Shark Fights returned to HDNet tonight for Shark Fights 17 from the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas. The card was headlined by a middleweight rematch between Matt “Suave” Horwich and Jake Rosholt. The two first faced off in November, where Horwich picked up a third-round victory.
The co-main event featured another fighter dubbed “Suave,” as former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez squared off with Doug Williams in a 230-pound catchweight fight. Williams took the fight on less than one day’s notice. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s main card.
Jake Rosholt vs Matt “Suave” Horwich
Round 1:
Rosholt landed a leg kick early on as the fighters circled and Horwich fired back with a lead left hook. A one-two and a leg kick landed for Rosholt and Horwich answered with a running flurry of punches. Rosholt clinched, but Horwich landed a knee and broke free. He flurried with punches again and landed two knees.
Rosholt landed a body kick and ate a counter combination. He sent Horwich off-balance with a leg kick, then landed a left to the body. Both fighters continued to target the body and Rosholt connected with a counter one-two that backed Horwich up. Rosholt tripped Horwich to the mat and stood over him. He threw a handful of punches before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Rosholt, barely.
Round 2:
Horwich landed quick and unorthodox punches in the second round and clinched, but Rosholt drilled him with a knee and just missed with a jumping front kick. Leg kicks landed for both and Horwich flurried. Rosholt tried to take him down, but Horwich remained on his feet against the cage. Rosholt tripped Horwich and stood over him, but landed little before Horwich stood up.
Horwich landed a hard combination in close and Rosholt clinched once more. He backed away with a combination and Horwich landed a knee. Rosholt missed with one of his own, but landed a lead left hook. Horwich threw a head kick and Rosholt answered with a left hook. The tape on his glove nearly came off entirely, but the referee refused to pause the action to fix it. Rosholt scored a takedown in the final seconds. 10-9 Rosholt.
Round 3:
Horwich caught a kick and clinched in round three, but his attempt to pull guard failed. Rosholt stood over him and Horwich got back to his feet. The fighters clinched, but broke apart soon after and Rosholt missed with a sloppy jumping knee. A counterpunch cut Horwich near the right eye, but he rushed forward with punches and another clinch followed. Horwich threw a rapid-fire flurry and most of the punches landed.
Rosholt defended a takedown and stood over Horwich again. Back on the feet, both fighters landed punches before clinching against the cage. The crowd grew restless and Rosholt landed a left hook. Horwich missed with punches and Rosholt threw a sloppy jumping kick that missed. He took Horwich down and stood over him. Horwich landed an upkick and stood. Rosholt landed a grazing spinning backfist and a left hook. 10-9 Rosholt.
Winner: Jake Rosholt by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 12-3-0, 1 NC.
Ricco “Suave” Rodriguez vs Doug “The Carthage Killer” Williams
Round 1:
Rodriguez landed a body kick early on and took Williams down against the cage. He set up an arm-triangle choke and moved to mount. Rodriguez looked to switch to an armbar, but Williams defended. From mount, Rodriguez landed two elbows that cut Williams, then took his back and secured a rear-naked choke for the academic finish. The quick win was Rodriguez’s second over the vastly overmatched Williams.
Winner: Ricco Rodriguez by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:16 of round one. He improves to 47-11-0.
Emanuel “The Hardcore Kid” Newton vs Ilir “The Sledgehammer” Latifi
Round 1:
The fighters circled early on and Newton landed kicks to the body. He avoided a counter right hand from Latifi and threw a side kick. A nice right hook scored for Latifi and he swarmed with looping punches. Newton used superior head movement and quick counterpunches and knees to get the better of the exchange, but Latifi backed him up to the cage with strikes.
Newton clinched and landed knees as Latifi threw a right hook over the top. More knees landed for Newton as the fighters battled for position in the clinch. Newton broke free and threw a one-two and a pair of head kicks. More kicks followed from Newton as Latifi did little more than circle away. The fighters clinched late in the round. 10-9 Newton.
Round 2:
Right hands landed for both fighters in the early goings of round two and Newton flashed out a head kick as the pace slowed. A brief exchange of strikes saw Latifi land a left hook before backing away. Newton threw another kick, but came up short. Latifi blocked a high kick and continued to circle away.
Newton connected with a right hook and avoided a one-two. Latifi clinched and looked for a takedown. Newton shrugged him off and landed a kick to the upper body. Newton threw two side kicks and Latifi countered with punches and clinched. Newton circled out and landed a body kick. Uneventful round. 10-9 Newton.
Round 3:
Newton looked to land flashy front and side kicks in the final round, but Latifi stayed out of range. Newton scored a brief takedown, but Latifi immediately scrambled up to his feet. A one-two and a head kick landed for Newton, but Latifi was unfazed and resumed backpedalling.
