Spoiling Worsham’s Retirement, Severn Wins GC Super Heavyweight Title
Robert Gallardo Jan 29, 2005
COLUSA, Calif., Jan. 27 — Several stoppages, submissions, one
decision, and a few unfortunate injuries told the tale of Gladiator
Challenge 34. However, a show that was supposed to be remembered
for the long-awaited match up between UFC legends Cal Worsham and Dan “The Beast”
Severn will instead be remembered for a scary and unfortunate
moment in the ring.
In the main event, two legends met in a fight that could have taken place 10 years ago in the UFC. Worsham, who was fighting in his retirement match in front of a sellout crowd, took on a man who needed no introduction in Severn.
The fight itself was lackluster at best. Severn circled Worsham for
almost the entirety of the first round, ala Severn-Shamrock II,
with few jabs thrown by each competitor. The only action of the
round happened at the midway point. Severn landed a knee to the
midsection of Worsham, giving Worsham some time to recover.
The second round was almost a carbon copy of the first, with Severn landing another knee to the midsection midway through the round, and once again Worsham was given some time to recover.
The only Worsham action of round two came when Severn attempted a shot that was so far out he face planted and reverted to his guard. Worsham jumped in but was unable to land any shots.
In the third and final round, after a few more minutes of dancing, Severn unleashed what was left of “The Beast,” charging Worsham to the fence and landing weak palm shots to the body and slaps to the head. When Severn backed off, Worsham asked for time from the ref. When it wasn't given, he collapsed, holding his chest near his heart.
The fight was stopped, and it appeared as if Worsham was having a heart attack in the middle of the ring. It was later revealed that he had injured his rib and had lost his breath. It was a scary moment, and most certainly not the way anyone wants a fight to end. Nonetheless, Dan Severn is the new Gladiator Challenge super heavyweight champion, a title Worsham had held for years.
Robert Sarkozi, who hails from Hungary, continued his win streak by taking out “Alpha Male” wrestler Kacey Uscola by way of TKO, midway through the second round. Uscola wanted nothing to do with Sarkozi's stand-up, taking the Hungarian fighter down where he was able to gain the mount and land some nice shots, but nothing too damaging.
Uscola had a clear advantage at the end of the first round, with both fighters gassing by that time. However, Sarkozi was able to recover and take advantage of his gassed opponent by keeping the fight on the feet, where he was able to land the shots necessary for referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the bout at 1:19 of the second round. Sarkozi displayed a solid stand up game, yet proved that he needs a little work on the ground if he is going to fight in the bigger promotions.
In what turned out to be the fight of night, newcomer Gabe Rivas led a one-sided assault on veteran Walter Patterson. Rivas displayed some nice leg kicks that seemed to bother Patterson a bit, along with some nice combinations that had his opponent on the defensive the entire fight.
Rivas dropped Patterson on several occasions, and almost seemed as if he would not let up with his relentless attack. In the end, it was Rivas who got the unanimous decision and the win in an impressive debut.
Matt McPherson needed only 29 seconds to finish his opponent by way of guillotine choke. McPherson looked to touch gloves, however, JP took advantage by attempting a kick to the midsection. This unfortunately sealed his fate as it caused McPherson to go on the offensive and take it to his opponent.
Gladiator Challenge veteran David Marshall displayed his superior jiu-jitsu skills by finishing Mo Scott by rear-naked choke in just over a minute. Scott was able to slam Marshall to the canvas where Marshall was able to pull guard and ladder up to nearly finish the fight with a triangle choke. When Scott went to his back from the triangle, Marshall took control and secured the choke.
Wesley Scovie has a unique style of sticking his head out for his opponents to throw punches at that seems to be a hit with the crowd. Demonstrating a style reminiscent of his fight with Brian Sleeman, Scovie dropped Nathan Archuleta, but chose to delay jumping on the downed fighter. Back on their feet, Scovie stared at his opponent with crazy eyes and chose only to throw punches after he had been hit in the face. At the 4:09 mark Scovie was able to take Archuleta down and secure a rear-naked choke from a very awkward position.
