Strikeforce Payback, Broomfield, Colorado, 10/04/2008
This is Strikeforce's first show off the Left Coast and is a sorta co-promotion with a local promotor. Card is broadcast on HD-Net. Phil Baroni was scheduled to fight James Martinez (4-9 record) but was cut in a fight a week ago which he won by decision, so tonight's fight was scrapped. Broomfield is a suburb of Denver and the altitude may prove to be a factor in some of the fights. Matt Hume in for Bas, who of course is in Lauderdale with Kimbo, to commentate with Kenny Rice. Universal rules except elbows on the ground are illegal.
Tyler Toney vs. Ricky Johnson, 154
Featherweights up first. Both local guys. Johnson has his own music? 0-1 and he has his own music? Toner is 2-1, Johnson is 0-1. Height and weight even.
High kick Johnson blocked. Toner 1-2-1, counter right. Clinch. Toner kneeing effectively. Break. Toner body kick, counter right. Combo Johnson short. Toner right lead, body kick. Johnson short with a combo and Toner leg kick counter. Clinch and Toner kneeing effectively again. Break. Toner picking him apart. Johnson throwing wild rights. Jab low kick Toner, making Johnson miss, clinch and knee to the head. Johnson on his bicycle. Toner feints low kick and makes it a front body kick. Nice. Right lead and 2 knees for a flash KD. Toner tries a high kick and slips down. Scramble and Toner is on top. Johnson grabs a Guillotine. Toner still in it but passes to side mount. Toner 10-9, almost 10-8.
Johnson charges and lands some. Toner clinches. Break. Johnson short with high kick. Toner picking him apart again. Johnson looking like he got hit in the face by a car, shoots, nada. Clinch and more knees from Toner. Kick on the break. Big right lead. All Toner. Body knee KD into Johnson's guard. Toner stands, pounds, and drops back down. Johnson tries to punch up but Toner drops a huge shot, Johnson in trouble. Toner out of guard and now mounts. Johnson gives up his back. Back to guard and Toner dropping shots and the ref calls it. Toner has skills. Johnson should give the music back till he can fight some.
Michelle 'Karate Hottie' Watterson vs. Tyra Parker, 112
Can they fight? Who cares? Watterson's on the right. Parker ain't bad, either. Parker came in 4 pounds over and Watterson agreed to fight at catchweight.
Parker in first. Out of Georgia. Lost her debut a few weeks ago. Watterson is 4-3, from New Mexico fighting out of Colorado. Parker is taller. They're not as cute out of bikinis.
Okay this is weird. I thought it was like a mic glitch in the first fight but no---after the refs here ask if the fighters have any question, THEY ACTUALLY PAUSE AND WAIT FOR QUESTIONS. Has anybody EVER seen a fighter ask a question?
Ding. Parker counters kicks with punches right at the bell. Big right Watterson, less hard right counter Parker. Clinch. Parker had a Whizzer but lost it. Big knees from Watterson. Gets back and gets the TD. Has the RNC and a Figure-4 body scissors and it's over. Watterson CAN fight some.
Nate Marquardt (Colorado guy) in the house and interviewed. Will be cornering Duane 'Bang' Ludwig in the main.
Andrew Walker vs. Carlos Zevallos, 205
Little buzz going in here. Zevallos, making his MMA debut, is a 2-time NY Golden Gloves boxing champion out of Gleason's Gym, and Muay Thai US champion, trains at ATT, now out of Miami. Walker is the local guy, with a kickboxing background also. Started out in Toughmans and fought his way up to K-1. 2-3 in MMA (over 6 years). Zavalos 6 years younger at 30 and a bit bigger but Walker more muscular.
Walker southpaw. Opens jabbing. Lead right hook. Walker scores a KD with a big left cross and is trying to pound him out. Zavalos pulls Guard. They're back up, Zavalos still woozy and Walker knocks him right back down. Zevallos totters up. Clinch. Zavalos still rocky. Zavalos knees from the clinch, nothing on them. Walker getting wild. Clinch and trade knees. Zavalos still doesn't look right. Walker short with wild shots and switches righty. He may be gassing. Clinch. Altitude may have gotten to Zavalos and may now be getting to Walker even though he's local (or maybe his cardio just isn't that good). Walker tries a legtrip TD and Zavalos ends up on top in side mount. Traps an arm and drops shots but still nothing on them. Mounts. Thinks about an arm bar but is too close to the fence. Keeps dropping shots, still not much on them but more than before, Walker not defending and the ref calls it. Great start to this fight but kinda ended with a whimper. Zavalos on the postfight says he never got hit that hard before in his life.
