The Score Fighting Series Delivers Knockout

 The television network The Score held its first MMA promotional event in Ontario last night. They packed an exciting card into a cozy venue, Mississauga's The Hershey Center, and delivered a fantastic show. Fans were given reasons to cheer, to be amazed, heartbroken, and to return!

This card was comparable to that of any other promotion's. The fighters selected came through and showcased skill and heart.

Not one of the 10 bouts disappointed. Here is a synopsis of each fight, but a spoiler alert for those wishing to catch the fights rebroadcast on The Score network.

Mike Reilly def. Tyler Hardcastle by KO at 2:02 of the second round

Tyler Hardcastle and Mike Reilly opened  the action auspiciously with a competitive battle resulting in a knockout win for Reilly at 2:02 of the second round. Tyler dominated the first with a dynamic striking attack that included a short elbow strike which he landed hard and often. Reilly managed to score well from the clinches and although he answered Tyler’s shots, he got the worse of many of the exchanges. In the second round, Mike managed to procure a dominant body lock position and slammed Hardcastle to the mat with such conviction that he knocked him out. This concluded a fan friendly affair that saw neither man give an inch and with impressive rallies from both competitors. A great way to introduce The Score Fighting Series to Ontario.

Alex Ricci def. Mike Sledzion by KO at 1:24 of the second round

Alex Ricci improved to 2-0 in front of his hometown fans with a dream performance. Ricci, a well respected local Muay Thai fighter and coach, showed superb technique and aplomb. While Sledzion countered with some flurries that backed up Ricci—and even stung him at times—the first round was a dominant showing for Alex. Sledzion's inability to check kicks and the disparity in power between his kicks and Ricci's made a big difference. 

Alex's long career of international Muay Thai competition made the difference in this stand-up war as he never really looked threatened in the bout and eventually timed a Sledzion leg kick with a perfectly executed overhand right that was right out of a  Muay Thai 101 class. The overhand knocked him out, a second right hand woke him back up, and a last elbow for good measure put an exclamation mark on a memorable showing. Put Alex Ricci on your fighters to watch list.

Tristan Johnson def. William Romero by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, and 29-28)

This was a contest where both were good enough to prevent the other from doing anything dominant and neither was good enough to take control. Both men were game and gave a great show, but neither distinguished themselves. Romero displayed some beautiful Jiu Jitsu and an impressive belief in his submission skills. He threatened with kneebars and other subs from the bottom, but seemed to have range issues on his feet. He backed up Johnson with fluid kicks, but usually seemed to be several inches from hitting his target effectively. Johnson did well in the multitude of exchanges and convinced the judges he won in a fight where either man could have been given the decision.

It appeared that both have the heart of a fighter and both are still in need of fine tuning their wrestling and striking to be consistently successful at this level. A very even fight that pleased the fans, but showed that both are "works-in-progress".

Kurt Southern def. Jorge Britto by Unanimous Decision (29-28 30-26 29-28)

Jorge Britto is an icon in the local BJJ community. His name is synonymous with Toronto BJJ, one of the most prestigious Jiu Jitsu clubs in the country, and he amazed BJJ practitioners and neophytes alike with an amazing display of how lethal the art of Jiu Jitsu is. In the first round, he threatened arm bars with Yogi-like flexibility from his closed guard. However, it was an MMA event and the all around skills of Kurt Southern prevailed. Kurt won with the cleaner and crisper strikes, strong wrestling takedowns, great submission defence, and classic ground-and-pound counters to Jiu Jitsu attacks.

While it looked that Britto was spent and his punches lacked the savvy and power to be effective, he managed to give his many fans in attendance a reason to believe in him and his art. He ended a second round, in which he was dominated and busted, with a slick guillotine attempt and a transition to a triangle that was prematurely ended by the bell.

In an amazing display of resilience, the tired and weary fighter secured back control with four minutes to go in the third round. It appeared he may pull off the come from behind win and satisfy the pleas of the supportive crowd, but Southern was solid in his defence. Despite having a tight body lock and a few close entries for the rear naked choke, the submission was not forthcoming. A knee bar attempt with a minute to go in the fight also seemed to be close, but in the end Kurt Southern won with better overall skills.

It should also be noted that the gloves appeared to be larger and less conforming than the ones fighters normally train with. According to Adrian Wooley, they were "Rock 'em Sock 'em" gloves that made gripping difficult. This quite possibly was a factor that impeded Britto’s ability to secure the choke. Overall, this match teased the crowd and spoke volumes to the character and heart of both men. Mister Southern is someone to keep an eye on.

