Horwich TKOs Rosholt in OK

Matt Horwich (right), with Joe Christopher, who won the XFN welterweight title that night.

Legends MMA’s favorite metaphysician, Matt Horwich, upset local favorite Jake Rosholt at November 12^th’s “Xtreme Fight Night” at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, defeating the three-time NCAA champion in the third round by TKO due to strikes.

“I lost the first round. . . .My game plan was to come back strong the second round. I won that round, finished him in the third round by TKO. So I was thankful the fight went beautiful. It was kind of like a rope-a-dope in the first round, except it was on the ground, so I guess I’ll call it a ground-a-dope,” joked the ever-optimistic Horwich.

By all accounts, Roshalt’s two takedowns and ground-and-pound in the first secured him the round. Horwich tried to secure a footlock and wear his opponent’s cardio out. Seemingly, the slow-burn worked, as Horwich took over in the second, taking Rosholt’s back and implementing his own offensive of punches and rear naked choke attempt. Rosholt escaped, reversed, and went for a guillotine choke, but sure enough, Horwich had his own escape, moving to side control and forcing more ground-and-pound action to round’s end. Round three saw another Rosholt takedown and Horwich reversal, respectively, before they were back to their feet. Finally, Horwich scored his own takedown, mounted Rosholt’s back, and threw punches at will until the referee called for the end.

“When he came back [after the first round], what I told him was that [Rosholt] put a lot of energy into that round, and let’s just make him work everywhere. I want him to work everywhere that he’s at. I want him to have to worry about something everywhere. And Matt just put it to him,” said Brady.

For the reigning Powerhouse World Promotions champion, match result wasn’t just an exercise in redemption, but also in the power of positivity.

“There’s a lot of positive momentum going with our team. After I lost my previous fight [at Bellator 28, against Eric Schambari], I heard my teammates storming in, all mad they lost their fights as well. And I felt like God was up to something with it. So I was telling them if we can keep the same positive momentum after a loss, it’s going to be a huge advantage. . . And I told them I’d be telling them ‘I told you so’ after the next fights. And then Brady came and was cornering me for this fight. So after the fight, I said ‘I told you so.’

Oklahoma itself was a welcome trip for both fighter and corner, however, as both share an affinity and reverence for Native American culture and spirituality.

“When I found out we were going to an Indian reservation, I was kind of excited. You can definitely feel it in the air and in the land. It’s a special place,” said Brady.

“We hung out with some Comanches after the fight, because one of them fought. It was a beautiful experience and cool memory,” added Horwich.

As if a weekend win in the Sooner State wasn’t enough good news, Horwich also is close to signing a three-fight deal with the Palace Fighting Championships, located at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore. PFC has hosted a who’s who of top-tier free agent fighters, such as Razor Rob McCullough, John Alessio, James ‘Sandman’ Irvin, Ulysses Gomez, and even Legends’ alum Jorge Oliveira.

Horwich expects to make his PFC debut in February 2011.

Of course, no Matt Horwich fight would be complete without a new nickname, and indeed, the man of 1,000 monikers seems to have outdone himself in Oklahoma, reportedly declaring himself ‘The Multiverse-Surfing-Sabretoothed-River-Dolphin-Lion-of-God.’

“I had it on the back of my shirt when I walked into the ring. But the Lion of God part wasn’t on it . . . that would have been a lot of money for the printing. Especially if I had Limit Smasher in it too,” he explained deadpan.

The victory also continues Brady’s consecutive string of wins as a chief second. The bantamweight fighter first took the cornerman reins in August, at Combat Fight League, helping teammates Alan Jouban and Eugene Marenya win. In October, Brady supported Garren Smith in his return to the cage after a 10-month hiatus.

“It’s something special. Those certain moments that you experience with people. . . Most people don’t have any idea what that’s like. Right before someone’s about to go out in someone’s hometown and fight five five-minute rounds of combat. That’s a special moment for someone, whether they win or they lost. That’s the most emotional and important part.”

In other XFN action that night:

185 lbs. Amateur MMA – Andrew Todhunter def. Jazz Pierce via submission (triangle choke), R1, 1:36.

155 lbs. Amateur MMA – Brandon McDougal def. James Warren via unanimous decision.

175 lbs. Amateur MMA – Jesse Chaffin def. Wes Long via TKO, R2.

