WMMA: GAMMA, Quest for Dominance

[PilotMan]

GAMMA: Silva v. Henson Previews
Live on PPV, broadcast all over the world
4^th Friday, September, 1997
Denver, Colorado


Lightweight Division


Sadahige Yoshida (1-0-1) v. Jackson Gray (9-5-1)
Gray is on a bit of a slide having lost his last two fights, first to Stiles and then to Brandon Sugar. He is fighting a very inexperienced Yoshida, who is undefeated, however very green. Yoshida, 21, could fight at bantamweight, but instead has to fight here. Gray needs to stop his losing streak right here. If Yoshida is just hoping steal a win here.


Middleweight Division


Robert Darrell (9-3) v. Adam White (0-0)


Robert Darrell would like to get his swagger back after being beaten by Matthew Dean. His chance is a win over debuting Adam White. New fighters kind of get thrown to the wolves here in GAMMA. White will get a chance to prove his untested mettle here against an established fighter.


Lightweight Division


Gustavo Bautista (12-4) .v Will Kane (9-1)


An interesting match-up here between Kane and Bautista. Kane got a fast win in his last fight over Duane Weatherly, but Bautista is a more reputable fighter than Weatherly. Bautista lost in his GAMMA debut to Jack Humphreys. Kane is no Humphreys, so he could be ripe for a beating here. Kane will certainly vault into the rankings with a win here.


Light Heavyweight Division


#9 Aleksei Chekhov (8-2-3) v. #10 Curt Kitson (11-4-1)


Chekhov is on a streak of three draws in a row. With the new rules, that will come to an end here. The man that he is facing is a similar fighter, in record and reputation. Whoever gets the win here will be on the way up. Kitson is coming off of a win, and Chekhov would like to start a streak. Neither fighter is particularly well liked, so the fans should be split evenly.


Garry McSweegan (13-4-1) v. Lenny McFadden (9-5-2)


McSweegan is still trying to pick up the pieces from his less than desirable start in GAMMA. His last fight was a win over submission artist JJ Reid. He is fighting “Lethal” Lenny McFadden today, who is coming off of a loss in his last fight. Neither fighter has been setting GAMMA on fire, but both are just outside of the top rankings. McSweegan and McFadden are equally popular with McSweegan being more popular internationally.


Middleweight Division


#7 Bixente Fontaine (10-4-1) v. #8 Tucker Plumm (14-8-1)


Another battle between a pair of evenly matched fighters. Plumm has beaten Petey Mack and Rodolphe Gygax, while Fontaine's most recent win was over Andrew Rush. Neither man has been on fire lately but that shouldn't keep this from being a good fight. Plumm is more experienced but is pretty much unknown in the US. Fontaine will be the crowd favorite to win here.


Heavyweight Division


#2 Robun Yamazaki (18-6) v. Tony McCall (20-5-2)


Yamazaki makes his GAMMA debut against the dangerous, but unranked Tony McCall. McCall sports a great record, but was set back by his loss to Fatuma Roy in his last fight. He did fight Raul Hughes for the title almost a year ago, but was injured and inactive for much of the last year. Yamazaki is a dangerous puncher who won his last fight last November against Ari Peltonen in Alpha–1. Yamazaki is most famous for his victory over Kunimichi Kikuchi. Kikuchi isn't well known here, but is known all around the world as one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world. It has been 5 years since Yamazaki held the Alpha-1 heavyweight title.


Welterweight Division


#7 Lukas Mellberg (11-1-2) v. #8 Simon Vine (9-3-2)


Both men come into the fight with wins in their last fights. Mellberg has an impressive record, his most recent win was a third round submission of Joe Hinchcliffe. Before that, Mellberg had gone from contender to unranked with unimpressive showings his his three previous fights. Vine is fighting for the first time on PPV, all of his previous fights were fighting for Durham in Battleground. He has impressive wins over Eli Harris and David Allen. Hardly title contenders, but at least it puts him heading in the right direction.


Middleweight Division


Greg Atteveld (17-12) v. #3 Jim Carpenter (20-5-1)


Carpenter has been at or near the top of the Middleweight division for most of the last year without fighting. It is hard to fight when you are recovering from a severe neck injury. So Carpenter makes his return to the cage against the very dangerous Atteveld. Atteveld suffered through back to back losses against top ranked De Vries and Spyrou, only to come back with a win over Tucker Plumm. A win over Carpenter would mean a lot to the 34 year old from Missouri. Carpenter could have taken an easier opponent, but he really needed to make a good showing against a good opponent to justify his high ranking that he had held for the time that he was out.


Heavyweight Division


#3 Lefter Oktay (9-1) v. Tank Manu'a (12-4-1)


The first of the three big fights of the night. Lefter Oktay hopes to keep his momentum going after his knockout loss to champion, Raul Hughes. In his last fight he scored a TKO first round win over Aleksander Ivonv, a fighter who was making his debut in MMA. Tonight will be a little more challenging. Tank Manu'a stands 3 inches over Oktay and outweighs him by 52 pounds, but that advantage didn't help him to beat Fatuma Roy, a fighter similar to Oktay in size. Manu'a still sports an impressive record, and comes into this fight with Oktay with every bit of confidence that he needs to win.


