- Once again the format is an 8 man open weight Tournament.
- There is one big difference, there are two fights before the Paper view, the winners of these fights will be used as alternates in case of injurys.
- There are once again two seeds seperated by the draw, they are Steve Jennum and Royce Gracie.
- There is also one other match which is billed as a qualifier for the tournament at UFC 5.
The two unaired prelims were Joe Charles v Kevin Rosier ( from UFC 1) and Marcus Bossett v Eldo Xavier. Charles won with armbar in 14 seconds and Bossett won by knock out after five minutes.
Round 1
Ron Van Clief v Royce Gracie
Clief is the first recognised Master of any Martial Arts to enter the UFC and is also 51 yrs old.
The fight starts with Cleif throwing a front kick, Gracie grabs the kick and quickly takes him down. Gracie then takes the mount and throws rabbit punches to the body trying to soften him up. He then ups the tempo and throws elbows to the head, Cleif gives up his back and is then submitted by the Rear Naked Choke. Clief lasted four minutes but Gracie controlled the whole fight and won easily.
Joe Son v Keith Hackney
Keith Hackney returns after beating the Huge Yarborough at UFC 3. Joe Son is Kimo's right hand man. After Kimo rocked the MMA world with his performance against Gracie could Son have the same impact. Son weighs 234 lbs and is 5ft 4. After his short MMA carear Joe Son played the charcater Random Task in the Austin Powers films.
The fight starts slow before Son takes Hackney down, Son ends up in north south control, as Hackney starts to stand Son sinks in a Guillotine choke, Hackneys responce is a uppercut right to the groin, he is then able to trip Son and end up in Side control. Hackney then throws SIX more punches to the groin. Hackney then grabs Son round the throat with his other hand and gets ready to throw more groin shots. Son taps before he can take any more punishment.
Milton Bowen v Steve Jennum
The returning champion versus Bowen, who stems from professional boxing, his is billed as having 24 ko's in his 37 fights.
Jennum starts the fight wanting to kick, Bowen wants to land with his punches but doesnt want to over commit and be taken to the ground. The first puch throw by Bowen ends with both fighters in the clinch. Jennum backs Bowen up against the cage and slowly takes him down. Jennum ends up in the full mount. Jennum then throws lots of hard punches, Bowen shows a lot of heart and trys to role Jennum off, Jennum uses the cage to balance himself, ( something you are not allowed to do now.) Bowen eventually gets himself to his feet but is quickly taken back down with a Judo throw. Both fighters are exhausted at this stage. Jennum is to tired to throw punches and Bowen is to tired to reverse position. After a failed Americana by Jennum he eventually grabs an arm for the armbar submission after five minutes.
Anthony Macias v Daniel Severn
This is classic striker v grappler. Macias's background is Thai Boxing and Severns background is Wrestling. Severn is seventy pounds heavier then Macias.
Macias starts off the fight using leg kicks, Severn then shoots for a double leg takedown. Macias sprawls and throws elbows to Severns back. And then, the hightlight of the fight, Severn manages to take Macias's back while standing and throws Macias with a belly to back suplex, he keeps hold of Macias stands him up and does it again. As they stand up again Macias shakes his head as he tries to compose himself. Severn then takes him down and works in the Rear Naked Choke for a submission. Severn did not throw any strikes at all during the fight.
Semi Finals
Royce Gracie v Keith Hackney
This could be an interesting fight as Hackney is very simular to Kimo in strength. Could he cause Gracie the same sort of problems.
Gracie looks to shoot, Hackney avoids the attempt and punches Gracie in the face. Gracie then throws a high kick to distract Hackney and shoots in again. Hackney once again avoids the attempt. Hackney is forcing Gracie to stand and fight and he looks really uncomfortable on his feet. Gracie then clinches with Hackney up against the cage. Gracie then knees Hackney in the groin and Hackney responds by once again punching Gracie in the face. That forces Gracie back and Hackney grabs Gracies Gee and starts throwing more punches. to the head and face. Gracies answer is to pull guard and take Hackney down that way, he then tries a quick triangle which Hackney avoids. Hackney is still throwing punches. He stands up and jumps back into the guard landing with one more big punch. Gracie is able to ride out the storm, he attempts the triangle again and then turns that into an armbar and the tired Hackney taps out. A very exciting fight. After such a difficult fight will Gracie be ok for the final?
Daniel Severn v Marcus Bossett
Jennum pulls out due to fatigue. Bossett is a Karate man. He won his alternate match and is entered into the semi finals.
Bossett lands with a beautiful front kick which visible stuns Severn, he then tries for a spinning back kick and Severn ducks under and takes him down. Severn lands in side control and quickly gains the mount, Severn then forces the tap with a head and arm choke.
Open Weight Match
Guy Mezger v Jason Fairn
Fairn is 33-0 in bare knuckle fighting. Mezger is a kick boxer. Both fighters have a pony tail and make a gentlemans agreement not to pull hair during the match.
Both fighters clicnch straight away and then trade knees that look like they land to the groin. Fairn then throws a big right and drops Mezger. As Mezger gets back to his feet Fairn trys to sink in a guillotine. Mezger escapes and then takes Fairn down and wins with ground and pound from the mount.
Final
Daniel Severn v Royce Gracie
This fight looks very interesting. Gracie Ju Jitsu versus a wrestler who out weighs Gracie by Seventy pounds.
They circle each other before Severn shoots and takes Gracie down. Gracie throws a few liver kicks before clsoing the guard. They stay in this position with very little action for fifteen minutes. Severn throws no strikes and tries to work for an arm and head choke. Gracie defends easily. Severn throws a few weak hammer fists. Gracie tries with his legs to work for a triangle or arm bar. As of yet nothing is coming off. Severn starts to sit up and throw strikes, Gracie is patient and relaxed through out. After sixteen minutes Gracie finally sinks in the triangle and Severn submits. Overall a very boring fight with a very dramatic finish.
Gracie regains his title. Once again he has defeated all comers. The competition does seem to be getting harder though.
Bonus Awards
Ko of the night Marcus Bossett v Eldo Xavier
Tapout of the night Royce Gracie v Keith Hackney
Fight of the night Royce Gracie v Keith Hackney
Fighter of the night Royce Gracie
1 comment:
Nice review of a good event, excluding the rather anticlimatic final fight.
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