122 lbs. Female Boxing – Chelsea Colarelli def. Jasmine Simmons via TKO / refuse to answer the bell, R2.

160 lbs. Amateur MMA – Charles Wright def. Johnny Wester via unanimous decision.

190 lbs. MMA – Trey Houston def. Brandon Lyons via submission (armbar), R1, 0:44.

170 lbs. Boxing – Codale Ford def. David Taylor via unanimous decision.

XFN 145 lbs. Championship – Nate Murdock def. Josh Pulsifer via TKO, R1.

205 lbs. Kickboxing – Randy Blake def. Ruben Zammaron via TKO, R3.

XFN 170 lbs. Championship – Joe Christopher def. Levi Avera via submission (arm triangle), R3.

168 lbs. Boxing – George Tahdooahnippah def. Steve Warren via TKO, R2.

Special thanks to Dwayne Davis of the Urban Tulsa Weekly for assistance with the event results.

China defeats US 5-3 in best of nine kickboxing series

Photos by Ray Kasprowicz

Lin Shuai was antics and business at "USA vs. China" kicking his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Sino-US relations took another big step towards cooperative diplomacy at Harrah’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on November 13^th, as the televised Chinese martial arts series WuLinFeng and In Sync Productions’ World Combat Kickboxing (WCK) presented “WuLinFeng Las Vegas Spectacular: USA vs. China.” This event was taped for broadcast on Henan TV in China, as well as other international carriers of WCK Muay Thai.

“I thought there were some great donnybrooks,” said Dennis Warner, event promoter and In Sync president.

The nine-bout pro-am card was a mix of seven WuLinFeng rules and two full Muay Thai rules, with the Nevada State Athletic Commission overseeing sanction and regulation. In the end, China edged out the Americans, winning five matches, including both WCK full rules Muay Thai matches. However, the Americans had their moral victories as well, winning three matches under WuLinFeng rules. The lone female match on the card, a WCK full rules Muay Thai match, ended in a draw.

WuLinFeng closely resemble K-1 kickboxing rules, which prohibits elbows to the head and does not count trips to the ground as knockdowns. Between the rules in most matches and the Chinese-heavy crowd, the night was a showcase of Chinese martial arts stars. And although that didn’t prevent the American side from providing formidable opposition and even a few upsets, the design and booking behind the night was not only clear, but on many levels, intentional.

“Primarily, we marketed to the Chinese audience, and part of that was the date. Manny Pacquiao is fighting the same night, so we focused more on doing the Chinese fighting style . . . when you’re trying to expand a market, you have to go into some demographic groups that don’t necessarily understand fighting, but when they come and get energized by it. . . I had so many Chinese Americans come up to me and say ‘wow, we never come, but we really love this, and we want to come back’,” explained promoter Dennis Warner.

Southern California's Shane Oblonsky used body shots to upset Xu Yan via unanimous decision.

Among the highlights of the night was a career-vaulting decision win by Southern California’s Shane Oblonsky over Xu “The Chinese Lion” Yan, a K-1 fighter who recently beat Muay Thai legend Malaipet Sitraprom in Malaysia.

“Every time I would throw a punch, he had a really high guard. I watched his fights before, and he leaves his body open. So I was just trying to get him to open up a little bit, and try to punish him a little bit to the body,“ he said. “Hopefully, that’ll catch some attention, and I can get a fight [in Japan].”

With a win over such an accredited opponent, Oblonsky finds himself several notches closer to title contention.

“Shane fought on many of my shows. I turned him pro. He got knocked out in his first fight, and since that first fight, he’s won five in a row. So he’s really become a force of nature. I look forward to seeing him vie for a WBC national title pretty soon,” said Warner.

Likewise, Adrien Grotte claimed the finish of the night, a second-round KO on Yi Long via left hook. Ironically, it was Yi, the self-proclaimed “Warrior Monk,” who established an early lead, tripping Grotte twice in the first 30 seconds of round one.

“We knew he was going to be awkward, because he’s not really fighting out of a Muay Thai or kickboxing type position. He’s trying to incorporate some traditional kung fu, which is cool, I guess. . . He’s very fast. He’s good right side, left side. But he had nothing that was scary . . . And he drops his hands. You just can’t do that in front of Adrien,” said Grotte’s trainer, Bob Karmel.