 Josh Hill def. Darin Cooley by Unanimous Decision (30-27 29-28 30-27)

Cooley, out of Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu, entered into the cage with Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA in an apparent attempt to not ingratiate himself to the Canadian crowd. Hill’s game plan of using his superior striking to set up takedowns, avoiding submissions and scoring with ground-and-pound worked very well.

 The Californian countered some of the takedowns with a strong Whizzer that he used to throw Hill off-balance with at times. However, most of the fight was won by Hill from strikes landed on the feet and on the ground.  Meanwhile, the quality of Cooley’s ground game could not be ignored. He amazingly transitioned from one submission attack to another, had impressive sweep attempts, used a rubber guard variation, and legitimately threatened Hill from many positions.

It appeared he was too loose with his gogoplata attempts and that was what allowed Hill to posture and escape his closed guard where he was the most dangerous. Cooley did in fact win over fans and with improvements in his striking and perfecting some submissions, he could develop into a formidable fighter. In today's MMA, one skill set rarely wins and Hill easily won the decision and overcame a very difficult challenge by being well versed in many disciplines.  

Nick Mamalis def. Adrian Wooley by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

The remaining fights were of such high calibre that they could easily equal or best any promotion’s undercard. This epic encounter can be summarized by one word: grit. Adrian Wooley, a local G.T.A. fighter, who did very well for Brock University on the Canadian university circuit, battled Western Wyoming  wrestling coach Nick Mamalis. The two gave the fans the fight of the night. A fight that any sports fan should watch. A classic come from behind theme made this an intense clash that rocked the crowd.

Mamalis, who grew up in a small wrestling town,- with no boxing nor jiu jitsu- scored with big shots while they were locked up. Mamalis on why he was able to land such big shots: " I knew his game plan was to shoot, so I was waiting for him with my uppercut." His plan worked.

Wooley, who stands at 5'4" tall, was rocked hard early with an uppercut and  a knee while locked up just 45 seconds into the encounter. According to Mamalis (5'7"), Wooley went out for a second. The referee came close to stopping it twice in the first two minutes. Mamalis: “At one point he went limp and his eyes closed. I thought he was done there. Then he jumped back into the shot.”

Wooley definitely came to life with that shot attempt. His wrestling instincts kicked in and he managed to get a hold of the former Bellator fighter and turned the round completely around. He scored Matt Hughes-esque slams to the delight of the raucous fans. He dominated from top position and scored with ground-and-pound for the rest of the round. Although, the shots were usually slightly out of range (possibly due to his limited  arm length) to cause damage or were blocked, Adrian did come back and win the round for most observers.

The second round began poorly again for Wooley. He was touched up in the striking and began to bleed badly from the nose and head. Adrian then suddenly found his range. He began landing from the outside with heavy punches and for most of the round pushed the pace of the fight and landed better in the exchanges. He also ended the round with another takedown and on top of Nick as he tried to score with shots from the American's guard. Round two was another close round that, despite his bloodied appearance, probably deserved to go to the smaller fighter for his cage control, cleaner striking, takedowns and scoring from the top ground position.

Adrian, behind chants of “Wooley, Wooley. Wooley!”, took it to his opponent from the get go in the final stanza. He scored with more amazing takedowns, won the stand up battle, and was on top throwing strikes with excellent control for the final minutes of the round. Arguably, Wooley won the round 10-8 (although neither fighter saw it that way). Surprisingly, the judges awarded a split decision win to the outsider and left the hometowner with only his second career loss. Adrian was classy in defeat speaking highly of Mamalis and taking sole responsibility for the loss. Cage side observers Don Wilson and Sean McManus also scored the fight for Wooley. Wooley: “It was a tough fight and he was a tough opponent. I wanted to fight a guy with a name and I got what I wanted “

Although it was technically sloppy at times, it never lacked in action. There are two important notes regarding this fight. One is that it is a must see. Two is that an immediate rematch is required. For the record, both fighters quickly agreed to the idea of a rematch. No official word from The Score on that proposition has been announced.

Antonio Carvalho def. Doug Evans by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, and 30-27)

Carvalho entering the show was rumoured to be a win away from being invited to join the UFC. This appeared to have impacted him. The effort seemed more consistent with a fight to not lose mentality more than fighting to win. Tony was cautious and while both men proved they are elite MMA fighters and showed the highest level of skills neither took a risk to dominate the other.

Yes, thee were exciting moments in the fights and some solid shots were landed by bothn the end, it was a safer more methodical match than anything else. In the end, Carvalho showed why he deserves to be in the most prestigious promotion in the world. There is ample evidence that he is a complete fighter and is ready to shine on the brightest stage. Evans also fared well, but was the less aggressive man who allowed the pace to be dictated. Although Doug also clearly demonstrated that he is a well rounded fighter with a solid game, he just is not quite at Carvalho’s level.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Roy Boughton by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, and 29-28)

Can Sokoudjou get back to the top? Yes, absolutely. The African Assassin showed a diverse range of attacks that were representative of how skilled he really is. He used thunderous leg kicks, high impact Judo throws, solid striking combinations, and most importantly composure to win a convincing decision over a very tough up and comer with a bright future.

