IFC results
Date: 2010-07-18 00:00:00
Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/mma/post/2...
Submitted By: MMAFightsDump
Paulo Filho and Denis Kang each swayed one judge. Neither one could sway the third. Saturday's bout between the middleweights at Impact Fighting Championships 2 in Sydney resulted in a majority draw. One judge scored it 29-28 for Filho, one went 30-27 for Kang and one issued a 29-29 score. A case could be made for either fighter winning marginally, but neither had a truly clearcut advantage over the other after 15 minutes spent mostly grappling on the ground. Kang (33-12-2, 2 no contests) spent much of the first round in top position throwing occasional punches and elbows from Filho's guard or half guard. Filho (20-1-1) returned the favor for the first three minutes of the second round after an early takedown, though he gave up a sweep and found himself on his back not long after finally mounting Kang. The final round saw both men trading positions multiple times on the mat. Neither man did much damage, although Kang from the bottom forced Filho to defend against a couple of double wristlock attempts. Their fight on Saturday came almost four years after they were supposed to square off in Pride's 183-pound tournament in 2006. Both men qualified for the final, but Filho withdrew because of injury; Kang went on to lose to Kazuo Misaki, who was defeated by Filho in a semifinal bout. Filho became World Extreme Cagefighting's middleweight champion in 2007, but the company eventually released him after some instances of erratic behavior. He has had an up-and-down road since then. He pulled out of bouts in Dream and Bellator Fighting Championships and blamed visa problems, and he barely made the cut for Saturday's bout after multiple attempts during Friday's officlal weigh-ins. Despite his trouble in recent years, Filho still has a formidable reputation as a fighter. He holds the No. 19 spot among middleweights in the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus rankings. In Saturday's main event, Pedro Rizzo (19-9) defeated Ken Shamrock (27-14-1) via first-round technical knockout in a matchup of heavyweight stars from yesteryear. Rizzo, famous for his powerful low kicks, repeatedly targeted his opponent's left leg until Shamrock fell to the ground on one knee. Rizzo moved in and started punching the helpless Shamrock until referee John McCarthy stopped the fight. The loss doesn't necessarily spell the end of fighting for the 46-year-old Shamrock, whose involvement in mixed martial arts goes back to Pancrase in 1993, before the first Ultimate Fighting Championship held its first event. He will keep fighting as long as people are willing to pay to watch him compete, Shamrock said. It's the third consecutive win for Rizzo, a 13-year veteran of the sport who fought three times for UFC's heavyweight title from 2000 to 2002, though he never captured the belt. Also Saturday: • UFC veteran Paul Daley (24-9-2) defeated Daniel Acacio (21-10), who verbally submitted to Daley's strikes on the ground. Acacio called it quits after an elbow from Daley cut him open. Daley is the consensus No. 10 welterweight. UFC released him after he sucker-punched Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 in May. • Ultimate Fighter alumnus Jesse Taylor (15-6) was awarded the win after former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante (14-8-1) could not continue because he suddenly experienced dizziness in the middle of the bout. Saturday marked the second show for Impact FC, which held its inaugural event in Brisbane, Australia on July 10.
