The Sprawl And Brawl Video Review - Hook N' Shoot: Revolution 3
Posted by Randy Harrison on 01.15.2008
The Sprawl and Brawl goes a little softer this week as it takes its first look into the world of women's MMA. Softer? Did I say softer? Yeah right, these women are just as tough as any man and would probably kick my ass badly. So I take it back ladies, please don't hurt me...at least not until I'm finished with my review on Hook N' Shoot's release Revolution 3!!
Hello folks, and welcome in again to the best thing to happen to Tuesday mornings since...well..the best thing to ever happen to Tuesday mornings I suppose, The Sprawl and Brawl Video Review! We've got a big week lined up as for the first time the S & B crosses the gender line and brings you some of the best MMA featuring the fairer sex as we look at Hook N' Shoot's Revolution 3 release featuring all women fighters.
As a bit of a history lesson Hook N' Shoot is a promotion based out of Indiana, and has actually been promoting MMA events since the early 90's, almost as long as the UFC. They were among the first to feature women fighting alongside men on their cards and in 2002 they put on the first all-female fight card Hook N' Shoot Revolution. Today, they still focus on both the male and female fight games, showcasing cards which feature both, either together or exclusively, and the promotion has recently entered into an agreement to do some co-promoting with bodogFIGHT. With that somewhat brief history lesson behind us, let's get to the fights!!
Hook N' Shoot Revolution 3 is available for purchase here.
Hook N' Shoot: Revolution 3
In an interesting little piece of symmetry, after clicking the button listing the individual fights in the DVD menu, Chuck Liddell gives us a little spiel about watching Hook N' Shoot, while clicking the button to watch the event as a whole gives us Quinton "Rampage" Jackson telling us the same thing. Just funny to see those two both on the same DVD doing the same thing, and with the history they have, I would be willing to bet that it wasn't a coincidence that they did that either. Also as a note, this appears to be a compilation DVD of footage from various organizations that have featured female fights over the course of the past few years, and where applicable and available, I will give the dates and places of the events.
Match One
Debi Purcell (0-0) vs. Amber Mosely (0-0)
This one goes back to September of 2001 and is from an Ultimate Wrestling show in Minnesota. Both are making their fight debuts here and Purcell looks huge compared to Mosely as they stare down across the ring from each other. Purcell trains under the tutelage of Marco Ruas, former UFC tournament champion and MMA legend so you know she's going to have some skills. There's not a lot known about Mosely at this point so she could be in some trouble here. This one is in a National Guard Armory it looks like, and there's actually a really good-sized crowd at the show which is nice to see. It's also worth noting that this is the first female MMA fight to take place in the state of Minnesota, so they're breaking some new ground here.
Round One
Mosely rushes with a flying knee that misses and Purcell grabs a Thai clinch, landing a couple of hard knees to the body before pushing Mosely onto her back. Purcell on top in half-guard, with Mosely shooting some short slap-punches from the bottom. They end up in the ropes and the referee pulls them back to the center. Purcell postures up and lands a couple of solid right hands before the referee stands them up again for being in the ropes. Mosely tries for the flying knee again off of the restart and misses it again as Purcell is now starting to find her range and land some hard left and right hands to the face. A huge right hand over the top lands hard for Purcell and she follows it up with a BRUTAL right-left combination that makes Mosely decide she's had enough. Mosely turns her back, the referee steps in and the crowd goes crazy.
Winner: Debi Purcell, TKO at 1:16 of Round One
That was certainly a case of one fighter being supremely prepared and overwhelming someone who might not have belonged in the ring. Purcell stayed calm and just doled out punishing shot after punishing shot, and looked like a complete fighter. After the fight we get video screens, noting that Mosely has not competed in MMA since this fight (who could blame her after that beating), and that Purcell went on to main event the first all-women's MMA event Hook N' Shoot: Revolution in April of 2002.
Match Two
Kellyn Huehn (0-0) vs. Victoria Remington (0-0)
We're in Columbus, Ohio and it's March of 2005. Hook N' Shoot has decided to put a show on to coincide with the annual Arnold Classic and this is one of the fights from that card. Both are newcomers to the sport with this being each woman's fight debut. Huehn is tatted up to no end, including across her chest, and has former TUF star and Rich Franklin trainer, Jorge Gurgel in her corner for this fight. They bill Remington as being an extremely skilled jiu-jitsu practitioner and she's from the Gracie Barra team. This one could end up being a ground fight primarily based on both women's backgrounds, but Huehn is rocking the Thai boxing shorts so who knows, she might want to keep it standing.
