Michael “Mike” Sharpe (born October 28, 1951 – January 17, 2016) better known as “Iron” Mike Sharpe, passed away over the weekend at his apartment in Hamilton, ONT, at the age of 64.
Billed as “Canada’s greatest athlete,” Sharpe was a perrenial job guy in the 80’s and 90’s for WWF. He had his last televised match on June 6, 1995 losing in a tag team match to The Smoking Guns. After retiring from the ring, Sharpe made his living as a professional wrestling trainer, at his own school, Mike Sharpe’s School of Pro-Wrestling.
PW Insider first reported the death of Sharpe, a second generation wrestler, whose father and uncle were one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling history in the 50s, and are best known for legendary matches in Japan with Rikidozan & Masahiko Kimura.
Sharpe was raised in a wrestling family. His father and uncle tagged together in the 1950’s. At age 25, Mike decided to follow his father’s footsteps and was trained by Dewey Robertson, and began working for Gene Kiniski’s NWA All-Star Wrestling in the 70’s.
Like his father, Sharpe Jr., took the ring name Iron Mike Sharpe. He started wrestling in 1976 in Canada, and worked smaller territories for several years, including runs in Stampede Wrestling. At close to 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds, Sharpe was a big powerhouse who was known as a tough guy because of his amateur boxing background. But he was missing the element that would make one a big star, when it came to the charisma.
He did decently well in territories like Mid South and Georgia in the early 80s, but was beat known for is run in the WWF from 1982 to 1989 as a lower card regular.
He started out getting a push, with Lou Albano as his manager, and having a loaded forearm brace, built for matches with champion Bob Backlund. But he never got a shot in Madison Square Garden (he did work with Backlund in some other cities) and his push ended, but he had a long tenure with the company as a reliable enhancement wrestler. He was treated as a job guy with some credibility, nicknamed “Canada’s Greatest Athlete,” which was the nickname that Gene Kiniski used in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Within wrestling Sharpe was known for being obsessively clean, and for always perfectly folding his clothes. He would be constantly washing his hands while at shows and taking showers, and was known as Mr. Clean. He was also compulsive when it came to training, and was known as a very well conditioned big man.
But in a cruel fate, with all that training, his health started to want over the past decade. For years he was largely confined to a wheelchair and had lost one of his legs, and had been suffering from constant health problems.
1) AJ Styles said goodbye but had the show stolen from under him.
Making good use of his freelance status, AJ Styles has been a frequent visitor to the UK in recent times, and was enough of a (big show) regular for Revolution Pro-Wrestling that it didn’t seem weird when he won their Undisputed British Heavyweight championship last summer. With his impending signing for WWE, this weekend’s High Stakes had something of an air of a farewell, and what better way to do it than pass the torch to Zack Sabre Jr, who became the new champion in a great main event.
While many of the tickets were sold on that main event, the show was stolen, however, by Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll, who closed the first half of the show with an almost thirty-minute classic, underlining their growing statuses and continuing the theme of 2015 – that British wrestlers are outshining the imports. Mike “Speedball” Bailey made his UK debut on the show, going down to Big Damo after dominating much of the match, and Pete Dunne retained the Undisputed British Cruiserweight title he won two weeks ago, again against “Flash” Morgan Webster. RevPro announced a return to York Hall in the summer, and another shot in Reading in April. The year is only two weeks old and RevPro have already set the standard!
2) It Was Acceptable In The 80s.
ATTACK! Pro-Wrestling had a pretty good 2015, which included teaming with Chikara-Pro on the latter’s UK tour, and sending a team over to the King of Trios tournament as well as promoting a series of super-fun, sold-out shows. They started 2016 in the same fashion with It Was Acceptable In The 80s at the Catheys Centre in Cardiff where the gimmick of furthering their storylines and dressing up for the night’s theme continued. Not everyone dressed up, although noted killjoys the Anti-Fun Police did team with a homemade RoboCop, but Mark Andrews (Marty McFly), Martin Kirby (Skeletor), Eddie Dennis (Terminator), Robbie X (a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) and others all made the effort.
The main event saw Dennis successfully defend his ATTACK! 24/7 title against Wild Boar before Pete Dunne took advantage of the title’s constant availability by challenging and beating Dennis afterwards. The undercard featured Andrews downing Travis Banks, Mike Bird winning a four-way over Kirby, X, and “Flash” Morgan” Webster, and appearances from Nixon Newell, Chris Brookes, Sebastian Radclaw, and Love Making Demon. ATTACK! is not for everyone – as one fella in the crowd loudly made known – but it is the most fun you can have on a Sunday night in Wales, a fact probably enshrined in law.
3) Grado proved he’s more than a comedy turn (again).
On a recent TNA PPV, Grado was challenged by The Pope to prove he’s more than just a comedy wrestler, and did so by engaging Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match, whatever one of those is. For those of us on these shores, however, he has NOTHING to prove. That was evident again this week when he responded to a promo cut by Chris Renshaw at Insane Championship Wrestling’s Friday Night Fight Club tapings last week with a stunning direct-to-camera promo of his own.
Renshaw, quoting the cover of Fighting Spirit Monthly (which listed Grado as a “TNA star” and claimed he “led ICW to record breaking heights”), claimed ICW wasn’t about one man, it was about everyone there, and that they deserved the plaudits coming Grado’s way. Grado, although he could have rightly pointed out that he did have a huge part in selling out the SECC for Fear & Loathing, went on the attack, pointing out that, yes, he did work around the world and not just in ICW, but he did that for ICW. Renshaw laid the foundations but Grado knocked it out of the park. The exchange can be seen on ICW’s YouTube page.
4) Promoting wrestling shows isn’t easy.