Boughton, coming in on short notice and with only six previous fights, did well against the veteran. He also represents Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and showed some impressive ground skills. He managed to escape from the bottom after being thrown several times and even secured mount position in the third round. The gloves again appeared to be a factor as he could not finish on his submission attempts. However, it was the striking combinations and the uppercut counter to Roy’s shot/clinch attempts that won it for the former UFC and Pride star.

Joe Doerksen def. Luigi Fioravanti by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, and 29-28)

These two delivered what they promised: action. Both fighters are veterans of the highest stage and have nearly 100 pro wins collectively. The first round saw Joe winning with his wrestling takedowns and applying pressure to the knockout artist from American Top Team.

The second round showcased Fioravanti’s striking. He used crisp combinations and created good angles to allow himself to land hard shots against the always moving forward Canadian grappler. The impact of the head shots sent significant amounts of sweat flying from Joe’s head into the air. Luigi also mixed it up and scored to the body. Joe: “Fortunately, I have a decent chin. He rocked me with a couple of times but I recover quickly-usually after a couple of seconds I am back to normal.” Joe suffered a badly damaged nose that bled profusely.

 The third round was simply a war. Both fighters stood and exchanged until Joe took him down and seemed content to sit safely in the BJJ brown belt’s guard. Joe:” At that point, I knew I was ahead two and a half rounds, it was smarter to be safe. He did not make anything easy for me while in his guard and I had to fight smart.” Although, the judges had seen it the same way as Joe, the fight was virtually a stalemate with both sides holding a legitimate claim to a victory.

The official scoring was a surprise as Joe clearly won the first, lost the second, and no clear winner seemed to reveal themselves from the third. Regardless, it was an exciting affair and the crowd witnessed two of the best fighters on the planet leave it all inside the cage.

Jordan Mein def. Marius Zaromskis by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, and 29-28)

For those that do not know the name Jordan Mein, learn it. Jordan’s last three wins have come over Joe Riggs, Josh Burkman, and last night he added Dream champion Marius Zaromskis to the growing list of top fighters whom have been dispatched by “Young Guns”. For those that love exciting stand-up action with video game kicks by the best of the best, check out this bout.

It opened with Marius trying a patented “Rolling Thunder” kick which Jordan was prepared for and brought a chuckle from the composed 21-year-old. That set the tone for the next three rounds. Both exchanged ridiculous striking combinations consisting of spinning back fists, flying sidekicks, movie-esque round houses and a true showcase of advanced martial arts.

Jordan injured his foot when a front kick was blocked by an elbow in the first round. Yet, he pushed through it and displayed amazing poise and vision. He saw all the attacks as they came at him and countered as if they were choreographed. Zaromskis is a phenomenal striker who was out-struck by the amazing young man from Lethbridge, Alberta. Round one to the prodigy.

In the second round, the Lithuanian took control of the pace with relentless attacks and heavy pressure. Lee, Jordan’s father and sole cornerman for the fight, let his son know he needed to pick it up. Lee: “Jordan got tired from the exciting kicks they were throwing and he became too worried about making a mistake. I told him that was a close round, don’t trust the judges. Pick up the pace. Pressure and mix up the attacks.”

Jordan listened. He continued to keep the fight on the feet against a world class striker and controlled the cage and applied the pressure. He backed up the highlight reel head-kicker and beat him at his own game. He only used his shots to set up strikes and scored enough to win the round.

For those perplexed as to why Jordan chose to keep the action in his opponent’s strongest area, Jordan believes in himself. “I knew he could knock me out at anytime because of his kicking ability. I also believe I could have knocked him out too. I know I can compete with the best in the world and I wanted to give the fans an exciting show.” That, they both accomplished. Jordan says his next step is to go right back to training. He does need to ice his leg and also plans to chill with his friends back home too. “I had a blast in there. I am really sore now, but I had a great time.”

The Score has now set their bar very high. The fans left having undergone serious emotional turmoil and experienced waves of excitement, anticipation and amazement. While fans may have been disappointed that Britto and Wooley did not leave with wins, the Toronto based fighters impressed all with their performances and solidified their status as some of the nation's top fighters. A Wooley-Mamalis rematch would sell, Mein proved he can be a main event with the highest competition in the world, and Sokoudjou showed he is worthy of his reputation. There are great storylines available for future cards. Based on last night, their next show is worth seeing. Check out their website www.thescore.com for upcoming shows and scheduling.