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ITFL Review Week 3 Pt. 1
What another great week of action here in the International Team Fighting League team tournament. Team Reaper looked to continue their great run and maintain their small lead over their biggest competitor in Dinooo’s Donkey’s. The leaders of Group B took on the team that came into this week sitting in the cellar. Dinooo’s Donkey’s looked for another big week against the Aces of Spades and last but not least, our marquee match-up when Team Kaiser and Team TFP looked to break their tie for 2nd place, as both teams are looking to get themselves into playoff contention. Our first event came to you live on April 14th, 2013 from the Camden Conference Center. We had 6,427 screaming fans in the arena as we prepared for the first fight of the night. Let’s take a look at some of the fight recaps.
Dragon Slayer (6-3-1) vs. Pete Damato (19-16)
In our opening bout we saw Dragon Slayer take on Pete Damato, as Team Reaper looks to continue their dominant run in the team portion of the tournament. Dragon Slayer came out looking to land a lot of leg kicks early in the fight in order to wear his opponent down. From the opening bell, this fight didn’t look good for Pete Damato as he was having a very difficult time finding his range. Just after the two minute mark in the fight, Slayer’s low kicks paid off as Damato dropped his hands and Slayer unleashed a perfect head kick that ended the fight.
Slayer def. Damato by TKO round 1
Thomas Billington (24-13-2) vs. Bam Boon 1 (12-8)
Our next fight was another bout in the Hells Balls vs. Team Reaper match as the well rounded Thomas Billington fought Bam Boon 1. From the opening bell it was Boon 1 who came out early looking to land powerful shots on the jaw of his opponent. Billington might just be the most durable fighter in the tournament however, and he ate Boon 1’s best shots and secured a takedown just past the 1 minute mark of the 1st round. Billington was able to work his ground and pound nicely from the guard and half-guard positions and even advanced to mount at one point, but unfortunately for him Boon was saved by the bell. Boon came out the aggressor again in round 2, but after a missed uppercut he allowed his opponent to land a counter takedown into his guard. Billington showed some vicious ground and pound from the guard, Tito Ortiz style and was able to finish the fight moments after getting his opponent to the ground giving Team Reaper a 2-0 advantage.
Billington def. Boon 1 by 2nd round TKO
Toby Diaby (25-11) vs. Dakota Royer (30-11)
Toby Diaby knew coming into this fight that it would be his last in ITFL, as his replacement was arranged before this fight took place. Still, he was hoping to come in today and finish strong and secure a victory to help his team stay on top of the standings in group B. His opponent is the resurging Royer who bounced back nicely in week 2 with an upset victory over Katsuro Sato, after dropping his first fight in ITFL and 4 of his last 5 fights overall. Our first round got underway, and neither fighter had much success early as they were both trying to find their range. Once Royer started landing though, it was clear his shots were really hurting his opponent and he started to look for his takedowns. Royer was able to keep the fight standing the entire first round with his best moments being an uppercut that landed flush and rocked his opponent, and a big right hand that sent Diaby crashing to the floor. Toby was able to survive the round, and we entered round 2 with Diaby desperately needing to turn things around. Royer came out in round 2 strong, landing a nasty body kick and a real good leg kick before again sending his opponent crashing to the mat with a big right hand. Moments later, he unloaded a vicious shot that needs to be seen to be believed. Let’s listen to the commentators announce this cage-side “Are you kidding me?! Royer ducked down and unloaded an uppercut from hell that sent Diaby clean off his feet! Someone make me a GIF - that's knockout of the night for sure!” A brutal knockout, as Royer tries to get him-self on the individual leaderboard.
