Kerr-essing his Way Back to Meaningful MMA
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Nov. 7 -- Mark
Kerr (Pictures) needed a break, and he nearly got
one from the left arm of Stephen Gavin.
Had Kerr failed to thrash his heavyweight opponent from St. Paul, Minn. Wednesday evening on a Xcess Fighting card in the Circus Nightclub, his nickname could have been changed to suggest the one time smashing machine was now a full time snacking machine.
Losing five in a row and failing to stand with his hand raised
since August 2000, Kerr, nearly 280 pounds at Friday's weigh-in,
was simply happy to register a win, no matter whom it came against
-- a far cry from the days when some thought he was the most feared
fighter on the planet.
Kerr, 39, slammed Gavin hard to the mat after briefly working in the clinch. Showing that the "Smashing Machine" retained, at a minimum, some of the power that made him such a force prior to Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures), the Arizona-based heavyweight toyed with his overmatched foe.
"Step two is to get an upgrade in opponent and see if I can get back in that really good feeling of how I feel about myself when I get in the ring," said Kerr, who mentioned he had another year and a half to make anything out of himself before walking away. "I think if I'm able to do that, I think there will be more opportunities than I realize."
Though Eric "Butterbean" Esch failed to show at Friday's weigh-in, the sting of an MIA King of the Four Rounders wasn't enough to prevent the WCO super heavyweight title from going on the line. Jumping in against Jimmy Ambriz (Pictures) was journeyman Ruben Villareal (Pictures).
Villareal, fighting out of Calousa, Calif, could do little save for getting pinned between the cage fencing and the 280-pound Ambriz after an early takedown. A stream of right hands from Ambriz met Villareal's face as the Santa Ana-based fighter worked from knee-on-belly position. Referee Nelson "Doc" Hamilton put a stop to the contest at 1:19 of the first.
Falling short in consecutive UFC fights to Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures) and Wilson Gouveia (Pictures), Carmello Marrero began his comeback trail with a solid win over the gutsy Rafael del Real.
"It definitely is a different feel when you get to smaller shows," Marrero said after the fight. "I think it's important because I needed to take that step back and rebuild myself.
First part of it was getting here, getting to these smaller shows, get a couple wins under my belt and making the most of it."
Taking a pounding to close out the first five-minute frame, del Real, of Tulare, Calif., walked back to his corner thinking about a busted eye that prevented him from seeing properly. It was then that the fight was called.
Marrero says two or three more outings like tonight's and he'll be ready for a return to the UFC. If he makes it, you can rest assured that the American Top Team fighter would have done so because of the opportunity to train and teach.
Middleweight Marcus Gaines, of Sacramento, needed just 67 seconds to choke Los Angeles-based middleweight Mavrick Harvey (Pictures).
Fighting in front of his neighborhood fans, Scott Epstein took a hard road to victory over Sergio Quinoles. Working the rubber guard as Eddie Bravo watched from Epstein's corner, the featherweight was offensive from the bottom. Though he was close with armbar and omoplata attempts, Epstein failed to lock anything down until late in the second.
Quinoles, of Lemoore, Calif., succumbed to a triangle choke at 4:36 of the second.
Light heavyweight Fabio Costa moved his record to 4-0 by slicing open the right side of Paul Karsky (Pictures)'s head, forcing a referee stoppage on the recommendation of the cage-side doctor at 1:14 of round one.
A grind-em-out bantamweight tilt resulted in Jason Georgianna (Pictures), of Eugene, Ore., taking a unanimous decision over Riverside, Calif.'s Todd Guimond (Pictures) that was closer than scores indicated. Two judges saw it 30-27, while the third notched a 29-28 tally.
In a solid scrap, 145-pounders Georgi Karakhanyan (Pictures), of Riverside, Calif., defeated Hildred Oliney, also of the Inland Empire, with 21 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Oliney showed good wrestling early, as the speed of the fight was fierce. Karakhanyan flung wild punches before going to the canvas and locking in a rear-naked choke.
Another all Riverside battle, this time at heavyweight, saw an accumulation of short punches and elbows to the head of Greg White (Pictures) manifest into David Mejia's fourth win in four fights. Mejia landed an extended series of unanswered strikes until referee Nelson "Doc" Hamilton moved in to call a stop to the fight at 2:30 of the first.
Adam Lehman didn't let a hurt Daniel McWilliams (Pictures) off the hook. Connecting with an uppercut before the close of the first, Lehman, fighting out of Riverside, Calif., put McWilliams on his back before passing the guard. A damaging elbow followed a hard punch to McWilliams, prompting referee Cecil Peoples to call a halt to the welterweight contest 34 seconds of round two.
Featherweight Jeff Willingham (Pictures) of Lake Forest, Calif., hyper-extended the right arm of Riverside, Calif.'s Bobby Sanchez (Pictures) at 2:32 of the opening period for the tapout armbar victory.
