2013-02-02
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GFC X Review

Event Review: GFC X
Gladiator Fighting Championship
2013-01-26, Las Vegas, Hard Knocks - Las Vegas
Attendance:2,832, Event Rating:176
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Gladiator Fighting Championship put on its tenth event on Saturday night when they presented GFC X at Hard Knocks Arena in Las Vegas. A near capacity crowd was treated to one of the most exciting nights of fights that GFC has held to date, with six of the ten fights on the card being finished in the first round.


The first fight was a welterweight match up that saw Damian Roshan (27-15-2) use a smothering ground attack to dominate Koby Stott (6-11). Roshan landed a couple of nice punches to the body and slipped a pair of takedown attempts from Stott early in the fight before landing a takedown of his own. Roshan patiently worked to wear Stott down and looked to move into better position, ultimately getting into side control. Each fighter managed a sweep on the ground before Roshan decided to stand up and reset himself. Roshan turned back several more takedown attempts from Stott and punished him for his efforts with well placed kicks and punches. With less than a minute remaining in the round, Roshan landed a single leg takedown and went to work looking for a submission. Roshan was able to once again get into side control and as the final seconds of the round ticked away, he locked in an Americana that forced Stott to tap out with just two seconds left in the round.

The second fight was one of the few fights to made it deep into the third round. Lightweight competitors Rocco Kailea (5-2-1) and Anthony Kiedis (17-11-2) paired off in a fight that saw Kiedis look good early only to fade late in the fight. Kiedis tried repeatedly to take the fight to the ground in the first round and managed to get Kailea down one time only to have the referee stand them back up. The fighters were in and out of the clinch for the bulk of the round with Kiedis appearing to have a slight advantage. The majority of the second round was spent in the clinch where Kiedis once again appeared to have the upper hand, this time more definitively than the first round. Going into the third and final round, Kailea appeared to be in some trouble and knew he needed to step up his game. The fighters once again went back to the clinch early in round three before the referee broke them up due to lack of action. Kailea landed a couple of head hicks that appeared to knock Kiedis woozy before pulling him back into the clinch. Kiedis attempted to pull guard but failed miserably. He failed with yet another takedown attempt that opened the door for Kailea to rock him with another huge head kick. Kiedis staggered in towards Kailea, once again looking to clinch but he was met with a nasty cross to the chin that knocked him out at the 3:57 mark of round three.

A pair of impressive young heavyweights squared off in the third fight when Lee Atkin (6-3) took on Kalle Kaataja (1-1). Both fighters were swinging for the fences early, with both men landing some heavy shots on their opponent. Kaataja landed a quick takedown and went to employee some lay and pray tactics, but the referee was having no part of that and forced the fighters to stand back up. The fighters went back to work slugging away at one another, each once again landing some nice shots. Kaataja initiated the clinch just past the three minute mark but neither fighters seemed to really be able to land any offense in close. Kataaja decided to pull guard an almost immediately sweep Atkin but was really unable to land any meaningful strikes. The round was very close with Kaataja probably having a slight edge. Atkin started out the second round clinching up with Kaataja and started to land some nice short punches and elbows. Kaataja attempted to pull guard and failed, allowing Atkin to bring him right back into the clinch and continue to throw punches and elbows. Kaataja tried repeatedly to pull Atkin to the ground, but Atkin managed to avoid the attempts and kept firing punches and elbows at Kaataja. At around the two and a half minute mark, Atkin landed an elbow that sliced Kaataja open and then dropped him to one knee with an uppercut. He managed to regain his feet only to be dropped once again with a right hook. The referee had seen enough and jumped in to save Kaataja, giving Atkin the TKO win.

The fourth fight was short and sweet when light heavyweight Dave Hawkins (25-17) was met by a freight train named Raul Bonaza (12-8). Bonaza came out and dodged a right hand from Hawkins before setting the tone with a beautiful three punch combination. Hawkins once again threw a punch that missed Bonaza and he was made to pay with a leg kick followed by a dizzying array of punches. A body punch, a leg kick, and another swift combination had Hawkins rocked just before Bonaza sent him crashing against the cage with a big right hand. Bonaza followed with more punches that dropped Hawkins to his knees, forcing the referee to save Hawkins just 38 seconds into the fight. Once Hawkins regained his bearings, he looked up to find that all of his corner men had retreated to the dressing room and left him high dry. Word came down shortly after the event that his management team has severed ties with him. It will be interesting to see if a new management team will take a flyer on the 36 year old veteran or if retirement is calling his name.

