MFC 23: Unstoppable 12/14/09 Re-Cap

Maximum Fighting Championships 23: Unstoppable
12/14/09
River Cree Casino
Enoch, Alberta

Kenny Rice and Guy Mezger are the announcers for this show.

Welterweight Fight: Joe Christopher (9-2) vs. Jesse Juarez (14-4-1)

Christopher is a BJJ fighter. The only time I’ve seen Juarez fight was on a Strikeforce show where he got stopped at the end of the first round via Submission by Luke Stewart. That fight was pretty even until Stewart got the fight to the ground. Christopher comes out to AC/DC. Juarez comes out to a rap song with a lot of expletives.

R1- Christopher rushed in early but got taken down by Juarez. Juarez is landing some strikes and Christopher has attempted a couple of submissions. Christopher did not throw a strike in the first round. Juarez 10-9.

R2- Christopher went for a quick take down but Juarez was able to stuff it and take top position. Juarez got a couple more take downs. Christopher was able to get a guillotine choke but Juarez picked him up in almost a fireman’s carry and slammed him down and took Christopher’s guard. Juarez 20-18.

R3- Overall this was a lackluster fight. I’ve got Juarez winning by decision.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all cards.

Winner: Jesse Juarez by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight: Dwayne Lewis (9-4) vs. Marvin Eastman (17-11)

At MFC 22 Eastman lost a split decision to Ryan Jimmo in a very close fight that could have gone either way. Lewis has won his last 5 fights and has won them all by TKO/KO. He has a win over Marcus Hicks and a loss to Ryan Jimmo. Eastman is just 1-4 in his last 5 fights. Lewis has a 4” height advantage and a slight 2” reach advantage.

R1- Eastman got a quick slam/take down to start the fight and then stayed on top for the first three and a half minutes before getting stood up. Lewis got a quick KO almost right at the end of the round in surprising fashion. Eastman had him in a clinch and Lewis nailed him with a big right hand uppercut.

Winner: Dwayne Lewis by KO R1 4:58

Middleweight Fight- Art Santore (18-6) vs. Bryan Baker (11-1)

Santore is a Team Quest fighter and has won 4 straight fights. Baker has also won his last 4 fights and his only loss was to UFC Fighter Chael Sonnen. Thomas Denny is in Baker’s corner.

R1- Santore hit a good left early and then hit another good combo around the one minute mark. Brown hit a good left that knocked Santore down. Santoro grabbed a knee bar at the one minute mark but Baker broke free by pelting Santore with heels. A good bit of blood on the mat. Baker then went for an arm triangle and then an arm bar but could not finish with either. Baker finishes the round with some Ground and Pound. Baker 10-9. Good first round.

R2- Some good back and forth stand up in the first half of this round. Santore is wearing a crimson mask. Ref stops the fight with 30 seconds left in the round to check Santore’s cuts. This round was really even and could have gone either way. Baker landed 52 strikes to Santore’s 38 in that round and has done more physical damage in the fight so I’ve got Baker 20-18 right now.

R3- Even striking in the first part of the round. Baker slipped going for a kick and Santore jumped on top. Baker went for a triangle choke and started landing some good elbows to Santore’s head. Really good fight. I’ve got Baker 30-27 but rounds two and three were really close.

Judges score cards say: 29-28, 30-27, 29-28

Winner: Bryan Baker by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Ryan Jimmo (11-1) vs. Emanuel Newton (18-5-1)

Jimmo has won 11 straight fights including a split decision victory over Marvin Eastman at MFC 22. He was a contestant on Season 8 of TUF but was eliminated in the entry round by Atwain Britt by Decision. Newton is a former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion but is 0-2 in 2009.

R1- Not a very exciting round. Kenny Rice tells me Jimmo landed 17 of 19 strikes. Newton got 2 take downs and landed 26 of 57 strikes. Guy says he give the round to Newton. I have to admit that I was too bored to have an opinion.

R2- Man this is tough to watch. Both fighters landed about the same amount of rounds. Guy says that Jimmo landed cleaner shots and thinks that he took that round making it 19-19. The first guy to make this remotely exciting should be declared the winner.

R3- Jimmo landed 72 of 90 strikes in the fight with Newton landing 67 of 152. Very close fight.

Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28

Winner: Ryan Jimmo by Decision (Unanimous)

Middleweight Fight- Jason MacDonald (21-13) vs. Soloman Hutcherson (11-5)

Hutcherson has won 4 of his last 5 fights. He was on The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 and lost to Rory Singer on Episode 5 by KO in the second round. MacDonald has a 4” height and a huge “11” reach advantage.

R1- Hutcherson came in swinging wildly and MacDonald got an easy take down. MacDonald mounted and then went for a triangle and Hutcherson picked him up and dropped him on his head to get out of the hold. MacDonald got another take down about a minute and a half into the round. MacDonald went for a Rear Naked Choke but Hutcherson was able to hold him off. MacDonald transitioned from a Rear Naked attempt to an arm bar attempt but the bell sounded. MacDonald clearly looks like the better fighter so far and took the round easily.

R2- Hutcherson got a take down and then laid on top of MacDonald for a couple of minutes. MacDonald was able to reverse position and take Hutcherson’s back. MacDonald tried to an arm triangle but Hutcherson was able to power out of it. MacDonald is up 20-18 as he did far more to try and finish the fight in this round then Hutcherson did.

R3- The stood up for the first thirty seconds of the round and Hutcherson followed MacDonald to the ground. Not sure if Hutcherson hit him or MacDonald baited him down. MacDonald quickly switched positions and took Hutcherson’s back and then moved to the mount position. MacDonald takes this fight 30-27. Not a great fight but MacDonald was easily in a class above Hutcherson.

Judges score cards say: 28-28, 29-28 Hutcherson and 29-28 MacDonald

All Three of these judges should be immediately fired and banned from ever judging Mixed Martial Arts again. Seriously, who the fuck is judging this stuff? Embarrassing.

Decision: Draw

After the first round of the Lister/Leites fight they go backstage and say that they have a change to the scoring of the MacDonald/Hutcherson fight. MacDonald actually got a split decision victory over Hutcherson. Amazing, they have judges that can’t even count to 30.

Winner: Jason MacDonald by Decision (Split)

Middleweight Fight: Dean Lister (11-6) vs. Thales Leites (14-3)

Lister has lost all of his 6 fights by decision and has lost to the likes of Yushin Okami, Nate Marquardt, and Ricardo Arona. Leites is 7-3 in his last 10 fights and has also lost all of his fights by decision. Both guys need this win.

R1- Lister went for an early take down but got stuffed and Leites took top position. They got back to their feet about half way through the round and Leites is the aggressor on their feet. Leites wins round one 10-9.

R2- Leites hit a good leg kick to start the round and then got a take down. Leites stood back up and then got another take down. Lister looks pretty gassed. Not a real exciting fight but Leites is clearly winning this fight so far. Leites 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Lister went for a quick take down but Leites stuffed him again. The last three fights on this show have been really lackluster. Leites is going to take this fight.

Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27.

Winner: Thales Leites by Decision (Unanimous)