Co-Main Event


GAMMA Welterweight Title


Champion Julio Regueiro (11-0-3) v. Challenger #10 Gabriel Gallego (13-1)


Boy, talk about being in the right place at the right time. Gallego makes his debut in GAMMA with a chance to unseat possibly the most popular MMA fighter in the world. Regueiro has been unbeatable in his career. Some would argue that his opponents haven't been exactly world class, Cahill, Hansen, Van Der Capellen, Bracewell. With Humphreys out of the Welterweight division, who is there that can challenge him? Gallego only lost the Alpha-1 welterweight title in January of this year after making three defenses. His only loss was to Alberto Basora, the brother of Pittsburgh Cyclopes' fighter Luis Basora. Now Gallego takes his chances against Regueiro, for the GAMMA Welterweight Title.


Co-Main Event


GAMMA Lightweight Title


Champion Giovani Silva (24-9) v. Challenger #8 Callum Henson (6-0-2)


Giovani Silva has run through every contender in the lightweight division, and now gives a surprise shot to Durham Red Raiders' fighter Callum Henson. Henson's last fight was a win over Bruce Steven, and he also has a recent win over Luke Hilton. Silva has run through Morrison, Dalglish, De Souza, and Prochazka. Now he would like to add Henson to that list. Many are asking how much the 34 year old “Brazilian Whirlwind” has left, but as long as he keeps fighting like he has been he shouldn't be in any question. Henson is still very green, and just couldn't pass up a title shot against a legend like Silva.

[PilotMan]

GAMMA: Silva v. Henson
Live on PPV, broadcast all over the world
4^th Friday, September, 1997
Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 4,013


Lightweight Division


Sadahige Yoshida (1-0-1) v. Jackson Gray (9-5-1)


Round 1
Gray hits some tentative punches, then comes in fast and forces Yoshida to back up against the cage, where they clinch. Gray hits a nice body shot, but takes two short punches to the side of the head in return. Yoshida tries a trip, but it doesn't go anywhere. They separate, with Gray having to stay sharp to avoid a scorching right hand from Yoshida. Yoshida with a body shot. Gray steps in to throw a right hand, but doesn't get a chance to pull the trigger as Yoshida is already in with a takedown. Gray hits the floor hard, and Yoshida winds up in his guard. Yoshida passes guard without too much trouble, and cracks Gray with a hard punch to the cheek. Gray tries to scramble into a better position without dropping his guard against another punch, but can't, and Yoshida maneuvers so that he has one knee planted on Gray's chest, keeping him from rolling. Yoshida quickly secures the left arm and transitions into a tight arm bar. Gray has no way out, he taps. Yoshida wins via armbar submission at 5:42 of the first round. (*)


Wow, Gray was made to look silly in this fight. Yoshida made quick work and raised his star a full notch with a win over Gray. Gray will have a lot to think about after this. Certainly it wasn't the way that he wanted it to end.


Middleweight Division


Robert Darrell (9-3) v. Adam White (0-0)


Round 1
White throws a straight right, batted away by Darrell. White goes for a second, but gets beaten to the punch as Darrell scores with a kick that catches White across the outside of the knee. Darrell throws another one, and this time it lands just above the same knee. White backs off slightly. Darrell throws a high jab, then head-fakes and comes in with a left hook from low down. White fires back with a crisp right hand that connects to the shoulder rather than the face. Darrell throws another fizzing low kick, again connecting with the knee. White tried to check it, but couldn't in time. Those strikes are going to add up soon and start reducing his mobility. Darrell throws another kick, this time at chest-height, but it's merely a set-up to allow him to come in fast and start throwing a series of jabs. White covers up, throwing occasional straight rights in return. Darrell backs off, but not before cracking another kick into the thigh region. Time is running down, White has failed to deal with those kicks, and it has definitely cost him this round, and possibly done some damage to his knee. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Darrell by 10-9.


Round 2
The fighters come together right in the center. White throws out a jab, but Darrell bobs out of the way and uses a right hand to glance a blow off the side of the ribs in response. Darrell works an angle and storms in suddenly with three crisp jabs and a looping overhand punch, White covered up quickly but at least one of the jabs hit home. Darrell is making White look sluggish in comparison, such is the speed and crispness with which he is delivering strikes. White hits a low kick before back-pedalling to avoid a clubbing blow. White looks to be working an angle. They meet in the center to exchange a flurry of strikes that gets the crowd on their feet. Darrell got slightly the better of it, he definitely snuck through a right hand that rocked White slightly. White initiates a clinch, and the action grinds to a halt. White looks out of ideas, he is being repeatedly lured into these exchange of strikes, but Darrell is clearly winning them. White needs to find some way to deal with them. Not much time left in this round. The referee separates them. Darrell tries a speculative high kick, but White saw it coming and was well out of range by the time it came. White tries to work an angle, but Darrell is having none of it and fires off a straight right hand to keep him from stepping in. Comfortable round for Darrell, he will probably be disappointed not to have done more damage given his dominance of the striking in this round. The round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Darrell.


Round 3
Slow start; nearly a full minute of circling, occasional fakes, and long-range jabs. Neither fighter is creating much. Darrell works an angle, but takes a low kick to the shin when he advances. They clinch, and end up with White backed up against the cage. Darrell gets a couple of right hands to the body, but his attempts at knee strikes are deflected by White, who uses his legs well to defend. Darrell pulls free and takes a step back, then powers in a right hand. White gets out the way, ducks under a second right hand, and backs up to the center. Darrell follows, and we're back to circling. Uninspiring action so far, they've both been fairly devoid of inspiration. Darrell hits a couple of right hands, both hitting gloves, then a left hand to the body that connected. That was the best shot of the round so far. White tags him with a flicked jab to the cheek, but it had virtually no power on it. White leans in to a looping left, but it puts him off balance and it's only at the last second that he gets his chin out of the way of a vicious right cross that comes back. If that had hit, we may have had a knock out. Time runs out with them standing, circling again. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Darrell. The three judges all give the match as 30-27 to Robert Darrell. (*)


White actually made a pretty good debut here against Darrell, but just wasn't skilled enough to deal with Darrell. Darrell fought well and executed his plan well. A good win, and the 10^th of his MMA career.


