|
 SLAUGHTERHOUSE 9 REVIEW
UNDERCARD
Decker Dogwood v Colin Hardin Jr – 265 lbs
Our first bout of the evening started with an upset as 19 year old Decker Dogwood stunned onlookers with an early stoppage of the much older and more experienced Colin Hardin Jr. Dogwood came out of the gates with an aggressive approach which quickly payed dividends – after showing good sprawl technique to stuff an early takedown attempt from Hardin, Dogwood wasted no time in taking the fight into the clinch and dropped his older opponent with a quick succession of knees to the head. This win now puts Dogwood at 3-3 with all of his wins coming via knockout – the 19 year old has done well to bounce back from defeat on his Slaughterhouse debut and with this upset victory on his record he will certainly command a lot more respect from future opponents. Meanwhile Hardin will be frustrated that he couldn't break his losing streak here – the 28 year old is undeniably talented in technical terms, but he has a suspect chin and this performance will only have given fuel to the doubters.
Result: Dogwood by first round (T)KO.
De Janeiro v Moka Moka – 155 lbs
I had this fight down as a decision win by Moka Moka with his superior boxing providing the edge against submission specialist De Janeiro. As it turns out, Moka's standup did indeed prove to be the decisive factor but there was no need for the judges in this instance: Moka ended this fight less than four minutes into the first round with a straight knockout. As it transpired this fight was more or less one way traffic – Moka connected with shots early before faking an overhand right and taking Janeiro to the floor. For De Janeiro this probably represented his best chances at victory; although working out of guard wasn't optimum for the Jiu Jitsu fighter, he has submitted many an opponent in similar situations. However, in this instance Moka dominated position and connected well with some vicious looking ground strikes, although De Janeiro showed an excellent defensive guard throughout. Paradoxically it was the excellence of De Janeiro's defensive grappling which led to him inadvertently allowing the fight back to the feet; after around two minutes Moka's ground strikes were no longer connecting and the referee stepped in and told the two opponents to stand up – the last words De Janeiro wanted to hear at that point. From there Moka Moka wasted no time cracking his opponent with a well placed right hand followed by a shot to the dome and all of a sudden De Janeiro was out cold. Although he was a slight favourite coming into this bout this is still an important victory for Moka – his first win under new management and a victory on his Slaughterhouse debut, not to mention the prestige of soundly beating a previously undefeated fighter on a nine-fight winning streak. De Janeiro will look to rebound from this temporary setback as he takes on Citrio Pavo at the Slaughterhouse Christmas Bash; Moka Moka's next fight is yet to be confirmed.
Result: Moka by first round KO.
Count Chocula v Jacob Mollie – 145 lbs
No surprises here as Chocula took his opponent into the clinch early, softened him up and then delivered the finishing blow with just fifty seconds on the clock. No disrespect to Mollie, but it was clear before these two even stepped in the ring that there was a substantial difference in talent and this rapidly showed itself over the brief duration of this bout. As such, this really isn't a 'loss' per se for Mollie – he goes home with a paycheck and only had to suffer fifty seconds worth of a beating. For Chocula, this victory changes nothing – another victory to put in the 'W' column yes, but he is hardly going to win plaudits by dominating an opponent he was heavily expected to beat anyway. I really must question the merit of taking on such a matchup; a quick stoppage (as was the case here) doesn't really prove anything and anything less than that would be open season for the critics. I look forward to seeing Chocula fight against tougher opposition and, with a win on his debut out of the way, hopefully these matchups will be forthcoming. Mollie shouldn't be too disappointed with this loss, stylistically this was never a good fight for him to take on so credit for stepping up to the mark – at only 19 years of age he remains a promising prospect and a loss here won't be too much of a setback.
Result: Chocula by first round (T)KO.
Gabe Christianson v Hugo Lewis – 185 lbs
As predicted, a very close fought affair. The fight began with Christianson looking to load up on shots with Lewis working on the counter; initially it looked like Lewis might have the edge in the standup but soon the big shots started to land for Christianson and this bout turned into an out and out brawl as Lewis began to loosen up with his striking. The first round was close, Christianson appeared to be ahead by the finest of margins but this could easily have been a 10-10 round as far as the judges were concerned (indeed, as the scorecards later revealed, that is precisely how judge Stewart Dunkirk scored these opening five minutes). The second round started out in much the same vein with both strikers throwing wild punches to mixed effect. However, suddenly the fight took a dramatic turn as Lewis suddenly dropped Christianson with a well executed head kick which clearly had him staggered. Christianson managed to scramble back to his feet but Lewis was clearly sensing blood in the water and decided to turn on the heat. Christianson did well to survive until the end of the round, using leg kicks effectively to keep his opponent at a distance but with Lewis landing with more persistence and greater damage throughout the five minutes this was a clear round for the Florida man. With a potential decision up in the air, both fighters opted to ramp up the aggression for the final round and we were treated to a spectacular end to the bout. With both fighters visibly perspiring, the big shots started to connect with more regularity – a spinning back kick from Lewis drew huge cheers from the crowd while a deliciously timed three punch counter from Christianson had Lewis wincing in the pain. With both fighters showing excellent durability throughout the final round we went to a decision and understandably the judges struggled to reach a unanimous verdict. Stewart Dunkirk scored the bout 28:30 to Lewis while Wesley Smith and Robert Twigg scored it 29:28 to the winner, by split decision, Gabe Christianson. A big victory which has earned Christianson a shot at the title against Kenneth Wayne in the co-main event for Slaughterhouse's Christmas outing. Lewis' next fight is yet to be confirmed, but I wouldn't rule out a rematch in the not so distant future – this was hardly a clear cut result and with fans clamouring to see another brawl of this quality it may only be a matter of time before the matchmakers oblige.
