Friday, May 14, 2010
Liveblog: UCC 2 Part 5
Last fight and it's Ricardo Almeida-trained Dante Rivera against Iron Horse MMA's Ryan Contaldi. Based on cornermen alone Contaldi is in trouble, as he's got UFC fighter Mike Massenzio while Rivera has UFC champ Frankie Edgar plus Chris Liguori, Haz Ibrahim and Tom DeBlass. We'll see if he can overcome the deficit. The opening frame has the two going back and forth with select strikes and clinch-work, with Contaldi scoring a takedown late and Rivera nullifying his top game. Rivera is large and in charge in Round 2, though, throwing Contaldi with some high-amplitude takedowns and working into a North-South choke. The tap comes at 3:20 of the round. Good showing for Rivera. And that's all she wrote...
Liveblog: UCC 2 Part 4
AMA FC flyweight Sean Santella vs. Midwesterner Josh Rave is the next bout on the menu, and if history tells us anything it's that this one should involve quite a bit of grappling. Santella finds himself on his back and immediately starts firing off armbar and triangle attempts, but Rave soon takes control with back-mount and a world of hurt visited upon the local fighter. "Shorty Rock" survives the round, yet in Round 2 he still seems stymied whenever Rave gets the better of the transitions, and every sub attempt is met with Rave deftly neutralizing it and escaping. Round 3 begins with Santella's fortunes reversing as he takes Rave's back and very nearly sinks the choke, but eventually Rave escapes and once more takes control. The unanimous decision goes to Rave. Next: Team Renzo lightweight John Cholish against ATT's Hitalo Machado in a five-round championship bout. This is another one where there should be a lot of grappling, maybe jiu-jitsu. Ah, what do I know? These two actually do engage a bit on the feet, each throwing some sharp and technical kicks and punches, but whenever Cholish wants a takedown he gets it, and on the ground they seem evenly matched (and equally dangerous). The second round has Machado getting the better of the boxing exchanges and the Team Renzo fighter firing off some killer kicks, and in the third Cholish has found a home for that low-kick and it's against the ATT rep's thigh. Machado is limping and visibly hurt, but he's still in it going into Round 4 - a situation Cholish remedies by mixing low-kicks with overhand rights until Machado collapses in a heap. The official time of the TKO is 2:25 of the fourth round, and Cholish comes away looking every bit the future superstar.
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