Adrenaline MMA II Results
by Robert Sargent
Competing for just the second time in nearly seven years, MMA legend "The Croatian Sensation" Pat Miletich showed that he still has what it takes to compete, as he displayed solid striking and knocked out Thomas "Wildman" Denny at Adrenaline MMA II.
In other action, heavyweight standouts Mike Russow and "Big" Ben Rothwell both notched quick stoppage victories, though the level of competition for Rothwell was questionable.
"The Croatian Sensation" Pat Miletich vs Thomas "Wildman" Denny
Despite appearing to have problems with his mouthpiece throughout the fight, Miletich showed very impressive striking skills to go with his famous wrestling background, and knocked Denny out early in the second round.Miletich landed a big left hand just seconds into round one and scored an immediate takedown. From Denny's half-guard, Miletich moved to side-control and looked to land strikes from the top. Denny regained half-guard, but Miletich kept the pressure on. This continued for over two minutes until the fight returned to the feet. Miletich landed another quick combination and an overhand right, then knocked Denny down with punches and a throw. Miletich worked from Denny's guard for the remainder of the round, landing short punches and elbows, and easily took round one. 10-9 Miletich.
Denny landed a series of jabs to begin round two, then scored with two quick left kick, right punch combinations. Miletich replied with a stiff jab, then rocked Denny with a powerful right hook. As Denny wobbled backwards, Miletich drilled him with another massive right hand. Denny flew to the ground and Miletich pounced with more punches before the referee stopped the fight. Definitely an impressive return for Miletich.
Winner: Pat Miletich by KO (Punches) at 0:52 of round two. He improves to 29-7-2.
"Big" Ben Rothwell vs Chris "The Iron Man" Guillen
Returning after his knockout loss to Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: "Banned," former IFL heavyweight standout Rothwell made short work of his journeyman opponent, who had lost four straight and really had no business facing Rothwell in the first place.Guillen came forward with extremely sloppy strikes as Rothwell picked his spots. The fighters clinched and Guillen landed an inadvertent low blow that briefly stopped the action. Rothwell stuffed a takedown attempt and took Guillen's back, then looked for a front choke. From there, he began teeing off with punches and hammerfists while Guillen turtled and did nothing. Guillen eventually rolled over and ate a pair of body shots. Rothwell moved to side-control, then mount, and looked for an armbar. When that failed, Rothwell moved back to side-control and landed a series of elbows that resulted in Guillen submitting due to the strikes. Guillen appeared to have suffered a rib injury.
Winner: Ben Rothwell by Submission (Elbows) at 3:39 of round one. He improves to 30-6-0.
Mike Russow vs Braden Bice
Russow's opponent in this fight wasn't much better than Rothwell's in the fight after, but Russow put on a very impressive performance and remains as one of the top heavyweight prospects in the sport today.Bice landed a kick early on, but Russow caught his leg as he attempted a knee. Russow slammed Bice to the mat with what was essentially a one-arm powerbomb. Bice landed an upkick and tried to regain guard, but Russow quickly moved to side-control. Russow looked for a Kimura on Bice's left arm, then moved to North-South position. Bice initially held on, but Russow's patented North-South Choke proved to be too much and Bice submitted. Very dominant performance for Russow.
Winner: Mike Russow by Submission (North-South Choke) at 1:12 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0, 1 NC.
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs Derek Mehmen
Rebounding after a slip in round one, Ciesnolevicz came on strong in the second round and submitted his overmatched opponent with a guillotine choke.Mehmen pressed forward early on and backed Ciesnolevicz up against the cage. The overbearing referee, Todd Frederickson, who seems to always involve himself far too much in fights which he's a part of, stopped the action to warn Mehmen about grabbing the cage. After the break, Mehmen landed a flurry of four punches and put Ciesnolevicz against the cage again. Ciesnolevicz landed a solid elbow and punch, then defended a Thai clinch, but slipped while throwing a jumping head kick. Mehmen pounced and moved to half-guard, where he rained down punches.
Ciesnolevicz eventually got back to his feet, but Mehmen drilled him with numerous punches in the process. Ciesnolevicz scored with three quick punches and Mehmen replied with a knee. Both fighters scored with punches over the next two minutes, as Mehmen seemed to tire. Ciesnolevicz landed a huge right that rocked Mehmen. As Mehmen began to badly fatigue, Ciesnolevicz turned up the pressure and landed numerous punches. Mehmen tried for a late takedown, but was unsuccessful. 10-9 Ciesnolevicz.
Mehmen seemed to gain back some energy between rounds and came forward with a flurry of punches. He locked on a Thai clinch, but it was Ciesnolevicz who landed elbows. Mehmen went for a takedown and Ciesnolevicz countered with a guillotine. Mehmen escaped, but Ciesnolevicz began to dominate the striking with a variety of kicks. Mehmen went for another takedown, but Ciesnolevicz pulled guard and locked on a tight guillotine choke. This time, Mehmen could not escape and was forced to submit.
Winner: Mike Ciesnolevicz by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:45 of round two. He improves to 16-3-0, 1 NC.
Undercard Fights:
Dan "The Danimal" Loman defeated Gabe Lemley by TKO (Punches) at 1:53 of round two. Lemley dominated the first round and literally had the fight won at one point, but rather than finishing his dazed and downed opponent off with strikes, he bizarrely stood up and allowed Loman time to recover. Loman made him pay with a flurry of punches in round two. Loman improves to 11-4-0 with the win.Ryan McGivern defeated Geno Roderick by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:27 of round one. McGivern, the one-time IFL Middleweight Champion, dominated the fight from start to finish after coming out to the theme music from Halloween. McGivern improves to 13-6-0 with the win.
Pat Curran defeated Ramiro Hernandez by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. Curran, the cousin of highly-ranked featherweight "The Big Frog" Jeff Curran, controlled most of the fight en route to the clear decision victory. Curran improves to 4-1-0 with the win.
Jesse "The Ox" Lennox defeated Ryan "Bad News" Williams by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:40 of round one. He improves to 9-1-0 with the win.
Danny Rodriguez defeated David Fuentes by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:50 of round one. He improves to 3-3-0 with the win.
L.C. Davis defeated Billy "The" Kidd by Submission (Bulldog Choke) at 2:52 of round two. He improves to 12-1-0 with the win.
Adrenaline MMA II was a solid second event for the promotion, but added star power and fewer lopsided matchups will likely be needed for upcoming events to ensure continued success.
