Underway in the mile-high city….the spiritual and physical birthplace of the UFC back in November, 1993.
REPORTS ON THE PRELIMS AND FACEBOOK FIGHTS
A bizarre 47-second contest between James Te Huna and Ricardo Romero to open the night. To the uninitiated, it resembled one man looking for his glasses on the floor in the dark – Romero – while Te Huna swatted flies around his knees. To those who follow the mad mix of styles, Romero wanted a ground fight, while Te Huna wanted to let his hands go. He did, knocking Romero down with a right uppercut and then finishing him by boxing the New Jersey man around the ears.
"I'm feeling really relieved. I was glad to get it over. I took my time and followed it up with one punch after another
I was looking to catch him with the uppercut and caught him and hurt him. My last fight i wasn't mentally there but tonight i got everything right," said Te Huna. One of his training team revealed to The Telegraph he had damaged his fingers in training three weeks ago. Little wonder Te Huna was relieved.
Romero said: "My game plan was to fight my fight. I guess I lost." Not much.
Brilliant fight between Takeya Mizugaki and Cole Escovedo. It lasted thirty seconds short of ten minutes, the Japanese fighter bringing a brutal finish with sharp, accurate left-right combinations, and right uppercuts, sending Escovedo to the ground. Bravery from Escovedo, clinical stuff from Mizugaki. Escovedo suffered from not releasing from the Thai clinch. It was almost impossible to separate the pair in the first round. Arguably 10-10. All three judges gave it to the Japanese fghter. Both bowed together in the Octagon after the contest. Moving end; great sportsmanship.
"I'm not tired but I didn't follow my game plan. The liver shots were piling up but I can take those," said Escovedo. "I needed to maintain the distance and shoot in. Obviously, I wasn't successful."
Mizagaki was visibly emotional after the victory. "I finally was able to score a KO in the Octagon and show the American fans what I'm made of. I really needed this win."
Junior Assuncao defeated Eddie Yagin in a stop-start contest not appreciated by the stentorian crowd in the Pepsi Center, 30-26, 30-26, 30-27.
Tim Boetsch battered Nick Ring for the last two of three rounds to earn 29-28, 29-28, 30-27. Ring moved and evaded in the first, but then Boetsch the battering ram caught up with him and showed some adeptness on the ground, throwing Ring to the ground with a hip toss. Boetsch continues to look good at middleweight.
Tony Ferguson defeats Aaron Riley. Doctor stoppage at end of round 1. Riley, as I suspected at the time, has broken jaw. Ferguson, the last Ultimate Fighter winner, looks to have some talent as a lightweight, though he was expected to beat veteran Riley. Riley was unable to speak afterwards and was clearly in discomfort after the first stanza.
