The first team fight of the night saw Team Canada's Krzysztof "The
Experiment" Soszynski face off against Matt "Suave" Horwich of Team USA. Soszynski came out guns blazing, pummeling and taking down Horwich. He continued the assault until the two were stood up for a lack of action.
"The Experiment" eventually took Horwich down and back into some ground-and-pound. At 3:35, the referee stood the fighters yet again. They exchanged strikes and fell into the clinch yet again. Horwich tripped the leg of Soszynski, took him down to the mat and began to pound away in full mount.
Soszynski not liking what Horwich was serving, gave his back and was immediately threatened by a rear-naked choke. But the bell rang and Soszynski survived to fight another round.
Round two began quite differently, this time with Horwich the aggressor and the result, a clinch on the ropes. Horwich hooked the leg taking him down and had Soszynski's back yet again. Wasting no time, Horwich sunk in the rear-naked choke, this time successfully. The ref called the fight at 52 seconds into the second round in favor of Matt "Suave" Horwich.
The second contest of the evening pitted Richard "The Monkey" Nancoo against Jeremy "Lightning" Bolt. Both fighters approached each with caution showing obvious respect for the other skills. A failed takedown attempt from Nancoo landed Bolt in his half guard. Nancoo saw an opening and began to work with Bolt trying his best on the other end. Both fighters scrambled to better their position, however in the end Nancoo found himself on the receiving end of a brief but brutal ground-and-pound.
Another scramble ensued and Nancoo worked to secure a kneebar to no avail. The fighters are eventually stood up. Nancoo immediately shot for the leg and got the takedown. Both fighters struggled for position, with Bolt landing himself in the half guard landing a right just before the bell.
Round two opened with Nancoo throwing low leg kicks. After several exchanges and a stalemate on the ground, both fighters were restarted on the their feet. Another brief flurry and the fighters found themselves in the clinch. While working a guillotine, Nancoo began to climb the ropes and was slammed to the mat. For his efforts however, Bolt found himself on the receiving of end of a triangle, forcing the Indiana native to tap at 2:58 of the second round.
First up on the under card saw Craig "Farmer" Brown from Kemptville, Ontario, Canada collided with Ricardeau "Long Play" Francois. From the start, Brown was the obvious aggressor, pushing Francois into the ropes and tying up his arms for of the first of many clinches.
Near the middle of the first, Francois landed a right causing Brown's nose to open up. Francois managed a takedown, finding himself in the half guard and eventually full. He went to work on his ground-and-pound skills but the Farmer twisted out. Francois continued his constant hammering tactics, but to no avail. The bell rings.
Round two began much the same with Brown the aggressor. The two men exchanged a flurry of strikes, ending in the now familiar clinch. The two fighters exchanged knees and punches and momentum had clearly shifted The Farmer’s way.
The two worked their way across the ropes, chopping away between clinches and body-work. Brown found an opening and took full advantage of it, planting a firm right uppercut to Francois' chin. Brown earned the victory by knockout at 1:38 of round two.
Overall, the event was enjoyable to say the least. All fights had merit and while there were those that went an unexpected way, and those that may have disappointed some, it does point out one critical truth regarding mixed martial arts as a sport: anything can happen, and often does.
Nowhere else in sports can you find competition, skill, spirit and heart put to a greater test than in the mixed martial arts arena. And nowhere else have I ever seen more camaraderie amongst combatants than in this particular genre of fighting. I believe it speaks to the quality of character that each and every one of these combatants possesses. From the sound of the crowd, they agree with me.