THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — Mixed martial arts fighter Jose (Pele) Landi-Jons delivered a devastating kick, but the powerful blow snapped his right leg and gave his opponent the victory.
Brian Gassaway benefited from Landi-Jons’ misfourtune Thursday night, earning a win in the main event at TKO 32: Ultimatum. Gassaway improved to 28-17-2.
“The kick connected with my knee and I heard a loud pop,” Gassaway, 36, said after the fight.
“I didn’t realize that his leg was actually broke. It’s really unfortunate that it ended like, because honestly that might be a career-ending move.”
It was the first Canadian fight for the 34-year-old Landi-Jons (23-14-0), a native of Parana, Brazil.
The MMA veteran is best known for driving his knee into the head of former UFC champ Matt Hughes for a KO win in 2001.
“His kicks are strong, like even when I blocked them they hurt,” said Gassaway, a former multiple World Shidokan Karate champion.
Still, Gassaway said he was confident before Landi-Jons went down 50 seconds into the second round and the referee stopped the match. Up to that point the fighters had been hesitant in an even match. In the first round, the lack of action stirred boos from the crowd.
“I felt I was winning just because the impact blows were from me,” Gassaway said. “He got a couple of kicks in, but besides that I think I was snapping his head back. My heart goes out to Pele. You don’t wish that on anybody.”
A smiling Landi-Jons high-fived several onlookers as he was carted away from the octagon to a waiting ambulance.
Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Jesse (Water) Bongfeldt (15-3-0) of Kenora, Ont., narrowly escaped a title match with his TKO welterweight belt.
From the opening bell, challenger T.J. Grant (9-2-0) owned the fight until Bongfeldt applied an armbar submission 2:52 into the third round.
Grant, 24, of Halifax went on the offensive from the start, hoping to capture a belt once worn by former UFC champ Georges St. Pierre.
But Bongfeldt showed patience and waited for the right moment.
“Well, they say you’re not really the champ until you defend your belt,” Bongfeldt said in the cage after the fight.
“It was a lot of work getting into the fight. I felt a bit sluggish.” Bongfeldt, 27, who won the vacant title in September with a second round submission over Chris Clements, said he remained calm after absorbing stiff blows from Grant’s fists, elbows and knees throughout the fight.
“I congratulated him for a couple of good elbows,” he said of his opponent.
“I said, Hey, that felt good.”‘
A rambunctious crowd of about 6,300 fans rocked the Bell Centre, the same venue set to host Canada’s first UFC event on April 19.
UFC, which started in November 1993, is expecting its largest audience ever when it arrives in Montreal.
Some 21,000 tickets have been sold for UFC 83, which will see hometown favourite St. Pierre try to reclaim the UFC welterweight title from Matt (The Terror) Serra.
Serra won the belt from St. Pierre last April with a first-round TKO.
On the undercard, two Montreal-area fighters, both considered top MMA prospects, squared off in a welterweight match-up touted by TKO as the search for the next St. Pierre.
Derek (War Machine) Gauthier, 22, (3-0-0) forced Yannick (The Viking) Galipeau, 26, (1-1-0) to tap out in a tight ground battle, which saw both combatants take the upper hand several times.
Late in the first round, Galipeau stood up to get out of a hold with Gauthier draped on his back.
Gauthier slipped his forearm around Galipeau’s throat and pulled him backwards to the mat. Galipeau submitted seconds later.
In a lightweight tilt, Samuel Guillet (6-4-0) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. beat 18-year-old Jordan Mein (7-5-0) by kimura armlock submission.
Fan favourite Stephane (Simba) Vigneault (10-5-0) of Montreal defeated Daniel Ferguson (4-2-0) of Trail, B.C. by TKO in the second round of their featherweight fight.
Guillaume (Showman) Lamarche of Drummondville, Que. (3-1-0) ended a seven-bout win streak for Justin (Houdini) Tavernini (10-8-0) by split decision in a featherweight fight.
Former Olympic-style wrestler Adrian (The Bully) Wooley (4-0-0) of Toronto slammed Syd (Bad Intentions) Barnier (1-2-0) and pounded him to a first-round TKO win in the bantamweight fight.
In his professional ultimate fighting debut, featherweight Johan (The Bulldozer) Croes (1-0-0) of Aruba pinned and pummelled Mark (The Panther) Fraser (1-4-1) of Kahnawake, Que. to a TKO victory in the second round.
Jeff Harrison (2-0-0) of Stratford, Ont. stunned veteran Tyler (TNT) Jackson (8-5-1) with a guillotine choke 19 seconds into the third round of their lightweight tilt.
