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Gabe Ruediger was the guy on TUF who begged to be allowed a colonic to help him make weight after eating a cake. And everyone mocked him for a lack of dedication, but in my book willing to have a colonic is extreme dedication
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Aug 2, 2022 11:48
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forkboy84 posted:Gabe Ruediger was the guy on TUF who begged to be allowed a colonic to help him make weight after eating a cake. And everyone mocked him for a lack of dedication, but in my book willing to have a colonic is extreme dedication Also not even the strangest thing in one of my favorite all time TUF seasons.
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Aug 2, 2022 12:27
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Gabe passed out naked on the back deck from cutting weight was also in that season. As was the Andy Wang battle cry.
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Aug 2, 2022 13:07
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Mekchu posted:Gabe passed out naked on the back deck from cutting weight was also in that season. Double KO in the finale too.
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Aug 2, 2022 13:29
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WEC 5: Halloween Havoc is definitely a card worth checking out if only for the awesomely done premise of merging Halloween themed announcers/card girls and MMA. Granted this was held on October 18th and not actually Halloween it still counts.. As noted in WEC 4, this was a step up in the normal production we've seen. We get an intro graphic, which says "Halloween Havoc" but on Tapology its called "Halloween Fury" as well as there being a full YouTube video of the card if you search for it there. Anyway the show kicks off with a spooooooky red color surrounding the arena and the said graphic overlay, and the Halloween theme only marginally ripped off/remixed to avoid copyright issues (with actual dialogue from the movie tossed in) which then kicks into metal music because its early 2000s mma and metal is all you get. The ring girls are in the cage with a cloaked figure in all black. Who could it be?  Also the commentating team are talking about the show and the main anchor says "the show is going by the name Halloween Havoc" and his co-host very blandly says "Oh...I didn't realize that" all while this hooded figure is in the middle of the ring and the Halloween theme/Bodies Hit The Floor remix is playing.  The hooded figure eventually reveals themselves and its Jeff Weller, WEC's in-ring announcer, dressed up like Gene Simmons from KISS. By the way, he keeps the make up on the whole event.  The crowd is so loud on the audio mixing, you can't hear him at all :rofl:. We move, for some reason, to the second match as the first one wasn't on the broadcast I have.  Just for the sake of results, in the Justin Wieman vs Daniel Camarillo match, Wieman def. Camarillo, Decision. Samm Wells vs Gabe Ruediger Rd 1, the fight starts with Gabe going right for a takedown but can't get it and gets the over/under against the cage before getting the takedown and ends up in top halfguard. Wells gets up easy, but Gabe ends up going for a guillotine and Wells slams Gabe onto his back but doesn't escape the submission. Gabe gives up after a bit and just holds guard. Wells doesn't seem to work much from the guard and after some time they're stood up. Gabe throws a weak kick and eats a counter punch down the middle, then follows up with his own right but also eats a punch, then finally throws another low telegraphed kick and eats a third punch down the middle and it drops him. As soon as he hits the ground, Gabe looks at the referee and the fight is called. Samm Wells def. Gabe Ruediger, KO So, again for reasons that I can't really figure out we are missing another fight from this broadcast I'm watching. We're missing the Gilbert Melendez vs Gary Quan and the Alex Khanbabian vs Alex Chu Kung fights. They were, supposedly, on after the Wells/Ruediger fight. This was the professional debut for Melendez too. Melendez def. Quan, KO/TKO (Rd 1) and Alex Khanbabian def Alex Chu Kung, KO/TKO (Rd 1). Chris Mooney vs Diallo Baza OK so here's a bit of a weird thing. Either the guy's name is Mooney like Tapology & Wikipedia say, or its Moody like the graphic on the broadcast says. Rd 1, Mooney gets an immediate takedown and slams Baza into the fence (which looks like it was about to give way). Baza plays open guard while he is being pushed up against the fence but wall walks up and transitions to a double underhook into his own takedown. Mooney stands up and gets his own double leg takedown into Baza's open guard. Baza works his way up and gets defense against Mooney's takedown attempts. Eventually Mooney does get another takedown and ends up in guard again. This leads to a bit of a stall (Mooney seems unsure how to pass the guard, or is at least unwilling). Mooney then immediately goes for a takedown again with Baza sprawling. Mooney is, seemingly, more fatigued/slower moving than Baza. The round ends with the two in a sprawled position. 10-9 Mooney, solely for the takedowns because that's all that happened Between rounds the commentator says "I don't know the records of these two guys" which made me laugh for some reason. Like the dude is being paid to commentate the fights, why can't you just ask around? Rd 2, Mooney seems much slower as Baza gets double underhooks and gets his own takedown to straight full mount. From there Baza throws punches to which Mooney gives up his back and Baza takes the back and locks in a rear naked choke. Mooney seems to not be doing much to prevent it. After some time, Mooney rolls to his belly, so Baza sits up from top back mount and throws punches leading to the stoppage. Diallo Baza def. Chris Mooney, TKO Tim Kennedy vs Mack Brewer Rd 1, Mack Brewer is the much pudgier fighter of the two. The fight starts off with Brewer going for a swinging hook which Kennedy ducks under and gets a body lock which leads to a slam. Upon landing Kenney finds himself in a guillotine but its not a tight one nor that dangerous. Kennedy is able to get out and ends up in top side mount and throws elboes and punches forcing Mack to his belly and Kennedy wins throwing punches from the top back. Tim Kennedy def. Mack Brewer, TKO On the commentary there was some discussion about how they saw Brewer drinking a beer or two a few hours before the fight or so. Which...yeah that's early 2000s MMA for you. Victor Estrada vs Rich Crunkilton Rd 1, Rich gets dropped right away by Estrada. As soon as he stands up Estrada gets a guillotine and Rich slams him. Then rich stands up, walks to the fence and grabs it for balance lest me fall backwards in plain sight of the referee who stops him.  