TOM’s Wrestling Report: UFC on Versus 4

By Sean McNie

There were many moments that had me on the edge of my seat during the fights on Sunday. The historical knockout victory by Cheick Kongo over Pat Barry in the main event and the smooth submission via kimura by Joe Lauzon over Curt Warburton on the undercard were among the most riveting. Despite the overall awesomeness that came from the UFC’s fourth mixed martial arts broadcast on the Versus network, there were a few fights that stuck out to me for a more subtle reason: Wrestling. Here I’ll discuss fights that involved former wrestlers, or bouts where wrestling played a major factor in the outcome.

TUF Runner-up Johnson TKO’s Faaloloto

Ultimate Fighter runner-up Michael Johnson (9-5-0) has quickly become known as a powerful takedown artist. In fact, going into the fight it was questionable if the former Meramec Community College wrestler had much else besides a good double leg.

Both Johnson and Edward Faaloloto (2-2-0) opened the fight aggressively, displaying crisp kickboxing. Johnson started the grappling early, as expected, scoring two takedowns, with Faaloloto escaping in between. The second takedown by Johnson was a bear hug that seemed effortless; it was hard to tell if it was Johnson’s superior strength or Faaloloto’s inability to get his hips away that made it look that way.

Johnson’s striking got better as the first round began to come to a close. His blend of quick combinations and thumping leg kicks started to wear Faaloloto down, and he began to move slowly compared to the well-conditioned TUF finalist. Johnson took advantage of this and clamped on a muay thai clinch, and sent hard knees into Faaloloto that caused him to drop. Johnson followed up with hammer fists and combinations that made the referee step in at 4:42.

Johnson’s striking looked amazing, and there’s no question now that he’ll be able to hold his own in the stacked 155 pound division. However, his ability to control the fight with takedowns flustered Faaloloto and eventually wore him down. Although Johnson will surely have many more wins by knockout in the future, wrestling still seems to be the ace up his sleeve.

Elmhurst’s Lamas Lands Thundering Switch Kick

Sunday was apparently the night for grapplers to display their striking skills, as Division III All-American Ricardo Lamas (10-2-0) continued this trend with extraordinary kickboxing against 4x Oklahoma high school state champion and University of Oklahoma starter Matt Grice (13-4-0).

Lamas, who still coaches wrestling at Elmhust College, took advantage of one of Grice’s early attempts at a knee, snatching up a single and driving him into the cage. Lamas converted to a low-level single and was able to trap Grice’s other leg for the takedown. There was a quick grappling match, but Lamas eventually let Grice up to his feet (For good reason, in hindsight).

Late into the round, Lamas landed a series of impressive kicks, topping them off with an amazing switch kick that dropped Grice. Lamas swarmed on him, causing the referee to step in and stop the fight at 4:41. Much like Johnson’s fight, wrestling allowed Lamas to control the pace, putting him into position to land the devastating kicks that he’s been working on since his wrestling days.

Controversy in Oliveria’s Submission of Former Gopher Lentz

In one of the most controversial fights of 2011, 21 year old Charles Oliveira (15-1-0) defeated former University of Minnesota wrestler, Nik Lentz (21-4-2), by submitting him with a rear naked choke. This was, however, after Oliveira hit Lentz with an illegal knee that the referee didn’t call.

The final outcome wasn’t the controversial part: Oliveira completely dominated the former Gopher. Lentz immediately took Oliveira to the ground with a double, but was cautious of the Brazilian due to his two Submission of the Night victories in his first two UFC fights. Lentz showed solid fundamentals on the ground, but was put in danger a few times, once with a vicious mounted guillotine choke that he narrowly escaped. It seemed as if Lentz started to wear down, getting extended on his shots and not able to finish any sort of takedown. He was even taken down by Oliveira late in the first round by a judo throw.

The controversial moment came in the second round after a scramble for a takedown, which ended up with Oliveira on his feet and Lentz with one of his knees in contact with the ground. Oliveira used a muay thai clinch to deliver a hard, clean knee, which he pleaded was not intentional. The referee, Chip Snider, was positioned behind Oliveira, and apparently didn’t see the knee, or for whatever reason neglected to stop the fight. Oliveira took the back of the dazed former Gopher and slipped in the rear naked choke for the victory.

Oliveira surely would have won the fight despite the knee, but no one ever wants to see this kind of unfair ending, indicated by the crowd’s chanting of a certain word that can’t be named here. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission will review the ending of this fight soon, and will most likely rule it a “no contest.” Both Oliveira and Lentz were given $50,000 fight bonuses by UFC president Dana White.

Hofstra’s Rich Attonito Outlasts Roberts

I’m always up for a fight between two former wrestlers, and Rich Attonito’s (10-4-0) win over Daniel Roberts (12-3-) didn’t disappoint.

