Rizzo, Daley Successful at Impact FC 2

The most prominent show of this weekend was hosted down under, as Impact FC 2 held their second show in Sydney, Australia, featuring plenty of UFC and Pride veterans. Unfortunately, many of those veterans consisted of the likes of Ken Shamrock, Pedro Rizzo, and Murilo Bustamante- men who were good fighters but have worn down considerably due to age, ring wear, or both. However, appearances by recent UFC castoff (and in the eyes of many, top ten welterweight) Paul Daley, Denis Kang and the unpredictable Paulo Filho ensured that the proceedings would have some relevance.

The main event met what would seem to be a foregone conclusion, as Ken Shamrock was battered standing up in what was a bad match up for the UFC Hall of Famer. Fellow UFC veteran Pedro Rizzo used capable straight punches and hard leg kicks to chop down Shamrock in just over three minutes of their fight, then followed up with punches on the ground to ensure the referee stoppage and victory. Afterward, Shamrock seemed to indicate that an end to his fighting career was approaching soon, though he curiously added that he would “keep getting beat up” as long as the fans kept watching.

Rizzo is just 36 years old, but all of the wear and tear from a long career of mixed martial arts has ensured that he is no spring chicken, either. He looked about as good against Shamrock as he would if he was observed hitting a heavy bag, but to believe that it means anything in terms of a potential comeback against world-class competition is a mistake. Meanwhile, Shamrock had obviously worked hard to get into shape, but just doesn’t have the athleticism or evolved skill set to do much more than fight in “special attraction” bouts for smaller promotions.

Paul Daley, cut from the UFC for punching Josh Koscheck well after the bell of their recent fight, made his first appearance since the incident in a win over Daniel Acacio. In the first round, Daley controlled the action with good enough takedown defense and his ever-present left hook. In the second, though, he got a little too loose with it and Acacio was able to catch one of his kicks and take him down in the process. From there, Acacio controlled the round, though Daley stayed out of serious trouble until the round ended. Finally, in the third and final round, Acacio pulled guard, only to be hit with a cracking elbow that immediately split his head open, causing Acacio to submit.

Acacio was surprisingly honest afterward: “I’d never been cut before. I got scared. I thought something might be broken and there was blood everywhere.” Daley keeps his spot in a fair number of welterweight top ten rankings with the win, though the true test of his skills will be his ability to improve his takedown defense (and whether he can implore Dana White to forgive his antics).

Denis Kang and Paulo Filho, both formerly top five middleweights, fought to a split draw in their bout. With scores of 30-27 Kang, 29-28 Filho, and 29-29, the two were both open to a rematch in the near future at another Impact FC event. Kang probably took round one with his top control and a bit of ground and pound, while Filho likely owned the second stanza with his own top control and ability to advance position. If anything, Kang had a decent case for winning the third round, as he took Filho’s back at one point before being reversed, and later worked on a kimura as the bout was headed to a close.

You have to wonder how things might have turned out if Filho hadn’t had such trouble making weight. Filho came to weigh-ins just two pounds over the 185-lb. contracted weight, and even asked Kang if he could be permitted to fight at 187. Kang wanted him to at least try to get the extra pound off to hit 186, which Filho did, but not without difficulty. In the end, a visibly drained Filho memorably came up to the scale and simply dropped his clothes, making weight completely naked (and without the customary towel cover) to the horror of the journalists in attendance.

In other bouts, Murilo Bustamante submitted under very weird circumstances, as he said he was “feeling dizzy…and couldn’t stand” after a lack of action on the mat against opponent Jesse Taylor led to John McCarthy standing up the action. Bustamante was wobbly and unable to stand without having trouble with his balance, so he told McCarthy he was done. Afterward, Bustamante said he felt fine and didn’t know what had happened, since he didn’t feel Taylor had hit him very hard at any point in the bout. Taylor, a former cast member of “The Ultimate Fighter”, wasn’t doing that great in round one, as Bustamante threatened with a rear naked choke for much of that round. In the second, he had just the takedown and some rudimentary offense from the guard before the standup and strange finish occurred.

Finally, Murilo “Ninja” Rua tapped another “The Ultimate Fighter” alum with a late-first round guillotine after scramble that allowed Rua to get off the mat and onto his feet. Earlier in the round, Rua had been rocked by Jeremy May, who landed a right cross that made Ninja plop down to the canvas.

In the other fights, Glover Teixeira beat up Marko Peselj from the mount, forcing a stoppage. Teixeira said he had started to cramp up just minutes into their fight from a twenty-pound weight cut to make 206 pounds for the bout, and had to pound out Peselj quickly as a result. Soa Palelei defeated Brad Morris with a keylock from the mount, and Jim York survived the striking of K-1 veteran Peter Graham to sink in a rear naked choke. Richie Vaculik won by submission against Glenny Taylor-Smith, and Manuel Rodriguez knocked Shane Nix out cold with a north-south choke to kick things off in the opening bout of the evening.

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Tags: Denis Kang, Glover Teixeira, Impact FC, Impact FC 2, Jesse Taylor, Ken Shamrock, Murilo "Ninja" Rua, Murilo Bustamante, Paul Daley, Paulo Filho, Pedro Rizzo