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Ring Of Fire 11: Bring It On ! Recap
January
10, 2004
Jason Martinez here, coming to you from Castle Rock, Colorado, where Sven Bean has sold out the Douglas County Event Center with Ring Of Fire 11"BRING IT ON". Always improving, Sven broke ground by getting MMA/NHB sanctioned in Colorado, and to hold the first sanctioned event in Colorado. Now, with show number eleven, our main event would be for an ISKA World Title, another first for Colorado.
With the tragic loss of Alex Gong in 2003, his belts were relinquished, and returned to there respective organizations through out the world. Now with the opening of the New Year, Colorado had the chance to witness Sitprapom Malapaiet, one of Thailand’s most decorated Muay Thai fighters, take on Denver’s own, Duane "BANG" Ludwig. Duane needs no introduction, as 2003 was a break through year for him, defeating Jens Pulver, which opened the doors to the UFC. Not to take away from this tremendous card lets start from the beginning...
For the night we would see thirteen bouts - 7 amateur (3 standup, 4 MMA), and 6 Professional (3 standup, 3MMA).
Gabe Beauperthy returned as the ref for Pro MMA, and none other than Cecil Peoples was ref for the stand up. To my surprise, the first face I see when I enter the building... "EL GUAPO"... Bas Rutten! This was a big plus as I have not talked with Bas in a while. Nate Marquardt was in attendance with his new team from Pitt's Academy where he will open his first school, High Altitude Martial Arts, on January 24th. For info on the free seminar that day call, (720) 404-7744. Mike Van Arsdale was in attendance. Mike came representing Bloodline Fight Team from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Be on the look out for Bloodline, as the foundation is set, we will see fighters from this stable push the limits for 2004!!! Pat Smith was in the crowd, he is looking good for his up and coming fight in King Of The Cage.
The first match was under K-1 rules, 3x2min rounds for our amateur standup. Eric Kusevick was our first fighter from Winklejohn's AKKA, in Abq. NM. Across the ring was Mike Baldwin from Team Freedom Fighters in Golden, CO. This fight was a one sided affair as Mike exploded all over Eric with flurries of punches, kicks, as well as knees from the clinch. At 1:21 of the first round, Mike let loose a right punch, left high kick to the head, and a crushing right kick to the gut as Eric went down for the count.
Hung Than would be the first fighter out of Pitt's Academy taking on Ben Lowery from Colorado BJJ in an MMA match which were 3x2min rounds. We start with a basic feel out, Ben getting the takedown. Hung controls hips with a butterfly guard, which he switches to an arm bar attempt. Ben shrugging the submission, presses for shots in the guard. Hung again locks in an arm bar, Ben slams out and gets back to his feet. At rounds end, Ben lands a left, right punch followed with a left high kick to the head. Round 2, Hung shoots and is reversed to land in 1/2 guard. A standup from the ref and another Hung Shoot. This time, Ben sprawls and both trade combos. Third standup, Ben begins to punish Hung on there feet. Hung shoots, unable to get the takedown, he rolls into guard. Third round, Hung again shoots, then rolls to guard. At :35 of the 3rd. rd. Ben ends the match by slamming his chest/shoulder into Hung's face until the tapout.
Sarah Ponce came from Houston Kickboxing to take on 3-D's Carla Lopez. This would be a modified Muay Thai rules match. The 1st. rd. was about even with Carla throwing better punches, while Sarah controlled the clinch with knees to the body. The second round is where the action picked up! Both ladies connect with flurries of punches and kicks, Carla finding good angles, but Sarah still controlled the clinch. 3rd. round, Carla looks to be feeling the effect of the knees to the body, as she looks to be winded. Into a clinch against the ropes, has Carla scoring good strikes. At 32 seconds, Sarah pushes out and lands a high right kick to the face of Carla, which ends the fight.
Chee Bates came from Abq., NM. representing Team Fit NHB. Facing Chee, would be Steve Graniery, an Independent fighter, making his debut in MMA from Thorton Co. Steve was all over Chee with three scoop slams in the round. Chee did get Steve's back at one point, but then stood up complaining that he was bitten as the round ended. 2nd. round, Steve is still able to slam Chee into guard twice this round. Chee does manage a triangle with no luck, and has a guillotine choke for the second slam. Unable to advance position, the ref stands the fighters up. Into a clinch, Steve receives a point deduction for kneeing to the head. In the final seconds, Chee explodes with a combo, ending in a kick to the sternum that ends the fight at 2:59 of the 2nd round.
The battle of the Joey's was next in a standup war! Joey Varner represents Pitt's and Joey Guerra was with Freedom Fighters. The 1st. round highlight was Varner driving Guerra to the corner with five consecutive knees in the clinch. Guerra did get his shots in with a few solid strikes. 2nd. rd., Guerra steps up with some over hand rights that have Varner taking a defensive posture for this round. Both men go to their corners looking winded. Final round, Guerra's strikes look sharper but Varner is able to dominate the clinch with more knees and position. This fight ends in a unanimous decision for Joey Varner (30-28, 30-27, 30-27).
