UNTAMED 14: ANOTHER SWEET SELLOUT MMA EVENT

Posted on | June 26, 2007 | No Comments

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UNTAMED 14 POST-FIGHT REPORT

BY: Rich Bergeron

CHECK OUT THE PRO RESULTS HERE:

http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?search=yes&eventid=5244

Once again Promoters Mike True and Mike Varner put together an awesome MMA fight card June 16th and showcased some stellar performers at Plymouth’s Memorial Hall. The sold-out venue provided an amazing backdrop for the debuts and downfalls of some of Massachusetts best mixed martial artists.

Thirteen bouts unfolded for all to see with the bulk of them featuring fighters early in their careers. Five fighters battled for the first time as professionals while two seasoned professionals said goodbye to their coveted title belts in the co-main events.

In one of the most intense bouts of the night, and certainly the one the whole crowd came to see, Pat Schultz (6-1-1) put his undefeated record on the line against a much heavier Josh Deikman (9-1). Schultz, who is more comfortable and better suited fighting at Light Heavyweight, went up a class to try and settle an old score against Deikman (Team Strikezone). Though he looked to be the early aggressor and did land the bulk of the first few exchanges, Schultz’s night ended after a succession of jackhammer straight right hands sent him tumbling through the ropes onto one of the ringside tables.

The entire match lasted only 45 seconds, but each moment was highly charged as both fighters made no secret of their disdain for each other leading up to the bout. From the preliminary stare down to the final blow landed, it was a complete slugfest. Schultz (Team Cape Cod Fighting Alliance/Sityodtong) came storming out to land a leg kick, a few well-placed 1-2 punches, and a great kick to the body among some other less-effective glancing blows. However, the weight difference was all in Deikman’s favor. Schultz simply didn’t have enough behind his punches to make his opponent stop moving forward.

Deikman’s first attack had him bulling in wildly to grapple with Schultz against the ropes. The two almost fell through the ropes together at that point, forcing the referee to split them up. Storming in again, Deikman abandoned all attempts to grapple and went to the old standby straight right, landing at least four straight bombs to the face of Schultz. The combination of speed and power overwhelmed Schultz, and as the last few shots landed his legs turned to jelly. He turned away and slumped over the middle rope as the final blow connected and the referee waved the slugfest to a close. Drooling on himself, woozy, and obviously not aware of what had just happened, it took Schultz about ten minutes to recover enough of his faculties to stand up as Deikman celebrated and strapped on his new hardware.

Schultz was absolutely out cold at one point, and as he transitioned to consciousness he had to ask his corner team what just happened and could be seen mouthing the words, “I lost?” Schultz shook off the cobwebs and regained his composure, all the while in complete disbelief. He finally met his one-time nemesis at the center of the ring where the two shared a hug and a handshake to end the rivalry.

“I give him a lot of credit for fighting a bigger guy with more experience. He was man enough to fight me, and I have a lot of respect for Pat Schultz,” said Deikman after the match. “It’s pretty much what I expected, and it’s over now. I meant what I said before, but it’s good we could settle it in the ring here and that it stays here. That’s the way I wanted it to be.”

Deikman was well aware the fight could have gone either way. “That coulda’ been me lying on the ground,” he said. “It was easier for me coming in here. He came in with the crowd on his side and dealing with a lot of pressure to win. For me to come in with everybody booing, it wasn’t that hard.”

With girls flocking around him congratulating him and calling him handsome, Deikman relished in the victory. When asked what the best part of the win was for him, he said, “This,” pointing to his new belt. After a short pause he pulled out his paycheck and added, “And this!” Earning almost three thousand dollars for the win, Deikman gave the fans what they came to see, emerged virtually unscathed, and notched another win in what is sure to be a long, successful career in the sport. Though not too many people know how the feud started, the bad blood between Schultz and Deikman is now only a distant memory.

The co-main event pitted Spencer Paige against Leandro Escobar in a controversial three-round battle fought almost entirely on the feet. Paige (4-1), fighting under the Bombsquad banner, utilized his best stand-up and a stiff jab to dominate the action against Escobar (5-3), the 145-pound title holder fighting for Team Best Way/ATT).

Escobar was only a few inches of reach short of making a better effort in the match, and an early exchange featuring a solid knee and a straight right actually dropped Paige to the canvas first. After getting the best out of that exchange, Escobar kept on throwing without connecting much at all. He let himself get sloppy and spent much of the round waiting for Paige to make a mistake.

Paige kept a persistent jab in Escobar’s face from the opening bell to the final seconds of the fight. He hit Escobar with a glancing head kick early, and later on he mixed in a few more kicks with a few solid 1-2 punches. Toward the end of the round Paige teed off on Escobar, avenging his own trip to the canvas by sending Escobar to the mat. After a solid left landed from Paige, he followed up with a leg kick that missed and then found himself on the canvas. Escobar earned the first takedown of the fight as a result.

