Sherdog.com's Lutfi Sariahmed will report from the Tropicana in
Atlantic City, N.J., at 8:30 p.m. ET with play-by-play and live
results of Ring
of Combat 34, featuring a battle of middleweight prospects
Uriah
Hall vs. Costantinos
Philippou.Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card.
Round 1
Keith
Mills
Benoit (left) took the decision
against Spa City BJJ’s Millan.
Millan comes out throwing his left, moving in and
out of the pocket quickly. Millan comes in for another exchange
that he gets the better of and Benoit's left eye is turning red.
Millan with another one-two combo that Benoit is unable to answer.
Benoit shoots in for a takedown pinning Millan up against the cage
and ends in his guard. Two minutes left in the round and Benoit is
looking for position but to no avail. Millan gets back up, and
Benoit but he tries to catch Millan on the way up in a guillotine.
Millan doesn't look to be in much trouble and breaks free. After
the break, Benoit connects with a right that puts Millan down and
Benoit quickly pounces. Millan is now pinned in the corner by
Benoit with less than a minute to go. Benoit with another
guillotine attempt on Millan and some knees as they come to their
feet.Millan uses his momentum to push forward take Benoit down and
closes the round with a flurry. The late flurry wins Millan the
first on Sherdog.com's scorecard, 10-9.
Round 2
The round starts with another exchange in which nothing substantial
connects, prompting Benoit to move in for another takedown. Benoit
seems to have gained a second wind after the opening onslaught from
Millan, with successive takedowns and scoring with knees from the
clinch. Benoit has Millan pinned against the cage again with less
than two minutes to go and scores another takedown. Benoit working
from Millan's open guard with Millan once against pinned up against
the cage. Benoit very deliberate with his workrate during this
exchange. Millan has no answer for Benoit's ground attack now
Sherdog.com scores Round 2 for Mike Benoit 10-9, for a 19-19
scorecard.
K.
Mills
Hoffman (top) schooled Shaukat.
All three judges -- Cardo Urso, Vincent Sinclair
and Michelle Agustin -- score the bout 20-18 for the winner by
unanimous decision, Mike Benoit.
Round 1
Hoffman immediately land a crushing right hand that puts Shaukat on
the mat. Hoffman goes right after him, unrelenting with his
punches. Shaukat tries to stand up, but gets caught in a guillotine
for his trouble. The choke is tight, and he's forced to tap just 47
seconds into the first round, giving Hoffman the win.
Round 1
After about a minute of circling, Ozkilic comes in for the first
takedown and gets it, and sets up shop, working from da Silva's
half guard. It's a battle for positioning that Ozkilic starts to
get the better of, coming down with lefts to da Silva's head as the
Brazilian looks to turn into him. Da Silva finally turns all the
way into Ozkillic, forcing a scramble and getting back to his feet.
Da Silva shoots in for the takedown, but Ozkilic stops him in the
clinch. Ozkilic then hits a trip takedown of his own on da Silva
with a minute left. The strong Turkish contingent delights in the
"Turkish Delight's" takedown. Da Silva looks to work for a triangle
with about 30 seconds left, but eats more punishment from Ozkilic
in top position. Sherdog.com scores the first frame 10-9 for
Ozkilic.
Round 2
K.
Mills
Ozkilic (top) upset da Silva.
Da Silva comes out quickly in the second round,
putting Ozkilic on the defensive. After 30 seconds or so of
inactivity the ref stands the fighters back up, and just that
quickly, Ozkilic scores another takedown and begins working from
side mount. Da Silva gets it back to full guard but can't seem to
put together much offense against Ozkilic. With less than two
minutes in the round, da Silva scores his first noteworthy offense
with a takedown of his own The Brazilian contingent at the
Tropicana is suddenly excited. Ozkilic is keeping da Silva close
enough to prevent much in the way of substantial offense from the
Brazilian. In the corner of da Silva, Vitor "Shaolin"
Ribeiro due to his fighter's inability to capitalize on
position. Ozkilic brings the fight back on its feet and keeps da
Silva in the clinch as the fight ends.Sherdog.com scores the second frame for Ozkilic 10-9, and gives him
the fight 20-18.
All three judges -- Cardo Urso, Vincent Sinclair and Michelle
Agustin -- score the bout 20-18 for the winner by unanimous
decision, Alptekin Ozkilic.
K.
Mills
Karavackas (top) won convincingly.
Round 1
The self-trained Key is the first to engage, looking for a trip
takedown, but it's Karavackas who gets the fight on the floor.
Karavackas immediately looks for an armbar, but Key fights it off,
slamming his arm out of the hold and standing back up. Key launches
a high kick, but gets taken down again, where Karavackas
immediately takes his back. Karavackas works from Key's back in
pursuit of the choke. Key tries to shake Karavackas off, but native
of Atlantic City, N.J. sinks the choke in and forces the tap at
3:31 of the first round.