At the beginning, Roberts, a NAIA All-American at Bacone College, came out extremely aggressive, pushing the pace against former Hofstra wrestler Attonito. Roberts dished out a barrage of explosive strikes including head kicks and superman punches. Near the end of the round, Attonito used a front headlock to get Roberts to the ground. He locked up a nearside cradle, to which Roberts turned into half guard and gave up the takedown.

The second round was also filled with grappling, but this time with Roberts taking Attonito’s back and getting his hooks in. Robert’s couldn’t hold Attonito for long, though, as the Hofstra wrestler reversed the position and ended up in full guard. Attonito finished the round on top unleashing solid ground and pound.

The third round seemed to be the deciding factor, as Robert’s gas tank began to fade. Attonito seemed to get stronger though, and pushed the All-American to the limit, landing a vicious right head kick and almost finishing him on several occasions. Near the close of the round, Attonito hit a beautiful outside trip and ended the fight with him on top. Attonito wasn’t able to finish the fight in the final round, but his efforts were enough to be awarded the unanimous decision.

Silverado’s Stevenson Outmatched by Javier Vazquez

In another bout that pitted two former wrestlers against one another, All-American from Mt. San Antonio College, Javier Vasquez (16-5-0) defeated former Silverado High Schooler Joe Stevenson (31-14-0) by unanimous decision.

Stevenson immediately came out to throw leather and was taken down quickly by Vasquez. After a near submission by Stevenson, Vazquez let the fight continue in the standing position. He then hit one of the most impressive takedown setups I’ve ever seen: A looping left punch to a low single. Not many fighters are able to pull this off, but the former wrestler made it look easy to fake high and change levels to hit a low level attack—very impressive.

In the second round Vazquez continued to dominate with his wrestling, defending Stevenson’s takedown attempts, and earning a takedown with an outside trip from the over-under position. Stevenson’s game plan was deflated by the third round, as he bobbed and weaved but didn’t make any serious attempt at knocking Vazquez out. Vazquez was able to hold on and get the win over the seasoned Silverado wrestler.

There was no sense of urgency to win by Stevenson, which is strange because this was his fourth consecutive loss. Unless Dana White knows something we don’t, Stevenson will most likely be handed a pink slip in the near future.

Albany’s Tyson Griffin Edges Gamburyan

Tyson Griffin (15-5-0) avenged three straight losses in his majority decision defeat of judo black belt Manny Gamburyan (11-6-0), who hadn’t fought since 2009.

The former wrestler from Albany, CA used his wrestling in reverse, as he opted to use his strong defensive skills to keep the fight on the feet in an attempt to throw down with Gamburyan. Surprisingly, Gamburyan was the one who pushed the grappling, constantly attempting to take Griffin down throughout the fight.

Although Gamburyan’s background is in judo, he trains with the SK Golden Boys wrestling club in Southern California, so he knows his way around leg attacks. In fact, Gamburyan is one of the better wrestlers in the UFC that does not originally come from a wrestling background. He did get the better of Griffin in the first round, taking him down against the cage with a powerful double, but the rest of the fight was all Griffin.

Griffin looked much improved on his feet, dishing out hard body shots and leg kicks which had Gamburyan’s leg a shade of purple. They stood and kick boxed the majority of the fight, until the third round when a takedown became imperative to both fighters. Interestingly enough, Gamburyan scored a solid takedown in the third, but ended up losing the round. Griffin’s aggression and constant attempts to press the fight may have overshadowed the one takedown by Gamburyan.

Lock Haven’s Brenneman Upsets Story

Former Lock Haven University standout, Charlie Brenneman (13-2-0), earned a shocking unanimous decision victory over rising star Rick Story (13-4-0).

Story, who was a NAIA runner-up at Southern Oregon University, was originally slated to face Nate Marquardt in a bout that would clarify the welterweight title picture. Marquardt made weight but was forced to pull out last minute due to failing his medical examinations, which led to him being cut from the UFC by Dana White.

Brenneman was the right man for the job, apparently. The first round started off with both fighters testing their grappling skills. Story scored a judo throw early, and Brenneman answered by scrambling to his feet and throwing an overhand right to an outside trip to take Story to his back. As was the theme of the night, Brenneman ended the first round on top to sway the judges.

The second round continued at a quick pace, as Brenneman shot a high single and cracked Story down. Brennaman couldn’t hold him, and Story ended up scrambling out. Brenneman had been shooting from out of range up until this point, and Story took advantage of this by almost catching him in a guillotine. Brenneman was able to escape, and remained on top to win yet another round.

The third round seemed to be going the same direction, but Story started to work his BJJ skills once he was taken down. He was almost able to catch a triangle and an arm bar, but was unable to finish. He even secured the mount, but couldn’t to do any significant damage before Brenneman escaped through the backdoor to close out his victory.

During his post-fight interview, Brennman agreed with Joe Rogan that wrestling was “definitely” the difference in this fight. And it seems wrestling puts Brenneman in the mix for a shot at the welterweight title.