Lightweight Division


Gustavo Bautista (12-4) .v Will Kane (9-1)


Round 1
Bautista doesn't waste any time and throws two jabs to the face, but Kane easily side-steps both and circles to the left. Kane throws a head fake, then comes in fast from an angle with a looping punch, but misses and takes a glancing shot to the shoulder from a left hand counter. Kane backs Bautista up against the cage, and we've got a tussle for the superior position. Kane manages to get one arm free from the tangle, and slams a big elbow just below the hairline. Bautista quickly gets that arm tied up again. Knee from Bautista, then two or three small punches to the back. There appears to be blood starting to flow from Bautista's forehead, the earlier strike looks to have lacerated it. The referee has spotted it too, and he gets them to break apart. He wants the doctor to have a look at it. A few minutes of deliberation follow before the doctor tells the referee that the wound is too deep. The referee unfortunately has to end the match, Bautista has been ruled unfit to continue. Kane wins via 1st round medical stoppage with the official time being 1:18. (*)


That was an unfortunate end to a fight that I was really looking forward to. Kane is tough when he is clinched and snares a win here against Bautista. It is the 10^th win in his MMA career too.


Light Heavyweight Division


#9 Aleksei Chekhov (8-2-3) v. #10 Curt Kitson (11-4-1)


Round 1
Kitson starts strongly, immediately rushing in for a takedown. Chekhov got taken by surprise a little, but wrestles his way free of the grapple and pulls to safety. Chekhov doesn't hang around for a second attempt, he uses a looping left to set himself up to come in close and score with a series of strikes, two or three nice body shots included. Kitson covers up, throwing the occasional jab as a counter. Chekhov goes for a vicious uppercut, but gets pulled into a clinch. Kitson goes for a takedown via a trip, but Chekhov defends it. Another trip attempt, another failure. Kitson pushes Chekhov up against the cage and tries to wrestle him to the ground, but Chekhov keeps his balance and sprawls to stop it. Chekhov gets in a hard right hand to the side of the face, taking advantage of the fact that Kitson was leaning in too far. Chekhov reverses so that Kitson is against the cage. They remain clinched, with nothing more than minor strikes being thrown, for a long time. The referee finally breaks them apart and gets them back to the center. Chekhov throws a kick, waist-high, but Kitson avoids it. That could have been used for a takedown attempt if Kitson had been quicker and caught it. Chekhov hits two or three punches in a row, stinging the gloves of Kitson. The round draws to a close. It'll be interesting to see where the judges go with this, as Chekhov clearly got the better strikes in throughout the round, but Kitson did probably show more aggression by virtue of his almost constant attempts to get the takedown. The round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Chekhov.


Round 2
Kitson starts the round by throwing some low kicks. Chekhov checks them, then comes in and clearly wants to trade punches. Kitson doesn't seem too bothered by that, and they enter into the first exchange of punches of the round. Difficult to say who came out on top, neither of them did a great deal of damage, most of the shots hit the opponent's gloves. Kitson cleverly head-fakes, allowing him the time and angle that he needed to catch Chekhov with a beauty of a right hook. Chekhov stumbles backward, but doesn't go down. Kitson presses the advantage by following in with a kick, then a right hand. Chekhov clinches. They remain clinched for a while. Chekhov scores with a nice knee, it appeared to catch Kitson in the gut. Kitson uses a single leg trip and takes the fight to the ground. Kitson gets to side control upon impact, and immediately goes for an armbar. Chekhov reacts quickly, but is in real danger. Kitson has his left arm straightened out, fortunately Chekhov has managed to roll and get a good position that is stopping Kitson from getting the leverage needed to apply an armlock. Kitson tries to step over and fully apply it, but Chekhov breaks free and gets him to back off with a couple of up-kicks. Kitson steps back and motions for him to stand up. They go back to circling in the center. Chekhov hits a nice right hand, but takes one back too. The time runs down; Kitson will probably get that round on points, he hit the best punch of the round, and got the only takedown, plus was the one who was working toward a submission. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Kitson by 10-9.


Round 3
They clinch. Chekhov gets in a nice knee, but a second attempt sees him swept to the ground. Chekhov landed hard with Kitson right on top of him, it looks like he got winded. Kitson hits three big punches to the face, and Chekhov is rocked. Kitson gets an arm, locks in a kimura, and Chekhov has no alternative but to tap out. The official time is 0:50. (**)


A solidly entertaining fight between these two men, a see-saw battle, with Kitson ending up snagging the win.


