
St.
Petersburg, Russia - The Russian Red Devils capitalized
on their comrades' support to emerge victorious from Russia's
ICE Palace Arena on Saturday, April 14th in the most anticipated
pay-per-view event of the year,
BodogFight: Fedor Emelianenko vs Matt Lindland, Clash of the
Nations.
The
star-studded mixed martial arts card lived up to its billing,
with Fedor Emelianenko, the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world
taking on the #1 ranked middleweight, Matt "The Law" Lindland,
in the main event. In the end, the sold out crowd, which included
Russian President Vladimir Putin, got what they wanted, as their
beloved champion improved to 26-1 after forcing his brave American
challenger to tap out in the very first round.
Lindland,
now 20-5, started strong by opening a huge gash over Emelianenko's
right eye with his first punch. Controversy followed though, as
the 30 year old Russian then used the ropes to prevent and reverse
an attempted takedown. Once on top of his opponent, Emelianenko
sealed the victory with an inescapable arm bar.
Lindland
refused to make excuses after the fight, although the 2000 Olympic
silver medalist wrestler was adamant about the fact that he would
like a rematch.
"I
absolutely, absolutely would like a rematch," said Lindland. "I'm
not saying the outcome would have been any different but that's
a much different fight if the referee does what he's supposed
to and I wind up on top and am able to utilize my skills there."
After
the fight, Emenianenko's gloves were auctioned off to raise money
for the Calvin Ayre Foundation, with proceeds donated to a local
orphanage.
In
other MMA action, Emelianenko's brother, Aleksander, also saw
his arm raised after pummeling Nevada's Eric Pele in a super-heavyweight
bout. Both fighters now stand at 10-3. Other Russian victories
included Roman Zentsov over France's Kristof Midoux, Eric Oganov
over American Derrick Noble, and Amar Suloev scoring a devastating
first round knockout over American Andy Foster.
The
upset of the night saw Nick "The Goat" Thompson lift the Bodog
Fight welterweight title from former champ Eddie Alvarez. The
product of Philadelphia's famous Fight Factory was TKO'd in the
second round, just moments after the outspoken Thompson told legendary
ringside announcer Bob "the Colonel" Sheridan he was about to
"kick into third gear". True to his word Thompson improved to
31-9, while Alvarez suffers his first defeat in ten fights.
American
Josh "Buffalohead" Curran trampled Jarno Nurminen of Finland.
Canada's Bill "The Butcher" Mahood tenderized American Steve Steinbeiss,
whose brother Ray outfought Russia's Dmitry Samoilov. Brazil's
Rodrigo Damm got past American Santino DeFranco, while Damm's
compatriot, Jorge Santiago, upset local favorite Andrei Semenov.
In
women's 135 pound action, American Julie Kedzie temporarily silenced
the Russian crowd with a TKO victory over Julia Berezekova, while
fellow American Amanda Buckner scored a unanimous decision over
Hitomi Akano of Japan.
Winner |
Loser
|
Method
|
Round
|
Time |
| Josh
Curran |
Jarno
Nurminen |
TKO
(Strikes) |
3 |
5:00 |
| Rodrigo
Damm |
Santino
Defranco |
Submission
(Rear Naked Choke) |
2 |
1;58 |
| Bill
Mahood |
Steve
Steinbeiss |
Decision
(Unanimous) |
3 |
5:00 |
| Roman
Zentsov |
Kristof
Midoux |
TKO
(Corner Stoppage) |
1 |
5:00 |
| Amanda
Buckner |
Hitomi
Akano |
Decision
(Unanimous) |
3 |
5:00 |
| Jorge
Santiago |
Andrei
Semenov |
TKO
(Strikes) |
2 |
4:48 |
| Aleksander
Emelianenko |
Eric
Pele |
KO
(Punch) |
1 |
4:07 |
| Nick
Thompson |
Eddie
Alvarez |
TKO
(Strikes) |
2 |
4:32 |
| Fedor
Emelianenko |
Matt
Lindland |
Submission
(Armbar) |
1 |
2;58 |
| Julie
Kedzie |
Julia
Berezikova |
TKO
(Strikes) |
2 |
2;49 |
| Ray
Steinbeiss |
Dmitry
Samoilov |
Submission
(Rear Naked Choke) |
1 |
3:00 |
| Erik
Oganov |
Derrick
Noble |
TKO
(Strikes) |
2 |
2;55 |
| Amar
Suloev |
Andy
Foster |
KO
(punches) |
1 |
0;26 |
|