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| ROB SMITH'S :16 SECOND RECIPE
FOR DISASTER
The forecast called for severe weather, and a thunderstorm watch was issued for Milwaukee and surrounding counties, but the only thing severe were the beat downs in the cage.
The evening began with a couple of amateur bouts. First up was Joe Schwane of Adrian Serrano’s Combat Gym in Milwaukee taking on Brad Andersen of Tengu MMA in Slinger, (WI). The first two rounds of the fight had Schwane scoring takedowns and executing ground and pound while Anderson looked to stop the fight using guillotine choke attempts. Fast-forward to round three and Andersen starts the action with a kick and a combo flurry of punches. Schwane takes the fight to the ground using a trip takedown, but Andersen finally gets the guillotine sunk in and Schwane was forced to tap at :31 seconds in round three. "Submission of the Night:" If there was a story to be told in the fight card, the second match contained it. Ricky “The Wart” Dubiak of Roufusport, the only West Allis resident on the card and self described, “slightly overweight nerdy kid”, was the West Allis version of “Rudy” last night and the crowd loved him. Having recently defeated David Daleo in a grappling match on Friday, Dubiak took this fight, his first ever MMA bout, on a day's notice and after working a shift at the fair against a tough looking guy with tribal armband tattoos and a big height advantage. When undefeated Andrew Trochazka of Sharkbite MMA in Jefferson, (WI) entered the cage, he looked like he had come to steal Dubiak’s lunch money and cave his head in, but the grappling phenom wasn’t having it. Dubiak looked like a crazed maniac, scoring multiple takedowns and getting the back of Trochazka, forcing a tapout from a rear naked choke at :57 seconds into the fight.
In a 205 lb Muay Thai match, Tim “Arch Angel” Nixon of the Haus of Combat in Green Bay, (WI) needed only :96 seconds to TKO Harold “The Hammer” Johnson of Milwaukee. Knees to the face dropped Johnson the first two time, but Johnson was able to get back to his feet. In the final stanza, Nixon throws a high kick and Johnson ducks to avoid, but Nixon follows with an uppercut to drop Johnson to the canvas for the third time. Nixon wins the match and will fight Jason “Kaz” Kazmierczak in an MMA match in October. "Fight of the Night:"
Freidrich survives a guillotine attempt by Daniels and begins to unleash a lot of ground and pound. As he’s dishing out punishment from the top he takes the advice from his corner and drops into a heel hook giving up his dominant position for a high-risk submission; he then spends the rest of the round on the bottom with Daniels almost getting his back as the round ends. Round two begins with Freidrich scoring a takedown and another guillotine attempt by Daniels. Freidrich easily gets full mount, then gets Daniels back where he secures what looks to a painful neck crank causing Daniels to tap at 1:17 into the round. "Knockout of the Night:" Aaron “Tower” Toll of Unified Martial Arts in Fond du Lac, (WI) showed he’s ready for the pros by taking on and defeating Rashad Brooks of Miletich Fighting Systems, Bettendorf, (IA). Brooks who is (3-5) seemed to engage a strategy that involved eating about twenty unanswered shots to the head including knees, elbows, and punches before firing back one of his own.
What was most impressive was the sheer amount of punishment that Brooks took without ever falling down. I wouldn’t doubt that Toll landed at least fifty knees to the head of Brooks when all was said and done. In the third round, referee Al Wichers stopped the bout after Toll scores multiple jumping knees that landed cleanly. After the fight was stopped Brooks finally fell down and took a long time to get back up. I was very impressed with Toll’s cardio, knees from the clinch, and his ability to listen to and take instructions from his corner throughout the fight despite it being only his first pro fight. On the other hand, I thought his takedowns were lacking for his wrestling credentials although I think it was due to the large size of Rashad Brooks. Toll in my opinion should waste little time before moving to the 205 lb division where I feel he will become a dominant fighter if he continues to be brought up properly and not too quickly. Dave “The Polish Punisher” Kleczkowski of Roufusport in Milwaukee wasted no time taking down Toll's teammate Brad “Doomsday” Resop off a right leg kick. Doomsday quickly reversed the Polish Punisher, but it would be his fate as he was not quick enough to escape the choreographed triangle choke from the bottom. Kleczowski wins at 1:29 in round one.
Gladiators 205 lb Light Heavyweight Championship: The much anticipated main event for the vacant Gladiators Fighting Light Heavyweight 205 lb Championship turned out to be a short and sweet fight for Rob “The Bad Boy of Bayview” Smith of Roufusport. The first right hand Smith threw knocked out Justin “Bacon” Hutter of Waukesha MMA and the three to four hammerfists to the side of Hutter’s face afterward broke his jaw leaving the audience to pick their's up off the ground. Smith becomes the new Gladiators Fighting 205 lb champion after the belt was stripped from Rob “The Bullrider” Wince of Hammer House. Wince’s last defense was against Marcus “The Loudmouth Assassin” Hicks in Canada in April of 2007. Wince was to defend his title against Eric Schafer at Gladiators Fighting 48. According
to a post on Wisconsin
Combat
Sports
from Gladiators
Fighting promoter Duke Roufus,
retired MMA
fighter Pat
O’Malley
of Chosen Few
and promoter
of Madtown
Throwdown in
Madison stated
that he
wanted to fight
the
winner of the
fight. O’Malley’s
teammates Ron
Faircloth and
Damien Decorah
would also make
acceptable
opponents for
the
205 lb strap.
