Ebanez, now 13-5-1. “I didn’t let my hands go. I didn’t land anything. He ‘s a tall guy and I knew he wanted to stay out of my range. He caught me and took me down. That’s his game.”
Tim Persey (Pictures) needed just one minute 33 seconds to finish Bo Cantrell (Pictures) (10-6-0) in the evening’s opening clash. The heavyweights traded flailing punches in the center before Persey (9-1-0) ate a stinging right hand. He clinched and put Cantrell along the fence before stepping back and connecting with a three-punch combo that dropped his challenger.
“This is very disappointing,” said Cantrell. “I’m at a loss for words. I never expected to be KO’d standing up. That’s my game. I was expecting him to go down and go for my legs.”
“I’ve been hit a lot before,” said Gates, “but I have never been caught by a perfect shot like that.”
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With Berto family patriarch Diesel in the corner, Edson measured his distance before landing a stunning left hook. Despite being hurt, Shackelford dodged an explosive flying knee and halted the attack by putting Berto on his back.
The young Haitian, however, reversed to side-control before
returning to his feet — not a good omen for the Mississippian,
whose lack of head movement seemed to predestine the outcome.
With his dad imploring him to push forward, the young lightweight responded by slamming his left leg into Shackelford’s midsection. A short left hook to the chin followed and Shackelford went down but not out.
Berto (11-3-1) followed with strikes, including the end sequence in which he illegally propped himself against the cage for better leverage. Immediately after the referee called a halt, Shackelford’s corner exploded into the circular cage and verbally went after the official.
“My whole team is thoroughly disgusted at the way the referee handled this fight and the way it was stopped,” Shackelford said. “He was holding the cage and hitting me — I had no way to defend myself. I couldn’t because he was anchored in. The result of this should be a No Contest.”
Don't tell Adriano Pereira (Pictures) that fighting just outside his adopted hometown of Memphis, Tenn. earns him any sort of home field advantage.
Californian lightweight Javier Vazquez (Pictures) earned a split decision (29-28, 29-29, 27-29) over Pereira in the best fight of the Internet-televised card.
Pereira (4-2-0) took an early advantage over “Showtime,” putting the former King of the Cage 155-pound champion on the canvas, where he unloaded wild hammer-fist strikes. After nearly two minutes of punishment, Vazquez, the nose of his bridge bloodied, stood knowing another barrage like that and he was likely done for.
“He punched me in the head more than I like,” said Vazquez, who sported a large mouse under his left eye following the 15-minute fight.
He remained calm and began to pick away at Pereira with single punches to the body and head. Twice Pereira attempted to put Vazquez on the floor, but he was rebuffed, making a potential 10-8 frame a close 10-9 on the Sherdog card.
Vazquez rebounded nicely in round two.
A double-leg by the Californian put him in position to score, and despite Pereira’s reputation as a grappler Vazquez rather easily passed guard to side-control. He trapped Pereira’s left arm and pounded away with punches and elbows before transitioning to mount.
This is where Vazquez really put Pereira through his paces, landing punches and elbows for nearly the entire round. In a mirror image of the first, a late reversal from Pereira appeared to prevent a 10-8 period, this time in favor of “Showtime.”
The third and final period was odd. Vazquez shot in for a takedown despite owning an advantage on the feet. Pereira illegally grabbed the fence to stop from going to the floor, and Vazquez attempted to recover by going to back-control. But the Brazilian denied Vazquez and soon they returned to the feet.
Bent over, his hands on his knees and his mouthpiece dangling from his mouth, Vazquez worked on weak legs for the rest of the period, pushing his strikes rather than crisply delivering them.
Pereira, with much of the round remaining, could not capitalize. Only in the final minute did he connect with a power combo and takedown that, on the Sherdog card, secured him the round and the fight.
“This guy was much tougher than I thought he would be,” admitted Vazquez (11-2-0). “I knew it was close and I’m always scared when it goes to the scorecards, especially when I’m fighting in the guy’s hometown.”
Pereira disagreed with the scoring.
“I definitely felt I won,” said Pereira, who had former UFC middleweight champion and Brazilian Top Team leader Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) in his corner. “This is a very bad decision. It was a close fight but I know that I pulled it out at the end. The only time I was hurt is when I kicked him.”
Having had a cup of coffee at middleweight — and spilling it all over himself — Mike Pyle (Pictures) returned to welterweight, a division in which he flourished, to dominate Ross Ebanez (Pictures) on the floor before finishing with a rear-naked choke at 1:55 of the first.
“It was short and sweet, just like I like it, just like I love it,” said Pyle, who halted a two-fight skid with the win.
Much of the filing in crowd put their support behind Pyle after he was announced as fighting out Memphis, Tenn. The former WEC 170-pound champion, who fell on hard times during a recent stint in the International Fight League, rewarded his fans with a nice double-leg takedown.
Pyle easily passed to side-control and took Ebanez’s back. Showing virtually every position one can use to control from behind, Pyle finally forced Ebanez to tap out after he forced the Hawaiian to his stomach.
“I made a mistake, [and] feel really bad,” said Ebanez, now 13-5-1. “I didn’t let my hands go. I didn’t land anything. He ‘s a tall guy and I knew he wanted to stay out of my range. He caught me and took me down. That’s his game.”
Tim Persey (Pictures) needed just one minute 33 seconds to finish Bo Cantrell (Pictures) (10-6-0) in the evening’s opening clash. The heavyweights traded flailing punches in the center before Persey (9-1-0) ate a stinging right hand. He clinched and put Cantrell along the fence before stepping back and connecting with a three-punch combo that dropped his challenger.
“This is very disappointing,” said Cantrell. “I’m at a loss for words. I never expected to be KO’d standing up. That’s my game. I was expecting him to go down and go for my legs.”
