From MMATorch.com
JARSULIC: Live Coverage of EliteXC: Unfinished Business
By Mike Jarsulic, MMATorch Columnist
Jul 26, 2008 - 4:38:05 PM
Preliminary Results:
Drew Montgomery (5-3-0) defeated Brandon Tarns (1-2-0) via TKO (cut) in Round 3
Carl Seumanutafa (4-0-0) defeated Mike Cook (5-2-0) via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
Showtime Results:
Wilson Reis vs. Bryan Caraway
Round 1:
Caraway looked to have the advantage in the early moments of the first round with his standup, but Reis took him to the mat with a single leg. On the ground, Reis passed to side control, but Caraway did a nice job of forcing a scramble and returning to his feet when Reis tried to obtain mount. Reis got a second takedown, ending up in Caraway's half guard. After Reis obtained mount, Caraway gave up his back and was able to get out of trouble by returning to his feet. As time was expiring, Reis scored a final takedown off a single leg. 10-9 round for Wilson Reis for effective grappling and cage control.
Round 2:
Reis quickly got another single leg takedown to start to second round, but Caraway quickly escaped to his feet. On a second single leg attempt, Caraway put Reis on his back with a hard knee to the head. Reis recovered well by forcing a scramble and finishing takedown. From the top position, Reis continued a ground-and-pound attack and worked to pass guard. Caraway gained the top position after another scramble, ending up in Reis' half guard. However, Reis easily swept Caraway to his back and attained side control. 10-9 round for Wilson Reis for effective grappling.
Round 3:
Caraway continued to dominate the standup to start the third round, but Reis quickly took the fight to the mat and began working from Caraway's half guard. From the bottom, Caraway recovered guard, but had a hard time holding the position. Reis ate another knee after Caraway escaped to his feet, but he went through it to finish another single leg. As time was expiring, Caraway attempted a flying knee that led to another takedown by Reis. 10-9 round for Wilson Reis for effective grappling.
Result: Wilson Reis (5-0-0) defeated Bryan Caraway (10-3-0) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Analysis: Tremendous fight and a great performance by both fighters. Reis has a lot of work to do with his standup and is a little too aggressive on the mat. However, he turned in a dominating performance and controlled the majority of the fight. Caraway did a nice job of winning the standup hit a few nice escapes and reversals from inferior positions.
Rafael Feijao vs. Travis Galbraith
Round 1:
Galbraith wanted no part of Feijao from the outside and immediately forced a clinch against the cage. Feijao grabbed a Thai plumm and landed a hard knee to the body. From the clinch, Feijao hit a nice upper body takedown, but Galbraith escaped to his feet. After breaking the clinch, Feijao stunned Galbraith with an overhand right and dropped him with knee strikes from the Thai plumm. After a few punches on the ground, Josh Rosenthal stepped in to stop the fight.
Result: Rafael Feijao (7-1-0) defeated Travis Galbraith (15-6-0) via TKO at 3:01 of Round 1
Analysis: Another dominating performance by Rafael Feijao. As a light heavyweight, Feijao is running through a weak division in EliteXC and it looks like he will not be facing any tough competition in the near future. Taking the fight on short notice, Travis Galbraith put on a decent performance, but was overmatched on his feet, especially when fighting Feijao on the outside.
Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers
Round 1:
Eilers is trying to keep Silva on the outside early by using his jab and feinting. However, Silva is countering well and scores a takedown after a double leg. On the ground, Silva got Eilers' back, but is deducted a point by Herb Dean for striking to the back of the head. On the feet, Eilers is doing a commendable job, but is having trouble handling Silva's size. 9-9 round for Antonio Silva for effective striking and effective grappling.
Round 2:
At the start of the second round, Silva overwhelmed Eilers with a series of punches that forced Herb Dean to stop the fight.
Result: Antonio Silva (11-1-0) defeated Justin Eilers (20-8-1) via TKO at 0:19 of Round 2
Analysis: Silva dominated the fight using his size. While Eilers did a decent job of holding his own in the first round, he was quickly overwhelmed by a huge knee and a series of punches in the second.
