The FIGHT OF THE
NIGHT had to be handed to Torrance
Taylor in his win over the heavily favored and fan supported, Luke
Caudillo. Only two weeks earlier Taylor had fought and won
against UFC veteran Junior Assencao
in a unanimous decision. He returned to
the gym immediately to prepare for this match-up against Luke Caudillo and his energy
absolutely magnetized the crowd. He
kicked with short stingers and propelled high roundhouse kicks both clockwise
and counter. He leapt with flying knees
and elbows, his punches invaded Caudillo’s guard while dodging most of the
punishment coming at him. Caudillo is a
fine well-conditioned fighter who earned the dubious reputation for being able
to absorb incredible abuse. In spite of
visible head snaps when Taylor’s
foot or ankle would impact the side of his neck and head, Caudillo remained poised
to take advantage should an opportunity develop. Caudillo is not cocky. He is a (dare I say “sweet”?) young man from North Platte, NE who
moved to Denver
to train under the renowned Duane “Bang” Ludwig. Taylor
had already told me that he was respectful of the training by his opponent and
knew what a coup it would be to win this match after having won his previous
contests over UFC contenders
Junior Assencao and Jason Dent. Taylor
thrives however, on being the Darth Vader, the come-from-behind player when
taking on a strong fighter in their own house.
At the post-fight news conference, Taylor again acknowledged the powerful
opponent he had in Luke Caudillo.
Caudillo apologized to the press corps for not putting on enough of a
show. Pleezzzee – Luke, you were excellent
but Torrance
was over the top. The crowd that had
booed when Torrance entered the arena were on
their feet shouting, whistling and screaming for him by the time the bout came
to an 3:10 into the 3rd
round when the referee pulled Torrance
off Caudillo, awarding Torrance Taylor the win by TKO. This was seconds after Caudillo had actually
tapped out when caught in a rear naked choke but the tap was missed by the referee
so Taylor
resumed his strikes just long enough for the referee to call an end to the
action. Before joining the ring
announcer to have his arm raised in victory, Taylor
dropped to the mat and pumped off several push-ups and later told us that he
was aware of his asthma since arriving in Colorado.
Does this mean that he had energy to spare? If I was an opponent set to be matched
against him, that thought would make me shudder!
Taylor
expressed interest in returning to the Ring of Fire to fight again and there is
little doubt that this young man is on a meteoric streak to MMA stardom.
He is 20 years old, has a warm smile, sparkling eyes, is strong, articulate
and focused on where he is going and what it takes to walk that path. I doubt he will catch future opponents
unaware of the danger in finding him in the opposite corner. News of this fight will surely resonate within
the fight world.
There was not a dull match in the entire line-up – Sven “Boogie” Bean had gone all-out in
his matchmaking for this event!
The win by Noah
Thomas over Brett Roller was another where Noah won twice – once when Roller
tapped-out (but out of sight from the referee) and decisively when he was
caught in a rear naked choke 2:03
into Round 2. Roller launched from his corner
following the opening bell with a barrage of punches but it was the methodical,
systematic (and newly 145 lb) Noah Thomas who exercised the patient
strategy. The crowd was on their feet
for most of this fight.
Kenneth Seegrist’s win
over the popular and talented Ian Berg for the ROF Young Guns Middleweight Championship belt was a shot of
confidence for Seegrist and gave the fans a view at an evolved MMA competitor.
Seegrist had bulked-up considerably since I saw him last and he made
short order of Berg 1:27 into the first round when Berg tapped out after
finding himself in a guillotine choke.
Berg was a formidable opponent in spite of the fact that Seegrist made
this contest appear to be almost easy. I
predict that these two competitors have not seen the last of each other.
Justin Salas of Green River Wy.
took on Parker resident Max Smith and made a tidy win for himself after lifting
Smith off the ground and slamming him to the mat following a pinwheel spin to
exhibit his dominance. The match ended
when Smith tapped out after finding himself caught in a rear naked choke 1:26 in Round 1.
I continue to be impressed by the tough yet personable lone
female fighter of the evening, Cat
Albert, who finished off the talented XTreme Couture-trained Las Vegas
contender, Karina Taylor a mere 2:30
into Round 1 with an arm bar tap out. Cat
did not escape totally unscathed as she took a nasty knee to the head which she
later described as having “really sucked” but she recouped for the victory
while sporting a new black eye.
