2015-12-22
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Slaughterhouse Fight Night 2 Review

Slaughterhouse FC, Fight Organization, Las Vegas
Company profile by Donald Canmore

SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIGHT NIGHT 2 REVIEW

 

UNDERCARD

 

Maui Built v Dominick Snooze – 135 lbs

 

As it turned out Maui Built's takedown defence was not as stellar as previously thought – Snooze took this fight to the floor time and time again over the course of this fight. Unfortunately for the watching fans, Snooze decided to go for a lay and pray strategy which admittedly did work but produced a fight which was about as entertaining as watching paint dry. For a man whose nickname is the “dominator” he did nothing of the sort here – one guillotine attempt which Built defended with ease and no ground and pound to speak of whatsoever. The referee could probably have done a better job of standing the fight up, but in all fairness when he did Snooze simply took Built back to the ground more or less immediately. If anything Snooze came off this fight worse for wear having eaten a few punches for his troubles; Built just had to suffer another man lying on top of him for the most part of fifteen minutes. A decision victory for Snooze but if he wants to live up to his nickname rather than his surname he would do well to try and incorporate some ground strikes to compliment his wrestling.

 

Result: Snooze by decision.

 

James Franklin v Craig Nice – 145 lbs

 

As predicted Franklin came up with a first round submission, what I didn't predict however was that he would do it in just 35 seconds. Nice connected with a nice high kick and immediately followed up with a takedown; we spoke beforehand about how important it was for Nice to play away from his natural tendencies but sure enough when the opportunity to take the fight to the ground showed itself the US wrestler just couldn't resist. Franklin wasted no time from the floor, he immediately progressed to half guard and locked in the guillotine; within seconds Nice was tapping. This victory now puts Franklin at 3-0 with all of his wins coming via submission. On another night he may well have earned himself a submission of the night bonus for the sheer speed and efficiency at which he operated, however a certain fight later on in the cards earned that merit due to a sensational turnaround but more on that later. Nice will need to get back in the gym and work on his Jiu Jitsu, this is the third time he has been on the wrong end of a submission and as good as his wrestling is it won't matter much if opponents can use his natural predilection for grappling against him.

 

Result: Franklin by first round submission.

 

Nyffe Pehmytkudos v David McFadden – 185 lbs

 

Full credit to McFadden for proving the doubters (including myself) wrong. Pehmytkudos was a tough opponent to face and with McFadden 0-2 in Slaughterhouse there were many who were questioning whether he had what it takes at this level. However, he proved all of us wrong here with a third round stoppage of the veteran. Pehmytkudos' strategy for this matchup appeared to be scoring points with the takedown, which he achieved to varying degrees of success (31% in 29 attempts over the course of the bout). However, in the standup phases of this fight it was clear McFadden had a definite edge connecting time and time again with the head kick as well as stringing together some slick punch combinations. McFadden didn't need to worry about grappling too much because Pehmytkudos seemed quite eager to get back to his feet and score another takedown. But this was a risky strategy and as we approached the final bell McFadden suddenly rocked the Finn with a high kick; as Pehmytkudos tried to regain his footing the young Don immediately pounced with a right hook followed by a jab/hook combination which put the veteran on the floor. From there McFadden dived in to deliver a massive hammerfist and it was lights out for Pehmytkudos. It's hard to say how the judges would have scored this contest, personally I had McFadden winning on points anyway but regardless the Finn's strategy seems to have backfired quite considerably in this bout – McFadden came up with the goods when it mattered most and will no doubt be overjoyed to record his first victory and especially so with the manner and timing of the late finish.

 

Result: McFadden by third round KO.

 

Striker Accurate v Markus Woodsmall – 135 lbs

 

No surprises whatsoever. Allow me to quote from the pre-fight prediction: “Woodsmall will win this fight and he will win it in the clinch”. And that is precisely what happened here. Oddly enough it was Accurate who initiated the clinch so he can have no complaints with the result, but this was probably the least surprising result of the night as Woodsmall wasted no time in demolishing his opponent in just one minute twenty nine seconds. In the end it was a big uppercut which did the damage, dropping Accurate to the floor with Woodsmall immediately springing into mount to finish off the fight. Against an opponent of equal caliber this sort of finish could have put Woodsmall in contention for knockout of the night, however in this instance it was evident that Accurate was simply not on the same level as the US clinch fighter. If Woodsmall can repeat this sort of performance against higher level competition there will almost certainly be a bonus award or two heading in his direction some time soon but for the time-being this fight will just go down as another expected win in the books.

