| Date: 06/02 | 7:38 PM |
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It's 8:00 CST and it's SHOWTIME~! Elite XC is on the air and Mauro Ranallo is introducing us to the show. Highlights from the last Elite XC event are shown, and it seems like ages ago since Frank Shamrock was DQ'd for illegal blows to Renzo Gracie. They just switched to the LA Coliseum and it's bright and sunny on the West coast. Large portions of the stadium are ABSOLUTELY EMPTY although closer to ringside it's not bad. They promise is J.Z. Calvancanti versus Nam Phan as a bonus fight along with two fights scheduled during the show. The camera switches to Ranallo at ringside and a bunch of ring girls are dancing to hip-hop beats as Ranallo turns to Goldberg for his commentary, and then turns to his right to introduce Jay Glazer, who says Jake Shields is a "vicious vegetarian" and Ranallo says it's a beautiful night for MMA. He plugs "the huge crowd on hand" and they go to a camera shot of the crowd showing even the areas that are even somewhat full with lots of empty seats. I wonder how much they had to paper this show just to fill in the lower bowl of the Coliseum.
* Tim Persey v. Jonathan Wiezorek
Promo package shows Wizzorek's record as 10-1. Ranallo keeps throwing out phrases like "the ocean of humanity here" and I know he's paid to hype everything regardless of the truth but the contradiction is really sad. Wiezorek comes out to the ring first and then Tim Persey's promo package airs. He says he's been training muay thai, jiu jitsu and boxing and he's ready for anything. 'Big Perm' has a fight record of 8-1 although the brother has a shaved head and there's nothing 'Perm' to me about this heavyweight. The Sherdog Fight Finder lists him as 259, but I can't imagine him at anything less than 280. Elite XC is claiming 265 for both men, with Persey at 6 feet even and his opponent standing 6'3". Jimmy Lennon Jr. is doing the ring introductions and does 'Dangerous' Jonathan Wiezorek first (pronouncing it Wiii-Zork). The referee in charge is Herb Dean. "Protect yourself at all times. Follow my instructions at all times." We're underway!
Wiezorek has Persey up against the ropes and not much is happening - Herb Dean is calling for action, he wants them to work or he'll force a break. Persey tries to turn him around but is largely ineffective. Dean finally breaks them apart just as the crowd starts to boo. Persey misses with a BIG right. Wiezorek tries knees as Persey pushes him towards the corner. Wiezorek is going for knees again but they're moving slow as molasses, although apparently one managed to hit Persey in the groin. Dean is giving him time to recover but Persey seems unaffected. They quickly restart. Persey rocks Wiezorek! He falls to the ground and Persey is all over him. Persey is bombing away on him from the top, rising up and throwing down heavy rights at will. Wiezorek gets a key lock for an arm bar but Persey powers out of it and the two move to their feet.Wiezorek bulls him into the corner again as we move to 30 seconds left. Wiezorek is throwing body punches and gets a takedown with about 20 seconds left. Dean warns him to watch blows to the back of the head. Round one is over! Unofficially I give the first round to Persey 10-9, he seemed to be doing far more damage; maybe even 10-8 if they docked Wiezorek for the groin shot.
Round two and Persey gets rocked RIGHT AWAY. He's down on the ground and he's turtled up with hands over the back of his head, flat on his belly. Wiezorek is throwing UNBLOCKED BOMBS. Dean warns him to defend himself and he doesn't move at all. It's all over! Herb Dean stops the fight. WIEZOREK IS VICTORIOUS. Replay shows Wiezorek getting a leg in to trip him for the takedown, Dean warning Persey to fight back and giving him every chance, and Wiezorek raining down blows left and right. Time for Lennon to make it official - 50 seconds of R2, victory for Wiezorek due to strikes. Wiezorek improves to 11-1. We move to Glazer at ringside interviewing Gina Carano, and she apologizes for getting sick and being unable to compete, and she says "I'm really pissed off about it because I'm feeling fine tonight." Unfortunately if she wasn't able to train she's not ready for tonight even if she is feeling fine. Next we go to Charles 'Krazy Horse' Bennett and he seems HIGHER THAN A MUH'FAH with his eyes rolling into the back of his head and his speech slurring. Gotta love that Cali chron'! Finally we go to New York Bad Ass himself Phil Baroni. "My training's going good, June 22nd Frank Shamrock is gonna get weighed and measured. June 22nd you better show, or I'm gonna be in your back yard looking for you. You're a punk dude, I'm gonna put you to bed." Awesome. BARONI RULES. Now we go to highlights from earlier in the evening.
