Manny Reyes

Ft. Lauderdale, FL-Thirty-seven seconds was all it took to end one of the most controversial fights in Florida’s MMA history. Manny Reyes didn’t bring much MMA experience to the ring but he sure brought hype and attitude to his fight against UFC vet Hermes Franca. The fight was not only spectacularly one-sided but seemed to be a pain in the ass to everyone with the rule changes including a single ten-minute round and automatic draw in the case of time running out. The only running out in this fight were the EMTs responding to Hermes’ KO with hammer fists from a knee-on-belly position.

On the same card two UFC vets from Team Elite came to town with Mike Brown successfully defending his Bantamweight belt by unanimous decision and Keith Rockel losing by armbar to Charles McCarthy. No controversy surrounded Brown’s domination of ATT’s Renato Tavares while there was definitely a buzz after the show about Rockel’s loss.

Mike Brown

In the second round Rockel had a rear choke from top position to the point in Shooto a "catch" would be called but the fighters were about half way under the ropes. Although it appeared McCarthy was going unconscious with eyes definitely glazing then closed the ref stopped the fighters to reposition them closer to the center of the ring. Of course Charles gathered his wits and lowered his chin before the action restarted, resulting in Keith not having the full choke when the fight restarted. Charles did a great job going on to win the fight and definitely deserves credit for many points in the first round but that issue of at what point the fighters are not far enough out of the ring to be a threat is likely to be discussed at least in Florida for some time.

The true champion of the show was Dave Strasser. This UFC vet had only one fighter on the card after medical requirement issues prevented the match with Brian Geraghty/Scott Johnson but he cornered three other fighters this evening out of a total of seen fights. An AFC card just doesn’t seem complete without a draw and this card was no exception with Peter Walker and Rob Smith taking home the dubious distinction of ‘draw of the night’ in the only Heavyweight fight on the card. Finally from a team perspective ATT had their roughest night since their debut in KOTC, going 0-1-1 off of Tavares and Walker. Hermes is really BTT now but the schools are intertwined so counting him and Raphael Diaz they went 2-1-1. Boca’s fight was one of the ones to be cancelled due to medical requirements when Luigi Fioravanti didn’t get his Hepatitis work in on time.

Penn has become one of the hottest commodities in the sport of mixed martial arts since he achieved what most dismissed as the impossible by climbing from The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)’s 154 pound limit weight division to its 168 pound limit class and easily defeating reigning champion Matt Hughes by way of rear naked choke to claim the latter’s 168-pound limit title on January 31st. Following the magnificent win over Hughes in the octagon, the 25-year-old Hawaiian successfully showcased his skills in Japan where he secured a victory over world Muay Thai champion and mixed martial arts contender, Duane Ludwig, by way of arm triangle choke during K-1’s inaugural mixed martial arts event on May 22nd.

One of seven brothers who boast the heritage of martial arts fighting’s most decorated family name, Rodrigo has continued a tradition of excellence pioneered by his elder siblings during his first five mixed martial arts starts. A winner of four consecutive matchups in Japan, the 29-year-old earned his greatest victory to date during his last outing when he gained a unanimous judges decision over heralded contender, Hayato Sakurai, on February 15th.

For his part, the 24-year-old Williams will make his fourth-career bid under mixed martial rules when he faces fellow American Tom "Green Beret" Howard (0-2). Last May, the California native, who has gained widespread recognition for his uncommon mix of knockout power and foot speed, shot to stardom by claiming wins over three consecutive opponents as an 18 to 1 underdog during the annual, spring K-1 USA tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. After earning a judges’ decision victory over defending tournament champion, Michael McDonald, Williams went on to score knockouts over Yusuke Fujimoto and six-time world kickboxing champion, Rick "The Jet" Roufus, respectively.

Royler, another member of the famed family that brought the fighting art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the forefront of the martial arts world and cemented its worth in mixed martial arts competition, will lock horns with Kazuyuki Miyata (7-1-4).

The Honolulu event will also host the returns of UFC heavyweight veterans Wesley "Cabbage" Correira (13-6) and Wes "The Project" Sims (5-5) as well as undefeated big man Sean O’Hare (17-0). The hard-punching Correira, whose last UFC appearance saw him stop legendary brawler, David "Tank" Abbott, will face Yoshihiro Nakao (1-1) of Japan. A giant at 6’9" and 255 pounds, Sims will take on Holland kickboxing and jiu-jitsu stylist, Antoni Hardonk (9-3), and will attempt to turn around his recent competitive misfortunes that have found him winless during his last four attempts. The 6’6", 275 pound O’Hare will do battle with Japan’s Shungo Oyama (2-6).

Tickets for Saturday, November 20th’s Rumble on the Rock 6 event are priced at $30, $60, $65, $100, $150, and $200, respectively, and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com as well as at all Ticketmaster locations.