FULL FORCE PRODUCTIONS’ UNTAMED 19 BRINGS OUT ALL THE STARS IN PLYMOUTH

Posted on | March 16, 2008 | 1 Comment

THE GUILLOTINE CHOKE WAS IN FULL EFFECT AT UNTAMED 19

By: Rich Bergeron

Untamed 19 unfolded at a rapid pace on Saturday, March 15 at Plymouth Memorial Hall with thirteen bouts and several star studded guests in attendance.

The MMA luminaries who made the trip included: Dan and Joe Lauzon of UFC fame; the amazingly seasoned and decorated Aaron Riley, who Sherdog credits with a 23-10-1 record over a career spanning more than 10 years; Mark Dellagrotte (coach, trainer, and former fighter) from the local powerhouse Sityodong gym in Somerville, MA; UFC New Recruit Tamden “The Barn Cat” McCrory (8-1, 1-1 UFC); and the UFC’s upcoming “The Ultimate Fighter 7” contestants Erik “Chainsaw” Charles and Pat Schultz.

The Untamed promotion run by Mike True and Mike Varner is constantly improving its presentation. They flooded the crowd with free gear and fighters out for blood in the cage Saturday. There were a bevy of quick finishes and smart submissions. For example, a rarely-seen flying rear-naked choke was applied to finish one fight.

Mike Littlefield, the matchmaker of the event had to do some quick work to replace the main event opponent Dan Lauzon. Lauzon may have a chance down the line to fight for the belt again, but a staph infection locked him out of his Untamed title hopes on Saturday.

Doug Brown of Team Aggression, featuring both Dan and Joe Lauzon, had a shot at the circuit’s 155 pound title if he could withstand Will Kerr and come out on top. The main event fight was worth the wait. Coming in with a 5-1 record, Team Strikezone’s Will Kerr wasted no time finding a way to win. Brown (5-7), held his own and avoided disaster through almost three full minutes before succumbing to a picture-perfect heel hook. At one point Kerr landed a huge slam after ramming Brown into the fence. The heel hook came at 2:54 of the first round, but the fight ranged all around the cage while it lasted.

The fight that stole the show, though, was the prequel to the main event featuring two well-matched 140-pound warriors. AMMA fighter Paul Gorman’s bread and butter Guillotine submission expertise would be key. The tightly contested battle between Joe Cushman (another Team Aggression fighter) and Gorman went to a thrilling overtime round after two of the toughest rounds ever fought in Memorial Hall.

It was Cushman (7-2) who sunk a deep Guillotine right off the bat in the first round, leaving Gorman (5-6) scrambling to pop out of it somehow. Gorman managed a reversal and eventually ended up on Cushman’s back. He landed some effective elbows on the top. When the referee stood the fighters up at one point, Cushman had a burst of explosive energy and floored Gorman with a combination that came to a crescendo with a brilliant uppercut. Gorman weathered the storm and got back up to land a head kick and get a takedown. He landed a nice elbow and a left to Cusman’s mouth before the fighters were stood up again just before the end of the round.

The second round was a brutal back and forth brawl going from one cage wall to another and all over the mat. Gorman came out ducking punches and landing a left and right to the head. Cushman managed another Guillotine attempt and Gorman scored his first Guillotine that just wasn’t quite tight enough. Fighting off his back he reeled off some mean up kicks to keep Cushman from gaining any advantage. Cushman came right back and landed a phenomenal slam, rattled off some potent leg kicks, and jumped on top of Gorman again before the brawl went into overdrive to end the round with the crowd literally going wild. Both fighters traded elbows and punches in classic, old-fashioned toe-to-toe style to end the frame.

Though they brought the ring card girls and the big trophy in at the conclusion of the round, there was a buzz in the air suggesting the aura of a fight going to a winner take all third round. It was over almost as soon as it began. Team Aggression’s fighters were up 4 wins to two before Cushman’s brave battle came to a close. The coaching staff, including both Lauzon brothers, gave wise counsel and kept Cushman in the contest up until the very end when the art of the sport really shined.

Gorman’s final Guillotine choke left Cushman little choice but to tap out, completing a theme of tap outs and knockouts on a windy winter night of fights in Plymouth. Having seen Gorman fight a few times before, he has a tendency to go for the Guillotine even when it’s not there. Saturday night Gorman seemed to be a different fighter. Knowing full well how to go for and finish a Guillotine, Gorman also knew how to effectively escape one. He’s perfected the move to the point where he knows when to go for it, too. He’s also improved his all around game. It was a quick close to a fast-paced free-for-all that illustrates the beauty of the sport.

There’s such an “any given Sunday” chance involved that you could play the best game of your life and then lose on a Hail Mary pass. Just when you thought you were up by 40 points and the clock would soon expire, your opponent just shuts you down with something vicious and sinister. It can come in many forms and from all angles, but the end is almost always extreme when it comes to knockouts or submissions in mixed martial arts.

Further hammering home the high-intensity theme, Sityodong Fighter Scott Rehm’s second professional performance proved to be another candidate for fight of the night. Rehm, an intimidating Mick Foley-esque fighter, doesn’t have a very imposing physique, but he holds it down at 205 pounds with pure animal instinct. Snake Pit’s Ed Medeiros came into the first professional bout of the night with the much more sculpted frame and the bulk of the professional experience with a 3-3 record. Rehm, who won his debut in an absolute slugfest a few months ago, made Medeiros miserable Saturday night.

Before so much as a note could be scribbled about what Medeiros was doing in the fight, Rehm seized control. He landed a right hook, stuck the jab, pushed his opponent into the cage and went on a tear. The short, stout, and stocky Rehm has an incredibly rugged style of combat, and his over the shoulder loft and slam of Medeiros was just the icing on the cake of one of the night’s only completely one-sided affairs.