Latifi finally landed a big combination in close, but Newton countered with two punches and moved away from the fence. Newton threw more flashy and ineffective side kicks until Latifi backed him up with a flurry. Newton replied with kicks, but Latifi drilled him with a hard flurry late in the lacklustre fight. 10-9 Latifi, barely.
Latifi was initially announced as the winner by mistake, in an error attributed to the in-cage announcer. After a chorus of shocked boos, Newton was correctly listed as the victor.
Winner: Emanuel Newton by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-6-1.
Erik “El Goyito” Perez vs Douglas Frey
Round 1:
Frey opened the fight with a combination and Perez answered with solid kicks. The fighters traded power punches in close and Perez caught a leg kick. Frey got his leg free, but Perez scored with a leg kick and a right hook. Frey answered with a knee in close and Perez landed one of his own. A lead right hook and a knee scored for Frey and both landed hard right hooks. Perez tripped Frey briefly, but Frey stood. Perez dragged Frey to the mat and took his back.
Perez locked on a tight rear-naked choke, but Frey managed to spin to the side and escaped. He took top position and landed an elbow as Perez worked for an armbar. Perez wound up on top after a scramble and tried to pass to side control. He took Frey’s back again, then turned into mount. Frey rolled back over and Perez flattened him out. He secured another rear-naked choke and Frey somehow escaped again. Perez unloaded with punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Perez.
Round 2:
Perez landed punches to open round two and Frey responded with a right hook. He targeted the body and landed a right cross soon after. Perez clinched and landed a knee, but Frey took him down and landed in side control. Frey secured a power guillotine choke in a scramble, but Perez freed himself and punched from Frey’s guard. He postured up and landed more punches as Frey defended from the bottom.
Frey pushed Perez off and latched onto a leg, but Perez backed away. Perez shot in and scored a takedown in the centre of the cage. He moved to mount and isolated Frey’s left arm while throwing punches. Perez postured up with punches, then took back control. He worked for a rear-naked choke while trapping Frey in a body triangle. Frey made it to the bell. 10-9 Perez.
Round 3:
Perez landed punches in the final round and Frey answered with strikes of his own before taking Perez down. He secured a guillotine choke and pulled guard, but Perez pushed his way out and wound up on top in Frey’s guard. Frey tried to set up a triangle choke, but Perez used the opportunity to pass to half-guard. Frey regained guard as Perez threw punches.
The fighters were stood up for no apparent reason and Perez missed with a looping hook. Frey landed a knee, but Perez caught a kick and landed kicks and a knee while Frey balanced on one leg. Perez took Frey down against the cage and tried to move to half-guard, but Frey scrambled out and the fighters stood. Frey scored a takedown of his own, but Perez stood. Frey landed a left hook, but ate knees and a right hand. 10-9 Perez.
Winner: Erik Perez by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 8-5-0.
Alan Jouban vs Andrew Goldthwaite
Round 1:
Goldthwaite opened up aggressively with punches, but Jouban quickly took him down. He landed on top in side control and threw knees to the body. Jouban secured a front headlock as Goldthwaite stood and used it to throw Goldthwaite back down to the mat.
Jouban landed elbows and looked to move to mount. Goldthwaite scrambled to his feet and was immediately taken down again. Jouban moved to mount and threw more elbows, then locked on a triangle choke. Goldthwaite survived until the bell. Dominant 10-9 round for Jouban.
Round 2:
Leg kicks were exchanged in round two and Goldthwaite threw a head kick that was blocked. Both fighters slipped on the canvas while trading punches in close and Jouban hurt Goldthwaite with kicks. He backed him up with a trio of lunging punches, then rocked him with a one-two.
Goldthwaite survived the punches and circled away, but Jouban remained aggressive and landed more kicks and punches. He followed with a spinning back elbow and more punches. A running one-two dropped Goldthwaite and Jouban ended the round on top. 10-9 Jouban.
Round 3:
Jouban landed a hard right hand and a knee in round three, then tripped Goldthwaite to the mat. He tried to set up a triangle choke, but wound up on the bottom with Goldthwaite in his guard. Jouban elbowed from the bottom and kept Goldthwaite trapped in a partial rubber guard.
More elbows landed for Jouban and he prevented Goldthwaite from posturing up to throw strikes. The fighters were stood up and Goldthwaite threw a quick flurry. Jouban blocked them and countered with a body kick and a three-punch combo that dropped Goldthwaite to the mat, unconscious.
Winner: Alan Jouban by KO (Punches) at 2:37 of round three. He improves to 2-1-0.
Undercard Fights:
Victor Hernandez defeated Quaint “K.O.” Kempf by Submission (Armbar) at 1:06 of round one. He improves to 4-13-0 with the win.
Matt “The Crowbar” Hobar defeated Jay Flores by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:55 of round one. He improves to 3-0-0 with the win.