Rich then slams Estrada down again. Estrada then transitions to an armbar. Keep in mind Estrada is 1-6 going into this fight, and Rich is 10-0. If Estrada wins, this is a huge upset. Rich escapes and the two end up standing with Estrada initiating a clinch which leads to Rich getting a hip throw. Estrada immediately screams and rolls over which leads to the referee to step in and stop the fight. Rich Crunkilton def. Victor Estrada, TKO Later it turns out that Estrada was tapping due to an ankle injury of some sort that he got. I can't quite tell where but it probably was from the hip throw though maybe it started with the guard he had while going with the guillotine. Imagine him getting that KO win over Rich Crunkilton from the start. That would've been wild. Antonio Banuelos vs Jeff Bedard This is Jeff Bedard's debut and he is also nicknamed "Lil Popeye" so you just keep that in mind for future usage. This is also a Featherweight fight which is also the co-main. Comically one of the commentators goes "Have you ever noticed how many guys have their names tattooed on themselves?" Rd 1, The fight starts with Bedard going for a takedown and getting it ending up in top halfguard. Antonio works his way up to his knees but Bedard gets a tightfront headlock/guillotine choke and instantly makes Antonio tap. Antonio then runs out of the cage for some reason before the result is read. Jeff Bedard def. Antonion Banuelos, Submission Before we get to the main event we get a weird green screen promo by a ring girl in front of a graphic that reads BadBreed.TV (which is now a dead website). What is BadBreedTV? Well their website has this to day. Bad Breed TV is a new breed of interactive television and DVD entertainment. Bad Breed TV is a radical departure from the usual homogenized garbage found on Television - Bad Breed TV is RAW and REAL. Bad Breed TV is an interactive DVD magazine, with creative contributors from around the world. Every issue of Bad Breed TV is packed full of hard hitting extreme lifestyles, hardcore sports, hardcore music, hot women, horsepower and bad attitude. AKA its WorldStarHipHop/BumFights/StreetBeefs in the early 2000s. Let's move on to the main event. Cole Escovedo vs Philip Perez (For the Inaugural WEC Featherweight Championship) There is a lot of talk/build up about a lot of bad blood between the two of them. Escovedo comes out wearing in his BJJ gi repping a blue belt (early 2000s!). Philip Perez comes out with one of his MMA title belts (not sure which one as he doesn't have any title belts on his Tapology page so I assume its a regional organization belt). Also during his introductions, Jeff Weller (the in-ring announcers dressed as Gene Simmons) has fake blood coming out of his mouth. Rd 1, The fight starts with Cole throwing a jab and dropping Perez. Perez then goes for a takedown and gets into Cole's guard. Cole shoots for a triangle but gets stopped. So from there Perez starts to try and ground and point while Cole is working for better positioning. Cole gets an armbar attempt but it is defended with Perez ending back in guard. A scramble happens with Cole getting on top and is in top side mount. Perez tries for an armbar but Cole gets out and they are back to standing. Cole throws a big headkick and dazes Perez. Perez shoots straight for a takedown which Cole gets a guard defense going. Cole then works in a triangle choke and makes Perez tap quickly. Cole Escovedo def. Philip Perez, Submission The first ever WEC Featherweight Champion is crowned! This was a really good card. Production stepped up, the fights were good and engaging and weren't weird (except for Kennedy/Brewer). As this was the last event of 2002, let's look at the reigning champions after 18 months or so of WEC action across 5 events. Lightweight - Kurt Pellegrino Featherweight - Cole Escovedo Mekchu fucked around with this message at 12:00 on Aug 7, 2022 |
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Aug 7, 2022 11:54
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Tim Kennedy, best known for having a win over Robbie Lawler and being in that controversial Yoel Romero match in the UFC. edit: In November is UFC 40, which of course was a massive PPV at the time and if you watched WEC 5 you probably also saw UFC 40. November and December also saw two massive Pride shows (Pride Never Die) including Fedor, Big Nog, Little Nog, Wanderlei, Sakuraba, Hendo and Overeem. Jesus those cards would probably draw today lmao. algebra testes fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Aug 7, 2022 |
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Aug 7, 2022 13:16
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Moving right along to WEC 6: Return of a Legend (held on March 27, 2003) we finally get a promotional poster to look at! Plus there are two title fights. One featuring Frank Shamrock making his WEC debut, and one featuring a young Nick Diaz. Also on the card is Shonie Carter, Jeremy Jackson, Mike Swick, Gilbert Melendez, and that's about it for notable names that I recognize. Frank Shamrock vs. Bryan Pardoe for the Vacant WEC Light Heavyweight Championship Chris Williams vs Gil Castillo Jeremy Jackson vs. Shonie Carter Levi Thornbrue vs. Brian Stromberg Nick Diaz vs. Joe Hurley for the Vacant WEC Welterweight Championship Gilbert Melendez vs. Jeff Hougland Kengo Ura vs. Mike Swick Bret Bergmark vs. Brodie Farber Brandon Wolff vs. Hannibal Adofo Tim McKenzie vs. John Appleby Doug Evans vs. Ed Wedding Chris Sanford vs. Jack Cardenas Poppies Martinez vs. Erick Husbands Carlos Cordero vs. Steve Cutler
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Aug 9, 2022 02:22
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Here comes a special boy!!!!! Spoiler he only has one fight in WEC.
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Aug 9, 2022 04:30
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You covered a lot of what I noted down while I was watching WEC 5. Diallo Baza did several grounded knees to the head, I think, but the shot framing was such that it was difficult to see where they landed. Ref did not say anything. Tim Kennedy won by classic MMA strategy "punch the brain stem 4 times and the ref says it's legal and gives you a TKO" Commentary was clearly recorded in a studio after the show was edited to tape, and per the Youtube comments the lead commentator Mike Popp was operating one of the cameras so you can see him on screen while he's doing commentary. No coverage in the Observer. I'm hoping eventually Dave covers or attends one of these shows before the Zuffa purchase, but maybe he won't. First fight (not on tape) winner Justin "Shaggy" Wieman has a win over the legend Jay Ellis in Jay Ellis's MMA debut. Yes, THE Jay Ellis that is currently 16-105. Gabe "Godzilla" Ruediger gets a rematch with Sam "Nico" Wells 3 years lator on the WEC Halloween Fury 4 show. Victor Estrada was 1-6 when they forced him to fight Richard "Cleat" Crunkilton. He finished his career 5-12 and lost to a lot of famous names: Antonio McKee, Josh Thomson, Leonard Garcia, Melvin Guillard, and Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm. Philip Perez really has that " Team Fresno! " tattoo on his chest, WITH the quotes!  Excited to Mr. International Shonie Carter in WEC. "Poppies Martinez vs. Erick Husbands" is a top-tier MMA fighter name battle. EDIT: Oh, I ripped the opening in case you don't wanna watch the whole show but do got 2 minutes to see something amazing https://twitter.com/Boco_T/status/1557024587648536576 Boco_T fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Aug 9, 2022 |
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Aug 9, 2022 18:01
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Poppies Martinez, there's a name I recognise from watching Tachi Palace shows streamed on the Sherdog website in the days when TPF was the place to go to watch to watch Flyweights that wasn't in Japan. I apparently still remember far too many little things from MMA watching days. Despite the fact I was staying up until 5am to watch regional MMA & sometimes would wake up the next day & not even remember who won the main event of shows.
