MFC 21: "Hard Knocks" Results
by Robert Sargent
Crowning a new champion, Maximum Fighting Championship's latest event concluded with a war that saw Trevor Prangley capture the MFC Light Heavyweight Championship, while former wrestler Bobby Lashley decimated Mike Cook in just 24 seconds.
Also on the main card, former UFC and WEC star John "The Natural" Alessio rebounded after two tough losses by submitting Andrew Buckland with a rear naked choke in the first round.
MFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Trevor Prangley vs Emanuel "The Hardcore Kid" Newton
In a close and competitive battle, Prangley seemed to be completely gassed by the end of round one, but somehow continued to push the pace and used effective strikes to capture the title.An exchange of punches began round one and Newton landed a nice uppercut and two body kicks. Prangley caught the leg and looked for a takedown, but Newton threw him to the canvas. Prangley stood and Newton attempted a takedown, then backed away and landed an overhand right. Prangley scored with a right cross and a kick to the body, but Newton shrugged him off. Newton landed a knee in a clinch, but was thrown to the mat with a Judo toss. Prangley secured a guillotine choke, but quickly let it go as Newton stood up. Prangley defended a takedown and tried for another Judo throw. Both fighters landed knees in a clinch and Newton scored a brief takedown. Prangley got up, but was slammed down again. He stood once more, but already looked to be very tired. He landed a quick combination before the bell ended the close round. 10-9 Newton.
Both fighters scored with looping hooks early in round two, with Newton adding in a pair of body kicks. An exchange followed, with Newton landing quick punches and Prangley countering with another big hook. Prangley landed a body shot and time was briefly called to warn both fighters about accidental head butts. Prangley scored with a hard kick to the leg and seemed to regain some energy. He landed a right hook and a stiff kick to the body, then followed up with another combination against the ropes. Newton clinched and scored a partial takedown, then landed knees to the body. Prangley stood up and landed knees of his own. He tripped Newton to the mat and looked to pass to mount. Prangley landed a series of short punches from the top, then postured up and landed big elbow strikes. Newton fought back to his feet, but neither fighter landed any solid strikes before the bell. 10-9 Prangley.
Newton forced Prangley to backpedal with a one-two early in round three, and Prangley twisted his ankle quite badly in the process. He fought on, however, and the fighters exchanged strikes in a clinch. Prangley's ankle seemed to be okay, as he landed a hard leg kick. Newton pressed forward with quick combinations, but Prangley countered with big punches and an uppercut. Prangley scored with an overhand right, but was hit with a low blow in a clinch. Without warning, referee John McCarthy deducted a point from Newton. Prangley, bleeding from the cheek, scored with a flurry and an overhand right, but was drilled by a head kick from Newton. From the clinch, Newton looked to land knees, and another exchange of kicks and punches followed. Prangley landed leg kicks and a hook to the body, then more strikes in a clinch. Newton fired back, but was hit with another leg kick and a left hook. Two more hard punches landed for Prangley. 10-8 Prangley.
Prangley opened up round four with power punches, but was met with a kick to the liver. An uppercut from Prangley set up a wild exchange where both fighters scored. Newton just missed with a vicious overhand right and was hit with two hard counterpunches. Prangley landed more punches and pushed forward, then caught a low kick from Newton. Two hard leg kicks landed for Prangley, but he fell after Newton landed a grazing punch. Prangley immediately got up and scored a brief takedown, then landed a huge knee to the face as Newton stood up. Another leg kick landed for Prangley, as the pace slowed. Newton's left eye was badly swollen, but he scored with a combination. Both fighters landed knees in a clinch, and Prangley broke free with punches. A quick exchange ended the round. 10-9 Prangley.
Though Prangley seemed to have an edge coming into round five, rounds two and four could easily have gone Newton's way, and Prangley stayed aggressive with leg kicks early in the final round. A pair of uppercuts landed for Prangley in close, but Newton replied with a combination. Big leg kicks landed for Prangley, who followed up with a hook to the body. Newton landed a looping right hook, but Prangley scored with another uppercut. A big exchange of wild hooks ensued. Prangley landed an inadvertent low blow, but was not punished. Action resumed and the fighters traded quick punches and body kicks. Prangley stuffed a takedown and attempted a head kick. He landed an uppercut in an exchange, then another one seconds later. After one more flurry, Prangley briefly tried for a takedown, then floored Newton with a head kick right as the bell sounded. Prangley reinjured his foot in the process, but it no longer mattered. 10-9 Prangley.