Garry McSweegan (13-4-1) v. Lenny McFadden (9-5-2)


Round 1
Good start from McFadden, taking McSweegan down almost immediately! McSweegan scrambles though, and gets back to his feet without taking any damage at all. McFadden will be disappointed with that. McSweegan comes in and throws two big right hands, but neither connects, and they put him off balance, allowing McFadden to score with a nice right hook to the side of the head, crunching into the top of the ear. McSweegan felt that one for sure. He stalks McFadden, trying to back him up against the cage. It doesn't work though, McFadden keeps out of the way. McSweegan tries a kick, but McFadden catches the foot and uses it for a trip. McFadden gets McSweegan down for the second time, and this time is right on top of him in guard position. McFadden throws some punches, then tries to pass. McSweegan doesn't allow it, and tries to grab an armbar in response. McFadden easily stops that, and throws some more punches. That becomes the pattern, as the fight falls into a predictable pattern; punches from McFadden followed by a pass attempt, with McSweegan blocking the pass and throwing the occasional punch in response. The round ends like that, just as the referee was about to stand them back up. The round is over. Blurcat.com gives that one to McFadden by 10-9.


Round 2
McSweegan starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by McFadden. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. McFadden goes for a single leg and puts McSweegan on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing McFadden from getting on top. McSweegan definitely seems to want to keep this standing. McFadden hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down McSweegan again. This time McSweegan isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, McFadden will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but McSweegan defends. McFadden tries to slip past to get side control, but McSweegan just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and McFadden has the side. Two big elbows land, and McSweegan seems in trouble. McFadden goes for the kimura, but can't quite get it. The time expires before he can try again, and the referee separates them. End of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 McFadden.


Round 3
McSweegan leads with the right hand to set up a low kick, McFadden deals with it well. They clinch, but only for a few seconds before it gets broken. Both throw stiff jabs at the same time, neither connects properly. Back to the clinch. It has been a disjointed start to the round, the flow hasn't quite developed properly. McFadden uses a knee to the ribs before backing McSweegan up against the cage. Right hand from McSweegan connects though, that was well timed. McFadden breaks the clinch and backs off. That was sloppy on his part, McSweegan was basically gifted a free shot. Three quick jabs from McFadden sting the gloves, then a crashing hook to the body finds its mark. Good recovery. McSweegan fires off a low kick again, but it's well wide. The two fighters come together in the center. McSweegan leads with a left, but McFadden easily avoids it and comes in close to throw some body shots. It all gets a bit scrappy, but it ends with McFadden falling to the ground. Replays show that McSweegan did catch him with a jab, but it clearly did very little damage, McFadden had already stumbled while taking a step backward. Regardless of how it happened though, McFadden is down, and McSweegan is quick to rush in to capitalise. McSweegan has a good position, half-straddling the upper body of McFadden, and can pick his shots. A hard right thunders into the left cheek of McFadden, and a left hits the same spot. McFadden turns his hips, looking to try and shake McSweegan loose, but gets turned over completely and gives up his back! McSweegan starts punching again, driving fists into the side of McFadden's face. McFadden is trapped, and can barely cover up. A few more punches connect, one vicious one to the ear looking particularly nasty, and that's enough for the referee to pull McSweegan away. McSweegan wins via 3rd round TKO with the official time being 4:54. (**)


Talk about a turn around. McFadden owned McSweegan for two rounds, taking him down 4 times, but unable to put him away. McSweegan was able to capitalize on a fluke and turn the fortunes his way. A win is good for him and will help him work his way up the rankings.


Middleweight Division


#7 Bixente Fontaine (10-4-1) v. #8 Tucker Plumm (14-8-1)


Round 1
The two competitors start slowly, circling and looking for an opening. Plumm fakes shooting in for a takedown, but Fontaine didn't buy it for a second. In comes Plumm from an angle to the right, but Fontaine had it covered all the way, and not only easily steps out of the way of the attempted right hand, but manages to score with a solid right hand to the side of the head. Plumm felt that, and is forced to cover up quickly as Fontaine steps in quickly and unloads with a flurry of powerful blows, looking to capitalise on the earlier strike. Plumm is forced back against the cage, but to his credit, he did a good job defending those strikes and didn't seem to take any significant damage. Fontaine doesn't get in too close, realising that it would likely mean getting caught in a clinch, so he stands slightly back instead and throws some low kicks and looping punches. Plumm responds by throwing out some straight jabs, but neither fighter is really doing any damage to their opponent. Fontaine clearly grows tired of the wait, and moves in to hit a body blow. It connects, but Plumm is quick to tie him up in a clinch. That lasts quite a while, until the referee gets in there and breaks them up, telling them to fight. About thirty seconds pass without any contact, and the crowd become a little restless. Fontaine scores with a stiff jab, and bobs and weaves to avoid all three of the rapid-fire punches that come back from Plumm. Nicely done. Plumm, realising that he is losing this round, comes forward with a sense of urgency, throwing right hands to put Fontaine on the back foot. Fontaine handles it well though, refusing to let Plumm get an angle, and using some nice counter punches to the body to further cement the fact that this round is going to him on points. Time expires with Plumm throwing increasingly desperate punches. End of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Fontaine.


Round 2
They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Plumm, providing the first moment of real action. Fontaine hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Plumm side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Fontaine is being slightly the more aggressive, but neither fighter is really going for it. They come together again and exchange punches, but no big shots get through, and they end up clinched for a while. The referee separates them, but the time is ticking away and this round looks like it's going to the judges. The 2nd round ends. Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Fontaine.


