(ShoXC weigh-ins become an impromptu beach party. Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)
Last night’s ShoXC card from Fresno, Calif. had its share of interesting bouts, but the big news coming out of the Pro Elite camp is that the company has canceled another show, this time in the form of one its smaller confederates across the pond. Contenders 11, scheduled to take place in the UK today, has been called off. Five Ounces of Pain also reports that Cage Rage — another Pro Elite organization — has suffered a rash of layoffs and is down to only three employees. Somehow during all of this, the Pro Elite stock price jumped from $2.50 to $8.00 a share on Friday, even amid reports that they were canceling their September 20 event. As they say on the internet, WTF!?!
Something is going on with Pro Elite, no doubt, but what? Could it be that Pro Elite executives have discovered oil underneath the grounds where their offices lie, and now they’re going to quit putting on MMA shows altogether and move their families to big mansions in Beverly Hills, complete with indoor plumbing and cement ponds? There is very little evidence for this hypothesis at the moment, but we’re going to go ahead and say yes, this is precisely what is happening. You heard it here first.
As for last night’s show, yeah, well, here you go:
Jared Hamman def. Po’ai Suganuma via TKO (strikes) at 2:34 of round 1
Fabricio Camoes def. Sammy Morgan via submission (rear naked choke) at 0:47 of round 1
Cyrille Dibate def. Jaime Fletcher via unanimous decision
Rosi Sexton def. Debi Purcell via split decision
Ray Lizama def. Keith Berry via TKO (strikes) at 2:15 of round 2
Katrina Alendale def. Melanie La’Croix via unanimous decision
Roberto Vargas def. Ralph Lopez via split decision
Jesse Brock def. Josh Rave via unanimous decision
Lucas Gumaza def. Kenny Johnson via split decision
David “Tarzan” Douglas def. William Jacobson via TKO (corner stoppage) at 1:12 of round 1
A planned ShoXC event that had been scheduled for June 27 at the Sycuan Casino and Resort located just outside of San Diego has been postponed.
Mauro Ranallo was the first to break the story earlier this week on his Fight Network Radio program heard Monday through Friday on Sirius Satellite Radio.
According to sources, the outdoor [...]
EliteXC’s next ShoXC event is scheduled for June 27 at the Sycuan Casino & Resort in San Diego, Calif.
The news was first reported by our friends at MMAjunkie.com.
The tentative card for the outdoor show also promises to offer the debuts of two recent EliteXC signings, middleweights Cyrille Diabate and Hector Lombard.
Diabate, one of the best [...]
(Worst. Pride parade. Ever. Photo courtesy of Tom Casino @ Pro Elite.)
Five fights, five first-round stoppages; last night’s ShoXC Challenger Series card was unquestionably badass. But for our money, the night belonged to Shayna Baszler. With mentor Josh Barnett in her corner, “The Queen of Spades” faced Keiko “Tama Chan” Tamai — who was clownlike in both attire and demeanor — and smoked her, dispatching the outmatched Japanese fighter with a suplex (seriously!), ground-and-pound, and finally a neck crank; maybe the first time we’ve seen that submission since Dan Severn in the mid-’90s. With the win, Baszler improves her pro record to 9-4, with all nine wins coming via submission. After the fight she claimed ownership of EliteXC’s women’s division, and declared she was ready for any challenger to try and prove otherwise. LaRosa and Carano, you’re officially on notice.
Also notable was the fight between undefeated middleweights Matt Lucas and Givanildo Santana, who had previously defeated nine of his ten opponents via armbar, earning him the nickname “The Arm Collector.” You’d think Lucas would be extra careful to avoid the same fate, but like an idiot, he got on top of Santana during the fight, leaned over too far without protecting himself and got snatched up. Make that ten wins by armbar.
Saturday’s special ShoXC event on Showtime from the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, Calif., was one of many events put on recently by EliteXC. And just like all the others, this one did not disappoint.
Here are results from the action in case you missed the show:
Jared Hamman vs. Paoi Suganuma:
Suganuma landed a huge overhand right early that stunned Hamman. He followed that up immediately with a gorgeous flying knee. Hamman went down, and the ref jumped in and stopped the fight right away.
The knee looked devastating in real time, but after watching the replays Hamman did not appear to be knocked out at all. He got right up afterwards, but the ref had already stopped it.
It was a questionable stoppage for sure. It’s a shame the last two ShoXC events have ended in controversy. We’re possibly looking at a rematch between these two sometime in the near future.