In the second lightweight fight on the card, Angel Castile (16-11) took on Les Paul (15-13). Paul tried incessantly to take Castile to the ground in the early going of round one, only to repeatedly be rebuffed Castile. Between dodging takedown attempts, Castile landed some nicely placed kicks to the body and legs of Paul. Paul finally landed a takedown and attempted a few different submissions but Castile turned them back and made his way back to his feet. Castile continued to assault Paul with kicks and punches while turning back takedown attempts for the remainder of the round. The second round was basically a carbon copy of the first with Paul trying repeated unsuccessful takedown attempts while Castile chipped away at him with punches and kicks. The third round was simply more of the same. With less than a minute remaining in the fight, Paul finally managed to secure a takedown. Castile managed to turn back a submission attempt and stall until the fight drew to a close. Castile came away with a quite dominant 30:27 unanimous decision win.

The sixth fight saw the only submission of the night when Cru Jones (19-29) made the ill fated decision to take his fight with Fabricio Dos Nikkos (14-10) to the ground. Jones started strong, landing a punch combination and immediately shot for a double leg takedown. Dos Nikkos threw up a half hearted triangle attempt and then ended up eating some ground and pound for his troubles. Dos Nikkos remained patient and executed a phenomenal switch into full mount. Dos Nikkos attempted to lock on an Americana that Jones barely escaped. He then followed up with some shoulder strikes before deftly posturing up and swiveling around to lock in an arm bar. Jones desperately tried to hold on but was ultimately forced to tap at the 2:29 mark of the very first round.

Having seen a 38 second knockout earlier in the night, Cris Dorh (16-9) entered the cage with a chip on his shoulder, convinced that he could take out George Junior (18-10) even faster. It turns out that he was right. Dorh hit a jab that cut Junior almost immediately and followed it with another nice punch. Dorh dodges a few punches from Junior before rocking him in a heated exchange and then dropping him for good with a straight right hand just 26 seconds into round one. Dorh thrusted his hands up in celebration while Junior tried to remember his name and where he was.

The eighth fight was a solid back and forth battle between a pair of top notch middleweights, Mikey Capone (21-11-1) and Richard Cullen (17-12). The first round was hotly contested with Cullen looking to score with body blows and Capone attacking the head. While both fighters landed some good shots, neither fighter ever appeared to be in any real trouble. As the first round came to a close it was almost too close to call, but Capone appeared to have a slight advantage. Round two played out much like round one, with Cullen again primarily looking to attack the body and lower legs with the occasional shot to the head mixed in. Capone continued to aggressively work to punish Cullen's head and face. Once again, the round was extremely close but Capone appeared to come out ahead. With the fight hanging in the balance, Capone really poured on the intensity in the third round while Cullen faded. Capone appeared to land more substantial strikes and avoid most of what Cullen was throwing at him. As the round came to a close it was quite clear that Capone had won the final round and ultimately picked up the win by 30:27 unanimous decision.

The co-main event was a middleweight clash between top contenders Carson Mile (13-9-1) and Doc Holliday (11-7). Both fighters came out ready to throw leather early but neither was able to land anything substantial in their initial exchange. Holliday made the mistake of dropping his hands and quickly found himself eating punches from Mile that left him stuffed. After a heady body shot from Mile, Holliday shot for a takedown but was turned away. He backed up and landed a good jab only to be on the receiving end of an uppercut in return that send him to the canvas and rocked him. The dazed Holliday worked his way back to his feet and was instantly pulled into the clinch. Mile unloaded with another devastating uppercut that dropped Holliday to his knees. Mile wasted no time following up with a flurry of additional punches, causing the referee to stop the fight and award Mile the win via TKO.

Light heavyweight Dick Tanner (14-5) continued to surprise fans with his success against top level competition when he quite handily put away Sam Anderson (22-12) in the main event. Tanner was on the receiving end of a few punches to start the fight and wisely decided to pull Anderson into the clinch. Tanner went right to work throwing punches at the head of Anderson, looking to finish things early. Anderson, a very good fighter in the clinch managed to land an elbow of his own and cut Tanner open. Tanner was undeterred and kept throwing strikes at Anderson, returning the favor and cutting him with a nice elbow. The bloodied warriors continued to battle in the clinch until a quick inside punch rocked Anderson. A few strikes to the body softened Anderson up before a shoulder strike and a big uppercut left Anderson unresponsive up against the cage. The referee was slow to react, so Tanner had no choice but to continue pummeling Anderson until the referee finally called the fight. The winner by TKO at 1:43 of round one, Dick Tanner.

 

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