by:  Jack Bratcher

Elite XC held its ShoXC Elite Challenger Series tonight in Santa Ynez, CA. at the Chunash Casino.  Here is how the main card went down that aired live on Showtime.

Erik Apple vs. Matt Makowski
Rd.1 – Apple gets the takedown early in the round and ends up on top looking for a kimura.  Stays on top of Makowski for over two minutes landing ground and pound and still going  for an arm submission.   Makowski can’t escape from the bottom of Apple’s control and stays on his back for close to a full five minutes.
Rd.2 – Apple with a head kick but receives a right hand from Makowski.  Apple shoots in and Makowski gets a guillotine.  Apple escapes and Makowski is now back on the bottom where he spent all of round one.  Apple secures full mount.  Landing elbows from the top.  Makowski gives up his back and Apple sinks in the rear naked choke for the tapout.  Erik Apple defeats Matt Makowski by rear naked choke submission in round 2. Notes:  Mike “The Joker” Guymon was in Apple’s corner.  Apple is the guy who defeated Nick Serra last time by taking his legs out from under him with numerous leg kicks making it so Serra could not continue.

Giva “The Arm Collector” Santana  vs.  Jaime Jara
Giva Santana is 11-0 with 10 wins by submission all in round one. That is simply INSANE!
Rd.1 – Santana with a body kick.  Santana moves in with and grabs the Thai plum, delivers some knees.  Jare catches Santana with a punch but immediately Santana rushes in and takes Jare down.  Santana with side control, gives an elbow and another.  Full mount by Santana.  Jare gives up his back then back to full mount, then gives up his back again and back to full mount again.    Finally back to their feet and a knee to the face by Santana.  Trip takedown by Santana.  The announcers seem to think Santana was “playing or toying” with Jare when he had him in a dominant position.
Rd.2 – Counter right hand by Santana.  Santana slips down but Jare lets him up.  Leg kick by Santana and another.  Righ hand by Santana.  Santana looking for a heel hook but Jare pushes him off and stands up.  Knee by Jare.  Body kick by Santana.  Right punch by Santana.  Big left hand drops Santana.  Jare lets him up to avoid the ground game.  Jare keeps sticking his tongue out at Santana.  Combination punches from Jare.  Fight is even now with one round each.  Great round for Jare.
Rd.3 – Jare stalking Santana with a devious smile.  Elbows from Jare.  Jare with a big left.  Body kick by Santana.  Another left hand by Jare.  Big punches from Hare land in combination.  Jare still looking light on his feet.  Santana goes for a takedown but is denied.  They trade leg kicks.  Right stiff hand by Santana. followed by a body kick and another one.  Jare looking winded and bloody.  Two final knees by Santana may have secured him the round and the win.  Definitely Giva Santana’s toughest fight to date.  Great fight and effort by both guys.  Jare has a huge gash under his eye.  Jaime Jara defeats Giva “The Arm Collector” Santana by split decision. Wow that was a big surprise.   Quite a few boos at the decision and it was certainly controversial.   Hoever, it was a close fight for sure.

Malaipet Team Diamond vs. David “Tarzan” Douglas
Malipet failed to make weight thereby forfeiting ten percent of his purse to his opponent and ten percent to the Athletic Commission.
Rd.1 –  Douglas with a takedown, passes the guard and has side control.  Douglas with a knee on his side.  Douglas looking for full mount but Malaipet defends and Douglas starts reigning down bunches and bunches of punches.  Somehow Malaipet sweeps Douglas and ends up on top.  Douglas catches him in a triangle but Malaipet slips out and ends up in a scissor choke instead.  Back to their feet.  Huge uppercut by Douglas followed by  another shot.  Malaipet smiles.  Great chin by Malaipet and he fires back with a big shot.  Douglas appears hurt.  Big leg kick by Malaipet drops Douglas flat to his back.  One of the best leg kicks I have ever seen.  Ref lets Douglas up.  He gets up slowly.  Douglas gets a takedown and ends up on top.  Ref stands them up.  Big left then right by Malaipet.  Bell sounds then a late kick by Malaipet.  One of the best first rounds in MMA history in my opinion.  That was fu**ing awesome!!  That is what MMA is all about my friends.
Rd.2 – Douglas shoots and Malaipet sprawls.  Left hand by Malaipet.  Flying knee by Malaipet.  Douglas looks slow and tired.  Big combo from Malaipet.  Big kicks from Malaipet to Douglas’s legs.  Knees to Douglas’s body put Douglas down …he’s on his knees and eats a punch from Malaipet.  Ref tells Douglas to stand but he barely can due to the numerous leg kicks he keeps receiving.  Douglas gets a takedown.  Malaipet waiting for the standup.  Ref stands them up.  Another takedown by Douglas.  Douglas deserves credit for hanging in because he is out of gas.  Malaipet is very new to the ground game.  Douglas with side control and now full mount by Douglas.  Multiple right hands from the mount by Douglas.  Bunches of small punches by Douglas from the mount.  Douglas can not finish the fight due to he has no power behind his punches.  He was in full mount with little defense from Malaipet BUT COULD NOT FINISH the fight because he had so little left.  That is sad to see.
Rd.3 –  Flying knee by Malaipet but Douglas shoots and immediately gets him down.  Malaipet needs to learn some sprawls.  Douglas with multiple shots to the face of Malaipet.  Full mount again by Douglas.  Malaipet is bleeding.  Malaipet looks like a fish out of water while on the ground on his back.  Douglas starts throwing little hammerfists that look like a little girl patting hitting someone.  This is so sad.  Steven Quadros the announcer is a drummer and they are comparing these punches to a drummer.  So after about 150 drumming punches he summons some strength that gets some more power on those punches,; Malaipet’s face is a bloody mess and the ref finally stops the fight.  David “Tarzan” Douglas defeats Malaipet Team Diamond by TKO  from strikes. Douglas comes from the Cesar Gracie school of fighting.

