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Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Taneo: Battle of behemoths
By Paul J. Taneo
Free-for-all
Jame Thompson, at 6-foot-5 and 264 pounds, is big by any definition. But Alexandru Lungu (6-1 and 368lb) is huge.
Thompson is an experienced MMA fighter, but against Lungu, besides the substantial weight difference, the Britisher couldn’t take his Romanian foe lightly (pun unintended). Lungu is a three-time European judo champion and 30-time champ in his native land.
DOWN. Thompson had his work cut out for him in the first round as he was knocked down by a Lungu punch. Lungu tried to finish off Thompson, who fell face first, his back to Lungu. Lungu ran after Thompson and crashed on him. Thompson displayed his power by maneuvering to the guard position with that mass of flesh, bone and fat on top of him.
The two fighters decided to do their fighting standing up and just let go with strikes, using up a lot of their strength, eventually slowing down. Thompson though got the better of the exchange with punches and knees, pressing Lungu into a corner, his back turned to Thompson, who attacked relentlessly with fists.
Lungu was clearly punished and it seemed he was trying to go through the space between the third and top ropes to escape.
The referee got the hint and stepped in to stop the fight in 2:13 of Round 1 for a technical knockout victory for Thompson.
Lighter in poundage, the Zuluzinho-Henry “Sentoryu” Miller pairing was enormous too and it ended 42 seconds earlier than Thompson-Lungu.
As if to show up Thompson and Lungu, Zuluzinho and Sentoryu came out throwing bombs. Zuluzinho retreated to the ropes as he was pummeled but survived. He came back with a knee to Sentoryu’s head. It was the Japanese-American’s turn to be on the receiving end then he tried to shoot. Zuluzinho countered with an effective sprawl coupled with knees to Sentoryu’s head. A third knee strike dropped Sentoryu and the referee was quick to call a halt for the TKO win for the Brazilian.
There was controversy as Sentoryu, like Shamrock later, looked well enough to continue but the ref stood pat on his decision on the stoppage.
In another match involving a Brazilian, Murilo Rua took on Chechnya’s Murad Chunkaev. In an exciting fast-paced fight, Golden Glory’s Chunkaev proved he was a match for the Chute Boxe banger when he took down Rua after the latter tried a flying knee. Chunkaev followed that up with strikes that found Rua down on his ass. With youth and indomitable fighting spirit on his side, Rua got back with an offensive of his own that shook Chunkaev.
Chunkaev took down Rua but was caught in Rua’s guard. In the struggle, Rua got control of Chunkaev’s back. The Russian escaped towards the corner but Rua kept the pressure and pursued Chunkaev, whom he got in a heel-hook to earn a submission win in 3:31 of Round 1.
Another high-profile Pride fighter who lost in previous match – Quinton Jackson to Rua’s younger brother Mauricio – took a win this time. Jackson earned his W over Hirotaka Yokoi, a triple loser beforehand.
Jackson met a measure of resistance from Yokoi at the start, having a go at an omoplata and controlling Jackson from the side. Jackson reversed roles, moving from half guard to side control. Yokoi tried to break away but Jackson had his right knee over Yokoi’s left arm while raining down blows on the Japanese’s head with his right hand. Yokoi pulled away but Jackson got him back in the same position.
HELPLESS. Yokoi was practically helpless and was merely covering his head with his free hand. Jackson, obviously learning much from his training stint at the Chute Boxe Gym in Curitiba, Brazil, stood up, soccer-kicked and stomped on Yokoi’s head. This fight too was stopped by the ref (4:05 of Round 1) for another TKO ending.
The only other match-ups that went the distance besides Crocop-Barnett were Sergei Kharitonov over Fabricio Werdum (split decision) and Makoto Takimoto over Yoon Dong Sik (unanimous decision).
(paulotaneo@yahoo.com)
(November 2, 2005 issue)
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