Month: February 2013

By: Sherdog

Two new matchups have been added to the burgeoning UFC 160 fight bill. Ryan Bader will face fellow light heavyweight Glover Teixeira, while lightweight staple Donald Cerrone will do battle with Strikeforce import K.J. Noons.

UFC 160 takes place May 25 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be headlined by a heavyweight title rematch between Cain Velasquez and Antonio Silva. Former champion Junior dos Santos will also see action that night, as “Cigano” locks horns with ex-Strikeforce ruler Alistair Overeem.

Bader, 29, has won three of his last four fights, most recently submitting veteran Vladimir Matyushenko with a modified guillotine choke last month at UFC on Fox 6. Teixeira, meanwhile, has not lost since 2005, rattling off 18 consecutive victories. Like his upcoming foe, the 33-year-old was also last seen at UFC on Fox 6, outpointing former champion Quinton Jackson in the evening’s co-main event.

Cerrone enters the cage fresh off a first-round knockout defeat to ex-WEC king Anthony Pettis. Prior to that setback, “Cowboy” had won eight of his previous nine, kicking off 2012 with convincing wins over Jeremy Stephens and Melvin Guillard. By contrast, Noons has won just once in his last five outings, though his Jan. 12 split decision defeat to Ryan Couture was widely disputed. Known for his boxing skills, Noons has earned eight of his 11 career wins by form of knockout.

By Anna Valmero

PASIG CITY, METRO MANILA—Filipino-American striker Harris Sarmiento defended his lightweight championship belt over challenger and Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Isaiah Ordiz during the Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) 35 main bout Saturday night.

The Ilocos-born mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter employed a ground and pound strategy before setting up a kimura armlock to give the 6’1” Ordiz of Havtek United his first loss at PXC.

The Sarmiento-Ortiz match was among the most interesting title fights in recent PXC history since both are stand up fighters.

After his loss in PXC 34 to emerging MMA standout Mark Striegl, the 29-year-old Sarmiento expressed eagerness to fight again and is said to have requested another stand up fighter to give fans a more entertaining match on PXC 35, according PXC chief executive and promoter EJ Calvo.

Asked why he decided to take the fight to the ground to dominate his opponent via submission, Sarmiento explained that his game plan was consistent throughout the game: to win and take home his belt.

“A fight is a fight. And for some reason, this was the game plan,” Sarmiento said during the post-fight interview.

Sarmiento also announced on stage that he wants a rematch with Striegl, who was in attendance to watch his team mate from Baguio-based Fight Corps MMA in one of the nine bouts Saturday night.

The win arks Sarmiento’s 60th professional MMA bout and improves his record to 36 wins and 24 losses.

PXC 35 was one of the most interesting fight nights in the Guam-based tournament’s history after six of the nine bouts were finished via submission including the main bout, two by technical knockout and one via decision.

Sarmiento’s stablemate at Hawaii-based 808 Top Team, Louis “DaLast Samurai” Smolka was one of the big revelations during the PXC35 undercard fights after staging a strong comeback and winning over Alvin Cacdac via rear-naked choke.

Smolka bled throughout the first round with a huge cut on the forehead after receiving a strong punch from his opponent, who clearly dominated the first round. But Smolka dominated the second round and worked on using a rear-naked choke forcing his opponent to tap out.

At the post-fight interview, Smolka revealed that he is used to getting beat up a lot by his training mates. He said he specializes in wrestling and is used to taking beatings from takedowns, making for his solid ground and pound skills as well as stamina to last the fight.

“It (getting beat up and bloody) happens a lot, so I knew how not to panic and just keep fighting. It’s not meant to be part of my fight style, but it keeps happening so I suppose it might be,” Smolka said, promising to work on his submission skills for future fights.

By: MIKEY AGULTO

Zebastian Kadestam defeats Ron Jhun
Legacy Gym’s Zebastian Kadestam (left) gave us a PXC first by finishing an opponent via leg kicks. Kadestam exchanged with Jhun early on, then used a barrage of leg kicks that ultimately led to his opponent’s defeat. After scoring a knockdown, Zebastian proceeded to target Ron’s legs, forcing the referee to stop the fight. Poor Ron had to be carried out afterwards.

Louis Smolka submits Alvin Cacdac via rear naked choke
And the PXC “Rocky Balboa” award goes to Louis Smolka, who pulled off a submission victory over Filipino-American fighter Alvin Cacdac in the third round despite suffering a nasty cut above his right eye early in the fight. The Hawaiian has now earned the right to face PXC Flyweight Champion Ale Cali, who destroyed the iconic Erwin Tagle last year at PXC 34. The two will face off at PXC 37 in May.

Harris Sarmiento submits Isaiah Ordiz via kimura
In a bout highly touted as a classic fist fight in the making, Harris “The Hitman” Sarmiento veered away from his arsenal of signature stand-up strikes and opted to finish Isaiah “Ice” Ordiz in the ground by means of a kimura late in the first round. We would’ve easily rooted for Isaiah to snag the PXC Lightweight title because he’s pure Pinoy, but a dirty finger flashed towards the champion before the fight told us he had that kimura coming. Sarmiento then called out the undefeated Mark Striegl for a rematch, which is, really, asking for a lot.

MAIN EVENT – UFC FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Frankie Edgar (144) VS Jose Aldo (145)

PAY-PER-VIEW MAIN CARD
Rogerio Nogueira (206) VS Rashad Evans (206)
Antonio Silva (262) VS Alistair Overeem (264)
Demian Maia (170) VS Jon Fitch (171)
Ian McCall (125) VS Joseph Benavidez (126)

FX FIGHTS
Evan Dunham (155) VS Gleison Tibau (155)
Jay Hieron (168) VS Tyron Woodley (170)
Bobby Green (155) VS Jacob Volkmann (156)
Isaac Vallie-Flagg (156) VS Yves Edwards (155)

ONLINE FIGHTS
Dustin Kimura (139.5**) VS Chico Camus (134)
Francisco Rivera (135.5*) VS Edwin Figueroa (136*)

*Both Rivera (137) and Figueroa (137.5) made weight on their second attempts.

** Kimura will be fined 20 percent of his purse for not making weight. The fight with Camus will proceed as scheduled.

When Camus went in for a single-leg, Kimura ended up on top in full mount. Kimura tapped Camus our with a rear-naked-choke at 1:50 of the third round.

Bantamweight Bout
Chico Camus vs Dustin Kimura

Vuyisile Colossa (153.1) vs. Lowen Tynanes (153.3)