Listed on the bout sheet as a lightweight contest, Baltimore, Maryland's, Josh Gaskins (Pictures) was left without a fight when his scheduled opponent, Tony Garcia, failed to make the fight. No explanation from the promoter was announced.
Had Kerr failed to thrash his heavyweight opponent from St. Paul, Minn. Wednesday evening on a Xcess Fighting card in the Circus Nightclub, his nickname could have been changed to suggest the one time smashing machine was now a full time snacking machine.
Advertisement
Kerr, 39, slammed Gavin hard to the mat after briefly working in the clinch. Showing that the "Smashing Machine" retained, at a minimum, some of the power that made him such a force prior to Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures), the Arizona-based heavyweight toyed with his overmatched foe.
The win over Gavin, which came at 1:39 of the opening round, is
step one he said.
"Step two is to get an upgrade in opponent and see if I can get back in that really good feeling of how I feel about myself when I get in the ring," said Kerr, who mentioned he had another year and a half to make anything out of himself before walking away. "I think if I'm able to do that, I think there will be more opportunities than I realize."
Though Eric "Butterbean" Esch failed to show at Friday's weigh-in, the sting of an MIA King of the Four Rounders wasn't enough to prevent the WCO super heavyweight title from going on the line. Jumping in against Jimmy Ambriz (Pictures) was journeyman Ruben Villareal (Pictures).
Villareal, fighting out of Calousa, Calif, could do little save for getting pinned between the cage fencing and the 280-pound Ambriz after an early takedown. A stream of right hands from Ambriz met Villareal's face as the Santa Ana-based fighter worked from knee-on-belly position. Referee Nelson "Doc" Hamilton put a stop to the contest at 1:19 of the first.
Falling short in consecutive UFC fights to Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures) and Wilson Gouveia (Pictures), Carmello Marrero began his comeback trail with a solid win over the gutsy Rafael del Real.
"It definitely is a different feel when you get to smaller shows," Marrero said after the fight. "I think it's important because I needed to take that step back and rebuild myself.
First part of it was getting here, getting to these smaller shows, get a couple wins under my belt and making the most of it."
Taking a pounding to close out the first five-minute frame, del Real, of Tulare, Calif., walked back to his corner thinking about a busted eye that prevented him from seeing properly. It was then that the fight was called.
Marrero says two or three more outings like tonight's and he'll be ready for a return to the UFC. If he makes it, you can rest assured that the American Top Team fighter would have done so because of the opportunity to train and teach.
Middleweight Marcus Gaines, of Sacramento, needed just 67 seconds to choke Los Angeles-based middleweight Mavrick Harvey (Pictures).
Fighting in front of his neighborhood fans, Scott Epstein took a hard road to victory over Sergio Quinoles. Working the rubber guard as Eddie Bravo watched from Epstein's corner, the featherweight was offensive from the bottom. Though he was close with armbar and omoplata attempts, Epstein failed to lock anything down until late in the second.
Quinoles, of Lemoore, Calif., succumbed to a triangle choke at 4:36 of the second.
Light heavyweight Fabio Costa moved his record to 4-0 by slicing open the right side of Paul Karsky (Pictures)'s head, forcing a referee stoppage on the recommendation of the cage-side doctor at 1:14 of round one.
A grind-em-out bantamweight tilt resulted in Jason Georgianna (Pictures), of Eugene, Ore., taking a unanimous decision over Riverside, Calif.'s Todd Guimond (Pictures) that was closer than scores indicated. Two judges saw it 30-27, while the third notched a 29-28 tally.
In a solid scrap, 145-pounders Georgi Karakhanyan (Pictures), of Riverside, Calif., defeated Hildred Oliney, also of the Inland Empire, with 21 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Oliney showed good wrestling early, as the speed of the fight was fierce. Karakhanyan flung wild punches before going to the canvas and locking in a rear-naked choke.
Another all Riverside battle, this time at heavyweight, saw an accumulation of short punches and elbows to the head of Greg White (Pictures) manifest into David Mejia's fourth win in four fights. Mejia landed an extended series of unanswered strikes until referee Nelson "Doc" Hamilton moved in to call a stop to the fight at 2:30 of the first.
Adam Lehman didn't let a hurt Daniel McWilliams (Pictures) off the hook. Connecting with an uppercut before the close of the first, Lehman, fighting out of Riverside, Calif., put McWilliams on his back before passing the guard. A damaging elbow followed a hard punch to McWilliams, prompting referee Cecil Peoples to call a halt to the welterweight contest 34 seconds of round two.
Featherweight Jeff Willingham (Pictures) of Lake Forest, Calif., hyper-extended the right arm of Riverside, Calif.'s Bobby Sanchez (Pictures) at 2:32 of the opening period for the tapout armbar victory.
Listed on the bout sheet as a lightweight contest, Baltimore, Maryland's, Josh Gaskins (Pictures) was left without a fight when his scheduled opponent, Tony Garcia, failed to make the fight. No explanation from the promoter was announced.
Related Articles
