GLADIATOR CHALLENGE AT KEZAR PAVILION
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Article By XLFIGHTS.COM
Gladiator Challenge
A Report From The Cage
Last night’s mixed martial arts show at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco featured everything fight fans ask for....knockouts, competitive decisions, a popular fighter in the main event, stars at cageside, and lots of beautiful women. It was chilly outside the arena, but the fighters and fans quickly heated things up inside, as a very festive atmosphere lasted from the walkout bout all the way through the main event.
Out of the eleven bouts on the card, two in particular seemed to highlight the show - a heavyweight clash between John Devine and Yohan Banks as well as the main event featuring crowd favorite Eric Lawson and upstart Marcus Gaines.
In the heavyweight battle, Yohan Banks entered the ring looking massive and intense while John Devine seemed very much at ease with the situation. If looks were to determine the winner, the sculpted Banks would have walked out the victor hands downs, but fortunately for Devine, mixed martial arts is not a beauty contest.
After circling each other for a short period of time, Devine pinned Banks against the cage where both men engaged in a bit of dirty boxing. Devine then lifted Banks off his feet, slammed him to the mat and proceeded to pound his foe with fists and elbows. Yohan Banks survived the assault and a small cut on his forehead to make it to the second round.
The second frame began with some stand-up strikes from both men before John Devine lifted Banks and drove him into the mat on his back again. After a couple minutes of getting the worse of the action on the ground, Yohan Banks displayed a spirited effort by escaping Devine’s hold, rising to his feet and administering some of his own punishment via hand strikes. Banks then gave Devine a taste of his own medicine by taking him to the floor and pounding his head and body with strikes and elbows.
Yohan Bank’s rally in the latter half of the second round proved to be his last stand. Between rounds he was laboring very hard on his stool trying to catch his wind while his corner provided much encouragement. Despite all the pep talk from his entourage and trainers, Banks simply had nothing left for the final stanza, as John Devine dominated the frame. In the end, John Devine performed well enough to earn a majority decision on the official judges scorecards.
In the main event, Eric Lawson completely outclassed Marcus Gaines, but Gaines did provide some drama and tension among the crowd by his sheer will to compete and not cave under the barrage of punishment being dished out by the fists of Lawson. Gaines spent almost the entire match on his back eating punches but was doing enough countering and blocking from the bottom that he actually made the bout competitive.
Marcus Gaines did provide some excitement in the second round during a stand-up exchange, but it wasn’t enough to take the round. After the final bell, Eric Lawson was awarded a unanimous decision, but Marcus Gaines certainly performed well enough to walk out with his head held high.
In other results, Nelson Oquendo suffered an accidental head butt from Travis Bennett, and their bout was declared a draw in second round. Nate Moore knocked out Elario Moreno in the first round; Chris David knocked out Joey Barang in round 2; Ryan Bastianelli defeated Kyle Rideau by majority decision; Zack Buscia defeated Justin Holdass by submission; Jeff Quinlan administered a vicious knockout with a knee to the face of Chris Bostick in round 2; Joey Armstrong knocked Cyrillo Padhia out in the first round with a series of fist strikes to the face; and Bobby Stack won by majority decision over Clint Coronel.
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Gladiator Challenge
12277 Apple Valley Road
PMB 265
Apple Valley, CA 92308 |
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