CBS Results:
Shayna Baszler vs. Christiane Cyborg
Round 1:
Cyborg began the first round by landing dome knees to the body from the Thai plumm. Baszler quickly got the fight to the mat and attempted to finish the fight with a toehold. Throughout the first round, Baszler took some punishment on the ground, but was able to keep the fight on the mat and out of Cyborg's domain. 10-9 round for Baszler for effective grappling.
Round 2:
Cyborg dominated the stanup in the beginning of the round, landing both knees and punches. Baszler is dead tired. Cyborg drops Baszler with a series of punches and believes she has the fight won, but Steve Mazzagatti allows the fight to continue. With seconds remaining in round two, Cyborg knocked out Baszler with a hard right cross.
Result: Christiane Cyborg (5-0-0) defeated Shayna Baszler (9-5-0) via KO (punches) at 2:48 of Round 2
Analysis: After a close first round, Shayna Baszler appeared to have worn herself out by attacking Cyborg's leg on multiple occasions. Cyborg landed some nice shots early in the round, but was ultimately unable to implement her gameplan of keeping the fight standing. In the second round, Cyborg took advantage of Baszler's fatigue and was able to pepper her with strikes throughout the round to force a stoppage.
Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson
Round 1:
Shields got a quick takedown off a single leg and flawlessly transitioned into full mount. From the position, Shields locked in a tight guillotine choke for the submission.
Result: Jake Shields (21-4-1) defeated Nick Thompson (36-10-1) via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:03 of Round 1
Analysis: Awesome performance by Jake Shields in making quick work of Nick Thompson. Shields got an early takedown and worked to improve position before locking in a guillotine choke.
Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny
Round 1:
Both fighters are exchanging punches early with Denny getting the early advantage. Denny went for a takedown, but Diaz countered with a Kimura. Diaz did not have the position to finish and Denny escaped to his feet. After the standup, Diaz began to control the distance and staggered Denny with punches from the outside. Denny looks tired as the first round is nearing a close. Diaz drops Denny with a left cross, but is unable to follow up and both fighters brawl as time expires. 10-9 round for Nick Diaz for effective striking.
Round 2:
Diaz drops Denny with a combination of punches early in the second round and follows up with three punches through Denny's downed guard to force Josh Rosenthal to stop the fight.
Result: Nick Diaz (18-7-0) defeated Thomas Denny (26-17-0) via TKO (strikes) at 0:30 of Round 2
Analysis: Good performance by Nick Diaz in taking out a journeyman fighter in Thomas Denny. While Denny is not a great opponent, Diaz controlled the standup throughout the fight and did a tremendous amount of damage from his feet. Diaz was active and accurate with his punches by landing 60% of 156 punches thrown.
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith
Round 1:
Smith is stalking Lawler early, following him around the cage. Long feeling out process to start the fight as both fighters are working to establish their range. Smith grabs a clinch near the center of the cage and tries to work inside, but Lawler is able to force the fight into the cage. Lawler begins to land with the jab and follows up with a hard kick to the body. Near the end of the round, Smith lands a few hard right crosses that forces Lawler to backpedal. Close round. 10-9 for Scott Smith for effective striking to steal the round.
Round 2:
Smith lands some nice inline elbows at the beginning of the round that cut Lawler on top of the head, but Lawler is able to control the battle in the cage and lands some hard left hooks. In the cage, Lawler continues to control the clinch and lands multiple hooks to the body. Lawler dropped Smith with a series of knees to the and follows up with some ground-and-pound for the victory.
Result: Robbie Lawler (18-4-0) defeated Scott Smith (13-5-0) via TKO (strikes) at 2:35 of Round 2
Analysis: Although he probably lost the first round, Robbie Lawler turns in a great performance in controlling the pace of the fight, especially when the fight ended up in the clinch. Lawler did a nice job of softening up Smith's midsection with punches and knees and eventually dropped his opponent and finished him off. Smith showed great heart in stealing the first round, but made a mistake by getting lazy in the second round against the cage.
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