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Sunday, Jul 16, 2006

Total Combat 15



Total Combat 15
By Steven Marrocco

Breaking ground on big city San Diego for the first time ever, Total Combat 15 hosted a night of very competitive fights at the San Diego Sports Arena. Despite TC’s electing to only use half of the arena due to cost concerns, they proved that hungry fighters and scantily clad dancers always make up for any lack of pomp and circumstance.

Coming into the ring, Tony "Tiger" Velarde gave his best impression of his animal namesake as he screamed at his opponent, Josh Tampsen, before flattening him with an overhand left in the opening stanza of the bout. From there, he pounced on Tampsen, landing a few more shots before the referee had seen enough and stopped the bout. It was all over in 14 seconds.

Joey Rodanzzo quickly took Christian Vargas down in response to Vargas’ attempt at a flying knee and spinning backfist. After Rodanzzo’s brief attempt to get Vargas against the cage, Vargas was able to reverse and take Rodanzzo’s back, sinking in a rear-naked choke in the first round.

After a brief appearance by UFC vet Brandon "The Truth" Vera, TC Welterweight champion Juan Miranda made short work of Aric Nelson, reversing an attempted headlock takedown and getting Nelson’s back, where he quickly sunk in a rear-naked choke that rendered Nelson unconscious within five or six seconds. Upon regaining consciousness, Nelson smiled widely at the referees and doctors, laughing boisterously at his twist of fate. Asked later if he had heard the referee’s command to open his eyes, he said it was the last thing he heard before entering a dream about getting some really good sleep in preparation for his fight.

Next was an incredibly competitive bantamweight bout between showman Ian McCall and Chris David. The first round saw McCall take down David on several occasions, who responded by attempting many guillotine chokes before being slammed to the mat. From there, he was able to neutralize McCall’s punishment from his back by rolling out into a ground clinch before standing up. The second round saw more of the same, as McCall shot in on David and worked to minimize David’s guillotine attempts. After a brief pause in action, a rowdy female fan yelled, "You’re getting tired!" to which McCall winked at her and playfully shushed her, suggesting she was on to him. The third and final round saw McCall become more brazen in his attacks, attempting several Karate Kid flying roundhouses before taking David down. Ultimately, the pressure he put on David was the deciding factor in the fight, as David was never able to hit his stride, and McCall walked away with a unanimous decision.

TC Heavyweight champ Gary Padilla was clearly the fan favorite walking into his bout with newcomer Thierry Sokoudjo. However, Sokoudjo quickly showed a composure beyond his professional experience in stuffing Gary’s relentless single leg takedown attempts, countering with overhand rights that always seemed to find their mark. After the first round, it was clear Padilla had not only burned most of his energy trying to take Sokoudjo down, but had also lost the will to brave Sokoudjo’s powerful kicks and counter punches. Despite long stretches of inactivity, it was Sokoudjo’s striking accuracy and dutiful takedown defense that won him a split decision against Padilla.

In another heavyweight fight, UFC vet Wade Shipp used his jiu-jitsu skills to counteract the wrestling abilities of Allen Sullivan, who landed takedowns but did not do any damage from the top position. After slamming Shipp to the mat, Sullivan gassed as Shipp maneuvered around him and took his back, sinking in a body triangle that drained his energy to fight a rear naked choke Shipp was gunning for. A few minutes into his defense, Sullivan tapped out before the choke was sunk in.

Next up was another extremely competitive bout between Dave Hisquierdo and Dominic Cruz. Particularly throughout the first round, Cruz was particularly adept at landing a one-two body head combo, while Hisquierdo chose to counterpunch before taking Cruz down. The fight went back and forth throughout all three rounds, Hisquierdo dropping Cruz on two different occasions and Cruz returning the favor on another, with Cruz getting the upperhand on the ground as he worked his elbows and punches from the top position. Ultimately, it was this advantage that gave Cruz the split decision. Backstage, both men acknowledged they had fought a war and had gained tremendous respect for the other.

In the main event of the evening, undefeated Chance Ferrar took on the highly animated and also undefeated Shawn Bias. It looked to be Chance’s night as he landed a huge slam that bounced Bias’ head off the canvas and sent the audience into a frenzy, but Bias was able to maintain his composure and reverse Ferrar on two different occasions before pulling a slick transition to an armbar from the side of Ferrar’s back that forced him to tap at 4:29 of the first round.

Final Results of Total Combat 15:

Tony Velarde def. John Tampsen by knockout in R1.
Christian Vargas def. Joey Rodanzzo by rear-naked choke in R1.
Juan Miranda def. Aric Nelson by rear naked choke in R1.
Ian McCall def. Chris David by unanimous decision at the end of R3.
Thierry Sokoudjo def. Gary Padilla by split decision at the end of R3.
Wade Shipp def. Allen Sullivan by rear-naked choke in R2.
Dominic Cruz def. Dave Hisquierdo by split decision at the end of R3.
Shawn Bias def. Chance Ferrar by armbar in R1.



Chute Boxe master coming back, Ninja gets BJJ black belt, Shaolin eager to fight, Shogun looking for rematch, Bushido WW GP news and more!

The Brazilian Beat:

We are only halfway through July and so much has happened already in MMA over the course of this month. From the action of the second round matches of the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix, to the pairing of the competitors for the next round, a series of UFC bouts and an announcement of a possible fight for the near future that has been shaking up the imagination of MMA fans worldwide, excitement has been tone for the seventh month of the year. Looking ahead, many promising things are shaping up nicely. Needless to say, if there are many happenings taking place in the MMA world currently, there are also many things boiling on the Brazilian scene, with many things going on at camps such as Chute Boxe and BTT, fights being paired and the usual share of new shows coming up; so after a brief hiatus, we’re here once again to update you a little bit on the latest from a country that is showing more passion in its MMA representatives, than what other famous and traditional Brazilian sports have been showing in world-level competition, as Full Contact Fighter brings the beat and makes it sound out loud as always, in typical Brazilian style, enjoy!

  • Training is intense right now at the Brazilian Top Team camp in Rio de Janeiro, with Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira getting himself ready to face "The Baby Face Assassin" Josh Barnett at the finals of the Open-weight Grand Prix this coming September. This fight could possibly be the first of two fights in the same night; if Nogueira wins he’ll advance to face the winner of Wanderlei Silva vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. However, before this Minotauro outing comes up, another BTT representative will have his own share of GP action as Paulo Filho is getting himself ready for August’s second round of the Pride Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix. Although nothing is set in stone as of now, it seems highly likely at this point that Filho will be facing Japanese fighter Ryo Chonan for his second participation in the GP, if Chonan is cleared by the doctors to fight in August, after the eye socket injury he suffered in his last bout. Another match that is likely to take place in the second round of the Welterweight GP is between sensation Denis Kang and experienced striker Amar Suloev, leaving two other bouts to be paired.
  • Getting ready for the K-1 MMA tournament coming up in August, Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba is once again in the city of Curitiba training at the Chute Boxe academy. Sakuraba arrived on June 29th and has been training daily at what was once his nemesis academy. This is his third time in the country training with Chute Boxe. The Japanese fighter is reported to have been impressed with the intensity of the training in Curitiba, and returns when possible to train with the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Rua, Murilo Rua, Nino Schembri and others. This also goes to show that despite Sakuraba’s split with Pride and joining with K-1, his relationship with Chute Boxe continues to be solid and one of great friendship.


Click here to continue The Beat

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
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