Other Wisconsin
opponents
in the 205 lb
division include
Warren
Kekahbah, Jesse
Veium and Justin
Lehmke. Light
Heavyweight
MMA -205
lbs Light
Heavyweight
Muay Thai
-205 lbs Featherweights
MMA -145
lbs Heavyweight
MMA
-265 lbs Middleweight
MMA
-185
lbs Lightweight
MMA -155
lbs Heavyweight
MMA -265 lbs Gladiators
Light Heavyweight
MMA Championship
-205 lbs Notes: The Shawn Wilkeson vs. Adam Vander Veen fight never occurred because Shawn Wilkerson of Racine, Wisconsin was a no-show. Fight of the Night: Marc Freidich (Adrian Serrano’s Combat Gym-Milwaukee, WI) vs. Marco Daniels (Independent-Kenosha, WI) Submission of the Night: Ricky “The Wart” Dubiak of West Allis, WI (Roufusport-Milwaukee, WI) KO of the Night: Aaron “Tower” Toll of Brandon, WI (Unified Martial Arts-Fond du Lac, WI)
PETTIS
BESTS ROB ROY FOR GLADIATORS LIGHTWEIGHT MMA TITLE
UNDERCARD SUBMISSION
GRAPPLING -185 SUBMISSION
GRAPPLING -225 GLADIATOR’S
NOVICE MIDDLEWEIGHT MMA –185
Kyle Hunnula (Evolution Martial Arts – Milwaukee, WI) winner vs. Emmitt Richards (Roufusport – Milwaukee, WI) at 1:44 of R3 by arm bar submission GLADIATOR’S
NOVICE WELTERWEIGHT MMA –170 GLADIATOR’S
FEATHERWEIGHT KICKBOXING –145
MAIN
CARD GLADIATOR’S
MIDDLEWEIGHT KICKBOXING -185 GLADIATOR’S
FEATHERWEIGHT MMA -125 GLADIATOR’S
LIGHTWEIGHT KICKBOXING -155
GLADIATOR’S
FEATHERWEIGHT KICKBOXING -145
GLADIATOR’S
MIDDLEWEIGHT KICKBOXING -185 GLADIATOR’S
WELTERWEIGHT MMA –170 GLADIATOR’S FEATHERWEIGHT KICKBOXING –145 GLADIATOR’S LIGHTWEIGHT MMA CHAMPIONSHIP –155 PHOTOS: WI COMBAT SPORTS
SHAUMBERG & THAO
RETAIN GLADIATORS MMA TITLES ON THUNDERDOME
SUBMISSION
GRAPPLING - 170 GLADIATORS
LIGHTWEIGHT -155 GLADIATORS
WELTERWEIGHT - 170 GLADIATORS
FEATHERWEIGHT -145 GLADIATORS
BANTAMWEIGHT - 135 GLADIATORS
MIDDLEWEIGHT - 185 GLADIATORS
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT - 205 GLADIATORS
BANTAMWEIGHT -135
GLADIATORS
WELTERWEIGHT -170 GLADIATORS
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT -205 GLADIATORS
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT - 205
GLADIATOR
FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP GLADIATORS
FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP - 145 GLADIATORS
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT - 205 GLADIATORS
MIDDLEWEIGHT - 185 PHOTOS: WI COMBAT SPORTS
ROUFUS BATTERS BAKER ON "KNOCKOUT KINGS"
Milwaukee’s own 4-Time World Champ, Duke Roufus, highlighted the evening as he took on the World Combat League's Lawson “Meet Your Maker” Baker in the main event. Amateur Card The night started with a novice Kickboxing exhibition between Gail Boxrud and Baiba Rozite. Both fighters exchanged good punches and knees. The fight went to the judges’ scorecards. They scored the fight 30-27, 28-29, 29-28 for the winner by split decision, Gail Boxrud. Bantamweight fighters Matt “Pitbull” Ellis and Joe Nicols took to the ring next. Ellis looked strong throughout the fight and Nicols wasn’t able to do enough for a win. Ellis won on all three scorecards, 30-27 for the unanimous decision victory. The next four fights all saw Welterweights enter the ring for action. “Slick Rick” Carter won his fight over Chris Pantaleo at 1:06 of round one. Carter caught Pantaleo with a big left hook that sent him sprawling and followed it up with several shots to gain the TKO victory. Scott “The Scottish Scrapper” Seivewright fought Kevin Stachovak in a fight that also went to the judges’ scorecards. Seivewright had a dominant first round in which he landed several shots. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 to award Seivewright the unanimous decision victory. Nick Marti scored a quick victory over Tom “Devo” DeValise at 1:12 of the first round. DeValise took a lot of punishment from Marti and a big knee to the gut from Marti dropped DeValise. Marti scored the first knockout of the night. Nick Wilson also had a short night when he defeated Ken Sampler. Wilson stunned Sampler with a big right hand then finished the fight with a left hand at :49 of the first round to score a KO victory. The last amateur fight of the night saw Featherweights Jon “Lil Ninja” Lovejoy and Benni “The Albanian Jet” Izairi square off. Izairi scored a lightning quick knockout victory over Lovejoy at only :22 of round one. Professional Card Heavyweight fighters Harold "The Hammer" Johnson and Adam “Ares” Vander Veen kicked off the lineup for the pro fights Saturday night. After Johnson began the festivities with a crazy flying knee, Vander Veen caught Johnson with several solid knees to the head and body which led to a TKO victory for Vander Veen at 1:17 of the first round. “Nasty Neal” Fox won a unanimous decision over Marco Daniels. Fox won 30-27 on all three scorecards and his victory never looked to be in doubt. Welterweight fighter Mike “The Volt” Vaughn scored a first round KO over Jay Ellis. Vaughn hit Ellis with a knee to the head sending Ellis to the canvas at 1:24 of round one, as the huge throng of Volt fans in attendance went wild. Lightweight fighters Sasa “The Serbian Warrior” Perkic and Muhammad “The Black Assassin” El-Umari entered the ring next. Perkic came out on top with a TKO victory at 2:40 of the first round. Perkic used a consistent barrage of solid punches and piercing knees in defeating El-Umari. Taking a break from Muay Thai, MMA was up next. “Savage” Dan LaSavage took on Muhammad “The Golden Tiger” Jordan. Jordan had LaSavage in a Guillotine choke early. LaSavage was able to escape