With British wrestling very much entering a boom period, there are going to be those who seek to take advantage of that for their own ends. As an independent games developer, the people behind 5* Wrestling decided to promote a three-date tour to publicise their upcoming game, and secured the rights of Rey Mysterio Jr to not only be in the game (their previous games featured thinly-veiled parody characters) but also to lead the tour. They also booked AJ Styles, ROH champion Jay Lethal, former WWE stars John Morrison and Carlito, and a host of the top British stars.
Unfortunately, they either overestimated the drawing power of such an ensemble or underpromoted the shows, and were rewarded with sub-1000 crowds in halls set up for four times that. While that would be a very good turnout for most British promotions, they can only have lost a ton of money which you’d hope they’ll at least make back on the game when it is released. The shows themselves ran late and were strangely booked, but at least showcased some of our top guys to audiences who may have been unfamiliar with them.
5) There were some pretty fun shows.
IPW:UK and WrestleForce teamed up to stage Harlow Invasion in, erm, Harlow, headlined by a TLC match between IPW tag team champions DnD and the London Riots which turned into a wild brawl, including an imploding ladder, an unbreakable table, and Riot Rob Lynch smacking a drink out of the hand of an unruly punter. The rest of the show included an All-England title defense from Sammy Smooth (beating an understandably masked Exodus), a Women’s championship match (of sorts) between champion Tennessee Honey and challenger Nightshade, the Swords of Essex, and the UK debut of Donovan Dijak, who beat Big Damo. Launching a new era for Shropshire wrestling, VII-Pro presented the first of the Underground shows in Shrewsbury on Friday, headlined by “Flash” Morgan Webster versus Nixon Newell (who wrestles men more than she does women, and rightly so), which turned into a tag match when Webster challenged her to find a partner because he’d brought Australian doughnut-lover (not a euphemism!) Toni Storm with him. Newell was joined by Mark Andrews, and it was ON. Also on the show were the Dunne brothers, Tyler Bate, Wild Boar, and Mike Bird, and they return in February with Chuck Taylor.
Down in London, in the very weird world of the RetroFutureVerse, Freddie Mercurio became a two-time Lucha Britannia champion, downing Cassius in the main event of a show which also featured Marduk Malik continuing his unbeaten streak against Pure Britannico, Diablesa Rosa turning away the challenge of Zombie Janey, and unfrozen Viking Nordico Fuego becoming King Of Lucha Chaos. They’re back on January 29th at the Resistance Gallery once more. Finally for a weekend short on quantity (if not quality), Futureshock opened their doors for the first time in 2016 for Uproar 86, a stacked show which saw The Models reunite to take down The Fallen. Joey Hayes & Danny Hope haven’t teamed for some time so the fans in attendance were quite surprised. Another surprise was the return of Cyanide, who stormed the ring to help Damon Leigh beat down Sonar Dursen after the latter had won their match. Also on the card were Zack Gibson, T-Bone, Mikey Whiplash, Ashton Smith, and Xander Cooper, and 2016 looks like being another solid year for Futureshock.
(Thanks to Garry Vanderhorne for his help with this week’s column).
Kansas City, Kansas: – World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Bruns beat Orville Brown in 2 out of 3 falls
1944
Nashville, Tennessee: – Herb Welch defeated The Yellow Scorpion for the Tennessee World Junior Heavyweight Title
1957
– Kurt Von Poppenheim defeated Red Bastien to win the Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Title
1961
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Dick Hutton defeated Al Lolotai for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1962
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – Bill Soloweyko and Whipper Billy Watson defeated Chris and John Tolos to win the Toronto NWA International Tag Team Titles – Raphael Halpern beat Bulldog Brower by decision – Jim Hady beat Doc Gallagher via disqualification – Billy Red Lyons beat Marquis de Paree
1963
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Dominic Bravo and Ron Etchison defeateded Mike Sharpe and Jim Wright for the Stampede International Tag Team Titles
1966
Nashville, Tennessee – Alex Perez defeated Rocky Smith for the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title
1967
Manchester, England: – Billy Robinson defeated Billy Joyce to win the British Heavyweight Title
Denver, Colorado: – AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Dick The Bruiser & Mighty Igor Vodik in 2 out of 3 falls – Verne Gagne beat Killer Kowalski dq – Wilbur Snyder beat The Alaskan – Terry Funk (sub Dory Funk Jr) drew Chris Markoff
1969
Detroit, Michigan: – Ben Justice and Rocky Johnson defeated The Hell’s Angels (Paul and Ron Dupree) to win the Detroit NWA World Tag Team Titles
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Dennis Hall and Ken Lucas won the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title, defeating The Mighty Yankees
1970
Fukuoka, Japan: – Monster Rousimoff (Andre the Giant) and Michael Nader defeated Great Kusatsu and Thunder Sugiyama to win the vacant International Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Titles
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – NWA World heavyweight champion Dory Funk Jr. defeated Gene Kinski – The Sheik defeated Dewey Robertson by dq – Whipper Billy Watson and Bulldog Bower beat The Fabulous Kangaroos, Al Costello and Ray Kent, in a 2 out of 3 falls match – Chris and John Tolos took 2 of 3 falls from Haystack Calhoun and Gino Brito – The Love Brothers, Reginald and Hartford beat The Mighty Iggor and Murray Cummings
1971
New York City: – Ivan Koloff pinned WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino to win the title
1973
Hattiesburg, Mississippi: – The Mysterious Medic defeated Bob Kelly for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
Kansas City, Kansas: – Mike Boyette & Mickey Doyle defeated Omar Atlas & The Viking – Roger Kirby defeated Stan Pulaski in three falls – World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk, Jr. fought Harley Race to a draw in three falls (60 minutes)
1974
Atlanta, Georgia: – Ron and Terry Garvin defeated Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller to win the vacant NWA Georgia Tag Team Titles
