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It was Philips Arena – not Bibby bringing the ball up the floor or Kovalchuck crashing the net – although the athletes were just as talented. For the first time in history, the big shack on Centennial hosted an MMA event, the American Fight League’s "BulletProof" promotion – much to the delight of the 5,000 fans rumored to be in attendance. And what a show they saw! With all fighters on stage at the outset amidst a fireworks display, the card featured no less than three championship events that made for a nasty night in the knocktagon and the kind of freewheeling, heart stopping action the crowd came to see.
The main event featured local Doug "The Phenom" Lima and Brent Weedman for the AFL Welterweight Championship. The youthful Lima, 20, was heavily favored and expected to win – but someone forgot to tell Weedman. Before the fight Lima told us he expected Weedman to be his toughest fight ever – and he was right. The two locked up in a first round that featured submission attempts by both – an armbar from Weedman and a kneebar by Lima. Fighting along the fence, a favorite Weedman hangout, the two exchanged knee, fist and elbow shots. At the finish of the round Lima hit Weedman with a combination that rattled the rafters, but the durable veteran shrugged it off.
In the second, Lima continued to show his scary speed, but Weedman remained cool. Taking a risk he felt might lead to more punishing Lima elbows, he rolled onto his back in a triangle submission attempt that he quickly converted to an armbar winner. The AFL had a brand new champion.
After the fight Weedman thanked his wife and supporters, stating he had never trained harder for a fight and that his preparation for Lima was clearly up a level. He indicated he was hopeful that an AFL contract could be worked out because he admired the professionalism of the owners and the way AFL fighters are treated.
Another local, Diego "The Octopus" Saraiva threw down with Josh "Kaos" Cate, a Hermes Franca student who has wanted a piece of him for two years, for the AFL Lightweight Championship. Expected to be a classic battle of BJJ devotees, fans got a fist fight instead. The first round was a dazzling display of high kicks, knee shots and standup exchanges, with Saraiva clearly the aggressor, flooring Cate with a series of knees late in the round that had the crowd on their feet.
The standup action continued in the second. This time Saraiva caught Cate bent over near the fence and hit him with a knee that dropped him on his face – and it was over by TKO. Questioned about his tactics after the fight, Saraiva gave the standard fighter response – be prepared to go wherever the fight takes you. He was clearly prepared - and kept the lightweight belt to fight another night.
The Marines landed in a later bout, when George "Loaded" Lockhart, an active duty leatherneck stationed at Quantico, tangled with George "A Dog" Allen for the AFL Middleweight title in the fight of the night. A classic battle of a wily veteran, Allen, against a young hard charger, this five rounder had everything. Lockhart brought the heavy artillery, with WEC light heavy champ Brian Stann in his corner, and for awhile it looked like he was going to need all the help he could muster. For the first two rounds, Allen was able to counter the youthful strength of Lockhart with skillful clinching tactics and actually gained mount briefly in the second. We gave the first two rounds to Allen. But in the third, Lockhart changed his approach and came out swinging.
Clubbing Allen with several high speed hand shots, the two tangled on the fence and Lockhart fouled Allen with an unintentional knee. Taking the full five minutes to recover gave Allen a chance to catch his breath – only to take some heavy ground and pound punishment near the end of the round – advantage Lockhart.
The fourth round saw the veteran Allen come out renewed, once again gaining mount on Lockhart, only to be bucked off, as Lockhart’s youth began to show. In the fifth, Lockhart attacked savagely in a violent flurry that the "A Dog" absorbed, but couldn’t counter. The judges saw it 48-47 unanimously for Lockhart – and yes, it was that close. This one was unarmed combat at its best. With Lockhart in the Marines and Allen an Army vet, we slept better last night. If the Army and Marines fight like these two, we’re all in good hands.
Junior "The Punisher" Assuncao, a former UFC talent who now trains in Roswell, took on Torrance Taylor of Cleveland, OH in a 155 pound bout. A crowd favorite, Assuncao started strong, clearly winning the first with a couple of takedowns, an armbar submission attempt and giving Taylor a ground and pound tutorial. In the second, Taylor caught Assuncao with a nuclear kick that earned a thumbs up from "The Punisher" – and seemed to get Taylor rolling. From that point it was mostly Taylor, whose plodding attack managed to frustrate Junior, who ended the round with a mouse under both eyes. After a back and forth battle in the third with takedowns by both fighters, the judges awarded a 29-28 unanimous decision to Taylor.
Robi "Rick James" Ramey and David Curby locked up for their much anticipated rematch, following Curby’s win when the two met at Cowboy’s in March. Once again Ramey came out looking like the Terminator, with Curby still "well rounded" –despite the fact that he weighed in at 173 – a full twelve pounds underweight for their 185 pound event. But once again, Curby walked out of the cage a winner. Staying calm through the powerful Ramey’s repeated slams, the nimble Curby withstood full mounts in both the first and second before turning the tide on Ramey, who appeared gassed. In the third, it was Curby who gained mount, pounding Ramey with a firestorm of vicious shots and earning a TKO by referee stoppage. Like we said after Cowboy’s – David Curby is a bad man.
Willie Smalls and Ethan Garrison met in a light heavyweight crowd pleaser. "Steamin Willie Beamin" was coming off consecutive wins and the popular Garrison had his full entourage at Philips for the bout. The battle began with the familiar Smalls "bull rush" and he quickly took down Garrison. The fight continued on the ground with several reverses and numerous short, stinging exchanges, before Garrison was able to gain Small’s back and take him out with a rear naked choke at 4:40 of the first.
The big dogs came off the porch when Dan "The Sandman" Christison took on Sam Hollaway from the Hardcore Gym in Athens in a heavyweight train wreck that ended quickly. Holloway weighed in at a slim 231, compared to 266 for the Sandman, who, when last we saw him, was eating like it was his job. Apparently the diet worked, as a relaxed Christison earned an armbar tapout victory at 1:00 of the first round.
The action wasn’t all in the fights. We met Super Bowl winning quarterback Jim McMahon at the prefight party. With a little less hair, but still disgustingly fit, he told us he is learning MMA to stay in shape. During the intermission, AFL Chief Executive B.J. Santiago introduced their latest fighter signings, Ron Sparks, Bobby Lashley and Tara LaRosa. Super heavy Sparks took the opportunity to call out Kimbo Slice, and former wrestler Lashley’s physique makes "The Rock" look like a cabana boy. The talented LaRosa hasn’t been beaten in five years. First bouts for all three are still in the planning stages.
We decided to award our first Gammay’s to the AFL for best production, hottest ring girls, great fights, corporate citizenship – and for bringing MMA to downtown Atlanta. Sitting in the new Philips TacoMac before the fight, the buzz was all MMA. We talked to Mike and Kathy Blumenfeld who drove all the way from Villa Rica for the fights. Mike, 42, has taken up MMA as a personal fitness program, training with Blake Bowman at DefkonOne MMA. Wife Kathy just enjoys the sport and said she was "stoked and ready to see some action." We’re sure they enjoyed it and hope you did too. If you weren’t there, you’ll get another chance in the fall at an AFL pay per view event that is still being planned – don’t miss this one.
Jim Terwoord
GeorgiaMMA.com
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