* J.Z. Calvancanti v. Nam Phan
J.Z. got a takedown into half guard and immediately started unloading with ground and pound, and Mario Yamasaki was forced to stop the action after just 26 SECONDS. Your WINNER: J.Z. CALVANCANTI. Eminem's "Smack That" plays as Ido Pariente prepares to come out to the ring for our next bout. Pariente hails from Tel Aviv, Israel and his fight record is 6-2. He's credited with founding the Israeli Jiu Jitsu Federation. Goldberg tells us his keys to victory are BJJ and knee strikes. Jake Shiels promo airs next and he says he wants to be #1 and considered the champ. He loves all forms of victory - armbar, knockout, whatever he can get. Shields record is listed as 17-4-1 and he hails from San Francisco, California. Lennon botches the easiest name in the world and calls him SHIZIELDZZ. Way to go JJ! Tale of the tape - Shields is 28, 5'11", 170 pounds, Pariente is 29, 5'8", 168 pounds. Both specialize in BJJ but Shields is listed as a wrestler while Pariente is credited as a muay thai expert.
* Ido Pariente v. Jake Shields
Steve Mazzagatti is the referee in charge. "BRING IT ON, C'MON!" Shields trunks say that he's a SERIOUS PIMP. We're seeing so much of them because he has the full mount on Ido Pariente from early on. Pariente is trying to buck his hips to get out but Shields keeps bodyslamming him and throwing ground 'n pound blows. Pariente gives Shields his back trying to escape and Shields goes for a rear naked choke. Pariente is in big trouble! He taps out at 2:06 of the first round! WINNER: JAKE SHIELDS, THE VICIOUS VEGAN. There was never any doubt of Shields victory, he controlled the fight from the opening takedown all the way to the finish. Lennon gives the official result to the crowd and Shields celebrates his victory. Glazer interviews Shields how he can move up to #1. "Soon as I can fight #1, I'll be #1!" Glazer asks him about the stand-up. "I figured I might as well take him down, put him away, finish him in the first round. I'm looking for a big fight, I'm hoping somebody will give me a title shot." Ranallo once again shills the "impressive crowd" here for impressive fights, and the camera pans to show us a still largely empty LA Coliseum. We're told Vanessa Wade is the winner of the Elite XC Ring Girl contest. She kind of reminds me of ECW's Francine - good body, a little bit horsefaced otherwise. Ranallo recaps the results - Wiezorek d. Persey via TKO R2, Calvancanti d. Phan via TKO R1, and Shields d. Pariente via sub R1. Apparently that's it for the Elite XC even though there are ten minutes left until it kicks over to PPV for K-1 Dynamite. Oh boy, ten minutes of promos for Weeds, The Tudors, and Californication. Well at least this is a good time for a piss break and a beer.
Since we've got 5 minutes to kill here are some Sherdog Fight Finder profiles for fighters featured so far tonight.
* Ido Pariente
* Jake Shields
* Nam Phan
* J.Z. Calvancanti
* Jonathan Wiezorek
* Tim Persey
TIME FOR K-1 TO UNLEASH SOME DYNAMITE! We are back at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and there's a live DJ at ringside spinning on the 1's and 2's. DJ Ap? DJ Happ? I have no idea what he said. More people seem to be filing into the Coliseum but it's still nowhere enar full. The DJ is exhorting the crowd: "If you're here to see some fights tonight, MAKE SOME NOIIIIIIIIIIISE!" Apparently he's DJ Afa or Hafa from some local station in Los Angeles, I still can't tell what the heck he said it was. Maybe he sould spell it out for those of us who don't live in L.A. The crowd is already tired of him exhorting them to "MAKE SOME NOIIIIIIISE" and they are largely unresponsive. The DJ tells everybody to turn and look towards the West tunnel, and we see Dennis Rodman coming out with what appears to be a torch of some kind. It's a shame Rodman has a baseball cap on, we can't see what color his head is sprayed tonight. Ranallo and Glazer say you never know what's going to happen when Rodman is on the scene, but right now he seems very low key. Rodman hands the torch through the ropes to a waiting competitor, who steps BACK through the ropes with the torch (which is barely aflame I might add) and walks around the empty ringside seats with it. The tepid flame, the tepid crowd, it's a pretty good fit. Apparently they're going to keep handing the torch from one fighter to the next. Wow, exciting. If you didn't take your break for beer and snacks between Showtime and the PPV, take it now. Even more anemic we're seeing Hong Man Choi holding his chest, carrying the torch up to the top of the stadium, either selling or OVERSELLING his heart problem, although the announcers note it should be on the OTHER side of his chest. All-4-One come out to sing the national anthem. The DJ screams "WELCOME TO DYNAMITE U-S-AHHHHHH" and throws on some more music.
