Tim Sylvia Gets Destroyed
The win streak is over.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, who had put together a respectable four-fight run heading into Friday's Titan Fighting Championship 16 event, lasted just 32 seconds against "The Ultimate Fighter 10" cast member Abe Wagner.
The super heavyweight matchup served as the main event of Friday night's HDNet-broadcast event, which took place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.
Wagner's speed advantage was evident in the opening seconds, and he looked to pepper Sylvia with strikes on multiple levels as he retreated and stayed away from his opponent's length. Then a right hand brought about the beginning of the end.
Wagner caught Sylvia on the temple, and the former UFC champ was visibly staggered. As "The Maine-iac" tried to recover, Wagner went on the assault with jackhammer punches that chased Sylvia across the cage. Sylvia avoided the shots as he retreated, but once he reached the cage, Wagner landed a four-punch combination that saw his opponent slump to the canvas. Referee Jason Herzog wasted little time in rushing in to call the fight, and the decision was justified when Sylvia stumbled as he returned to his feet.
The entire process took just 32 seconds.
"I thought I'd have a big speed advantage over him," Wagner told HDNet broadcaster Frank Trigg following the win. "I wanted to take the fight to him."
Wagner (8-3), who weighed-in under the heavyweight limit for the fight, improves to 5-1 over his past six fights, and the lone loss came to undefeated UFC heavyweight Travis Browne. Meanwhile, Sylvia (28-7) sees a four-fight win streak snapped, and the 311-pound behemoth will undoubtedly again hear doubts about the future of his fighting career.
"The Kansas City Bandit" made out like just that in his co-main event contest with Rudy Bears, as Jason High needed less than a minute to claim another victory.
After a brief felling out process, High controlled his opponent in a scramble, locked in a guillotine choke and fell to his back. It was all "Bad News" for Bears, who was trapped in the hold. With no sweat to assist his escape so early in the fight, Bears was trapped, but rather than tap, he let the choke put him to sleep at the 51-second mark of the opening frame.
With the win, High (13-3) has now earned four-straight wins since a one-and-done stint in the UFC. Meanwhile, Bears (12-7) falls to just 2-2 in his past four outings.
With 23 submission wins in a career that dates back to 1999, it was Rich Clementi that figured to be the biggest grappling threat in his matchup. Instead, Aaron Derrow was the one who offered "No Love."
For two-plus rounds, Derrow appeared to be heading toward certain defeat. Clementi controlled the action from top positions with an effective ground-and-pound attack that left Derrow's face bloodied. But Clementi's confidence, which saw him kissing his gloves before firing off punches from top position, may have backfired as Derrow threatened with a submission in the closing seconds. Perhaps too comfortable in the hold, Clementi did not pull free from a triangle choke, and he found himself in trouble as the hold tightened.
Despite a subpar performance up to that point, Derrow squeezed tight on the choke, and Clementi would eventually fall unconscious from the technique.
The win is unquestionably the highest-profile result of Derrow's (5-2) young career. For Clementi (39-18-1), the loss represents the first time he has been defeated by a triangle choke in nearly 60 trips to the cage.
Fighting for the first time in 16 months, nine-time UFC veteran Drew McFedries entered his matchup with fellow middleweight Gary Tapusoa as a heavy favorite. And while McFedries was more moderate than "The Massacre," his effective striking eventually got the job done.
Tapusoa threatened early with quick movement in and out of the pocket as he tried to avoid McFedries' famed power shots. For the most part, he was effective, and a second-round flash knockdown of McFedries seemed to indicate things were going in Tapusoa's direction.
They weren't.
McFedries picked himself up off the floor and picked up the pace for the remaining round and a half, utilizing powerful leg kicks to immobilize his opponent and picking Tapusoa apart with jabs from the outside. The damage was evident as Tapusoa's face reddened, and the carnage worsened in the final frame.
McFedries patient attack left him with plenty of gas in the tank, and he punished Tapusoa with straight right hands that opened up a huge gash over his opponent's eye and left blood trickling down the face. As the eye continued to swell, McFedries continued to push.
With a decision result firmly in hand, McFedries didn't let off the gas, and a devastating uppercut left Tapusoa turning to avoid more damage. Another stiff punch followed, and the fight was mercifully halted with just 18 seconds remaining in the final frame.
With the win in his first fight since a 2009 release from the UFC, McFedries (9-6) improves to 2-1 in his past three outings. Meanwhile, Tapusoa (4-2) falls for the first time since his professional debut and sees a four-fight win streak snapped.
At times, Bobby Cooper was indeed "Super Duper." However, the more experienced Drew Dober was just a little bit better.
Dober avoided any issues with his opponent's reach advantage by moving the fight to the floor early and often in the three-round affair. From there, the Muay Thai specialist relied on a capable ground-and-pound attack to score points with the judges.
Cooper fought valiantly throughout, and he nearly locked in a triangle choke in the closing seconds of the second frame. In the third, he showed his resilience by fighting out of a tight arm-triangle choke attempt and sweeping to top position. However, the defensive prowess and admirable grit weren't enough to overcome Dober's takedowns and dominant positioning, and Cooper was forced to concede a unanimous decision.
With the win, Dober (5-2) has now netted four-straight wins. Meanwhile, Cooper (1-2) has alternated two losses and a win in his first three fights.
The evening's second contest saw a pair of debuting professionals engage in an entertaining display of grappling, but it was strikes that ultimately proved the difference between Anthony Gutierrez and Jacob Akin.
The more compact Akin worked the fight to the floor early on, but Gutierrez alertly swept to top position and looked to grind away. Akin had different plans.
Working from his back, Akin looked for armbar after armbar. However, Gutierrez repeatedly slammed Akin to the canvas and shook free from the holds. Akin looked for a kneebar and heel hook, as well, but Gutierrez slipped free from the attempts and advanced to side position. The he unleashed.
Finally free from Akin's rapid-fire submission attempts, Gutierrez unleashed a barrage of nearly 20 elbows to the head of his downed opponent leaving the match referee no choice but to halt the contest at the 3:28 mark of the opening frame.
Gutierrez (1-0) earns an impressive win in his professional debut, while Akin (0-1) is forced back to the drawing board.
In the night's first televised contest, two-time Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Alonzo Martinez dominated opponent Deryck Ripley from start to finish.
Martinez dropped Ripley in the opening round and peppered him with ground and blows, but the finish would come in the second round. After dropping his foe twice in the opening minute of the second frame, Martinez again moved to top position and began punching away. A woozy Ripley rolled to avoid further damage, and Martinez sunk in the fight-ending rear-naked choke.
Martinez (28-14-1) has now earned six wins in his past seven fights, while late-replacement Ripley (9-18) has now dropped three-straight fights.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
•Abe Wagner def. Tim Sylvia via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:32
•Jason High def. Rudy Bears via technical submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 0:51
•Aaron Derrow def. Rich Clementi via technical submission (triangle choke) - Round 3, 3:35
•Drew McFedries def. Gary Tapusoa via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 4:42
•Drew Dober def. Bobby Cooper via unanimous decision
•Anthony Gutierrez def. Jacob Akin via TKO (elbows) - Round 1, 3:28
•Alonzo Martinez def. Deryck Ripley via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 2:19
