The Sprawl and Brawl Video Review 10.30.07: IFL - Greatest Knockouts and Extreme Action - Part Two
Posted by Randy Harrison on 10.30.2007
My look at the IFL's DVD release closes out with the second half of Greatest Knockouts and Extreme Action. Can it live up to the high hopes the first half gave me or will it disappoint in the long run? It won't disappoint if Bart Palaszewski, Chris Horodecki, Rory Markham or any of the other stars of the IFL have anything to say about it. Lots of action and two classic fights await in this week's Sprawl and Brawl...and did I mention a cripple fight? Everyone loves a good cripple fight!
Another Monday night, another edition of the only MMA video review that looks at the smaller shows and future stars, The Sprawl and Brawl!! Last week, I covered the first half of this two hour history of the IFL, reviewing the fights from the year 2006 and today we move on to look at the fights from this year on the second half of the disc. I've been sick with a cold/allergic reaction for the past four days so I'm afraid that my witty pre-review banter is going to suffer this week so let's get to the review. Oh hell, if you REALLY want something to laugh at THAT bad, I'll give it to you.
Hey it's still a fight and a damn funny one at that so you're welcome faithful readers!! Now let's get to some non-cripple Mixed Martial Arts action.
IFL: Greatest Knockouts and Extreme Action - Part Two
It's January 19, 2007 and the IFL is starting the new year strong, making their debut at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, and that's where our next two fights come from.
Match One: Lightweights
John Gunderson (13-3) vs. Josh Odom (4-1)
Round One
Gunderson starts out with a jab and Odom throws a low kick, both fighters feeling each other out. They exchange and Odom catches Gunderson on the button with a right hook that drops him, but Gunderson grabs Odom's legs, trying for the takedown and finally lifting and slamming Odom to the mat. Clipped ahead to Gunderson short-slamming Odom while in the guard and it clips forward again further to Odom catching Gunderson's arm from the bottom and trying to straighten it out for an armbar. Clip forward to Gunderson trying a guard pass before falling back and attempting to apply a toehold. Odom kicks away from it and stands but Gunderson rushes him and scores a double leg takedown. Gunderson's trying to pass again and we clip again to Gunderson in full mount trying for a triangle choke from the top. He rolls to his back and that thing is REALLLLY sunk in and there's nothing Odom can do but tap out and live to fight another day.
The replay shows how methodical the move was with Gunderson slipping his leg under the back of Odom's head and faking an armbar attempt to set him up for the triangle choke.
Winner: John Gunderson, submission (triangle choke) at 3:05 of Round One
Match Two: Catchweight
Jeremy Horn (78-15-5) vs. Falaniko Vitale (21-6)
Round One
Glove touch and Vitale starts throwing combos early, landing multiple punches to the body of Horn. Horn shoots for the double leg and Vitale sprawls well into a Thai clinch, landing a hard knee to Horn, although Horn catches the leg and uses it to work towards the takedown. Vitale sprawls against the ropes but Horn bodylocks him and slams him. Clip ahead to Horn on his back throwing up kicks at Vitale standing over him, getting a hard shot in on him before we clip futher forward to them standing in the center of the ring. Vitale lands a hard left and another combination and Horn moves in to clinch. Vitale just misses a huge right uppercut as Horn lands a body kick and throws a high kick that is mostly blocked by Vitale's forearm. Horn works the Thai clinch now with knees and an uppercut, followed by a hook to the body and we're clipped on to the second round.
Round Two
Vitale is popping the jab, landing three or four as Horn throws a low kick that Vitale catches. Horn throws a good one-two combination and shoots in off of that clinching Vitale against the ropes in the corner. Clipped to them standing and trading with Horn catching Vitale with a good straight right and two left hooks that glance off of Vitale's face. Horn shoots again and Vitale defends it and we clip ahead again to Vitale landing a Superman punch and that's it for round two.
Round Three
Vitale with a good left-right combinations, scoring with an uppercut and some left hands as well as Horn tries to shoot but telegraphs it big time and misses completely. Clipped to them both standing again and Vitale working a great combo to the body and a hard right hook to the head of Horn. Another hard right from Vitale and I guess this round was pretty much a lull in the fight because that's all we get to see of it and it's on to the fourth.