Here’s Suganuma when asked about a rematch:
“Nobody likes to win by controversial decision, and everyone loves a rematch. So I’m down.”
And Hamman:
“I was completely fine. I’m not hurt. I’m fine. I’m good. I’m just going to go back to training. What am I supposed to do? I lost and that’s just the way it is. Can’t make excuses. Yeah I want a rematch if he wants to give me one”
I’d certainly tune-in to see. In other action:
Fabricio Camoes vs. Joe Camacho:
Camoes took an early takedown and worked the top position for a minute or so, then turned up the aggression.
He was relentless with punches and elbows. He bombarded Camacho until the ref stopped the fight at exactly half way through the first round. Very impressive win for Camoes.
That’s five wins in a row now for him and that also snaps Joe Camacho’s six- fight win streak.
Good stuff.
Shayna Baszler vs. Keiko Tamei:
Baszler won with a neck crank in the first round — she dominated the enitre fight. That would win submission of the night on any card.
Neck cranks are awesome.
Givanildo “The Arm Collector” Santana vs. Matt “Luke Duke” Lucas:
The fight was going pretty slow for most of the first round until Lucas dropped Santana with a big left hand around the one minute mark. He went in for the kill, but forgot he was fighting “The Arm Collector.”
He left a small window for Santana, and thats all the armbar specialist needed. Lucas tapped with 12 seconds left in the first round.
Santana is now 11-0 with 10 wins by armbar. That’s pretty crazy.
Doug Evans vs. Bao Quach:
Quach — a last minute replacement for Wilson Reis — won this fight 55 seconds into the first round with technical knockout.
He showed some quality takedown defense and eventually lured Evans into a big right hand.
Quach is going to be a big player in the EliteXC 145-pound division. He’s got big time power and a lot of talent.
That’s seven wins in a row now for the Hawaiian.
Here are the results from the undercard action:
Melanie LaCroix defeats Melissa Vasquez by technical knockout at 2:58 of round one
Brent Cooper defeats Jaime Iracheta by technical knockout at 1:30 of round one
Roberto Vargas defeats Telly Sanders with a shoulder lock at 1:53 of round three
Luke Riddering defeats Yasser Pezzat by technical knockout at 2:53 of round one
Lucas Gamaza defeated Devin Howard via unanimous decision
Tony “Kryptonite’’ Lopez defeated Terrell Dees via knockout in round two
It was an explosive night of fights for sure. The main event was definitely controversial, but all five main card fights ending in the first round made for some exciting action.
Next up for EliteXC is the CBS network debut on May 31 featuring Kimbo Slice. That will be followed up two weeks later with a Showtime event featuring two title fights — KJ Noons vs. Yves Edwards and Jake Shields vs. Drew Fickett.
(Undefeated light-heavyweight Jared Hamman looks to make it 10 in a row tomorrow night. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
Just a quick reminder that the IFL has their latest untitled event tonight at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey; it will air live on HDNet starting at 8:30 p.m. ET, so set your DVRs post-haste. Champions Jay Hieron (welterweight), Wagnney Fabiano (featherweight), and Vladimir Matyushenko (light heavyweight) will all be defending their belts, while lightweight star Chris Horodecki will make his first ring appearance since his title fight loss last December.
Also, Pro Elite is putting on another ShoXC Challenger Series card tomorrow night at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, CA; you can check it out on Showtime starting at 11:30 p.m. ET. The main event pits undefeated Californian Jared Hamman — who boasts nine straight victories, all by stoppage before the third round — against Hawaiian light heavyweight Poai Suganuma, who has put in work in Pancrase, Icon Sport, and K-1 Hero’s. You’ll also get to see Shayna Baszler kick the ass of Keiki Tamai — who has lost her last five fights — and up-and-comers Matt Lucas and Givanildo Santana battling to keep their flawless records intact. The full lineup looks like this:
Televised Card
Jared Hamman (9-0) vs. Poai Suganuma (8-1)
Fabricio Camoes (7-4) vs. Joe Camacho (10-11-3)
Shayna Baszler (8-4) vs. Keiko “Tama Chan” Tamai (16-14)
Matt Lucas (9-0) vs. Givanildo Santana (10-0)
Doug Evans (5-2) vs. Bao Quach (12-8-1)
Undercard
Melanie LaCroix (1-0) vs. KC Noland (1-2)
Jaime Iracheta (debut) vs. Brent Cooper (1-0)
Telly Sanders (debut) vs. Roberto Vargas (1-0)
Yasser Pezzat (debut) vs. Luke Riddering (debut)
Carl Saumantafa (2-0) vs. Terrell Dees (2-1)
Yoko Takahashi (13-9) vs. Breanne Vickers (0-1)
If you don’t have HDNet or Showtime, call your cable provider, and come back here this weekend for complete results and recaps.