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Aug 9, 2022 18:43
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Boco_T posted:Commentary was clearly recorded in a studio after the show was edited to tape, and per the Youtube comments the lead commentator Mike Popp was operating one of the cameras so you can see him on screen while he's doing commentary. Yeah it seemed very weird with the audio mixing but wasn't 100% sure.
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Aug 10, 2022 04:10
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It's been a while and I apologize. I'm going to try and catch up on the 4 to 5 weeks of events I was meant to have posted about in a shorter period of time. Let's get started with WEC 6: A Legend Returns. WEC has been slowly building up its production and match value and its way less awkward and clunky as compared to the early UFC's though it is also like 10 years after UFC started so there's that to consider. The opening montage/hype up is basically on par with UFC's gladiator montage bit and was clearly done in post-production after the event (probably for TV or for DVD sales). It works and helps make the show seem improved from the parking lot days of WEC 1. They even throw in interviews after the event with the fighters between the bouts so that's neat as well. Commentators are back actually at the event with Jeff Blatnick talking up the card. I think he is really good as a commentator if a bit dry in personality. The broadcast skips the Carlos Cordero vs Steve Cutler fight, but to add some context for any later usage, Cordero wins in about half a round with an armbar. Poppies Martinez vs Erick Husbands (Lightweight) First off, Poppies Martinez is a stupidly great name. Both guys are making professional debuts with Husbands being an active duty military guy. Rd 1, The round starts and quickly get into a boxing exchange and Husbands goes down off a short little flurry of punches with zero defense by Husbands. Poppies Martinez def. Erick Husbands, KO Rd1 Chris Sanford vs Jack Cardenas (Middleweight) We all remember Sanford from WEC 1 who won with that sorta weak looking punch right? Well he's back and is facing Cardenas who was at WEC 3. Rd 1, Cardenas has a huge reach advantage and clipss and rocks Sanford early and takes him down. Sanford sits up and gets caught in a guillotine but Cardenas lets it go and they both get up and scramble with Sanford ending in full mount and rains down punches. Cardenas gets up and out but immediately is in a guillotine that turns into a sweep and Sanford is back on top. Cardenas pushes up with his arms and finally sweeps so that he is in Sanfords guard but loses the position and ends up in bottom mount again. Cardenas gets beaten up before Sanford switches to an armbar and gets the submission win. This was a fun lower skilled MMA fight. Chris Sanford def. Jack Cardenas, Submission Rd1 Doug Evans vs Ed Wedding (Lightweight) Rd 1, Wedding starts off with some good leg kicks but Evans catches it and takes him down. Wedding escapes and gets back to standing with the two clinched against the cage. From the clinch Evans gets another take down into side mount but Wedding works back to butterfly guard. Evan disengages and the two are back to standing. Evans eats more kicks and then gets a take down into top half guard. Weddings gets guard but Evans tries to do a big slam but nothing really happens off of it. Evans is tied up by Wedding but when Evans explodes to stand up, Wedding trips him and gets top side mount. Wedding eventually spins around to an armbar with Evans tapping very quickly. Ed Wedding def. Doug Evans, Submission Rd 1 Bret Bergmark vs Brodie Farber (Middleweight) We skipped ahead to this fight for some reason but probably because of pacing on the DVD? Who knows. Rd 1, Bergmark takes Farber down rather quickly and works to mount. Farber is able to sweep and get into guard but is pushed off by Bergmark. Farber gets Bergmark caught in a guillotine but its not tight so Bergmark works out of it and gets mount. Bergmark sits up and traps an arm with his leg and just throws tons of punches down leading to the stoppage. Bret Bergmark def. Brodie Farber, KO/TKO Rd 1 Kengo Ura vs Mike Swick (Middleweight) We have the first of the truly international fights so far with Kongo Ura coming over from Japan for his pro MMA debut. Ura seems to fight a lot of his early career in the US so maybe its just more of a marketing thing. Rd 1, Swick looks slick on his feet despite the reported knee injury he had going into this. Ura throwing more boxing combinations in response to Swick's kicks. Ura catches a kick and gets the take down. Swick swings into a pretty tight looking armbar that Ura slips out of and gets top side mount before trying for a kimura of his own. Swick works up off his back and gets top side mount position with Ura still holding onto the arm. The round ends as Swick escapes the hold and stands up throwing leg kicks on a seated Ura. 10-9 Ura, take downs did it for him. Rd 2, A solid combination from Ura to start the round. Ura catches a low kick by Swick and rocks him a bit before pushing him up against the fence. Ura lets himself get caught in a guillotine position while tring to get a take down which he gets and pops his head out of the hold. Swick very clearly grabbed the fence on that one which is always comical. Ura starts to throw punches from top mount but Swick kicks off the cage and gets up and the two end up clinching again. Ura tries for another take down but ends up in bottom mount with Swick laying into him. He gets a top triangle position and throws punches but Ura slithers out and gets into Swick's guard while laying in punches to end the round. 10-9 Ura, take downs did it again. Rd 3, Swick looks a bit slower than he did at the start. Ura comes in to clinch/shoot for a take down but eats a knee from Swick and it knocks Ura out cold.  That is a pretty nice knee. Mike Swick def. Kengo Ura, KO/TKO Rd 3  We get a Bill Goldberg appearance! He talks up the main event and about how he loves MMA. Goldberg is asked how he'd do against Tito Ortiz if they were to have a fight, which Goldberg answers nicely but what's that hopping over the fence?!?!?!?  A WILD TITO HAS APPEARED! This was when Tito was the UFC LHW Champion and was angling for a rematch against Frank, but never got it. Goldberg & Tito are chatting nicely about each other, but Tito is demanding more money for his fights and it is comical that in 2003 this was a point of contention between fighters and the UFC. Tito is actually speaking well here, so I have to say his overall decline in ability to speak is head trauma related  Gilbert Melendez vs Jeff Hougland (Lightweight) Gilbert is, in all honesty, fighting in what looks to be swim trunks.  