It seems that wherever local news cameras go they manage to zero in on the idiots in the crowd almost effortlessly. It’s no different in this footage from Sacramento’s Channel 10, which Steve Cofield thankfully dug up. Bashing an entire city based on the people who find their way on to the evening news is not only easy and kind of unfair, it also turns out to be lots of fun.
For those of us who have always wondered about what Stockton is really like after hearing the Diaz brothers wax poetic about it for years, it is indeed an insight. The ladies who show up around the 0:47 mark to insist that “we aren’t an advocate of bloodshed, although we don’t hate on it if it happens” are a couple of stalwart examples of the kind of girls you might meet at an MMA event (if you’re lucky).
Not content to let the plebes make the point for him, Cofield also refers to a recent study that claimed Stockton had the highest illiteracy rates of any American city with a population over 250,000. Ouch. But I guess if you want a town that breeds its share of tough fighters, you don’t necessarily go looking for the city that issues the most library cards.
Denny took the fight to the mat early, where the fight stayed for almost the entire first round. Malaipet escaped being submitted and was able to get to his feet. Denny then attempted to get things to the ground again when the Muay Thai kickboxer committed the disqualifying elbows. Denny was unable to recover after being given time to shake off the blows. The official call was DQ at 4:51 of the first. Malaipet dropped to 3-2 in MMA after a successful kickboxing career and Denny’s record went to 26-16.
Post fight quotes from the press release:
“I’m sorry because I came here to fight, but this is MMA and you have to follow the rules,” said Denny, who could not continue
after he was nailed by three blatant elbows to the back of the head. “I may have been dazed but I wasn’t knocked out. One thing I could not do, however, was move my neck.”
“I definitely want to fight him again,” Malaipet said. “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.”
In other action, Conor Heun went to 7-2 when he earned a unanimous decision — one that didn’t sit well with the crowd — over Marlon Mathias. While it was a back-and-forth battle, the judges still scored it 30-27 on each card. Mathias clearly hurt Heun more and landed the most blows — Heun had a gash above his left eye and possibly has a broken jaw. Mathias expressed his disappointment afterwards with the decision, stating he knows he won at least two rounds.
(‘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.)
(Thomas “Wildman” Denny during his X-Men audition. He didn’t get the part.)
The EliteXC has revealed their fight card for the March 21st ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series - the fifth installment in the series. In the top fight, kickboxing champ Malaipet “The Diamond” Sitprapom - who has very limited MMA experience - will battle Thomas Denny. Here’s what the Muay Thai specialist Sitprapom had to say:
“I started watching MMA when I got to the U.S. and liked what I saw,’” said Sitprapom. “I respect both Muay Thai and MMA. I am still learning, but I feel I have what it takes to make it in MMA.”
Thomas “Wildman” Denny is 25-16 and last fought in a losing effort by KO to Joe Camacho seven weeks ago. Denny will want this one to go to the ground because a stand-up fight against Sitprapom is not where he wants to be. Denny has 14 submissions in his 25 wins, opposed to 7 KO’s. He has spent much of his career as a King of the Cage brawler and endured a five-fight losing streak from 1999-2001 to piece together a solid career. To his advantage against a striker like Sitprapom, Denny has only been knocked out twice in his 16 losses.
