FRISCO, TX, July 17, 2011 – It’s a wrap from the Dr. Pepper arena as Shark Fights 17: “Horwich vs. Rosholt 2” is now in the books after a live showing on HDNet.
The main card concluded with Team Takedown’s Jake Rosholt avenging his only loss since leaving the UFC by winning a unanimous decision against enigmatic personality and MMA journeyman Matt Horwich. “The multi-verse-surfing-saber-tooth-riverdolphin” clearly won the nickname and promotional vignette battle before the fight but wasn’t nearly as aggressive in the cage as Rosholt edged him with repeated takedowns and a crisp jab en route to his fifth victory in six bouts (with one no-contest).
In the co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez continued his comeback win with a win over a severely overmatched Doug Williams to gain his twelfth win in a row. “Suave” was actually originally set to fight Karl Knothe, a fighter on a similar win streak, but a disagreement over weight caused Ricco and his management team to decline the bout after weigh-ins. Instead, Rodriguez faced the 5-12 Williams, a fighter he had already handily beaten less than two years earlier. The result was an expected takedown en route to a fight-ending submission. Big surprise there.
The third bout of the evening saw MFC light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton and Swedish striker Ilir Latifi played cat-and-mouse on the feet for three rounds, much to the shrills of the Latifi supporters in the crowd. The fight ended with Newton clearly winning the unanimous decision, though an initial announcement the other way almost caused a furor of reaction lamenting Texas MMA judges once again. Close call there as the correct decision as announced immediately thereafter.
Also on the main draw, were a pair of bouts featuring Texas fighters that would arguably prove to be the most exciting bouts on the televised portion of the card.
Dallas-area featherweight Douglas Frey and Erik Perez put on what may have been the ‘Fight of the Night’ on the HDNet card despite both fighters taking the bout on short notice. The two traded submission attempts and escapes in three non-stop rounds of action. Frey was getting the better of the standup early but Perez was able to catch him in more dangerous positions on the ground and wear him down gradually as the fight went into the later stages for the unanimous decision victory.
Lastly, Californian welterweight Alan Jouban put on a show in the opening fight of the night as he outstruck Dallas native Andrew Goldthwaite on the way to third round knockout and the most impressive performance of the night on HDNet.
Shark Fights 17: “Horwich vs. Rosholt 2” – Full Results
185 lbs – Jake Rosholt over Matt Horwich by unanimous decision
230 lbs – Ricco Rodriguez over Doug Williams by submission (rear naked choke) in round one
205 lbs – Emanuel Newton over Ilir Latifi by unanimous decision
135 lbs – Erik Perez over Douglas Frey by unanimous decision
170 lbs – Alan Jouban over Andrew Goldthwaite by TKO in round three
Preliminary Card
145 lbs – Victor Hernandez over Quaint Kempf by submission (arm bar) in round one
155 lbs – Matt Hobar over Jay Flores by submission (rear naked choke) in round one
170 lbs – Russell Brewer over Gabe Vasquez by TKO in round three.
YOU can help us grow Texas MMA! If you enjoyed this article, please make sure to LIKE TXMMA on Facebook and tell your friends about TXMMA.com!