The 11-bout ShoXC: “Elite Challenger Series” event that aired on Showtime last night from Chumash Casino Resort at Santa Ynez, Calif., is officially in the books.
Muay Thai phenom Malaipet and MMA veteran Thomas “Wildman” Denny were featured in the main event of the evening, in addition to four other televised bouts.
Here are the detailed results of the main card action in case you missed it:
Malaipet vs. Thomas Denny (160 pounds)
Denny scored an early take down and sunk in a deep rear naked choke. Somehow Malaipet escaped but landed right in Denny’s full mount. Denny pounded Malaipet for a couple minutes before Malaipet escaped again, this time landing a big knee followed by three devastating illegal elbows to the back of Denny’s head.
Referee Herb Dean was forced to pause the action and Denny was obviously hurt from the elbows. The ringside doctor asked Denny if he could continue to fight aeffectively and Denny said he could not.
That was it and Thomas Denny won the fight due to disqualification.
It’s a shame the fight ended like that. Denny was executing his gameplan to perfection and was dominating the first round, but the way Malaipet kept escaping had me believing the rest of that fight was going to be a war. There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll see these two fight each other again.
In fact, Denny is interested in mixing it up again real soon:
“I’m sorry because I came here to fight, but this is MMA and you have to follow the rules. I may have been dazed but I wasn’t knocked out. One thing I could not do, however, was move my neck…. Malaipet was tough because I thought I had him with the rear naked choke. But I will definitely fight him again. I was totally dominating.’’
However, if Denny wants to rematch it will have to be at 150 pounds, according to Malaipet. And if Denny could defeat him at that weight, Mailepet indicated that he would retire from Muay Thai.
Here’s a snip:
“I definitely want to fight him again. If he wants to do it at 150 pounds, I’ll fight him any time, any place. This wasn’t my type of fight. But there was no way I was ever going to tap out.”
Hopefully, we see this rematch real soon. This bout could have been a back-and-forth barn burner if it were no for the early stoppage.
Marlon Mathias vs. Conor Heun (160 pounds)
Mathias tried to overwhelm Heun early with punches and aggression, but Heun weathered the storm, scoring a late take down and surviving the first round.
The second round was pretty close with Mathias winning most of the stand up, but was again taken down and this time controlled for most of the round.
Mathias landed a lot of heavy left hands and Heun proved he could take a lot of punishment and still execute his gameplan as he won the third round and the decision in a great fight. Heun improved to 7-2.
Jaime Fletcher vs. Aaron Rosa 205 pounds
Fletcher stayed aggressive throughout the fight, shooting for take downs, using sporadic punch and kick combinations, and was always moving forward. He floored Rosa in the third with a big right hand. He wasn’t able to finish the fight, but that knockdown secured the decision in a relatively uneventful three-round fight. He goes to 6-3.
Shane Del Rosario vs. Analu Brash (265 pounds)
Del Rosario scored an impressive win with a first round referee stoppage. He was able to get an early takedown with a hard leg kick and from there worked the ground and pound until Herb Dean had to step in. He moves to 4-0.
Mark Oshiro vs. Chris Cariaso (140 pounds)
Oshiro improved his record to 10-1 as he scored the knockout of the night with a sick overhand right in the first round. He was in a bad position early, as Cariaso tripped him and took full mount. Oshiro rolled over giving up his back, but was able to scramble back to his feet where he ended the fight in highlight reel fashion right away.
Now here are the quick results for the nontelevised bouts:
Kenny “The Poet” Johnson defeated Michael Penafiel via unanimous decision
Steve Gable defeated Eric Jones via technical knockout in round one
Lyle Beerbohm defeated Vince Guzman via submission (rear naked choke) in round two
Devin Howard defeated Mark Kempthorne via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Brandon Tarn defeated Jason Williams via submission (rear naked choke) 0-1) in round two
All in all it was another solid show put on by EliteXC and Showtime despite the controversial ending in the main event.
The next ShoXC event will be live April 5 on Showtime from the Table Mountain Casino Event Center. It will feature a main event between light heavyweights Jared Hamman (9-0) and Poai Suganuma (8-1).