Round Four
Horn with a body kick that lands and Vitale answers with a left-right combination and a chopping leg kick. Another huge right from Vitale just barely misses and we've clipped ahead again to Horn landing a combination but not having much on it as he's seemingly tired at this point in the fight. HARD high kick lands for Horn and he stumbles forward for a takedown to try to capitalize, but misses it badly and ends up turtled against the ropes. Vitale takes Horn's back and is landing rights to the side of his head. We clip forward to a clinch against the ropes as Vitale lands a knee to the body, Horn scores a hook to the body and Vitale catches Horn with an uppercut to close out round four and send us to the fifth and deciding round.
Round Five
They're both trading and Horn lands a leg kick but Vitale fires back with a vicious one-two, stunning Horn with both punches. Horn gives him a knee to the head but again there isn't a lot on it as Horn looks exhausted. Horn throws another combination and follows it up with another shot, finally succeeding on a single-leg attempt and taking Vitale down. Vitale catches an arm and uses a kimura as a sweep, gaining top position and looking for the submission but Horn is already trying to reverse it into an armbar of his own. Vitale pulls back out of that and stands, allowing Horn to score with a hard up kick to the chin and get back to his feet as well. Horn shoots again and Vitale ends up going through the ropes and out to the extended apron outside of the ring. Clipped ahead to Horn throwing a leg kick and a Superman punch that both miss, and a body kick that lands. Horn scores with a trip takedown from a clinch and the action is clipped again to both standing and Horn landing another knee to the head, but Vitale catches it and uses it to take Horn down. Vitale tries for a leglock but misses it, allowing Horn to reverse to top position and the fight is over.
Replays of the good combination from Vitale at the beginning of the round and the up kick later by Horn, as well as the takedown attempt that spilled Vitale from the ring as we head in for the decision.
Winner: Jeremy Horn, by Split Decision
The action moves from California to another first time venue as the Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas played host to the IFL on February, 2, 2007 and that event is where the next batch of four bouts on the DVD took place.
Match Three: Light Heavyweights
Vladimir Matyushenko (15-3) vs. Dwayne Compton (2-0)
Round One
Compton ducks right into a bodylock and gets the takedown but Matyushenko is right back up and he spins around, throwing Compton over him and spins again into top position and side control in a great display of sambo and wrestling. Matyushenko transitions into the mount and Compton tries to control the body to avoid any damage, and buck Matyushenko off but Matyushenko just postures up and starts raining in the punches. Lefts and rights landing for Matyushenko and Compton tries to sneak out the backside of the mount but Matyushenko catches on to it and transitions into an armbar attempt. Matyushenko spins and locks in the armbar and adds an elbow to the body as Compton tries to fight off the submission. Matyushenko keeps cinching it in tighter and tighter, really raising his hips to pop the elbow and with a grimace of pain Compton finally relents and taps out.
Winner: Vladimir Matyushenko, submission (armbar) at 1:47 of Round One
Match Four: Middleweights
Benji Radach (12-3) vs. Ryan McGivern (9-3)
Round One
McGivern throws the first punch and what a punch it is, a beautiful right hand to the chin putting Radach on his ass. McGivern rides him back down onto his back and starts landing right hands as Radach turtles up to avoid any further damage and finally regains his feet. Clipped ahead to a clinch against the ropes with Radach landing a knee to the body and McGivern giving one right back. McGivern tries for the takedown but gets reversed with Radach ending up on top instead. Radach grounding and pounding from McGivern's guard landing plenty of hard punches. Clipped again to them standing and Radach lands a combination and wins another exchange of punches before McGivern clinches him up against the ropes. One more clip to them standing in the middle and Radach lands a one-two and a body shot as the round closes out.
Between rounds we get some replays of that crushing right hand that connected right to the base of Radach's jaw as well as Radach's seemingly remarkable recovery and the ground and pound he inflicted on McGivern later in the round.
