Liveblog: Ring of Combat Part 5

Get ready for a striking war, as Aaron Meisner and Costa Phillippou are up. Meisner can run hot or cold sometimes - he's straight up slain opponents with his Muay Thai, and other times he's just been steamrolled (a bout in Mexico, his TUF 7 bout that would've gotten him into the TUF house). We'll see which one shows up tonight. Wow, okay, well, Phillippou threw one punch, a blazing right cross, at about the 15-second mark that sent Meisner to the canvas, and when Meisner rose up on autopilot, the Serra/Longo rep casually stepped behind him, pulled him down, and slapped on the rear naked choke. Meisner resisted for a while, but eventually tapped out 2:27 into the round. Phillippou threw one strike. One. And it was enough. Matt Makowski, one of the best fighters out of Daddis FC, against Ricardo Almeida-trained Sergio Vinagre is next. Round 1 has Makowski picking Vinagre apart like a Thanksgiving turkey in an orphanage, but for his part Vinagre is giving him hell, swinging wildly and often. Round 2 sees Vinagre on his back eating shin and Makowski ax-kicking him in the balls. After a restart, Makowski's Muay Thai clinic continues, and every strike in the book is thrown (and each one connects). The only way to describe this bout is "slaughter". However, Vinagre has more heart than anything, and he refuses to stay down for long. Round 3 ends with Makowski a million miles ahead on the scorecards, but damn did Vinagre show that he had heart. It's time for Brendan Barrett and Ricardo Romero to determine who gets to fight for the ROC 205-pound championship belt next. Ace reporter Eric Joza is reminding me that Glen Sandull is the ROC 205 champ, which he earned when Romero fought him and got DQ'd for an illegal kick on the ground. Ah yes, that must have happened while I was incarcerated. Round 1 has Romero imposing his will with takedowns and some positional dominance, but Barrett is all dangerous, all the time, and very capable of landing that one strike that would turn the tide. That strike never comes. In Round 2 Romero gets him down, takes his back, and muscles on the rear naked choke for the tap out. It's all over 44 seconds into the round. This was a very impressive win for Romero. Barrett is a tough, tough fighter.