The very young-looking Brian Badgerow had a tough time handling his opponent, Mike Carillo. Badgerow was able to take Carillo down, but was unable to land any shots as Carillo held his head most of the time. When Badgerow did pop his head up, Carillo was able to stand back up or reverse position. Although no shots were landed by either fighter, this was still an exciting back-and-forth battle that came to an unfortunate end at 4:58 of the first round when Carillo landed awkwardly on his shoulder, popping it out of place and giving Badgerow the win.
In yet another one of those fights that shows why you should know how to fight MMA when you enter the cage, Matt Nelson faced Randy Hamlot. Fortunately for Nelson, Hamlot only knew how to throw wild haymakers and give up his back while standing. Nelson took advantage of this and secured the rear-naked choke at 1:32 of the first round.
Dan Molina was able to neutralize Dan Quinn to win his fight at the 4:39 mark of the first round. Molina took Quinn down and immediately mounted him and proceeded to land some nice punches from the mount. This fight was one-sided, but Dan Quinn showed incredible heart, as he would not quit, even after all the punishment he took. However, James Fanshier felt that his fighter had had enough, and threw in the towel, putting a halt to the bout.
Lion’s Den fighter Steve Barnett used little energy to finish his Dustin Henderson at the 1:52 mark of the first round by way of guillotine choke. Henderson's corner would have been able to offer better advice had one of them not been drinking a beer from the Colusa Casino bar.
Steve Cabrawl looked like Frankenstein in the way he came after Scott Ernisses, holding both hands up and walking into his opponent to clinch without throwing a punch. Luckily for Cabrawl, Ernisses was unable to use this to his advantage and instead went for a failed attempt at a headlock takedown. Cabrawl won by stoppage, 2:42 round one.
Santiago Terrasses sunk in a guillotine choke at 0:50 of the first round after a failed shot attempt by John Seilhan to win by submission.
Shane Stewart versus John Cole seesaw battle that saw one fighter constantly reversing the other one. A slight advantage was given to Stewart, as he was able to take the fight to the ground at will. Near the end of the first, Stewart was able to sink the triangle choke at the 4:06 mark of the first round.
In the main event, two legends met in a fight that could have taken place 10 years ago in the UFC. Worsham, who was fighting in his retirement match in front of a sellout crowd, took on a man who needed no introduction in Severn.
Advertisement
The second round was almost a carbon copy of the first, with Severn landing another knee to the midsection midway through the round, and once again Worsham was given some time to recover.
It seemed as if the fight was scheduled for six two-minute
rounds.
The only Worsham action of round two came when Severn attempted a shot that was so far out he face planted and reverted to his guard. Worsham jumped in but was unable to land any shots.
In the third and final round, after a few more minutes of dancing, Severn unleashed what was left of “The Beast,” charging Worsham to the fence and landing weak palm shots to the body and slaps to the head. When Severn backed off, Worsham asked for time from the ref. When it wasn't given, he collapsed, holding his chest near his heart.
The fight was stopped, and it appeared as if Worsham was having a heart attack in the middle of the ring. It was later revealed that he had injured his rib and had lost his breath. It was a scary moment, and most certainly not the way anyone wants a fight to end. Nonetheless, Dan Severn is the new Gladiator Challenge super heavyweight champion, a title Worsham had held for years.
Robert Sarkozi, who hails from Hungary, continued his win streak by taking out “Alpha Male” wrestler Kacey Uscola by way of TKO, midway through the second round. Uscola wanted nothing to do with Sarkozi's stand-up, taking the Hungarian fighter down where he was able to gain the mount and land some nice shots, but nothing too damaging.
