UNTAMED 10 POST FIGHT REPORT: A FULL FORCE PRODUCTIONS EVENT
Posted on | March 12, 2007 | 2 Comments
FULL FORCE PRODUCTIONS’ UNTAMED 10
(PICTURES WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON)
Post Fight Report by: Rich Bergeron
Ten incredible fights took center stage in the ring at Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts Saturday night in front of a packed house of over 1,500 people. It was a spectacular show bringing in high-caliber fighters who provided non-stop thrills from start to finish.
Paul Gorman of the Academy of Mixed Martial Arts in Portland, Maine was the first fighter warming up in the ring on Saturday before most of the fighters had even shown up yet. The 140-pounder, coming in with a record of 4-3-1, has been in training for three years and has two years of fights under his belt already. As one of the stars of the main event Saturday, Gorman admitted he would be feeling the jitters just like he does in any other fight. He explained that, no matter what role he plays on the card, each competition scares the Hell out of him. “It’s all about proving something out there,” he said. “I don’t think you’re a real fighter until you’ve had to come back from a loss.”
He considers himself a well-rounded fighter despite reporting, “I like the ground the best.” He added that his favorite submission is a rear naked choke and he prides himself on being able to mix his boxing and jiu jitsu training in with his wrestling background. He works part time at a grocery store to support his training and also teaches classes in MMA.
He got what he expected out of Dan Ferrer Saturday, who came in with a record of 4-1-1. He predicted a “tough fight” and knew Ferrer liked standing up and striking. “I always like to go to the ground,” he said. “I’ll just work for the takedown and try to put him on his back.” Gorman would like to fight in Japan someday, where he mentioned the fighters are more respected and revered. He also wants to keep teaching and “fight as long as I can.” He gave special thanks to his coaches: Jay Jack and Amanda Buckner. “I’d never be able to do it without them,” he said.
They obviously prepared him well, as he edged out Ferrer with an excellent strategy to go along with his greater wrestling abilities. Ferrer got off to a quick start and did prove to have some decent striking ability. He landed a few vicious knees to Gorman’s legs before he wound up exactly where Gorman predicted he would. Gorman scored a few leg kicks of his own in the middle of the round and wound up locking up a takedown. He spent the rest of the round trying to lock up a chokehold.
It was all Gorman in the second. Ferrer just couldn’t keep up under the onslaught Gorman unleashed. He landed a few leg kicks and some rib shots, but otherwise he had no answer for his well-rounded opponent. Gorman landed a leg kick of his own and a left and right hand early in the second. After a jab and a follow-up right hand Gorman locked up the Guillotine tight and sunk it in deep. Ferrer wound up on the ground and struggling to rip Gorman’s arm off his throat. He eventually succeeded and Gorman kicked off his back and tried for an arm bar. He got back up to his knees and scored a takedown from there. A left and right hand from Gorman provided the final action of the night. He won a Majority Decision.
“I’m super excited,” said Gorman after the fight. “I’ve been waiting to fight him for a long time.” He added that he was pretty sure he won when he discovered there would be no overtime round. “I hit him good,” he said. “I landed a lot of solid shots on him.” He also mentioned his sponsor Hell on Earth (www.hellonearthcult.com).
Despite being the clear aggressor and the more dominant fighter, Gorman was still humble in winning. “I can always do better,” he admitted. “There’s always things you could do better.”
The undercard began with a fight between Josh Spearman of Dragon Warrior MMA and Don Amarasinghe of Massachusetts Submission Academy. This was a rematch between the two, who last met in August of 2005. Their first match ended with Amarasinghe pulling off a triangle choke to finish the fight. Spearman came in for their second fight trim and slim at just over 120 pounds for the clash between these two rivals.
Sensei Steve Pento of Dragon Warrior MMA explained before the fight that Spearman had a bunch of fights since he last squared off with Amarasinghe. His opponent had not fought since, and the ring rust showed.