Our second fighter from Team Fit NHB was Matt Knaub going against Edward Banks, making his debut for 3-d Martial Arts. This fight quickly went to the ground as Ed pulled guard and Matt went to work. Ed looked a little uncomfortable as Matt gained side mount, all the while keeping Ed busy with strikes. As fast as he found the side, Matt is able to transition to full mount. At 2:05 of the first round, Matt is able to swing into a nice arm bar.
Ali Abdelazizz
Ali Abdelazizz came to the ring representing the Bloodline fight team from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Lalo Maldanado, came from Jackson's West in Abq, NM. For 16 seconds, Ali teed off on Lalo with nothing but right hands until the ref stepped in. Ali comes from Egypt, to train at the Olympic Training Center for Judo. The Gazette Telegraph has been covering Ali for the last three weeks and will be printing an in-depth article in the near future. A quick side note, Peter Lockly is now interning for The Gazette. I cannot wait to see your work in the 'ol home town paper. I hope this is the turning point for MMA/NHB in the mainstream. Thank you Peter, for bringing to life the events that you cover and thank God one of them is MMA!!!
Another fighter from Winklejohn's AKKA was James Martinez who took on impressive up-and-comer Vern Baca from Colorado BJJ. Vern was making his Pro Debut in MMA and from seeing his amateur fights, I could not wait! After throwing a few shots at each other, Vern shoots for a double leg catching a guillotine, James falls into guard. Vern escapes the choke, but position allows James to reverse, with Vern hipping in for guard. Vern attempts two arm bars with James escaping both. Tangling with the ropes, there is a standup. Somewhere in the battle, Vern got clipped in the nose; He was bleeding all over. Into a clinch Vern controlling with underhooks. James pulls guard. At this point there is a ref stop for a doctors check. Everything is a go, Vern gets caught in a second guillotine, James pulls guard. Vern is striking down, James is able to start standing and throws a punch in the process. Vern turning away says, "I have blood in my eye, I can't see!" Unfortunately for Vern, the ref breaks the fight before the argument started, as Vern was not defending himself by turning his back. I think the ref made a good call, he did not hear the argument until after the decision to stop the fight.
Next up was "The Russian Rocket" Leo Pavlushkin. Leo is part of Clarence Thach's 3-D Martial Arts. His opponent was Team Fit NHB's Richard Symonds. Leo was picking his shots, throwing out a right low kick followed by a left, right punch. Rich was scoring with solid low kicks, inside and out. Leo connected again with his combo before the end of the round. 2nd. round, Leo keeping pace, combos with right and left punches, Rich using the ropes to chop at the Russians tree trunk thighs. The end of this round saw both men bleeding from the nose and looking gassed. Rich finally felled Leo in 1:01 of the 3rd. round with continuing chops to the legs.
Hector Monterrey came all the way from San Jose, Costa Rica. With a decent record of 15-4-0, I thought Keith Jardine (Winkljohn'sAKKA) was in for some big trouble as Keith was making his Pro Debut. Keith wasted no time as he looked to run over Hector. Hector was not one to be bullied, as he cracked a few thigh shots off. Into a clinch, the ref breaks due to a stalemate. Hector continues with the better kicks, while Keith sends Hector to the canvass with a sharp left straight. Hector waking up, comes in with a renewed vigor. Now both men go blow for blow as the round ends. 2nd round, Hector begins with a nice power combo, which only seems to piss off Keith. At 1:29 of the 2nd. round, Keith puts Hector down for the count.
Carlos Condit was the final fighter from Team Fit NHB. Carlos has an impressive record of 9-0-0 and was about to face 2x UFC participant Brad Gumm. Brad starts with good shots that looked to have Condit stunned. Condit gets the take down but Brad is able to reverse position. Carlos working for position, gets to his feet. At 1:11 of the first rd. Carlos stuns the crowd by ref stoppage.
Coming back to the Ring Of Fire was Jay Jack who moved to the East coast in 2003. Jay was supposed to face Steve Gomm but due to injury, Donny Raines took Steve's place. Donny is Steve's stable mate at Walt Bayless Combat. In typical Jay fashion, he double leg slams Donny into 1/2 guard. While Donny looks for full guard, Jay is able to get his back. At 1:36, Jay Jack wins via rear naked choke.
Ludwig and Malapaiet
Our Grand Finale was of course Sitprapom Malapaiet and Duane"BANG"Ludwig. I cannot say enough about this fight!!! These two went back and forth for 5x3min. rounds of the best contact sport I've seen! I would be here another hour to detail this fight. All I can say is you have too see this fight. These two gentlemen are at the top of this sport and I cannot wait to see the rematch. Duane won this close fight with scores of 48-47, 48-47, 48.5-47.
I want to thank Sven for letting me cover his event. Questions, comments, or corrections please contact me at... jason4mma@yahoo.com
- From Jason Martinez with a little editing from us (highlights, etc...)
TheFightGame.tv would like to thank Jason Martinez for his great work!
(1/12/04)
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