More pre-show! Here's "Joey P" with a trumpet attached to a mic, serenading us with some pre-fight music, and he signals to an entire drum core to come out behind him and play while he blows. Now it's like we're in Brazil for Carnival - there are dancing girls with giant headdresses, a guy blowing a trumpet, drums marching, and they're all heading down the Coliseum steps towards the ring. K-1's opening ceremonies may be LONGER than those for a Pride FC show. Ay-yi-yi! Now the DJ is introducing the fighters one by one as "Bring 'Em Out" plays throughout the Coliseum. Mighty Mo gets the biggest pop of any fighter so far. The crowd goes NUTS for Royce Gracie though and they give a nearly equal pop for Sakuraba. Min Soo Kim gets a small reaction, and Lesnar gets a pretty decent one although nowhere near as big as Gracie. MORE INTRODUCTIONS! The DJ shows us Dennis Rodman coming in AGAIN and the crowd is starting to boo, I think they're fed up with both the delays and Rodman. He grabs a mic: "You can love me or hate me but it's not my night. It's these guys night tonight. K-1 is coming to America, L.A, you're seeing it live. UFC, HELL NO! We're talking about K-1 presents DYNAMITE!!" Mercifully that should be the end of the introductions, although the Carnival dancers and trumpet player start up again. Will we ever see anybody throw blows? Heck if I know! Rodman can knock UFC all he likes but even with their long delays we'd have already seen at least one fight by now - 25 minutes into K-1 and no fights have STARTED yet. Glazer, Ranallo and Goldberg run down the top of the card - Lesnar vs. Kim, Sakuraba v. Gracie, Mighty Mo v. Villareal, Manhoef v. Dong-Sik Yoon, and Morton v. Ackah. Speaking of the last, Johnnie Morton and Bernard Ackah is next, and profiles for both men are shown. Apparently it's finally TIME 4 SUM AKSION!!
* Bernard Ackah v. Johnnie Morton
This is straight out of WrestleMania 3 - the distance to the ring is so long they're actually putting the fighters on a cart and bringing them down for the fight so they don't get winded and gas out BEFORE they even start competing. Ackah is pumped up, bouncing around and smiling, he looks fit and ready. Johnnie Morton is introduced as a former USC Trojan and a former NFL star to get the crowd pumped, which SORTA works, although I can swear that I hear the wind whistling through the empty seats before Morton's music starts playing. Morton makes his way down the concrete entrance steps and jumps on the cart to be taken to the ring. Tale of the tape - Morton is 35, 6'0", 213 pounds. Ackah is also 35 and six feet even, weighing 207 pounds. Their specialties are listed as striking and tae kwon do/judo respectively. 37 minutes in and Lennon is still introducing the judges and the referee Nelson Hamilton, not a punch thrown yet. Ackah's record is given as 1-0 with one knockout. Morton's record is of course 0-0 since this is his MMA debut. Fight instructions are over, let's get it on!
This fight is scheduled for three rounds, three minutes each. Ackah and Morton are throwing wild fists! Morton is trying to take down Ackah, he slams him into the ropes and tries to pull him down but Ackah sprawls and avoid fully taking the canvas. ACKAH KNOCKS OUT MORTON! JOHNNIE MORTON IS DEAD KAING! IT'S ALL OVER SAY GOODNIGHT MORTON! Actually this is no time for jokes - Morton was seriously out, we're talking Sean Salmon being smoked by Rashad Evans out. Morton has to be revived by the officials who swarm the ring. They're very carefully putting his head in a brace. The replay shows Morton walking into a straight right hand from Ackah, right on the damn button, clearly rolling Morton's eyes into the back of his head. They're comparing it to Rampage Jackson's knockout of Liddell on the commentary, but this was far more devestating because Liddell quickly recovered and Morton is leaving on a stretcher. At least he seems to be awake now and talking to the officials. Ranallo is giving the unofficial fight time as KO at 38 seconds. Ackah seems relieved he's moving, and Lennon makes the result official.
* Mighty Mo Siligia v. Ruben Villareal
The sun is starting to set on L.A. as we get the pre-fight video packages. We're shown Mighty Mo's five impressive knockouts this year, including his stunning defeat of Hong-Man Choi, nearly a foot taller than him in height, and the Grand Prix tournament where he KO'd several fighters in a matter of hours. The narrator puts over Villareal's heritage as a Native American "powered by the blood of his ancestors" while noting Mighty Mo's strong Samoan heritage and power. Villareal is the first to come down the entrance steps. During Villareal's entrance we get an explanation of why Manhoef v. Yoon is not taking place now. Glazer says that Yoon wanted to overtape his ankle even though he had no injury, the officials told him not to, he refused to listen so the officials told us they'd just move on. The CSAC official Mr. Garcia however informs Glazer that Yoon has since relented and agreed to come out without the tape, so the fight will take place albiet later on in the show.
Mo finally gets in the ring and we're nearing 10 o'clock CST. Mo is 33, 6'1", 292 pounds. Villareal is 37, 6'4", 270 pounds. Fight styles are boxing and wrestling respectively. The referee for this fight is Herb Dean, and Lennon introduces us to "The Battle of Super-Heavyweights" scheduled for three five minute rounds. Villareal is 11-2-3 with 10 KO's, while Mighty Mo's MMA record (I guess that doesn't include Grand Prix victories) is 2-0 with two knockouts. Dean makes his usual speech - protect yourself at all times, follow my instructions at all time. Tracey Ullman is shown in the crowd as the bell rings and we get underway. Mo and Villareal are letting the fists fly early. Villareal gets Mo in a clinch to avoid the big right hands. Mo keeps trying to back him up, he breaks the underhooks and the two stand off again. Villareal connects with a nice right leg kick. Mo starts throwing rights and lefts and Villareal is down! Herb Dean stops the fight just 90 seconds in. MIGHTY MO SLEDGEHAMMERS HIS WAY TO VICTORY. Lennon makes it official at 1:33 and the replay shows Mo hitting a punch so hard that it may have fractured Villareal's orbital bone, which all three commentators feel they actually heard break when the hit landed. It was definitely one of the most devestating lefts hooks I've ever seen, delivered after Mo had already taken Villareal down to the ground. OUCH.
* Dong-Sik Yoon v. Melvin Manhoef
This marks at least the third different pronunciation of Manhoef's name I've heard this far. During the 30 minute Showtime specials leading up to the PPV they referred to him as Melvin "MAH-NEW" but both the narrator and Jay Glazer are calling him "MAN-HAWF." Whatever. In kickboxing Melvin is 34-3, in MMA he's 16-3-1 with 15 KO's so he's legit as can get. Nicolas Cage is shown sitting at ringside and Goldberg says somebody should check his ticket to see if he's a seat-jumper. Here's a tip Bill, with as few people as there were in the upper bowl and so many people buying the cheap $10 seats at the top, there's a good chance everybody is a LEGIT seat-jumper. Yoon comes out first followed by Manhoef. They really need to figure out a way to introduce fighters without them coming all the way down the steps and being carted all the way down to the ring, this takes FOREVER. Then again given the quick knockouts so far and the lack of depth on the card they need as much filler for this PPV as they can possibly get. Manhoef starts doing a dance to Fat Joe's "Make it Rain" as they bring him out in the cart while we get a shot of Keyshawn Johnson in the crowd. Melvin is listed as age 30, height 5'8", weight 192 pounds. Yoon is 34, 6'0", 190 pounds. Respective styles are kickboxing and judo. Yoon's MMA record is 0-4, OUCH. Marcos Rosales is our referee for this contest. 3 five minutes rounds are scheduled.
Manhoef dances around at the start, Yoon does a careful job of avoiding him for 20 seconds or so before Melvin unloads with a right kick that seems to take Yoon off his feet and Manhoef immedately jumps all over him on the ground with lefts and rights. Yoon survives the onslaught and gets back to his feet. Manhoef goes for a sweeping leg kick, misses and gets tangled up in the ropes, and Yoon immediately jumps on to try and give him a judo throw. Manhoef has his arms around the ropes and won't let go and the ref has to pull it out by force. Yoon tries to get a takedown but it's Manhoef who ends up on top. That was one of the most exciting 2 minutes I've ever seen but now it's slowing to a crawl as Manhoef tries to mount up on the grounded Yoon. Yoon tries to get an armbar but Manhoef punches his way out and tattoos Yoon with rights. Yoon pushes him into the ropes and keeps the distance short to avoid more strikes. Ranallo describes Yoon's face as looking assembled like a random note. Yoon gets a takedown! Side control for Yoon and he starts to punch away at Manhoef's head. He seems to be looking for a submission but Manhoef is defending well. Yoon switches to full mount and starts throwing big rights at Mahoef's head. Yoon looks for an americana and abandons it for more punching. Manhoef looks to be surviving the last minute of the round, hoping to get the better of the stand up in R2. Manhoef escapes the mount! He nearly gives up an armbar in the process but Manhoef fights it off and starts throwing rights. Yoon grabs a leg and Manhoef spills through the ropes. There are 15 seconds left as the ref restarts them at center. Manhoef avoids Yoon and it's on to R2!!
Both men find their range for the first 26 seconds, nobody connecting with a blow. Yoon gets another takedown on Manhoef! Yoon transitions from half guard to full mount and starts raining down blows. Manhoef rolls over and gives Yoon his back so Yoon rolls him over and grabs an armbar, taking home Manhoef's arm as a trophy of victory! This is a HYOOOOGE UPSET. The 0-4 Yoon defeats Manhoef! What an amazing fight! Close-up after the fight shows Yoon's right eye swollen shut from the punches he endured, but Lennon is here to make it official. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, 1:17 OF ROUND TWO ENDS BY ARM BAR, WINNER VIA SUBMISSION DONG-SIK YOON! Fantastic fight, I can't wait to watch this one again. It's now completely dark in L.A. which is probably to their benefit since you can't see the empty seats any more.
* Brad Pickett v. Hideo Tokoro
At first the announcers claim this is a bonus fight from earlier in the night, but since it's absolutely dark outside as Tokoro makes his way to the ring I can't think this is a bonus from earlier - if it was it would be much brighter in the Coliseum. Either way it's definitely a bonus, since it's not Gracie v. Sakuraba or Lesnar v. Kim. Pickett makes his way down to the ring with a sleeveless shirt and suspenders on, with a hat that makes him look like an Italian street tough from the early 20th century. Brad 'One Punch' Pickett is listed as 5'6", 154 pounds, specializing in strikes. Tokoro is listed as 5'7", 153 pounds, specializing in grappling. Lennon presents our lightweight attraction, 3 five minute rounds, with the in-ring referee being Marcos Rosales. Tokoro's record is 17-11-1, Pickett's record is 10-3 with 3 KO's and 5 submissions. Rosales reminds them to obey instructions at all times and protect yourself at all times. Here we go!
Nice low kick by Tokoro to start. Tokoro dances away to avoid Pickett's punches. Pickett tries to close the distance with punches but Tokoro gets the takedown. A quick series of reversals worthy of a Bryan Danielson v. Low-Ki match ensue. Both men get back to their feet and Pickett is still looking for a big punch. Pickett gets an overhand right but Tokoro rolls through hitting the ground and grabs Pickett for an inverted heel hook. Pickett escapes the submission and mounts up on Tokoro. Lightning fast action!! Pickett tries to work body shots from mount but Tokoro kicks out of it, spins Pickett to his back and grabs an arm in the process - Pickett taps out to the armbar!! TOKORO WINS VIA SUBMISSION. Lennon finally makes it official - 2:41 of R1 ending by armbar tapout, Tokoro takes the victory. Pickett gives him a respectful hug afterwards and the DJ announces "the biggest rock star in Japan, Yoshiki" coming out to present Tokoro his trophy. Goldberg makes fun of this announcement and I don't blame him. Now to kill some more time we've got a taiko drum line playing some beats, afterwards the ringside DJ scratches Nas' "Hip Hop is Dead" for the crowd.
Glazer, Goldberg and Ranallo start hyping up our two main events, Lesnar v. Kim and Sakuraba v. Gracie, the latter of which is UP NEXT. Gracie: "I look forward to fighting him, it's been seven years." The narrator hypes up the fact that Sakuraba won the fight after a 90 minute epic brawl. Sakuraba via translator: "We're not going 90 minutes again you think? That was rough!" Narrator: "Today, new history will be made!" Gracie: "Sakuraba, you and I had a great fight 7 years ago. Tonight let's make history." Sakuraba: "Can we get this one over quickly?" Niiiiiiiice.
* Royce Gracie v. Kazushi Sakuraba
Okay whoever the idiot DJ from L.A. is, I now officially hate his guts. Didn't he do any research before hand? Didn't anybody bother to explain the Brazilian R is pronounced like a silent H? The idiot actually said Royce like ROLLS ROYCE as opposed to pronouncing it the correct way. He tries to make up for it by giving the announcement for him a second time after somebody corrected him, but by now it's too late as even Goldberg has made fun of him for being a nitwit. Gracie comes to the ring in a gi and black belt but immediately sheds them before stepping through the ropes. Goldberg reads us Gracie's keys to victory: "Dictate the pace, position for submission, avoid standup exchanges." As Sakuraba comes out with a mask on they put over his background as both a pro wrestling fan and a former pro wrestler, one who has proved wrestlers can make the transition to MMA by defeating four Gracie family members and becoming one of the most popular fighters in the sport's history. Sakuraba has multiple layers of masks on and he keeps taking them off and throwing them to the crowd, leaving just one on when he gets to ringside. Tale of the tape: Sakuraba is 38, 6'0", 187 while Gracie is 40, 6'1", 188, styles are submission versus Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Lennon introduces the "much anticipated rematch" with the referee in charge Mario Yamasaki! Gracie is 13-3-3 with 12 submissions. The 'Gracie Hunter' Sakuraba is 21-9-1 with 3 KO's and 14 submissions. Yamasaki makes sure they don't have any questions and it's time to start our co-main event!
DING. Both men are tentative to start. Gracie steps lightly and looks for kicks but Sakuraba is the one who gets the low leg kick, followed by a big strike taking Gracie down. Gracie likes the ground though and nails Sakuraba with upkicks and leg strikes, daring Sakuraba to jump back into his mount and see if he can get submitted. Sakuraba stays in close range, not wanting Gracie to get the stand-up. Two minutes in and the crowd is getting a little restless. Gracie and Sakuraba continue to exchange kicks in an MMA chess game. Yamasaki is warning them to get more action and Sakuraba leaps in with strikes and goes for side control. Sakuraba wants an armbar but Gracie secure the arm to block. Gracie tries to block Sakuraba taking the back with a leg but he still passes. Both men get back to their feet and Sakuraba seems to have Gracie in a kimura even though Gracie has his back. Sakuraba leans all the way through the ropes and the ref calls for them to get it back in the ring. They spin all around and finally break apart for more stand-up. The first round comes to a close and I have to say Gracie won 10-9 just based on strikes and control, but I can see how somebody would call it the other way since it's pretty close.
Round two is underway! Gracie and Sakuraba start out again feeling each other out. Gracie keeps throwing out kicks to the head and looking for foot stomps. Sakuraba charges, Gracie ducks and grapples with him, Sakuraba shoves him off and Gracie bounces off the ropes. Gracie with more leg kicks and strikes to the bandaged knee of Sakuraba. Sakuraba charges in again, Gracie ties up with him and lands body blows to the ribs. Knee strikes to the bandaged knee of Sakuraba. They're clinched up in the ropes and Yamasaki looks like he's ready to break the position for lack of motion. Gracie is still working away though in the clinch, hitting knees. Large boos from the crowd as we reach three minutes gone in round two. The judge finally breaks to a pop from the crowd. Gracie continues to go after that knee. Muay thai clinch by Sakuraba and Gracie has to escape and stave off a takedown. Gracie sprawls effectively to block. Sakuraba has Gracie up against the ropes trying to get position and the crowd is booing again. I really think this L.A. crowd doesn't understand MMA or they wouldn't be mad at this, it's a great technical fight. As Glazer says, "You don't boo Lou Gehrig!" Ranallo: "This is America, they have the right to do what they want, but I don't know what they were expecting."