Round Two
These guys are TRADING seriously at the start of the second, with Radach getting the better, harder punches out of things although McGivern is landing with some considerable power as well. McGivern clinches against the ropes and we clip to them standing in the middle again. McGivern fakes a leg kick and hits a Superman punch that Radach shrugs off, throwing a HUGE uppercut of his own, staggering McGivern forwards against the ropes. Another uppercut and a hard right hook follow and McGivern drops down to his elbows and knees. McGivern on his back and Radach is standing over him now, throwing heavy lefts and rights until the referee steps in and calls the bout.
Radach is extremely emotional afterwards, hugging his then-coach Bas Rutten before we cut to replays of the uppercut/hook combination that spelled the beginning of the end for McGivern as well as the ground and pound that ended the fight.
Winner: Benji Radach, TKO at 2:22 of Round Two
Match Five: Lightweights
Chris Horodecki (7-0) vs. Bart Palaszewski (25-7)
Round One
Horodecki with a leg kick to start out, Bart with a high kick that misses and a body kick that Horodecki catches, rushing forward with punches into a clinch. We clip ahead to Horodecki throwing a combination and Bart landing a body kick. Both trying to guage distance, missing their combinations but landing leg kicks. Another leg kick from Horodecki and he throws a high kick as well that Bart blocks. Clipped forward again to Bart landing a good uppercut and left hook, and another clip comes sending us to both fighters landing combinations and leg kicks still. Bart catches Horodecki coming in with a good left hand and Horodecki fakes to the head and scores a solid body punch. Clip to Horodecki coming inside with a combo and Bart hitting a leg kick that Horodecki catches, although I'm sure he wishes he hadn't because he eats a vicious left over the top for his efforts. Bart tries to finish with a flurry of punches and knees but Horodecki tries to weather the storm and clinches. Bart shrugs him off and down to the mat, scoring with rapid-fire lefts and hammerfists as Horodecki tries to regain his footing. Bart with a tight standing guillotine as Horodecki gets to his feet and he looks to be in big trouble, struggling against the ropes but not being able to break free of the choke. He continues fighting it and eventually falls out of the ring through the ropes forcing Bart to break the choke. Horodecki literally CRAWLS back into the ring looking horrible as the bell sounds to end the first.
Round Two
Horodecki starts this round like the last, landing a leg kick and we clip forward to him landing a body kick as well before getting a trip takedown, ending up in Bart's guard. Clipped again back to them standing and Horodecki ducks a Superman punch and lands about five or six punches and kicks in combination. Bart with a right hand and Horodecki catches him with a right hand as well as a high kick to the jaw. Horodecki scores a right hand and a leg kick into a double leg and up to a bodylock, clinching Bart in the corner. Clip back to them standing with lots of throwing from both fighters but little to no connecting being done. Horodecki throws a combination into a bodylock and scores another trip takedown into Bart's half guard this time. Clipped again to them standing and more trading and missing until Horodecki lands a hard left jab. He JUST misses with a head kick and follows it up with a combination to the body. Bart hits a front kick to the body and Horodecki responds with leg kicks and round two is in the books as well.
Round Three
Horodecki moving forward just missing with the head kick again as Bart comes forward with a Superman punch and Horodecki catches Bart in mid-move and takes him down off of it, ending up on top in Bart's butterfly guard. Bart pushing at Horodecki's hips with his feet, pushing him off and almost through the ropes again, sweeping and getting out from the bottom. Horodecki is hanging half outside the ring ropes and Bart tries sinking a guillotine in but the ref stops things to allow Horodecki to get back into the ring. Horodecki with a good one-two and some leg kicks before Bart unleashes a HARD straight right hand, knocking Horodecki down for the second time in the fight. Bart rushes him again with knees, kicks and punches but Horodecki does a good job blocking most of them and avoiding the damage. Bart lands another couple of good shots and we clip ahead to Horodecki on top of Bart on the mat, with Bart going for a kimura that Horodecki manages to slip free from. They scramble and Bart catches Horodecki with a knee while he's still down and the ref stops things again to warn Bart of the illegal strike. Horodecki with an overhand right and a body shot as they exchange. Another hard overhand right from Horodecki and a leg kick before Bart catches him with another clean punch that staggers him a little. Bart with a leg kick and Horodecki catches it and fires the overhand right again. Horodecki hits a body kick and Bart falls to the mat, popping right back up and letting everyone know it was a slip. Clipped again to Horodecki landing another combination and catching another Bart leg kick. Into the clinch and Horodecki scores again with the same trip takedown he's used repeatedly in the fight, posturing up and landing some shots from the guard as Bart tries to kick free and the fight is over.