and eventually took control of the fight. Jordan tapped out at 2:26 of round one due to repeated punches to the head. LaSavage won to the delight of the crowd. LaSavage thanked his fans for the support and reminded everyone of his store, Combat Corner, opening up its new location at 9635 West Greenfield Avenue on April 1st. Stop in to say hello to one of the area's top MMA fighters and shop from a huge selection of MMA training gear and equipment, competition clothing and leisure wear. he next bout was the only Gladiators Fighting Championship fight of the evening and it did not disappoint. Kyle “Wicked” Weickhardt and Tim “The Arch Angel” Nixon squared off for the Wisconsin Middleweight Kickboxing title and the beautiful Championship belt that would be worn by the champ. Both fighters came out throwing some heat and it looked like the fight might not last several rounds. Suddenly Weickhardt caught Nixon with a right hook that sent him to the canvas, Nixon was not able to recover and Weickhardt scored the KO victory at 1:58 of the first round to become the new champion. The second MMA fight of the night was next and Lightweight fighters Mike Lambrecht and Anthony “Showtime” Pettis were the combatants. Pettis started fast with a flurry of strikes to Lambrecht. Lambrecht withstood the punishment and was able to slam Pettis to the canvas, dislocating his right shoulder. It was obvious that Pettis had been hurt by the slam. Pettis however, remained determined to score the victory, even if he didn't have use of his right arm (he couldn't even lift it). Somehow working his way back to his feet, Pettis caught Lambrecht with an amazing head kick at 1:49 of round one to win by knockout as the crowd jumped to it's feet cheering a truly “Showtime” worthy performance. Hands down pick for KO of the Night and Most Heroic Victory if there was such a category! "It was the only way I knew that I could beat him, I had to get it right. I couldn't miss," Pettis later said of his stunning head kick KO victory. Raising his record to 3-0, MMA fight fans in the Midwest are already starting to talk about this young phenom and for good reason. Pettis has all the qualities that make fighting champions. He's dedicated to the high end physical training required, he is in excellent physical shape and Pettis has the ability to "finish" (or maybe he's just more determined to NOT lose, as evidenced by tonight's demonstration in self preservation). For Anthony Pettis, "Showtime" means "Go Time!" In the main event of the evening (and as a treat to reward local fan loyalty), Milwaukee’s own 4-Time World Kickboxing Champion and martial arts legend, Duke Roufus, returned to the ring to take on Lawson “Meet Your Maker” Baker star of the World Combat League's Texas Dragons. Roufus had the obvious home crowd advantage and several times the crowd erupted in chants of "Roufus, Roufus, Roufus!!!" Duke landed kicks throughout the fight on Baker’s legs and body (mostly pounding away at the inside and outside of Baker's left thigh). Looking more aggressive now, Roufus knocked Baker down twice in the second round and looked like he might get the KO. Besides his legs, Roufus also busted up Baker’s nose pretty good, possibly breaking it. Roufus looked strong for the entire fight and in the end all three judges scored the fight 30-27 to give Roufus the unanimous decision victory. Roufus took time at the end of his fight to thank everyone for coming out and for continuing to make Milwaukee a great place for all mixed martial arts. Roufus was gracious in his comments to Lawson Baker and thanked him for being a great competitor. Both fighters admitted that they had been quite sick in the weeks leading up to the fight, Roufus was visibly ill in the locker room afterward. Both fighters are to be commended for showing up and fighting, and for putting on a great 3 round Muay Thai battle, as everyone who was there would agree with. The next Gladiators Fighting event in Milwaukee “Thunderdome” will take place on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. Several of the area's top fighters are scheduled to be in action with the night highlighted by Milwaukee’s “Original Ultimate Fighter” Adrian Serrano taking on former Green Bay Packer Whisper Goodman. Tickets for "Thunderdome" can be reserved by calling (414) 967-7767. Gladiators Fighting 50 - Knockout Kings Results Heavyweight
Kickboxing -265lbs Lightweight
MMA -155lbs Gladiators
Fighting Wisconsin Middleweight Kickboxing Championship -185lbs Bantamweight
MMA -135lbs Lightweight
Kickboxing -155lbs Welterweight
Kickboxing -170lbs Featherweight
Kickboxing -145lbs
Heavyweight Kickboxing -265lbs Undercard
Featherweight Kickboxing -145lbs Welterweight
Kickboxing -170lbs Welterweight
Kickboxing -170lbs Welterweight
Kickboxing -170lbs Welterweight
Kickboxing -170lbs Bantamweight
Kickboxing -145lbs
Novice Lightweight Kickboxing -155lbs
UFC'S
