No one’s safe in the cage

Nicole Bednarski

News Editor

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the XKL,” Phil “The Voice” Davies yelled into his microphone from the center of the octagon. “Down With The Sickness” by Disturbed flooded from every speaker in the 204,316 square foot arena. The floor boards shook with every beat. “Ya’ll wanna see some fights right now or what?” Davies asked of the already booming crowd. They were ready. And they got what they came for when the blood literally flew at Evolution One, Michigan’s largest professional mixed martial arts competition to date. The Xtreme Kombat League sponsored the March 20 event at Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center after receiving the state’s first-ever mixed martial arts and boxing license from the Michigan Unarmed Combat and Boxing Commission earlier this year. MMA fighting is the fastest growing sport around the world, according to Klint Klaas, co-founder of http://mmafaestro.com, a free, cutting edge mixed martial arts training Web site. And the approximately 3,000 fans that made their way to Ypsilanti that day were certainly ready to be informed. Klaas and co-founder Mark Waters were the commentators for the event, alongside MMA champion Brock Larson. “I’m always excited,” Waters admitted just before the competition began. Each fight consisted of five rounds, each five minutes long. However, there wasn’t a fight in the house that made it to the fifth round. XKL and the guys at mmafaestro.com already have their next event in the corner — planned for April 24 in Minneapolis. Ten former UFC fighters are already on the fight card, including Larson, Dave Menne and Travis Wiuff. The entire event will also be available on pay-per-view at http://mmaactionlive.com.

---

Some highlights of Evolution One:

Main Event: Lightweight Championship

Corey “The Real Deal” Hill, 160 pounds, 31, Nevada vs. Mark Holst, 155 pounds, 24, Quebec Both opponents came out of their corners with hands high. Hill gets a hold on Holst and slams him to the mat with incredible force, laying into him with jabs and elbows to the face. Holst attempts to shrimp out of the hold, but is unsuccessful. Both of the competitors’ corners call for a time-out to relieve the deadlock. But the requests seemed to fall on deaf ears, and the referee allowed the fight to continue. Late into the second round, Hill seemed to maintain his control until Holst was unbelievably able to move him into an arm bar. Hill tapped out at 4:06 of round two — making Holst the XKL World Lightweight Champion. “It feels great,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard for my team.”

---

The Celebrity and His Fan

Ricco “Suave” Rodriguez, 250 pounds, 32, Nevada vs. Bryan Ryan, 225 pounds, 36, Alaska Former UFC heavyweight champion Rodriguez lands the first punch, but is immediately put in a head lock by Ryan. Rodriguez fights to land body shots, but the hits appear to slide off of Ryan’s torso. The two appear to be in a deadlock until Rodriguez pulls out of the hold and almost gets Ryan with a knee to the face. The two rolled to the mat and Ryan’s face emerges bright red after receiving a few solid blows to the nose and mouth. Round one ended mercifully. “I went one round with Ricco,” Ryan exclaimed. “I’ll take that.” Unfortunately for the happy, smiling Alaskan, it would be all he would go. Rodriguez brought the second round to a fast end, railing strikes to Ryan’s face. “I knew he was ready to fight,” Rodriguez said, accepting the XKL World Championship Heavyweight belt. “And it was a great fight.”

---

The One You Never Expected: Light Heavyweight Championship Fight

Eric Smith, 215 pounds, 25 Nevada vs. Ricky Shivers, 220 pounds, 25, Alaska Smith can’t seem to get a hit in as the first round starts until he lands one straight to Shivers’ mouth. The mat is slick with sweat as Shivers and Smith take a tumble. The referee separates them from a deadlock with a minute left. In the second round, Smith slams Shivers to the mat, shaking the octagon, and hits the left side of Shivers’ ribcage with an illegal kick. The fight is stopped by the referee, and Shivers’ can barely stand. Smith maintains control over his opponent in round three, easily grappling him to the mat and swinging at Shivers’ unprotected face. Shivers shrimps out of the hold and the two are in another deadlock. After the referee stands them up, the nearly defeated Shivers lands a knee to Smith’s face. With 20 seconds left in the round, both competitors seemed to just try to catch their breath. The fourth round ends within moments after Shivers’ puts Smith into a headlock and the once dominant Smith is forced to tap out. “That was the best ass-whooping I have ever taken,” Shivers said as he was awarded the XKL World Light Heavyweight Championship belt.

---

The Bloody One: World Middleweight Championship Fight

Anthony “Lion-Heart” Smith, 183 pounds, 21, Omaha vs. James Brasco, 185, 37, Florida Brasco takes a hit directly above his eye and begins bleeding profusely onto the mat – and his opponent. His blood flows over Smith’s head and back as he holds onto his back, but the referee calls an end to the fight. Medics confirm the cut is too severe and Smith is named the World XKL Middleweight Champion.

---

The Rib Cracker

Abdullah Hamdan, 170 pounds, 29, Dubai, India vs. Steven Sbardella, 170 pounds, 21, Claire, Michigan The beginning of this fight was slow and remarkably uneventful. The fighters circled around each other for almost a minute before a fan shouted, “This isn’t dancing with the stars!” But when Hamdan dropped Sbardella with a kick to the left side of the rib cage, things quickly intensified. Sbardella dropped to the mat, holding his side and wincing in pain. Hamdan quickly glanced at the referee for a sign that the fight was called, but after receiving no confirmation, knelt over his opponent throwing blows at his face until the referee grabbed him. The crowd was not pleased. Depsite his efforts to apologize to Sbardella, and Waters’ explanation of the fighters’ action, spectators angrily booed the athlete as he raised his arms in triumph and attempted to talk with Waters in the post-fight interview. “Speak American,” one spectator yelled towards the stage.

---

The Arm Bar

Jimmy “The Mad Dog” Seipel, 156 pounds, 24, Nebraska vs. Lance Snow, 155 pounds, 31, Ontario Snow has Seipel pinned to the mat within seconds, landing blows to the face, but loses control and taps out from a hard arm bar at 1:36 into the first round. A bleeding and battered Seipel stands before the crowd as they cheer for his victory. “I have to thank Michigan for letting me come out here,” Seipel said. “I’ll be back.”

---

The Momma’s Boy

Terry Davinney, 201 pounds, 23, Missouri vs. Colby “The Moose” McMahan, 198 pounds, 25, Mississippi In the first round, Davinney seemed to maintain control over McMahan, keeping him pinned to the mat. He got a good elbow into McMahan’s nose and kept him pinned to the side of the cage, repeatedly throwing heavy-hitting punches to the side of his head. Davinney is almost immediately taken out as the second round began, but slips out of a headlock and throws McMahan into a match-ending guillotine choke. During his post-fight interview Davinney explained his strategy. “He can take a hit and he can give a hit,” he said. “I try to be methodical…I want to thank my roommate, AKA my mother. She cooked my lunch every day and cooked my dinner.” Later in the evening, the opponents were seen together watching the remainder of the competition. Although they had never met before Evolution One, the two appeared extremely friendly. “I like to strike up a bond with anyone who’s trying to kill me,” Davinney explained. It must be working.

---

The Monkey Likes Toes

Ryan Scheeper, 182 pounds, 32, Iowa vs. Adam “Crazy Monkey” Kelso, 183 pounds, 26, Holly, Michigan Lasting just 22 seconds, this was the shortest fight of the evening. Sheaper immediately threw a kick in the first round. Kelso grabbed his foot, brining him to the mat and locked in a toe hold. Sheaper tapped out. Match over.