Rd 1, The fight starts off with Gilbert landing a night right. He then scores a quick and easy takedown on Jeff but ends up in guard. The majority of the round is Gilbert on top in mount or half guard working hard. 10-9 Melendez, he did more work and had the better positioning Rd 2, The round starts and Hougland gets a take down and ends up in Melendez's guard. Gilbert escapes and gets his own takedown and just rains down punches on Hougland to end the fight. Gilbert Melendez def. Jeff Hougland, KO/TKO Nick Diaz vs Joe Hurley for the Vacant WEC Welterweight Championship (also called the IFC US Welterweight Championship) Hurley's hair is very much in the Hugh Jackman as Wolverine style. Except he can't pull it off as well as Jackman.  Rd 1, Diaz clips Hurley early and drops him. Hurley gets up and Diaz clinches and very clearly is grabbing the fence to stop Hurley from getting a better position. Diaz gets the takedown and ends up on top. Diaz passes to side control and locks in a kimura and gets a quick tap. You can see the arm pop/snap and immediately afterwards Diaz looks visibly concerned/worried for hurting Hurley.  Nick Diaz def. Joe Hurley, Submission Rd 1 and NEW WEC Welterweight Champion  Levi Thornbrue vs Brian Stromberg (Heavyweight) Randy Couture is cornering Stromberg in this fight. So that's kinda cool. Rd 1, The fight starts with the two throwing really sloppy kicks and punches. Of the two Thornbrue looks the more awkward but even Stromberg looks not comfortable throwing punches himself. Stromberg gets the takedown and from half guard is working for position while throwing strong punches from the top. After trapping an arm, Stromberg throws some punches and just makes Thornbrue tap. Brian Stromberg def. Levi Thornbrue, KO/TKO Rd 1 Jeremy Jackson vs Shonie Carter (Welterweight) Jackson comes out with his own IFC looking title, which one they don't necessarily clarify which it is, but do mention he had a win over Nick Diaz a few months prior. Rd 1, The fight starts standing and the two seem a bit tentative to engage fully with more peppering shots coming in from time to time. Jackson seems to use his reach a bit better and the first round ends with the two not overly engaged. 10-9 Jackson, it's hard to really give it to either guy. Rd 2, The first half of the round is much of the same. However off a spinning heel kick into spinning backfist by Carter, Jackson chases him down and gets taken down by Carter. Jackson breaks away and scores a lot of punches from the clinch. Shonie goes for two back to back spinning backfists and doesn't quite connect and does a desperation take down to avoid more damage. 10-9 Jackson, more action and damage landed by Jackson. Rd 3, Back to a more tentative pace. Carter gets a takedown and Jackson does a lot to avoid his progression and keeps him in guard. Jackson gets up and the two exchange more with Carter trying what he can to get a take down and eating punches for it. Jackson is getting the better of Carter in these exchanges but Carter gets the clinch and a takedown. 10-9 Jackson, more damage landed and clearly had Carter hurt. Jeremy Jackson def. Shonie Carter, Unanimous Decision Chris Williams vs Gil Castillo (Middleweight) Rd 1, After a bit of a feeling out, Castillo gets a take down and sits in Williams' guard and lands some hard punches opening Williams up. Herb Dean starts the fight to have the doctor look at it before resuming the fight. Williams eats a hard left by Castillo and shoots for a take down in desperation. Castillo stops it and lands more punches rocking Williams more. Castillo gets Williams up against the fence and takes him down. Castillo gets mount and just finishes the round landing hard punches. 10-8 Castillo, easily smothered and overwhelmed Williams Between rounds Williams' corner tells the referee he's done and the fight is over. Gil Castillo def. Chris Williams, KO/TKO (Corner Stoppage) Rd1 Frank Shamrock vs Bryan Pardoe for the Vacant WEC Light Heavyweight Championship Rd 1, Pardoe gets a solid punch in on Shamrock but clearly doesn't have much in the way of striking skills. He trips and tries to turn that into a take down on Frank who defends it. However, Pardoe gets it eventually and ends up in top half guard. Shamrock gets to guard and then controls Pardoe's ability to posturel and land punches. Shamrock gets in an armbar from bottom guard and submits Pardoe quickly. Frank Shamrock def. Bryan Paroe, Submission Rd 1 NEW WEC Light Heavyweight Champion This was a really good card in general. Production stepped up, the fights were good entertaining. However at the upper end of the card there was some notable mismatches with the main event being the most notable. Having a guy who is 20-7 take on a guy who is 5-2 is a huge red flag. I know Frank left UFC in favor of "finding better competition" but this was not that. Here are, at the time, the WEC Champions: Light Heavyweight - Frank Shamrock Welterweight - Nick Diaz Lightweight - Kurt Pellegrino Featherweight - Cole Escovedo Mekchu fucked around with this message at 11:55 on Sep 6, 2022 |
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Sep 6, 2022 08:54
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Here's a bunch of notes I took like when I watched WEC 6 a few weeks back: - File started with a highlight of the show you're about to watch. Ryan Bennett and Jeff Blatnick on commentary made a pretty good team. Video is fullscreen letterboxed, but the video quality is tremendous for a video of this age - Herb Dean is here in March 2003 - Poppies Martinez, making his debut here, has the nickname "Tachi Kid" and it looks like he fought about 30 of his 40 career MMA fights in the Tachi Palace. - Sanford vs. Cardenas whips rear end - First WEC show with an on-screen clock graphic (occasionally) - Bret "The Angry Hick" Bergmark retired from rodeo to start MMA - Ura vs. Swick very good fight - Kengo Ura's pro debut here in 2003, he fought long enough to lose to Frank "The Crank" Camacho in Guam in 2015. - Late Replacement Gilbert - Nick Diaz fight is for the IFC United States Welterweight Championship - "The Irisman" Joe Hurley fought on the legendary King of the Cage "Wet 'n' Wild" show in the rain - Carter vs. Jackson very good fight - Jeremy Jackson goes on to fight Nick Diaz in the IFC in July 2003 then fights him again at UFC 44 2 months later in September 2003. - On-screen graphic had it as Castillo (17-2) vs. Williams (0-0), which is insane, but Tapology pegs it at actually being (6-2) vs. (0-1). Which is not much better. Dave Meltzer did report on this show, because he attended it! Dynamite Dave posted:MMA: Frank Shamrock's first MMA match since December 2000 (he did one K-1 match in 2001) took place on a show called "Return of a Legend" on 3/27 in Lemoore, CA before a sellout 2,500 fans. Shamrock, who only has one MMA rules loss in his career (a 1996 match with John Lober), captured the World Extreme Cage Fighting championship with a win over Brian Pardoe. Pardoe clocked Shamrock right in the nose within seconds, bloodying him up. Pardoe was ground and pounding him until Shamrock's skill took over and he swept Pardoe almost out of nowhere and locked in an armbar in 1:46. Pardoe was a former college wrestling teammate of former WWE wrestler Ron Waterman.
