Strikers Challenge 13 was a spectacular showcasing of kickboxing abilites which absolutely lived up to the card's name, "Knockout" as EVERY SINGLE FIGHT ENDED IN A FIRST ROUND KNOCKOUT! It sold a Striker's Challenge record breaking 450,000 pay-per-views and was everything the fans wanted to see.
A heavyweight bout between two Strikers' Challenge Veterans: Antonio Dorsey, who was 2-0 before headed into this fight and Reggie "Rampage" Ray, who lost his debut to Dorsey just one event before.
The glove touch showed that neither fighter held hostilies and displayed respect and the fight was underway. Ray tried to engage, but excellent striking technique, speed, and power from Dorsey knocked Ray down just 10 seconds into the first round! Ray got up, but Dorsey put him right back down. The fight lasted just 18 seconds. Incredible win for Dorsey!
Next up was a LHW fight between Ryu Hazuki and Jose "Reign" Cloud. Both fighters were 0-1 having lost their fights at SC 8 and 9 respectively.
The fight started with a glove touch and immediately Ryu gained a huge advantage in the striking, eventually drilling Jose to the canvas. Jose's striking was starting to have an effect on Ryu, but Ryu didn't let up and knocked Jose down yet again. Jose showed true heart by getting up a second time and the fighter had determination in his eyes. He protected well and was landing nice shots, including one huge counter left hook that hurt Ryu. Ryu had Jose to the brink of defeat, and he was starting to push, but Jose took one last move of desperation, landing a counter head kick FLASH KO that won him the fight.
Jose was later awarded Knockout of the Night for his KO.
The next fight was a rematch middleweight bout between Victor Belfort and Jerrod Bishop. In their first meeting, Victor reigned supreme, but this time Jerrod Bishop brought his A-game. He brought the fire and the artilery. He won the rematch and erased any doubts of his striking ability. This was a great fight and Jerrod deserves prop for a hard-fought hard-won fight.
The Co-Main Event was a battle between Debut fighter Colin McCullough and SC #1 ranked MW Jamal Dixon. The fight moved quickly as Colin pulled off one of the hugest upsets in Strikers' Challenge history by knocking out Dixon in the very first round. Now, we'll see just how scary this man is when he steps into the ring on November 5th for the SC Middleweight Grand Prix. No doubt, this was no fluke, Jamal Dixon will have another chance to stop McCullough.
This fight was decided as the most exciting fight on the card and was given the Fight of the Night Honors.
The Main Event was a Light-Heavyweight bout as SC vet, the 7-3 Leon Hawkins then brought the fight to the relatively untested 2-0 Rickson Ellis.
This bout was watched with great eyes as they touched gloves and the bout began. The fighters began feeling there opponent out, taking almost no damage until Ellis got the better of an exchange and backed Hawkins to the corner. Unfortunately, Ellis gassed and ate a head kick from his cornered foe. He disengaged to regain his stamina, and Hawkins escaped the corner. Hawkins then started to unload, rocking his opponent with a flurry of strikes. This was an INCREDIBLE exchange for Hawkins, pulling out an Anderson Silva-like kick, knocking Ellis to the canvas. Ellis showed his heart and got back to his feet. 4:14 on the clock as the fighters touch gloves again. They continued to fight back and forth with nobody really gaining an advantage. Then, out of nowhere, Ellis landed an AMAZING flying knee! For a moment, Hawkins had NOTHING left for Ellis, but Ellis gassed and backed off to breathe again. The pace finally slowed for a moment, but Ellis landed an inside quick hook that took the consciousness from Hawkins and ripped it out of him! KO!
What a win for Rickson Ellis, and in my mind, he's the man to watch along with TJ Crawford in the SC LHW Grand Prix this week. And of course, don't forget Colin McCollough who shocked the world by defeating the #1 ranked MW in SC in his OMMA debut.