Replays of Horodecki's takedowns in the third are shown and we're back into the ring for the decision.
Winner: Chris Horodecki, by Split Decision
An absolute classic from two of the rising stars in not just the IFL, but the sport as a whole. 12 minutes of blood and guts, back and forth action, and while I can't say I completely agree with the decision, it doesn't take too much away from what both these guys left in the ring. A great fight and definitely worth the price of the DVD alone. Here are some of the highlights of this fantastic fight.
Match Six: Middleweights
Carlos Newton (13-11) vs. Matt Lindland (19-4)
Round One
Newton immediately shoots into a bodylock and Lindland responds, landing some short right hands from in close. Lindland switches to an over/under and takes Newton down. Clip to Lindland in the butterfly guard, landing a right hand and standing up above Newton to deliver three hard left hands before Newton spins out and reverses to the top position. Clipped further ahead to Lindland back on top of Newton in his butterfly guard again. Lindland standing with another left hand that scores and he drops down into Newton's half guard to deliver some ground and pound. Lindland misses a knee and pushes Newton onto his back, waiting for Newton to try to regain his feet before locking up his head in an attempt to control. Clipped forward to Newton on his back again, with Lindland landing a WICKED axe kick to the stomach and more lefts and rights, followed up with an elbow to the body and round one is done.
Round Two
Lindland loads up an uppercut and connects with it, stunning Newton and following up with two successive left hands. Two more left hands from Lindland land flush and a high kick scores as Newton is starting to leave his hands down away from his face. An uppercut and a flurry of punches from Lindland as Newton is desperately trying to cover up. A hard knee and yet another uppercut land for Lindland but Newton actually manages to survive the sequence, spinning out of the corner. Lindland just misses with another huge left hand and shoots of a double-leg takedown, getting it and putting Newton on his back again. Clipped ahead to Lindland peppering Newton with lefts from the half guard and another vicious elbow shot to the body. Newton sweeps but Lindland has a hold of his head and uses that to reverse back into the mount, still holding onto the head in a modified guillotine choke. Blood is coming from the nose of Newton as they close in on his face and after a moment or two Newton taps to the one-armed guillotine.
Replays show Lindland's huge uppercut that began the round and the flurry that followed it up, as well as his modified choke that ended the fight in rather surprising fashion as it didn't look like anything serious right up until Newton tapped out.
Winner: Matt Lindland, submission (modified guillotine choke) at 1:43 of Round Two
We're off to the Gwinnette Center in Atlanta, Georgia now as the next two fights come from that particular IFL event, held on February 23, 2007.
Match Seven: Welterweights
Mike Dolce (2-0) vs. Jim Abrille (2-1-1)
Round One
Dolce with a leg kick and a MASSIVE right hand that catches Abrille right on the button and knocks him clean the fuck out. Unfortunately for him the referee is Cecil Peoples and Dolce gets three or four more shots in while he's out cold before Cecil starts paying attention and pulls him off. God, is there anything Cecil Peoples can do right? He's a terrible judge and a terrible referee, and yet they still keep hiring him on for events across the country. Maybe he has some compromising photographs of some of the heads of the Athletic Commissions or something because this was ridonkulous, with Abrille clearly being unconscious but still having to eat more punishment. Cecil, sir, you are a blight on the sport and I sincerely hope that Bas Rutten was being condescending on commentary when he was speaking about good refereeing because that was utter horseshit. A great one-punch knockout that gets soured by poor refereeing leading to unnecessary and unneeded extra concern for the unconscious fighter.
