In a perfect world, a sophisticated ranking system would be in place for amateur and professional fighters at the local level. Promoters would never have to deal with injuries or canceled fights. Every fight picker would have access to all the statistics they need to set up an exciting card and every fighter would be ready to leave it all in the cage. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world and I.C.E International’s SuperBrawl suffered as a result.
On Saturday, November 29, ICE’s SuperBrawl had 13 fights on the card. Of these, only 11 took place. Abe Pitrowski’s fight with Mamadou Fofana was canceled and two of the professional MMA fights had to be reworked at the last minute. Of the 11 fights that did take place, six ended in the first round and five of those lasted less than a minute. Four fights ended in the second round and only one went to decision. At first glance, these stats seem indicative of some severe mismatches on the card. However, after reviewing the statistics that are available, its difficult to see how these results could have been avoided. Seven fights that night were amateur bouts, and only one fighter on the card, Jay Bouchard, has more than one fight on his record. This does not give the person picking the fights much information to work with.
The standout amateur fight of the night was Chris Sniger of Team Gillett vs. Jeff Anderson of Elite MMA. It was obvious from the beginning that Sniger was not ready for Anderson’s strength. Each round found Sniger on his back struggling to hold his opponent in his guard while Anderson pounded his ribs. Neither man gave up. Sniger showed the crowd that he’s a tough kid with a lot of heart who’s not afraid of a punch. Anderson demonstrated that he’s an intense fighter with great ground and pound. He never stopped pushing the pace. In the end, it was the only fight of the night that went the distance, with Anderson winning by unanimous decision.
Both the Muay-Thai and the MMA heavy-weight titles were on the line last Saturday. Both fights were exciting, but for different reasons.
The Muay-Thai title fight between Jemont Anderson and Joe Rodriguez provided some great stand up. At the start of round one, after a few brief exchanges, Anderson backed Rodriguez into the cage and locked him in a clinch. This is where Rodriguez found himself for the rest of the round. Anderson completely controlled his opponent, moving him around the cage and throwing knees and short punches that went unanswered by Rodriguez. Anderson continued to dominate in round two, landing several brutal body kicks and winning all the exchanges. After knocking Rodriguez down twice, the referee called a stop to the fight and Jemont Anderson was declared I.C.E. International’s new Muay-Thai heavy-weight champion.
The MMA title fight between Jay Bouchard and Tony Lugo had a very exciting beginning. Its just unfortunate that a beginning is all there was. The fight was over in the first 12 seconds of round one. Bouchard’s popularity was evident the moment his name was announced. The screams of the crowd were deafening. Bouchard walked to the cage looking absolutely confident. As soon as round one began, he charged forward, backing Lugo into the cage. It was difficult to tell if Lugo even had time to raise his hands. Bouchard threw a flurry of punches that knocked Lugo down into a crouching position. Bouchard continued punching. It wasn’t long, only a matter of a few seconds, before the referee stopped the fight. Jay Bouchard was declared the winner and the heavy-weight belt was strapped around his waist.
Though short, there were a few exciting fights at SuperBrawl. The band Phi also put on a great show during the intermissions. Despite all the problems that seemed to plague the fight card, at the end of the night, I.C.E. International put on a good show and I expect they will keep getting better. I’m looking forward the next one.