Luke Caudillo vs. Billy Evangelista, 155
Evangelista is 7-0 and has been seen on previous Strikeforce cards. Out of Frsno, trains at AKA. Caudillo is the home boy, 18-14 with 14 KOs but he's lost three in a row, two in UFC. Both 27, Evangelista an inch taller.
They trade shots at long range and Evangelista grabs Plum and gets in a couple knees. Low kick. Walks right into a left half hook and it's a KD. He's hurt. Caudillo pounces and pounds. Back up and Caudillo knocks him right back down. And a third KD. Evangelista is in big trouble. The ref lets it go and Evangelista defends enough to get back up and gets a clinch. Break and misses a high kick. Again. Short with a 1-2 but he's getting back into the fight. Caudillo letting the window shut. Evagelista shoots, nada, but gets in a knee. Caudillo low kick. 1-2 Evangelista. Right lead. Again. Caudillo kicks, caught, gets taken down, bounces right up but eats a combo. Body kick Evangelista. Caudillo misses a roundhouse right. Big knee Evangelista, double right, knee, KD with a short left hook, goes from N/S to back and raining shots. Gets side mount at the bell. How the hell do you score that? Gotta give it to Evangelista 10-9 for the comeback. Caudillo blew it big time.
Evangelista jabs. Side kick. Jab. Caudillo counters with a 1-2 and misses a low kick. Evangelista kicks and Caudillo catches it and takes him down. Evangelista leg climbs the fence and escapes, lands a hard jab. Low kick. Jab, low kick again. Combo. Misses a jump knee. Caudillo waiting too much. Evngelista short with a high kick, lands a jab. Body kick. Shoots, lands a knee. Causdillo wild with a right hook. The shoot/knee combo again. The shoot is almost like a feint. Starting to pick him apart. Misses a right lead, Caudillo short with a right counter, Evangelista lands a 1-2, shoots, nada, back to the jab. Right lead. Misses a lead hook. Jab. Evangelista 10-9.
Both corners telling their guy they need a big round. Right lead Evangelista and back to the jab. Caudillo tentative with his strikes. Right lead, left high kick Evangelista. Jab. Lead hook. Shoots and gets it. Pulls out of Guillotine. Keeping Caudillo against the cage. Pounding the body. Up to the head. Ref standup. Trade jabs. 1-2 Evangelista. Caudillo shoots, nada, eats a knee and a right. Evangelista jab, shoots, nada. Right to the body, misses a left upper. Caudillo lands a shot. Trade jabs. Evangelista shoots, nada. Jabs. Shoot, knee, misses a knee. Evangelista closes with a series of punches and knees. Evangelista 10-9. I make it 30-27 but the first round could be scored almost any imaginable way.
Decision seems to be taking a long time. Scores... 29-28... 29-28... 30-27... Evangelista. UD. Had its drama and action but all in the first round.
Pete Spratt vs. Donnie Liles, 170
Liles 11-5, has a wrestling background, 9 sub wins and won 4 of his last 6. 13 of his fights have only gone 1 round. Spratt 18-14, real good striker, has some big wins but has lost 5 of his last 8, all by sub. Height and weight even.
Liles short with a 1-2. Spratt lands a combo, is short with a high kick and somersaults over backwards and back to his feet. Big double right Spratt. Liles short with a high kick. Spratt jabs, 1-2. Clinch. Spratt knee goes low and TO. Liles swelled up over the eye. Spratt lands a right and a knee. Liles wild with a high kick. Spratt misses a double Superman. Body kick. Jab. Jab, Fitzsimmons Switch, misses two rights. Liles lands a right. Spratt slips, gets back up. Right lead. Liles charges and gets in a couple jabs, Spratt counters with a left hook. Liles shoots but stuffed. Clinch. Spratt punches the thigh. Liles tries a Whizzer but it's Spratt that gets the TD and drops a big right at the bell. Spratt 10-9, almost 8.