Result: Christianson by (split) decision.
Parker Phoenix v Kenneth Wayne – 185 lbs Title Fight
This had been billed as a tough matchup for the titleholder and sure enough it proved to be the case as Wayne presented significant problems for Phoenix throughout. Both fighters adopted a balanced approach showing good levels of aggression but being careful not to leave themselves too open for counters. The key difference between these two was the effectiveness of their kicking: Phoenix predominantly stuck to his boxing, throwing a total of 144 punches over the duration, although he threw out a few leg kicks they didn't find their mark often enough to trouble Wayne; meanwhile Wayne landed effectively with body and leg kicks throughout. The first round was a close fought affair and could easily have gone either way, however the superiority of Wayne's kicking progressively swung the bout in his favour as proceeded to wear down Phoenix with a series of accurate strikes. Phoenix remained competitive throughout but by the time we reached the championship rounds it was clear that Wayne was easily leading on the scorecards. And sure enough when the final bell rang it was no surprise to see the judges score this contest 46:50, 45:50, 45:50 in favour of the challenger. The new middleweight champion will now take on Gabe Christianson on December the 25th as he mounts his first title defence; Phoenix's next fight is yet to be confirmed but rumour has it a matchup with talented Nigerian grappler Hunter Akbar is in the works.
Result: Wayne by decision.
Carlos Machado v Elijah Parker – 265+ lbs
Machado's gameplan for this fight was always going to revolve around takedowns, but in this instance he barely had a chance to take the fight to the floor as Parker came out with guns firing on all cylinders. Over the brief duration of this bout Parker threw nine strikes and all nine of them connected – in the end it was a fake right followed by the overhand left which proved decisive. Machado forlornly tried to clinch but Parker threw him off and pummelled him into the canvas with Machado soon tapping out due to strikes. A truly dominant performance by Parker and he will be pleased he didn't give the Brazilian submission specialist an opportunity to showcase his Jiu Jitsu. Next up is a matchup with Kazakh wrestler “The Sumo” who will no doubt also be looking to take him down, if he can offer a repeat of this performance that will put Parker in excellent position moving forward as he seeks to make inroads into the super heavyweight division. A disappointing loss for Machado, we knew his standup wasn't on the same level as the American but he will be frustrated to lose in the manner he did – for all his talents on the ground he will need to make improvements to his striking defence if he is serious about competing at a high level – his next fight is yet to be confirmed but I would expect him to use this time to improve on his ability to deal with standup fighters and, at the very least, to give him the time he needs to secure the takedown.
Result: Parker by first round submission (strikes).
Peyton Rudger v The Sumo – 265+ lbs
How quickly things can change over the course of a round. Rudger started this bout with all the momentum – a failed takedown attempt from Sumo allowed Rudger to counter by taking the fight into the clinch and from there it looked like plain sailing. Hooks and elbows started to connect with regularity for Rudger and in particular he had great success targeting the body. With just over a minute gone in the round a particularly vicious uppercut found its mark and sent Sumo reeling. Sensing a finish was near, Rudger's strikes got progressively more wild and over the next minute he failed to land a single punch despite the dramatic step up in activity. Arguably it was this poor discipline which cost him the fight; Sumo soon recovered his senses and, with his hands clasped around Rudger's back, dragged him to the ground into side control. From there, the tables quickly turned – Sumo started to land ground strikes with alarming regularity and, for a man who had appeared to be on the brink of winning the fight a minute ago, Rudger suddenly looked out of his comfort zone. At around the three minute mark a big elbow from Sumo had the American visibly shaken and that was all the invitation the Kazakh needed to increase the pressure and pound Rudger out for a TKO victory. Next up for Sumo is a tough matchup with US Muay Thai artist Elijah Parker – can he maintain his unbeaten record and make it to 4-0? Tune in on December 25th as Slaughterhouse takes over the Parisian for the night.
