MFC 19: "Long Time Coming" Results
by Robert Sargent
After being sidelined for nearly a year with injury, Roger "The Hulk" Hollett finally made his first Maximum Fighting Championships Light Heavyweight Championship defence at MFC 19, but was dethroned by Emanuel "The Hardcore Kid" Newton.
In a pair of excellent battles, British knockout artist Paul "Semtex" Daley defeated John "The Natural" Alessio, while Derrick "The Eraser" Noble submitted Ariel Sexton.
MFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Emanuel "The Hardcore Kid" Newton vs Roger "The Hulk" Hollett
Making his long-awaited return to MFC competition, Hollett looked to defend his title after rebounding from a 2007 injury, but was defeated by Newton in a rather lopsided five-round battle.Typically an explosive striker, Hollett looked to be setting up one big punch for most of this fight, but Newton's evasive striking and multiple takedowns left Hollet unable to do much of anything. The first round was fairly even, but Newton's takedowns and varied striking began to dominate the fight as the rounds progressed. Hollet stuffed a number of the takedown attempts from Newton in rounds two and three, but was never able to mount any significant offence in any round.
The final three rounds saw Newton repeatedly take Hollett down and land strikes from Hollett's guard. Hollett attempted occasional submissions, but could neither trap Newton nor land the haymaker punch on the feet that he so desperately needed. In the end, Newton's game plan of picking his shots in the striking battles and taking Hollett to the mat was enough to secure him the MFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Winner: Emanuel Newton by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 11-3-1 and becomes the new MFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Paul "Semtex" Daley vs John "The Natural" Alessio
Though the bout was initially marred by Daley's lateness to the weigh-ins and inability to make weight, he made up for it by handing Alessio the first TKO loss of his career with a knee and a series of vicious left hooks midway through round two.Round one began with a series of leg kicks from Daley, who stuffed a takedown attempt from Alessio and landed a knee. Alessio landed a pair of left hooks to the eye of Daley, then looked for another takedown. Daley repeatedly defended takedown attempts, but Alessio finally got him to the ground on the fourth try. Alessio worked from Daley's half-guard, but could not do anything with the position. Daley got back to his feet and landed a solid head kick, then scored a takedown of his own just before the bell. Close round, but 10-9 Daley for damage dealt.
Daley landed more leg kicks early in round two, and both fighters scored with punches. Alessio tried for another takedown, and eventually got one after a few tries, but Daley immediately got back to his feet. Now visibly tired from trying for so many takedowns, Alessio let his guard down and was drilled with a pair of big left hooks, then two uppercuts and a knee to the face. Alessio went down to the mat, where he ate three more haymaker left hooks from Daley that forced the referee to stop the fight. An impressive victory for Daley.
Winner: Paul Daley by TKO (Knee & Punches) at 2:16 of round two. He improves to 19-7-2.
Derrick "The Eraser" Noble vs Ariel "Tarzan" Sexton
Noble, a one-time UFC veteran who holds victories over current MFC Welterweight Champion Pat "Bam Bam" Healy, former WEC Welterweight #1 contender Carlo Prater and current top UFC contender Thiago "Pitbull" Alves, once again showed why he is one of the most underrated fighters in MMA today with an impressive second-round submission of Sexton, in what was easily the best fight of the night.This was Noble's debut at lightweight, and he looked to match the explosive style of Sexton. Noble landed leg and body kicks early on, then caught Sexton with a solid punch as Sexton wildly came forward. Sexton caught a kick from Noble and sent him to the mat with a punch, but Noble got right back up and clinched. Bleeding from the nose, Noble landed a knee and an elbow in a clinch that opened up a cut above Sexton's left eye. Sexton looked for a flying knee, but ate a right hand for his troubles. The fighters traded kicks, and Noble rocked Sexton with a looping right hook. Noble looked to finish Sexton as Sexton staggered to avoid punishment, but the Costa Rican held on. Noble landed a series of knees and punches in a clinch just before the bell. Amazing absorbtion of punishment from Sexton, but the round was clearly 10-9 Noble.
Sexton came rushing forward with wild strikes to begin round two, but Noble's disciplined striking allowed him to land a pair of clean shots. Noble landed a knee in a clinch, but Sexton replied with a pair of big punches that cut Noble below the right eye. A huge body shot landed for Sexton, but Noble remained unfazed. Sexton landed a glancing flying knee, then scored a takedown. However, Noble locked on a guillotine choke on the way down and Sexton could not escape. He was forced to submit, giving Noble an impressive win in a great fight.