With many of the rounds being close enough to go to either fighter, aside from round three where Newton suffered a point deduction, the fight wasn't necessarily a sure-win for Prangley as it went to the scorecards. Two judges had evidently scored one of the rounds even at 10-10 (or had forgotten to deduct a point from Newton in round three), while the third judge gave three rounds to Prangley, who took the Unanimous Decision and the title.
Winner: Trevor Prangley by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-46) after five rounds. He improves to 20-5-0 and becomes the new MFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Bobby "The Dominator" Lashley vs Mike "The Animal" Cook
Despite clearly needing to work more on his striking proficiency, Lashley got his revenge on Cook in short fashion, as he punished Cook for mocking his WWE past with lucha libre pro wrestling masks and quickly choked him unconscious.Lashley rushed in and threw a right cross with the wrong leg forward - which looked terribly amateurish - and sprawled to defend a takedown attempt from Cook. He locked on a front choke and used it to drag Cook to the mat. Within three seconds, Cook was already completely unconscious and fell forward on his face, but his body then convulsed on the canvas for a full eight seconds before it became clear that he was actually out. Referee John McCarthy quickly waved off the fight. Absolutely ridiculous upper-body strength from Lashley.
Winner: Bobby Lashley by Technical Submission (Front Choke) at 0:24 of round one. He improves to 3-0-0.
Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith vs David Heath
Following an accidental low blow from Galbraith, this fight featured back-and-forth trash talking for much of the latter half, and Heath quickly ran out of the ring after two judges did not return scores in his favour.The fighters circled each other to begin the fight and Heath scored with a lightning-fast combination. He landed another flurry seconds later, as Galbraith preferred to kick from the outside. An exchange of hard leg kicks followed, and Heath landed a nice one-two. Galbraith attempted a head kick, but it was blocked. He scored with another leg kick and was inadvertently poked in the eye. Heath landed a quick one-two in the corner, and both fighters threw big punches in an exchange. Galbraith landed a body kick and partially landed a head kick. Heath replied with a kick to Galbraith's lead leg, then an overhand right. Another kick landed for Heath, and both fighters teed off as the bell sounded. Extremely difficult round to score. 10-9 Heath. Barely.
Heath looked to land haymakers in round two, but Galbraith clinched and both landed knees. A kick from Galbraith went low, but action quickly resumed. Trash talking began between the fighters, and both missed with spinning back kicks. Galbraith followed up with a head kick. A quick flurry landed for Galbraith, and the trash talking continued. Another kick strayed low from Galbraith and time was briefly called. The fight continued and Galbraith landed a liver kick. Heath fired back a head kick, which was blocked. A body kick and a quick flurry landed for Heath, which set off an exchange where Heath landed punches and Galbraith scored with a kick and a knee to the body. Galbraith landed a leg kick and both scored with jabs. Galbraith landed a one-two and more jabs. He landed more punches and a body kick, then just missed with a spinning back fist. Another close round. 10-9 Galbraith.
An exchange of leg kicks began round three, and Heath followed with a stiff jab and a hard kick to the liver. Galbraith fired off kicks of his own and finally looked for a takedown, but Heath was hit with a knee to the groin in a clinch. Time was called, but action soon resumed and Galbraith landed another body kick. From a clinch, Galbraith looked to score a trip takedown, but landed knees instead. More knees were exchanged in another clinch, and action slowed as the fighters separated. Galbraith caught a kick from Heath and landed a grazing spinning back elbow strike. Galbraith landed a right cross and another body kick, but Heath took a finger to the eye. He was extremely displeased, but continued. Galbraith landed a kick to the liver and one to the head, then a push kick to the body. A quick exchange ended the fight. 10-9 Galbraith.
Two judges scored the close fight in favour of Galbraith, as an unhappy Heath stormed out of the ring.
Winner: Travis Galbraith by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 17-6-0.
John "The Natural" Alessio vs Andrew Buckland
Getting back on the winning track, Alessio landed a big left hook and took the fight to the mat, then transitioned to Buckland's back and secured a rear naked choke that ended the fight in short fashion.Buckland opened up with low and high kicks, but Alessio found his range and landed a nice one-two. More kicks landed for Buckland and the fighters clinched, where Alessio rocked Buckland badly with a left hook. Buckland shot for a desperation takedown, but Alessio sprawled and used a modified guillotine choke to keep Buckland down. He moved to side-control and pinned Buckland's arms down, then landed short punches and moved to mount. Alessio landed more punches and elbows, which prompted Buckland to give up his back. Alessio sunk in a rear naked choke and Buckland immediately tapped out. Great win for Alessio.