Round One
This one is set for two, five-minute rounds and we're underway. Huehn throws a kick to the body that lands, but slips and ends up on her back with Remington pouncing on top. Remington takes the mount but gets bucked off by Huehn, who turtles and gives up her back, eating a couple of punches before they both scramble back to their feet. Remington pulls guard and drags Huehn down to the mat and closes up the guard as Huehn lands a couple of solid right hands. Huehn works the can-opener to open the guard of Remington and works a little ground and pound as it looks like the round clips forward a few times. Huehn ends up in half-guard and lands a couple of punches as we see Rich Franklin in the front row enjoying the fights.
Remington with some punches from the bottom that are landing but they look like they're landing to the back of Huehn's head. Huehn tries an arm-triangle but misses it and settles for more ground and pound from the closed guard. Remington pushes away and they scramble to their feet, throwing knees at each other from the Thai clinch. Remington keeps grabbing for the Thai clinch, but Huehn has double underhooks and is looking for the takedown. Remington manages the trip takedown of her own and ends up in the full mount, landing some hard punches and flurrying as Huehn tries to cover up. Remington just punishing Huehn with a ton of punches as Huehn manages a reversal to get onto the top position. Huehn leaves an arm in and almost gets caught in a triangle choke, but pushes out of it and reverses back to the top position.
Huehn in a weird half-guard where her legs are reversed in their position from a normal half-guard, but she's still managing to land a couple of shots in. Remington works good body control from the top, and manages to sneak out the back side and almost takes Huehn's back. They clinch in the corner, throwing some strikes and Huehn lands a huge knee to the body, as Remington desperately tries to get this fight back to the mat. Huehn with three or four more HARD knees to the body, lifting Remington off the mat with them, showing her Thai background using those knees to perfection. Remington clumsily trying to land some punches in the corner as the round comes to a close with them still clinched and throwing knees and punches.
A really, REALLY tough round to score because both women were doing damage and both were working from good positions. To me, the knees that Huehn was landing at the end of the round seemed to be the most damaging shots, and there were certainly a lot of them, so I would lean towards Huehn, but not by very much.
Round Two
The bell rings for round two and they circle with Huehn trying the high kick again and it almost gets caught before Remington pulls guard again. Huehn on top in full guard working some hammerfists and posturing up as Remington throws a high guard up for a triangle choke. Huehn avoids it and passes the guard into side control, digging a knee HARD into the body of Remington. They're stalemated up against the ropes until Huehn postures up and lands a few hard punches to the body and face. Remington pushes back on Huehn and shoves her off, regaining her footing and ending up on top of Huehn. Remington is working from the full, closed guard of Huehn, landing some hammerfists before Huehn catches one of Remington's arms and turns her hips over, setting a vicious armbar. Remington ends up in a bad spot with both arms tied up where she can't tap out, and probably ends up suffering in the armbar for a few more seconds than she has to, but the referee finally acknowledges the verbal submission and that's the fight.
Winner: Kellyn Huehn, submission (armbar) at 1:49 of Round Two
In the post-fight video snapshots, we get to see that Remington fought again and defeated her next opponent despite being outweighed by over 70 pounds, while Huehn fought in the first sanctioned women's bout in the state of California, losing a decision to Crystal Harris in May of 2006 at a Total Combat event in San Diego.
Match Three
Christine Van Fleet (1-1) vs. Amanda Buckner (1-0)
This fight is from an Ultimate Athlete MMA event held in Denver in August of 2002 and featured a couple of familiar names in Cole Escovedo and Trevor Prangley on the card. Van Fleet is a Pankration fighter and her husband Steve Van Fleet also fought on this card earlier in the night, winning with a first round armbar. Van Fleet's video intro shows her thanking everyone short of Jeebus for the fight, including the organization, Buckner, her husband, training partners,etc etc. Buckner for her part looks tough as nails already, coming into the fight with the Sinead O' Connor look, as well as a bit of a home-field advantage with this fight taking place near her home training base of Boulder, CO. Her intro video shows her whipping people's asses and training like a beast. This also turns out to be the first sanctioned women's MMA bout in the state of Colorado.
Round One
They touch em up to start and Buckner throws a big right that just misses. They trade some combinations that land and move to the clinch with Buckner trying for the takedown. Buckner falls to her back and ends up on the bottom, eating a few shots from Van Fleet. Buckner isolates one of Van Fleet's arms and rotates her hips to sink that armbar in and just as quickly as it started, it's over, as Van Fleet has to tap.
