Weekend Rundown: Petruzelli Mashes Mewborn at WEF 46
Chris Nelson Apr 25, 2011
Seth
Petruzelli (file photo) got back on track Saturday. | Dave
Mandel/Sherdog.com
Well-traveled “Silverback” Seth Petruzelli bounced back from consecutive defeats with a sound stoppage of Atlanta’s Dave Mewborn on Friday in the main event of World Extreme Fighting 46.
After having the hype from a four-fight win streak -- which included his famous October 2008 knockout of Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson -- halted by back-to-back losses inside the UFC, Petruzelli was in need of a solid win. The 31-year-old Floridian got just that before a partisan crowd at UCF Arena in Orlando, Fla., as he used quick and heavy hands to pound Mewborn to a technical knockout at 3:06 of the opening round.
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Originally scheduled to feature 47-year-old Ken Shamrock against French veteran Antony Rea, the WEF 46 co-main event was reshuffled just days before the show when Shamrock withdrew due to staph infection. Ohioan Rob Wince took Shamrock’s place in the light heavyweight tilt, but had little to offer Rea, succumbing to knees and punches at 1:40 of the second frame.
Elsewhere on the bill, once-beaten super-heavyweight prospect
Chris
“Beast Boy” Barnett improved to 7-1, outpointing amateur
standout Walt Harris
with leg kicks and a weighty top game; lightweight Mike Byrnes
needed only 19 seconds to turn out the lights on Felix Lopez;
and
American Top Team welterweight Sabah
Homasi battled back from the brink of defeat to submit Kevin
Pearson at 1:35 of the second round.
Gracie Rolls, Controversy Abounds at Urban Conflict Championships 4
Rolles Gracie made good on his famous last name Friday, submitting Pennsylvania’s Braden Bice with a lightning-fast choke at Urban Conflict Championships 4 “Supremacy” inside the William G. Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown, N.J.
Gracie, who was released from the UFC in February 2010 following the first loss of his career, slipped on an early high kick and found himself ensnared in a Bice guillotine attempt. However, Gracie used the opportunity to trip Bice to the floor and set up a modified arm-triangle, eliciting the tap just 65 seconds into the first round without ever extracting his head from the guillotine.
The bouts which flanked Gracie’s return did not go off quite so smoothly.
The evening’s main event, a featherweight title bout between Brazilian Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes and “The Ultimate Figher 12” contestant Andy Main, ended without a winner. Late in the opening round, an Arantes knee found its way to his grounded opponent’s head, rendering Main unable to continue. The borderline foul was deemed accidental, but nonetheless illegal, by referee Kevin Mulhall and the bout was ruled a no contest at 4:38, leaving the 145-pound title still vacant. Arantes and Main are expected to rematch at a future UCC event.
Earlier in the evening, New Jerseyan Sean Santella and Brazilian expat Sidemar Honorio scrapped for the UCC bantamweight belt. After a closely contested three-round affair which saw both men score on the feet and the floor, hometown favorite Santella was awarded the split decision and the championship belt. Disgusted with the verdict, Honorio reportedly took to the mic and addressed the crowd, stating that he did not expect to win a close decision against an American on US soil.
The strangeness of UCC 4 actually began at Thursday’s weigh-ins, when New Yorker Eric Henry tipped the scale at 178 pounds for his welterweight bout with New Jersey’s Mike Medrano. According to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, Medrano exercised his option to decline the fight and collect his “show” purse due to the overage, while Henry was issued a 120-day suspension for failing to make weight.
Quick Hits: Onetime World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champ Hermes Franca continued on his comeback trail Saturday, submitting M-1 veteran Joshua Thorpe in the first round of their “Knockout Night” headliner at Williamson County Pavillion in Marion, Ill. The 36-year-old Brazilian retired in January 2010, only to reemerge eight months later and drop back-to-back bouts. Since his controversial (and later overturned) December decision loss to Ferrid Kheder, Franca has won three in a row, all via stoppage... Bellator Fighting Championships veterans Ryan Roberts and Nick Mamalis squared off in a five-round interim featherweight title affair at The Cage Inc.’s “Battle at the Border 9” on Saturday. After two competitive early rounds, Roberts took the driver’s seat in the late going and the Nebraskan left Dakota Magic Casino in Hankinson, N.D., with gold... Combat USA held its “Wisconsin Tournament Finals” on Friday at Oneida Casino in Green Bay, Wisc. Among the show’s winners were WEC lightweight vet Sherron Leggett, who moved to 21-5 with a unanimous decision over James Warfield; middleweight Herbert Goodman, who rear-naked choked Gerald Meerschaert at 1:28 of the first round; and Klay Konrad, elder brother of Bellator heavyweight champ Cole Konrad, who won his second in as many bouts with a unanimous decision against Jimmy Zidek... Takahiro Kawanaka earned a two-round majority decision over 2007 Shooto rookie champion Hiroki Sato in the 185-pound main event of Deep’s Sunday event at Club Diana in Tokyo. A pupil of Dream featherweight Kazuyuki Miyata, Kawanaka improved to 3-0, having also notched a pair of December wins in Deep’s 2010 Future King tournament.
More Weekend Event Coverage »
•Hale, M’Pumbu Advance to Bellator 205-Pound Championship Final
•‘Betao’ Brilliant as Bantamweights Bolster Bellator 42 Undercard
•Misaki Retires 'Mr. Pride' Shoji; Kitaoka Wins at Deep 53 Impact
•Martins Takes LW Title, Lineker Crushes Again at Jungle Fight 27
•Mason Outpoints Love, Gaff Mauls Daly at CWFC 41
•Hunt Retains, Green Regains KOTC Gold at ‘Moral Victory’
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