 

Result: Woodsmall by first round (T)KO.

 

Liam Lee v Percy Schmeiser – 170 lbs

 

Schmeiser, a Jiu Jitsu red belt, had one plan for this fight – take Lee to the ground come hell or high water. Unfortunately for Schmeiser, Lee proved to be an extremely difficult opponent to take down. Over the course of the bout Schmeiser would attempt forty takedowns, only three of them landed (a success rate of approximately 7.5%). When he did manage to take Lee down, the Canadian struggled to find a submission although he was effective in landing the ground and pound. The standup phases however were very much one way traffic as Lee connected with numerous leg and body kicks. By the third round all the failed takedown attempts had evidently taken the stamina out of Schmeiser, he succeeded in pulling off one last takedown but this time Lee immediately sprang to his feet. As we approached the two minute mark Schmeiser decided to step it up and for the first time in the fight started responding with some strikes of his own – he connected a couple of times with some nice body shots but it was all too little too late as we went to the scorecards and unsurprisingly the judges opted to hand this fight to the more dominant standup fighter. A debut victory for Lee and he will pleased to have seen off the submission threat posed by the Canadian. Schmeiser will be disappointed he didn't make the most of the opportunity here, he is an undeniably talented ground fighter but perhaps could have benefitted from mixing it up a bit more – Schmeiser has a decent standup game and, although trading shots was never a viable strategy here, he might have had more success with his takedowns had he been prepared to mix in some strikes earlier in the bout. The Canadian was just too predictable for Lee and, as good as his gas tank is, thirty seven failed takedown attempts is going to take the breath out of anyone.

 

Result: Lee by decision.

 

Igor Kusilutka v Armani Cabrera – 170 lbs

 

This was an exceptionally hard fight to call and it proved that way with both opponents excelling in different phases of the bout. Cabrera had the edge in standup, using boxing skills to effectively circle around Kusilutka and he connected with numerous shots to the head throughout this bout. However, on the ground the Russian looked the more dangerous as he defended well against Cabrera's submission attempts and unleashed a few bombs in the process. The tale of the tape was pendulum like in nature – Cabrera clearly took the first round, locking Kusilutka up in the clinch and unloading with his knees, the Russian struggled to pull guard up against the cage but eventually managed to wrestle Cabrera to the ground as we approached the bell. However, the second round was up in the air – the American connected several times to start the round but quickly Kusilutka had secured the takedown into side control. With Cabrera struggling to find submission attempts the Russian was able to deliver the more damaging ground and pound. The third round however was more like the first, Cabrera dominated the standup and defended well against the takedown – surprisingly he opted to try a takedown attempt of his own (which was successful) right at the end of the round, presumably with the intention of scoring some more points to win over the judges. With this fight in the books we went to the scorecards with Cabrera winning the unanimous decision. An important win for Cabrera as he celebrates his tenth career victory, Kusilutka will be disappointed he wasn't able to take the fight to the ground more often but there is no shame in defeat here – the American was a very tough opponent to come up against and certainly he take heart with the excellent endurance he showed over the course of this bout.

 

Result: Cabrera by decision.

 

Lou Marx v Aristotle Polidori – 205 lbs

 

A pure ground fight with over 80% of this bout taking place on the mat. Prior to this fight I had discussed the possibility of Marx trying to keep this fight standing but in the end the Australian wrestler was quite happy to grapple it out with Polidori, although he did connect with some nice shots in the brief standup exchanges throughout the course of the bout. Another factor we talked about before hand was the advantage of being the first to initiate the takedown and that proved to be the case here as Marx succeeded in four of his takedown attempts vs. one from Polidori. With Marx mostly operating out of top position he was the more effective in delivering ground strikes with a success rate of 57.9% to Polidori's 14.2%. Both fighters made efforts to try and find a submission but in the end the two brown belts were able to fend off any such attempts with ease and we went to the judges scorecards. Unsurprisingly Marx took this one via unanimous decision. This victory now puts Marx on a three fight winning streak and with his Slaughterhouse debut now out of the way he will be looking to continue that trend in the near future.

