RESULTS

Professional Feature bouts:

165 lbs.   Duane Ludwig win over Sam Morgan  2:01 – Round 1  Technical Knock Out

185 lbs.   Frank Trigg win over Falaniko Vitale  Unanimous decision after 3 rounds

170 lbs.   Donnie Liles win over Pete Spratt  1:59 – Round 3  Rear naked choke

155 lbs.   Billy Evangelista win over Luke Caudillo  Unanimous decision after 3 rounds

205 lbs.   Carlos Zevallos win over Andre Walker  4:48 – Round 1  Technical Knock Out

112 lbs.   Michelle Waterson win over Tyra Parker  1:20 – Round 1  Rear naked choke

145 lbs.    Tyler Toner win over Ricky Johnson  3:44 – Round 2  Technical Knock Out

Amateur bouts:

125 lbs.    Aaron Trujillo win over Haven Torres  2:59 – Round 1  Rear naked choke

140 lbs.    Turrell Galloway win over Brett Tillis  1:21 – Round 1  Rear naked choke

155 lbs.    Eric Calvin win over Jeremy Malaterre  Split decision after 3 rounds

155 lbs.    Alan Gomez win over Jordan Goodwin  Unanimous decision after 3 rounds

170 lbs.    Drew Dober win over Lumumba Sawyers  00:16 – Round 1  Knock out

PLAY-BY-PLAY

It wasn’t so long ago when MMA action could only be seen via a Pay Per View outlet.  The perception was that it was brutal and had no place in mainstream sports.  Although it hasn’t quite gotten to the level of respectability of its more brutal cousin, boxing, it has developed enough of a following to demand live broadcast coverage.  Along with increased demand by the sports’ enthusiasts, new show venues have arisen giving competition to the original only show in town, the UFC.

Supported by HDNet and more traditional sports’ promoter Mark Cuban, Strikeforce is knocking on the door of the Fertitta Brothers and Dana White’s UFC as HDNet makes the sport more accessible to the home enthusiast who snatches the remote from his spouse looking for snippets of this engaging sport. 

It is with such aplomb that the Strikeforce competition, PAYBACK, came to Denver Friday night, October 3^rd.  With camera coverage starting at the weigh-in Thursday night to the colored smoke shrouding the fighters’ entrance to the arena on Friday night, this was world-class entertainment for our local fans.  The big draws of the night were to be Frank Trigg vs.  Falinko Vitale and the rematch of local fight celebrity Duane “Bang” Ludwig seeking to avenge his previous first round knockout by Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan.  That fight was nearly 3 years ago but grudges of unintentional losses have a long life and Ludwig had been working back to this opportunity to reverse the Morgan speed-bump on his fast track to MMA stardom.

Strikeforce executives had collaborated with our local promoter and master grudge-maker Sven Bean, to put together an evening of exciting bouts.  With the anticipation of the Ludwig / Morgan match to end the evenings’ roster, not a soul had budged from their seats before the final victor was awarded his due.

The early arriving crowd was awarded with 5 Amateur bouts to warm them up for the professional match-ups to come.

First we were treated to a contest between Trujillo vs. Torres.  This fight ended where it started, on the ground, as Trujillo capitalized on a position of dominance that seemed to kick into high gear with the sound of the clacker at 10 seconds before the end of Round one.  With a burst of adrenalin, Trujillo turned on the juice and pummeled Torres with repeated unanswered punches until the referee called an end to the action, awarding the TKO to Trujillo at 2:59 seconds of Round 1.

In the next bout, the encouragement from the hometown crowd was not enough to propel local Brett Tillis to a win against Turrell Galloway.   Tillis was forced to tap-out when trapped into a rear naked choke by Galloway a mere 1:21 into the first round.

Most of the next bout between Eric Calvin vs. Jeremy Malaterre was enacted with the fighters on their feet.  Malaterre had the longer reach but both fighters connected with punishing kicks and knees.  This bout went all three rounds and it seemed that contrary to the human fatigue factor, both fighters seemed to gain momentum in Round 3.  Although Calvin did perform the only takedown of the match, my prediction had been that the win would be awarded to Malaterre.  Goes to show why I am a journalist and not a judge – Calvin was awarded the win by split decision, 29/28, 30/27 and 29/28.

The 4^th Amateur match-up of the evening was between Jordan Goodwin and Alan Gomez.  The audience really got engaged in this fight and the energy of the fighters was sustained through three punishing rounds.  Ultimately the win was unanimously and enthusiastically awarded to Alan Gomez.

