NEW DELHI, INDIA — India’s premiere mixed martial arts organization, Super Fight League, held their third event Sunday at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India. Headlining the card was a heavyweight bout between English veteran James “The Colossus” Thompson (18-14, 1 NC) and former WWE star Bobby Lashley (7-2).
The bout proved to be probably the most exciting of Lashley’s young career. Unlike many of his previous fights where he relied heavily on his wrestling, on Sunday he was willing to stand in the pocket and trade with Thompson on several different occasions.
Lashley started out strong, definitely winning round one where he landed heavy combinations of punches and scored a takedown. The majority of round two was spent in the clinch and it was the position Thompson found his most success, landing numerous knees and scoring points with his dirty boxing.
Round three found Lashley fading. Thompson stuffed his takedowns and continued to land strikes in the clinch. It should be noted Lashley took knees to the groin on two different occasions in the fight, once in the first and once in the third. The fight was even going into the third, and Thompson’s ability to keep Lashley’s back against the cage much of the round and get the best of a late exchange likely won him the round and thus the fight.
It was by no means a domination for either fighter. It was a very competitive bout that could have easily been scored a draw. Thompson seemed to have the better cardio, although Lashley has obviously improved in that department. It is obvious Lashley is improving as a fighter but it was the much more experienced and bigger Thompson who got the nod from the judges, winning via unanimous decision.
Watch the James Thompson vs. Bobby Lashley fight video
In the co-main event, UFC and Strikeforce veteran Trevor Prangley (24-9-1) got back on the winning track following the worst year of his decade-long pro mixed martial arts career in which he lost three straight fights. Prangley took out 27-year-old M-1 veteran Baga Agaev (26-13) of Russia with a third round knockout due to punches.
In middleweight action, former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug “Rhino” Marshall (14-6) suffered a 34-second flying knee knockout from Dream and Bellator veteran Zelg Galesic (11-6) of Croatia. Both fighters came out like bats out of hell throwing wild and fast combinations. Marshall backed up into the cage wall and just as he was bouncing off the cage with his back, Galesic caught him with a perfectly timed jumping knee that sent him down and out.
Watch the Zelg Galesic vs. Doug “Rhino” Marshall fight video
Super Fight League 3 results:
- James Thompson def. Bobby Lashley by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Trevor Prangley def. Baga Agaev by TKO (punches) Rd 3 (2:03)
- Joanne Calderwood def. Lena Ovchynnikova by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)*
- Anup Kumar def. Chatmongkhon Simma by TKO (punches) Rd 1 (4:55)**
- Kultar Gill def. Quinton Arendse by KO (punches) Rd 1 (:51)
- Lakwinder Sekhon def. Vladimir Biandov by TKO (Retirement) Rd 2 (5:00)^
- Gurdarshan Mangat def. Cong Liu by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rd 2 (2:37)^^
- Zelg Galesic def. Doug Marshall by KO (flying knee) Rd 1 (0:34)
* – Ovchynnikova deducted 1-point in Rd. 2 for grabbing fence
** – Kumar was deducted 2-points in Rd. 1 for illegal punches to back of head
^ – Todorov was not able to answer the bell for round three
^^ – Mangat was deducted 2-points in Rd. 1 for an illegal knee
Very nice event.. full of fast paced action and non stop KO’s ( TKOs included )….
even the Desi fighters were good too… Kultar ‘Black Mamba’ Gill, Anup Kumar, etc
SFL3 was a very well managed event… 3 Cheers for the organization…