– Black Gordman and Goliath defeated Raul Mata and Victor Rivera for the NWA Americas Tag Team Titles
1980
Houston, Texas: – Superstar Billy Graham won the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title from Mark Lewin
Shreveport, Louisiana: – Ernie Ladd defeated Mike Sharpe for the Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Title
1981
Monterrey, Mexico: – Tony Salazar defeated Sangre Chicana to win the NWA World Middleweight Title
1982
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jerry Lawler won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title, defeating Dutch Mantel
1983
Tampa, Florida: – Terry Allen and Scott McGhee defeated The Fabulous Kangaroos (Johnny Heffernan and Don Kent) to win the NWA Florida Global Tag Team Titles – Rufus Jones defeated Angelo Mosca by dq – Mike Graham defeated Jim Garvin by dq – Leroy Brown defeated Ron Bass – The Midnight Rider & Barry Windham defeated Kevin Sullivan & Jake Roberts
1985
Denver, Colorado: – Lights Out match: Jerry Blackwell beat Masked Superstar (sub King Kong Brody) – AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Jim Garvin dq – AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors beat Larry Hennig & Curt Hennig (subs for Fabulous Ones) – Baron Von Raschke beat Billy Robinson – Jim Brunzell drew Nick Bockwinkel – Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal
1986
Albuquerque, New Mexico: – Scott Hall and Curt Hennig defeated Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal for the AWA World Tag Team Titles
San Juan, Puerto Rico: – Invader III defeated Eric Embry for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title
1987
Green Bay, Wisconsin: – Cage Match: Midnight Rockers beat Doug Somers & Buddy Rose – No DQ Match: Jimmy Snuka beat Colonel DeBeers – Super Ninja beat AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq – AWA Ladies Champion Sherri Martel beat Candi Divine – Scott Hall beat Buddy Wolff dq – Mr. Saito beat Buck Zumhofe
1988
Memphis, Tennessee: – Hennig’s Title vs Lawler’s Ring: AWA Champion Curt Hennig beat Jerry Lawler – No dq Match: AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Ken Wayne & Scott Hall – Jeff Jarrett & Manny Fernandez beat Teijo Kahn & Jimmy Jack Funk dq – Bill Dundee beat Terry Taylor – Loser Leaves town: Billy Travis & Rikki Nelson beat Rock & Roll RPMs
Takuyama, Japan: – Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura defeated Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazuo Yamazaki to win the IWGP World Tag Team Titles
1992
Portland, Oregon: – Ron Harris defeated Demolition Crush to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
1994
Saitama, Japan: – Big Titan (Rick Bogner) and The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) defeated Katsutoshi Niiyama and Atsushi Onita to become the first FMW World Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champions
1996
Tijuana, Mexico: – Ultraman 2000 defeated Psicosis for the Mexican National Welterweight Title
1998
San Jose, California: – Steve Austin wins the Royal Rumble – The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) by disqualification – WWF Champion Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker in a Casket match to retain the title
2003
San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico: – Chicky Starr defeated Carly Colon to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title
Wilmington, Delaware: – Christopher Daniels defeated champion Mike Kruel, The Amazing Red, Low Ki, American Dragon and Amazing Red to win the ECWA Heavyweight Title
2004
Osaka, Japan: – Kaz Hayashi and Satoshi Kojima defeated Arashi and Keiji Muto to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Title
WWE has announced that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman’s role for Raw tomorrow night in Columbus, OH will be as guests on The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho.
That is the only thing announced for Raw other than the show will be the go-home show for the Rumble.
They are also expected to do an angle to set up a Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch Divas title rematch for the Rumble. Becky challenged Charlotte to a title match on Smackdown this week and Charlotte said she would answer the challenge on Raw.
When Raw ended last week the announcers were openly speculating that Lesnar’s post-match destruction following the main event was an indication that he had decided to be in the Royal Rumble. Jericho in his first interview back also stated that his plan was to win the Royal Rumble and go on to WrestleMania to win the WWE World Heavyweight title.
UFC announced on tonight’s show in Boston that the new season of The Ultimate Fighter will be coached by Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha, which will build up to a strawweight championship fight between the two of them on July 8th in Las Vegas.
The title fight will be the main event of the TUF finale, which takes place the night before UFC 200, also in Las Vegas.
The season, billed as Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia, debuts on 4/20 with a two hour special featuring 32 fighters fighting to get into the house. The season will feature male light heavyweights and women strawweights.
The two fought at the end of 2014, with Jedrzejczyk winning via split decision to earn her title shot, which she won, against Carla Esparza. Many had Gadelha winning that fight.
Regarding the scorecards for the top two fights tonight:
For Eddie Alvarez vs. Anthony Pettis:
Judge Douglas Crosby gave rounds one and three to Alvarez.
Judge Bryan Miner gave rounds one and three to Alvarez.
Judge Ryan Shea gave rounds one and two to Pettis.
For TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz
Judge Dave Ginsberg gave the first three rounds to Cruz and last two to Dillashaw.
Judge Tony Weeks gave the first round to Dillashaw and rounds two through five to Cruz, which is really weird.
Judge Sal D’Amato gave Dillashaw rounds one, three, four and five.
Submitted by Tim Taylor. Thanks also to Brittany Sanders.
– About 90% full in a venue that holds 5000 or so.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns was announced as not being there and refunds were offered for 20 minutes. Of course, Kevin Owens came out to cut a promo, which brought out Dean Ambrose, who brawled with Owens in hopes no one asked for refunds.
