Finally finished – here is my writeup of the February 15th Renegades event in Austin, The Showdown.ÿ Click READ MORE to see my comments on the event as well as a blow by blow description of each round of each fight.ÿ Enjoy.
Renegades Extreme Fighting presents: The Showdown
Austin Music Hall
Austin, TX
February 15th, 2003
Paul Erickson, TXMMA.com
Coming off a huge show in Houston, Saul Soliz’s Renegades MMA promotion continued its roll by debuting mixed martial arts in the Texas capitol of Austin, in the historic Austin Music Hall. This show, titled “The Showdown”, was a co-promotion with Austin Relson Gracie instructor Phil Cardella. Soliz and Cardella managed to wrangle out a 1500+ capacity attendance, with people turned away at the door and a strong pre-sale figure of 1200 tickets sold.
The event went off well, with no boring fights and no controversies. Also, a good mix of Texan fighters were represented, with competitors from Austin, Dallas, Houston, and the Rio Grande Valley. I spoke to several members of the Texas Dept. of Licensing and Regulation at the event, such as George Ferrie, Greg Alvarez, and commissioner Bill Kuntz, all of whom were encouraged by the attendance at the event. Kuntz, who had some questions as to the viability of MMA to draw crowds in Austin, was impressed, saying, “I think this is going to work out.” Texas’ long-awaited closed-fist rules, on the books but on hold until TDLR acquires more manpower, are in limbo at the current time, unfortunately. State agencies have been hit with hiring freezes and budget reductions during this current regulatory session, and TDLR was no exception. The rules still may be instituted as expected, but the timetable is still murky.
While the Renegades-exposed Houston crowd may have evolved into some moderate level of understanding of the rules of Texas-style MMA (currently open hand Pancrase style rules – no closed fists to the head), the Austin crowd had its share of those who did not understand why no one was punching to the head. Hopefully for future events some sort of small flyer or program that briefly mentions the how and why of the rules, along with a very basic explanation/diagram of the reasons for using guard, will help quell the inevitable complaints and/or heckling of those in the crowd who invariably are unaware of the rules or the fact that the guard is not “two guys having sex.” It is unfortunate that the audience still has its share of those who do not know much about MMA, but it is a reality that comes along with attracting large mainstream audiences. The good side of this is that there were fewer ignorant comments in this show than most shows in Texas I attended even just a year ago. With any luck, in a couple of years this will subside substantially.
As for the fights themselves, my thoughts on certain matches/fighters that stood out are as follows:
Hiro Kamikozono & Nick Gonzalez-
Dallas Lion’s Den stalwart Takuhiro Kamikozono, billed as “Hiro Kamikaze” in Renegades, showed an exciting mix of striking and aggressive submission skills in winning the Renegades lightweight tournament two weeks prior to this event, including a fast submission victory over Hammer House’s Matt Horning. Hiro took this event on a couple of days notice after not having trained at all after the event two weeks previous, and had a tough 3-round rematch against Rocky Long before running into a fresh and motivated Nick Gonzalez in the lightweight final. This match was a war, with both fighters throwing a ton of strikes (Gonzalez faring better) and with plenty of aggressive groundwork initiated by Hiro. Gonzalez would not be denied in front of the hometown crowd, however, and evaded no fewer than a half dozen submission threats on the ground along with punishing Hiro in and out of the clinch. Gonzalez put up a great fight for the Austin crowd and made a huge mark as a crowd-pleaser. Kamikozono came up short, but still gave a tremendous battle that made the fight a war. The inevitable rematch will answer the
burning question of what would happen when a fresh Kamikozono faces a fresh Gonzalez, but in the end, as it was in this match, the fans will be the real winners.
Jose Luis Munoz-
Munoz, a fighter from the Rio Grande Valley with Benavides Mixed Martial Arts, was coming off some disappointing losses in recent history to Edwin Allseitz and the Lion’s Den’s Buddy Clinton. Munoz, known for heavy hands but not as proficient on the ground, was expected to have serious trouble with two veterans in his bracket, past Renegades winner Chad Cook and Janjira Muay Thai’s Jason House, who recently won in King of the Cage. No one told Munoz, as he quickly submitted both fighters early in the first round for two big upsets. If Munoz can make weight, he may make his next appearance in Monterrey, Mexico to defend his Vale Tudo Mexico middleweight belt.
Ty Baker-
Baker, an ex-wrestler and longtime student of Integrated Arts’ Frank Benn, faced Relson Gracie Austin’s Brandon McDowell for the third time in the superheavyweight final. Their previous two meetings had been in submission wrestling and in a past Renegades, both had been extremely close contests. This time, Baker dominated his bracket, making short work of the self-taught Aaron Pendleton in his first match, and positionally dominating McDowell in the final. McDowell, fatigued by a 3 round decision over Corey Salter
in the first round of the bracket, found it difficult to escape from under Baker’s 1/2 mount and was unsuccessful several times with his trademark single and low single leg takedowns. Baker, of the Austin Fire Department, left no questions in this third meeting between he and McDowell, and this hard fought match had both fighters’ hometown fans in the crowd cheering.
