EliteXC: "Return of the King" Results
by Robert Sargent
KJ Noons's return to his homeland of Hawaii was a triumphant success, as he stopped veteran challenger Yves Edwards early in the first round of their Lightweight Championship bout at EliteXC's "Return of the King" Saturday night.
Tempers flared after the title fight when KJ's father got into a scrap with both Nick and Nate Diaz, prompting security to flood the ring to separate all involved.
EliteXC Lightweight Championship
"King" Karl James Noons vs Yves Edwards
Edwards, finally receiving a major title shot after many years in the sport, caught Noons with a good punch early on, but was dropped by a counterpunch and quickly finished.Noons came out with a quick kick, then both fighters exchanged a series of jabs. Edwards landed a hard punch that sent Noons back, but Noons caught Edwards with a counterpunch as he moved forward. Edwards fell to the mat and Noons pounced, raining down a lightning-fast barrage of punches and hammerfists that forced a stoppage inside the first minute. A highly impressive title defence for Noons.
Winner: KJ Noons by TKO (Strikes) at 0:44 of round one. He improves to 6-1-0 and remains the EliteXC Lightweight Champion.
Nick Diaz vs Muhsin "The Technician" Corbbrey
Though Corbbrey managed to avoid nearly every strike that Diaz threw until the third round, he failed to mount any offence of his own and was eventually stopped by strikes in round three. This bout was a 168-pound Catchweight bout after Diaz missed the 160-pound weight limit by nine pounds.Corbbrey landed a leg kick early on, then evaded a takedown attempt from Diaz. Diaz began his usual game plan of pressing the action and landing flurries of punches. Corbbrey used excellent head movement and evasive measures to dodge nearly everything that Diaz threw, but Corbbrey threw very few strikes of his own. With two minutes remaining, Corbbrey began to land some effective counter right hooks, temporarily slowing the forward charge of Diaz. After a clinch, Corbbrey landed a quick punching combination and a kick, and both fighters exchanged punches in the final minute of the round. A close round that truly could have gone to either fighter.
Both fighters employed the same strategies in the second round, but Corbbrey's lack of offence began to take its toll, as Diaz landed more strikes. Diaz attempted a takedown in the opening minute, but could not get Corbbrey down. Corbbrey tried to mix up his strikes, but ate a quick flurry of punches from Diaz, then a stiff jab. Diaz began to tee off with punches, while Corbbrey seemed content to bob and weave. Diaz began to taunt and trash talk Corbbrey, punching constantly, but Corbbrey landed a solid right hook. Another right from Corbbrey opened a cut above Diaz's left eye. In the final minute, it was Diaz who began to evade strikes from Corbbrey, while landing punches of his own, and Diaz scored a takedown just before the bell to take the round.
Diaz attempted a takedown to open round three, failing to take Corbbrey down. Diaz landed a one-two combination and clinched, scoring with knees and then a takedown. From half-guard, Diaz quickly moved to side-control and landed elbows. Diaz latched on a Kimura and tried to wrench Corbbrey's arm behind his back. When that failed, Diaz transitioned into an armbar, but Corbbrey managed to escape. Diaz stood and landed punches to the downed Corbbrey, eventually working to full mount. After a series of unanswered punches, the referee stopped the fight.
Winner: Nick Diaz by TKO (Unanswered Strikes) at 3:58 of round three. He improves to 17-7-0, 1 NC.
Murilo "Ninja" Rua vs Tony "The Gun" Bonello
Rua, the former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, continued his rise back to title contention in EliteXC, stopping the previously undefeated Bonello in the first round.After a crazy stare down in which the ever-controversial Bonello yelled obscenities and initially refused to shake hands with Rua, it was Rua who proved to be the dominant fighter. Bonello landed a high kick and was promptly taken to the ground. From top position, Rua landed punches and hammerfists, then moved to side-control. Rua began to land numerous elbow strikes to the face and body of Bonello, who seemed to have no defence. After two full minutes of elbow strikes, Rua briefly moved to full mount and landed punches, then went back to side-control and rained down more elbows. Rua then planted a knee on Bonello's chest and landed four consecutive punches, knocking Bonello out and ending the fight.
Winner: Murilo Rua by KO (Punches) at 3:14 of round one. He improves to 16-8-1.
Dave "PeeWee" Herman vs Ron "H2O" Waterman
Herman kept his undefeated record intact, stopping the veteran Waterman with strikes in round one after stunning him badly with a series of elbows.Herman landed a series of kicks in the opening seconds, and Waterman decided to take the fight to the ground, where he has dominated many opponents before. Waterman then twice attempted the rarely-used Can Opener neck submission, but Herman escaped both times and got back to his feet. Waterman scored another brief takedown and Herman replied by getting to his feet and landing a jumping switch kick to the head. Waterman shot in for a takedown against the cage, but Herman drilled him with six consecutive elbows to the temple region, followed by a series of hammerfists and more elbows. After a knee to the body, Herman took full mount and rained down punches until the referee stopped the fight.
Winner: Dave Herman by TKO (Punches) at 2:18 of round one. He improves to 11-0-0.
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante vs Wayne Cole
Cavalcante, accompanied to the ring by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, dominated Cole and notched his sixth victory, with his lone career loss to date coming as a result of a disqualification.Cole came forward aggressively with strikes, but was quickly taken down by Cavalcante. Cole got back to his feet and the fighters clinched against the cage. Cavalcante landed a series of knees to the thigh of Cole before the referee halted the fight due to a low blow. After the restart, Cavalcante broke out of a clinch with a quick one-two punching combination, then scored with a jumping knee after Cole grabbed hold of Cavalcante's leg. A pair of knees dropped Cole, and Cavalcante rushed in to finish his turtling opponent with punches and hammerfists.
Winner: Rafael Cavalcante by TKO (Strikes) at 2:47 of round one. He improves to 6-1-0.
Undercard Fights:
Robert "Bubba" McDaniel defeated ICON Sport Middleweight Champion Kala Kolohe Hose in a non-title bout by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:41 of round one. McDaniel, a late replacement in the fight, improves to 11-4-0.ICON Sport Bantamweight Champion Mark "The Shark" Oshiro defeated Chris Willems in a non-title bout by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 2:12 of round one. Oshiro improves to 11-1-0.
Mike Aina won a rubber match with Kaleo "Leo Boy" Kwan by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. Both fighters had previously defeated the other once apiece by decision. Aina improves to 9-6-1.
PJ Dean and Dean Lista battled to a Draw after three rounds, after a point deduction for a low blow by PJ evened the contest. Dean is now 1-2-1, while Lista is 1-1-2.
Russell Doane defeated the previously unbeaten Dwayne Haney by TKO (Strikes) at 2:46 of round one. Doane improves to 2-1-0.
Carl Barton defeated Kepa Madeiros by TKO (Strikes) at 0:55 of round one in the opening bout of the night.
This was a much better overall event for EliteXC than their controversial debut on CBS, but the high level of competition must be maintained when EliteXC returns to CBS in late July. At least the CBS event should be free of Bill Goldberg, the former professional wrestler who now embarrasses himself on every EliteXC broadcast on Showtime with his disrespectful and incoherent fighter interviews.