Royer def. Diaby by 2nd round KO
Andreas Reinhardt (12-11) vs. Tito Hopkins (32-10)
Our next fight saw two fighters trying to bounce back from losses in our last event, as Andreas Reinhardt took on MMA legend Tito Hopkins. Both fighters came out trading shots early in the fight and it was unclear who was going to take the early lead. Reinhardt was doing a good job at avoiding his opponent’s leg kicks, but Tito was also able to stuff both of Reinhardt’s takedown attempts. Hopkins showed why they call him “hands of stone” when a nice counter jab really seemed to hurt his opponent, and even opened up a nice cut. Tito followed up with a big rand hand that sent Reinhardt to the floor, but Andreas quickly got back to his feet despite being on wobbly legs. Andreas made 1 small mistake by getting distracted by trying to wipe some Vaseline out of his eye, and Hopkins made him pay by landing a vicious hook that knocked his opponent out cold.
Hopkins def. Reinhardt by 1st round KO
I.P. Daily (8-7) vs. Richard Lightfoot (19-7-1)
Richard Lightfoot looked to make it 3-0 in our tournament as he took on the winless Aces of Spades team member I.P. Daily. Lightfoot started the 1st round well, by landing his shots early and pushing his opponent against the cage in the clinch position. He was able to keep the fight there for over two minutes, mixing a good dirty box game with a few vicious knees, one of which opened up a cut above his opponent’s eye. Daily broke the clinch about half-way through the 1st round but didn’t have much better luck at range with his opponent as he was able to land very few of his strikes, while Lightfoot seemed to be able to land at will. The 2nd round really resembled the second half of the 1st round as again Daily had a very difficult time throwing anything that landed, while Richard was able to dart in and out and land strikes at will. After 2 very convincing rounds, we entered the 3rd with Daily needing a finish to win. It was Richard Lightfoot though who landed the big strike early in the last round which rocked his opponent. Lightfoot immediately took Daily to the clinch and unloaded a vicious uppercut followed by a barrage of strikes that ended the fight. He then took the time to berate the referee for the late stoppage before thanking the fans in attendance for a great atmosphere.
Lightfoot def. Daily by 3rd round TKO
Levi James (4-5) vs. Frank Esposito (32-12)
In our opening fight on the main card Levi James took on Frank Esposito in our 3rd bout between Teams Hells Balls and Team Reaper. James started the 1st round with an uppercut that missed and ate a counter right hand for his troubles. Levi then landed an accidental knee to the groin which sent Esposito to the mat, and the ref gave him a few minutes to recover. Once action got back underway, James closed the distance and pressed his opponent against the cage. James tried to work his opponent over in the clinch, but an attempt to pull guard allowed Esposito to circle away. After stuffing a few takedowns, and landing some nice shots Esposito decided to take the fight to the clinch this time, but it wasn’t long until James drug his opponent on top of him into his guard. After a failed submission attempt by James, Esposito moved into side control where he was eventually swept right before the end of the round. James came out getting the fight to the clinch very early in round 2, and the two fighters fought for position and traded blows for over 2 minutes when another failed guard pull allowed Esposito to get back to striking at range. That seemed to be a much better place for the fight to take place for Esposito. James ducked right into a brutal uppercut that rocked him three and a half minutes into the 2nd round. A minute later, Esposito landed another devastating uppercut that sent his opponent crashing to the mat. He showed great patience waving his opponent back to his feet and quickly clipped his opponent with a big right hand.
Esposito def. James by 2nd round TKO
Katsuro Sato (19-8) vs. Edward Richtofen (6-1)
Our next fight was between undefeated striking phenom Edward Richtofen and the former grappling champion Katsuro Sato. It was clear this was going to be a true striker vs. grappler match-up as Sato came out and shot for a takedown on the very first move of the fight. After a hook from Richtofen opened a cut up on Sato, the two fighters high-fived each other and the action truly got underway. The two fighters traded blows for the majority of the first round but it was Richtofen who was landing the harder shots, landing a left hand that made his opponent’s cut even worse seconds before the round ended. Sato did manage a takedown into half-guard with seconds left in the round, but it wasn’t enough and he entered round 2, down 10-9. Both fighters came out looking to set the pace in the 1st minute of round 2, but Sato showed is wrestling ability with a nice trip takedown into half-guard. After a few minutes of avoiding any serious damage, Richtofen was able to force the ref to step in and stand the two fighters back up. Sato quickly secured another takedown and was able to keep his opponent down for the rest of round 2, and we entered the final frame even at 1 round apiece. Katsuro Sato came out early in round 3 landing a takedown on the very first move, and was able to maintain the top position and keep his opponent in his domain for the entirety of the 3rd round and secured a very nice upset victory to give his team the 1-0 lead in this pivotal team match-up.