K.
Mills
Sepulveda (bottom) caught Durig.
Round 1
Durig shoots for a takedown but to no avail. Durig follows up with
a few kicks, trying to keep Sepulveda at distance. Durig grabs
Sepulveda by the shorts to take him down, with no penalty from
referee Dan Miragliotta. Sepulveda quickly regains half guard, and
forces a scramble. In the scramble, Sepulveda slowly moves his legs
up on Durig, and locks up a triangle choke. Durig is stuck, and
taps out at 2:24 of the first frame.
K.
Mills
Nsang (top) won handedly at 3:09.
Round 1
Nsang scores with a high kick and a right hand early but once the
bout gets into the clinch, Whitesel scores a takedown with very
little effort. Whitesel lands a few right hands, pinning Nsang
against the cage. Halfway through the round, Nsang is having all
sorts of problems getting off his back against the fence. Whitesel
is easily controlling Nsang. Nsang gets separation from Whitesel,
and forces a scramble, where he takes his foe's back. Just like
that, "The Burmese Python" sinks a rear-naked choke and squeezes to
earn the tap from Whitesel at 3:09 in the first round. After the
victory, Nsang seems indifferent to his win.
Round 1
Both fighters paw at each other with no substantial offense in the
early going. Ashkar is the first to engage with a single-leg
attempt, but Faunce does a great job defending. Faunce throws out
another right, and Ashkar ducks down and comes in for another
single attempt. Faunce works hard to fight it off, pushing Ashkar
away. Faunce loops a right hand at Ashkar, and follows with the
first successful takedown of the bout. The work from the ground
becomes a battle for position until the last 10 seconds when Faunce
unleashes a fury of shots from the top, lighting up the Red Bank,
N.J. native. Ashkar goes to his corner with a sizable mouse under
his left eye. Sherdog.com scores the opening round 10-9 for
Faunce.
Round 2
The crowd is firmly behind Ashkar at the start of the round. Ashkar
ducks down for another takedown, but Faunce backs away with little
effort exerted. The beating Ashkar took at the end of the first
seems to have made him a bit gunshy here in the round two. Faunce
thwarts yet another takedown and Ashkar is really slowing down.
Faunce, who has mostly played defense against the tiring Ashkar,
gets a double-leg with 70 seconds to go and puts Ashkar on his
back. Ashkar works for a triangle from the bottom trying to bring
Faunce's head in but Faunce's positioning keeps him out of danger.
Sherdog.com scores round two for Faunce, 10-9.
K.
Mills
Faunce (top) outpointed Ashkar.
Round 3
Faunce is the fresher of the two fighters by far. He circles around
Ashkar, picking his shots with Ashkar offering very little to
counter. He shoots in for another double leg and gets it halfway
through the round. Ashkar working to keep Faunce's head down and
trying to force a restart. He finally gets it with 20 seconds left,
but it is all for naught as no action follows. Sherdog.com scores
round three 10-9 in favor of Faunce, and awards him the fight
30-27.Judges Cardo Urso, Vincent Sinclair and Michelle Agustin all score
the bout 30-27 for the winner by unanimous decision, Noah
Faunce.
K.
Mills
Kirwan (bottom) tapped out Puzon.
Round 1
Puzon takes the fight to Kirwan early, getting the fight to the
ground. Puzon sets up in Kirwan's half guard. Kirwan postures up,
getting a guillotine, but Puzon passes into side mount and Kirwan
has to let it go. Kirwan tries to keep him in close but Puzon
breaks free, and takes Kirwan's back with 30 seconds left in the
round. It's a hand position game for the remainder of the round,
which Sherdog.com sees in favor of Puzon, 10-9.Round 2
Puzon goes after Kirwan immediately with his single-leg takedown.
Puzon drops his level and tries to pull Kirwan down but Kirwan
takes advantage, clamping
onto Puzon's neck and snatching a guillotine on the way
down. Puzon can't escape, and taps out at 1:09 of the
second round.
Round 1
Hall with a low kick to thwart Philipou's early takedown attempt. A
Philippou low kick nearly trips Hall up. Philippou lands two
consecutive fouls on Hall: first, a low kick momentarily freezes
the bout, and upon the restart, an errant thumb goes into Hall's
eye, halting action for a moment. As action resumes, Hall lands low
kicks, and Philippou pushes the Tiger Schulmann's product into the
fence, and takes him down with 90 seconds to go in the round. The
TUF alum lands short, ineffectual shots, and referee Dan
Miragliotta restarts the action on the feet with less than 30
seconds to go. Hall shoots for a late takedown of his own, but
Philippou easily defends. Sherdog.com scores the round 10-9
Philippou.
K.
Mills
Philippou (left) edged by Hall.
