Erosa trying to slam out of Limiac’s arm bar

On a night when Randy Couture was defeated in one of the most bizarre finishes in UFC history, team-mate Chris Leben looked to tack another victory onto his unblemished record, in, ironically, a rematch with Boyd Ballard. Three and half months ago, Leben needed all of two minutes and eighteen seconds to submit Ballard with an arm bar. On this evening, Leben trimmed off 28 seconds of ring time by KO’ing Ballard only one minute fifty seconds into round 1! As expected, Ballard opened by using his strong wrestling background to clinch and drive Leben into the corner. The Team Quest standout worked well in the tight proximity and was finally able to break free from his precarious position. This would mark the beginning of the end, as Leben unleashed a barrage of punches, staggering Ballard, and eventually knocked him face down onto the mat. An elated Leben said post fight, "My game plan was to slug it out, I wanted to give the crowd a show, I wanted to stand up the whole time, I’m happy with the win". When asked about his future plans, Leben emphatically stated "I’m gonna keep takin’ everybody out until they put me in the UFC, I’m gonna get there one way or another"!

In the co-main event Joel Townsend showed heart, tenacity and solid ground game as he took out Jason Vellows to win the 135 lbs Washington State title. From the outset the game plans were crystal clear. Townsend wanted the fight on the ground anyway possible, and Vellows wanted to keep it standing. Townsend was able to impose his will as he took Vellows down and clamped on a tight triangle choke. Vellows desperately tried to slam his way out of the triangle to no avail, but was saved by the bell in round 1. After a nearly identical round two, Townsend looked extremely fatigued and seemed as if he would have nothing left for the third stanza. After attempting a feeble double leg to open round three, Townsend somehow called on all his will and heart and was able to take the fight to the canvas. In a last ditch effort, before exhaustion could get the better him, the crafty jiu-jitsu practitioner was able to lock in a tight arm bar, leaving Vellows no choice but to tap.

Trost kicking Gregg

In other action, the feisty Cassy Trost was able to eek out a close decision over Debbie Gregg after 3 rounds of kickboxing. In a back and forth battle, both combatants were able to land solid punches and kicks, but in the end is was Cassy’s overall aggressiveness and stiff right hands that swayed the judges. Joe Derobbio also put on a impressive performance as he was able to TKO Joel Pettit early in round 2. Derobbio came out ferociously as he landed accurate punches and showed a tremendous sprawl fending off each and every one of Pettit’s takedown attempts. Derobbio’s efforts were enough to land him the prestigious fighter of the night award.

Pankration
Brian Shaw def. Malembey Gonzales by smother choke at 2:59 of R3

Pankration
Bristol Marunde def. Eddie Blackburn by TKO referee stoppage from punches at 1:27 of R1

Kickboxing
Eric Dahlberg def. Ric Gaberial by unanimous decision after three 90-second rounds

Pankration
Chris Wilson def. Chris Young by triangle choke at 1:03 of R1

Kickboxing
Cassy Trost def. Debbie Gregg by majority decision after three 90-second rounds

Pankration
Mike Erosa def. Michael Limiac by unanimous decision after three 3-minute rounds

Muay Thai
Jason Swan def. Tommy Steel by TKO corner threw in the towel at 1:32 of R2

Pankration
Joe Derobbio def. Joel Pettit by TKO referee stoppage from punches at 0:27 of R2

Kickboxing
Thai Konchunji def. Justin Thompson by majority decision after three 90-second rounds

Pankration
Joel Townsend def. Jason Vellows by arm bar at 0:46 of R3