Winner: Amanda Buckner, submission (armbar) at 0:39 of Round One
Post-fight Buckner gets a trophy almost as tall as she is and is interviewed in the ring by the MC. He asks how it feels to be a part of the first sanctioned bout and to win in front of her hometown crowd. She thanks Ultimate Athlete for putting on the show and for letting the women compete. She says that she's not used to competing from her back and that the armbar was just the first thing that came to her mind. Van Fleet apparently now serves in the US Military and, as of the production of this DVD, was deployed in Iraq with her unit standing guard around one of Saddam Hussien's former palaces. Buckner has had a storied career in various promotions in the United States and Japan and is one of the best female MMA fighters in the world.
Match Four
Beth Westover (0-0) vs. Shelby Walker (1-2)
We're in Florida now for Absolute Fighting Championship 4, which took place in July of 2003. We jump straight into the fight and that's not such a bad thing as there's not a lot to say about Westover from my findings. Walker was, at this time, one of the more famous female MMA fighters and had been pursuing a career in both MMA and boxing with success in both, including title fights in boxing.
Round One
Walker works the jab and Westover rushes in with a clinch, trying to wrestle Walker down, but ending up giving up the full mount. Walker lands a couple of punches as Westover works underneath to regain full guard and Walker continues to dig hard punches into the body. Westover is trying to work some body control and it's working with some level of effectiveness but Walker is still able to land some shots from the top. Westover is trying to work a triangle choke but it's not set up properly and it looks like she's just burning up her legs at this point. The referee has seen enough and stands them back up, allowing Walker to stick that jab in again, showing her strong boxing background.
Westover rushes forward again and Walker grabs a Thai clinch, landing some hard knees to the body before they seperate again and start throwing hands back and forth. They're both throwing power shots and landing and Westover lands a right that pushes Walker against the ropes, stunning her a little. Walker to the bodylock now and trying a throw takedown but Westover stuffs it well and avoids it into a bodylock of her own. Westover leaves her head in and ends up almost getting caught in a triangle before eating a knee and that's apparently the end of round one.
Hard to score that one with what would appear to be big chunks of the round missing. It looked like Walker was in control for most of the round but she ended up eating the biggest punch so it's up in the air to me at this point.
Round Two
The second round starts pretty much the same as the first, wtih Walker scoring with the jab. Westover again lands some hard shots, pushing Walker back into the corner, but Walker responds with a vicious combination of her own into a Thai clinch that Westover shrugs off. Walker keeps landing shots and slipping Westover's, scoring a hard uppercut before Westover comes back with a combination of her own. Westover stuns Walker again and pushes her into the corner, working the head and body with punches before Walker tries some knees to the body.
They seperate into the middle of the ring and slug it out again, throwing punches with no regard for their own bodies, and taking as many shots as they're throwing. Westover holds onto one of Walker's arms and Walker uses that to take her down and almost takes her back. Walker has a hook dug in and almost gets the back again before Westover pushes her over and ends up in Walker's half-guard. Westover works a couple of strikes to the head, but there's nothing on them as Walker works very effective body control and then sweeps it over to reverse. Walker's on top now, landing some hooks to the head and body, pushing Westover against the corner of the ring. Walker postures up to land a combination and opens up the guard of Westover, pushing her further into the corner and landing more punches.
Westover gets to her knees and shoots a double leg, reversing and taking Walker down to press her into the corner for punches. The referee resets them a little further into the ring and they trade shots again before Westover gets swept. Walker is back on top and working some solid ground and pound on Westover, pushing her into the ropes and then turning her back into the center of the ring. The action slows and the announcers, who are getting on my nerves, ask their female MMA guest announcer about her hairstyles while training. Idiots. Walker lands a couple of shots to the body and then to the head as the bell rings to end the fight.
Again it looked like there was a bit of clipping going on and it's hard to tell who won but it looked like it might have been Walker with her sweeps and reversals on the mat and her jab and reach in the stand-up. We get a Bruce Buffer sighting as he's in the ring to read the decision.
Winner: Shelby Walker, Unanimous Decision
In the post-fight video screens, we're told that Westover hasn't competed since this fight and they're right as there is nothing on her record before or since this fight. They bring up Walker's other Hook N' Shoot fight and her foray into professional boxing and I am guessing that this DVD was made before her unforunate death in 2006.