Shane Del Rosario vs. Carl Seumanutafa
Rd.1 – Carl gets the takedown and is in Del Rosario’s full guard.  Rosario throwing elbows from the bottom.  Del Rosario going for a triangle and has it locked in.  He pulls on the head and the ref almost stops it.  Carl gives a thumbs up that he is ok.  Del Rosario goes for an armbar but Carl escapes.  Carl hangs out in side control for the final minute of the round landing a couple of elbows. This entire round stayed on the ground .
Rd.2 – Kick by Del Rosario.  Carl shoots in but gets stuffed and ends up on his back.  Carl shoots again and stuffed again.  Superman punch by Carl followed by a shoot.  He eats a couple of knees to the body followed by some hard punches to the face by Del Rosario.  Carl stands up to escape the big punches but gets to eat a huge punch to the face by Shane Del Rosario that drops him.  Del Rosario follows it up with more punches and the ref stops it.  Shane Del Rosario defeats Carl Seumanutafa by TKO from strikes.

Wilson Reis vs. Abel “The Silent Assassin” Cullum (first ever EliteXC 140 lb. Bantamweight Title Fight)
Abel cullum is a King of the Cage title holder.  Reis is 5-0 coming into this fight and Cullum is 11-1.
Rd.1 –  Reis gets the takedown and rains down a left hand from Cullum’s full guard.  Reis has full mount but Cullum escapes.  Reis goes for an armbar but Cullum has a textbook escape that was beautiful.  Very technical ground scrabmle there.  Cullum taken down after throwing a kick.  Cullum trying to get back to his feet and succeeds but Reis throws him right back to the floor.  Cullum very busy from the bottom but Reis with great control keeping Cullum on his back.  It is a war of attrition as Cullum gets back to his feet and Reis immediately puts him down again.  Cullum back to his feet again.  It is a real struggle of wills.  Knee by Cullum.  Reis looking for the takedown as they are still clinched.  Reis puts him down one last time as the bell sounds.  No damage done but Reis definitely controlled the round.
Rd.2 – Cullum connects with an overhand right as Reis shoots in and takes Cullum down.  Reis passes the guard but ends back up in full guard.  Side control by Reis.  Cullum trying to stand.  Reis gets Cullums back and Reis spins around to put himself in a full mount underneath Reis.  Cullum reverses and now has mount on Reis.  Cullum in Reis full guard now.  Cullum punching down from the guard.  Reis goes for an armbar.  Cullum escapes.  Reis goes for an armbar again but ends up in full mount.  Now in Cullum’s full guard.  Reis with some ground and pound.
Rd.3 – Reis swings and connects with a left.  Reis shoots, takes down Cullum and puts him against the fence.  Cullum back to his feet.  Clinched against the cage.  Shoulder strikes from Cullum.  Reis shoots and gets Cullum down again.  Cullum ends up on top though.  Reis goes for an armbar and Cullum rolls out.  Reis gets another qucik takedown and gets the back of Cullum.  Cullum spins and is now fully mounted.  Reversal by cullum who ends up top as the bell sounds.
Rd.4 – Head kick by Cullum is deflected.  Trading shots.  Leg kick by Cullum followed by a punch.  Cullum swings, Reis shoots, and gets the takedown.  Both guys are in top notch shape.  They have been going full speed for three and a half rounds now with no signs of slowing yet.  Reis has side control and moves to full mount.  Cullum escapes and looks for an armbar, then a triangle.  Reis is controlling the position the majority of the time.  Reis in full mount but Cullum escapes.  Cullum stands but Reis puts him right back down on his back.
Rd.5 – Cullum throws an uppercut from too far out and Reis shoots in to put him down.  Cullum with an upkick and another one.  Reis with full mount but Cullum kicks out of it.  Cullum now on top.  Reis reverse and ends up in side control.  Cullum stands up.  Reis takes him right back down.  Cullum throwing strikes from the bottom.  Reis with  an elbow and strikes from the top.  It was a wrestling and jiu-jitsu chess game with some striking thrown in for good measure.  Wilson Reis defeats Abel “The Silent Assassin” Cullum by unanimous decision to win the EliteXC Bantamweight Title.

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