Round 2
As soon as round two starts, Hall hits Philippou with a shot to the
groin. Miragliotta warns both sides about fouls again. The action
starts again and neither fighter commits to much on the feet.
Philippou is chasing Hall around the cage, as Hall is hesitant to
engage. Philippou hits Hall with a couple of punches, and Hall
responds in kind with a spinning back kick that misses. Hall throws
his left, but can't land. Another exchange between the fighters,
and another Hall kick lands low on Philippou. Miragliotta calls for
another break, and tells Hall that it's his last warning. After the
restart, Hall finds his first real offense of the round, cracking a
left high kick into the upper chest of the Serra-Longo product.
Philippou responds immediately, bulling Hall into the fence and
landing
another takedown at the horn.Sherdog.com sees round two 10-9 for Costa Philippou.
Round 3
Hall comes out aggressive, and finally gets a takedown on
Philippou. He gets to half guard, throwing sparse shots, as the
crowd starts a "T-S-K!" chant in support of the Tiger Schulmann
fighter. Less than two minutes to go in the fight, and Hall
postures up with a few more shots from guard. Philippou tries in
vain for a guillotine with a minute to go. Philippou continues to
work from his back, stopping Hall from landing any major offense on
top. Sherdog.com scores round three in favor of Uriah Hall 10-9,
but sees the fight 29-28 for Costa Philippou.
Judge Vincent Sinclair has the bout a 29-29 draw. However, Cardo
Urso and Michelle Agustin see it 29-28, for the winner by majority
decision, Costa Philippou.
Round 1
K.
Mills
Eye (left) overwhelmed Nee.
Eye starts fast, flurrying on Nee and pinning her
against the cage. Knees and rights from Eye and Nee doesn't know
what hit her. Everything is landing for Eye, but the referee Keith
Peterson just looks on. Nee's nose is bloodied. Eye has backed off
after her opening onslaught. A left kick to the body by Eye gets
caught by Nee, but she can't do anything with it. Eye turns her
back into the cage and hits a takedown from there and quickly tries
to move into side mount. In the scramble, Nee reverses and the
fighters stand back up. Eye clinches Nee along the fence, and
unloads another flurry of punches that forces Keith Peterson to
step in and save the overwhelmed Nee at 4:34 of the first
round.Jessica "Evil" Eye is the new Ring of Combat North American
130-pound women's champion.
Round 1
K.
Mills
Pague (top) won with a right hook.
UFC lightweight Kurt
Pellegrino is in his student DeAngelis' corner for this bout.
Pague throws out a low kick, but the kick gets caught and DeAngelis
turns Pague against the fence a minute in. DeAngelis with sporadic
knees in the corner as Pague looks to drop down for a single. Pague
shrugs him off and action restarts in the middle. A low kick from
DeAngelis takes Pague's leg out from under him. DeAngelis coming in
and out with the leg kicks, trying to stay out of range of Pague's
punches. DeAngelis with a few more leg kicks for Pague before
dropping in for another takedown that's shrugged off. DeAngelis
answers back with a double-leg takedown, getting Pague down with
less than a minute to go in the round. Sherdog.com scores the round
in favor of Pellegrino MMA's Steve DeAngelis, 10-9.Round 2
Pague opens the round with a right-left combo, looking more
aggressive. A right low kick from DeAngelis is answered back with a
crushing right hook from Pague and DeAngelis is out cold. Dustin
Pague's emphatic knockout earns him the Ring of Combat North
American bantamweight title just 25 seconds into round two.
K.
Mills
Daniels (bottom) was fouled harshly.
Round 1
Daniels comes after Miglioli early with a flurry of punches but
Miglioli shrugs him off and clinches him against the fence. Both
fighters exchange up along the fence. The pair clinch, putting one
another on the fence. As Daniels is on one knee, Miglioli lands a
hard knee that puts Daniels down for a moment, but Daniels regains
his footing. As Daniels recovers from the obvious foul, TUF 12 vet
Marc Stevens in his corner is livid. Time is called, and the
ringside doctor comes in to examine a cut across Daniels' nose, the
result of the illegal knee. Daniels is saying, "I got caught" as
the doctor's exam proceeds. The doctor says Daniels cannot
continue. Because the cut came from the illegal knee, Miglioli has
been disqualified. Marques Daniels is the new ROC North American
lightweight champion via disqualification at 4:28 of the first
round.
K.
Mills
Kirwan (bottom) needed only 1:26.
Round 1
Vaccaro ducks down for an early takedown in the early going. Kirwan
works free to stand back up but Vaccaro still has position for the
double. Vaccaro tries to put Kirwan on the mat, but Kirwan has a
guillotine locked in. Just as his brother Joey did earlier this
evening, Kirwan pulls guard, tightens the choke and Vaccaro taps.
Jacob Kirwan is your new ROC North American featherweight champ at
1:26 of the first round.