Slick Ruediger Subs Way to WEC Lightweight Title Defense
Josh Gross Mar 18, 2005
LEMOORE, Calif., March 17 – WEC lightweight champion Gabe Ruediger used an
overwhelming advantage on the mat to submit challenger Jason
Maxwell in front of a sold-out crowd at The Palace Indian Gaming
Center Thursday night, defending his belt for the first time since
winning at WEC 12 versus Olaf
Alfonso.
Maxwell, best known for his knockout of former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, landed an early takedown after catching a Ruediger kick aimed at his midsection. The Millenia Jiu-Jitsu trained champion relaxed on the bottom, maneuvering his legs high as he looked for an arm or choke.
The challenger backed off and stood, requesting the champion do the
same. A Ruediger takedown followed, and the ground specialist
easily passed to mount. Out of his element, Maxwell turned his back
and exposed his neck. From there it was BJJ 101 as Ruediger locked
in the championship-defending submission 3:28 of the first
period.
The night’s main event was a rematch of a last year’s epic contest between Olaf Alfonso and John Polakowski. The first stanza of the non-title fight was all Alfonso, who cut his nemesis with wide hooks in the first 10 seconds of the bout.
Referee Josh Rosenthal asked Alfonso if he was ready to continue and the lightweight hesitated. Meanwhile, his corner man continued to tug on his right leg. Rosenthal asked again and Alfonso was slow to respond, prompting the referee to wave his arms in the air, ending the contest.
Between chants of “Let him fight” the pro-Alfonso crowd booed violently. But their pleas were not enough to force the WEC into a mistake, and Alfonso was helped out of the cage.
Alex “The Russian” Serdyukov submitted WEC middleweight North America champion Mark Weir with an arm-triangle choke 2:56 of round two to earn the belt. The Moscow and UK natives traded strikes and submissions, especially in the opening period, which has to go down as a Round of the Year candidate.
Weir was strong early, especially in minutes three and four, when he blasted Serdyukov with just about every strike in his arsenal—save a fight ender. Repeated kicks to the Russian’s head appeared to signal a long night for the challenger, but he gutted through the punishment, enough for a tiring Weir to allow an easy takedown that led into the bout’s most exciting exchange.
Serdyukov went for the first triangle on the wrong side. But after Weir shucked him off, the Russian correctly entangled his legs and nearly trapped the Englishman. Weir escaped again, only to get mounted as the first round came to an end.
The new champion caught Weir with a strong right to begin action in the second. Despite the damage done over the first five minutes, it was Serdyukov who seemed the fresher fighter. Landing in Weir’s guard after a straightforward takedown, the lanky Russian trapped Weir in the choke, which he kept tight while passing from the half-guard to side control.
It was an impressive performance from Serdyukov.
Like the Russian, Terry Martin hoped to win a title Thursday, and he did, stopping WEC light heavyweight North American champion Homer Moore 3:14 of round two after the veteran tapped to fatigue.
Moore stifled Martin early, putting him down on the blue canvas several times. Referee Jon Schorle had a quick hook, and brought the fighters to their feet several times.
A Moore takedown in the second period put his right arm in jeopardy when Martin came close to securing a kimura from the bottom. But he endured to capitalize when Martin foolishly rolled to his knees, thereby exposing his neck.
It was Martin’s turn to survive, and he did, fending off several attempts at a rear-naked choke. With Moore finally on his back, Martin landed a heavy downward right hand that thudded off Moore’s head. A tap quickly followed.
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira ran over Walt Pels, stopping the local Lemoore heavyweight just 23 seconds after the opening bell.
Brian Gassaway and Ross Ebanez fought a competitive bout for nearly five minutes until an accidental head butt opened a bad cut above Ebanez left eye, forcing a No Contest. Before the stoppage Gassaway was effective with kicks to his opponent¹s lead leg, while Ebanez found the range on several punches.
In under card action, the night’s “John McCain Special” saw Brad Imes, despite receiving an early head butt that sliced open a cut above his left eye, lock in a triangle choke from the bottom to submit and equally bloody Mike Dexter.
“Irish” Abe Baxter celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by stopping Pat “Kamikaze” Kazi 2:12 into the first period.
Brian Olsen pounded Craig Zellner, forcing the New Mexico-based fighter to verbally submit 2:15 of round one.
Central Valley California fighters Josh Green and Troy Miller entertained the local crowd, before Green sunk in a quick rear-naked choke 1:06 into the opening period.
Antonio Banuelos also scored a submission victory, defeating Mike Lindquist by rear-naked choke 1:38 of round one.
In a lightning-quick bout, Dan Marks landed a kick to the side of Mike Alirez’s head that put the lightweight fighter down. A couple of unnecessary punches later, the referee jumped in to stop the contest at the 31-second mark.
The evening’s first fight saw Carlton Jones bludgeon Chris Botelho into a bloody mess, stopping the heavyweight 3:14 of round one.
