Warchild and I took some time off of our weekend festivities to go venture out to see some MMA. It was hard to pull me away from the new season of House of Cards but I did it. We are now here at the event. The weather outside was a little slick and of course we were all bottlenecked due to people who couldn't drive. We were parked at the Winter Entrance and walked the whole length of the casino to get to the event. There are many fight fans here waiting for the fights to start. There are 7 fights tonight, 5 amateur and 2 of them pro which makes for a perfect night of fights. I heard there will be some Muay Thai and Kickboxing demonstrations that will be happening in between some of the fights. Kelly Macdonald is here taking photos for the evening and Warchild is here for us so there will be plenty of people capturing the action. Before the event Big Dan Miragliotta did a Muay Thai demonstration. Big Dan and Kevin are the refs for the night so there should be no problems. So far for celebs I have seen Luis Felix, Joe Ping, Kipp Kollar, Keith Jeffries, Josh Diekmann, Tom Evans, Thane Stimson, Karyn Wesch, Sarah Payant and Tom from Suckerpunch! Good crowd here I would estimate about 600-700.
Brok Hilderbrand vs. Carl Langston
Brok starts us off with a leg kick. They clinch and Carl gets the hip toss takedown. Brok yells out in pain and says his shoulder popped out.
Carl Langston defeats Brok Hilderbrand via verbal tapout to tko at 23 seconds in Rd 1.
Gio Fiasconaro vs. Robert Edmiston
They both exchange a few shots and Gio takes him down. He then takes the back but can't get him down. Robert stands back up. Gio tries to finish with a guillotine but can't get the tap. He is threatening with an armbar but again can't get the tap. Bobby takes his back briefly but Gio gets the sweep. Gio is working a few more armbars but can't finish. Bobby is working a triangle from the bottom as the round ends.
Gio 10-9
Rd 2: They clinch and Gio gets the takedown. Gio is working a kimura and gets the tap.
Gio Fiasconaro defeats Robert Edmiston via tapout to kimura at 43 seconds in Rd 2.
Nick Ortiz vs. Marquis Brewster
Marquis gets in a good right hand that stuns Nick. He bounces back up. Nick catches Marquis's leg and then tries to finish with a guillotine. They break and are back to striking. They clinch and exchange some knees to the body. They clinch again and Nick pulls Marquis down. Marquis is in guard getting in some ground and pound. He backs off and lets him up. They clinch and Marquis gets the takedown. He is on top full mount and is looking to get in more ground and pound.
Marquis Rd 1
Rd 2: Marquis starts us off with some leg kicks. They clinch and Marquis gets in a knee that connects. Blood starts to flow from Nick's head. Big Dan stops the fight for it to be checked out.
Marquis Brewster defeats Nick Ortiz via tko stoppage due to cut at 25 seconds in Rd 2.
Darryl Mayer vs. Jose Rivera
Darryl starts us off with an inside leg kick. Darryl tries to get the takedown but can't finish it. Jose is pressing Darryl up against the cage. Jose gets the takedown and is working the side. Darryl gets the sweep and is now in guard. He then moves to the side and then back to guard. He gets in a few body shots as the round ends.
Darryl 10-9 but real close round.
Rd 2: Jose gets in a combo and Darryl gets the takedown. He is working the side. He gets in a knee to the body and then moves to full mount. He is getting in shots to the body but cause its amateur and not 2 or more fights they can't hit to the head.
Darryl 10-9
Rd 3: Jose starts us off with an outside leg kick. They clinch up against the cage and Darryl gets the slamming takedown. Jose gets some space and pushes Darryl off. They are back to their feet. Jose is doing a good job at keeping his distance in this round. Darryl dives for a takedown and gets it. Jose is working his way up the cage but Darryl pushes him back down to the canvas as the round ends.
Darryl 10-9
Darryl Mayer defeats Jose Rivera by unanimous decision 29-28.
They have a brief intermission.
Kimi Haslip vs. Kim Russell
They are going at it! Kimi is clinching Kim up against the cage. They break. Kim clinches Kimi up against the cage and gets in some body shots. Kimi is clinching Kim up against the cage for the rest of the round.