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Sep 6, 2022 13:19
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"I thought that was a "Smackdown was good, but this fake fight was better" but looking at that card it's probably that Smackdown was very bad and even the crappy worked shoot was better than all but Eddie Guerrero v Charlie Haas. Any reason why Nick Diaz never came back that we know of? Also as usual the Pride show a week earlier was completely loving stacked lol.
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Sep 6, 2022 13:33
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algebra testes posted:"I thought that was a "Smackdown was good, but this fake fight was better" but looking at that card it's probably that Smackdown was very bad and even the crappy worked shoot was better than all but Eddie Guerrero v Charlie Haas. He signed a contract with UFC after this fight and left WEC as UFC has exclusivity clauses in their fighter contracts. This fight was in March, he had a fight in the IFC in July and by September he was in the UFC. Comically both his next two fights were against Jeremy Jackson who he had lost to and he walloped him. Mekchu fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Sep 6, 2022 |
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Sep 6, 2022 14:33
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I'm going to try and get WEC 7: This Time It's Personal written up by Friday and then WEC 8: Halloween Fury 2 by Sunday because of how bad the MMA cards look. Here's a quick preview of the WEC 7 card Ron Waterman vs James Nevarez - For the WEC Super Heavyweight Championship Don Rugebreght vs Tony Alanis - Welterweight Wander Braga vs Nick Ertl - (who knows what weight it is) Shonie Carter vs Dax Bruce - For the vacant WEC Welterweight Championship Boyd Ballard vs Abraham Baxter - Light Heavyweight Olaf Alfonso vs Randy Spence - Lightweight J.T. Taylor vs Ryan Schultz - Welterweight Jason Von Flue vs Nick Gilardi - Welterweight Anthony Arria vs Levi Thornbrue - Heavyweight Poppies Martinez vs Johnny Fadella - Middleweight Jorge Evangelista vs Gary Quan - Featherweight Gabe Ruediger vs Carlos Cordero - Lightweight Michael Brown vs John Letters - Middleweight
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Sep 6, 2022 16:22
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Olaf Alfonso, the legend
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Sep 6, 2022 17:16
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For WEC 7: This Time It's Personal we see a marked drop in the production value of the event. I assume this is because Shamrock and people he knows aren't involved with the production. Oh well let's watch this event! Before each fight there's a mini pre-fight interview/hype up that was done in post. Michael Brown vs John Letters (Middleweight) Rd 1, The round starts and Brown is very bouncy and goes for a swinging overhand with Letters shooting immediately. Brown gets a big knee off the sprawl, which leads to a wild punch that clips Letters and drops him. Brown seems to think the fight is over off that but Josh Rosenthal doesn't call it. So Brown goes back but Letters recovers and stands up. Brown gets double underhooks and suplexes Letters back to the mat. Brown ends up in a headlock and struggles to get out of it while Letters is leaking blood all over the mat. Brown getrs out of the headlock and sinks in a rear naked choke for the tap. Letters notes is busted wide open and gushing blood as he stands and Brown is just bouncing around. Michael Brown def. John Letters, Submission Rd 1 Gabe Ruediger vs Carlos Cordero (Lightweight) Ruediger's pre-fight hype up interview is of him wearing a luchador mask, which he also wears as part of his walkout.   Rd 1, The two clinch immediately and Cordero pulls guard. Ruediger passes easily and gets north south position before going to side. Cordero gets guard but Ruediger tries for an arm triangle choke from inside guard. Ruediger walks him and pins him against the cage before posturing up and pasing the guard and getting full mount landing punches from the top. Cordero mounts zero defense and Josh Rosenthal calls the fight. Gabe Ruediger def. Carlos Cordero, KO/TKO Rd 1 Jorge Evangelista vs Gary Quan (Featherweight) Rd 1, The two kick off the fight with a fast flurry before Jorge clinches and pushes Quan against the fence. Jorge gets the take down and Quan gets a desperation headlock while Jorge works to halfguard. After a lack of action Herb Dean stands them up and they slug it out with Jorge then clinching Quan against the fence. Quan then goes for a rolling kneebar but Jorge defends it well and lands punches from the top. Quan then works in a heel hook but Jorge escapes it without much fuss. Quan lets Jorge get past his guard and into side control landing plunches all over Quan. Quan gets half guar dbut takes a bunch of punches before Herb pulls them apart and you can see Quan in serious pain. The video cuts to the post-fight announcement. There was a doctor's stoppage for Quan getting an injured shoulder it seems. Jorge Evangelista def. Gary Quan, TKO (Dr.'s Stoppage) Rd 1 Poppies Martinez vs Johnny Fadella (Middleweight) Rd 1, The two immediately clinch and Fadella tries to pick up and slam Martinez but Martinez recovers and gets a neck crank before getting a front headlock and lands a bunch of unanswered knees and Herb Dean sees enough and stops the fight. Fadella is very upset and the commentators claim he tapped but I didn't catch it. On a replay it doesn't really look like a tap and more him rubbing a side of his head? It's weird. Poppies Martinez def. Johnny Fadella, KO/TKO Rd 1 Anthony Arria vs Levi Thornbrue (Heavyweight) Rd 1, Trashweight fight stars with the two running right at each other swinging. Immediagely Thornbrue clips Arria, but Arria recovers and picks up and slams Thornbrue. Arria then, to pass Thornbrue's guard, tries to do a cartwheel of sorts and just fails horrible. This is a photo of Arria, who is a Heavyweight remember, flying in the air.  