Round three starts with them feeling each other out again. Gracie pulls Sakuraba into a half-guard and appears to be looking for a submission. Sakuraba tries to mount up. Sakuraba looks to be getting the better of the ground for a second but the two get to their feet and wind up in the ropes. R3 is halfway over and Gracie is behind Sakuraba looking for whatever he can get. Sakuraba leans all the way through the ropes and the ref makes them get back in. Sakuraba appears to be just resting on the ropes, talking to Gracie, and this time the announcers agree with the boos from the crowd. They move into the corner and Gracie starts unloading with rights, although Sakuraba blocks most of them with his gloves. Something weird is up with Sakuraba, he's just leaning on the ropes, talking to somebody, maybe his corner men. Yamasaki finally makes them break for stand-up with 40 seconds left to go. Sakuraba tries to close ground and get an armbar but time runs out. I'd have to score at least 2 of 3 rounds 10-9 for Gracie but we'll see what the judges have to say.
Here's Jimmy Lennon Jr. with the decision. After three rounds we have a unanimous decision. Peoples scores 30-27, Hamilton and Bertrand score it 29-28, all three in favor of the WINNER: ROYCE GRACIE. Gracie has avenged his loss to Sakuraba! The patriarch of the Gracie family steps in the ring to congratulate Gracie, and he's presented with the trophy. Poor time management by K-1 here - too much stalling when they shouldn't have been, not enough clock for their main event. It's already 11:33 and this PPV was only listed as going until 12:00 - can they still get in the main event?
* Brock Lesnar v. Min Soo Kim
As Kim is being carted out to the ring Hong-Man Choi is shown coming down the steps behind him, presumably he wants to see how his replacement fares against Lesnar. Kim's keys to victory are listed as "Catch-22, exploit Lesnar's aggression, use experience." Ranallo asks Goldberg is Choi is going to do a pro wrestling run-in, Goldberg says "I'm right here buddy" i.e. don't worry about it. Lesnar has a hoodie on as he comes down the steps flanked by the members of his team and a troop of men waving American flags. When he gets down to the cart the hoodie reads "Minnesota Martial Arts Academy" on close-up. The DJ asks the crowd to make some noise for Lesnar and they're trying but clearly they're really tired by this point as it's been a long night. It's 11:41 so Lesnar better get in the ring pretty quickly or 3 five minute rounds could easily roll past midnight. His keys are listed as "Stay mentally focused, secure takedowns, ground & pound." Lesnar is 29, 6'2", 262. Kim is 32, 6'1", 255. Wrestling versus judo. Lennon's here to introduce the featured main event. CSAC sanctioned the fight, that's good to know. Armando Garcia's in charge, that's good too. Lennon you may want to skip some of this. Steve Mazzagatti is the referee in charge of this heavyweight special attraction. Kim is 2-5 with his only two wins coming via submission, and Lesnar of course is making his MMA debut and has no record. Lesnar and Kim get nose to nose as Mazzagatti gives instructions. Here we go!
Round one is underway. Kim wants to touch gloves but Lesnar is more interested in throwing bombs and gets a takedown right away. He's unleashing rights to the head and smothering Kim on the ground. Lesnar is bombing away and gets his right leg past for the full mount. He's trying to position up and throw blows and Kim is getting rocked. KIM TAPS OUT TO STRIKES. It's all over. BROCK LESNAR WINS HIS MMA DEBUT! Kim is having trouble getting up, his tap was clearly no joke, Lesnar was ringing his bell loud and clear. On the minus side he beat a guy who was 2-5, on the plus side he beat a guy who had 7 MMA fights. Goldberg: "And guess what ladies and gentlemen, he's a former professional wrestler. All you naysayers, take that!" Indeed. Min Soo Kim finally gets to his feet for Lennon's announcement to make it official, 1:09 of the very first round. Lesnar: "I want to thank everybody for coming, and it's fireworks!" It literally is as they're shooting off fireworks to close the show. "I enjoyed myself, I was dissapointed I couldn't fight the big-headed guy, but maybe in the near future. I want to keep fighting, and I don't know, we'll see what happens and what promoter wants to step up and hand out some money." Thanks for tuning in for AngryMarks.com's live coverage of this PPV, we'll see you again tomorrow night for One Night Stand!