As Cat told the post-fight Press, she is a fighter but she
also embraces her feminine side as a mother, cook, homemaker and girlfriend to
her talented Brazilian boyfriend, Jiu Jitsu trainer and sparring partner,
Mauricio Zingano. Cat has always
excelled in whatever sport she has tackled since wrestling as the only female
on her high school wrestling team. Her
focus is a personal test of will and strength in competing to win her personal
best rather than to beat a specific opponent.
However, she was ready with an answer when asked who she would like to
fight on both the local and the national level.
There was not a moment of hesitation as she identified Louise Johnson as
the female she would like to fight locally and Gina Carano as the national
fighter who I remember hearing Cat challenge following the first amateur bout I
had seen her participate in. Why
shouldn’t Cat aim for the top? – she has proven that she is a serious
competitor with the wins behind her now to call out whoever she wants!
ROF highlights would not be complete without an impressive
nod to the short victorious cage appearance by Brandon Thatch. New gym,
additional trainers, added bulk to his lean frame and a mature focus has made Brandon an intense
opponent. His bout lasted 38 seconds and
was a flurry of kicks, knees and devastating punches resulting in the reward of
being draped with the ROF Young Guns
Welterweight belt. His new red
Mohawk is a compliment to his new red fight color which is the perfect
illustration of his new warning message:
Danger!
Lastly, the Main Event of the evening between UFC Veteran Mike
Nickels and Croatian Vladimir Vukovich was fast and “gracious” in terms of
détente and diplomacy. As Nickels
received fan accolades demonstrated by roaring greetings and chants of USA USA
as he entered the auditorium, his opponent Vukovich applauded along enthusiastically
with the crowd. Vladimir “the Wolf” Vukovich is renowned for
his striking power and it is said that whoever tastes his fists “goes to sleep”
but Nickels took the early offensive and caught Vukovich in a rear naked choke
2:18 into Round 1. Once Vukovich hit the
mat, Nickels said later, he knew that it was “checkmate”!
In the post-fight Press Conference, Nickels described how it
felt to start out as he did on the Ultimate Fighter where he seemed to be
classified as a reality TV show actor rather than an authentic competitor. He has adopted a renewed determination to put
in the time to settle up his unfinished business with the UFC where he felt he was too quickly dismissed
after his loss to Stephan Bonner. Nope –
don’t discount Mike Nickels. He has a
long-term focus and the maturity not to be derailed.
Friday the 13th may be unlucky for some but there
were 10 men and 1 woman who experienced just the reverse of that superstition
as they took their MMA game to the
next level. After talking with many of
the fighters who appeared that night, there were careers launched, careers that
wobbled but every one of them has made an investment in their sport that may
have had a setback but is still very much alive as they return to their
respective gyms next week.
Results
Preliminary bouts:
Sean Doherty win
over Dominick Blanco @ 135 lbs.
29 seconds into Round
1 by arm bar tap out
Jay Lester loss to Brendan
Schaub @ 225 lbs. ++
30 seconds into Round
by TKO called due to strikes
Weston Duschen loss to Cody
Donovan @ 205 lbs.
1:16 into Round 3 by arm bar tap out
Brian Wood win
over Miguel Martinez @ 145 lbs.
1:05 into Round 1 by guillotine choke
Feature bouts:
Surprising loss by Ian Berg to Kenneth Seegrist @ 185 lbs.
1:27 into Round 1 by guillotine choke
Seegrist awarded the ROF Young Guns Middleweight Championship belt
Justin Salas win
over Max Parker @ 163 lbs.
1:26 into Round 1 by rear naked choke
Mike Crisman loss to Brandon
Thatch @ 170 lbs.
TKO called due to strikes
a short 38 seconds into Round 1
Thatch awarded the ROF Young Guns Welterweight Championship belt
Karina Taylor loss to Cat
Albert @ 135 lbs.
Arm bar submission tap
out 2:30 in Round 1
** Torrance Taylor (fight
of the night) win over Luke
Cadillo ** @ 155 lbs.
3:10 into Round 3 by TKO called for strikes (following missed tap out due
to rear naked choke moments before)
Brett Roller loss to Noah
Thomas @ 145 lbs.
2:03 into Round 2 by rear naked choke
Vladimir Vuckovich loss to Mike Nickels @ 205 lbs. (Main
Event) @ 205 lbs.
2:18 into Round 1 by rear naked choke