“I’ve been trying to get Adrien on one of [Dennis’] cards, because Adiren’s a very impressive fighter. He has that physical look that’s good for marketing, and he’s a strong, devastating fighter. . . He is one aggressive, hungry guy who can take some punishment and keeps on going. So when Dennis gave us an opportunity to fight on a bit of a high profile show like this, we just had to jump on it,” added Karmel.

For the Chinese, the big finish was when Wang Hongxiang stopped “Cowboy” Heath Harris in round one with leg kicks, until the referee called off the match at 2:59, literally the last second of the first round. The two light heavyweights swung hard, heavy and wild, with Wang continuously attacking Harris’ knees and thighs, to chop down the big cowboy to the end. Wang is the captain of the Chinese team, and previously beat Joe Schilling last year in the same town.

Likewise, big-name Chinese fighters Kang Er and Li Ning walked away with strong decision wins, though it was the demonstrably brash and theatrical Lin Shuai who provided the antics for the night. Lin, whose surname literally translates as “handsome,” came out with a very nontraditional swagger of arrogance, and continued to make big, challenging faces to his opponent, Alfred Khashkyan, and even the audience. The match itself was in impressive slugfest of alpha male attitude, though in the end, Lin proved to have the skills to pay the bills, earning a decisive unanimous decision.

“You love those types of guys. He’s a good-looking guy. He loves being in the ring. He loves fighting. It makes it easy to be promotable. Because people identify with that. They want that confidence. They want that aura of invincibility. And he brings that,” commented Warner.

WuLinFeng Las Vegas Spectacular full results are as follows:

WuLinFeng Cruiserweight Bout – Andy Kapel def. Guo Qiang 郭强 via unanimous decision on scores of 29-28.

WBC Muay Thai International Super Lightweight Bout – Kang En康恩 def. Ben Yelle via unanimous decision.

WuLinFeng Middleweight Bout – Hong Guang 洪光 def. Jack Thames via TKO / corner threw in the towel, R2, 2:52.

WBC Muaythai Super Featherweight Bout (5 rounds) – Li Ning 李宁def. Nat McIntyre via unanimous decision off scores of 50-45.

WuLinFeng Super Welterweight Bout – Shane Oblonsky def Xu Yan 徐炎via unanimous decision off scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.

WuLinFeng Light Heavyweight Bout – Wang Hongxiang 王洪祥 def. “Cowboy” Heath Harris via TKO / referee’s stoppage, R1, 2:59

WuLinFeng Women’s Featherweight Bout – Tiffany vanSoest majority draw Wang Mung 王聪 off scores of 29-28, 28-28, and 28-28.

WuLinFeng Super Lightweight Bout – Lin Shuai 林帅def. Alfred Khashakyan via unanimous decision off scores of 30-27.

WuLinFeng Middleweight Bout – Adrien Grotte def. Yi Long 一龙 via KO, R2, 0:44.

WuLinFeng and Dennis Warner's WCK came together on November 13th for their second "USA vs. China" series in Las Vegas, NV.

The WuLinFeng – In Sync partnership dates back three years, when Warner started bringing Chinese fighters over for his Muay Thai events in the States. After awhile, a mutual talent trade started to develop, including several “USA vs. China” events in the People’s Republic. Their inaugural event with this theme was in August 2009 at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Now, with a second domestic “USA vs. China” event under their belts, Warner acknowledges that the partners are looking to build and expand on the theme.

“In our partnership with Wulinfeng, we’re talking about doing more of an international show, where we bring WCK and Wulinfeng to different countries around the world, and make it more of a worldwide sport. Not just focusing on the US or China. Obviously, the US and China are the two big economic powerhouses in the world, so it makes sense to keep doing this, and we will. . . We’re trying to help them and they’re trying to help us. And that’s what really motivates businesses to grow together.”

Legends sweeps with wins at Combat Fight League

The combined Legends MMA - Bond Squad MMA team went undefeated at CFL's Halloween Fight Fest in Oxnard.

The treats came a day early for Chris Reilly and Amir Rahnavardi’s four-man squad over Halloween weekend, as amateur fighters from Legends MMA and Bond Squad MMA swept Combat Fight League’s ‘Halloween Fight Fest’ on October 30^th at West Coast Jiu Jitsu in Oxnard, CA.