SCHAFER PREVAILS AS "THE WARRIORS" MAKE IT TO MILWAUKEE Monday, February 17, 2008 (Milwaukee, WI USA) Written by Jesse Motiff, Gladiators Fighting correspondent: Milwaukee's Wisconsin State Fair Park hosted Gladiators Fighting 49 “The Warriors,” on Saturday night February 16th. Milwaukee fight fans have gotten used to seeing some of the best fights and fighters in the Midwest on these cards and this night proved no different. In all, 22 fights took place, highlighted by a main event featuring UFC fighter Eric “Ravishing Red” Schafer. Submission Grappling The night started with three submission grappling matches in which the fighters could only win by submission or by points. Fights were one, six minute round. The opening bout saw Jason "Kaz" Kazmierczak (Milwaukee) win a close 2-0 decision over Chuck Gruber (Appleton, WI). Next, Scott Hutson (Milwaukee) finished the bout before going to the judges’ scorecards when he won via a leg lock submission over Travis Hansen (Appleton). The last submission bout saw Ryan "The Beard" Williams (Milwaukee) score and impressive 10-0 decision victory over Chris McIntyre (Madison, WI). These bouts showed the mental and physical toughness it takes to win a match without using any sort of striking offense. Amateur MMA Next up were the amateur MMA fights. The first bout was extremely competitive and went to the judges’ scorecards. In the end, Ryan Landry (Milwaukee) won a split decision over Pete Miller (Lake Mills, WI). The scorecards read 30-29, 28-29, 29-28 to give Landry the win. Jimbo Abate (Rockford, IL) had a short night as he defeated Steven Garcia (Milwaukee) at :18 of the first round by a TKO do to punches to the head. Chris Hart, (Lake Mills) won his fight over Matt "Pit Bull" Ellis (Milwaukee) at 2:33 of round one when Ellis tapped out to Hart’s rear naked choke. Brad Funk (Chicago, IL) scored a big win over Jake Kazmeierski (East Troy, WI) when the referee stopped the fight at the end of round two due to a cut over Kazmeierski’s left eye. After a back and forth first round, Funk was able to take control in round two and do enough damage in the second round to get the TKO win. Leland Brown (Waukesha, WI) scored a disqualification victory over Dwayne Davis (Detroit, MI) at 1:13 of round two. Davis had been docked three points in round one for various offenses and referee Al Wichgers ended the fight when Davis repeatedly spit out his mouth guard. "Smoking Joe" Blake (Waukesha) made Ben Gladem (Janesville, WI) submit to a rear naked choke at 1:23 of the first round. The final three fights saw three crowd favorites all come out of the cage victorious. "Danny Boy" Downes (Milwaukee) remained undefeated when he beat Jerold Steer (Minneapolis, MN) at :45 of the first round. Downes caught Steer with a kick to the head and finished off Steer with punches until he submitted. Reed Ehmke (Milwaukee) beat Ed Shultz (Walworth, WI) with an armbar submission at 1:02 of round one, while Paul "Big Papi" Martinez (Milwaukee) closed out the amateur fights with a :23 submission win over Michael "The Psycho" Garcia (Milwaukee). Martinez landed several big haymakers before the end of the fight. Professional MMA Omar Choudhury (Milwaukee) started out the professional fights with a win :33 seconds into the first round over Mike "The Greek Turtle" Ottesen (Fond du Lac, WI) . Choudhury made Ottesen tap out to a rear naked choke for the victory. James Vanderwielen (Beaver Dam, WI) beat Kyle Courtier (Milwaukee) with an armbar submission at 2:44 of the first round. Both fighters showed good skills before Vanderweilen ended the bout. Karl Turek (Milwaukee) defeated Gary Weir (Kenosha, WI) at 1:53 of round one with a guillotine choke. Turek took control and locked in the choke to pull out the win. In the only Gladiatrix fight of the night, Karen Williams (Walworth) defeated Jasmine Davis (Milwaukee) at 1:09 of the first round due to a tap out from punches. Davis started out quickly and stunned Williams with several big punches. Williams was able to keep her composure and rebound to finish the fight with several devastating punches of her own. Jordan "Hard Knocks" Harris (Rockford, IL) won his bout over John "The Nurse" Hering (Milwaukee) at :29 of the first round. Harris struck quickly with a flurry of punches that sent Hering to the mat. Anthony "Showtime" Pettis (Milwaukee) lived up to his name as he beat Gorge "El Terror de Durango" Barraza (Elgin, IL) at 4:31 of round one. Pettis was dominant from the opening bell. His kicks and punches landed with ease and Barraza went to the ground after a Pettis kick to his ribs. A few punches later, Pettis had a TKO victory due to referee stoppage. "Savage" Dan LaSavage (Milwaukee) bounced back from a defeat his last time out with a great victory over Matt "Horn Dog" Horning (Washington Court, OH). The two fighters had a very competitive first round with each landing several blows on the other. In the second round, LaSavage caught Horning with a big right to the jaw that would have dropped most fighters. Horning was shaken up, but managed to stay in the fight. LaSavage however, kept the punishment coming and at :39 of round two the referee stopped the fight and LaSavage had a TKO win. LaSavage praised his opponent’s toughness after the fighting saying he couldn’t believe it took so many shots to end the fight and it felt like he broke his right hand in the process. In the first Championship bout of the evening, Gary Schaumberg (West Bend, WI) took on Seth Marquez (Madison, WI) for the Gladiators Fighting Featherweight MMA Championship. This was a great fight that saw two very evenly matched fighters push each other to their limits. Schaumberg had control of the fight most of the first round, but Marquez was able to reverse that at the end of the round. Round two was more evenly balanced and again Marquez gained control at the end of the round. Marquez was in control most of round three and almost choked out Schaumberg on several occasions. Schaumberg showed