– Strowman, Rowan, and Harper over Tommy Dreamer and the Dudley Boyz in a tables match. Rowan and Harper put Dreamer through the table for the win.
– Neville over the Miz. Miz didn’t cut a promo but had JoJo read his promo heeling on the Cleveland sports teams. Miz’s dad was in attendance.
– Becky Lynch over Tamina w/Naomi. The BAD girls worked over Lynch after the match but Natayla made the save, putting Tamina in the sharpshooter. Good pop for Lynch, but crowd wasn’t as into the match.
– R-Truth over Stardust. Crowd loved Truth.
– US Champion Alberto Del Rio over Kalisto to retain. Del Rio got a standing ovation from the production crew with the exception of agent Fit Finlay. This had to be a rib as Del Rio nearly cracked up seeing that. Guys worked hard and it was a good match.
– Social Outcasts over The Ascension and Los Matadores. Crowd didn’t know who to cheer at first, the Outcasts were the faces, and fans never got too into the match until the end. Los Matadores didn’t seem overly interested in being there. In the pre-match promo, Axel referred to them as the Social Outlaws.
– Sheamus over Jack Swagger. Sheamus with a pre-match promo. Solid match.
– WWE IC Champion Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens to retain. Started off with the heat and a good majority of the match was Ambrose being beat down and making small comebacks. Ambrose kicked out of the pop up power bomb and won soon after with Dirty Deeds. Ambrose was clearly the biggest star of the show in the eyes of the crowd getting the biggest pop and having the biggest chunk of merchandise sold.
Not an especially great opener. Both guys are still inexperienced & hadn’t previously wrestled on one of the big York Hall shows. Was by no means bad, but wasn’t the best opener.
Big Damo vs. Speedball Mike Bailey
I’ve see Bailey a few times & had really enjoyed what I’d seen. Was curious here as to how he’d gel with Damo & they really delivered. Damo sold Bailey’s kicks well throughout & helped in Bailey getting over in front of a crowd who weren’t overly familiar with him. Damo won with an inverted Bloody Sunday DDT. Bailey took a lot of punishment throughout. Post match both guys shook hands in a show of respect.
Colt Cabana vs. Doug Williams
Really fun match here working mostly British style. Both guys seemed to really enjoy the fact that they had the crowd when using British style. A fun back & forth match with flashes of comedy thrown in at points. Both guys exchanged various pin fall attempts & Cabana got the three. Post match Cabana cut a promo about his history in the company & claimed he wanted the British Heavyweight belt again. I’m assuming he & Zack will work a title match using British style down the road at some point. At this point Cabana was attacked by Lord Gideon Grey who was wearing the Mat Classic mask. Grey cut an awesome, angry promo on Cabana to set up a match between them next month.
Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay
This is where the show went into absolute overdrive. The stipulation was that the match was for the number 1 contendership for the British Heavyweight belt. All I can say is that these guys made the belt come across as one of the most valuable in the world with the way they worked this match. It was wrestled & put over as a big match & they used several tropes seen in major WWE/New Japan matches. We had the back & forth punches with the ‘yay’ & ‘boo’ chants, we had lots of fighting spirit, headsets, guys kicking out of & reversing signature moves & we even had Ospreay putting Scurll in his very own Chicken Wing. The match was crazy & ran for almost half hour. It ended when Marty used the Bryan Danielson elbows that he always used as ROH champ & then put Ospreay into the Chicken Wing which he passed out in.
I’ve attended every major Rev Pro show for over two years now & this was by some distance the most invested I’ve ever seen the crowd in a match. What made this even better was the fact it was two Brits that managed to put the crowd at fever pitch. I’ve been to a lot of live shows & I can honestly say this is the best match I’ve seen in the UK since Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinnes at the first ROH Liverpool show in 2006.
Jay Lethal vs. Mark Haskins
Lethal wasn’t that over & he didn’t come across as a major star in the way outsiders often do. It was announced that it was for the ROH Title but that made no difference & the fans hardly reacted as if this was a big deal. The match absolutely fine, but I feel they suffered going on after Marty & Ospreay. The crowd was still very much calming down making the match hard to follow at points. I really think this would have benefited from opening the show. Lethal won with the Lethal Injection.
Sha Samuels, James Castle & Josh Bodom vs. Jimmy Havoc, Tyson T-Bone & Bram
This was exactly what it needed to be. An all around the venue brawl with lots of weapons & big spots. Havoc is super over based on his Progress work which helps his Rev Pro match’s. He’s done little in Rev Pro but most fans who attend the shows follow both promotions. Bram turned up as a surprise. He got a much bigger reaction than expected on his entrance, but once the match started this died down. Some solid comedy spots with the heels almost doing slapstick comedy at points. Havoc got the pinball on Bodom.
AJ Styles vs. Zack Sabre Jr
This was a very good match. It was very different to Marty vs Osprey in terms of pacing & style using a less is more approach. AJ very much wrestled Zack’s style of match here & really hung in there with him. Very technical throughout. Zack worked over AJ’s arm which he sold to great effect throughout. AJ looked very tired. I’m assuming the gruelling week he’s had wrestling was taking effect on him. The finishing sequence wasn’t quite as epic as I thought it was going to be. Zack did kick out of a one armed Styles Clash as well as a Bloody Sunday DDT. The match ended with Zack making AJ submit after trapping his arm.
*****
I’m sure you’ve seen AJ’s post match speech but it was a great way for him to leave the UK after a year of performing in Rev Pro. The AJ goodbye needed to close the show, but ideally the entire show would have benefited from Marty vs Ospreay going on last. Post show all anyone was talking about was just how great that match was. Again, I encourage you to check out Marty vs Ospreay!