He jumped so that his body would twist/land in that way! Thornbrue gets up and Arria then goes for a diving chop block style tackle and takes Thornbrue down again. Thornbrue locks in a guillotine choke attempt but Arria gets out of it and off of another exchange Arria gets a double leg takedown. Arria again gets caught in a guillotine attempt but its not tight and Arria gets out of it. Thornbrue takes a bunch of heavy punches and opens his guard up and Arria passes easily. Arria gets to side control and just beats Thornbrue up making Herb Dean stop the fight. Anthony Arria def. Levi Thornbrue, KO/TKO Rd 1 Jason Von Flue vs Nick Gilardi (Welterweight) Ayyyyy. It's Von Flue! Rd 1, Nick starts off with a kick while Von Flue seems a bit more technical with his boxing. Gilardi goes straight for a take down and in the process picks up Von Flue and nearly gets caught in an inverted triangle. Von Flue works his way to his knees and breaks away. Gilardi closes in again and gets a take down of his own and gets into Von Flue's guard. Von Flue works defense and threatens an armbar off the wall walk. There's a slight hype remark for Chuck Liddell, who is a teammate of Von Flue, being in Japan for the Pride Grand Prix. Gilardi passes to side control and gets mount but Von Flue bridges and gets out and is in top half guard and guess what Von Flue does from here? You guessed it, he does a Von Flue choke and Gilardi goes out as a result in maybe 10 seconds. Josh Rosenthal stops the fight and Gilardi is really out of it. Jason Von Flue def. Nick Gilardi, Submission Rd 1 J.T. Taylor vs Ryan Schultz (Welterweight) Rd 1, To start off Taylor throws a head kick to start off and keeps going with it a series of kicks. Schultz charges in with punches but gets clinched by Taylor and the two exchange knees and punches from the clinch. Schultz breaks out and they reset. There's a quick pause due to a glove issue for Schultz. On the restart they continue to exchange before Taylor gets double underhooks and presses Schultz against the cage. From there he tries a trip takedown but Schultz recovers pretty quickly. A few more attempts before the two decide to just foot stomp each other. After some of this Schultz gets out again and Taylor's kicks keep Schultz at range and Schultz tries to respond by charging in with punches but Taylor evades it. Taylor is doing a great job getting the better of the striking between the two. Schultz gets clipped by Taylor and gets clinched but breaks off. On the break away exchange Schultz clips Taylor and the two go at it with Taylor getting clipped again just as the round ends. 10-9 Taylor, though I could see the argument for Schultz but Taylor did better at controlling the fight in a general sense. Rd 2, Taylor comes in with a swinging right and Schultz decides to exchange himself before Taylor decides that sucks and clinches. Taylor lets Schultz go from the clinch and clips him with a right. Taylor keeps Schultz at bay with his jab and kicks but Schultz rushes in and gets the clinch. Taylor is able to break away. Schultz decides to bull rush in with his own punches but doesn't keep his hands up and Taylor clips him and visibly hurts Schultz. Taylor corners him against the cage and lands two to three unanswered straight rights to Schultz's head and drops him. Rosenthal calls the fight as soon as it happens. J.T. Taylor def. Ryan Schultz, KO/TKO Rd 2 Olaf Alfonso vs Randy Spence (Lightweight) Olaf looks like a very angry hobo with the Justin Bieber hair flop.  Rd 1, Randy eats a quick knee by Olaf which almost becomes a takedown but Olaf stays with the clinch and throws knees. The two clinch and Randy tries his own knee but falls down and Olaf lets him back up. Olaf has a much smoother striking style but then takes a solid right from Randy and drops Olaf. Randy takes top mount but gets swept and Olaf is then on top in Randy's guard. Randy is more of a grappler and goes for an armbar then switches to a kimura and Olaf escapes them but throws punches down in response. Eventually Olaf gets up and the two square off. Randy tries for a takedown but Olaf sprawls and tries to take the back but gets into Randy's half guard. Randy reverses and gets on top in half guard himself. Eventually working to side control, Randy then gets swept with the oopa (briding from bottom side) sweep and Olaf is back on top as the round ends. 10-9 for Olaf, stronger ability to control the fight. Rd 2, The round starts and Randy looks very tired and awkward but keeps catching Olaf as he comes in. Olaf clinches and pushes Randy against the cage. Randy tries to pull guard but Olaf stops it and then tosses Randy down. Olaf then just feeds his leg in so Randy could get single x-guard while Olaf throws punches down. Olaf got cut and is bleeding a good deal. He spins out and ends up in top half guard on top of Randy. Randy tries to stand up but gets stopped and Olaf pushes Randy against the cage and throws punches. Josh Rosenthal stops the action to have Olaf's nose, which is likely broken, checked on. You tell me if this is a broken nose or not.  The fight continues from standing and Randy tries for a takedown but Olaf stops it. Randy is very spent and Olaf drops a elbows from top side control before taking full mount. From here Olaf throws more elbows and Randy doesn't do much to stop it so Rosenthal calls the fight. Olaf Alfonso def. Randy Spence, KO/TKO Rd 2 Boyd Ballard vs Abraham Baxter (Middleweight, but guys are at 205 lbs so its actually LHW) Rd 1, Ballard shoots for a take down but gets sprawled on and Baxter is able to avoid it and break away. The punching exchanges are awkward for both despite Baxter being touted as a kickboxer. Its not even halfway through the first round and Baxter is breathing very heavy and looks very overly excited/anxious. Ballard works his way in and gets a takedown and ends up in top mount. Baxter tries to push off the cage with his feet and gets out of bottom half and secures bottom guard but Ballard guard passes quickly. Ballard looks for an americana but loses it and drops off of Baxter. The two stand up and exchange more with Ballard shooting in but eating a left hook. Ballard stands up and throws leather but eats another punch and Ballard is hurt. Baxter also looks rough and out of breath. Ballard is able to get another take down and throws short punches but Baxter does well to defend. 