EliteXC and Showtime will trot out its latest ShoXC: “Elite Challeger Series” event tonight with a 160-pound main event fight between Thomas “Wildman” Denny and world Muay Thai champion-turned mixed martial artist Malaipet.
The Showtime broadcast will begin at 11 p.m. from the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Fighters all tipped the scales on Friday evening and shared their thoughts on the action later on tonight. Malaipet knows that Denny — an MMA veteran — will more than likely opt to take the fight to the ground and not get into a stand up battle, which the Thai fighter has been training to defend.
Here’s a snip:
“I think Thomas Denny has a lot of skill in the ground, but I am not scared. If something happens, it happens. I have been working on my ground work, but I am interested in defending submissions, not trying to apply them. If I get taken to the ground, I will try and take the fight back to standing up.”
Denny, of course, is not trying to conceal his gameplan, knowing that his strength is in the submission game.
Here’s a snip from him:
“I plan to punch him on his face, put him on his head and submit him. I think a lot of people give Malaipet too much respect for his Muay Thai game. You need to attack him. His conditioning is questionable, so I will to push him hard. I need to keep coming forward and keep punishing him with punches. Once I grab him he is going to know that he is in there with a really strong guy. This fight is not going to be as easy as he thinks. I think he is going to be strong the first few minutes, but I will be, too. You are going to see my hand get raised in the cage after a lot of fireworks. I plan on beating on him, clinching him up and submitting him.”
This should be an entertaining fight — check it out if you can. We’ve got the complete fight card and weigh-in results after the jump.
Televised portion of the card:
160 lbs.: Malaipet (154.75) vs. Thomas Denny (160)
160 lbs.: Marlon Mathias (159.5) vs. Conor Heun (159.5)
205 lbs.: Aaron Rosa (203.25) vs. Jaime Fletcher (205)
265 lbs: Shane Del Rosario (231) vs. Analu Brash (256.5)
140 lbs.: Mark Oshiro (138.75) vs. Chris Cariaso (139.5)
Non-televised undercard:
170 lbs.: Steve Gable (169.75) vs. Eric Jones (168.5)
170 lbs.: Kenny “The Poet'’ Johnson (170) vs. Michael Penafiel (168.25)
160 lbs.: Vince Guzman (161) vs. Lyle Beerbohm (160.75)
170 lbs.: Devin Howard (172.5) vs. Mark Kempthorne (170.75)
265 lbs.: Brandon Tarn (250.5) vs. Jason Williams (257.25)
We’ll have results later on this evening or first thing Saturday morning for those who miss the live broadcast.
(‘Pet and the Wildman, L.A.’s wackiest drive-time talk radio team. Image courtesy of MMAWeekly.)
If you’re feeling bloodlustful this evening, we suggest setting the DVR for Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT, when the ShoXC Elite Challenger Series kicks off from the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA. Headlining the event is explosive former Muay Thai world champion Malaipet Sitprapom (3-1 MMA), who faces King of the Cage vet Thomas “Wildman” Denny (25-16). Also on the main card is undefeated bantamweight Chris Cariaso, as well as 205′er Aaron Rosa, who took his first career loss in his last ShoXC appearance in October against Jared Hamman. The weigh-in results are below. It looks like a few guys went over, but hey, it’s ShoXC, so whatever.
Televised Card
Malaipet Sitprapom (154.75 lbs.) vs. Thomas Denny (160 lbs.)
Marlon Mathias (159.5 lbs.) vs. Conor Heun (159.5 lbs.)
Aaron Rosa (203.25 lbs.) vs. Jaime Fletcher (205 lbs.)
Shane Del Rosario (231 lbs.) vs. Analu Brash (256.5 lbs.)
Mark Oshiro (138.75 lbs.) vs. Chris Cariaso (139.5 lbs.)
Preliminary Card
Brandon Tarn (250.5 lbs.) vs. Jason Williams (257.25 lbs.)
Devin Howard (172.5 lbs.) vs. Mark Kempthorne (170.75 lbs.)
Vince Guzman (161 lbs.) vs. Lyle Beerbohm (160.75 lbs.)
Kenny Johnson (170 lbs.) vs. Michael Penafiel (168.25 lbs.)
Steve Gable (169.75 lbs.) vs. Eric Jones (168.5 lbs.)
If UFC Fight Night 12 left you feeling unfulfilled, then perhaps you should consider tuning in to the ShoXC Elite Challenger Series tonight from the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., for an extra dose of mixed martial arts (MMA) action.
The weigh-ins went off last night without a hitch — all fighters made weight and we’re now hours away from what should be an exciting night of fights, which will air LIVE on the Showtime premium cable channel at 11 p.m. ET.