Spearman, landed some jabs before he swept in for the takedown in the early seconds of the first round. Amarasinghe spent much of the first round on his back doing a decent job of holding off the relentless attack from Spearman. Looking like he was truly on a mission to get revenge, Spearman rattled off a few shots to the ribs and a bunch of nice right hands to Amarasinghe’s head before the fight ended suddenly. Just when it looked like Spearman was attempting to pick Amarasinghe up and slam him down on the canvas again, the crafty underdog managed to lock up an arm bar and tugged it hard until Spearman had no choice but to tap out.
Spearman fought a great fight and was definitely ahead on the scorecards when his opponent took advantage of a small window of opportunity. Amarasinghe got right back on the horse with a win after his long layoff, and although luck might have played a significant part in his win, so did skill. He executed the arm bar finish perfectly and at the first opportunity he was able to.
Fernando Bernardino and Josh Grispi fought next at 155 pounds in a full-fledged battle of local brawlers that went on for a long while. Grispi, of Plympton, Ma came in representing South Shore Sportfighting while Bernardino represented the Cape Cod Fighting Alliance (CCFA). They both put forth an amazing bell to bell effort.
Grispi started slow with a big leg kick and not much else. Bernardino landed a left hand and a few scattered punches on the way to securing Grispi in a headlock against the ropes. Bernardino later landed a huge takedown. Grispi was able to reject one takedown early on, but Bernardino’s grappling skills won out. All Grispi could land before hitting the mat was another leg kick and a nice rib punch.
Bernardino latched onto a modified backward cradle, holding one arm around Grispi’s neck and the other secured under Grispi’s knee. It seemed like he was just trying to keep Grispi from getting back to his feet for most of the first as he held on tight and missed his early attempts at some hammer shots. Grispi eventually worked his way into a better position and got up to his knees before escaping. Bernardino stayed down and took a few leg kicks before the bell ended the round.
Making up for letting his opponent get out of trouble late in the first, Bernardino stormed his way out of the corner in the second and notched another nice takedown. Although he scored another takedown later and landed a nice leg kick, the punches he got in were all glancing blows during the second round. Grispi made a few mistakes, but he made up for them by pressing the action more, even when on his back. After a few wild punches he got caught up trying a high kick, and Bernardino made him pay by dropping him to the canvas. Grispi escaped once again, let Bernardino get up, and not long after that he landed a great left hand with a right following it up just moments later. He ended the round strong with several huge leg kicks and a couple nice punches. At one point Bernardino’s legs buckled, but he made it to the end without a stoppage.
The deadlocked judges’ scores called for a third and final overtime round of two minutes. Bernardino came on strong early and worked his way to a takedown after landing a nice kick to Grispi’s ribs. Grispi landed a few cleaner shots in the short round along with a nice knee and leg kick. He also managed to fight decently off his back while Bernardino didn’t do much once he had Grispi on the ground. The judges all scored the final and deciding round 10-9 for Grispi.
Super Heavyweights Troy Tondalo and Darryl Paquette made their way to the ring next. Tondalo looked like the clear favorite to win before a punch was thrown based on his physique alone. Fighting for Team Savage, he acted like one as he stormed right toward Paquette, fighting independently. Paquette engaged in a series of fast, heavy-handed flurries at the center of the ring with Tondalo before he wound up on his back. He took a few good right hands before he crashed to the canvas and only managed to land a good leg kick to complete the only offensive chance he would be given in the fight. Once Tondalo had his opponent on the ground, he maintained control and managed to rain down enough punches for the referee to call the fight to a halt due to excessive unanswered strikes. The entire fight was over in just over a minute and 40 seconds.
The next fight featured a couple featherweights, but it ended just as quickly as the first super heavyweight bout of the night did. Boneyard’s Chris Snow could only get off a few decent kicks before Dragon Warrior MMA’s Matt Smith used his wrestling background to secure a guillotine submission. Smith scored a quick takedown and then let Snow back to his feet before wrapping up the headlock tight and jumping up quick to wrap his legs around Snow’s torso. Snow tried to get out, but Smith made the move count. The quick finish set up one of the best matches of the night between Darron Andrew and Dan Savery.