Sato def. Richtofen by 29-28 Unanimous dec
Kauno Kaalikorva (29-15) vs. Luka Beck (16-4-1)
Another showdown between two managers from Philly as Kauno Kaallikorva took on 1 of the more controversial fighters in the tournament Luka Beck. Many wondered coming into this week how Beck would deal with the distractions over the last two weeks, including his family kidnapped, his manager and friend assisting in the crime, being arrested on suspicion of murder and the ridiculous accusations by the Grace camp that his fight in week 2 was fixed. Luka answered those questions with a resounding statement as he did a great job early in the fight making his opponent swing and miss and making him pay with devastating counter shots. Around 45 seconds into the round, Luka unleashed a brutal head-kick that sent his opponent crashing to the mat. He showed a lot of patience by waving Kauno back to his feet and continued to land heavy blows to his opponent. After faking with a right hand, Luka landed a big left that dropped Kaalikorva to 1 knee, and after some follow up strikes this fight was over.
Beck def. Kaalikorva by 1st round TKO
Dennis Wise (24-8) vs. Greco Roman (12-8)
Our co-main event of the evening was the 4th fight between Team Reaper and Team Hells Balls, and the latter desperately needed to get on the board as they turned to their former Olympic wrestler and ADCC grappling champion Greco Roman. He had a tough task ahead of him as his opponent came into this fight riding a 7 fight win streak and is the reason he was one of the betting favorites from the beginning. It was clear from the opening bell, that Roman wanted no part of Wise standing as he desperately tried takedown attempt after takedown attempt failing on almost all of them. Wise was landing heavy blows for the 1st few minutes of the 1st round until Roman was able to secure a takedown with two minutes left in the round. The remainder of the 1st round took place on the ground, but Wise was able to sweep and get the top position, where he successfully defended all submission attempts to make it to the end of the round. Wise came out landing more heavy blows in the 2nd round and right around the 1 minute mark landing a big head shot that rocked his opponent. After a beautiful feint to the body, Wise went upstairs with a left hook to the temple that put his opponent in la la land, goodnight.
Wise def. Roman by 2nd round KO
Karl Denke (25-7-1) vs. Geralt of Ravia (12-3)
Our co-main event was probably the best match-up of the week as Karl Denke came into this fight looking to get his team on the scoreboard after his teammates came up short in the first two fights against Team Kaiser. Both fighters came out looking to trade shots early, but Denke mixed things up by landing a nice takedown 30 seconds into the fight. Geralt quickly reversed and got the top position but Denke did a good job avoiding damage and forced the ref to step in and stand the two fighters back up. The two fighters again tried to work their striking game for a handful of seconds before Denke again shot in and landed a takedown where the two fighters both had time on top landing some nice ground and pound, but the close round 1 goes to Denke. The majority of round 2 was spent at range with the two fighters going back and forth on the feet. It seemed like Geralt was getting the better of the striking and despite a takedown by Denke with just under a minute left in the round it was Geralt who secured a 10-9 round 2. Both fighters came out with intensity in round 3 but after a failed head-kick attempt by Geralt his opponent landed a beautiful takedown into side control where he maintained the top position for over 2 minutes before Geralt created a nice scramble allowing him to get on top. Unfortunately for him, he made an ill-advised decision by dropping for a leg lock, which allowed his opponent to get back on top and stay there for the rest of the round securing the 3rd and final round and putting his team on the board in a very close fight that could’ve gone either way.
Denke def. Geralt by 29-28 Split Dec
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