his toughness by hanging on and making it to the end of the fight. It came down to the judges’ scorecards - the last place a fighter wants the match to go to. The judges were split as two of them scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Schaumberg and the other judge had it 29-28 in favor of Marquez. Schaumberg had the victory and the title. A re-match between these two would surely be another classic fight. The second Championship bout of the night saw Horace "The Real Deal" Craft (Milwaukee) take on Reese "Old Man" Shaner (Waukesha). Craft came out swinging and cut Shaner early and it looked like Craft might score the victory. Shaner held tough with a raucous crowd that was heavily behind him, he battled back and took Craft to the ground. Shaner locked in a rear naked choke on Craft and at 3:28 of the first round, Craft submitted to it and Shaner was victorious. After the fight, Shaner thanked the crowd for their support and sent out a special thank you to his wife, Mary, for the support and strength she gives him to live his dreams. The Main Event of the evening saw Ryan Antle (Davenport, IA) take on UFC star Eric ‘Ravishing Red’ Schafer (Milwaukee). This one didn’t go Antle’s way and ended much faster than anyone expected. Antle shot on Schafer in the opening seconds, but Schafer caught him and went to the ground with a guillotine choke. Schafer locked it in very deep and Antle had no choice but to tap out. The fight was over at :41 seconds into the first round. Both fighters were very gracious afterwards praising one another. All-in-all it was another fabulous night of MMA fights in the cage. Congratulations to all the fighters. In the end, a win is nice, but every fighter should be applauded for their effort and the sacrifices they make to step into the cage. Thank you to all the sponsors for their support and most of all, thank you to the amazing fans in the Milwaukee area that continue to come out and watch Gladiators Fighting. Without you, none of this would be possible, so we thank you as always for your support. Remember to leave Saturday, March 29th open on your calendars as Gladiators Fighting returns with their special 50th Anniversary Show “Knockout Kings” inside Milwaukee Harley-Davidson's dealership showroom on Hwy 100 & Silver Spring in Milwaukee. It will be a night filled with Muaythai Kickboxing and MMA bouts on the same card. "Knockout
Kings" Main Event will feature Milwaukee’s own 4-time World
Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Duke Roufus taking on Sweden’s
best in European Champion and K-1 fighter Tofan Pirani. Tickets may
be ordered HERE or by calling (414)
967-7767.
Another Gladiators Fighting event has come and gone, and with it came some fantastic competition, some surprising and not-so-surprising outcomes. Great performances were put forth by all, and Saturday, February 16th's "The Warriors" at WI State Fair Park in Milwaukee was a rousing success. The main card began with a flurry of action in the Flyweight division, as a fired up Omar Choudhury came at Mike “The Greek Turtle” Ottesen like a man possessed. Both fighters had something to prove, with Choudhury on the comeback trail and Ottesen trying to make his transition in to the professional realm. Choudhury proved to be the more ferocious fighter, though, quickly taking Ottesen’s back and submitting him via rear naked choked at 32 seconds into the first round. Roufusport’s Kyle Courtier and Third Heaven’s James Vanderwielen both looked to capitalize on their ground skills in a Welterweight bout, and immediately locked up in a back and forth grappling battle that could have gone either way. Courtier utilized effective sweeps, but Vanderwielen’s technical ability prevailed, as he took the W by arm bar at 2:44 in round 1. Karl Turek continues up the Wisconsin area Light Heavyweight ladder as he choked Gary Weir almost, if not entirely to unconsciousness. Weir pushed the fight up against the cage early on, but Turek took control with a standing guillotine, pulling Weir down into guard and forcing the issue with a ref stoppage (due to unconsciousness) at 1:53 in round 1. Karen Williams once again displayed her dominance over the Featherweight Gladiatrix division, taking on a game Jasmine Davis. The fight stayed standing, with Davis coming off the bell with a flurry of punches that put the normally aggressive Williams off her game. She quickly recovered, though, and took Davis up against the cage where she proceeded to catch Davis right in the face with a huge knee, perpetrating an early candidate for KO of the night. After taking the knee to the face, Davis went down to the canvas, where Williams finished the fight by submission due to strikes, at 1:09 into round 1. In the Bantamweight division, "Konquer the Kage" Bantamweight champion John “The Nurse” Hering was overwhelmed by the ever-impressive Jordan Harris, who pushed the fight to the cage early in round one, where he caught Hering with a brutal knee to the solar plexus that put him down, giving Harris the opportunity to strike and finish the fight by TKO (round 1, 1:29). In one of the most exciting bouts of the evening, fan favorite and consummate showman Anthony “Showtime” Pettis came hard at a valiant Gorge “El Terror De Durango” Barraza, breaking him down with an impressive array of kicks, punches and knees. Pettis caught Barraza early on with a knee from the clinch that quite obviously broke his nose.
