THE CANADIAN PRESS
ENOCH RESERVE, Alta. — Halifax’s Roger (The Hulk) Hollett, sputtering after a lengthy layoff due to knee surgery, lost his Maximum Fighting Championship title to California light-heavyweight Emanuel (The Hardcore Kid) Newton on Friday night.
Newton (18-3-1), always on the move, frustrated Hollett for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) in the main event of the aptly named “MFC 19: Long Time Coming” at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch on the western edge of Edmonton.
“I don’t know what to say. I got the belt, I’m happy about it. I wish I could have done better though,” said Newton, who was not happy with his performance despite the win.
Hollett (8-2) was making the first defence of his mixed martial arts title in a career derailed by tearing his anterior and medial cruciate ligaments, as well as the meniscus, in a TKO loss to Lew Polley on Oct. 20, 2007 in an Extreme Cage Combat fight. Surgery followed and Hollett did not fight for 11 months, returning in September to dispatch Marcus Hicks in 95 seconds in another ECC bout.
The stocky 205-pounder, who won the MFC title in August 2007 when he stopped UFC veteran Victor Valimaki at MFC 13, never found the range Friday.
Hollett stalked the American throughout the first round. Newton moved away and counter-attacked while trying to escape Hollett’s power. Newton survived to become the first of Hollett’s 10 opponents to make it to the second round. Only two made it past the three-minute mark.
Hollett — whose shorts were emblazoned with Bubbles Mansion, a Halifax nightclub themed from the “Trailor Park Boys” TV show — kept coming forward and paid for it when Newton took him down. The American won the round as a result.
Hollett fought off takedowns in the third, stalking the challenger again but not connecting., There were boos at the end of the round and Hollett’s corner urged him to get busy.
In the fourth, Hollett landed a couple of shots but then was taken down as he tried a kick. The American scored with a second big takedown later in the round.
The 30-year-old Hollett, who was giving up six years and three inches to the six-foot-one Newton, was taken down again in the fifth as the fight continued to go south for the champion.
England’s Paul (Semtex) Daley bided his time before pounding out a second-round TKO over John (The Natural) Alessio, a native of Duncan, B.C., who now lives in Las Vegas.
The bout was fought at a catchweight after Daley (19-7) failed to make the welterweight limit, coming in three pounds over at 174. Daley had to forfeit a quarter of his purse to Alessio as a result.
Daley was coming off a second-round submission loss to Jake Shields in October and Alessio (24-12) worked hard to take him down to the ground where the Briton is weaker. He did it later in the first round but failed to do damage.
There was more of the same in the second but Daley began to find his punching range midway through the round, connecting with a lefts, uppercuts and a kick. Alessio, a UFC and WEC veteran who trains at Xtreme Couture in Vegas, went down and turtled face down with Daley swinging away before the referee stepped in at 2:18.
Earlier, veteran Derrick (The Eraser) Noble of Peoria, Ill., choked out lightweight Ariel Sexton, born in Vancouver but now living in Costa Rica, at 1:30 of the second round. Noble (24-11) wobbled Sexton with a right hand late in a first round that left both men bloodied. Sexton tried for a takedown in the second and Noble pulled guard before catching Sexton (5-2 with one no contest) in a guillotine choke.
Noble, a welterweight fighting for the first time at 155 pounds, has a long MMA resume that includes a win and loss against Thiago Alves, as well as losses to Chris Wilson, Eddie Alvarez, Chris Lytle, Josh Neer and Gideon Ray.
“This is a new start to my career at 155 and I’m looking for a title,” said Noble.
Light-heavyweight Aron (Poster Boy) Lofton (5-1) of Tulsa, Okla., made short work of Edmonton’s Jason (The Show) Kuchera, winning via guillotine choke after just 44 seconds. It was the same submission Lofton used to win when the two met in a bloody MFC 16 bout in May when Kuchera tapped out with five seconds left in the second round.
Kuchera (3-3) looked tentative as the fight started and went down early. He got back to his feet at the ropes but left his neck exposed and Lofton locked on a standing choke. It marked Lofton’s third career win within a minute while Kuchera suffered his third straight submission loss.
Denver lightweight Colby (The Cobra) Snyder (6-2) was no match on the ground for jiu-jitsu black belt Josh (The Gringo) Russell of Calgary. Russell (2-0), who serves as UFC veteran Jason MacDonald’s jiu-jitsu coach, took Snyder down early and improved position until Snyder gave up his back, tapping out to a rear naked choke at 1:44 of the first round with MacDonald yelling instructions from his corner.
Ryan Machan (9-2) of Red Deer, Alta., choked out Mike Sorensen (4-2) of Fort McMurray, Alta., at 4:54 of the first round after taking his back early. Sorenson fought off the rear naked choke for most of the round but Machan — on top with Sorensen face down and dripping blood — eventually cranked up his neck and got the opening to apply the rear naked choke. MacDonald directed action from the corner as his fighter Machan won his sixth straight.
The fight was supposed to be at a catchweight of 165 pounds but Sorenson, at 169 pounds, failed to make weight. The fight went ahead anyway.
Halifax middleweight Kyle Sandford (7-2) surprisingly won a split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) over Joey Gorczynski (12-4) of Tulsa, Okla., in a dullish fight that saw the taller Sandford content to fight from his back on the ground. The American’s striking took its toll in the third round with the right side of Sandford’s face badly swollen. Sandford tried for the rear naked choke as the clock wound down but ran out of time.