Reilly and Rahnavardi brought Bond Squad brothers ‘Pistol Pete’ and Andrew ‘Worst Case Scenario’ Mostowa, protégés of Rahnavardi’s, along with Legends MMA’s Dustin Mueller and Alan Jouban. Mueller and Peter walked away with decision victories, while Jouban and Andrew both finished their opponents in late in the first round.

“Everybody did real well. My brother’s fight went real well. Probably as good as anyone could have guessed or wanted it to go. Dustin, his fight, he did a lot of good things in it. And then Alan, he’s undefeated . . . that sort of keeps that ball rolling. With us all winning, it just made it a great night,” said Pistol Pete.

“Just knowing that they’re Amir’s guys, you feel like you’re part of the same team. Because Amir is just everybody’s boy. It’s camaraderie,” Jouban said of his teammates for the night.

As one part of the main event, Jouban wasn’t able to watch their matches until seeing video footage after the event, but their continual victories throughout the night helped keep his spirits high and focused during his warm-up backstage.

“When everyone’s winning, that energy, feeding off of it . . . It always puts you at ease when you see them happy and laughing.”

Andrew Mostowa concurred, saying that his older brother’s win helped set the tone for his own debut: “It helped a lot. It was like ‘alright, we have one win under our belt. Let’s make it another one.’ We’re pretty close, so it’s just one of those things.”

155 lbs. – Pete Mostowa (Bond Squad MMA) def. Carlos Sanchez (West Coast Jiu Jitsu) via decision

Pistol Pete’s previous match, at the first Combat Fight League event, was a lopsided affair in which West Coast Fight Academy favorite Francisco “Turtle” Estrada overwhelmed the then-debuting young gun. In this return match, however, Pete was more composed and relaxed.

Sanchez caught Pete with several shots and a takedown early in the first round. After some scrapping, Pete ended up on bottom and worked to set up a triangle or armbar. When Sanchez stood up, Pete slapped on a tight kneebar which had Sanchez close to tapping. Round two saw similar action. Pete had a mount on Sanchez, who flipped him over. Pete was able to set up an oma plata, but was too crowded against the cage to finish. Round three showcased both men’s stand-up skills. Pete pushed Sanchez against the cage and landed several knees before round’s end.

Judges awarded Pete Mostowa the victory by split decision.

“It was a real close match that went back and forth, and because I was working the whole time for submissions and the positions I was in, I was trying to get the better position and do something . . . That’s when the judges kind of saw that and gave me the decision,” theorized Pete.

(From left): Dustin "Dirty D" Mueller, "Pistol Pete" Mostowa, & Andrew "Worst Case Scenario" Mostowa

“Peter’s a really good fighter. He’s really complete. . . His last fight didn’t get him much experience. So this fight . . . he learned a lot,” noted Rahnavardi.

Dustin Mueller felt that Pete was particularly strong on the ground, noting “Pete was going for a lot of submissions on the ground. . . He seemed definitely more aggressive in this second fight. . . He was transitioning from one move to the other.”

205 lbs. – Dustin Mueller (Legends MMA) vs. Paul Elias (West Coast Fight Academy)

Though he came in with a significant height and reach advantage, Mueller went through several opponent changes, and subsequent weight class changes, which took its toll on his cardio reserves. After his initial fight (at light heavyweight) fell through, Mueller got booked for a heavyweight scrap, and subsequently started to add weight. However, one week before the fight, his light heavyweight match was back on, forcing Mueller to cut 15 pounds in a week, with no prior weight-cutting experience.

“I learned a lot about my body and my whole self. Because I never got to really cut weight. I just felt weak. It was a weird feeling. But thank God that I won. The next fight will be a lot different for me, for sure,” he said in retrospect.

Elias almost immediately shot in early in round one. He caught a knee from Mueller and used it to score a takedown. Elias stacked himself over Mueller on the ground and threw rights, trying to pass guard, but Mueller kept control of Elias’ head and set up an armbar. Mueller flipped over, but Elias stayed on him and threw headshots from behind. Mueller managed to pop his head out the back door, but Elias scrambled and sunk in a guillotine choke, stuffing Mueller in the corner and taking his back as the round ended. Round two saw Mueller keep the match on the feet for the most part, throwing sporadic combinations. Mueller pushed Elias against the cage with lefts and rights. Elias charged for a double-leg takedown and got it, but Mueller transitioned out to side control near round’s end. Round three saw Mueller kept control of the center of the cage and pressure Elias with combos. Elias went for another takedown and eventually took Mueller’s back, but Mueller flipped him over and threw rights from front facelock top position to the end of the match.