Another brutal battle (at right) and Professional KO of the Night came at the hands of “Savage” Dan LaSavage in the 7th pro bout of the night. LaSavage took everything he had to an unstoppable Matt “Horn Dog” Horning, an Ohioan who earned every ounce of respect he eked out of the loyal crowd by his ability to take a crapload of punishment and keep fighting. Horning
persevered into round 2, where he was finally stopped by a huge right
hand by LaSavage – a blow which, in fact, broke LaSavage’s
hand. Horning didn’t go all the way out, though: LaSavage still
had to finish the 135 lb Ohio juggernaut with ground and pound, ending
the fight at :39 seconds into round 2 by referee stoppage. Schaumberg maintained dominate positions all through round one, raining blows on Marquez from full and half guard, while Marquez continually worked for heel hooks, knee bars and sweeps. The round ended tensely, with Marquez making the transition to Schaumberg’s back with 10 seconds remaining. The champ turtled up, though, and defended the rear naked until the bell. Round 2 continued in a similar fashion, although the ref stood the fight up about half way through the round. While Schaumberg’s corner coached him on his submission defense, and reminded him that it was “a fight, not a BJJ match,” Marquez’s corner responded to their fighter similarly, pleading him to “throw some punches!” Fans were still enthralled, though, as the fighters kept the action moving and never stalled out. Round 3 saw Marquez almost putting Schaumberg to sleep with a super tight triangle from the guard, but he survived and soldiered on. The round ended with Marquez again on Schaumberg’s back, sinking in a ridiculously tight rear naked choke, but Schaumberg showed there was no way he was going to tap, and managed to hold on and wait out the last 10 seconds. The fight went to decision, and by virtue of his aggression and dominant positioning, the champ defended his Featherweight Title belt by decision (29-28 Schaumberg, 29-28 Marquez, 29-28 Schaumberg). A rematch has already been made, and it’s going a battle, for sure.
Shaner
was visibly dazed, but Craft failed to capitalize on the opportunity,
allowing Shaner to take advantage of valuable seconds and recover. Shaner
took the fight to his homeland on the mat, and punished Craft with knees
and punches to the spine and kidneys, breaking down the boxer until
he could take his back and submit Craft by rear naked choke at 3:38
into round 1 and earn the championship belt. The UFC fighter looked calm and confident out of the gate, and displayed some stand up ability, catching Ryan Antle (of Midwest Fighting Group – Davenport, IA) with a an echoing right kick to the midsection. Antle attempted to take advantage of the opportunity, shooting in on the BJJ specialist, but left his head out and got caught in a head-popping guillotine. He held on valiantly for a few moments, but was quickly submitted once Red re-adjusted and sunk the choke in even deeper, ending the fight at 41 seconds into round 1. Pro Highlights & Awards
Knock-out of the Night
Submission of the Night
Fight of the Night
The evening started out with three submission grappling matches using rules and scoring in accordance with NAGA. Team Matamoros went (3-0) for the night in submission grappling and was determined not to let anyone come onto their turf and steal the show. In the first match, Chuck Gruber of Fox Valley Grappling and Jason Kazmierczak of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu squared off in a 205 lb Light Heavyweight bout. Unfortunately, the match was almost a stalemate once the bout hit the mat with very little action as neither opponent was able to get anything going within the allotted time limit. Kaz outpointed Gruber (2-0). In what was probably the most competitive grappling bout of the evening (above right), Travis Hanson of the Fox Valley Grappling Club took on Scott Huston “We Have A Problem” of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu. This was a match where Hanson was the bigger man at 225 lbs vs. the 205 lb Huston. However, Huston was higher ranked with a purple belt vs. a white belt in Hanson. Huston showed Milwaukee what Royce Gracie showed the world in the early Nineties. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, better technique should prevail over strength and size in the long run. Huston won via kneebar at 3:23. Ryan “The Beard” Williams of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu decisively outpointed Chris McIntyre of Badgerland Jiu-Jitsu in Madison. Williams racked up points using good transitions. Despite the final score being (8-0), I am quite sure McIntyre was not awarded points for his sweep when Williams had a knee on his stomach. Williams in turn swept McIntyre to full mount in the closing minute. I could be wrong regarding the scoring, as I am not a competitive grappler. The first amateur MMA fight of the evening was probably the closest and hardest to call. Pete Miller of Third Heaven MMA took on Ryan Landry of Neutral Ground in a 155 lb Lightweight battle. The first round took place entirely on the ground. Landry attempted many sweeps, but was not successful. Neither fighter utilized ground striking and left the round as a question mark in the eyes of the judges. The second round was clearly Landry’s and he achieved full mount from a takedown set up with strikes. His attempted heel hook and rear naked choke may have not finished Miller, but cemented the second round as his for the taking. Miller then won the third round highlighted with an attempted arm bar. The cards were read (30-29) for Landry, (29-28) for Miller and (29-28) for Landry who won the bout via split decision. Jimbo Abate of Rockford Kickboxing & Jiu-Jitsu threw some big lefts that dropped Steven Gonzales of Gracie Fighting in a 205 lb Light Heavyweight battle. He immediately mounted Gonzales and unleashed some of the fiercest ground and pound of the evening. It was over before it even got started at 18 seconds in round one via TKO – referee stoppage.