Winner: Mike Dolce, KO at 0:19 of Round One
Match Eight: Middleweights
Eduardo Pamplona (5-1) vs. Robbie Lawler (13-4)
Round One
Lawler throws a head kick and slips, falling down as Pamplona tries for the head, wrapping an arm around Lawler's neck. Lawler picks Pamplona up and slams him but Pamplona keeps his hold on the head, pulling guard to try and sink the choke in even further, but Lawler has an arm in and is seemingly not in any real danger. They scramble and Pamplona cinches even tighter on the choke and now Lawler doesn't have an arm in and looks to be in some serious trouble. Lawler is controlling Pamplona's left arm not allowing him to squeeze with both arms full force, which is probably the only reason he's not tapping out or asleep right now. Lawler throws Pamplona over top of him and pulls his head out, popping up to his feet and landing a knee up the middle to Pamplona before Pamplona clinches. Lawler with a punch to the side of the head and two that score to the body. Pamplona pulls guard again and Lawler starts raining shots down before Pamplona regains his feet and tries a takedown of his own, which is excellently defended by Lawler. Clipped ahead to them both throwing right hands and Lawler landing two hard body punches. Clipped forward even further to Lawler scoring another shot and Pamplona landing a knee to the head and we're off to round two.
Round Two
Lawler checks a couple of Pamplona low kicks and Pamplona rushes forward with a combo. They clinch in the corner and Pamplona scores with three right hands on the inside and a hard leg kick before Lawler connects with an uppercut. Clip to Lawler pushing Pamplona into the corner and landing another hard, hard uppercut as Pamplona hits a knee to the body and Lawler responds with a hard left/right combination and an uppercut that stuns Pamplona. Clip to Pamplona landing some knees to the body before Lawler scores with a fantastic right hook over the top that staggers Pamplona big time. Lawler grazes Pamplona's head with a high kick and hits a hard body punch as Pamplona grabs the Thai clinch and tries to work some knees to close out the round.
Round Three
Clipped to join the action in progress and Pamplona is clinching with over/under hooks and his back against the ropes. Clip further ahead to Pamplona landing some knees and Lawler catching him with a short left hook inside and two wicked uppercut BOMBS that splay out Pamplona's legs and drops him quicker than Britney dropping a baby...allegedly. Pamplona looks to be out and the ref stops the fight, but as soon as he does, Pamplona begins protesting that he wasn't hurt and that it shouldn't have been stopped. He's not happy about it but from where I sit it looked fine because Lawler was ready to lower the boom on him, standing above him and loaded for some ground and pound, so it's really a case of erring towards fighter saftey which I like, rather than letting him take a ton of unnecessary punishment like that jackass Cecil Peoples earlier on this disc.
Two different angles of the end of the fight on the replay and I'm still ok with the stoppage since it really looked like Lawler was going to do some serious damage had it gone on.
Winner: Robbie Lawler, TKO at 1:36 of Round Three
We cross the country again as the IFL rolls on, this time setting down at The Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles, California on March 17, 2007 for more great MMA action and our next five, count em FIVE fights, including one that will go down in IFL history.
Match Nine: Welterweights
Donnie Liles (7-2) vs. Jay Hieron (11-3)
Round One
Hieron just misses a high kick to start the fight and they trade body kicks back and forth. Liles rushes Hieron, who matadors him and sends him flying through the ropes and out to the extended apron of the ring. Liles back in and Hieron throws the high kick again and takes Liles down to the mat with a double leg takedown. Hieron grounds and pounds from Liles' guard and he passes it into a half guard position. Liles tries to scramble back to his feet but Hieron catches his head, locking in a guillotine but Liles is able to pop his head out of danger almost immediately and ends up on top. Liles tries to pass into side control but Hieron is able to scramble, taking Liles back at the end of the sequence before standing out of it and landing two hard left hands. Clip to Hieron standing over Liles landing more left and right hands and Hieron grabs the guillotine again and Liles to his credit fights it for a bit, even managing a short slam on Hieron but it's no use as Hieron clamps down on the neck and Liles has to tap.
Winner: Jay Hieron, submission (guillotine choke) at 2:49 of Round One
Match Ten: Lightweights
Savant Young (7-4) vs. Adam Lynn (10-6)
Round One
Glove touch to start and Young scores with a body kick. Clip ahead to another body kick from Young and Lynn tries to work the clinch game. Clipped again to Young landing a body shot and ANOTHER clip moves us forward to Young catching Lynn with a left hook and a couple of knees up the middle. More gratuitous clipping to a clinch in the corner with Lynn shooting for a takedown and slamming Young to the mat, who in defense is looking to slap a guillotine on Lynn. Lynn pulls his head out of danger and is in top position at the end of our look at the first round.
