Cage Rage 10 Report
Cage Rage 10 Report
Pedro Wrobel Feb 27, 2005
Here's another pick that I got wrong, but at least I had the
satisfaction of seeing that everyone else I spoke to made the same
mistake. Andy “The Rock” Costello is a beast, but Daniel Burzotta,
looking soft at just 95-kilograms, put in an unfazed, textbook
performance to tame the fury.
Costello came out strong and aggressive, punching and then taking Burzotta down. The writing was on the wall as Costello started to ground-and-pound, with Burzotta doing a good job of weathering the storm and waiting for Costello to over-commit. It took two attempts but finally Burzotta locked up the arm for the tap at 2:38 of the first round.
Robert “Buzz” Berry bullied the smaller Andy Harby from start to finish.
Harby had his moments but, as a rule, he was the permanent second
best. A big punch put him on the back foot, but the series of
punches that followed it put him out on his feet. The referee
stopped the fight at 2:51 of the first round.
The previous fight was either ugly or extremely slick and professional, depending on your standpoint. Brad “One Punch” Pickett is an excellent showman, entertaining and a great seller of tickets. There were question marks over his game coming into this fight and, unfortunately, Chris “The Freak” Freeborn methodically exposed every single Pickett weakness.
Pickett had his moments—the initial exchange threatened to end with one punch, but once the initial wobble was forgotten, this was Freeborn from start to finish. Pickett showed heart but Freeborn was too good and too experienced, repeatedly taking his opponent down and bloodying him up in between submission attempts.
The ending came at 3:20 of the second round as, with a triangle locked in tight, Freeborn repeatedly threw hammer strikes and elbows at the head of his opponent who was slowly turning red through lack of blood and oxygen. The referee stopped the fight leaving Freeborn to celebrate and Pickett, a mess of blood, beaten and dejected.
The second fastest fight of the night was almost too short to warrant any worthwhile commentary. Dave Lee, representing Ze Marcello BJJ, was just too good for his opponent Ricky Andrews.
Although Andrews was game and came out swinging, his takedown only served to offer up a triangle choke on a plate for the savvy Lee. Andrews tried to slam his way out of it but Lee held on for the inevitable tap out at 0:43 of the first round.
It's hard not to feel bad for Alex de Souza, who only had a day to prepare against his opponent. His fight with Andy Walker was a fairly even affair, with both fighters having their moments.
The first round was probably won by Walker, whose weak ground-and-pound did not hurt de Souza, but positional dominance probably won it for him given that de Souza did not manage much offense beyond a kneebar that he locked at the end of the round (and refused to release as the bell sounded).
The second round was fairly even. Once again, Walker seemed to have the positional dominance, but de Souza always appeared the more likely to finish. De Souza, who looked for a finish, may have edged the third round. However, Walker held on to take the split decision.
Costello came out strong and aggressive, punching and then taking Burzotta down. The writing was on the wall as Costello started to ground-and-pound, with Burzotta doing a good job of weathering the storm and waiting for Costello to over-commit. It took two attempts but finally Burzotta locked up the arm for the tap at 2:38 of the first round.
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The previous fight was either ugly or extremely slick and professional, depending on your standpoint. Brad “One Punch” Pickett is an excellent showman, entertaining and a great seller of tickets. There were question marks over his game coming into this fight and, unfortunately, Chris “The Freak” Freeborn methodically exposed every single Pickett weakness.
The fight was a typical confrontation between a flamboyant striker
who was looking for a big knockout and a savvy, experienced
grappler who wanted to take the fight to the floor. As it happened,
Freeborn was the one who was able to impose his game.
Pickett had his moments—the initial exchange threatened to end with one punch, but once the initial wobble was forgotten, this was Freeborn from start to finish. Pickett showed heart but Freeborn was too good and too experienced, repeatedly taking his opponent down and bloodying him up in between submission attempts.
The ending came at 3:20 of the second round as, with a triangle locked in tight, Freeborn repeatedly threw hammer strikes and elbows at the head of his opponent who was slowly turning red through lack of blood and oxygen. The referee stopped the fight leaving Freeborn to celebrate and Pickett, a mess of blood, beaten and dejected.
The second fastest fight of the night was almost too short to warrant any worthwhile commentary. Dave Lee, representing Ze Marcello BJJ, was just too good for his opponent Ricky Andrews.
Although Andrews was game and came out swinging, his takedown only served to offer up a triangle choke on a plate for the savvy Lee. Andrews tried to slam his way out of it but Lee held on for the inevitable tap out at 0:43 of the first round.
It's hard not to feel bad for Alex de Souza, who only had a day to prepare against his opponent. His fight with Andy Walker was a fairly even affair, with both fighters having their moments.
The first round was probably won by Walker, whose weak ground-and-pound did not hurt de Souza, but positional dominance probably won it for him given that de Souza did not manage much offense beyond a kneebar that he locked at the end of the round (and refused to release as the bell sounded).
The second round was fairly even. Once again, Walker seemed to have the positional dominance, but de Souza always appeared the more likely to finish. De Souza, who looked for a finish, may have edged the third round. However, Walker held on to take the split decision.