Uscola had a clear advantage at the end of the first round, with both fighters gassing by that time. However, Sarkozi was able to recover and take advantage of his gassed opponent by keeping the fight on the feet, where he was able to land the shots necessary for referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the bout at 1:19 of the second round. Sarkozi displayed a solid stand up game, yet proved that he needs a little work on the ground if he is going to fight in the bigger promotions.
In what turned out to be the fight of night, newcomer Gabe Rivas led a one-sided assault on veteran Walter Patterson. Rivas displayed some nice leg kicks that seemed to bother Patterson a bit, along with some nice combinations that had his opponent on the defensive the entire fight.
Rivas dropped Patterson on several occasions, and almost seemed as if he would not let up with his relentless attack. In the end, it was Rivas who got the unanimous decision and the win in an impressive debut.
Matt McPherson needed only 29 seconds to finish his opponent by way of guillotine choke. McPherson looked to touch gloves, however, JP took advantage by attempting a kick to the midsection. This unfortunately sealed his fate as it caused McPherson to go on the offensive and take it to his opponent.
Gladiator Challenge veteran David Marshall displayed his superior jiu-jitsu skills by finishing Mo Scott by rear-naked choke in just over a minute. Scott was able to slam Marshall to the canvas where Marshall was able to pull guard and ladder up to nearly finish the fight with a triangle choke. When Scott went to his back from the triangle, Marshall took control and secured the choke.
Wesley Scovie has a unique style of sticking his head out for his opponents to throw punches at that seems to be a hit with the crowd. Demonstrating a style reminiscent of his fight with Brian Sleeman, Scovie dropped Nathan Archuleta, but chose to delay jumping on the downed fighter. Back on their feet, Scovie stared at his opponent with crazy eyes and chose only to throw punches after he had been hit in the face. At the 4:09 mark Scovie was able to take Archuleta down and secure a rear-naked choke from a very awkward position.
The very young-looking Brian Badgerow had a tough time handling his opponent, Mike Carillo. Badgerow was able to take Carillo down, but was unable to land any shots as Carillo held his head most of the time. When Badgerow did pop his head up, Carillo was able to stand back up or reverse position. Although no shots were landed by either fighter, this was still an exciting back-and-forth battle that came to an unfortunate end at 4:58 of the first round when Carillo landed awkwardly on his shoulder, popping it out of place and giving Badgerow the win.
In yet another one of those fights that shows why you should know how to fight MMA when you enter the cage, Matt Nelson faced Randy Hamlot. Fortunately for Nelson, Hamlot only knew how to throw wild haymakers and give up his back while standing. Nelson took advantage of this and secured the rear-naked choke at 1:32 of the first round.
Dan Molina was able to neutralize Dan Quinn to win his fight at the 4:39 mark of the first round. Molina took Quinn down and immediately mounted him and proceeded to land some nice punches from the mount. This fight was one-sided, but Dan Quinn showed incredible heart, as he would not quit, even after all the punishment he took. However, James Fanshier felt that his fighter had had enough, and threw in the towel, putting a halt to the bout.
Lion’s Den fighter Steve Barnett used little energy to finish his Dustin Henderson at the 1:52 mark of the first round by way of guillotine choke. Henderson's corner would have been able to offer better advice had one of them not been drinking a beer from the Colusa Casino bar.
Steve Cabrawl looked like Frankenstein in the way he came after Scott Ernisses, holding both hands up and walking into his opponent to clinch without throwing a punch. Luckily for Cabrawl, Ernisses was unable to use this to his advantage and instead went for a failed attempt at a headlock takedown. Cabrawl won by stoppage, 2:42 round one.
Santiago Terrasses sunk in a guillotine choke at 0:50 of the first round after a failed shot attempt by John Seilhan to win by submission.
Shane Stewart versus John Cole seesaw battle that saw one fighter constantly reversing the other one. A slight advantage was given to Stewart, as he was able to take the fight to the ground at will. Near the end of the first, Stewart was able to sink the triangle choke at the 4:06 mark of the first round.