Match Five
Molly Helsel (0-2) vs. Shawnee Alvarado (0-0)
This fight is from a Hawaiian promotion named Warriors Quest and it ends up taking place in May of 2005. Unfortunately, there isn't anything to suggest that this fight was an official fight because there is no record of it ever having taken place. Taking it a step further, Alvarado has no record of ever even being an MMA competitor so I'm taking a bit of a stab at this being her debut. The crowd seems firmly behind Alvarado, despite them both being Hawaiian which is a little odd. Maybe more of Alvarado's family decided to show up than Helsel's did or something.
Round One
They touch em up to start and Alvarado lands a solid kick to the body to open up the fight. They both slip combinations and Alvarado rushes forward, catching Helsel off guard and putting her onto her back just from the bullrush. Alvarado lands a right hand as Helsel tries to push her away, and Alvarado ends up taking side control out of the scramble on the mat, pinning Helsel down and landing left hands as Helsel bends herself almost in half and throws her guard up high. Helsel almost locks in a reverse triangle but has to let it go as Alvarado pushes past Helsel's guard and lands some more hard ground and pound.
Helsel is now working full body control from the bottom and throws a triangle attempt up again, almost closing it off before Alvarado picks her up and slams her to the mat. Helsel clamps the triangle in again deeper, closing it off and pulling on Alvarado's head, but Alvarado slams Helsel to get out of it. Helsel pulls guard and Alvarado gladly obliges, slamming Helsel down to the mat and landing a couple of shots from the top. Helsel closes her guard and controls the body again before pushing Alvarado off of her, shoving her onto her back as the first round comes to a close.
A pretty even first round with Alvarado coming out ultra-aggressive and landing some solid strikes, but Helsel weathered the storm, landed some of her own and then had that deep, DEEP submission attempt, so I think that might swing it in her favor. Round one to Helsel on my scorecard but it could easily go the other way as well.
Round Two
The second starts with Alvarado landing a solid one-two combination and Helsel throws a combination of her own, landing the punches but getting too close to Alvarado, who scores a takedown. Alvarado on top in Helsel's full guard and she accidentally headbutts Helsel, which results in her getting penalized a point. They stand back up and Alvarado comes again with wild combinations that are missing, but she grabs the double underhooks and scores the takedown on Helsel again. The referee spins them around back into the center of the ring and Alvarado is trying to land some shots from the top but there's not much of anything happening so the referee stands them back up.
Alvarado with some hard punches that land before Helsel gets double underhooks and starts pumping knees in on the head of Alvarado. Helsel has a one-armed guillotine and pulls guard but can't slip that other arm in and close it up and Alvarado pulls her head out. Helsel works some slick transitions, attempting an armbar before transitioning that into a triangle choke. This one is even deeper than the first one and the only thing that saves Alvarado is the bell as it sounds to end the round.
That one has to be a 10-8 round with the point deduction and the submission attempts by Helsel, so even if Helsel had lost the first round on the scorecards, she's winning the fight going into the third, which has to be a pretty good feeling. She's up 20-17 on my card at this point.
Round Three
They trade leg kicks to start the third and Helsel eats another big right hand before throwing a knee that lands. Helsel pulls guard again and gets slammed hard by Alvarado into the closed guard. Alvarado landing some ground and pound but there isn't a lot on it as Helsel is working very solid body control. Helsel pulls rubber guard and starts landing some hammerfists to the head of Alvarado, switching to an omaplata attempt that misses. Helsel transitions again and ends up with a triangle choke from the mount position, landing hard punches on Alvarado. She gives up the position and Alvarado tries for a takedown but gets pushed back over by Helsel. Helsel scrambles over her and gets another high mount and just starts raining in left and right hands and there's nothing the referee can do but step in to stop the fight.
Winner: Molly Helsel, TKO at 1:35 of Round Three
Alvarado's corner doesn't seem too pleased with the stoppage at the end of the fight and are giving the referee a bit of hard time but honestly I don't see why. She was mounted and taking a bit of a beating and I don't think it would have gotten any better for her really. In the post-fight screens we're told that Alvarado has yet to right again since that bout, while Helsel went on to fight in the Hook N' Shoot Women's Grand Prix, making it all the way to the finals of that tournament.
Match Six
Lisa Ward (1-0) vs. Mandy Stewart (0-1)
This fight comes to us from an official Hook N' Shoot event, named Evolution, that took place in November of 2004 in the promotion's home base of Evansville, Indiana. Stewart is an Australian brought in to fight on this card, and has already had a fight in her native country. She's also apparently sponsored for this fight by The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, and cut off part of her hair to make the weight for the fight. Huh, the more you know. Ward is just starting out her career as well, winning her debut fight in just 15 seconds with a rear naked choke. She's coming in with a strong amateur wrestling pedigree and will be looking to take this fight down to the mat early and often.
