EFC 7: Day of Reckoning Results & Recap
Since September of 2010, EFC promoter Jason Lawrence has been hyping the “Day of Reckoning” as a night not to miss. With his middleweight champ on the card vying for a second belt, it was obvious this card was going to be stacked full of Erie and tri-state talent! The fight card did not disappoint with 13 fights slated, 5 went to decision, 4 were either knockouts, or TKO’s, and 4 came via submissions of every nature. The sell out crowd was certainly satisfied by the performance of all 26 soldiers who left everything in the cage!
Dave Spyrzgada vs. Keith Forant – 155lbs
With both fighters making their MMA debut, it was to be expected that mistakes would be made, and opportunities would be missed, but neither competitor let up! The first round was unimpressive, takedowns were sloppy, and throws were without technique, but Forant did however discover the lack of kick defense on the part of Spyrzgada. Throughout the entire fight Keith took advantage of this weakness and simply leg kicked his way to a unanimous decision victory after failing to seal the deal with a last minute Rear-Naked choke attempt.
Bryan Burham vs. Jason Galvin – 125lbs
One thing stood out in this fight to every member of the audience… both of these men need some major work on their standup! Galvin threw and covered throughout the fight as if he wasn’t expecting to get punched in a MMA event, and Burham had zero technique in any punch thrown. The first round had a stalemated leg lock attempt by both fighters that reminded me of Ric Flair and his respective opponent fighting for position of the “Figure Four”. The first two rounds were very lack luster; however Galvin turned it on in the third round with a strong takedown and numerous submission attempts. At one point Galvin even secured the mount, but said position was quickly reversed and used to set up a Rear Naked choke attempt that was ended by the bell in the third, allowing Galvin to pull out the split decision.
Justin Cooper vs. Jesse Greenhalgh -185lbs
The fight that started the fun! From the gate both of these men came out with a fire in their eyes! Neither fighter even thought of a takedown as they swung like madmen, the kind of fight that would surely end with someone on the canvas. Unfortunately for Cooper, that man would be him. Rocked twice in the brief bout his legs never seemed to regain the foundation needed to stay aware! Jesse Greenhalgh ended the fight in the first round by knockout.
Matt Sinnott vs. Adam Patterson – 145lbs
Two names can sum up this fight. Justin Beiber and Cee Lo Green! The walkout music of choice by both fighters, a sign of the entertainment these two men would give the audience before even stepping into the cage. Both contenders come from a Jiu-Jitsu gym so seeing this fight go to the ground was no surprise. Patterson had a solid opportunity at a choke in the first, while Sinnott chose to work the high guard awaiting an opening for the triangle choke. The second round started off very similar as the fight was quickly taken to the ground, and after very solid knees to the body by both fighters Patterson was able to secure a North-South choke for the submission victory in the 2 nd round.
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Branden Seyler vs. Hassan Mahmood – 145lbs
This fight was short and sweet… after a takedown, Seyler was able to squeeze his arm under the chin of Mahmood and earn a submission victory at 25 seconds into the first round. Having said the result of the fight, I have to say this as well. When will fighters realize it’s not smart to jump off the top of the cage onto the canvas, which is much harder than it appears! In post-fight celebration, Branden Seyler did just that and spent the next few minutes in his chair with the doctors tending to his now injured knee! Come on man! Won the fight, lost your common sense!
Michael Schimek vs. Matt Bordonaro – 185lbs
Schimek took control of the first round with a stellar judo throw and an equally impressive double leg takedown, followed by a kimura attempt. However, the tides shifted slightly in the second when Bordonaro completed a takedown and made a solid attempt at a guillotine choke, the only thing going for Schimek in the second round was a lucky spinning back fist! The final round was lacking a memorable moment outside of a simple takedown by Bordonaro and some decent ground and pound by Schimek. The bout went to a decision, where Schimek won unanimously.
Jeremiah Yeager vs. Ben Quigley – 145 lbs
To no surprise, Jeremiah Yeager used his talent on the feet to out strike the BJJ champ throughout the first round, only allowing some minor groundwork to occur. The second round went more Ben Quigley’s way as he took the fight to the ground and stole this round with a triangle/arm bar attempt straight out of Fabricio Werdum’s book. The third round however, Quigley took the Damian Maia approach as he continued to fall to his back inviting Yeager into his guard. With the crowd booing “Sonic” Quigley’s methods and Yeager having the obvious advantage in boxing the NonStop MMA representative chose to keep the fight standing and threw punches in bunches to a unanimous decision victory.
