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Saturday, July 28, 2007

EliteXC's 'ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series' Is In The Books

The lowdown from Santa Ynez, California's (said-to-be-sold-out, though I doubt it) Chumash Casino (as seen on Showtime):

- Hosts were Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros. Ring announcer was Jimmy Lennon Jr. If you really wanted to know any of this, you need to get a fucking life. Ranallo and Quadros hit us with a bunch of facts, but I didn't pay attention to a lot of them, as they tended to get in the way of my enjoying the show.

- Muhsin Corbbrey defeated (unanimous decision of 29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Lee "CM Punk" Gibson. On paper, Corbbrey should've walked through Gibson, but that wasn't the case, which seems to be something of a theme. All standup and tough to score, as only the third was decisive (in Gibson's favor). The first two were way too close to call, with Corbbrey being the more-technical fighter, and Gibson being (especially as the rounds wore on) the more-aggressive fighter. After the fight, Corbbrey continued to be his usual arrogant self, saying he never felt it was close.

- Aaron Rosa defeated (TKO, 5:00, 1st) Jefferson Silva. Has anyone told Rosa how much he and Forrest Griffin sound alike? Maybe I was just tired. Neither fighter had great technique, but this ended up being exciting, especially on the ground, where both men were able to escape submissions and reverse positions. As Silva went back to his corner, there was a cut on his face, which forced the doctor to stop the fight. After the fight, Rosa thanked the Lord, which I could've done without.

- Scott Jorgenson defeated (unanimous decision of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Chris David. As you'd expect from bantamweights, a lot of action! Jorgenson seemed to have the edge in technique, but David, being a freak (and I meant that in a good way), was able to hold his own. I agreed with the 30-27, although the second round, in particular, was close. Fight of the night (although, to be fair, the competition wasn't particularly stiff)! In his post-fight interview, Jorgenson seemed like a classy kid.

- Gladiator Challenge Middleweight title: Jaime Jara retained, defeating (TKO, 4:15, 1st) Jeremiah Metcalf. This was weird, as both guys were fighting at a catch weight of one-hundred-seventy-five-pounds, so not sure why it wasn't a non-title affair. Jara, the wrestler, managed to drop Metcalf with a big right hand, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Going by the post-fight interview, another likable guy.

- Edson Berto defeated (KO, 0:45, 3rd) KJ Noons. Don't ask me how in the fuck this happened, but Noons pretty much dominated all three rounds. By the third, Berto was spent, and when he went for a takedown, he was a sitting duck for a knee to the face. The ref immediately stopped the fight. Still not a big fan of Noons.

Not bad, but wasn't worth my staying up until 1 AM.