Winner: Derrick Noble by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:29 of round two. He improves to 23-11-1.
Kyle Sandford vs Joey Gorczynski
In a controversial result, Gorczynski was seemingly robbed of a well-deserved victory when two judges scored this fight in favour of the Canadian, Sandford, who appeared to have only won one round.The fighters traded kicks early on and Gorczynski scored a takedown. Sandford looked for a series of submissions from the bottom, but could not lock anything on. Sandford took Gorczynski down and looked for a rear naked choke, but he could not submit the American. Sandford kept Gorczynski down until the referee stood the fight up with 20 seconds left. Gorczynski took Sandford down and landed two big punches just before the bell. 10-9 Sandford.
The fighters once again traded kicks to begin round two, and Gorczynski scored another takedown. As in the first round, Sandford looked for armbars and triangles off of his back. Gorczynski scored two more takedowns and evaded the submissions from Sandford while landing strikes from the top. Sandford went for numerous submissions, but Gorczynski continued to score with punches and elbows. Sandford reversed position late in the round, but could not do anything with it. 10-9 Gorczynski.
Round three was more of the same, but Sandford was visibly tired and his submission attempts became much more lacklustre. A series of inadvertent low blows slowed the action, and Gorczynski scored more takedowns. He landed strikes from the top, but Sandford did manage to reverse and landed knees to the body. Sandford looked for a rear naked choke late in the round, but could not secure it. 10-9 Gorczynski.
Two judges saw one of the later rounds in favour of Sandford, giving him a disputed Split Decision win.
Winner: Kyle Sandford by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 7-1-0.
Ryan Machan vs Mike Sorenson
This battle of Albertans was a ground war from start to finish, and came to a close very late in round one with a rear naked choke from Machan.After an early scramble, Machan took Sorenson's back while both fighters were standing and looked for a choke. Sorenson flipped to escape, but Machan was relentless. Machan continued to try to secure the rear naked choke, but Sorenson somehow escaped. This continued for the duration of the round, with Sorenson eventually rolling to his stomach. Machan landed punches that caused Sorenson's nose to bleed, and Machan used the opportunity to lock on the rear naked choke again. This time, with mere seconds left in the round, Sorenson could not escape and was forced to submit.
Winner: Ryan Machan by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:53 of round one. He improves to 7-2-0.
Josh "The Gringo" Russell vs Colby "The Cobra" Snyder
Ending the fight early in round one, Russell locked on a rear naked choke that forced the much more experienced Snyder to submit.Russell scored an early takedown and immediately worked from side-control. He first took North-South position, then moved to Snyder's back. Russell locked on a body triangle that prevented Snyder from moving, then secured a rear naked choke. Snyder could not pry Russell's forearm from underneath his chin and had to submit. Impressive victory for Russell, who is one of the coaches of UFC fighter Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald.
Winner: Josh Russell by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:43 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0.
"The Poster Boy" Aron Lofton vs Jason "The Show" Kuchera
After Lofton won their first meeting in a bloodbath at MFC 16, most expected another lengthy battle in this bout, but Lofton made very short work of Kuchera with a quick submission win.Lofton landed a solid leg kick, then staggered Kuchera with a stiff jab. Kuchera came forward with wild strikes, but was promptly taken down. As Kuchera looked to get back to his feet, Lofton locked on a tight guillotine choke that gave Kuchera his third straight loss.
Winner: Aron Lofton by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:43 of round one. He improves to 4-1-0.
Undercard Fights:
Gavin Neil defeated Alain Hernandez by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:44 of round one. He improves to 5-1-0.Jesse Clarke defeated Nolan Clark by TKO (Punches) at 4:07 of round one. He improves to 2-1-0.
Ryan "The Kid" McGillivray defeated Elliot Duff by Submission (Heel Hook) at 1:33 of round three. He improves to 7-3-0.
Easily the best Maximum Fighting Championships event to date, MFC 19's super fight between Paul Daley and John Alessio was an excellent battle, while Derrick Noble's war with Ariel Sexton ensured that the fans got more than their money's worth.