Winner: John Alessio by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:52 of round one. He improves to 25-13-0.
Ryan "The Big Deal" Jimmo vs Mychal "Bolo" Clark
Dominating the fight on the ground, TUF Season 8 alum Jimmo was unable to finish Clark but left no doubt in the judges' minds, as he walked away with a lopsided Unanimous Decision victory.Quick exchanges of kicks and punches highlighted the opening two minutes, as both fighters looked to find their range. Jimmo clinched and scored a takedown, then worked from side-control. Clark tried to get to his feet, but Jimmo had none of it. Jimmo landed short punches, but Clark scrambled and stood up, then scored a takedown of his own. Clark tried to posture up to land strikes, but Jimmo held him in place and swept to reverse position. From mount, Jimmo landed punches and elbows. Clark held on to avoid as much punishment as possible, but Jimmo landed more big elbows before the bell. 10-9 Jimmo.
Jimmo landed two quick punches and clinched early in round two, then locked on a loose standing guillotine choke. He let it go and tripped Clark to the mat, then worked from half-guard. Jimmo landed short elbow and forearm strikes, but was unable to do much damage. Clark regained guard and Jimmo threw punches from the top. Jimmo passed to half-guard and landed more punches with his free hand, but Clark got to his feet. Jimmo threw him back down to the mat with a front choke, then pinned down Clark's arm and landed strikes from side-control. Clark scrambled and tried for a kneebar, but Jimmo rolled and wound up in Clark's guard. Jimmo continued to land small punches and elbows from the top until the bell. 10-9 Jimmo.
The fighters circled each other early in round three, then traded punches and clinched in the corner. Both fighters landed knees, but Jimmo scored a takedown. From side-control, Jimmo trapped Clark's head and landed short punches with his right hand. He added in elbow strikes, but could not do much damage. Clark worked back to his feet and looked for a takedown of his own, but Jimmo held on as the pace slowed. Clark landed a few knees and attempted a spinning back elbow, but was thrown to the mat again. Jimmo landed more elbows from side-control and escaped last-ditch Kimura and kneebar attempts from Clark. Jimmo moved to mount and landed small punches to end the fight. 10-9 Jimmo.
As both fighters had performed some flashy dance moves during their walks to the ring, Jimmo aptly followed up with an impressive version of the Robot after the judges' scores were read.
Winner: Ryan Jimmo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 10-1-0.
Marvin "The Beastman" Eastman vs Aron "The Poster Boy" Lofton
Following a back-and-forth first round, where Eastman had to recover from a rather devastating low blow, this fight ended early in round two after a barrage of elbow strikes from Eastman ended Lofton's night.Eastman shot in for a takedown early on, but Lofton stuffed it and drilled him with an accidental knee to the groin. Eastman took quite a while to recover from the obviously painful blow, but perservered and the fight continued. Lofton pressed forward with punches and Eastman clinched again. Lofton landed knees to the body, but Eastman landed a knee to the face. Lofton attempted a high kick and countered a takedown attempt by using a guillotine choke to push Eastman to the ground. He let go of the choke and switched to a Kimura, but Eastman sat up and moved to Lofton's half-guard. Lofton continued to try to wrench back on the Kimura, but Eastman broke free. Eastman attempted a guillotine, but Lofton stood up in the corner. The fighters traded knees and referee John McCarthy separated them. Lofton looked to score with big punches, but Eastman slammed him to the mat. Eastman landed punches and short elbows until the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Eastman.
Lofton opened round two with a body kick and an overhand right, but was promptly taken down. Eastman landed punches to create distance, then stood up and rained down a series of big elbow strikes. More elbows followed, which cut Lofton's forehead and face. After another barrage of elbows sent Lofton partially outside of the ring, the fight was waved off, giving Eastman an impressive stoppage victory.
Winner: Marvin Eastman by TKO (Elbows) at 0:58 of round two. He improves to 16-9-1.
Undercard Fights:
William Richey defeated Ryan Fortin by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 4-0-0 with the win.Jason Heit defeated Jeremy Combrink by Submission (Punches) at 4:17 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0 with the win.
Dwayne Lewis defeated Jay Whitford by KO (Knee & Punches) at 0:29 of round one. He improves to 8-4-0 with the win.
George Belanger defeated Nolan Clarke by TKO (Punches) at 4:40 of round two. He improves to 2-1-0 with the win.
While his appearance for the promotion may have been a one-time deal, Bobby Lashley's destruction of Mike Cook left the fans abuzz, and impressive stoppage victories for John Alessio and Marvin Eastman ensured that this great card had more to offer than just a championship main event.