Round 3
Plumm clinches. They go down in an awkward moment, not sure what was going on then. Plumm is in the guard of Fontaine. He moves into a side mount, and Fontaine didn't do much to stop it. Plumm brings down a hard shot, but it deflects of the forearms of Fontaine. Plumm looks for a kimura, but Fontaine shifts his weight and sweeps Plumm. Fontaine now has a half mount. Plumm tries a sweep of his own, but Fontaine blocks it, and then gets into a full mount. Fontaine takes one arm, fights off a big effort by Plumm to block it, and cinches in a armbar. Plumm tries to get free, but is stuck, and is forced to tap out. Official time of the armbar submission is 0:48 of the third round. (**)


An odd fight in the way that it went down, to the way that it finished. They made an awkward pair, and even though it finished the way that I thought it would, it didn't end up any way that made sense. Plumm was in position to win a couple of times, but just didn't have the skill to do it right. Good result for Fontaine.


Heavyweight Division


#2 Robun Yamazaki (18-6) v. Tony McCall (20-5-2)


Round 1
McCall isn't hanging around, right from the start Yamazaki is forced onto the back foot by four hard shots, although none of them get through the gloves. Yamazaki circles, steps in, then unloads a combination of punches, but McCall weaves out of the way and scores with a beauty of a right hand, glancing above the right eye. That was some lovely counter punching from McCall, the timing had to be perfect and it was. Yamazaki is looking a bit frustrated, and uncorks a ragged-looking uppercut that missed by several inches. McCall really should have taken advantage of that mistake, Yamazaki was wide open for a moment there. McCall hits a high kick, catching Yamazaki on the shoulder. Jab from Yamazaki finds the mark, but it didn't have much power behind it as he was leaning backward too much. McCall fires off a couple of straight punches in response, but only finds gloves. They clinch, and the fight enters a lull. Yamazaki scores with a knee from the clinch, it landed around the hip area of McCall, who responds with a couple of shots to the ribs. The time runs out with them still clinched though. The round is over. Blurcat.com gives that one to McCall by 10-9.


Round 2
They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Yamazaki, providing the first moment of real action. McCall hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Yamazaki side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. McCall is being slightly the more aggressive, but neither fighter is really going for it. They come together again and exchange punches, but no big shots get through, and they end up clinched for a while. The referee separates them, but the time is ticking away and this round looks like it's going to the judges. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for McCall.


Round 3
Yamazaki leads with the right hand to set up a low kick, McCall deals with it well. They clinch, but only for a few seconds before it gets broken. Both throw stiff jabs at the same time, neither connects properly. Back to the clinch. It has been a disjointed start to the round, the flow hasn't quite developed properly. McCall uses a knee to the ribs before backing Yamazaki up against the cage. Right hand from Yamazaki connects though, that was well timed. McCall breaks the clinch and backs off. That was sloppy on his part, Yamazaki was basically gifted a free shot. Three quick jabs from McCall sting the gloves, then a crashing hook to the body finds its mark. Good recovery. Yamazaki fires off a low kick again, but it's well wide. McCall hits a low kick to the knee; Yamazaki defended it pretty well. Yamazaki drops his head to come in low. McCall sees it coming and moves forward to cut him off, but loses his footing and slips onto all fours. Yamazaki improvises, changing his planned lunge into a knee strike to the side of the head! And a second! He goes to throw a third, but the referee dives in and stops the match. McCall falls backward into the cage. Those knee strikes, perfectly legal of course, really hit hard, and he is showing the effects, glassy-eyed and off-balance. The referee quickly calls the doctor in to look at McCall. The doctor can clearly be heard saying that he thinks McCall has a concussion. The official time is 4:28. (**)


Dissapointing finish for McCall, as he had the fight in hand before falling down. As for Yamazaki, it wasn't a great debut, but his win is a win. It will keep him near the top of the rankings and over time may give him a chance to fight for the title.


Welterweight Division


#7 Lukas Mellberg (11-1-2) v. #8 Simon Vine (9-3-2)


Round 1
Nice fast-paced start from Mellberg, who gets right in Vine's face from the beginning of the round, throwing some crisp jabs and then a vicious uppercut. The two jabs got parried, the uppercut missed as Vine side-stepped. Vine fires back with a left hand, then a right to the body. Mellberg steps in, but only into a waist-high kick from Vine. Mellberg is quick though, and manages to catch it around the knee. Using it as leverage, Mellberg sweeps Vine's standing leg and takes them to the ground. Vine quickly pulls guard. Mellberg tries to pass guard, but Vine doesn't allow it. Vine throws a couple of punches, but they're parried away. He breaks his guard to bring a leg across and try to kick Mellberg in the face, but it's a mistake as Mellberg pushes the leg aside and gets side control. Mellberg pushes them closer to the cage, near his own corner so that they can give him instructions. Following what they say, Mellberg throws some heavy blows to the unprotected stomach of Vine, then tries to isolate the closest arm. Vine frantically tries to stop that happening, but does indeed give it up. He does manage to roll to the side, giving himself some good leverage and preventing Mellberg from extending the arm. Mellberg continues trying to apply an armbar, but Vine is not allowing it. Eventually Mellberg turns and tries to get a crucifix position instead. Vine fights that off too. The round ends with Mellberg still doggedly trying to get an armbar submission, and Vine tenaciously stopping it. End of round 1. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Mellberg.


