LAS VEGAS -- Vernon "Tiger" White almost didn't make it to work on Saturday night. Earlier in the morning, his wife went into labor and the grizzled mixed martial arts veteran remained in the hospital for the vast majority of the day. After the birth of his son, White made a mad dash across town to punch his time card.
Neither combatant took the initiative to seize control and instead opted to throw one punch or kick at a time. Boos littered the XFA ring from the midway point of the opening frame and -- save for brief, sparse, exchange of strikes that missed their marks -- the civil unrest from the stands never ceased.
Neither fighter was ever in danger of being dropped or stopped, though White did press the issue a bit more than Brown. "Tiger" also landed the lion's share of punches and leg kicks and said activity allowed him to garner the victory. He won it via tallies of 30-27 and 29-28 (twice).
The featured attraction between a kickbxing veteran and a man who has locked horns with Chuck Liddell (Pictures) and Remy Bonjasky left much to be desired, but it was a fitting end to an otherwise unspectacular night of action inside the Cox Pavilion. The passivity between White and Brown was the perfect thud of an ending to a borderline dud of a card.
Forrest Griffin (Pictures)'s assistant coach on this season of The Ultimate Fighter, Mark Beecher, was overwhelmed by undefeated Canuck Muay Thai practitioner Mark Holst (Pictures). Beecher was knocked down twice in the first stanza, but he was taken off his feet on several occasions. Finally, after absorbing too many strikes while trapped in a neutral corner, Beecher was rescued from referee Steve Mazzagatti. The official time of the TKO came at 1:03 of the second.
Shawn Yarborough landed a knee onto the face of Josh Hancock early in the first round. The strike floored Hancock and when he climbed back up to his feet, he backed up into a neutral corner and quit. The official time of the TKO was :54 of the first.
In other action, David Smith (Pictures) scored a second round TKO over Marcy Menchaca, Kevin Ross manhandled Travis Garlits to earn a unanimous decision win, Catia Vitoria outworked Lynn Alvarez (Pictures) over three rounds to capture a unanimous decision, Amy Davis unanimously defeated Jodie Esquibel, Douglas Edwards out-pointed Jack Thames over three rounds and Miriam Nakamoto scored a unanimous nod over Sally Krumdiak (Pictures).