Jake Kazmierski of Choice Martial Arts in East Troy took on Brad Funk of Carlson Gracie in Chicago in a 155 lb Lightweight bout. The match would be a classic match-up of striker vs. grappler. While Kazmierski showed some great striking including a head kick and a big knee to Funk, he was not able to deal with Funk excellent takedowns in the first round. In round two, Funk unleashed a big left hook and got himself a double leg takedown. After working for and achieving the full mount, Funk unloaded a barrage of ground and pound. Kazmierski showed his toughness and survived the round. In between rounds doctors came out to check on Kazmierski who was on wobbly legs. Doctors stopped the match in between the second and third round. Funk won via TKO – doctor stoppage. 197 lb Dwayne Davis stepped up to fight Heavyweight Leland “Tank” Brown of Waukesha MMA on short notice. Apparently he must not have attended the rules meeting prior to the bouts. While achieving top position in the first round he unloaded a big and illegal knee to the head of “Tank.” The referee stopped the bout and Davis was deducted a point. Later, Tank would have Davis against the fence. Davis grabbed the fence and was warned. Davis again grabbed the fence and was deducted another point. In the second round Davis pulled his mouthpiece out and tossed it across the cage. Leland “Tank” Brown won the match via DQ in the second round. "Smoking Joe" Blake of Waukesha MMA wasted no time in his 155 lb Lightweight fight against Ben Gladem of Janesville. Blake fended off a guillotine attempt from Gladem to win via rear naked choke at 1:23 in round one. "Danny Boy" Downes of Roufusport defeated Jerold Steer of Minneapolis via TKO referee stoppage in :45 seconds. His ground and pound stoppage was set up with a thunderous head kick that energized the crowd. Wisconsin Combat Sports awarded Downes "Knockout of the Night" for the amateur bouts. Downes in turn, increased his amateur MMA record to (4-0) and will now become a professional fighter. No opponents have yet been discussed for his first professional bout. Reed Ehmke of Neutral Ground in Milwaukee faced Ed Schultz of Team Dawg in Walworth in a 170 lb Welterweight bout. “Reed-Diculus” Ehmke fended off a guillotine after getting the takedown. Ehmke then got full mount from side control. From full mount he unleashed some ground and pound until Schultz gave Ehmke an arm. Ehmke wins via armbar at 1:02 in the first round earning submission of the night for the amateurs. Ehmke’s amateur record is now (4-0) and there are rumors that he, like Downes, may be going pro in his next bout. In the final amateur bout of the evening, Heavyweight Paul "Big Papi" Martinez of Roufusport quickly finished Michael "The Psycho" Garcia of Garcia Fighting in Milwaukee. Garcia tapped out from the heavy hands of Martinez. Martinez wins via submission due to strikes at :23 seconds in the first round. Martinez will next fight in the "King of The Cage" amateur Heavyweight tournament next month in Lac du Flambeau, WI The winner of the sixteen-man tournament will be awarded a professional contract with KOTC. Martinez who is (3-0) as an amateur should pose a threat in that tournament. All in all, the amateur fighters put on just as good of a show as the professionals last night. I would like to thank Scott Joffe and Duke Roufus on behalf of Wisconsin Combat Sports for promoting a great show. Stayed tuned for Tyler Welch’s write-up of the professional fights on the card. It should be published in the next day or so.
Saturday, February 16, 2008 (Milwaukee, WI USA) Here are the quick results from this evening's Gladiators Fighting 49 "The Warriors" MMA cage show held inside the WI Products Pavilion at WI State Fair Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Submission
Grappling -185
THAO & SCHAUMBERG BATTLE WAY TO GLADIATORS TITLES
Every fight took place as planned. When Cory Sachjten's car slid into a ditch while en route, he dealt with the mess of having it towed out, soldered on to the event, and finally made it into the cage for what turned out to be one of the better fights of the night.