A great show with variety throughout & booked at a pace that used that variety to mostly positive effect. Scurll vs Osprey was on another level. Quite simply myself & 1200 other fans where blown away by their efforts.
TNA President Dixie Carter announced today that Will Ospreay, Jimmy Havoc and Big Damo would all by on the Maximum Impact tour at the end of the month.
TNA had put up the three names for a poll, although most figured that all three once they were named would participate. She said that the voting was so close that management decided to use all three on the tour, which consists of Impact tapings on 1/29 in Manchester, 1/30 in London and 1/31 in Birmingham.
Ospreay is coming off some incredible matches over the past year in a number of U.K. promotions, as well as PWG in the U.S., and people were talking of his match last night in London against Marty Scurll as a match of the year candidate.
Damo, who is in the Japanese television commercial, had a big match a few months ago against Shinsuke Nakamura.
Havoc has worked in the U.S. in the past as well, and is a former Progress Wrestling champion.
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs. Cruz from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The event is headlined by UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw making his third title defense against the man who never lost the championship, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who fights for the title for the first time since having to vacate it due to injuries. The co-main event will be a fight between former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis and former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez.
> Francimar Barroso (18-4, 3-1 UFC) def. Elvis Mutapcic (15-4, 0-1 UFC) via u/d (30-27 x 2, 29-28) Light Heavyweights
Kicking off right on time with our first prelim fight of the night. Light attendance in the upper level and the lower bowl is slowing filling in. I’ll be tweeting random stuff as well, so follow me at @JoshNason for that and press conference stuff. I will say that I saw JNPO guest and Sherdog scribe/audio stylist Jack Encarnacao at dinner and he confirmed he will not be in this year’s Royal Rumble.
R1: Mutapic was breathing through his mouth early, likely because of a combination of an adrenaline dump in his first UFC fight and the kicks to the midsection from Barroso. Barroso got a takedown midway through the round and didn’t do a lot of advance, finally landing some ground and pound late to earn him the round. I didn’t catch the ref’s name, but he might be having a little Octagon shock himself. 10-9 Barroso
R2: Barroso found homes for his continued kicks to the midsection, landing a few leg kicks for good measure. Mutapcic’s mouthpiece fell out twice, much to the dismay of the crowd. Barosso bloodied up Mutapcic’s nose and right eyebrow, but Mutapcic started to find his range at the end of the round. Tough one to call, but I’ll swing it 10-9 Barroso for more damage. Mutapcic is mouth open gassed.
R3: Mutapcic’s mouthpiece fell out again and he was admonished by the ref. He’s got Octagon control on his side, and Barroso is looking like he’s in survive and escape mode. He keeps landing that midsection kick through, but isn’t throwing enough of them. Mutapcic won this round 10-9 as Barroso seemed confident he won the first two. If the judges saw that second round differently though…
Story Of The Fight: Barroso wins with one judge seeing it the way I did. Neither guy looks to be a prospect to worry about at 205.
> Rob Font (12-1, 2-0 UFC) def. Joey Gomez (6-1, 0-1 UFC) by TKO at 4:13 of round 2 Bantamweights
Gomez got introduced as Barroso was leaving as we’re on a tight timeframe for these FP prelims. Lots of bass in the intros. For those that haven’t been to UFC before, your ears will be ringing the next day. Font has trained a lot of BJJ with one of New Hampshire’s few BJJ black belts in Tim Barchard, the man I earned my blue belt from. During the intros, Font got a Joe Lauzon pop from the Boston crowd. Who knew he was such a hit? For those that went to that first Boston show, the Lauzon finish of Gabe Reudiger and the resulting ovation is something of legend in my old mind anyway.
R1: Not much happening on the feet, but Font is controlling the center of the cage early on. Font had no issues getting several takedowns and started to get more comfortable on his feet as the fight evolved. Font lands a nice right elbow near the end of the round to seal it 10-9. Gomez looks overwhelmed in his first UFC outing.
R2: Font is looking more and more comfortable on his feet, but is lunging a little bit — almost impatient waiting for Gomez to do something which he really isn’t. As I type that, Gomez lands a hard kick to Font’s side. Font hits Gomez with a left hook andd swarms. Gomez wisely waits out the storm and goes for a takedown, savvy for a young fighter. It’s almost like it woke him up. We get back to the feet and Font is pouring it on, knocking out Gomez’s mouthpiece with an uppercut. Gomez covers up, falls to his butt, and Herb Dean calls it quickly.
Story Of The Fight: With Joe Lauzon part of the old guard of New England MMA, Font could be the new guy around these parts if he can continue to put things together. Gomez looks overwhelmed and Font’s stand-up was just too much of him.
> Charles Rosa (11-2, 2-2 UFC) def. Kyle Bochniak (6-1, 0-1 UFC) by u/d (29-28 x 2, 30-27) Featherweights
Bochniak changed his nickname for the night to “Crash” out of respect to Ben “Killer B” Saunders who fights later in the show. This is the third straight fight of the night where a guy is making his Octagon debut, a symptom of an undercard crushed by injury.
R1: Large “Rosa” chant early as Bochniak makes Rosa’s left cheekbone turn pink. Rosa is content to throw kicks, but Bochniak nails him with a right to put him down. As Bochniak attacks, Rosa goes for a leglock but Bochniak escapes. Bochniak has a big red welt on his right side. With about 10 seconds to go, a whistle went off and both guys stopped for a minute. That was weird. 10-9 Bochniak. He seems very comfortable in there for a rookie.
