On a calm night outside of the world famous Wellington Ballroom I held my ticket to my first Fight Force event. "The Return" has been hyped for weeks as a throwback event by my colleagues.No Belts or Champions on the Card, this one was all about the fights.Usually I am jacked at this kind of notion but Droges has put a bit of a emphasis on this one so I'm worried about what i'll write about if their are no title fights and i'm unfamiliar with the talent(I know alot about them, i've just never been to any on location stuff)The Venue was packed for a show we all hoped to be enough to forget the Tournament Fiasco we all read about a while back,despite a few familiar issues I think they pulled it off...
The night began after a slight delay (more on that in a second) with the opening bout ,pitting Thiago Alves against Journeyman Greg Martin. Anyone who has been paying attention to the press lately has to be aware of the various critics that Martin has dealt with in the weeks leading into his Fight Force 7 Matchup, and to be fair Mr. Martin didn't walk into the cage with the best record. Thiago Alves was looking to do all his talking in the cage however and he surely did as soon as the bell rang the two were immediately all over eachother trying to finish the fight. I was even something to behold as ,I, a first timer to fight force was sucked into Greg Martin's story coming into this fight and found myself rooting for the welterweight to stick it to the hobo who had sneaked into the presser. Then it happened Early in the Second round Martin had attained the mount and ground away at Alves's stamina enough to secure an Americana. As Alves tapped the Crowd erupted and that includes this first time fan.
Okay, here is where the controversy came in. The Card had advertised a Heavyweight match between Massimo Nakamura and Reggie Ray , and we all know there is nothing like a good clash of the titans between two heavyweights but there arose an issue..... come fight time, it wasn't disclosed which one , but ONE of the fighters was unable to fight. Now usually we like to think the best but we have heard from sources that both fighters were seen in adjacent "hotel lobbies" to the arena so travel issues seem to not be the factor which really leaves Making weight and Health Screenings, so lets cross our fingers that this isn't going to be a bigger story later......
The day was saved however as Veteran Fight Force competitor Dan Silkowski Made a Successful Return to the Cage by facing the Debuting Jack Ranallo in a fight that was signed this afternoon(another indication that leads me to believe that there may have been knowledge of issues with the Nakamualra vs Ray Bout)......Despite seeming rocked early on,Silkowski gave the fans a great show as he was able to really show what the Silkowki's do best as he was able to neutralize the newcomer and Tap him out early and get back to the house with minimal damage.
The Co-Main Event of the evening was one of those fights that if you blinked you missed it....but WOW! you would have missed alot! In a fight that is surely in the running for fight of the night, Jorge Castro and Charles Carter Threw everything they had at eachother and Castro threw a headkick that almost shut the fight down in its tracks, and I may be off on this one but it really looked like he was a bit hesitant to "go for the kill" as they say.....and then carter was able to get his barrings, put him on the ground..... and pound him....and pound him.. it was a hell of a ground Ko and i don't think i'll be forgetting it soon, but i am hoping that Mr. Jorge Castro remembers it and knows that next time either YOU pull the trigger or they other fellow will be happy to.
To close the night off we were to get a welterweight bout , We were saying goodbye to Fight Force competitor Brandon Silkowski as he was fighting one last time before Plying his trade in the BUSHIDO ranks. He was Pitted against alternate Hector Castro(related to Jorge? no clue, i should be a better journalist....I'll get on that one.) The Crowd of course popped HUGE for Silkowski, who was caught mouthing " like my new shorts?!?!" to a ringside fan. On the other hand they didn't really know what to make of the man on the other side of the cage. The bell rang and they met in the center and touched gloves, but something else happened. Castro was bringing a hell of a fight to his veteran opponent and going for a Big KO to put on his resume, what would look better than defeating a man on his way to Bushido? One problem though.... Silkowski did this crazy maneuver that threw off Castro's entire gameplan.A TAKEDOWN!!!! I embellish a bit, but you would have had to see it to believe it. We're talking,as soon as this guy was taken down... he stayed down. For 2 1/2 solid rounds Castro was held down and beaten on. Now to his Credit he was able to withstand a BODACIOUS amount of damage , and he did land a headkick that i'm more than sure bloodied the ear of Silkowski (but i couldn't see too well). Either way in by round three the crowd had some people in it rooting for Casto to pull out a miracle but it was The Silkowki Brothers night ,as Brandon was finally able to wear down Castro enough to catch him in an armbar late in the 3rd round. Brandon's farewell match was what capped off the evening for the crowd here at the Wellington....and I'm sure mama Silkowski couldn't be prouder of her boys.
