THE CANADIAN PRESS
ENOCH, Alta. — Ryan (Big Deal) Jimmo defeated Dwayne (D-Bomb) Lewis to win the vacant light-heavyweight title on a third-round stoppage at MFC 28 in an all-Alberta mixed martial arts showdown Friday night.
The referee stopped the fight three minutes 13 seconds into the third round at the River Cree Resort and Casino because Lewis’ left eye was swollen shut.
Lewis never found the KO shot he was after and paid the price when he was taken to the ground in the third.
"Dwayne’s just a tough, tough guy … he’s just a warrior," said Jimmo, a 29-year-old from Edmonton.
"It feels super-duper," he said of holding the championship belt.
In the co-main event, Drew Fickett made short work of fellow American Matt Veach, winning by submission in just 36 seconds.
Jimmo (14-1) used early leg kicks to redden Lewis’s torso by lashing his liver. Lewis (13-7) bided his time and looked unsuccessfully to land a big shot in a first round that saw both men feel out the other.
Jimmo continued to change stance in the second round while Lewis looked to land the big blow. When Lewis advanced, Jimmo used his speed to elude him.
In the third, Jimmo tripped Lewis after the two clinched and quickly moved into a mount. Jimmo smothered him with punches and then took his back. Lewis, his right eye swollen, escaped but the fight was quickly halted after a look at his bulging eye.
The two shaven-headed fighters went forehead to forehead in the pre-fight meeting in the middle of the ring before they were separated by the referee.
Jimmo won a decision over Lewis when they met in the MFC in April 2007. It was the second pro fight for both men.
Jimmo has won all 13 fights since.
The 35-year-old Lewis, who works for Shell Canada in Fort McMurray, had won nine of his last 10 but reportedly came into the fight having tweaked his fight in his final weeks of training.
Fickett (41-13) had been scheduled to face MFC lightweight champion Antonio McKee but McKee dropped out last week with a knee injury. Veach (15-3) stepped up on short notice, fighting at a catchweight of 160 pounds.
Veach took Fickett down within 10 seconds but Fickett worked a high guard and slickly transitioned into an armbar.
"What can I say? I tapped him out in 36 seconds," said Fickett.
Earlier, lightweight Robert (The Beast) Washington fought the law and the law won.
Washington dropped a 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 split decision to Tyrone (T-Money) Glover, a Denver lawyer who also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. It was Glover’s second fight since taking five years off to study law and pass the bar exam. When not fighting, Glover (6-0) practises corporate and regulatory law.
Former MFC light-heavyweight champion Emanuel (The Hardcore Kid) Newton, despite taking the fight on short notice as a replacement for Razak Al-Hassan, looked impressive in submitting Rodney (Sho Nuff the Master) Wallace.
"I was ready to fight even though they only gave me two weeks," said Newton. "I said ‘let’s roll, I think I can beat Rodney."’
Wallace (10-4) tripped Newton early but ended up paying for it as he found himself on his back, taking punishment, after failing on several submissions.
Newton (14-6-1) ended it in the second round when, launching himself from standing position above a grounded Wallace, he took Wallace’s back and quickly sank in a rear naked choke to win at 4:34.
Edmonton welterweight Sheldon Westcott and American veteran Thomas (Wildman) Denny fought to a draw. One judge scored it 28-28, another had it 28-27 for Denny and the third had it 29-28 for Westcott.
The 39-year-old Denny (27-18-1) came into the fight having lost three of his last five outings and had to survive a furious Westcott charge in the first round. But by the third, it was Denny who had the 26-year-old Westcott (4-1-1) trapped in a body triangle trying to lock in a choke.
"I think it’s ridiculous," Denny said of the scoring, contending he had won the second and third rounds.
"I thought I won the fight," he added.
Said Westcott: "First two rounds I thought I won … It is what it is. He’s a hard veteran."
"We’ve got to do this again. We’ve got to find a winner in this fight," he added.
American lightweight Ritchie Whitson won a split 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 decision over Curtis Demarce of Brandon, Man., in an all-action fight contested mainly on the feet.
Demarce cut Whitson early in the first round, with blood dripping from his left eye, and scored with his striking. But Whitson (11-1), a graduate of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show, did not back down and had the better of the third round in a close, exciting contest.
"Good fight, brother," a bloody Whitson told Demarce (10-8) after the final bell rang.
Staff tried to clean the blood off the ring as the fighters awaited the decision.
"Look at that cut. Nice," Whitson said in his post-fight interview when the video screens showed a close-up of his eye.
"Good fight. I think I’m going to go get stitched up now."
NOTES — The MFC has signed former UFC fighter Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis … MFC 29 is slated for April 8 in Windsor, Ont.