Striker's Challenge Light-Heavyweight Grand Prix date: 10-22-11
Striker's Challenge Middleweight Grand Prix date: 11-5-11
From all of us here at OMMA behind the Scenes, I'm senior sport's columnist Rainboi21, signing off.
A heavyweight bout between two Strikers' Challenge Veterans: Antonio Dorsey, who was 2-0 before headed into this fight and Reggie "Rampage" Ray, who lost his debut to Dorsey just one event before.
The glove touch showed that neither fighter held hostilies and displayed respect and the fight was underway. Ray tried to engage, but excellent striking technique, speed, and power from Dorsey knocked Ray down just 10 seconds into the first round! Ray got up, but Dorsey put him right back down. The fight lasted just 18 seconds. Incredible win for Dorsey!
Next up was a LHW fight between Ryu Hazuki and Jose "Reign" Cloud. Both fighters were 0-1 having lost their fights at SC 8 and 9 respectively.
The fight started with a glove touch and immediately Ryu gained a huge advantage in the striking, eventually drilling Jose to the canvas. Jose's striking was starting to have an effect on Ryu, but Ryu didn't let up and knocked Jose down yet again. Jose showed true heart by getting up a second time and the fighter had determination in his eyes. He protected well and was landing nice shots, including one huge counter left hook that hurt Ryu. Ryu had Jose to the brink of defeat, and he was starting to push, but Jose took one last move of desperation, landing a counter head kick FLASH KO that won him the fight.
Jose was later awarded Knockout of the Night for his KO.
The next fight was a rematch middleweight bout between Victor Belfort and Jerrod Bishop. In their first meeting, Victor reigned supreme, but this time Jerrod Bishop brought his A-game. He brought the fire and the artilery. He won the rematch and erased any doubts of his striking ability. This was a great fight and Jerrod deserves prop for a hard-fought hard-won fight.
The Co-Main Event was a battle between Debut fighter Colin McCullough and SC #1 ranked MW Jamal Dixon. The fight moved quickly as Colin pulled off one of the hugest upsets in Strikers' Challenge history by knocking out Dixon in the very first round. Now, we'll see just how scary this man is when he steps into the ring on November 5th for the SC Middleweight Grand Prix. No doubt, this was no fluke, Jamal Dixon will have another chance to stop McCullough.
This fight was decided as the most exciting fight on the card and was given the Fight of the Night Honors.
The Main Event was a Light-Heavyweight bout as SC vet, the 7-3 Leon Hawkins then brought the fight to the relatively untested 2-0 Rickson Ellis.
This bout was watched with great eyes as they touched gloves and the bout began. The fighters began feeling there opponent out, taking almost no damage until Ellis got the better of an exchange and backed Hawkins to the corner. Unfortunately, Ellis gassed and ate a head kick from his cornered foe. He disengaged to regain his stamina, and Hawkins escaped the corner. Hawkins then started to unload, rocking his opponent with a flurry of strikes. This was an INCREDIBLE exchange for Hawkins, pulling out an Anderson Silva-like kick, knocking Ellis to the canvas. Ellis showed his heart and got back to his feet. 4:14 on the clock as the fighters touch gloves again. They continued to fight back and forth with nobody really gaining an advantage. Then, out of nowhere, Ellis landed an AMAZING flying knee! For a moment, Hawkins had NOTHING left for Ellis, but Ellis gassed and backed off to breathe again. The pace finally slowed for a moment, but Ellis landed an inside quick hook that took the consciousness from Hawkins and ripped it out of him! KO!
What a win for Rickson Ellis, and in my mind, he's the man to watch along with TJ Crawford in the SC LHW Grand Prix this week. And of course, don't forget Colin McCollough who shocked the world by defeating the #1 ranked MW in SC in his OMMA debut.
Striker's Challenge Light-Heavyweight Grand Prix date: 10-22-11
Striker's Challenge Middleweight Grand Prix date: 11-5-11
From all of us here at OMMA behind the Scenes, I'm senior sport's columnist Rainboi21, signing off.