Andrew, fighting out of Massachusetts Submission Academy, did well in his pro debut against the 1-0 Savery of Team Santos. The 205-pounders slugged it out all the way through the eight-minute fight. Andrew secured the first takedown, and Savery fought off his back pretty well until Andrew let him up. Savery got his payback when he caught Andrew with a huge right hand that simply bounced off Andrew’s skull and seemed to have no ill effect. Andrew answered with a right jab and a left hand. He threw a few more glancing shots and got hit with a left and right from Savery. Andrew ended up against the ropes taking knees for much of the last half of the round until he reversed positions and started landing his own knees. He definitely landed the more solid strikes with his knees, and some of them were borderline low blows. Savery appealed to the ref to no avail. He kept trying for the takedown but couldn’t get the angle or the leverage he needed. Andrew closed out the round by landing a couple excellent punches to Savery’s face.
Andrew fought much better in the second round, though he did seem completely winded at some points. Savery landed a thumping leg kick early, but all he could do after that was score some rib punches. Andrew was backed up against the ropes in the first half of the round, but he fought off his attacker’s knees with quick, powerful punches. A right hook and a few knees later he tripped Savery to the mat. Andrew landed a few nice strikes and managed to keep control for a short time with his minimal grappling skills, but Savery eventually escaped. It was almost all knees from Andrew and rib punches from Savery from that point on. Near the end of the fight Andrew dodged Savery’s best chance to score a knockout and came back with a brilliant right hand. Andrew took the match by a final score of 20-18 on all cards.
The second super heavyweight bout of the night came after the intermission with hometown and fan favorite Eric Foley taking on Charlie Thomas. Foley, battling for South Shore Sportfighting, gave the fans what they came to see. He rushed right out of the gate at Team Savage’s Thomas and almost landed the running tackle attempt. Thomas turned the tables on Foley, who barely escaped being taken down himself. The two grappled to their feet where Foley promptly landed a trip takedown. Foley wound up securing a half nelson between nailing Thomas in the ribs with a few knees. Thomas escaped and got back to his feet where he landed a power slam takedown after getting off a knee to Foley’s chest. Foley rolled out after the takedown and wound up standing over Thomas. He made a few attempts to land some shots on his prone opponent, but Thomas did a great job of fighting off his back. Finally, Foley let him get to his feet, where Thomas almost landed a single leg takedown before Foley fought him off near the end of the round.
Thomas came out quick, landing a leg kick and swinging for the knockout punch. Foley ducked it and shot for the takedown with split-second timing. It took a few moments to develop, but he finally did wind up on top dropping some hammer shots on Thomas. It was all Foley for the rest of the round. The only real highlight for Thomas through the rest of the action was a nice right hand. Foley bloodied his nose with a furious succession face punches and nailed him with knees to the ribs when he didn’t have any openings to go for the head. He also landed a few nice hooks to the ribs before the end of the fight. The heavy crowd favorite easily took home the unanimous decision.
185-pound Jerry “The Punching Bag” Speigal, of Lion Kill, lived up to his nickname against Chris Rondeau of Fightzone. Speigal came out slugging, but he wound up unable to secure an early takedown. Rondeau put him down on the mat in the prone position. Rondeau ignored Speigal’s attempts to grab his legs from the ground as he began landing vicious strikes to Speigal’s head. When Speigal finally managed to drag Rondeau down with him, Rondeau even gave him a heel to the face. Finally, Speigal was able to find what he had been looking for all along. He latched on to an inverted heel hook submission and pulled it tight enough to do serious damage. Rondeau wound up limping out of the ring. After just one minute and 38 seconds, the fight was over.
