by: Jack Bratcher
Hugh Hefner strolled out in his pajamas tonight to take in the fights being held on his lawn at the Playboy Mansion. This was a great night of action. Big props to Sherdog and Strikeforce for teaming up and streaming this event live on Sherdog.com. This is something Sherdog has done before with other shows and from what they are saying, we can look forward to more live stream feeds in the future. There was not a single technical glitch in the action and that is a big accomplishment when talking about live internet video.
There was a little bit of everything tonight. We had some slick submissions and some great KO’s. I would give Mitsuhiro Ishida the submission of the night and Terry Martin the KO of the night. Luke Stewart deserves an honorable mention for the way he pulled of a very nice armbar. Kazuo Misaki also looked remarkable in his 2nd round TKO of Joe Riggs. Misaki’s speed and ability to bounce back after getting knocked down himself was what was most impressive about his performance. Here’s the full results:
Jesse Gillespie (194) vs. Dave Martin (190.5)
Rd.1 – Takedown by Martin. They are back up. Gillespie lands a kick to the groin. Ref calls time. Fighters trade some shots with Martin getting the better of the exchange.
Rd.2 – Martin lands some shots. Gillespie with a high kick. Martin tells Gillespie to bring it on. Gillespie with leg kicks. Martin lands a left and right. Martin lands an overhand right and a left hook.
Rd.3 – Martin with a jab and a right hand. Gillespie with some body kicks. Martin stalking Gillespie. Martin throwing wild rights. Martin lands a shot that knocks Gillespie down and Martin mounts. Gillespie rolls over and Martin goes for a rear naked choke but the round ends. Jesse Gillespie defeats Dave Martin by split decision.
Brandon Thatch (170.5) vs. Brandon Magana (172)
Rd.1 – Thatch lands a side kick to the body. Magana with a takedown. Some scrambling on the ground and Magana with some ground and pound.
Rd. 2 – Leg kick and a knee to the body by Thatch. Magana gets a takedown but Thatch stands up. Thatch with a kick to the head, then gets a takedown of his own. Magana turtles.
Rd.3 – Thatch with a leg kick and knee. Magana shoots and gets Thatch to the ground. Magana gets full mount and Thatch gives up his back. Thatch is able to stand up and throws several leg kicks. Fight goes back down where Magana gets mount where he lands some strikes.
Brandon Magana defeats Brandon Thatch by split decision.
Kenneth Seegrist (183) vs. Eric Lawson (184.5)
Lawson slams Seegrist right off the bat. Seegrist goes for a guillotine. Lawsom suplexes Seegrist. Lawson gets full mount and Seegrist gives up his back. Lawson sinks in the hooks and secures the rear naked choke causing Kenneth Seegrist to tap out. Eric Lawson defeats Kenneth Seegrist by rear naked choke submission in Rd.1
Jesse Juarez (171) vs. Luke Stewart (169.5)
Luke Stewart, a friend of PRO MMA, comes out striking. Juarez lands some strikes as he sinks into Luke’s guard. Luke goes for an achilles lock. Juarez lands a knee to the head as they stand up. Luke gets full mount and lands some ground and pound softening Juarez up. Luke gets into position and secures a very impressive armbar. He made Jaurez give him that arm. He just plain took that submission from Juarez. Very very nice. Luke Stewart defeats Jesse Jaurez by armbar submission in Rd.1
Be sure to check out our Luke Stewart archives for rare video footage and interview.
Anthony Ruiz (204) vs. Trevor Prangley (203)
Rd.1 – Prangley lands two left hands. Ruiz takes a knee to the groin. Big knee to the head of Ruiz. Big right hand by Ruiz. Left hand by Ruiz. Takedown by Prangley and lands in full mount. Back on their feet and Ruiz lands a left hand.
Rd.2 – Big takedown by Prangley. Side mount. Ruiz turtles on the ground. Four big shots by Prangley to the side of Ruiz’s head. Ruiz stands up but is immediately taken down again. Full mount by Prangley. Back on their feet and Ruiz lands a right hand as the bell sounds.
Rd.3 – Takedown by Prangley. Side mount. Ruiz turtles up and is bleeding. Ruiz stands but Prangley slams him again. Complete domination this round by Prangley. Ruiz has no defense for Prangley’s takedowns as he gets slammed again and eats some ground and pound. Trevor Prangley defeats Anthony Ruiz by unanimous decision.
Mitsuhiro Ishida (156) vs. Justin Wilcox (155)
Ishida is very fast throwing punches and leg kicks. Wilcox shoots in and Ishida grabs his arm, falls backwards, flips Wilcox over him with his legs and locks in one of the fastest and slickest armbars I have ever seen in my life. Wilcox tries to pull out of the armbar and hyper-extends his arm and taps for mercy. Mitsuhiro Ishida defeatts Justin Wilcox by armbar submission in Rd.1
Terry Martin (185.5) vs. Cory Devela (185.5)
Rd.1 – Devela has a big height advantage. Big slam by Terry Martin but Devela gets right up. But Martin slams him again. Devela up again. Left hook by Martin. Leg kick Devela. Right hand by Devela and then a big leg kick. Combos by Devela. Big right hand by Martin lands.
Rd.2 – Single-leg takedown by Martin. Devela looking for a kimura. Devela stands up and throws a combo. Big right hand by Martin and then another one. Two left hands from Martin. Devela kicks Martin in the groin.
Rd.3 – Martin wants a KO. Combos by Devela. Big right hand by Martin again and again. Martin has been throwing that big right all fight looking for the big one but now he throws a big left that connects right on Devela’s chin and drops him. Martin follows it up with a right hand for a KO.
Terry Martin defeats Cory Devela by knockout in Rd.3
Ashe Bowman (154.5) vs. Josh Thomson (155.5)
Bowman is a Lion’s Den fighter with Ken Shamrock in Reno, NV. Interestingly enough, Ken Shamrock says that Bowman doesn’t have the skills that Thomson does and will have to fight a perfect fight to defeat Thomson. I’m not sure what that says but find it a bit odd when your own coach does not think you can win. In fact, I think I might find a new school. He does say Ashe has good footlocks. Way to go Ken for teaching him something. Josh Thomson is the Strikeforce lightweight champion, but this is not a title fight. I never understood why they do that.
Bowman lands a right hand that looks to piss off Thomson and Thomson rushes in with a combo, then lands a right that drops Bowman. He then follows it up with a few more strikes until the ref jumps in. Josh Thomson does not even work up a sweat as he ends this fight in 1:14 of round one. Josh Thomson defeats Ashe Bowman by TKO in Rd.1
Kazuo Misaki (185) vs. Joe Riggs (181.5)
Rd.1 – This round consisted mainly with the fighters feeling each other out. Misaki looked very amped, moving a lot and gauging the distance. Joe is remaining calm Misaki hanging back and moving left and right with lots of feints and fakes. Big body kick by Misaki that was very fast. Body punch by Misaki. Leg kick by Misaki. His movement looks great. Body punch Misaki. Riggs lands a right hand. Head kick by Riggs.
Rd.2 – Body kick Misaki. Big left hand by Riggs drops Misaki but Misaki gets right up as Riggs comes in and throws a fast right that catches Riggs right on the chin. Riggs falls straight back like “timber!” Misaki follows up quickly by jumping on Riggs and throwing a flurry of punches until the ref jumps in. Riggs was defending the punches with his arms over his face but the big shot and the aggressiveness of Misaki has made the ref feel like he has seen enough. Kazuo Misaki defeats Joe Riggs by TKO in Rd.2