10-9 Ballard, both guys had good moments but Ballard's takedowns seemed more impactful to the fight's progression. Rd 2, Both guys are spent and they just decide, despite Ballard being more of a wrestler, to have a kickboxing match. Off of some very sloppy striking, Ballard does try a take down but is easily shrugged off by Baxter. Everytime he clinches with Baxter or grabs a leg, Baxter just breaks out but that seems to make Baxter breath heavier and heavier. Once Ballard gets a clinch against the cage, as Baxter is trying to break away Ballard throws a very off balanced knee and eats a punch making him drop to his butt. Baxter immediately gets on top but Ballard turtles up just fine and the round ends. 10-9 Baxter, again nothing really remarkable by either guy but since it was a striking round it goes to Baxter because Ballard ate more hard punches it seems. Rd 3, Ballard and Baxter clinch early on and both work knees to the body before breaking away. Baxter then decides now is the time to throw punches but each volley makes him want to reset and he continues to breath heavier and heavier. Baxter's striking is much crisper and harder than Ballard's but he keeps pausing and doesn't really seem to capitalize on any of the exchanges that clearly hurt Ballard. Ballard gets a single leg and ends up in full guard. The two are here until Herb Dean decides to stop and reset them. Baxter shoots for another take down but it is stuffed and Baxter pressures Ballard against the fence. A left hook rocks Ballard but the round ends. 10-9 Baxter, more meaningful punches landed and he did better at stopping Ballard's attempts for a take down Boyd Ballard and Abraham Baxter fight to a Draw That was a very sloppy and boring/uninteresting fight. First stinker of WEC so far in my opinion. Shonie Carter vs Dax Bruce (Welterweight) For the Vacant WEC Welterweight Championship Rd 1, Carter & Bruce clinch early and Bruce is able to push Carter against the fence. Carter works himself away and then gets a beautiful hip toss on Bruce to end up in top side control. Carter is working for a kimura and very nearly gets it but Bruce does a decent job making it hard for Carter to get in fully. Carter then swaps to a full mount position and throws punches. Bruce gives up his back as a result and Carter is able to work in the arm under the neck and sinks in a rear naked choke to cause the tap. Shonie Carter def. Dax Bruce, Submission Rd 1 and NEW WEC Welterweight Champion No belt is awarded for him, but Carter is (per Tapology, Wikipedia, etc.) declared the WEC Welterweight Champion as a result of this fight. Don Rugebreght vs Tony Alanis (Welterweight) Rd 1, Don looks very anxious with his movement and stance as the fight starts while Alanis looks very calm and relaxed. Don throws a sloppy kick but Alanis catches him as he steps in and drops him and takes him down with Alanis on top in guard. Don gets stacked up against the cage with Alani throwing punches from top position. This goes for a while with Don very visibly concerned with this position and after a few more punches Don taps to strikes claiming he can't see out of his eye. From my view, it may have been an errant eye poke rather than a punch that landed right on the eye. Tony Alanis def. Don Rugebregth, Submission (Punches) Rd 1 Ron Waterman vs James Nevarez (Superheavyweight) For the WEC Super Heavyweight Championship This is the first Super Heavyweight fight I've ever seen aside from Openweight fights in PRIDE & DREAM. Waterman previously fought in UFC & PRIDE prior to this fight. He was also doing pro wrestling as mentioned in the WEC 6 notes that were found from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This is pretty much a squash match since Nevarez is on his second fight as a pro. Rd 1, Waterman clinches right away and Nevarez tries to drop to get a takedown but Waterman ends up on top in half guard with Nevarez's head right next to the cage. Rosenthal stops the action for a reason that isn't exactly clear. The commentators say it was due to an illegal knee but I didn't catch that. Waterman loses a point as a result. If only that was the level of enforcement of fouls in MMA in general. Waterman again clinches with Nevarez and gets top mount off a takedown. Nevarez quickly gets half guard and defends himself. Waterman tries for kimuras and americas while beating Nevarez up with hammerfists. Nevarez gives up his back but the round ends with Waterman not able to capitalize it. 9-9, Waterman would have won that round were it not for the foul. Rd 2, We somehow lose this round on the video and it skips to Round 3. *shrug* 10-9 Waterman, this is just a pure guess though. Rd 3, We abruptly go to round three and Nevarez is apparently trying to land a hard right. Waterman looks a little more flat footed but still goes for the clinch and pushes Nevarez against the fence and throws a knee at his head and connects. Off of that Waterman gets the takedown and ends up in top turtle. Nevarez tries a roll through kneebar attempt but Waterman avoids it. Waterman just slowly beats more and more on Nevarez with punches. Waterman is very tired as is Nevarez and it seems that Rosenthal suddenly stops the fight due to Nevarez not defending himself. Nevarez wasn't really rocked or stunned, but it was very clear he had no defense. Ron Waterman def. James Nevarez, KO/TKO Rd 3 and NEW WEC Super Heavyweight Champion. Here are, at the time, the WEC Champions: Super Heavyweight - Ron Waterman Light Heavyweight - Frank Shamrock Welterweight - Shonie Carter Lightweight - Kurt Pellegrino Featherweight - Cole Escovedo
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Sep 10, 2022 07:25
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So hi. It's been a LONG while since I updated this thread and apologize. I still want to do these rewatches but real life has caught me up in a loop for stuff. So, to help with the write ups, my viewing, and also to avoid burn out (which I honestly got) I'm going to do these not every week because even back then it felt difficult to do. I'm also changing the write ups a bit. I'm likely gonna skip writing in depth about most of the fights and not do a round by round analysis, but just an overall "here's some cool poo poo from this fight" and provide links/gifs/etc. WEC 8: Halloween Fury II  You may note that WEC 8, which was taking place in October of 2003, is a Halloween themed show. However, the WEC 5 name of Halloween Havoc was dropped and replaced with Halloween Fury because, if you didn't know, pro-wrestling companies WCW/WWE own the name Halloween Havoc. Anyway there was plenty of shenanigans related to halloween but not a fun or cool intro like in WEC 5. We did get a costume from Jeff Weller, and one of the referees for the night is the always amazing Cecil Peeples.  