R2: This is turning into a spirited affair on the feet. Rosa has a lot of fans, but Bochniak has got his people too. Rosa is still throwing kicks while Bochniak wants to throw harmful shots. Rosa secures a takedown with about a minute to go that might win him the round, but can’t hold him there for long. Then with 20 seconds left, bloody noseed Bochniak secures a power takedown on Rosa. Tough round to score, but I’ll say 10-9 Bochniak for the variety of shots, aggression, and the takedown.
R3: Bochniak is gassed, hands down by his side, and in survival mode. He’s still looking for headshots, but Rosa is smartly picking and choosing his shots. Still, Bochniak is landing. People are loving this fight. Bochniak looked for a takedown twice, but is dead. Rosa 10-9. Fun round between two completely exhausted fighters.
By my scorecard, that’s a 29-28 for Bochniak but that second round was tough to call.
Story Of The Fight: There were a few boos for the decision — surprising since Rosa is a Boston guy. I don’t understand a 30-27 card for Rosa, but then again, I scored the second for Bochniak, so what do I know?
> Ilir Latifi (11-4-0-1, 4-2 UFC) vs. Sean O’Connell (17-7, 2-3 UFC) by first round KO (:30) Light Heavyweights
These guys are out here in record time and only got one entrance song!
R1: Latifi hit a power right to O’Connell that put him on his back. He hit him again with a right on the way down and ref Kevin MacDonald jumped in to stop it quick. This felt like a quick stoppage for sure. Needing some extra time, UFC got a gift on that one.
Story Of The Fight: Latifi is a strong freakin’ dude, but the stoppage felt quick as O’Connell didn’t go flat and MacDonald essentially called the fight before he even fully hit the mat. Latifi said in the postfight that he wants to go fight in the main event of the next UFC show in Sweden this summer.
> Paul Felder (11-2, 3-2 UFC) def. Daron Cruickshank (16-8-0-1, 6-6-0-1 UFC) by third round RNC submission (3:53) Lightweights
This one should be fun as both guys are known for having, well, fun fights. I still can’t get over how Latifi and O’Connell got one entrance song and the fight was over in just 30 seconds, can you? UFC continues to experiment with having a “featured fight” on Fight Pass instead of loading up FS1 with all the good stuff. If you’re trying to build a service where people are paying for good fights, that seems to be a pretty good idea. Also a good idea: putting a guy named “The Irish Dragon” on a Boston show.
R1: Cruickshank is so quick with his kicks, it’s amazing. He went after Felder’s hips with them, which seems like a good idea. Felder is content to stalk him down, but the “Detroit Superstar” is too fast for that. Great spot with about 1:30 to go where Cruickshank went for a takedown and the crowd began to buzz, but Felder attempted a guillotine instead. After another spinning back kick from Cruickshank, Felder went for a takedown and got reversed immediately. Great round for DC: 10-9.
R2: Cruickshank is just so good on his feet; he misses a kick and lands one .0005 seconds later. This round was great when it wasn’t wrestling on the ground. Cruickshank loves the “spinning shit” and is overwhelming Felder with spinning back fists and spinning kicks. He hit a perfect side kick to the face that was a work of stand-up art. So much fun. Felder went for a reverse triangle ala Liam McGeary which has the Shankster in some trouble. The fans are into Shank’s stand-up so they want to see him get out of this. That offensive barrage in the middle? Awesome. 10-9 Shank.
R3: Cruickshank spent the first half of the round fighting off Felder’s backpack attack. With about 1:10 to go, he sunk in a guillotine choke and got the tap which the crowd popped big for. Impressive come from behind win!
Story Of The Fight: Cruickshank had this one in the bag, but had nothing in the third round and it cost him. At 3-2, he needs some consistency in the division to really be a force but he’s an action fighter so he’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve.
Fox Sports One prelims —
> Luke Sanders (11-0, 1-0 UFC) def. Maximo Blanco (12-7-1-1, 4-4 UFC) by first round submission at 3:38 Featherweights
R1: Another UFC debut in Sanders, an undefeated fighter giving up a little bit of size. A hard left by Sanders puts Blanco on his rear, but Blanco is a veteran and reversed it into top position and a sub attempt. Sanders hit another big left hook and dropped him again, snagging back control and a deep rear naked choke for the tap and win. Huge win by Sanders.
Story Of The Fight: Sanders made his mark here, the most impressive of the UFC Debut Crew tonight. His cornerman was talking to press row and I think he said Sanders usually fights down a weight class. That snaps a three-fight win streak for Blanco. Hard to say where Sanders goes from here, but I’m interested.
> Chris Wade (10-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Mehdi Baghdad (11-3, 0-0 UFC) Lightweights
If there was a musical artist that is most tied to UFC entrances, it’s think it’s either Eminem or DMX. Baghdad is our 5th of the UFC Debut Crew but the final one of the night.
R1: Crowd is chanting ‘USA’ a minute into the fight with the American on top. Okay then. The fight was all Wade working on the ground and Wade eventually sneaking in a rear naked choke for the tap. Baghdad had nothing for him from the second this started.
Story Of The Fight: There really wasn’t one. Wade cruised through an injury replacement and made it look easy.
> Ed Herman (23-11-0-1, 10-7-0-1 UFC) def. Tim Boetsch (18-10, 9-9 UFC) by second round TKO (1:39) Light Heavyweights
I am all in on these veteran vs. veteran “let’s see what you got” fights. Neither dude is going to be a UFC champion, but desperation and having nothing to lose usually makes for entertaining fights. Let’s do this.
