The Score television network presented its debut solo event tonight with the Score Fighting Series 1 from the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The card was headlined by a welterweight bout between Jordan “Young Gun” Mein and Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis.
The middleweight co-main event saw Canadian MMA pioneer Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen outlast fellow UFC veteran Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti, and “The African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou narrowly edged out late replacement opponent Roy Boughton in light heavyweight action.
The back-and-forth bout between Mein and Zaromskis began with a rolling wheel kick from the DREAM Welterweight Champion, but it was Mein who scored with effective combinations of punches and kicks in the opening round. The Canadian employed quick one-two combos and attempted a series of head kicks; typically a trademark of his Lithuanian foe. Zaromskis answered with head kicks of his own, but Mein was unfazed and remained aggressive until shooting for a takedown late in the opening round.
Mein opened the second stanza with a right cross and a leg kick and both fighters missed with standing backfists. Zaromskis stuck to unorthodox strikes and threw a series of spinning kicks and backfists, to limited success. Mein scored with a three-punch flurry and Zaromskis answered with a solid leg kick. He began to take control with more kicks, but missed with a double spinning backfist and Mein countered with punches late in the close round.
With the fight potentially still up for grabs, Mein landed punches to begin the final round and the fighters traded kicks. Zaromskis stuck to the outside and picked his shots while Mein looked to set up power strikes with quick one-twos. The fighters traded spinning backfists and jabs, and Zaromskis followed with a body kick. Both scored with hard punches in an exchange in close, and Mein looked to hold an advantage. However, Zaromskis closed out the razor-thin round with a takedown and the fight went to the judges.
Winner: Jordan Mein by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 22-7-0.
In a bout that some expected would be less than thrilling, Doerksen and Fioravanti engaged in a high-paced battle through three rounds. Doerksen scored with kicks to the leg and body early on, and Fioravanti responded with a pair of counter hooks in close. Doerksen knocked Fioravanti to the mat with a right cross, but Fioravanti returned to his feet and missed with a looping overhand right. Doerksen took Fioravanti down, then dragged him to the mat a second time after Fioravanti stood. Doerksen moved to half-guard and attempted to take Fioravanti’s back before the bell.
Both fighters missed with punches early in the second round, and it was Fioravanti who finally connected with a pair of hooks. Doerksen clinched and tried for a takedown soon after, but Fioravanti had none of it. Fioravanti scored with a right cross and two more hooks, as he began to find success in the striking exchanges. He caught a kick and countered with a right hand, then threw Doerksen to the mat. Doerksen upkicked from the bottom and Fioravanti fell. The fighters stood and traded haymaker punches, and Doerksen reversed a throw before the end of the round.
Doerksen was effective with jabs and leg kicks in the final round, as Fioravanti struggled to find his range. Doerksen landed knees to the body and mixed in kicks and quick punches, but Fioravanti countered nicely with a right hook and a hard leg kick. Doerksen scored a takedown and punched to Fioravanti’s ribs until referee Josh Rosenthal stood the fighters up. Both fighters landed punches and Doerksen avoided a takedown in the final seconds.
Winner: Joe Doerksen by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 47-15-0.
Sokoudjou hurt Boughton with leg kicks early in their bout, and he avoided a head kick and an uppercut. He threw Boughton to the mat, but Boughton stood and backed his opponent up to the cage. Sokoudjou reversed and tossed him to the mat, but allowed Boughton to stand and backed away. Boughton attempted a takedown, but Sokoudjou countered with elbows and threw Boughton down again. He struck from the top before the round came to a close.
The second round began slowly until Sokoudjou rocked Boughton with a counter left hook. Sokoudjou followed with a spinning back kick to the body and two leg kicks, and Boughton responded with weak kicks that missed the mark. Sokoudjou found success with another kick to the body and an uppercut, then sprawled out of a takedown attempt. The fighters clinched late in the round as the pace slowed.
Both fighters appeared to be fatigued in the final round, but it was Sokoudjou whose notoriously shaky gas tank seemed to pose the bigger problem. Boughton twice clinched against the cage in the opening minutes, but was unable to take his tiring opponent to the mat. A third attempt yielded success and Boughton landed short hammerfists from Sokoudjou’s guard. Boughton moved to mount and scored with elbows, but Sokoudjou got back to side control and fought off a rear-naked choke attempt in a scramble. He stood and countered a takedown, then landed an elbow at the bell.
Winner: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-8-0.
In action earlier in the evening, Antonio “Pato” Carvalho earned a close but Unanimous Decision over UFC veteran Douglas Evans in a relatively uninspiring performance. Carvalho’s kicks were a deciding factor on the feet, and he was able to score with strikes and submission attempts on the ground. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 in Carvalho’s favour, though the fight appeared to be closer than the scores would indicate.
Winner: Antonio Carvalho by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 13-4-0.
Nick “Garfield” Mamalis walked away with a razor-thin and somewhat controversial Split Decision win over Adrian Wooley in the night’s first main card bout. Mamalis hurt Wooley with knees and an uppercut in the first round, but Wooley recovered and appeared to take over in rounds two and three with effective striking and takedowns. Ultimately, two judges sided with Mamalis, whose victory was met with a chorus of boos.
Winner: Nick Mamalis by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 17-7-0, 1 NC.
Undercard Fights:
Josh Hill defeated Darin “Whitey” Cooley by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 6-0-0 with the win.
Kurt Southern defeated Jorge Britto by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-3-0 with the win.
Tristan Johnson defeated William “Leon” Romero by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 6-2-0 with the win.
Alex Ricci defeated Mike Sledzion by KO (Punch) at 1:24 of round two. He improves to 2-0-0 with the win.
Mike Reilly defeated Tyler “Hollywood” Hardcastle by KO (Slam) at 2:02 of round two. He improves to 3-1-0 with the win.