Round 2
A touch of gloves to start the round, and we're underway. Mellberg lets rip with a vicious straight right almost immediately, but it's easily avoided. Vine sneaks a jab through the guard and catches Mellberg on the left cheek, but the follow up right hook only finds gloves. They get close to each other and end up in a clinch, from which Vine manages to get the better position, pushing Mellberg up against the cage. Right hand to the ribs from Vine. Mellberg hits a couple of knees to the side. There's a struggle for supremacy going on, it's difficult to see who is winning it. Vine tries a knee of his own, but that is the opportunity that Mellberg was waiting for and he sweeps the standing leg to take Vine down to the ground, in side control. Excellent takedown. Vine covers up to defend against a pair of back-hand blows, and even manages to sneak a knee strike in. Mellberg hits a big elbow to the ribs, Vine definitely felt that. Mellberg drives a knee to the near side, then attempts to float-over into a mount. Vine brought his legs in though, and manages to pull guard. Mellberg will be disappointed with that. He tries to get a big punch in, but Vine defends it well and gets a hold of both arms. The fight grinds to a halt, with Mellberg unable to generate any attacks, and Vine unwilling to give up a good defensive position. The referee stands them up. Mellberg will likely be very angry that he didn't make more of that takedown. They exchange half-hearted jabs as the round draws to an end. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Mellberg.


Round 3
Vine is the first to score a meaningful blow, tagging Mellberg with a jab to the cheek. Mellberg uses a nice straight left to return fire. Vine comes in to work the body, but Mellberg saw it coming and uses a quick takedown to put Vine onto the floor, falling into guard. Mellberg tries to pass guard, but Vine doesn't allow it. Vine throws a couple of punches, but they're parried away. He breaks his guard to bring a leg across and try to kick Mellberg in the face, but it's a mistake as Mellberg pushes the leg aside and gets side control. Mellberg pushes them closer to the cage, near his own corner so that they can give him instructions. Following what they say, Mellberg throws some heavy blows to the unprotected stomach of Vine, then tries to isolate the closest arm. Vine frantically tries to stop that happening, but does indeed give it up. He does manage to roll to the side, giving himself some good leverage and preventing Mellberg from extending the arm. Mellberg continues trying to apply an armbar, but Vine is not allowing it. Eventually Mellberg turns and tries to get a crucifix position instead. Vine fights that off too. The round ends with Mellberg still doggedly trying to get an armbar submission, and Vine tenaciously stopping it. The round is over. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Mellberg. All three judges give a score of 30-27 in favour of Lukas Mellberg. (**)


A good fight for Mellberg, his takedowns and ability to keep from getting hurt. Vine's defense kept him in the fight, but he just didn't get enough offense to get any love from the judges. Mellberg's win here will move him up. He is a tough fighter with only one loss on his record. How far away is Regueiro?


Middleweight Division


Greg Atteveld (17-12) v. #3 Jim Carpenter (20-5-1)


Round 1
Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Atteveld puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Carpenter defended well. Straight right from Carpenter in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Atteveld probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Carpenter gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Atteveld. End of round 1. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Atteveld.


Round 2
Carpenter hits some tentative punches, then comes in fast and forces Atteveld to back up against the cage, where they clinch. Carpenter hits a nice body shot, but takes two short punches to the side of the head in return. Atteveld tries a trip, but it doesn't go anywhere. They separate, with Carpenter having to stay sharp to avoid a scorching right hand from Atteveld. Carpenter with a jab. About thirty seconds pass without any contact, and the crowd become a little restless. Big kick from Carpenter! That was out of nowhere, and hit Atteveld on the jaw. I don't think anyone saw that coming, least of all Atteveld, and he has been laid out cold with one massively powerful kick. The official time is 3:49. (***)


Welcome back Mr. Carpenter. A win like that over a vet like Atteveld is going to go a long way. It isn't too often that a fighter of his skill is knocked out cold. I would say that Carpenter is back with a whack!


Heavyweight Division


#3 Lefter Oktay (9-1) v. Tank Manu'a (12-4-1)


Round 1
Quick start to the round from Manu'a, he comes storming in with a flurry of jabs. Oktay defends it well, parrying them away. Nice straight right from Oktay connects. Manu'a gets in close and hits a pair of nice body shots, then they clinch up. Manu'a pushes Oktay back against the cage and goes for a trip, but Oktay blocks it. Oktay suddenly pushes forward off the cage and uses the momentum to take Manu'a down to the ground, into guard. Oktay throws out a right hand, parried away by Manu'a. The guard is quite tight, for the moment at least Oktay looks content to stay there and throw some punches. Manu'a isn't offering any sort of attacking threat yet, instead concentrating on keeping the strikes from landing. A big punch is driven into the ribs, Manu'a thought it was going for the face. Another punch lands in the same place, and a red mark starts to develop. Manu'a reaches up and pulls Oktay down into a clinch, and tries to work an armbar from the bottom. Oktay defends it easily, and gets in a sharp jab to the face too. He stands up slightly, leaning forward into the guard, and starts throwing some right hands. One gets through, the others are parried. Manu'a looked like he might be considering trying to apply a triangle then, as Oktay was very exposed, but he didn't get a chance due to the ferocity of the punches. Oktay gets back down to kneeling in the guard. Another right hand lands to the ribs. Manu'a fires off two punches from his back, but Oktay defends them easily by simply leaning backward out of reach. Oktay stands again, the guard remaining tight around him, and throws another couple of bombs. This time Manu'a does try to apply the triangle, and an armbar at the same time, but Oktay breaks free. Time is ticking down, looks like Manu'a will survive this ground and pound attack. The round ends without further note. The round is over. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Oktay.