To close, the debut of organized MMA in Austin came off as a success, with a good turnout, smooth execution on the logistics of the show, a pleased boxing commission, and most important of all, fights that kept the fans excited.ÿ Austin fight fans should look forward to the next time Renegades comes to town. The next Renegades, Club Combat, is an amateur event co-promoted by
Dallas promoter Steve Armstrong and his Texas Kickfighting Organization. It is March 5th at Club City Streets in Houston, and promises to be a great start to the evolution of the amateur side of mixed martial arts in Texas. Make it out to the event and support the sport if you can.
With that, here are the round by round breakdowns of the fights:
Lightweight Tournament
Match 1
Hiro Kamikozono (Lion’s Den) vs. Rocky Long (Third Column)
Round 1: The fighters clinch and Long is firing hard knees in the clinch as Hiro drives him to the corner. Both are infighting within the clinch with knees and fighting/pummeling for control. The stalemate is broken and restarted in the middle of the ring. Hiro shoots a fast low single leg takedown, Long resists but eventually is taken down and Hiro spins to take Long’s back. Hiro goes for the rear naked choke but Long fights it and is able to last until they are both in the ropes and restarted. On the restart, Hiro fires a high kick that Long blocks at the bell.
Round 2: Hiro lands a big palm shot and immediately shoots, Long defends, gets back to his feet and both Long and Hiro connect with Thai kicks to the body. They clinch in the corner, Long flurries and lands, they re-enter the clinch, Hiro drops level and shoots a single, Long defends. Hiro takes Long’s back again, goes for the rear naked again, cannot get it, and switches to the armbar. Long escapes and gets top position at the bell.
Round 3: Long lands a left, Hiro lands a kick to the body, and Long answers with a body kick of his own. Hiro gets a low single but Long is able to get back to his feet, and he and Hiro trade body kicks again. Hiro shoots under another kick from Long, but Long is able to stop the takedown, and sprawls on top of a turtled Hiro, and fires an illegal knee to the head. Long is deducted a point and they are restarted. Both are visibly fatigued, Long begins to back Hiro up with strikes and dictate the standing game. Hiro is visibly very tired. Both trade kicks at the end of the round. Hiro Kamikozono wins by unanimous decision.
Match 2: Bye due to dropout.
Lightweight Final
Hiro Kamikozono vs. Nick Gonzalez (Vasquez Academy)
Round 1: Nick and Hiro trade low kicks, Hiro knocks him down with a mid kick, and they clinch in the corner. Nick is fresher from not fighting in the 1st round and it shows, he is firing a ton of hard knees and inside body shots in the clinch. Nick flurries well, hits a stunned Hiro with a head kick, Hiro clinches, goes for a rolling kneebar that gets stuck. Nick scrambles and ends in Hiro’s half guard, nails Hiro with a palm, Hiro goes for another leglock, which Nick defends and attempts an unsuccessful armbar in the scramble. Hiro defends the armbar and transitions to another leglock, which Nick defends and hits Hiro with another palm, and Hiro goes for yet another leglock, and both fighters are going for heel hooks as the round ends.
Round 2: Hiro shoots, Nick defends and enters the clinch again, firing lots of knees. Hiro gets both arms inside, bodylocks, and goes for a throw that misses. Nick lands a knee to Hiro on Hiro’s way out in the post-throw scramble. Nick lands another body kick to Hiro as they clinch again, and both continue infighting within the clinch until the end of the round.
Round 3: Both come out trading and mix it up ferociously, with Nick landing a hard kick in one exchange and falling after after another kick exchange, upon which Hiro pounces and takes side mount. Nick gets back to half guard, Hiro passes to north/south, and as Nick attempts to escape Hiro takes his back and goes for the rear naked choke. Nick makes gurgling noises but is able to turn his back to the mat again and escapes the choke. There’s a scramble and Nick gets back to his feet, and the two are trading vicious shots again, with Hiro getting dropped to a knee from a hard shot but then immediately charging after Nick with a flurry, an incredible war as the round ends. Nick Gonzalez wins by split decision.
Middleweight Tournament
Match 1
Chris Bowles (Lion’s Den) vs. Randy Hauer (Ricco Rodriguez)
Round 1: They feel each other out. They skirmish, but Bowles shows a fast shoot and takes Hauer down, ending in Hauer’s half guard. Bowles passes to north/south and Hauer escapes, and Bowles tries another takedown which Hauer defends. Hauer then tries to trade strikes but Bowles shoots under and takes him down, passing immediately to mount and throwing strikes. Hauer gives his back and Bowles takes it, tapping Hauer with the rear naked at 2:39 R1.
Match 2
Craig Huffman (Paul Alley) vs. Lee King (Houston Kickboxing Gym)
Round 1: The two skirmish, King lands a few low kicks, Huffman clinches but King gets the takedown, passes to Huffman’s half guard, and lands heavy body blows to both sides of Huffman’s body. Huffman tries to turn but King takes his back, puts the hooks in and flattens him out, and sinks the rear naked for the tap at 2:08 R1.