 

Result: Marx by decision.

 

Walter Black v Howard Stern – 185 lbs

 

Another fight where the vast majority of action took place on the ground. Stern, a Jiu Jitsu black belt, was always going to be looking for a submission as his best means of finishing this fight. However, with only two submissions attempted over the course of the bout he can only have himself to blame as Black walked away with the points. Sure, Black defended against the kimura and arm triangle with ease but considering the vast majority of Stern's win have come via submission it does make you question why he didn't try to pose more of a threat with his Jiu Jitsu abilities. In the standup phases these two were equally matched – Black scored more points on the outside but Stern proved to be the more effective clinch fighter. What significantly swung this bout in Black's favour however was his ability to score points with the takedown, which he achieved time and time again. This wouldn't have been a problem for Stern had he managed to lock in a submission, but with this round going the full duration it was understandable to see Black take this bout by unanimous decision. His tenth victory of his career and an important win for the US wrestler as he closes in on the leading contenders in the middleweight division.

 

Result: Black by decision.

 

CO-MAIN EVENT

Thor Boschat v Reijo Rento – 265 lbs

 

Well this certainly was a sensational fight which barely lasted two minutes, but had elements of everything. Rento started out by swiftly taking an overly aggressive Boschat into the clinch, from there he started to unload with punches before pulling the boxer to the mat. Rento quickly scrambled into top position and began to try to work the ground and pound. However, Boschat proved to be an elusive customer using the cage to find his way back into the clinch. Rento followed up by pummelling Boschat with right hand and a shoulder strike but Boschat showed good technique to push off the Finn and break the clinch. A series of vicious uppercuts and crosses connected for Boschat and by now Rento was looking visibly bruised. He successfully took the Jersey man back to the ground but again Boschat showed excellent grappling ability as he used his butterfly guard to spring back to his feet. Boschat followed up with some fantastic combination punching before landing flush with a massive overhand right which had his opponent rocked. Boschat immediately pounced and delivered a jab followed by the perfect straight right hand to put Rento out cold.

 

This performance earned Boschat a knockout of the night bonus and deservedly so. Despite the damage inflicted by Rento in the clinch and despite being taken down twice he showed fantastic composure to escape and turn this bout around with a sensational stoppage. He will be delighted that he managed to finish this one early, especially considering the quality of Rento's chin. Boschat is now 1-1 in Slaughterhouse but, with a performance of this type and against an opponent of Rento's caliber, there can be no question – he is one to watch for the future. Rento will be disappointed he didn't manage to record a win here, especially given that he took Boschat into some extremely difficult positions, however at 30 the Finn is still at the peak of his game and remains an opponent to be reckoned with.

 

Result: Boschat by first round KO.

 

MAIN EVENT

Victor Sweet v Hannu Haapana – 135 lbs

 

Our main event of the evening featured another fight with a sensational turn around. Haapana started this bout with everything going his way – he landed early with the leg kick and scored several times with some nice body punches before taking the fight into the clinch. With the fight up against the cage it all seemed to be going Haapana's way as he rocked Sweet with punch after punch alongside some vicious elbows to the head. Sweet struggled to pull guard and approximately one minute twenty seconds into the bout and particularly damaging elbow had him flinching in pain. It appeared it would only be a matter of time before Haapana would be able to find the finish but suddenly Sweet finally managed to pull guard and quickly locked in the armbar. Quite an incredible finish, just when Sweet appeared to be facing what was quite clearly his worst case scenario he turned this fight around in the most incredible manner possible.

 

Haapana will be frustrated he couldn't record a victory on his Slaughterhouse debut, especially considering everything seemed to be going his way. But realistically his Jiu Jitsu was never on the same level as the submission specialist so this was always going to be a constant threat. I had wagered Haapana's ability to keep this fight standing would give him an edge but as it turned out all it took was one successful takedown to turn this bout around. Haapana can at least take some consolation in the fight of the night award he earned for this terrific fight. Sweet will no doubt be ecstatic with his early finish and goes home with a submission of the night bonus to boot. Truly a fantastic fight to watch and we hope to see much more of both fighters in the not so distant future.

 

Result: Sweet by first round submission.

 

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