Round 2
Oktay and Manu'a circle to start. Manu'a throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Oktay sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Manu'a comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Oktay to slip a nice jab in, catching Manu'a just underneath the right eye. Oktay comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Manu'a misses with a right cross, then backs off. Oktay stalks him, forcing Manu'a back up against the cage. Oktay doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Manu'a throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Oktay pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Manu'a covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Oktay in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Oktay throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Manu'a comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Oktay parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Oktay's favour. End of round 2. Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Oktay.


Round 3
They touch gloves to start the round. Manu'a starts the better of the two, putting together a string of right hand jabs and searching left hands that force Oktay to back up all the to the cage. Manu'a follows him in and gets in close enough to throw some body shots. Oktay clinches. A couple of right hands hit Manu'a's shoulder, but otherwise there's not a lot happening. They break. Manu'a misses with a right hand, and gets caught with a big kick to the legs! Manu'a goes down, his knees literally taken out from under him. Oktay goes to follow up, and almost gets side control, but Manu'a recovers quickly enough to turn and pull guard. Oktay throws out a right hand, parried away by Manu'a. The guard is quite tight, for the moment at least Oktay looks content to stay there and throw some punches. Manu'a isn't offering any sort of attacking threat yet, instead concentrating on keeping the strikes from landing. A big punch is driven into the ribs, Manu'a thought it was going for the face. Another punch lands in the same place, and a red mark starts to develop. Manu'a reaches up and pulls Oktay down into a clinch, and tries to work an armbar from the bottom. Oktay defends it easily, and gets in a sharp jab to the face too. He stands up slightly, leaning forward into the guard, and starts throwing some right hands. One gets through, the others are parried. Manu'a looked like he might be considering trying to apply a triangle then, as Oktay was very exposed, but he didn't get a chance due to the ferocity of the punches. Oktay gets back down to kneeling in the guard. Another right hand lands to the ribs. Manu'a fires off two punches from his back, but Oktay defends them easily by simply leaning backward out of reach. Oktay stands again, the guard remaining tight around him, and throws another couple of bombs. This time Manu'a does try to apply the triangle, and an armbar at the same time, but Oktay breaks free. Time is ticking down, looks like Manu'a will survive this ground and pound attack. The round ends without further note. The 3rd round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Oktay. The official scores are: 30-27 from all three judges for Lefter Oktay. (**)


A tough fight for Oktay, for most of the fight he was in control, but there was a couple of moments that it appeared that he could be the one on the short end of the fight. Manu'a size did keep Oktay from being overly aggressive but it wasn't enough to get him the win.


Co-Main Event


GAMMA Welterweight Title


Champion Julio Regueiro (11-0-3) v. Challenger #10 Gabriel Gallego (13-1)


Round 1
Slow start; nearly a full minute of circling, occasional fakes, and long-range jabs. Neither fighter is creating much. Gallego works an angle, but takes a low kick to the shin when he advances. They clinch, and end up with Regueiro backed up against the cage. Gallego gets a couple of right hands to the body, but his attempts at knee strikes are deflected by Regueiro, who uses his legs well to defend. Gallego pulls free and takes a step back, then powers in a right hand. Regueiro gets out the way, ducks under a second right hand, and backs up to the center. Gallego follows, and we're back to circling. Uninspiring action so far, they've both been fairly devoid of inspiration. Gallego hits a couple of right hands, both hitting gloves, then a left hand to the body that connected. That was the best shot of the round so far. Regueiro tags him with a flicked jab to the cheek, but it had virtually no power on it. Regueiro leans in to a looping left, but it puts him off balance and it's only at the last second that he gets his chin out of the way of a vicious right cross that comes back. If that had hit, we may have had a knock out. Time runs out with them standing, circling again. End of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Gallego.


Round 2
Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. Regueiro is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but Gallego blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from Regueiro is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. Gallego is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before Regueiro can cover up. That landed above the left eye and has left an ugly red mark. No cut, but that will start to swell and could give Regueiro some problems later on. Regueiro moves in for a right hook, but takes a hard kick to the knee, then is forced to retreat so as not to get caught with the two right hands that follow. Gallego is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of Regueiro before they wind up in a clinch. That punch above the eye, or maybe the mistake that led to it, seems to have completely thrown Regueiro off, since that moment he has been comprehensively out-struck and is now in danger of losing this round. They struggle in the clinch, neither fighter managing a great deal more than minor blows. Regueiro goes for a trip, but Gallego cleverly spins out of it and the two fighters are back to circling. Not a great round for purists, it has all been a bit disjointed, but that one shot from Gallego may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Gallego by 10-9.


Round 3
Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Gallego puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Regueiro defended well. Straight right from Regueiro in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Gallego probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Regueiro gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Gallego. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Gallego.


Round 4
Gallego and Regueiro circle to start. Regueiro throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Gallego sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Regueiro comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Gallego to slip a nice jab in, catching Regueiro just underneath the right eye. Gallego comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Regueiro misses with a right cross, then backs off. Gallego stalks him, forcing Regueiro back up against the cage. Gallego doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Regueiro throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Gallego pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Regueiro covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Gallego in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Gallego throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Regueiro comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Gallego parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Gallego's favour. The round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Gallego.