Result: Sumo by first round (T)KO.
Sungwon Jung v Donald Evans – 205 lbs
Sungwon continued his impressive winning streak here with a performance that showcased his versatility on the ground. Previously Jung has been noted for his outstanding standup work, so it was surprising to seem him shoot for the takedown early in round one. Evans, a Jiu Jitsu brown belt and a solid wrestler, is no slouch on the ground but the ease at which Jung took him down and controlled the position was truly astonishing. With Evans struggling to find submissions, Jung quickly progressed to full mount and proceeded to dish out the damage – eventually Evans managed to regain guard but the tale of the first round was very much one way traffic as Jung remained dominant throughout. The American showed good takedown defence in the second but this was still very much Jung's fight to lose – he connected time and time again with inside leg kicks and punches, both on the inside and outside, although a nice combination from Evans did manage to open up a cut. The third round started in much the same manner, Jung continued to connect with his accurate striking while Evans loaded up on shots which, more often than not, failed to find the target. As we approached the two minute mark Jung took the fight to the ground yet again with a well executed double leg takedown. With less than three minutes on the clock, Evans realised he needed to find a way to finish the fight and started to look for the triangle but, with the American visibly tired from the amount of damage sustained over the previous two rounds, Jung defended easily. Evans showed a good defensive guard in this period to avoid further ground strikes but with Jung shrugging off his attempts for a guillotine choke followed by a kimura we went to the scorecards with no surprises as all three judges scored this bout 30:27 in the Korean's favour. A dominant performance by Jung and, with three successive victories in the books, he now looks forward to challenging Kuma Nelson for the Light Heavyweight belt in what will be his first ever title fight appearance at the Slaughterhouse Christmas Bash. Next up for Evans is a meeting with former titleholder Stew Sauced as he seeks to rebound from this temporary setback.
Result: Jung by decision.
CO-MAIN EVENT
Kuma Nelson v Stew Sauced – 205 lbs Title Fight
The previous two matchups between these two fighters have gone the distance so it was a surprise to see this one end with a quick knockout. Sauced started out aggressive, landing with a nice three shot combination followed by a jab/cross which missed the mark. At this point Nelson was back-pedalling but still showed effective boxing to connect with counters as Sauced stormed forward. Admittedly Nelson was predominantly relying on single shots, in particular the jab and inside leg kick, to keep his opponent at bay but at this weight level those shots can certainly pack a sting. Undeterred, Sauced continued to press and found the target with some of the wild punches he was throwing. But all of a sudden Nelson punished Sauced's lazy attempt at a body kick with a devastating right hand which had him stumbling against the cage. Without a moments hesitation Nelson was on him like a ton of bricks and unleashed a storm of strikes which quickly drew this bout to its conclusion.
Sauced will no doubt be devastated with the result, this was his best chance at regaining the title and with a fourth matchup between these two looking unlikely it remains to be seen if he will get another shot at the belt, at least while Nelson is in possession of it. An important victory for Nelson – his third successive title victory and another knockout of the night bonus to boot. He faces a tough matchup against Sungwon Jung next but if the pound for pound top fighter in Slaughterhouse can continue to deliver knockouts like this he may well remain in possession of the belt for some time.
Result: Nelson by first round (T)KO.
MAIN EVENT
Tommy Grunge v Hughtavious Mingo – 205 lbs
Tommy Grunge's Slaughterhouse career lasted approximately two minutes and five seconds as he quickly demolished Hughtavious Mingo before announcing his departure from the organisation. We can only speculate why as this performance would certainly have earned him a title shot in the near future, perhaps he is holding out for a more lucrative contract but with management remaining tight lipped on the matter who knows... Regardless, Grunge entertained us here with some nice kickboxing over the brief duration of this bout. Mingo, a boxer by trade, surprised us by repeatedly trying to take Grunge to the ground and for that he was punished with several chopping leg kicks. The gameplan for Mingo was clearly to take the kickboxer out of his comfort zone, but in doing so he opened himself up for the counter and Grunge showed no hesitation in responding with some stinging strikes. Mingo did manage to stun the older fighter with a delicious left straight/right hook combination but Grunge immediately hit back with a monster head kick which the youngster on the canvas. He followed up by pouncing into mount and unleashing a series of strikes which forced the referee to step in and call the bout to a halt.
This fight marks Grunge's twenty sixth victory and we wish him well as he continues to pastures new in the hopes of maintaining his unbeaten record. Mingo will be disappointed with the quick loss here but at only 23 years of age we still have a lot more to see from him – he will take on dangerous standup striker Don Diego next in what should be a closely contested bout.
Result: Grunge by first round (T)KO.
Article views:
202
» Donate to this author |