The last Amateur bout of the evening was the much anticipated return to the octagon by local favorite, Lumumba Sawyers vs. Drew Dober.   It was only 16 seconds into the first round before the crowd was elevated to their feet in surprise as Lumumba dropped his guard and stepped into a precision left hook that knocked him flat. Although he attempted to regain his footing, he staggered and stumbled as the referee waved him off to prevent any further damage.  Dober, the out-of-towner had stunned the crowd as he raised his arms and acknowledged the respectful applause from the fans in his KO victory.

The seats at the Bromfield Events Center were rapidly filling up as the Professional bouts of the evening got under way.

The first Professional match-up was between two fighters that were both well trained, supported by strong coaches and excellent choices to be pitted against one another.  I had previously written a vignette interview with Tyler Toner and knew him to be a very strong competitor.  I had had a chance to meet and chat with Ricky Johnson at Thursday’s night weigh-in and knew that defeat was not on his radar screen either. 

As the bout was getting set-up, I could see Ricky Johnson getting some last minute coaching advice from the revered Clarence Thatch in his corner as Tyler Toner was escorted to his corner by Eliot Marshall, of Ring-of-Fire fame.  Round 1 drew blood from Ricky’s nose.  It was as if Tyler was energized by the appearance of blood and dropped Ricky briefly with a knee.  Not to be slowed, Ricky hit Tyler with a strong left causing him to momentarily stagger.  At the end of Round 1, both fighters needed to be mopped up by their corners.  In the second Round, Tyler dominated to the ultimate win but the referee did not stop it as early as he might have because the tenacious Ricky Johnson would not give up.  He would not give up as he was being pounded on the ground.  He would not give up as he tried to find his feet.  He would not give up after suffering a Mongolian Chop to both sides of his head.  Finally the referee could not let the bout continue and stopped the fight, awarding the TKO win to Tyler Toner  3:44 into Round 2.  Toner had a tough and tenacious opponent.  If not for his excellent training and conditioning, this bout could have had a different result.

The only girl fight of the night was next between the local (and ferocious) beauty, Michelle “the Karate Hottie” Waterson against Tyra Parker.  As soon as the fight started, it was clear what matchmaker Sven Bean, had seen when he put together these two competitors.  Michelle immediately connected with intense kicks but it didn’t take long to see that Tyra had a powerful punch that, if it had connected rather than whiffed, Michelle could have had her lovely face bloodied.  Instead, 1:20 into the first Round, Michelle’s diverse training floated to the top as she submitted her opponent by rear naked choke to tap-out.  Tyra did not want to give up and waited so long to tap that she remained prone on the mat until she had could inhale sufficient oxygen to get to her feet.   Tyra Parker is an opponent to be respected but Friday was again Michelle’s night to shine.

The next fight of the evening was between two fighters making their professional debuts – Andre “the Silencer” Walker vs. Carlos Zevallos.  The first Round may have started with both fighters trading punches but Walker exhibited his strength early with three repeated left hands to the head of Zevallos that dropped him as Walker ground and pounded his opponent.  The tables turned when Carlos tripped Andre to the mat where he found himself staggered and dizzy, clinging to the cage for support at which point the referee stopped the fight and awarded the TKO to Zevallos 4:48 in the first Round.  This was a surprising comeback after the momentum exhibited by Andre at the outset.  In the post-win interview, Zevallos told the crowd that he had never felt as powerful a punch in his life as the left hook he took to the face from Andre Walker.  There was a chuckle from the crowd when the announcer mentioned that Carlos’ mother had not known that he was fighting Friday night.  Seeing as how the event was being televised, it is likely that she knew before the night was over!