Turns out that the issue of no title fights and a few fighter complications were not a problem for the Fight Force President to overcome, the guys doing a great job under pressure. I certainly can't complain.For my first even i was able to see a man capture his first victory. It was a treat to see the debuts of some of the future of Fight Force. Hell I was even able to see a great return and farewell at the same time.... It's safe to say that I'll be back, but at the moment I have to do my sleeping on the plane as i'm headed to "BUSHIDO 8" at the Horizon arena in Japan.
The night began after a slight delay (more on that in a second) with the opening bout ,pitting Thiago Alves against Journeyman Greg Martin. Anyone who has been paying attention to the press lately has to be aware of the various critics that Martin has dealt with in the weeks leading into his Fight Force 7 Matchup, and to be fair Mr. Martin didn't walk into the cage with the best record. Thiago Alves was looking to do all his talking in the cage however and he surely did as soon as the bell rang the two were immediately all over eachother trying to finish the fight. I was even something to behold as ,I, a first timer to fight force was sucked into Greg Martin's story coming into this fight and found myself rooting for the welterweight to stick it to the hobo who had sneaked into the presser. Then it happened Early in the Second round Martin had attained the mount and ground away at Alves's stamina enough to secure an Americana. As Alves tapped the Crowd erupted and that includes this first time fan.
Okay, here is where the controversy came in. The Card had advertised a Heavyweight match between Massimo Nakamura and Reggie Ray , and we all know there is nothing like a good clash of the titans between two heavyweights but there arose an issue..... come fight time, it wasn't disclosed which one , but ONE of the fighters was unable to fight. Now usually we like to think the best but we have heard from sources that both fighters were seen in adjacent "hotel lobbies" to the arena so travel issues seem to not be the factor which really leaves Making weight and Health Screenings, so lets cross our fingers that this isn't going to be a bigger story later......
The day was saved however as Veteran Fight Force competitor Dan Silkowski Made a Successful Return to the Cage by facing the Debuting Jack Ranallo in a fight that was signed this afternoon(another indication that leads me to believe that there may have been knowledge of issues with the Nakamualra vs Ray Bout)......Despite seeming rocked early on,Silkowski gave the fans a great show as he was able to really show what the Silkowki's do best as he was able to neutralize the newcomer and Tap him out early and get back to the house with minimal damage.
The Co-Main Event of the evening was one of those fights that if you blinked you missed it....but WOW! you would have missed alot! In a fight that is surely in the running for fight of the night, Jorge Castro and Charles Carter Threw everything they had at eachother and Castro threw a headkick that almost shut the fight down in its tracks, and I may be off on this one but it really looked like he was a bit hesitant to "go for the kill" as they say.....and then carter was able to get his barrings, put him on the ground..... and pound him....and pound him.. it was a hell of a ground Ko and i don't think i'll be forgetting it soon, but i am hoping that Mr. Jorge Castro remembers it and knows that next time either YOU pull the trigger or they other fellow will be happy to.
To close the night off we were to get a welterweight bout , We were saying goodbye to Fight Force competitor Brandon Silkowski as he was fighting one last time before Plying his trade in the BUSHIDO ranks. He was Pitted against alternate Hector Castro(related to Jorge? no clue, i should be a better journalist....I'll get on that one.) The Crowd of course popped HUGE for Silkowski, who was caught mouthing " like my new shorts?!?!" to a ringside fan. On the other hand they didn't really know what to make of the man on the other side of the cage. The bell rang and they met in the center and touched gloves, but something else happened. Castro was bringing a hell of a fight to his veteran opponent and going for a Big KO to put on his resume, what would look better than defeating a man on his way to Bushido? One problem though.... Silkowski did this crazy maneuver that threw off Castro's entire gameplan.A TAKEDOWN!!!! I embellish a bit, but you would have had to see it to believe it. We're talking,as soon as this guy was taken down... he stayed down. For 2 1/2 solid rounds Castro was held down and beaten on. Now to his Credit he was able to withstand a BODACIOUS amount of damage , and he did land a headkick that i'm more than sure bloodied the ear of Silkowski (but i couldn't see too well). Either way in by round three the crowd had some people in it rooting for Casto to pull out a miracle but it was The Silkowki Brothers night ,as Brandon was finally able to wear down Castro enough to catch him in an armbar late in the 3rd round. Brandon's farewell match was what capped off the evening for the crowd here at the Wellington....and I'm sure mama Silkowski couldn't be prouder of her boys.
Turns out that the issue of no title fights and a few fighter complications were not a problem for the Fight Force President to overcome, the guys doing a great job under pressure. I certainly can't complain.For my first even i was able to see a man capture his first victory. It was a treat to see the debuts of some of the future of Fight Force. Hell I was even able to see a great return and farewell at the same time.... It's safe to say that I'll be back, but at the moment I have to do my sleeping on the plane as i'm headed to "BUSHIDO 8" at the Horizon arena in Japan.
