Iroquois MMA Championship II: Severn and Lamarche Victorious

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Oshweken, Ontario, Feb. 9 - - UFC Hall of Famer Dan “The Beast” Severn secured his seventh straight victory Saturday night with a smooth submission victory over Albertan, Ian “The Monster” Asham.

On a card which featured 10 bouts, former UFC heavyweight champion Dan Severn made his way to the Iroquois Mixed Martial Arts Championship ring while Enter Sandman by Metallica echoed through the confines of the I.L.A Sports Arena. The fight was short and sweet as both fighters clinched early and brought the fight to the canvas. Immediately Severn passed Asham’s guard and began to crank a kimura which ultimately spelt the end as Asham tapped early in the first stanza.

On the undercard, Stephan Lamarche looked impressive stopping Stjepan Vjunovic with strikes in the first round. The bout saw Lamarche looking for a takedown early as Vjunovic latched on guillotine choke looking for a quick finish. Showing a veteran presence, Lamarche battled his way out of danger to secure top position. Avoiding Vjunovic’s active guard, Lamarche utilized his top position to pound Vjunovic out partway through the first.

After the bout, Lamarche hinted at possible title match with Victor Backman at The Fight Club in Edmonton, Alberta. Backman secured the TFC welterweight belt submitting Stjepan Vujnovic at The Fight Club: First Blood on December 28, 2007 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Josh Powell, a member of Team Iroquois, secured his first professional victory stopping Chester Post with strikes in the first round. Entering the fight, Powell gave up 16 pounds as his opponent tipped the scales at 200 lbs. Powell fought adversity early as he was knocked to the canvas during an exchange with Post. As Powell regained his composure, Post continued to work his strikes scoring another knockdown. Clearly in trouble, Powell successfully moved in and scored a takedown. After working to pass the guard, Powell secured the mount and pounded out Post late in the round.

In what could have easily been deemed fight of the night, Daryle Pinter and Bryan Edge exchange in a gruelling slugfest for the better part of a round. Pinter was originally scheduled to William Romero, a member of Iron Tiger Muay Thai in Stoney Creek, but Romero was forced to pull out at the last minute due to an injury. Stepping up on short notice, Bryan Edge (2-1), a member of Joslin’s MMA, filled in for the injured Romero. Early in the bout, Pinter put Edge on the canvas but before he knew it, he was entangled in a triangle choke along the ropes. Just as the fight looked to be over, the referee made a questionable decision and decided to restart the fight in the middle of the canvas.

As the bout was restarted, Pinter quickly powered out, ruining Edge’s chances of securing the submission. Back on the feet, Edge pushed forward landing multiple shots as Pinter turned his head in desperation. As the referee looked on, Edge landed numerous unanswered blows before finally the referee decided to step in and call the bout. The bout could have been stopped much earlier as Pinter took a lot of unnecessary punishment but luckily after the fight Pinter was in good spirits as he told the crowd his main goal was to put on a show and entertain the fans.

Brandon Curts looked impressive in his third professional MMA bout putting a plethora of strikes on display as he fought off Dwight Garlow’s submission attempts nearly scoring a first round TKO. With the first round in the bag, Curtis came out looking fresh in the second as he stuffed Garlow’s takedown attempt and landed some hard knees putting an end to Garlow’s night early in the second round.

In other action, Ainsley Robinson scored a second round TKO over Andy Hauser. The bout saw Robinson control the tempo as he secured takedowns in both rounds before finally mounting an offense in the second to notch the win.

Joel Powell, much like his brother, earned a TKO victory in the first round after pounding his opponent from the mount. Jason Cecil (1-2) earned his first professional victory submitting Geza Kalman (4-8).

Finally Frank Pirone and Chris Varono were victorious in their respect bouts scoring early first round submissions.

Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge was in the house and stated that he was happy with his new contract with MFC and that he was looking forward to fighting for the first time on Canadian soil. Goodridge signed with the Maximum Fighting Championship last week and his debut will come May 9, 2008 at MFC 16: Anger Management.

Jeff Joslin also took to the microphone as told fans that he is finally beginning to feel better and looking forward to getting back into the octagon. According to Joslin, he still has two fights remaining on his current UFC deal and he has been granted permission to fight outside of the UFC in order to shake off some of the ring rust. Joslin’s last MMA appearance came on December 16, 2006 against Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 7.

The Iroquois Mixed Martial Arts Championship will be returning to the I.L.A Sports Arena on April 26, 2008.

Iroquois MMA Championship II Results

Ainsley Robinson def. Andy Hauser - TKO (Strikes)
Joel Powell def. Jon Irwin - TKO (Strikes)
Jason Cecil def. Geza Kalman - Submission (Guillotine)
Brandon Curts def. Dwight Garlow - TKO (Knees)
Chris Vorano def. Jason Pimentel - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Frank Pirone def. Tim Skidmore - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Stephan Lamarche def. Stjepan Vjunovic - TKO (Strikes)
Josh Powell def. Chester Post - TKO (Strikes)
Bryan Edge def. Daryle Pinter - TKO (Strikes)
Dan Severn def. Ian Asham - Submission (Kimura)