Chris Irvin vs Jason Von Flue (Welterweight) The match went to the ground pretty quickly but there was no timer on the broadcast I had so I can't tell how soon it went. Von Flue eventually gets to top half guard and then, as Irvin's head is more or less wedged against the cage, secures a Von Flue choke in the same manner he got his last time out in WEC. Jason Von Flue def. Chris Irvin, Submission Rd 1 Randy Bowers vs Olaf Alfonso (Lightweight) Ol' brokenose vs Randy "I'm also from Huntington Beach, CA" Bowers. Olaf continues to look like he is a murderous hobo they picked up off the freeway to fight in the event. Bowers gets an early takedown with Olaf against the cage and gets to side control. Olaf eventually gets out from bottom, but Bowers gets another take down and ends up in top guard. From there Olaf sets up the armbar and locks it in and gets the tap. Olaf Alfonso def. Randy Bowers, Submission Rd 1 Ryan Schultz vs Hannibal Adofo (Welterweight) Team Quest vs American Kickboxing Academy prospects is what this fight is about. Matt Lindland and Dennis Hallman are in Schultz corner, with Bob Cook & Josh Thompson cornering Adofo. Adofo is billed as the submission expert in the fight. After a few moments of circling and jabbing we get this punch from Schultz https://i.imgur.com/4TggQso.mp4 and its all over. Ryan Schultz def. Hannibal Adofo, KO Rd 1 AJ Wieman vs Poppies Martinez (Lightweight) AJ came out dressed as a prisoner and the ring girls, for some reason, had a dog collar and chain on one of them because gently caress it why not its early 2000s MMA.  Early on, Wieman drops Martinez with a right with Cecil stepping in despite Martinez immediately getting up and then in very Cecil fashion says the fight can continue. So the whole stepping in by him was him loving up as usual. https://i.imgur.com/gTGNs7N.mp4 Martinez then gets an immediate takedown, with Wieman pushing him off and getting to his knees where Poppies eventually gets top half guard, which sees Wieman try to turtle up and Martinez locks in a rear naked choke and the fight is over as Wieman taps. Poppies Martinez def. AJ Wieman, Submission Rd 1 Chris Leben vs Brian Sleeman (Middleweight) It's Leben! This fight would eventually be what sets up his match with Mike Swick which would lead to discussions/debates in TUF Season 1. Leben is 5-0 and is fighting a nobody who is 7-6. During the first part of the fight there was loud nutshot by Leben that caused Sleeman to collapse into the corner once Herb Dean paused the fight. Sleeman actually rocked Leben and then tried to guillotine him but would up getting out of it before getting the fight to the ground again with Leben pulling guard and then locking on an armbar. Chris Leben def. Brian Sleeman, Submission Rd 1 Anthony Fuller vs Doug Marshall (Heavyweight) Fuller decides to fight in a white t-shirt for this one. Immediately as the fight starts, Fuller stands still near his corner as Marshall just power walks across the cage. Immediately its clear that Fully both A) doesn't want to fight and B) doesn't know how to fight. Marshall gets the fight to ground and just beats on Fuller before the fight is called. Choice quote from commentary: "Marshall got the better end of the banging right there." Doug Marshall def. Jeff Fuller, TKO Rd 1 Next there was a thai kickboxing fight in the cage which actually was decent but this is MMA we wanna talk about! Mike Kyle vs Jerry Vrbanovic (Heavyweight) Trashweight Kyle! The nickname for Jerry was "Scary" Jerry Vrbanovic and when he walked hin he intentionally checked his shoulder into Kyle. Also Jerry is rocking a pair of very loud Croatian flag pants. So...anyway here's how the fight went. https://i.imgur.com/S0sHLlu.mp4 Herb had to restrain Kyle for a good while after the KO. Vrbanovic was incredibly out of it when he stood back up. Mike Kyle def. Jerry Vrbanovic, KO Rd 1 Shonie Carter vs J.T. Taylor (WEC Welterweight Championship) This is for the vacant WEC Welterweight belt that Nick Diaz won at WEC 6 before giving it up in order to go fight in the UFC for more money. Shonie comes out with like...so many belts from different martial arts organizations its kind of comical in a way that only Shonie can pull off and still be serious about. The fight goes the full distance and realistically speaking, it was a rough going early for Taylor who got the takedown but Shonie's extensive experience and weird/funky style just worked. After the 15 (yes 15) minutes, Shonie got handed the Unanimous Decision and took the title. Shonie Carter def. J.T. Taylor, Decision Anthony Hamlett vs Cole Escovedo (c) (WEC Featherweight Championship) The main event and for the only, at the moment, actually active WEC championship belt that they say is for the WEC Lightweight belt, but historically and in terms of weight its actually the WEC Featherweight belt. It seems there's been some heated backstory between Escovedo and Hamlett up to this point but the details were a bit light. Just that they were not fans/friendly towards each other. We also have the second "it's halloween and i'm a scary prisoner" entrance of the night, but Hamlett got two cops to handcuff him and escort him to the ring for the fight.  Escovedo set the standard for entering to Enter Sandman like a decade before Brock ever did. Early on, Hamlett puts pressure on Escovedo and gets into Escovedo's guard. A long portion of the first round is spent in that position before they were stood up. Hamlett gets the takedown but again is stuck within Escovedo's guard for the remainder of the round. After an early exchange, Escovdeo tries for some knees from the clinch and you get a precursor to Josh Koschek's faking being injured to get time to rest. https://i.imgur.com/UpqmUOt.mp4 After time was given the fight continues and.... https://i.imgur.com/eQRKEoy.mp4 Cole Escovedo (c) def. Anthony Hamlett, TKO Rd 2 That was WEC 8: Halloween Fury II and overall, not a bad card. Total run time for the PPV was under two hours and that included a non-MMA fight as well as an MMA fight I found really boring and didn't want to comment on in this write up. Verdict: 4/5 Faking A Low Blows Only to get TKO'd Later
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Mar 26, 2023 04:25
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