Round One
Ward lands a glancing right hand straight from the bell and Stewart pushes forward, throwing a combination and bullying Ward into the corner. They're into the clinch now and Stewart lands a knee to the body as Ward tries for a throw and they push off and seperate. Ward slips a big punch from Stewart and grabs a deep double leg, slamming Stewart down to the mat. Stewart recovers and has a guillotine choke applied with an arm in but Ward pops her head out of it in short order. Stewart throws up a high guard and grabs one of Ward's arms, setting up for a triangle choke as Ward lifts Stewart up and slams her to the mat HARD. Stewart sets the triangle and in fully and yanks on Ward's arm, forcing Ward into the tapout.
Winner: Mandy Stewart, submission (triangle choke) at 0:49 of Round One
The post-fight screens tell us about Ward's impressive career after this fight, with her coming out on top in 7 of her next 8 fights and establishing herself as one of the best female MMA fighters in the world. Stewart fought only once more after this fight, avenging a loss to Fiona Attig she had sustained in her homeland before apparently retiring from MMA.
Match Seven
Ginelle Marquez (2-4-1) vs. Jan Finney (2-2)
It's another Hook N' Shoot fight to close out the DVD, also from Evansville, IN, with this fight taking place in November of 2006. Finney started out strong going 2-0 in her first two fights before dropping two straight unanimous decisions to Julie Kedzie. Marquez started out just the opposite, losing her first four fights before beginning to get onto the winning track just before this fight took place. She has also apparently been out of training for a year and a half after two serious auto accidents, though she seems like a good sport, coming out dancing to her reggae entrance music, smiling and singing along. Finney does her one better, coming out dressed as a Little Bo Peep-type deal, in a short plaid number with thigh-high stockings and heels over her MMA attire. Interesting choice if I do say so myself.
Round One
They start out with jabs and Finney lands a HARD right that drops Marquez to her knees. Marquez gets her wits about her and grabs a clinch and they begin to trade knees against the ropes. Marquez has the over-under hooks and Finney is working hard knees into the body of Marquez. Marquez tries a throw and gets the takedown but goes over too far with it and ends up mounted by Finney. Finney sits too high up on it though and gets swept but Marquez, who regains top position and begins to work from Finney's full guard. The referee spins them back out from under the ropes into the center of the ring and Marquez is trying to posture up landing some shots to the body before picking Finney up for a short powerslam onto the mat. Marquez tries to lift her up again but Finney turns her hips and tries to secure an armbar out of it. Marquez pulls her arm free and lands a HEAVY set of punches followed by a knee to the ass. Marquez gets the guard open and then drops back down into it for some ground and pound. Finney ends up throwing up a high guard again and turns her hips for the armbar. Marquez tries to slam out of it but Finney ends up cinching the arm up all the way and draws the submission from Marquez.
Winner: Jan Finney, submission (armbar) at 3:38 of Round One
The post-fight tells us that Finney signed with bodogFIGHT directly after this victory and that she is still training and fighting currently. Marquez was able to sweep this fight under the rug and attributed her loss to ring rust and was able to win her next two fights.
We get a closing seqeunce from the Hook N' Shoot production team that is the same as the opening and that's it for this particular DVD.
That brings us to the end of another edition of The Sprawl and Brawl. Look for the next installment in just seven days and at this point it's completely up in the air what I'm going to cover. Will it be Sportfight? Will it be ICON Sport? Will it be King of the Cage? Or any of the other fine smaller promotions out there? The only way to find out is to join me then and see for yourself what great event is next in line for the Sprawl and Brawl treatment. I'd like to thank you all for reading, and end as usual by saying in the mean time, and in between time, I'll see you all next time, for an all-new, all-exciting, all-whatever the hell I end up choosing to watch, Sprawl and Brawl Video Review.
The 411: As someone who has had a limited amount of interaction with women's MMA, it's very much like the initial stages of their male counterpart's version, where there are well-rounded fighters who are doing well, and sloppier street-fighter types that don't manage to do as well. Nothing on the DVD is earth-shattering, but it's nice to see some of these earlier fights to gain the historical perspective. It's worth checking out just to see some of the bigger women's MMA names in their earlier fights, but don't go into it expecting anything blowaway.