R1: Slobberknocker action early on and Boetsch staggers Herman with a big left hand. In watching this, I feel like I’m outside a bar in my UMaine days at around 1:15 AM. Herman isn’t doing much as I think his gameplan is to have Boetsch wear himself out early. If so, he’s got to survive the meathooks TB is throwing. Herman did well in the clinch, so look for more of that in the second round. Boetsch 10-9
R2: Herman is starting to find a home for his punches and lands a huge knee up the middle to drop TB on his knees. I’m tempted to call ref MacDonald “Quick Draw”, but Boetsch was out of it and taking more shots on the ground. Nice effort for Herman in conserving energy and picking up a much-needed win in a new weight class.
Story Of The Fight: Herman survives to fight another day and with his third straight UFC defeat (six of his last eight), I could see Boetsch either getting cut or retiring. Post-fight, Herman said he’s at 205 to stay and thinks the drug testing and “the sport being cleaned up” will help him out a ton.
> Patrick Cote (24-9, 10-9 UFC) def. Ben Saunders (19-7-2, 7-4 UFC) by 2nd round TKO (1:14) Welterweights
We got another battle of veterans here to close up the FS1 portion of the show. A winner of five of his last seven, Cote is looking for his third straight victory tonight. Saunders has won all three of his fights since returning to the UFC and has won six of his last seven.
R1: Cote is having a tough time trying to get inside Saunders’ long reach. Saunders hits a takedown, but Cote is doing a nice job at closing the guard and not letting Saunders posture up. Then like an RKO outta nowhere, Cote nearly gets Saunders to tap to an armbar. Cote ended the round on top and won that round 10-9.
R2: For a Quebec guy, the Boston faithful love them some Patrick Cote. Clinch work in the middle and Cote starts landing 10 or so uppercuts in a row. Saunders ate a few and then folded, succumbing to some ground and pound for the finish.
Story Of The Fight: Cote now has three straight wins and six of his last seven. I’d like to see him in there against a higher level of competition, but does he want it or are these veteran fights satisfying enough for him?
FOX SPORTS ONE MAIN CARD —
> Francisco Trinaldo (19-4, 9-3 UFC) def. Ross Pearson (18-10-0-1 NC, 10-7-0-1 UFC) by u/d (30-27 x 2, 29-28) Lightweights
At 37 years old, Trinaldo is suddenly riding a four-fight win streak while Pearson is looking for his first two fight win streak since 2012-13. Also, I didn’t realize Face The Pain Classic was back as I missed the last few PPV opens. They just couldn’t do it, could they?
R1: Crowd booking early for this one as there’s a lot of feeling out…kind of like when a couple first starts dating. Trinaldo punctuated the round with a huge slam that nearly put Pearson on his head. I think that won the round 10-9 for Trinaldo.
R2: Pearson scored a big takedown, but couldn’t hold Trinaldo down for long. Following a nice spinning kick from Pearson, Trinaldo got Pearson up against the cage and landed two big knees of the ‘ooh…ahh’ variety. Pearson was game to get in there and throw, but Trinaldo’s collection of kicks and knees are finding places to inflict pain. 10-9 Trinaldo.
R3: Trinaldo is throwing Pedro Martinez 1999 heat in there. I remember a few weeks ago when Dave Meltzer was talking about judging, seeing the impact of the punches and how it meant something when it came to scoring. Not having been to a live UFC event in 16 months, I kinda dismissed it as, “Yeah, but…” Seeing this live, however, you really get the idea of how hard these Trinaldo shots are coming in. Pearson got a takedown midway through the round as Trinaldo is starting to fade a bit. Tight round that I’d give to Pearson but not by much.
Trinaldo wins and Pearson doesn’t like the decision.
Story Of The Fight: This is quite the improbable run for Trinaldo, now a winner of five straight. There is hope for guys in their late-30s! Pearson is a .500 fighter at this stage and perhaps a 155-pound liability for someone the UFC doesn’t want to lose. Just a thought.
> Travis Browne (18-3-1, 9-3-1 UFC) def. Matt Mitrione (9-5, 9-5 UFC) by third round TKO (4:09) Heavyweights
The last time Browne was on an FS1 show in Boston, he scored a huge come from behind win over Alistair Overeem. A loser in two of his last three, he needs to win big again here tonight. The same could be said for Mitrione who will become a free agent after this fight and turned down a new contract to see what he’s worth. Yep, we got some stakes in this one. Browne was also booed at weigh-ins, likely due to the accusations of domestic violence as well as his relationship to Ronda Rousey. Fans are like that.
R1: After a lot of circling, Browne opened up on his feet, landing a kick. Mitrione is charging in, but Browne is just missing on a crisp counter. Browne hits the deck, but it was hard to tell whether it was a slip or from a punch as he was back up quick. With 10 seconds to go, Mitrione got poked in the right eye as he charged in. Doctors came in, but Mitrione sad he was ok. I’ll give that to Browne 10-9, but that was kinda dull.
R2: Ohh boy. Browne poked Mitrione again, but because there was a flurry of action, the ref couldn’t stop the fight or didn’t see it so they kept going. Mitrione is fighting with one eye closed and still no stoppage. The look on the ref’s face during this was priceless. The doctors came in to examine as the ref finally called timeout and they didn’t seem to want to let it go. Mitrione seems fine though and we finally get back to action. You know there’s another poke coming though. You just know it. Weird spot as Browne feigned a strike and Mitrione covered up as if he had been hit…but he didn’t pop right back to action.
What a weird round. The one thing I know is these people hate Browne. 10-9 Browne, I guess?
R3: Browne hit a hard straight right that would have dropped either you or I, but man, this is not a good fight. Browne looks tentative, Mitrione probably can’t see, and this crowd is restless. Mitrione has some nasty looking swelling above his right eye. Browne hits a huge takedown, is in full mount, and is pounding away with two minutes to go. With less than a minute to go, the ref calls it and Browne is enjoying a raining of boos. Mitrione’s eye is enormous and the crowd responds like someone just got shot.