Kimi 10-9 but real close
Rd 2: They start swinging and then clinch. Kim clinches her up against the cage and then they break real quick. Kim clinches Kimi up against the against for a bit then they break. Kimi gets in a pair of outside leg kicks. Kimi gets in a right hook. Kim gets in a straight jab.
Kim 10-9 again, real close
Rd 3: They start swinging away again and then clinch up against the cage. Kimi gets in an outside leg kick. Kim gets in a jab. Kim gets the takedown by hip toss and is now in guard. Kimi bucks her off and they are back to the center. Kimi gets in a good leg kick. Kim is working her jabs. Kimi gets in two outside leg kicks. Kim connects with a right hand that drops Kimi down as the round ends. Great fight!!
Kim 10-9
Kim Russell defeats Kimi Haslip by split decision 29-28 Kimi, 29-28 Russell, 29-28 Kim.
Dan Cormier vs. Ernesto Ornelas
Dan starts us off with a leg kick. Dan connects with a right that drops Ernie. He covers and is trying to finish. Ernie recovers and gets back to his feet!! Ernie gets in a right hand of his own. Dan is fighting for a takedown and gets the slam. He is in the guard but Ernie works his way up. Dan gets in a good elbow. Dan is working the clinch and gets in another elbow. They break and Ernie gets in a good jab. Dan gets in an outside leg kick. Ernie gets in a good combo. Dan dives for a takedown and gets it but Ernie threatens with a guillotine as the round ends.
Dan 10-9
Rd 2: Dan gets in an inside leg kick. Ernie gets in a body shot. What a fast paced fight here. Dan gets in a combo. Ernie gets in a left hand. Both fighters are exchanging their shots. Blood is flowing from Dan's nose. Dan gets in a leg kick. Ernie gets in a leg kick that Dan checks. Ernie gets in a head kick then a left hand. Ernie gets in two short jabs.
Real close, I give slight edge to Ernie 10-9
Rd 3: Dan gets in a combo. Dan gets caught in the cup. He takes about a minute and fight resumes. Dan connects with a right hand that drops Ernie. He finishes him off with a few shots and Kevin steps in.
Dan Cormier defeats Ernesto Ornelas via ko stoppage to strikes at 39 seconds in Rd 3. That fight was awesome. A great back and forth battle and it had some of the best striking I have seen in a pro fight in a while. Great fight guys.
Eric Bedard vs. Tyler King
Tyler rushes in for a takedown and gets the slam. Eric has a guillotine. Tyler fights it and they are back to their feet. Eric has Tyler up against the cage gets in a big right hand that stuns Tyler. Tyler bounces back up and Eric gets in another right hand that drops Tyler. Tyler gets back up and Eric gets in another right hand that knocks Tyler to his knees and he is out. Wow!!
Eric Bedard defeats Tyler King via knockout at 1:06 in Rd 1!!! Wow what a fight.
KO/TKO OF THE NIGHT: Eric Bedard over Tyler King.
SUB OF THE NIGHT: Gio Fiasconaro with win by kimura!
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Dan Cormier vs Ernesto Ernelas
Even though there was a nasty storm, the event was a great success. The crowd was loud and had a blast in the ball room. In between each fight there was martial arts demonstrations and it was really cool to see the little kids performing their demo. Pete Rogers had many fighters fighting from all over, some from Florida, Maine, RI and of course CT. This was our first time in the ballroom and it was beautiful in there. Thanks to Pete Rogers for having us and allowing us to cover. Pete announced that they want to do another show there in a few months so we will keep you posted on that as the time approaches. I really liked how ASAP fighting had a stream available on GFL.TV for 9.99. I know of a few fans up in Maine who paid for it and the reviews I got back from that were positive. Please share with us your thoughts on that, who knows maybe if there is a lot of positive feedback more events in New England would allow the streaming to happen. The fights will be available on DVD and all of our photos will be posted to our facebook. Kelly's photos will be posted to her fanpage CrossFace Productions at the link here.