Liles charges and tries to shoot. Clinch and Liles jumps guard. Overhooks the head. Spratt stands up and out. Liles charges again, nada. Right lead and right body hook Spratt. Liles clinches, gets the front headlock and lands a knee. Spratt looking gassed, altitude might be getting to him. Missing punches and kicks but lands a lead upper. Liles gets a punch in. Spratt lands a combo and a high knee. Clinch. Trading knees. Liles tries a TD, nada. Body kick Spratt. Liles wild with a back fist. Spratt left hook, body shot. Another body shot. Liles shoots with a charge, gets the double. Half guard. Gets mount. Thinking arm bar but Spratt turns and gives up his back but it's the end of the round. I think Liles stole the round. 10-9.
Liles shoots and gets the double, Spratt bounces right up. Liles tries Guillotine. Spratt pops out. Clinch. Liles gets the double again. Has knee on belly and gets mount. Spratt tries to turn and Liles gets the body triangle and gets the RNC and Spratt taps. Good fight.
Frank Trigg vs. Falaniko Vitale, 185 .
This is the 'Superfight'. Ooookay. Josh Thomson out to guest commentate.
Vitale 26-8 out of Honolulu, very experienced, very hard puncher, excellent subs but a tendency to gas. Won 5 out of his last 6. A shade bigger, 34 to Trigg's 36. Trigg we all know. 17-6. Trigg favored 3-1.
Frank southpaw. Low kick. Niko right counter. Trigg moves in behind a combo, clinches, knee goes low, TO. Both jabbing. Frank clinches, pushes him back to the fence, dirty boxing and scoring points. Niko gets in one counter and Frank clinches. Niko scores a flash TD off a knee, Frank right up, Niko has back standing but loses it. Break. Niko jabs. Low kick Trigg, comes in behind a combo, Niko gets in a body shot counter, clinch. Frank beats him to the punch. Knees and clinches. Trigg tries a Cornish Hype, nada. Ref could break 'em any time now. Niko gets a body shot, eats a jab. Frank shoots behind a combo, lands a knee, clinch. Pushes him against the fence again. Trigg 10-9.
Niko lands a right lead, eats a low kick. Frank charges and clinches again. Niko reverses so Trigg is against the fence. Trigg reverses. Trading knees. Both throwing short shots. Ref break. Left lead Trigg, left hook Niko. Trigg mixing it up, lands a knee. Trigg confusing him. Clinches again. Crowd starting to boo. Niko gets a couple knees in. Niko reverses and pushes off and lands a body shot, stuffs a legtrip. Frank clinches again. Ref break. Trigg beating him to the punch. Niko lands a couple, Trigg counters, right lead Niko and misses a wild right at the bell. Trigg 10-9. Just outworking him but not a lotta fun to watch.
Niko tries to open up but Trigg counters, clinches, shoots and gets the double to half guard. Niko sits up against the fence. Finally stands, knees from clinch but Trigg shoves him against the fence again. Trigg tries a TD but nada. Ref break. Big right Niko. Best thing he's done all night. Suddenly he's finding the range a little. Trigg shoots, stuffed, clinch, Niko gets the double but Trigg gets right back up. Still clinched. Trading knees. Break and Trigg beating him to the jab. Niko wild with a right and Trigg potshotting. Trigg gets the TD to guard. 10-9 Trigg. Boring fight.
Scores... 29-28? 29-28? What round did Niko win? 30-27, UD Trigg. Bleh. Kenny compares Trigg's performance to Thomson's performance vs. Melendez. Josh oughtta slug him. That was an insult.
Duane 'Bang' Ludwig vs. Sam Morgan, 165
Little history here as Morgan scored a quick KO over Ludwig when they fought in 2005. Bang 16-8, getting the local guy pop, has had the better record in the three years since they fought, though he's also had a lot less fights. He's 30, Morgan 27, an inch taller, 19-11.
Both guys righty. Bang low kick, Morgan clinches, gets the TD into half guard. Bang does the Liddell stand up and lands shots. Morgan wild. Clinch. Bang lands a knee and gets a legsweep TD into guard. Stands to punch and Morgan kicks him off and stands. Great lead left hook to the solar plexus Bang. Morgan nearly crumples. Bang follows up with a double left hook, right hand, scores the KD, pounces and rains hard shots. Stands and drops a straight right to the solar plexus. Morgan taps as he's following up.
Fun while it lasted and impressive performance by Ludwig. His wife comes over and tries to horn in on the postmatch promo, what's up with that?
Eh. Had its moments, but not a memorable or highly entertaining card. Trigg fight and the anticlimatic finshes in the two big comeback fights kinda killed it.
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