A few punches and a bit of a struggle later, Medieros wriggled to his stomach. Rehm took his back and pummeled him until the ref halted the fight due to repeated unanswered strikes. Rehm executed short, sharp elbows, well-placed punches, great ground work, and a capability for pinpoint striking that carried the day.

In other action Nick Pepper of Team Aggression extended his win streak to four fights over independent fighter Al Chai making his professional debut. Pepper dominated early on with striking, dropping head shots down on Chai to force the fight to the ground. He went to the rib shots after that, forcing Chai to roll right into a rear naked choke.

Team Aggression’s Bob Balaschi fell to 2-1 against Sityodong’s Eddie Saldana at 185 pounds in the third pro fight of the evening. Saldana’s attempt to go 4-1 after an early bout of slugging led to a huge right hook that transitioned to a standing Guillotine submission.

44-year-old Snake Pit Fighter Greg Mendes followed it up with another Guillotine instant win over independent fighter Pete Reverdo to end their 155 pound contest. Making his professional debut in MMA, Mendes waded into the action early with heavy hands. He landed a perfect right hand and bloodied Reverdo before clinching the final slick submission to close it out. Reverdo fell to 0-2 with the loss.

Aggression’s Eric Brown (5-4) and Sityodong’s Chris Cape (185) battled it out at 185 in the fifth pro fight of the night. The first round was slow with Brown throwing a few sloppy punches to start it and then Cape getting the takedown. Brown managed to gain leverage and control and get on top where he rained down rib shots, elbows and roundhouses to the head, and even a few attempts to Charlie Horse Cape with elbows. All the while Cape guarded well and caused a facial wound to open up on Brown’s head.

The second go around started with a couple role reversals before Brown sank his first rear-naked choke attempt. Cape broke the grip and managed to fight on a few more moments before Brown locked the second attempt and took Cape out with it at the 2:55 mark.

Keith Ferreira (1-0 according to Sherdog) from Team Gillette faced a resilient and unrelenting Dale Hartt of team Irish next at 170. Hartt wasted no time scoring the first takedown, giving Ferreira a good short slam, and dropping a few elbows and other assorted head shots before getting caught briefly in Ferreira’s last-ditch arm bar attempt. Hartt slammed his way out of the arm bar and settled in to end the fight with vicious blows to the head causing the fight to be called for excessive brutality. The knockout win reveals Hartt is truly a contender, and nothing will stand in the way of his continued success.

Although their last names make them sound like cousins, Travis Coyle and Chuck O’Neil didn’t get along like family in their 170 pound contest on Saturday. Team Aggression’s O’Neil (2-2), submitted Snake Pit’s Coyle (now 0-1) after Coyle dominated the early action with effective kicks and a particularly impressive left hook. O’Neil’s toughest dilemma in the fight was deciding which submission to close it out with. He couldn’t quite clinch it with a rear-naked choke, so he traded it in for a triangle choke that cut the show short in the first round.

The final fight before the two that completed the evening featured undefeated Bombsquad fighter Pat Audinwood (now 3-1) suffering from the wrath of Rob Conception of Dragon Warrior (now 4-4-1). Conception battled back after getting taken down and then nailed with a few hooks and elbows. Audinwood was stuck on his back for most of the fight after that. Conception cut off Audinwood’s circulation with an arm triangle to end yet another bout early in a night flush with brief, but beautiful performances.

The deepest fights came at the amateur level, due mostly to the shorter rounds involved. Two fighters making their debuts squared off first. Aggression’s Joe Proctor took on Independent fighter Adam Castor at 160 pounds. The fight raged on for three rounds with Castor fighting off his back a bunch and Proctor keeping top control, landing a slam, and almost getting caught in a triangle choke. And that was just the first round!!

Proctor went for a Guillotine choke in the second, but Castor worked his way out with punches and pulled guard for a while. A huge right hand in the third put the fight out of reach for Castor. Proctor grappled him into another Guillotine and Castor was all done.

Independent Amateur Chris Donglewic fell to 0-2 in the second amateur bout. Fabiano Estrela of Team Misfits made his super heavyweight debut by showing his stopping power. Donglewic showed a little early hope with a couple takedowns in the first round and a few well-placed hooks to the head. However, Estrela excelled early, too. He spent the first round landing knees, fighting to his feet, grappling well, sticking a fantastic reversal, and wailing on his opponent with wild hooks to the head.

The second round was short-lived as Estrela took his opponent down and dropped the hammer with explosive head shots that sealed the deal.

Team Aggression’s Alan Scott and Team Burrill’s John Larkin made their 160 pound amateur debuts at 160 and surprised the crowd with one of the most unconventional finishes of the night. Larkin edged out the first round with a takedown, which he backed out of, and then a few good shots to the head. All Scott could pull out was a few decent shots to the ribs of Larkin.

Larkin stumbled a bit in his overconfidence in the second. He set up and executed a great head throw takedown early only to wind up back on his feet and slugging wildly for Scott’s head. Scott pressed the action as much as he could. He almost secured a Guillotine in the early going. He landed an uppercut and took a shot to the chin. Taking his chances on the ground he nailed a takedown, took full mount, and peppered Larkin with rib shots.

The third round ended out of nowhere with Scott pulling off a move you might expect to see from a praying mantis attacking its dinner-to-be. The fight ended suddenly and with swift vengeance as Scott leaped onto Larkin’s back and sunk a flying rear naked choke. There was no point for Larkin to struggle any longer at that point.

Sponsored by the new movie “Never Back Down” and featuring all kinds of free give aways and a crowd pleasing format, Untamed is quickly evolving into one the state’s most premiere fight circuits. For more information about Full Force Productions and a schedule of upcoming shows go to: www.fullforce.tv

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