This all-or-nothing smashfest made the dangerous, wintry trek that much more worth it. Both fighters came out in true Gladiator fashion and went to battle. Thao immediately showed off his credentials as the top title contender by taking it to Choudhury like an out of control freight train. But Choudhury, the champion, would not succumb to the onslaught of punches, kicks, knees and repeated submission attempts that a relentless Thao unleashed. Referee Marc Fennell did an excellent job in letting the fight go on at times when it seemed that Choudhury was just about finished, but proved he was very much still in the game with an array of amazing escapes, validating Fennell's loose leash. As both fighters strength meters started dipping into the danger zone, Thao found a way to finally gain control and finished Choudhury off with a slew of undefended strikes, becoming the new Gladiators Fighting Flyweight Champion. In the main event of the evening West Bend's (WI) Gary Schaumberg and Appleton's (WI) Derek Griffin met for the vacant Gladiators Fighting Featherweight title. Fans couldn't have asked for a better ending to an already great night of fights Schaumberg and Griffin went at it like wildcats until Schaumberg gained position and brought the bout to an abrupt end, slapping the rear naked choke on at 3:33 of the 1st round. Referee Fennell had no choice but to call this one when Griffin appeared to be rendered unconscious. Gary Schaumberg is the new Gladiators Fighting Featherweight Champion. If you're trying to predict the future of MMA fighters coming out of the Midwest, this fight, Thao vs. Choudhury, and a host of others on tonight's card should excite fans to no end. There is a tough crop of MMA talent growing in America's heartland and "Season's | ||||
The
card featured nine bouts (including a Gladiators Fighting Light
Heavyweight -205 lbs MMA title fight) and an eclectic mix of eighteen
fighters from twelve different gyms
throughout the state and Midwest. Here’s a recap of the
night's action:
With
only a few
weeks before
Dubiak leaves
the land of cheese for the land of 10,000 lakes,
he gets himself a win in front of the hometown
fans, Submission
of the Night, and
a story
to take with him to help him pick up chicks in
Minnesota.
In
the fight of the night Marco Daniels of Kenosha, (WI) faced off
against Marc Freidrich of Adrian
Serrano’s Combat Gym in a 145 lb Featherweight
scrap. Freidrich started the action with
a hard right hook, but was then dropped by a right cross from
Daniels.
When
Brooks did throw back he was looking
for the one punch knockout and it landed multiple times,
but Toll showed he is tough and can take a
shot. Toll had full mount many
times throughout the bout and Brooks was good at sneaking out the
back door, but offensively he had little
to offer.
In
what had the makings of fight of the night, Roufusport's Donovan “Recon” Foley
(right) scored his third straight win since losing to Charles Brown
of FVGC
in December of 2007. His Lightweight (-155 lbs) opponent,
Jay “The
Silent Assassin” Ellis
of Neutral Ground BJJ in
Milwaukee definitively
dominated Foley for the
round, but was unable to
answer
the bell for
second due to an
ankle injury suffered when
Foley
blocked a kick.
Patrick “Bear” Barrantine
of Team Gurgel in Dayton,
(OH) came out to the Care
Bears soundtrack
and raised many a eyebrow
with his
ring entrance,
but he was all business
in the cage. He landed
a body kick to Mike Delany
of Chosen Few in Madison,
(WI) which was immediately
followed by a takedown
where Barrantine torqued
a
painful looking Americana
from
side control causing
Delaney to tap
at :38 seconds of the
Heavyweight (- 265 lbs)
match.
Middleweight
MMA -185 lbs
Sunday,
June 22, 2008 (Milwaukee,
WI USA) FGIHT CLUB QUICK RESULTS. Here are the quick results
from the Saturday, June 21st Gladiators Fightiing 53 show "Fight
Club" held
inside Milwaukee Harley-Davidson's dealership showroom:
GLADIATOR’S
NOVICE FEATHERWEIGHT MMA –145
GLADIATOR’S
BANTAMWEIGHT KICKBOXING -135
GLADIATOR’S
MIDDLEWEIGHT MMA -185
GLADIATOR’S
BANTAMWEIGHT MMA –135
Sunday,
March 30, 2008 (Milwaukee,
WI USA) Written
by Jesse Motiff, Gladiators Fighting correspondent: Gladiators
Fighting 50 “Knockout Kings” took place inside Milwaukee
Harley-Davidson's dealership showroom last night as Muay Thai Kickboxing
and MMA fights filled the night with amazing non-stop action much to
the delight of the huge crowd of fight fans. 
Barraza
was initially shocked by the blow, clapping his hand over his instantly
bleeding nose, but recovered quickly. The rest of the fight was a surgically
precise deconstruction of Barraza by Pettis, slowly breaking down the
BJJ specialist until another knee, this time to the midsection, put
down Barraza for good, allowing Pettis to finish the fight with ground
and pound at 4:31 seconds into round 1.
Saturday,
December 1, 2007 (Milwaukee, WI USA) Wisconsinites, this Buds for you!
Not even a snow and ice storm could keep Gladiators Fighting fans from
packing the house for tonight's "Season's Beatings!" all MMA
card inside Milwaukee Harley-Davidson's dealership showroom.
In
the first of two Gladiators Fighting championship bouts, Milwaukeeean
Omar Choudhury's Flyweight Title was the prize in the eye of Wausau,
Wisconsin's Sam Thao. A prize Thao was determined to take back home,
and he would let nothing stand in his way.