Round Two
Lynn with a body kick and Young throws a knee and a combination with Young circling away and loading up a monster right hand that connects, shutting down power to most of Lynn's on-board devices, and two more rights bringing the referee in to stop the fight. The crowd is fired up from the knockout including Young's wife and mother who are both smiling and cheering with the joy that can only come from watching a loved one beat the everlasting shit out of some stranger in front of a bloodthirsty crowd of roaring fans. Where's Hallmark with the card for THAT occasion I ask you?
Winner: Savant Young, KO at 0:21 of Round Two
Match Eleven: Middleweights
Kazuhiro Hamanaka (4-3-1) vs. Jeremy Williams (6-2)
Round One
Hamanaka shoots for the single leg and gets it taking down Williams who immediately takes a full high guard and throws up a triangle, sinking it in tightly. Williams looks to his corner as well as the referee, saying that Hamanaka is asleep and when he tries to transitions to an armbar we find that Hamanaka is asleep as he slumps down onto the canvas, having just been elected as the Mayor of Dreamyland. That was a hell of a submission by Williams for sure and a great display of his jiu-jitsu skills.
Winner: Jeremy Williams, technical submission (triangle choke) at 0:59 of Round One
A great choke out and a lightning fast submission. Enjoy.
Match Twelve: Light Heavyweights
Vladimir Matyushenko (15-3) vs. Justin Levens (9-4)
Round One
Levens throws a flurry and rushes Matyushenko who drops down to grab a single leg and scores the takedown on Levens, immediately working into side control. Clipped ahead to Matyushenko taking Levens' back and Levens turtling as Matyushenko lands hammerfists to the sides of his head. Levens tries for a single leg of his own and Matyushenko sprawls excellently, retaking the back and landing two right uppercuts under Levens' body and a bunch of left hands to Levens' head. Matyushenko with a hard body punch and another few shots to the head, as well as a HARD shot that forces Levens to rethink his turtling strategy and roll over onto his back. Matyushenko back into side control and takes full mount, with Levens rolling to give up his back yet again. Matyushenko lands more hard punches from the backside and is controlling one of Levens' arms with one of his own and is landing strikes at will. A hard, HARD succession of left hands and Levens is out of it and it's all over.
Winner: Vladimir Matyushenko, TKO at 3:53 of Round One
Match Thirteen: Heavyweights
Antoine Jaoude (5-2) vs. Wayne Cole (7-3)
Round One
Jaoude with a leg kick and Cole throws a combination in return before Jaoude rushes and clinches into the corner. We clip ahead to Jaoude trying a bodylock takedown but Cole sprawls well to avoid it and reverses it putting Jaoude onto his back, landing some heavy shots in the process before Jaoude can kick him away and it's clip time once again. We rejoin things with Cole scoring another hard shot, standing above the prone Jaoude and Jaoude turtles allowing Cole to keep landing strikes to the head. Jaoude regains guard and it clips forward again to Cole working some ground and pound in Jaoude's guard. Cole hitting with a left and a right hand and Jaoude scores with a couple of up kicks from the bottom.
Round Two
We join the second round well in progress and Jaoude lands three straight leg kicks and out of nowhere Bas Rutten on commentary offers up a little nugget of wisdom...
EL GUAPO SAYS....
"He should follow those low kicks up with a straight right.."
No sooner are the words out of his mouth than BOOM!!! A massive straight right hand from Jaoude knocks Cole stiffer than Hugh Hefner sucking a dozen Viagra through a funnel. God damn Bas, if you're reading this (I can always dream, so shut up voice in my head that says he isn't) hit me up with some lottery numbers or something because you definitely seem to have the power.
We get replays of the knockout and you can hear how proud Bas is of himself that he called the shot like he did. El Guapo rules us all.