The main event of the evening will be a clash between former Bodog welterweight champion, Eddie Alvarez (11-1), and UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn-trained fighter, Ross “The Boss” Ebanez (16-5), in a 165-pound tilt.
Alvarez had this to say about the fight:
“This is going to be a great fight. Style-wise, I look at Ebanez and he reminds me of me. With two fighters who like to come forward and give their all, the fans are in for a treat.”
And from Ebanez:
“This is a tremendous fight for the fans. I’m ready to go, and I know he feels the same way. I doubt he is going to present me with any situations that I have never seen before. I am very confident.'’
Alvarez will be making his EliteXC debut and he wants to move up the ladder to a title shot quickly. “The Boss” is a tough dude and is no easy opponent for Alvarez’s first fight, but Alvarez will be looking to make a statement and he’ll show the EliteXC fans the reason his signing was so huge for the promotion.
Prediction for the fight: Eddie Alvarez via late first round round technical knockout.
Paul “Semtex” Daley (16-6-2) will fight former contestant on UFCs The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Sam Morgan (19-9), in the co-feature bout of the evening at 170 pounds. Daley was undefeated (4-0) in 2007, winning all four of those contests via stoppage (strikes). He’s on a tear and will look to hand the TUF 2 alum his third loss in four fights.
Here’s a quote from Daley at the weigh-ins:
“Morgan has fought a lot of tough opponents, but he hasn’t had many tough fights. I am going to outclass him and do what I do best: knock him out and put on a great show for the fans. Morgan is going to feel like he got ran over by a truck.”
Sam Morgan had some choice words of his own for Daley:
“Some people may think Daley is something special, but I don’t. I’m going to knock him out and send him home to England to his ‘mummy’ so they can have their tea and crumpets together.”
Morgan is a tough and well rounded fighter. He fights smart, has power and has really good submission skills. He could win this fight with a submission if Daley gets lazy, but I don’t think that will happen. Daley is fighting with a lot of confidence right now. He’s also way more athletic than Morgan and if he can stay off his back he’ll win this fight before the final bell.
Prediction for the fight: “Semtex” via late second round technical knockout.
Bobby McMaster (7-1) vs. Bao Quach (11-8-1) is another decent scrap set for 150 pounds. McMaster is coming off his first career loss to Muhsin Corbbrey at a ShoXC show in October. Quach comes in looking to add on to an impressive five-fight win streak.
McMaster will look to rebound from that loss and will probably end up on top of Quach early in this fight. He’ll look for some ground and pound and will eventually either pound out a stoppage or he’ll get Quach’s back and choke him out.
Prediction for the fight: McMaster via second round submission (rear naked choke).
We also must remember to mention the 185-pound showdown between Kala Kolohe Hose (4-1) and Bellaton Frederic (5-1). Hose took this fight even though he was originally booked to meet up with division champion Robbie Lawler for the ICON Sport middleweight belt. However, “Ruthless” had to withdraw from the fight with and injury. Hose has more or less been assured that a match up with the Miletich product is still on regardless of the outcome of this fight tonight.
Both Hose and Frederic like to bang and I would be very surprised if this one went past round two. Someone will get knocked out and it will more than likely be Frederic. Hose is a hard-hitting Hawaiian with a lot to prove heading into potential fight with the champion.
Prediction for the fight: Hose via first round knockout.
Other matches on the card include Julie Kedzie vs. Tonya Evinger (140 pounds), Zach Makovsky vs. Wilson Reis (140 pounds), James “Binky” Jones vs. Mark Getto (150 pounds), Sergie Vinagre vs. Brett Linebarger (170 pounds) Matt Makowski vs. Joe Shilling (170 pounds) and Charlie Brenneman vs. Drew Puzon (170 pounds).
For the complete ShoXC official fight card click here. For some pre-fight interviews and other information to get you up to speed on the fighters and tonight’s match ups head over to ProElite.com.
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, Frank Shamrock, will be a special guest announcer for the show and if nothing else it should be interesting to hear what he has to say about his upcoming fight with Cung Le. His post-fight in-ring interviews are also unpredictable.
This is a card that should provide some solid fights and there’s some real potential for highlight reel type knockouts, too. If you’re an MMA fan looking get a fix tonight then turn your television dial to Showtime at 11 p.m. … you won’t be disappointed.
Note: Remember to also check out our recent fighter profile on main event fighter, Eddie Alvarez, right here.