Round 5
Jab from Gallego, then another, and a third. Regueiro weaved out of the way of all three, although the second glanced off the shoulder slightly. Gallego moves back to avoid the counter uppercut. Regueiro comes from the left with a high punch, then goes for the body. Gallego blocks, ducks a straight right, then unleashes an enormous kick. Regueiro ducks at the last possible moment, avoiding it by a split-second! That was an evil-looking kick, if that had hit it was good night for Regueiro, that had 'knock out' written all over it. Regueiro will be on the look out for a repeat of that, there is no way he can afford to take a head kick with that much power without taking a defeat. Gallego hits a wicked right hand, out of nowhere, and Regueiro goes down! Gallego dives on top and starts unloading right hands, but Regueiro scrambles and gets back to his feet. Gallego quickly follows up, looking to capitalise, but gets tagged with a left cross to the jaw. Regueiro, still looking a bit wobbly, throws a wild missile-like head kick...and it hits! Gallego was so focused on pressing the advantage that he wasn't watching for the kick, and that's enough to knock him out cold. Regueiro wins with a kick out of left field. Regueiro wins via knock out at 9:59 of the fifth round. Julio Regueiro retains the GAMMA Welterweight title. (****)


THAT WAS AMAZING! What an end to a fight. Regueiro was beaten, beaten for 4 and three-quarter rounds. The title belonged to Gallego, he was going to be the first to hold a title in both Alpha-1 and GAMMA in the same calender year. Regueiro had nothing, no offense, no movement, no striking for the entire fight. He was almost knocked down, then out, only to answer with an incredible kill-shot to take the fight with one second remaining in the fight. It just doesn't get any closer than that!


Co-Main Event


GAMMA Lightweight Title


Champion Giovani Silva (24-9) v. Challenger #8 Callum Henson (6-0-2)


Round 1
Henson isn't hanging around, right from the start Silva is forced onto the back foot by four hard shots, although none of them get through the gloves. Silva circles, steps in, then unloads a combination of punches, but Henson weaves out of the way and scores with a beauty of a right hand, glancing above the right eye. That was some lovely counter punching from Henson, the timing had to be perfect and it was. Silva is looking a bit frustrated, and uncorks a ragged-looking uppercut that missed by several inches. Henson really should have taken advantage of that mistake, Silva was wide open for a moment there. Henson hits a high kick, catching Silva on the shoulder. Jab from Silva finds the mark, but it didn't have much power behind it as he was leaning backward too much. Henson fires off a couple of straight punches in response, but only finds gloves. They clinch, and the fight enters a lull. Silva scores with a knee from the clinch, it landed around the hip area of Henson, who responds with a couple of shots to the ribs. The time runs out with them still clinched though. The round is over. Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Henson.


Round 2
The fighters touch gloves, then circle. Henson throws a low kick, but it was without any conviction, it seemed designed more to keep Silva from coming inside. Henson works an angle, then comes in with a one-two combination, Silva responds with a crisp uppercut that wasn't far off from connecting. Henson backs off slightly, maybe a bit relieved not to have taken that one on the chin. Neither fighter appears to be looking for any sort of takedown or grapple, this is all about the striking. Silva circles and throws a series of high jabs, but Henson blocked them with ease, using the gloves. Henson fakes a high kick, then storms in with a wild looking right hand and a series of body shots. Silva covers up and rides out the storm, clinching to stop any further blows. It was a nice attack from Henson though, best action of the round. They stay clinched for a while, exchanging occasional punches to the ribs, then are separated by the referee. It looks like this round is going to the judges though, as there's only a few seconds remaining. Henson throws a leg kick that connects, albeit without too much force, and the round is done. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Henson.


Round 3
They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Henson, providing the first moment of real action. Silva hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Henson side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Silva is being slightly the more aggressive, but neither fighter is really going for it. They come together again and exchange punches, but no big shots get through, and they end up clinched for a while. The referee separates them, but the time is ticking away and this round looks like it's going to the judges. End of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Silva.


Round 4
Silva starts strong, hitting a nice low kick and following in with a shot to the body. Henson backs off, but just gets pushed up against the cage. Silva presses the advantage and works a nice hook to the body. Henson responds with an attempted sweep, and when that doesn't work, a punch that lands behind the ear. Silva gets in a low kick as he backs off, and the fight returns towards the center. They come together, both throwing punches. Henson gets a nice clean shot in, and Silva stumbles backwards and falls to the floor. Henson is on top of him quickly, and unloads with two more big punches, both connect solidly. The referee jumps in and pulls him away before a third is thrown, this match is over by TKO. Replays show the referee may have been slightly early. Henson wins via 4th round TKO with the official time being 2:16. Callum Henson wins the GAMMA Lightweight title. (**)


Some things just can't be planned, like the hungry young fighter and the overconfident champion. Callum Henson has just snagged the most prestigious title in GAMMA, and he hasn't even had his 10^th pro MMA fight yet. Silva didn't look like the devastating puncher, or grappler that we have seen in the past, instead he looked old and slow next to the young kid. Silva has been shocked here in Denver, and the world will be talking all about it tomorrow. Congrats to the kid.


Fans left the show unhappy with the overall quality of the show. That really upsets me. I thought that this show was put together rather well, and that there was drama to be had throughout. We gain pop in 49 regions but lose in 17. Now, overall the show was probably better than some others that we had run, as we are rapidly becoming very popular all around the world. Sill, I hate seeing hits quite like that.

[PilotMan]

Well, this hasn't gone quite the way that I anticipated. I don't think that anyone is going to miss it, so I am shutting it down.

I do have a pretty good feel for the game, and enjoy it a lot. I think that this is a good game and I think that future installations are only going to get better.

I would support Adam in his efforts to continue his development of WMMA.