Middleweight Final
Chris Bowles vs. Lee King
Round 1: Bowles goes for a single, King is able to use Bowles’ momentum to pull him over the top and get back to standing. They clinch and start infighting. Bowles drops
level and shoots another low single and takes King down, quickly going for a kneebar. King hits him with a hard shot during the transition and Bowles tries another kneebar. King immediately rolls with the kneebar 3 times until the two run up against the corner ropes and Bowles is able to sink the kneebar for the tap at 1:11 R1.
Heavyweight Tournament
Match 1
Chad Cook (Patumwadee Muay Thai) vs. Jose Luis Munoz (Benavides MMA)
Round 1: Both trade blows immediately, Cook takes Munoz down but Munoz attempts a guillotine on the way down that Cook escapes. Cook passes to side mount, Munoz scrambles and goes for a leglock,
Cook does the same and both are fighting for the heel hook. Cook misses hooking Munoz’s heel as Munoz switches to a straight ankle lock and sinks it, tapping Cook at :30 R1.
Match 2: Bye due to dropout
Heavyweight Final
Jose Luis Munoz vs. Jason House (Janjira Muay Thai)
Round 1: House opens with a hard low kick, and Munoz charges hard, driving House halfway around the ring for the takedown, fighting some knees from House but eventually taking House down. House puts him immediately in guard and has his legs high looking for a submission. Munoz pulls out of one armbar, passes to side control, but House gets back to guard and goes for another armlock which Munoz escapes. Munoz passes to side mount in the scramble and grabs the far arm and goes for an americana, which House is able to escape but Munoz takes mount in the process, throwing shots at House. House is simply covering up but then tries to escape, as Munoz takes his back and sinks the rear naked choke for the tapout at 2:30 R1. Big upset.
Superheavyweight Tournament
Match 1
Brandon McDowell (Relson Gracie Austin) vs. Corey Salter (self-trained)
Round 1: The two feel each other out, McDowell clinches, both trade knees inside, they back out and continue to feel each other out. Salter lands a hard jab, McDowell shoots and gets the takedown, passing to sidemount. Crowd is psyched as McDowell rains blows down and looks for an armlock. McDowell continues to throw shots to Salter’s head and knees to his body as Salter does little except cover up. Salter gets back to 1/2 guard, but McDowell rears up to throw strikes twice. The round ends.
Round 2: After a brief feeling out period, McDowell shoots and gets the takedown, ending in Salter’s 1/2 guard. McDowell continues to throw strikes as Salter is unable to escape. McDowell eventually passes to mount and throws blows from there until the round ends. Salter does little except cover up on the bottom.
Round 3: Salter is tired, with McDowell looking fresher. Salter lands a couple of low kicks, clinches, and McDowell lands some knees inside. Salter gets out, stalks McDowell and lands a shot to the head and a hard body shot. McDowell shoots and is sprawled on, and Salter takes his back. There’s a scramble, and McDowell is able to escape and mount Salter, throwing blows again. Salter just defends with McDowell mounted raining blows, until the end of the round. McDowell wins by unanimous decision.
Match 2
Ty Baker (Integrated Arts) vs. Aaron Pendleton (self-taught)
Round 1: Baker lands several shots, hurting Pendleton, who enters the clinch only to eat knees from Baker. Baker then takes Pendleton on a ride with a belly to belly suplay and lands in side mount. Pendleton is able to get to 1/2 guard but it doesnt matter as Baker looks for the keylock and gets it, tapping Pendleton at 1:26 R1.
Superheavyweight Final
Ty Baker vs. Brandon McDowell
Round 1: McDowell tries to apparently go for an immediate rolling kneebar, it’s hard to tell, but gets stuck and Baker gets 1/2 mount. McDowell is working to control Baker’s arms but Baker is still able to land to the body and the head and McDowell is unable to escape. McDowell absorbs more body shots but is able to get Baker back into his guard by the end of the round.
Round 2: Baker throws some vicious hooks, McDowell shoots only to be sprawled on by Baker, who is able to pass to McDowell’s 1/2 guard. McDowell goes for a guillotine but Baker fights out of it and lands some blows on McDowell. McDowell is able to get back to full guard and tries to push Baker away and buttscoot back to standing. Baker crowds him to keep him from having the space to stand, however, and McDowell tries to ankle pick him. Baker sprawls and is able to spin around ending up in McDowell’s 1/2 guard again. McDowell is able to eventually escape and shoot on baker, taking his back at the end of the round.
Round 3: Baker nails McDowell with a big right, they clinch and go to the ground. There’s a scramble and both get back to standing. McDowell shoots for a single but Baker sprawls and takes 1/2 mount again. Baker stays there looking for an arm while also throwing body shots. McDowell almost escapes to his feet, Baker regains control and passes to mount momentarily but McDowell escapes to Baker’s side during the scramble. Baker is able to get to sidemount on McDowell as the round ends. Baker wins by unanimous decision.