Escobar spent the bulk of the second trying to sink a single leg takedown that just wasn’t there. Paige is the kind of fighter who usually wants nothing to do with ground fighting. As a result, he’s developed a phenomenal sprawl and an even better repertoire of kicks and punches—all revolving around his smashing southpaw jab. After regaining his feet the first time he hit the canvas from taking Paige’s best shots in the first, Escobar’s eyes revealed a newfound feeling of hopelessness. Already glazed over and betraying how gun shy Paige managed to make him, Escobar’s eyes never recaptured that confident look he took into the fight at the opening bell.

Paige’s second round began with another bout of slugging that saw him earn a takedown and then promptly allow Escobar back up to take more punches. Paige landed a debilitating leg kick and took one of Escobar’s best rights to the face as a result. Still, Paige was able to dominate the round. He landed jabs, hooks, and uppercuts at will along with a beautiful kick to the body. As Escobar jumped in to try for another takedown at the end, Paige bombarded him with hammer fists until the bell sounded.

Escobar came out for the third wanting nothing to do with any more of Paige’s stand-up game. Even though he should have learned from the first two rounds that Paige was not going to be taken down easily, Escobar kept giving it a shot and getting stuffed. Escobar continuously pushed Paige back into the ropes while trying to lock up the takedown, and a few times both fighters had to be separated by the referee as they kept spilling over onto the ringside tables. Finally, in a move the crowd assailed him for, the referee took a point away from Paige for some reason. Other than the takedown attempts, all Escobar could do in the round to stymie Paige was land a nice 1-2 combo.

Paige’s third-round highlights included two huge straight lefts to the face early. Later on Paige landed a brilliant 1-2 combo that hit Escobar flush on the nose. Paige never abandoned his jab and kept going back to the bread and butter 1-2s throughout the round. He also landed a knee and two more powerful leg kicks before the end of the fight gave way to a long, controversial wait for the final scores. Because of the point issue Paige wound up with a majority decision with one judge scoring the match a tie at 28-28 and the other two judges favoring Paige at twin scores of 29-27.

Josh Grispi (8-1) and Paul Gorman (5-5) battled it out in a title qualifier earlier in the card, and despite both putting forth their best effort it was Grispi who came out victorious. Grispi (SSS) and Gorman (AMMA) provided one of the most technical matches of the night. Both fighters traded punches and leg kicks early. Grispi landed a knee and an uppercut before securing underhooks. Gorman came back with a right over the top and a leg kick after bulling Grispi up against the ropes. Grispi rattled off a glancing knee and a left and right before Gorman sunk a takedown. Not long after the grappling began, Gorman found himself mired in a triangle choke. Though he looked alright for a few seconds and almost appeared as if he could work his way out of it, Grispi tightened the grip and forced the tapout at the 2:29 mark of the round.

Dan Lauzon (5-2) and James Meals (4-17) had a long scrap that almost went the distance at 155 lbs. as Dan’s big brother Joe Lauzon (of UFC fame) looked on. Lauzon, fighting for Team Aggression, outclassed Meals, of Team Renzo, and Meals left the ring with an impressive skid mark running the length of his back from being dragged around the ring.
Both fighters began the match jabbing, and Lauzon lived up his team’s name as he piled on the punishment with an overhand right followed by a quick takedown leading into a guillotine choke. Though the choke was not tight enough to cut off the circulation of Meals, it took him a while to wriggle out of it. Once out, Meals could not seem to get around Lauzon’s guard. Ultimately, Lauzon pulled off a reversal and wound up in full mount. Lauzon later pulled off two more guillotines to close the round, but Meals was able to finish the first without a tapout.

Lauzon continued to pursue Meals into the second round. He landed a kick to the head and several spot-on punches to the head and body. He eventually worked another takedown. Meals attempted to get a triangle locked up, but Lauzon was not fooled. Meals did manage to get top position later, where Lauzon went for his own triangle choke twice. Meals managed to get out both times and control the top spot with some vicious rib punches. With time ticking away, Lauzon reversed positions and took immediate advantage of the top spot. Unloading lefts and rights from all angles, Lauzon hit Meals until his eyes were rolling back in his head and the referee had to intervene with just three seconds left.

The knockout came at 3:57 of the second round, and after the match, Dan got a big congratulations from his older brother Joe, who came to the ring to pose for the crowd along with fellow UFC veterans Patrick Cote and Kenny Florian. Flashbulbs popped everywhere as the big leaguers mugged for the cameras.

In one of the quickest matches of the night, Mark Chaupetta came out of retirement for 30 seconds to make some money for the night’s charity: Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. Though those thirty seconds were filled with some amazing back and forth action, an arm bar ultimately dashed Chaupetta’s chances of coming home with a win. The crowd raised nearly $4,500 to brighten his spirits, though.

All in all it was a great night of action. Stay tuned for more of this report on the remaining fights.

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