The 4^th Professioanl bout of the evening was between the undefeated Billy Evangelista and the more experienced Luke Caudillo.  The momentum of an undefeated record must have been the only thing keeping Evangelista on his feet as Caudillo caught him early with a solid blow to the head that staggered and dropped Billy.  Caudillo did not hesitate but took advantage of the moment and charged the stunned Evangelista to drop him again as soon as he had regained his footing.  Luke pounded on the downed Billy who was not going to let the fight end this early and this way!  He shook it off and re-engaged although his attempts at roundhouse kicks caught nothing but air.  The advantage turned tables as the 1^st Round ended with Luke turtled under the swinging blows of Billy.  Luke, however, was also not going to acquiesce to the momentary dominance of his opponent and it was as though he decided that this reversal was not going to spell the end of the bout.  Round 2 saw increased respect between the fighters for their opponents’ strength as they were a bit more cautious as they mapped their individual strategies.  Billy had a strong punch and some colorful moves including a flying knee that did not have the desired impact and a stutter “bunt” designed to catch Luke off guard.  In spite of absorbing punishing blows and knees from Billy, Luke held a solid stance, resisting the takedown and seeming to prepare for an attack of his own.  Round 3 began with Billy sensing victory as he moved in with bruising kicks – even the deflected ones had to pain Luke’s defending forearm.  Billy took Luke to the mat in a charging tackle, where the fighters grappled with neither gaining an advantage until the referee stood them up.  At the end of Round 3, the fighters respectfully slapped gloves and smiled in mutual respect of each other.  I love that about this sport!  If judged by damage, Billy looked with worse with his swollen face although Luke would sport a left eye shiner as the scores of 29/28, 29/28 and 30/27 belied the winner by appearance and victory was awarded, by unanimous decision, to Billy Evangelista.

The next bout of the evening was between Donnie Liles and Pete Spratt.  These two well conditioned fighters exchanged kicks until Liles got caught with kick to the groin.  Spratt apologized as the fighters returned to action and his expression was sincere.  At one point, Spratt kicked, had his foot caught by Liles who flipped him backward, causing Spratt to recover with a back somersault before bounding back to his feet.  Although some fighters never quite fully recover following a groin pause, neither of these fighters were tentative.  As Dan Magnie (President of ColoradoFightEvents) said to me:  “There was no pattycake here”. The fighters’ energy did not diminish as the Rounds ticked by and other than increased perspiration, neither fighter had the appearance of being exhausted.  In Round 3, Donnie Liles took Spratt’s back, moving his arm up to a choke and squeezed Pete Spratt to tap out 1:59 seconds in the 3^rd Round.  In the post fight interview, Liles said that this was, by far, the biggest victory in his MMA career.

The Professional Superfight of the evening was between Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg vs. Falinko Vitale of Hawaii.  Frankly, this fight was a bore punctuated by boos from the audience caused by what appeared to be sluggish behavior between the opponents.  Falinko is known for having a powerful punch but Trigg fought a very smart fight by keeping Falinko too bound-up to haul back for his signature explosions of strength.  Although both fighters had done their homework on their opponent and worked their strategies, the audience expected more action following the hype preceding the match-up.  Ultimately the decision went to the judges who awarded the win to Frank Trigg unanimously with scores of 29/28, 29/28 and 30/27.

No one seemed to have budged from their seats in anticipation of the Professional Main Event of the evening between Duane “Bang” Ludwig and Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan.  This was the bout that defined the title to the evenings’ program:  PAYBACK – and it was exactly that!  Sam Morgan was determined to provide that his previous knock-out win over Duane “Bang” was not a fluke and Ludwig was out to prove just the opposite.  The intensity of the two fighters was absolutely diametric to each other.  Sam Morgan winked and smiled to the cameras when he entered the octagon.  Duane Ludwig was all business and dead serious.  As the referee called the bout to start, both fighters exchanged powerful leg kicks to the body and the first takedown went to Morgan but he was unable to keep Ludwig on the mat.  The fighters clinched and the next takedown went to Ludwig.  The fighters returned to their feet when the beginning to the end came into sight.  Ludwig knocked down Morgan with a left hook to the body and right punch to the head.  He proceeded to ground and pound on Morgan until the referee stopped the bout with a tap out due to strikes at 2:01 into Round 1.

In the post fight interview, Ludwig gave praise to Morgan for taking the fight and giving him a chance to avenge his previous loss.  Yes, revenge is sweet and it belonged to Duane “Bang” Ludwig who was immediately surrounded in the cage by his wife and his prestigious entourage of Nate Marquardt, Sven Bean, Cody Donovan and Eliot Marshall.

Ludwig isn’t often seen with a smile on his face but Friday night – it was sincere, happy and not about to fade anytime soon.

The crowd seemed to disperse quickly but the Broomfield arena still echoed with the impact of having televised MMA action broadcast live from accessible Colorado.  However, when reflecting on the number of national fighters and promoters who have come to prominence in Colorado, it is no surprise that we are in the spotlight as this sport gains more universal coverage.