Story Of The Fight: Bad fight, everyone hates Browne (no post-fight interview), and Mitrione’s eye will be one of the most shared pics on Twitter tomorrow. At least we have a clear path to Mitrione vs. Kongo II: Electric Boogaloo. (Yes, I used the same joke on Twitter.)
> Eddie Alvarez (27-4, 2-1 UFC) def. Anthony Pettis (18-4, 5-3 UFC) Lightweights
The former UFC lightweight champion vs. the former Bellator lightweight champion? That’s what you call a dream match. I have a feeling we’ll be wanting five rounds of this before it’s over. There’s a lot to prove for both guys in this one. This is Pettis’ first fight since getting trucked by Rafael dos Anjos for the 155-pound title, while Alvarez is coming off a summer ’15 decision over Giblert Melendez. We still haven’t seen the best Alvarez yet and he’s got a big stage here to make a big statement.
Pettis is out to Eminem, so my prior theory is looking better, isn’t it? As Pettis got in the cage, he walks by Alvarez and the two locked eyes in one of those big fight glances. Good lord, I can’t wait. Both guys are jacked and in fantastic shape. Here we go!
R1: Alvarez doesn’t want to give Pettis any distance and is grinding him up against the cage. Finally free and Pettis shows why that game plan might be best as he throws a head kick and later a glancing back kick with crazy speed. Seconds later, Alvarez is back to the grind. Pettis is punishing Alvarez’s right side with kicks. There’s a group of fans here who are just yelling nonstop swears to Alvarez, but security is doing nothing. I’ll give that 10-9 to Alvarez because of the grappling control. I can see a round for Pettis as he did land more clean shots, just not a ton of them.
R2: Pettis a lot faster than Alvarez, landing two punch combos before Alvarez can respond. EA is going away from the cage grind and wants more of a kickboxing match. Tight round but I give it to Pettis 10-9. Thinking about round 2, I can see Pettis winning that so EA has to come out strong in the third. Security finally told the swearing dudes to hush up. I bet that won’t last long.
R3: If Alvarez thought he won the first round, his approach of grinding here in the third makes a ton of sense. Bloodied up, Alvarez secured a takedown about halfway through the round but Pettis nearly turned it into a heel hook. As Pettis worked his way back up, Alvarez dropped him back down. The last 30 seconds or so were a labor for Alvarez physically. People are going to be pissed one way or another, but this was a close, close round and fight. I gave this round to EA 10-9. Big “Eddie” chant as we await the judges’ scores.
Lots of cheers and boos for the decison and Alvarez’s post-fight promo. He said he wants the champion next and you know, he might have earned it.
Dominick Cruz (21-1, 4-0 UFC) def. T.J. Dillashaw (12-3, 8-3 UFC) to win the UFC Bantamweight title (48-47 Cruz, 49-46 Dillashaw, 49-46 Cruz)
This is a head vs. heart fight pick. My head tells me that Dillashaw was the guy to go with considering Cruz has fought once in the last four years or so. But my heart is saying Cruz is more experienced, confident, and will game plan accordingly. There’s no pressure on Cruz here as he’s playing with house money after all of the surgeries, injuries, and time off from the sport. Cruz’s footwork is on point in the pre-fight warmups.
R1: Dillashaw is swinging at air in the first few minutes. Cruz is still quick as all hell, so Dillashaw is likely going to want to get ahold of him and go to work. Cruz ducks out of the way and lands a nice two-punch combo. This is pretty incredible to watch in person. Dillashaw stalked him the entire round, did catch him occassionally, but Cruz was better on the feet and quicker. Cruz was walking kinda gingerly to the corner like he hurt his foot or something. Might be something to watch. 10-9 Cruz.
R2: Cruz is slowing down a bit and his mouth is open. Dillashaw is finding a rhythm, landing two head kicks and a few punches. Cruz gets back to back takedowns, but can’t hold Dillashaw down for long. These two can’t seem to hit each other. Cruz stared down Dillashaw after the round ended. There’s definitely is something up with Cruz’s right leg. Dillashaw 10-9.
R3: Media scores are all over the place, meaning this is a close fight and probably will end up in another controversal decision. Dillashaw again is landing more and more shots as Cruz slows down, mouth agape. The head kick is landing time and time again. Cruz gets a takedown with less than two minutes to go, but Dillashaw reverses and both guys get a huge pop. People are quietly just watching this play out — it’s kinda nice. Cruz is getting kicked when he looks to escape out the side hatch after a quick clinch. Jesus, that’s another tough round to score. I think Dillashaw took that one 10-9, but it’s a coinflip.
R4: Another Cruz takedown is reversed in milliseconds. Looks like Dillashaw has some swelling above the right eye. Cruz with some nice combos and Dillashaw answers with a takedown and submission attempt. Dillashaw has some blood above his left eye as Cruz is hitting a little harder on the exchanges. Again, another glare at Dillashaw as he walks away. I had this 10-9 Cruz and all tied up going into the 5th.
R5: I don’t even know how you begin to score this round or this fight. I would say 10-10, but that’s the coward’s way out. I think Cruz won that 10-9 and indeed, he is limping around in the cage. He might have a broken foot and is chatting with Dana and Lorenzo about it.
Cruz wins a tight split decision and the crowd is euphoric. What a moment. Dillashaw is just in disbelief, pacing around. Cruz says that his left foot was injured coming into the fight and is “torn in half” right now. Oh boy. Cruz says to Kenny Florian, “Quit copying and pasting, man!” Dillashaw thought he had the fight won, but there’s no surprise there. Cruz is noticably limping badly walking to the back.
That’s it from here. Hit me up on Twitter for any press conference news and notes!
