First fight
Quek Kim hock vs Peter Davis
Round 1
They trade strikes. Peter lands a good spinning kick that staggers Quek. Quek tries to cover up but is pressed against the cage and is barraged by a flurry of knees and punches and the referee quickly steps in to stop the match. A quick and decisive win for Peter Davis.
Result: Peter Davis wins by technical knockout in the first round.
Second fight
Escobar vs Praxedes
Round 1
They run around and trade blows for a while. Praxedes scores a take down but his head is being held by Escobar. Escobar scores elbows from under. Praxedes let's him up and kicks him as he gets up but Escobar counters with a take down and lands in half guard and dominates him. Escobar strikes him to side control but Praxedes manages to squirm out and stand up. Escobar shoots for a takedown and gets it easily. Escobar passes to half guard and quickly passes to mount and pounds on Praxedes. The bell rings as Escobar is raining punches on Praxedes and the first round is over.
Round 2
Escobar quickly shoots for takedown and is stuck against the cage. He foot stomps in Praxedes and accidentally catches him in the groin with a knee. Praxedes is given time to recover. Praxedes recovers and the fight is resumed. Escobar lands a good counter punch and after some striking shoots for a takedown and Praxedes tries to defend with a guillotine. Escobar grinds him with knees and foot stomps. After being in the clinch the referee splits them and Praxedes scores a good overhand punch and knocks Escobar down and mounts him but is quickly sweep. Escobar them takes him down and mounts him and punches him furiously and the round ends
Round 3
Praxedes is quickly taken down and Escobar is striking from half guard. Escobar works a bit and scores an arm triangle and after a few moments Praxedes taps out.
Result: Escobar wins by submission in round 3
Third fight
Mitch Chilson vs AJ Pyro
Round 1
AJ scores a takedown early but Mitch gets up and then scores a takedown of his own. They wrestle on the ground a bit and then stand up again and rushes Mitch against the cage. Mitch scores some strong knees and stuffs a takedown attempt and gets the back and locks in a rear naked choke to get the tapout.
Result: Mitch Chilson wins by rear naked choke in first round.
Fourth fight
Brian Choi vs Arnaud Lepont
(Lepont comes out in some psycho killer getup, hilarious)
Round 1
The fight starts with an all out war with punches. It continues for a long time before Brian takes him down and gets out of a kimura attempt into half guard. Brian works in guard for a long time with small strikes before the ref stands them up but with little time left they stroke for a while before Brian scores a takedown at the last second of the round.
Round 2
They come out and touch gloves and laugh and hug before fighting. They trade again before Brian takes him down and almost takes the back but Lepont gets up and they get pressed up against the cage. They break and strike some more before choi takes him down once more. The striking in this fight is insane and fierce. Choi strikes from inside the guard and Arnaud makes some attempts at a triangle and an armlock but the round ends with Choi on top.
Round 3
Brian scores a heavy right hand right at the start and drops Lepont. He goes in and controls Lepont on the ground. They grapple on the ground and after a struggle Lepont manages to lock in a rear naked choke and gets the tapout major upset from the flow of the fight.
Result: Arnaud Lepont wins in round 3 by rear naked choke.
Fifth fight
Bae young kwon vs Eric Kelly
They start the match throwing hard hands and kicks. Kwon scores a great osotto gari but is immediately reversed and Eric Kelly gets on too but kwon quickly gets out of it and gets Eric's back but Eric escapes. Kwon takes him down again but Eric squirms out once more. They clinch and kwon does another beautiful throw. They grapple and kwon goes for the back again but Eric gets up into kwon's guard. Kwon goes for a triangle but Eric pops out and stands up. Eric lands some nice hits. Kwon jumps in and tries to lock in a guillotine but Eric pops out yet again. The round ends with both Trading strikes with Eric getting the upper hand.
Round 2
They start again with trading hard hard kicks and punches. Kwon scores a takedown again but Eric is too squirmy. Kwon almost gets the back but Kelly gets up and kicks kwon. Kwon scores a takedown and gets the back and works for a choke. Kwon gets a yellow card for elbows to the back of the head. The fight restarts and Eric again continues with really hard kicks. Kwon slips on a kick attempt and Kelly goes in to finish with a RNC but the round ends before he can finish.
Round 3
The round is similar to the previous two. A lot of hard striking before the takedown followed by insane grappling. The fight ends with kwon on top and striking Eric. Judges decide for Eric Kelly.
Result: Eric Kelly wins by unanimous decision.
Ok I'm going to take a break from reporting now because the fights are really exciting and I can't watch while typing.
Woo. I'm back. Glad I took a break from reporting round by round because I really couldn't keep up with the action and the typing at the same time and boy am I glad I choose to pay attention because the fights were EXCITING!
Gregor Gracie vs Adam Kayoom
This fight saw Gregor dominating in the first round. The takedowns were good and the control from the top was great. The second round saw Gregor starting off with more of the same but halfway through it became really obvious that Gregor was exhausted. The end of the second round and the whole of the third round was just Adam Kayoom punching at an exhausted Gracie. If this were scored round by round, it could possibly be Gregor's win but since it is scored as a whole fight I agree with the judges' decision to award the win to Adam Kayoom.
Leandro Issa vs Masakazu Imanari
This was a fight that I was super excited to watch. Having been taught by Leandro Issa at Evolve gym of course I would root for him. At the same time, I'm also a big fan of Imanari and his leg locks so this fight was full of conflicting feelings. I was impressed with Leandro Issa and his smart game plan. He would kick at the legs and strike cleanly and quickly. When he took Imanari down, he played it safe on the ground by striking inside the guard and all the while making sure to take away the angles so Imanari could not escape his hips. At the same time, I was also hoping Imanari would pull some ridiculous leglock miracle move. Oh well, I'm happy with the outcome either way. Decision win for Leandro Issa well deserved. Smart planning by Issa and the team at Evolve.
Zorobabel Moreira vs Roger Huerta
One of the more highly anticipated fights in this fight card, Roger Huerta is a really exciting opponent for Zoro to have. As I've definitely blogged before, Zoro is one of the instructors whose class I attend the most often and therefore I definitely hoped he would win. I even bought his walkout shirt today. Anyways, Zoro's reach advantage was amazing. They weren't kidding when they said "incredible reach". There was even one point in the fight where Zoro was holding Huerta away using an outstretched arm. Also, the soccer kick that ended the fight was EPIC!
Ok... I'm done for tonight. I'm off to sleep now that I've been satisfied with a heapful of wonderful MMA. Oh wait, one more thing. I can't believe Lepont called out Shinya. I really hope they'll match them up and Shinya will pull out some bad-ass submissions on him. The fight between Lepont and Choi wasn't even that one-sided, in fact in my opinion Choi was very close to winning it and just slipped up at the last moment. So I don't really see how Lepont is justified in calling out anyone but I'll be happy to see Shinya submit his ass all over. Woo!