“I got a lot of beatin’ in a short amount of time,” said Speigal after the fight. He admitted it was worth it, though, since he was able to come out with the win. “I just wish the guy woulda tapped out,” he said. “I don’t like tearin’ nobody’s ACL.”
He added that most of his whole game is built around submissions. “That’s all I do, mainly,” he said, describing how he goes through five or six days a week of jiu jitsu to get ready for fights. He trains out of LA Boxing in Albany, New York. He said he enjoys the sport because it offers “a format to compare what you can do to what other people can do and see where you’re at.”
Greg Rebello and Shawn DePaul came next in the 205-pound class. Both men had their moments of brilliance in this one, but one final explosion of adrenaline ended it all after the back and forth battle went almost all the way to the end. Rebello, of CCFA, had a tough first round, but he made up for it later on. DePaul, of Massachusetts Submission Academy, landed a huge high kick to the face early and rushed in for the takedown without success. Rebello landed a left hook and his own kick to the chest in the round. DePaul came back and landed a huge right hand just before shooting for another takedown. Rebello managed a few knees to the chest and a couple more punches before DePaul finished strong with a series of punches landing to the ribs and face.
Rebello landed some big kicks to DePaul’s ribs and leg early in the second. He dodged a few punches and then landed a few of his own before his opponent rushed in again for a takedown. He caught Rebello at just the right moment and position against the ropes. Rebello could not back out and wound up on the canvas. DePaul landed a few rib punches before Rebello worked his way up to a sitting position and managed a nice left leg kick after getting to his feet. The two exchanged flurries and left and right handed bombs until Rebello took the attack to a whole new level. He pushed DePaul into a corner and unloaded a furious combination of left and right hooks. Depaul’s legs buckled at one point, and he looked ready to collapse until the referee jumped in to halt the action. Rebello initiated the action out of nowhere and with tremendous speed and power. The final storm of punches was like a tornado of precision and pain swirling around DePaul, who simply could not respond. Rebello’s effort completely overwhelmed him. He took home the win in dramatic fashion.
The 145-pounders came next and fought a close battle on route to another knockout ending. Jason Pappas of Team Savage battled through a tough first round against Team Bishops’ Brian Conrad. Conrad poured on the punishment early, landing some nice uppercuts and left and right shots. Pappas struggled to gain some control with some grappling, but he wound up on the canvas. Conrad seemed to lack any real wrestling skills and found it tough to do anything with his advantage. The two wound up back on their feet, and Pappas landed a nice left hook and set to work with a withering attack featuring a succession of knees and foot stomps. Between attempts to Charlie Horse Conrad, he wound up getting smacked a few times and developed a bloody nose. Conrad did all he could to avoid the punishing knees to his legs and ribs, but Pappas could not be stopped. When Conrad tried a throw after a break that Pappas mistook for the end of the round, it was Pappas who ended up securing the takedown.
The second round started with Pappas once again pressing the action with knees. Conrad punched back with wild shots that didn’t do much at all. Pappas wrapped up a headlock, but Conrad somehow managed a takedown and piled on the punches. Though nothing landed with that much power, Pappas simply covered up through it all and did nothing to stop the few blows that landed solidly. Conrad won due to excessive unanswered strikes.
Full Force Productions (www.fullforce.tv) put on an amazing card and had all the fans in a frenzy for the intense action. Special thanks goes out to Mike Varner for an outstanding job at setting up and organizing the whole event. He also helped get the crowd pumped on a few occasions, including one tense period when everyone in the crowd had to find a seat for the matches to continue. Sensei Steve Pento from Dragon Warrior MMA was also instrumental in helping Fight News Unlimited secure access to the event. Above all, Vendetta Fight Gear (www.vendettafightgear.com) deserves the highest praise for supplying the event’s sexy ring-card girls, bringing a huge flat screen TV to show UFC highlights, and giving away 60 free T-shirts to screaming fans. The Duxbury-based clothing company run by Chris Jeffcoat and Nick O’Connor provided complete support for the event and helped make the night a success.