THE CANADIAN PRESS
AMARILLO, Texas — Keith (The Dean of Mean) Jardine, in his first fight since being cut by the UFC, dropped a split decision to veteran Trevor Prangley at Shark Fights 13 on Saturday night.
Jardine came on strong at the end but the judges scored it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for the 38-year-old Prangley, whose Shark Fights light-heavyweight title was not on the line Saturday.
Jardine’s 13-fight UFC career ended after a loss to Matt (The Hammer) Hamill on June 19. He has now lost five straight and seven of his last 10.
In the co-main event at the Civic Center Coliseum, light-heavyweight Houston (The Assassin) Alexander survived a first-round beatdown to stop Rameau (The African Assassin) Sokoudjou via second-round TKO.
Saturday marked the first pay-per-view show in the two-year history of the Texas-based organization. And the main card offered plenty of name fighters who had slid out of other promotions.
Prangley (23-6-1), who has fought in the UFC, Bodog and Strikeforce, buckled Jardine early with a knee at the fence, carving him open above the right eye. They went to the ground and Jardine tried for an armbar.
They stayed on their feet in the second, with the counter-punching Prangley knocking Jardine (15-9-1) down with a left-right almost three minutes into the round.
It was more of the same in the third with the 34-year-old Jardine largely unable to break down Prangley save for a wild final flurry.
Prangley, who was coming off a submission loss to Tom Kennedy in Strikeforce in June, was classy in victory.
“You know, it’s never satisfying to beat a guy like Keith when he’s down on his luck and trying to make his comeback,” he said.
Sokoudjou, whose left leg was heavily taped, dropped Alexander with a left 1:40 into the first round and hit him with more than two dozen blows as a dazed Alexander hung onto his leg. But he somehow survived and reversed a Sokoudjou takedown late in the round.
The 38-year-old Alexander (11-6 with one no contest) was warned for head-butting at the end of the round.
A tired-looking Sokoudjou (9-7) came out for the second round and was driven back to the fence by a knee. Alexander kept punching, crumpling Sokoudjou and firing more than 50 unanswered shots until referee Steve Armstrong finally stepped in at 1:31 of the second round.
“He was panting but I was good,” said Alexander, who is now 2-1 since being cut by the UFC for his performance in a loss to Kimbo Slice last December.
For the 26-year-old Sokoudjou, it was another case of not taking advantage and then gassing out.
England’s Paul (Semtex) Daley rode a late flurry in the third round to win a (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) decision over Jorge (Gamebred) Masvidal.
The fight was contested as a catchweight after Daley, at 171.75, missed the 171-pound welterweight limit. The Brit had to forfeit 10 per cent of his purse to Masvidal.
Daley (24-9-2) did not show off his explosive striking, and was taken down repeatedly in the second round. The English fighter was frustrated when he was taken down again early in the third, even if Masvidal (20-6) did little with the advantage.
Daley finally got into high gear as the fight ended.
“I think I edged it with my aggressiveness,” he said. “When he got me to the ground, he wasn’t really active.”
The English fighter was cut by the UFC in May after he sucker-punched Josh Koscheck following the final bell in a loss at UFC 113 in Montreal. A win over Koscheck would have earned Daley a shot at UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.
Saturday night’s decision was greeted by some boos and Daley, in his post-fight interview in the cage, took a shot at those responsible: “The difference between me and them is I’m getting paid a hell of a lot more than them. So thanks for buying tickets and paying my wages.”
Earlier, Brazilian middleweight Danillo Villefort used his superior grappling skills to earn a unanimous 30-27 decision over veteran Joey (Smokin’ Joe) Villasenor.
Villefort (12-3) was a late replacement for the injured Drew McFedries, meaning Villasenor (27-8) had to change direction from a striker to a submission specialist.
Belgian welterweight Tarec (Sponge) Saffiedine dominated en route to a unanimous 30-27 decision over former UFC and WEC veteran Brock Larson.
Saffiedine (10-2) is a former Dream and Strikeforce Challengers series fighter. For Larson (32-5), who was unable to get his wrestling game going, it was his first loss in four fights since leaving the UFC.
Ronnie Mann (18-2-1) won a split decision over Douglas Evans (10-7) for the Shark Fights featherweight title.
Eric Davila (18-10) submitted 39-year-old veteran Pete Spratt (21-18) via second-round guillotine choke.
Welterweight Paul Bradley (13-2 with one no contest) choked out Johnny Rees (12-3 with one no contest) at 4:28 of the first round.