Carlton Jones vs Chris Botelho
Dan Marks vs Mike Alirez
Antonio Banuelos vs Mike Lindquest
Josh Green vs Troy Miller
Brian Gassaway vs Ross Ebanez
Brian Olsen vs Craig Zellner
Gabe Ruediger vs Jason Maxwell
Abraham Baxter vs Pat Kazi
Brad Imes vs Mike Dexter
Alex Serdyukov vs Mark Weir
Terry Martin vs Homer Moore
Wesley Correira vs Walt Pels
John Polakowski vs Olaf Alfonso
Maxwell, best known for his knockout of former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, landed an early takedown after catching a Ruediger kick aimed at his midsection. The Millenia Jiu-Jitsu trained champion relaxed on the bottom, maneuvering his legs high as he looked for an arm or choke.
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The night’s main event was a rematch of a last year’s epic contest between Olaf Alfonso and John Polakowski. The first stanza of the non-title fight was all Alfonso, who cut his nemesis with wide hooks in the first 10 seconds of the bout.
Myriad Alfonso takedowns and ground-and-pound filled the remaining
minutes until the bell tolled to end round one. In his corner,
Polakowski appeared fresh. Alfonso, however, took a knee, pointing
to his right side. As his second entered the ring, Alfonso pounded
on his hip, saying, “My hip is out.”
Referee Josh Rosenthal asked Alfonso if he was ready to continue and the lightweight hesitated. Meanwhile, his corner man continued to tug on his right leg. Rosenthal asked again and Alfonso was slow to respond, prompting the referee to wave his arms in the air, ending the contest.
Between chants of “Let him fight” the pro-Alfonso crowd booed violently. But their pleas were not enough to force the WEC into a mistake, and Alfonso was helped out of the cage.
Alex “The Russian” Serdyukov submitted WEC middleweight North America champion Mark Weir with an arm-triangle choke 2:56 of round two to earn the belt. The Moscow and UK natives traded strikes and submissions, especially in the opening period, which has to go down as a Round of the Year candidate.
Weir was strong early, especially in minutes three and four, when he blasted Serdyukov with just about every strike in his arsenal—save a fight ender. Repeated kicks to the Russian’s head appeared to signal a long night for the challenger, but he gutted through the punishment, enough for a tiring Weir to allow an easy takedown that led into the bout’s most exciting exchange.
Serdyukov went for the first triangle on the wrong side. But after Weir shucked him off, the Russian correctly entangled his legs and nearly trapped the Englishman. Weir escaped again, only to get mounted as the first round came to an end.
The new champion caught Weir with a strong right to begin action in the second. Despite the damage done over the first five minutes, it was Serdyukov who seemed the fresher fighter. Landing in Weir’s guard after a straightforward takedown, the lanky Russian trapped Weir in the choke, which he kept tight while passing from the half-guard to side control.
It was an impressive performance from Serdyukov.
Like the Russian, Terry Martin hoped to win a title Thursday, and he did, stopping WEC light heavyweight North American champion Homer Moore 3:14 of round two after the veteran tapped to fatigue.
Moore stifled Martin early, putting him down on the blue canvas several times. Referee Jon Schorle had a quick hook, and brought the fighters to their feet several times.
A Moore takedown in the second period put his right arm in jeopardy when Martin came close to securing a kimura from the bottom. But he endured to capitalize when Martin foolishly rolled to his knees, thereby exposing his neck.
It was Martin’s turn to survive, and he did, fending off several attempts at a rear-naked choke. With Moore finally on his back, Martin landed a heavy downward right hand that thudded off Moore’s head. A tap quickly followed.
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira ran over Walt Pels, stopping the local Lemoore heavyweight just 23 seconds after the opening bell.
Brian Gassaway and Ross Ebanez fought a competitive bout for nearly five minutes until an accidental head butt opened a bad cut above Ebanez left eye, forcing a No Contest. Before the stoppage Gassaway was effective with kicks to his opponent¹s lead leg, while Ebanez found the range on several punches.
In under card action, the night’s “John McCain Special” saw Brad Imes, despite receiving an early head butt that sliced open a cut above his left eye, lock in a triangle choke from the bottom to submit and equally bloody Mike Dexter.
“Irish” Abe Baxter celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by stopping Pat “Kamikaze” Kazi 2:12 into the first period.
Brian Olsen pounded Craig Zellner, forcing the New Mexico-based fighter to verbally submit 2:15 of round one.
Central Valley California fighters Josh Green and Troy Miller entertained the local crowd, before Green sunk in a quick rear-naked choke 1:06 into the opening period.
Antonio Banuelos also scored a submission victory, defeating Mike Lindquist by rear-naked choke 1:38 of round one.
In a lightning-quick bout, Dan Marks landed a kick to the side of Mike Alirez’s head that put the lightweight fighter down. A couple of unnecessary punches later, the referee jumped in to stop the contest at the 31-second mark.
The evening’s first fight saw Carlton Jones bludgeon Chris Botelho into a bloody mess, stopping the heavyweight 3:14 of round one.
Carlton Jones vs Chris Botelho
Dan Marks vs Mike Alirez
Antonio Banuelos vs Mike Lindquest
Josh Green vs Troy Miller
Brian Gassaway vs Ross Ebanez
Brian Olsen vs Craig Zellner
Gabe Ruediger vs Jason Maxwell
Abraham Baxter vs Pat Kazi
Brad Imes vs Mike Dexter
Alex Serdyukov vs Mark Weir
Terry Martin vs Homer Moore
Wesley Correira vs Walt Pels
John Polakowski vs Olaf Alfonso
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