Winner: Antoine Jaoude, KO at 0:56 of Round Two
We move forward to the month of April and back to a familiar venue as the Mark of the Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois plays host again to the stars of the IFL and this fight which is possibly the best fight in IFL history.
Match Fourteen: Welterweights
Rory Markham (10-2) vs. Pat Healy (17-11)
Round One
Markham doubles the left jab three times to open up the round and we clip ahead to Markham continuing to work the jab and Healy unloads with a SICK left uppercut and right hook combination that puts Markham down to the mat. Healy pounces on him trying to finish with a flurry of shots and Markham is trying to kick him away but it's just not happening. A couple of clips take us to various points with Healy still landing a lot of shots from the top position in Markham's butterfly guard. Markham pushes Healy off and ALLLLMOST gets up but Healy stays on him and ends the round with top position.
Round Two
Markham opens with jabs again and Healy rushes with a combination again and lands a leg kick as well. Markham grazes Healy with an uppercut and Healy shoots in for a double leg and gets the takedown. We clip ahead to Healy passing guard into full mount. Healy is landing bombs and Markham rolls giving up his back. Healy is still landing shots and Markham finally is able to spin out of it and regain guard after taking some serious punishment. Clip forward to both fighters back on their feet and Markham hitting a short left as Healy scores an inside leg kick. Healy with another hard left hand that finds the mark and one to the body as well. Markham turns the tide with a huge overhand right and a vicious combination and Healy is hurt and looking for the takedown. He gets it and is into Markham's half guard as we clip again. Healy JUST misses with a huge haymaker right hand, but doesn't miss with his next one-two combo. Healy shoots and Markham sprawls out of it and we clip past the end of the round to round three.
Round Three
We join the round already in progress with Healy trying to take Markham down with a single leg and not finding any success. Markham misses a flying knee and hits a left hand. We clip ahead to Markham snapping the jab and catching Healy with a great right to the jaw, stunning him and following up with another right hand that hurts him, forcing Healy to try for the shot. Markham stuffs it and keeps things standing, which is good for him at this point. Clip ahead further to Healy shooting for a single leg but Markham slips out of it again. Healy stops to fix his shorts and almost eats a KO shot as Bas on commentary laughs nervously almost as if to say “What the hell are you doing Healy??”. Clipped forward to Healy grazing Markham with a punch and Markham firing back with a straight right hand and two punishing left hooks that put Healy down and out for the count. The crowd is on their feet cheering both fighters for putting on one HELL of a fight and I agree wholeheartedly on that one.
We get replays of the finishing sequence with Markham's pinpoint striking accuracy, as well as his coach Pat Miletich and his teammates going crazy in his corner after the shocking turn of events in a fight that he seemed destined to lose after the first round.
Winner: Rory Markham, KO at 1:47 of Round Three
Here's the first round of this epic encounter...
And rounds two and three of this back and forth, all-out war...
Now unfortunately we have some bad news as at this point, with about ten minutes left, my copy of the DVD stopped playing. It is nothing to do with the production as friends of mine own the DVD as well and theirs work fine, so I believe the fault would have to lie with my cheap-ass DVD player. Now some of you might be thinking to yourself "What kind of reviewer does a review and doesn't manage to finish the DVD?" My answer of course is, the reviewer that pays eight dollars for a DVD player out of the back of some guy's trunk at 2:30 AM, that's who! You'd think I would learn by now but apparently that's not the case. Oh well, I apologize to everyone who was hoping for the last ten minutes and hope that you all won't hold it against me in the future.
That's all for this week but I assure you all I'll be back next week with another edition of the Review where I'll be doing...well I don't rightly know yet but I'm sure it will be something well-crafted and fantastical if I'm writing it so for now I'll say as I always do...In the mean time and in between time, I'll see you all here next time for another Sprawl and Brawl Video Review!
The 411: Lots of terrific action and two GREAT fights including make the second half of this disc easily as strong as the first, if not stronger. El Guapo calling the shot and the great fights between Markham/Healy and Horodecki/Palaszewski push the second half of the DVD up to an 8.5 and the total score for the disc to an even 8.0 which makes it the highest rated Sprawl and Brawl disc to date. Congratulations IFL, you deserve it with a quality first DVD release.