Judges awarded Dustin Mueller the victory by unanimous decision on scores of 29-28.

“Dustin’s married, and he’s got three kids, and he’s got a full-time job. So he’s one of those full weekend warriors. But he did good. He’s the guy that came to Legends when I first started teaching, and he knew nothing. And he was a fat guy, so how far he’s come, I’m so proud,” said Rahnavardi.

185 lbs. – Andrew Mostowa (Bond Squad MMA) def. Bobby Fiscer (TapouT Fight Team) via TKO, R1, 1:34.

The younger Mostowa brother came on strong and kept the pressure on Fiscer with combos and several low kicks. He forced Fiscer against the cage and threw knees until Fiscer went to the ground. Andrew stayed on him with ground and pound until the referee called the match at 1:34 of the first round, awarding the man they call ‘Worst Case Scenario’ with the TKO victory.

Rahnavardi couldn’t have been happier about Andrew’s performance, boasting “he stayed completely on game-plan, did exactly what I told him, and just destroyed him. We call him Worst Case Scenario because he’s more flexible than any human being that you’ve ever met. He’s got awe some hands, awesome kicks, and great ground. So he’s seriously like the Worst Case Scenario for anyone to fight.”

Being his debut match, Andrew conceded that nerves were a slight factor, but that “when you get in the ring, everything goes so fast that it just goes back to your instincts, I guess. And everything that you train, it just comes out.”

170 lbs. – Alan Jouban (Legends MMA) vs. Ruben Gudino (West Coast Fight Academy)

Gudino made first contact with several low kicks as Jouban took his time. Gudino got Jouban against the cage, but Jouban clinched and walked into him, getting a trip takedown. Jouban kept top control with a full mount, landing a few lefts. Gudino got to his feet briefly, but Jouban took him down again with a highlight reel belly-to-back slam. Jouban got full mount, but Gudino quickly swept him and landed in guard. Jouban switched to butterfly guard and set up the gogo plata. Gudino tapped moments later, at 1:57 of the first round.

(Clockwise): Chris Reilly, Alder Hampel, Alan Jouban, Dr. Joe Canu

For Jouban, this match represented a big personal accomplishment, and even something of a possible graduation to the pro ranks, a move which is supported by his head trainer, Chris Reilly. Earlier this year, Jouban set the goal of fighting five times before 2011, and not only hit that mark with the Gudino match, but went undefeated in dominating fashion, winning four times via first-round finish, twice by gogo plata submission.

“I didn’t know if I was gonna really be able to obtain that goal. Before I was averaging maybe one or two a year, because of injuries and whatnot. . . It’s kind of played out that way, so I’m extremely thrilled. If I can get my pro fight in before the next year, it would really complete what I wanted to do, starting at the beginning of this year,” he reflected.

To win via gogo plata in an MMA match is rare. To do it twice is almost lightning in a bottle. Ironically, Jouban had intended to keep it a striking match, after his opportunity to make his pro debut a Muay Thai match in Thailand fell through.

“But it was just weird, because it wasn’t as I envisioned the fight. I just kept picturing a beautiful KO. Like some kind of Muay Thai-related head kick or something of that sort,” joked Jouban. “Big props to Alder Hampel. I’ve been working a lot of jits with Eddie Bravo . . . I went to see Alder a couple weeks before my fight, just to kind of fine tune things, and he really came through for me. . . I’m glad that I’m making Eddie Bravo and everybody at 10th Planet proud.”

In other CFL “Halloween Fight Fest” action:

135 lbs. – Benji Gomez def. Jaime Leon Hernandez via decision.

155 lbs. – Nathan Speer def. William BJ Ingram via submission, R1, 1:57.

185 lbs. – Mike Jasper def. Joshua Ramirez via TKO, R2, 1:55.

135 lbs. – Michael Castanon def. Juan Estrada via split decision.

155 lbs. Female – Samantha Mosqueda def. Hayden Munoz via decision.

185 lbs. – Mose Aieti def. Anton Torres via decision.

Combat Fight League returns on December 2^nd with an amateur show at the Westlake Hyatt. Both Mostowa brothers expect to return to action on that show. Legends MMA is sponsored by X-Pole.