Kevin Cummings vs. Jeff Mason – 170lbs
This fight was all Kevin Cummings from the start. A solid takedown and something I can only describe as multiple looping hammer fists to the body secured Cummings the first round. The second round looked similar to the first in one aspect and different in one other. First, the difference… Jeff Mason took the fight to the floor this time. The similarity… as soon as the fight hit the canvas Cummings began pounding on the body of Jeff Mason as he did in the first. After splitting the score on takedowns, Mason felt it necessary to keep the score even and simply invited Cummings to the ground, an invitation well received by the Buffalo BJJ practitioner. After some quick grappling, Cummings secured a kimura and earned the win in the third round via tapout.
John Heynoski vs. Josh Wolff – 145lbs
A heavy fan favorite, John Heynoski looked very impressive in this fight. Boxing basics… he threw a few feeler punches to establish distance and open up Wolff for other opportunities and then BAM! Heynoski hit Wolff, Wolff hit the mat and was pummeled into oblivion as Heynoski earned the TKO victory quickly in the first round.
Theo Dobson vs. Jason Brown – 225+lbs
Since his opponent backed out of the fight, just minutes before the opening bell during EFC 6: Rock and Rumble, Brown had been anxiously awaiting his opportunity to fight and he made good on that chance! Jason Brown controlled this fight at every level. He bombarded Dobson with strikes throughout the entire fight and every member of the audience was awaiting that final blow that would end it all. Dobson danced on the edge of defeat a few times, coming ever so close to getting hit to the floor and swarmed for the TKO, but he fought on and stayed on his feet! The fight was one sided, Brown had it from the gate with solid striking, ground and pound, and a submission attempt, sealing a victory via unanimous decision.
Bob Rech vs. Dave Spinelli – 205lbs
Easily, the most anticipated fight of the night, the crowd was very split between support of the organizations reigning middleweight champ in Rech, and one of the EFC’s most popular fighters, Dave Spinelli. The trash talk before this fight came flying from both sides but in the end Bob Rech and his teams talk seemed most warranted. The bell rang and you could just feel that this fight was going to be explosive. Spinelli landed a bomb on Rech that would have flattened a lesser man, but the NAAFS vet stood strong and in response landed a huge blow of his own, Spinelli was rocked and hit the mat hard stomach first. The crowd jumped to their feet as we knew the fight would quickly come to an end. Rech capitalized on the huge left hook and clung to the now exposed back of Spinelli, he sank in the Rear Naked choke and squeezed the consciousness out of his opponent as he arose to leave a stiff competitor on the canvas. Rech wins his second title in the EFC via Rear Naked choke.
Darrius Heyliger vs. Corey Frantz - 170lbs
Another short bout, Heyliger took advantage of a missed takedown by Frantz and pounced. He attacked, and as the referee jumped in to stop the onslaught Darius continued to throw blows and the only takedown of the night went to Chip Schneider the acting referee as he threw the now victorious Heyliger off of Frantz with a belly to back suplex.
Paul Waite vs. Tony Abbate – 150lbs
Waite came out very confident in this fight but Abbate gained the early advantage with a solid takedown and a very long attempt at a guillotine. After fighting his way out of the submission try, Waite reversed position, gaining the back of his opponent. Waite flattened out Abbate and began raining down the blows on the virtually defenseless Abbate. With no resistance to be had, and Waite showing no signs of stopping the referee ended this fight in the first, giving Waite a TKO victory.
The first fight of the year for Erie’s Extreme Fight Club Promotion was the best yet. The EFC may not have the talent of the UFC, or Strikeforce, but these boys laid it all on the line and battled hard, all 26 men earning much respect from this onlooker. The EFC announced their next fight is scheduled for April 9 th 2011 and will feature not only a 135lbs Professional Title bout, but the organizations first professional women’s fight as well. If the Day of Reckoning set any standard for the states MMA fighters, missing any further EFC Promotions fight cards would just be foolish, these guys have something to prove and are going hard!
By Harold "Opie" Hughes
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer