After The Bell w/Hadley Scott

Hey there Grand Prixers! It’s me, Hadley. Oh, right, most of you don’t know me yet. Well let me introduce myself. The name is Hadley Scott and I have been a HUGE fan of mixed martial arts for years. Now, I’m sure you guys don’t care to hear about where I went to college and my whole story leading up to how I got to where I am now. What you probably want to know is what a scrawny little blonde who probably has never seen the inside of a cage is doing writing for a MASSIVE MMA company like Union Grand Prix.

Well, first of all, you would be right. I’ve never fought one single fight inside of a steel cage but, like I said, I’ve been a huge fan of the sport for most of my life and you’re just going to have to trust me that I know what I’m talking about Or, if not that, use whatever I write to mock me on social media endlessly. That’s what it’s all about, right? Speaking of, add me @HadleyScottMMA on twitter. Thanks dolls!

So lets get down to what really matters, you know? And that’s this really great even that just happened in Columbus, Ohio this past weekend where we saw our favorite company kick off a new era (what some idiots are calling the Post Steroid era) with a whole host of qualifying bouts and first round bouts at varying weight classes. Now, I don’t want to step on Mister Harper’s toes. He does a great job analyzing the fights before they happen and making an educated guess as to who he thinks is going to win. Sometimes he’s right. Sometimes he’s wrong. That’s the nature of the game.

What I’m going to be doing is looking at the landscape after each event to see what it could mean for the fighters in this company, who’s falling out of contention and who is climbing back into contention.

Oh, and if you make it all the way to the very end, I promise you a special little treat right from the desk of Mr. Reed himself! Here we go.

Boss Fight XI Prelims

Before I even talk about the very first prelim bout I just want to say how cool it is that these fights were shown on YouTube for free. I know the big fights are what people really tune in for. The Roscoe vs. Seth and Hanako vs. JPK type fights are important but these free for everyone fights are great to help unheralded fighters get their name out their to the world. Super cool if you ask me.

“Mad” Maxine Ball vs. “The Juggernaut” Julian Chambers

Mister Harper started the night off tough in his predictions but I don’t think you can blame him. He said it himself Maxine has a lot of potential but, coming into this event, had been unable to put it together. Boy did that change quickly. Now, I have to wonder if it’s just that Julian Chambers is a bit outclassed and not quite ready for this level of competition. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But you’ve got to at least be able to throw one punch. Put together some kind of offense. It didn’t happen and Maxine made short work of her opponent.

What’s Next for Maxine? A substantially more difficult fight against a legend of the mixed martial arts game in Daniel Fisk. She finally got her first win under her belt, now she has to prove that she can do it against a fighter who unquestionably belongs inside of the cage.

What’s Next for Julian? I’m not sure. Anyone can have an off night so I don’t think this is the end of his time in Union GP yet. He’ll get some time off and hopefully get some work in with the Sym Gym and develop a bit so that when he comes back again he can maybe assert himself. After this performance, though, I would say he’s nearing the end of his rope.

“One Punch” Joseph Byrne vs. “Showtime” J.T. Spencer

WOW! This one was a shocker to me if I’m being honest. Leading up to this fight it seemed that Joseph had all of the confidence and swagger in the world, and there certainly is some controversy surrounding this bout. But let’s be honest, even without the headbutt that seemed to take Joseph completely out of this fight, J.T. had already asserted himself and took the ScrapYard fighter down to the ground where he absolutely did not want to be. Sure, the argument could be made that if Dusty Whittaker had given Byrne the opportunity to recover from the inadvertent (or, perhaps, not so inadvertent) headbutt that he might have been able to change the outcome of the fight.

What makes me think that, even if Byrne had been given time to stand up and get himself right after the headbutt connected, the fight still would have gone in Spencer’s favor is the fact that the break between rounds didn’t seem to help Joey at all. He absorbed some brutal punches at the end of the first and it was more of the same as the second round kicked off until Spencer put him away with a well executed guillotine submission.

What’s Next for J.T.? Spencer moves on to fight Fernando Diao in the heavyweight championship tournament and you have to think he’s going to be feeling good coming into this one as Diao is a very similar fighter to Joey Byrne. He perhaps has a slightly stronger ground game and doesn’t quite pack the same immense power in his punches. But Spencer has shown the ability to be resilient and if he is able to take Diao down it could be bigtime trouble for the Senagalise fighter.

What’s Next for Joseph? I saw that he’s been put on a 30 day no contact restriction, which leads me to believe he may have suffered a concussion of unknown severity from the headbutt he received. That’s unconfirmed, of course, but some time off to regroup and refocus himself will do him well. He took a big blow to his pride so one can only imagine that the Belfast based ScrapYard MMA is going to be working to build his confidence back up.

“Bam Bam Jigelow” Mike Hunt vs. “The Samoan Silverback” Aleki Fa’atiu

I have zero words for this fight. Zero. But I have to say something. So. Somewhere in the midst of all of the shenanigans was an incredible matchup. There were big bombs thrown standing up. Tremendous ground and pound. Moments where it seemed like both fighters were going to put the other away. And yet, somehow, this made it to a decision. I’m not sure how but let me first praise Jordan Ripley for his efforts to keep this a clean contest. Personally, I think his decision to take the first point away from Aleki was hasty when he could have stood both fighters up and warned the big Samoan that any further nonsense would cost him a point. Hunt should feel quite lucky to have escaped both the first and second rounds, but at the end of the day he did what he needed to do to secure his victory and advance in the heavyweight bracket.

What’s Next for Mike? Bobbi London waits on the horizon for him and, after this fight, I have no idea what to expect. I think Bobbi is a better striker both standing and on the ground. But Hunt has showed his ability to grind through adversity and outpoint his opponents. When these two collide I have a feeling it’s going to be must see television.

What’s Next for Aleki? Someone. Anyone. Please teach this man how to keep his fingers out of other people’s eyes. Seriously! What a terrible way to lose out on a tremendous opportunity in the heavyweight tournament. He’s got enough talent to compete at a high level, in my opinion, and to throw it away because you can’t keep your fingers in check is ridiculous. I suppose that’s a problem with a lot of men in this country, though.

Asher “Simba” Jrue vs. Randall Wade

This was exactly the sort of fight you would want the fans watching for free to be sent home with if you’re Dante Reed, in my opinion. I thought Randall Wade did a nice job of staying engaged and finding openings when they were present. But from the very start of the fight outside of a few solid shots Jrue controlled the action and was never really threatened. Simba did a nice job working in the clinch, but also showed excellent striking capability. And let met just tell you, that flying omoplata should be shown on highlight reels from now until the end of time. It was CRAZY!

Whats Next for Asher? A big big BIG fight with Navorro Williams. From what I’ve seen on twitter, Simba doesn’t seem to be rattled by Williams trash talking ways but boy.. If we get the Navorro Williams that I remember from CGFC we could be talking about a potential fight of the night, if not fight of the year, candidate. It will be a big test for Jrue and if he is able to prove himself once again, people will have to start talking about him as a legitimate threat to win the entire middleweight tournament.

What’s Next for Randall? Back to the drawing board. I think the Slaughterhouse Houston camp would be smart if they encouraged him to be a little bit more aggressive in his future fights. He was able to get a few solid counter shots that rattled Jrue for a moment but from start to finish Asher controlled the pace of this fight. Wade needs to learn to make his opponents uncomfortable and not be so tentative. 

Boss Fight XI Undercard

Whoever picked out the theme for this show, you get an A plus from me. And can I just take a moment to praise Patrick Carson and Warhead Williams for the nice job they do on commentary together. They’re engaging. Funny. Smart. And really just add a nice flavor to the whole viewing experience.

Kenneth “Pluggz” Rozier vs. Milo “The Mauler” Dragomir

Okay. Rozier did exactly what he needed to do in this fight but with how truly uncoordinated and out of shape Dragomir seemed to be, I would have liked to have seen Pluggz finish this fight sooner than the four minutes it took him. That’s probably just me being a bit nit picky and yes, Rozier did take a nasty headbutt from Dragomir. Props to Whittaker for managing to spot that one by the way (yes, that’s sarcasm). But the headbutt didn’t seem to phase Rozier at all. Either way, from start to finish, Kenneth Rozier outclassed his opponent and honestly I think you could have switched this fight out with any of the preliminary bouts and the paying audience would have been much more satisfied. Especially if it had been the Jrue/Wade fight.

What’s Next for Kenneth? Amani Crawford awaits in what is the epitome of a clash of styles bout that will either be excruciatingly boring or tremendously exciting. Someone better tell Pluggz to work on his ground game, though, because you know Crawford is going to look to take it there with his wrestling and jiu jitsu background. If I had to bet money, I think it’s going to be a good one but sometimes heavyweight fights are just difficult to project.

What’s Next for Milo? An exercise bike. A jog. Anything to increase his cardio and stamina because he was gassed after the first takedown by Rozier.

“Playboy” Dallas Meechan vs. Louie “Bodybag” Bartolo

Dallas has certainly developed a following among the female fanbase of Union GP, as could be heard on his way to the cage. But more importantly than that, he was blessed with the opportunity to be showcased in the very first Bantamweight fight in Union GP history. And after a slow start to the first round both Meechan and Bartolo showed why it is that the Bantamweight division could, potentially, be the most exciting division in the company. These two displayed every aspect of the mixed martial arts stand up game that you could ask for. Punches. Kicks. Clinch work. Even a takedown attempt that was stuffed and countered with a nasty head kick.

Great job by Bartolo to close the distance when he got rocked with a high kick by Meechan. But an even better job by Dallas to not let Bartolo tie him up and recover. In my opinion of Meechan doesn’t connect on that nasty low kick, or if Bartolo is able to check it, this fight gets to the second round and then who knows what happens. Credit to Dallas, though. He rocked his opponent and then did what was necessary to finish him off and earn an impressive victory.

What’s Next for Dallas? As a reward for all his hard work? He gets to face the talented Zari Aliyah at her more natural weight class. Aliyah only carries one loss on her record, to alleged HGH abuser Misty Demeans, and has been impressive in all three of her victories in Union. This will be a big time test for Dallas and a victory could provide the momentum he needs to see his way through the rest of the bantamweight tournament.

What’s Next for Bartolo? He did enough to stabilize himself as a prospect for the forseeable future. I don’t believe he is in the same class as the elite fighters in the bantamweight division. But with some hard work and growth in his game he could become a reasonable challenge for newcomers in the future.

“Smooth” Lake Reese vs. “Cold Heart” Chris Santiago

Truth told I thought Lake would run away with this thing right from the start but Santiago did a nice job holding his own early on in the first. By the time the bell sounded and the fighters returned to their corners, though, you could tell just from the conversations that Santiago’s corner knew he was in trouble. The real game changer in this fight was Reese’s ability to control the pace of the fight and avoid Santiago’s striking ability. And even when Cold Heart was able to find range and start to get some rhythm, Reese was quick to negate it one way or another.

By the time the second round kicked off it was evident that Santiago was going to need a miracle to get back into the fight and nearly found it with a jumping knee but, as was the case throughout the majority of the fight, Reese found a way to avoid really being damaged, wearing his opponent down with some tremendous clinch work before fully finishing him off just past the midway point in the second round. In earning his second victory, Smooth Lake Reese showed the world that he is multifaceted both on offense and on defense. A message that surely did not go unheard by the rest of the cruiserweight division.

What’s Next for Lake? He progresses in the cruiserweight tournament to face Jakko Wirman whose strengths are much more pronounced, but also whose flaws are much more substantial than Santiago’s as well. I wouldn’t expect their fight to get out of the first round, whenever it happens. But if Reese can control the action in the clinch like he did against Santiago, he should be in good shape and a victory against a Real Killa’s fighter could go a long way toward establishing 9th World among the premiere training facilities in the world.

What’s Next for Santiago? Perhaps a fight against the loser of the McCluskey/Clemens fight at some point in the future. I have zero interest in seeing Cold Heart fight Julian Chambers. Or, perhaps, a newcomer to the cruiserweight scene will present themselves and provide a second test for Philippino fighter out of MAXIMUM Dojo. 

Brendan “The Hammer” McCarthy vs. Jethro “Bruiser” Benson

I didn’t know much about either of these guys heading into this fight other than, as Mr. Harper noted, McCarthy had hounded Rob Jones for a fight which Jones continually avoided. The Belfast based fighter seemed to withdraw from the social media scene during the rebooting process for UGP and continued to remain quiet on twitter even after his fight with Bruiser Benson was announced. As for Benson, I still don’t know much about the man other than the fact that he seemed to be a bit nervous in the spotlight of the final undercard bout of the evening.

Truthfully, I don’t think we can say we learned much more about either of these fighters after it was over. McCarthy made quick work of Benson with a single leg takedown and vicious ground and pound but this one was over before it ever really even got started. And while McCarthy will certainly take the victory, I think it would be smart to pump the breaks on the notion that he sent a message to the rest of his division.

What’s Next for Brendan? A fight against Byron McCall that he could actually send a message to the rest of the middleweight division if he is victorious. I wouldn’t expect that to happen, though. McCall surely has his eyes set on a championship fight against either Primarch or Aries at the end of this middleweight tournament and he’s professional enough to not overlook a young prospect in McCarthy. Crazier things have happened, and I think McCarthy has potential to become a force in the division. But I think his run in the Middleweight tournament ends against McCall.

What’s Next for Jethro? I think you’ve got to get him another fight and the middleweight division is deep enough to see it happen. Pairing him against Randall Wade could be an interesting opportunity for both men.

Boss Fight XI Co-Main Events

Wow! Whoever was responsible for putting together the hype video for the Hanako/JPK fight should win a videographer of the year award or something along those lines. I was already excited to see Hanako at work again. She’s an extraordinary fighter working a hellacious schedule. Truly, she’s an elite draw wherever she goes. I’m not sure how she does it but the point is I didn’t think I could be any more excited for that fight than I already was. Turns out I was wrong. And turns out JPK and Hanako gave us all exactly what we were hoping for.

“Spidey” Jordan Parker-Kane vs. “The Black Rose” Hanako Takeuchi (c)

Incredible. Just absolutely incredible. This one lived up to every bit of its potential and more. Early on I was shocked to see JPK as aggressive as he was and to really be holding his own in the stand up game to the point where I thought he might have had a chance to finish Hanako in the first round. And, if it weren’t for all the pressure he put on in the early goings of the first round, I think that nasty front kick from Hanako that wobbled JPK would have been the end of the fight. I don’t know how he survived the jab and the big hook that followed but that desperation clinch against the cage bought JPK the time he needed to recover. When the bell rang at that point, anyone who didn’t know this was going to be an all out war already, knew it then.

It was close, and the corners of both fighters seemed to believe the other had won the first round. I had it scored 10-9 JPK. But by a paper thin margin.

When the second round kicked off and both fighters were tied up in the clinch I thought we were beginning to see shades of the Hanako vs. Donovan fight where her ability to brutalize her opponents body would pay dividends. And she certainly was able to put JPK in a world of hurt with some vicious body blows. JPK did what Donovan was unable to do, though, and that was counter her strikes with some punishing blows of his own which, as a result, resulted in the champion having to be a bit more cautious than perhaps she would have liked. The end result was the two being separated from the clinch and it was that moment where the second round really seemed to swing in JPK’s favor. A quick takedown and some impressive work on the ground by both parties, Hanako did a good job stopping JPK’s attempts to improve his position, seemed to wear both fighters down some and things stalled, causing Herschel Warden to stand them both back up. A second takedown, this time more emphatic, by JPK. Smooth movement on the ground saw him progress to full mount and, eventually, seek out an armbar that nearly put the fight away but Hanako was saved by the bell.

The second was much more in favor of the challenger and while I still scored it 10-9 JPK, this was a much more resounding round victory for him than the first.

To her credit, Hanako started the third round out much better, playing to her strength in the stand up with a nice kick to the challengers thigh and a wicked hook that forced JPK to shoot for a takedown, which Hanako stuffed. Now, personally, I think desperation showed a bit when, instead of allowing JPK to stand back up, she looked to submit him with a guillotine. What resulted was allowing JPK, once he deftly escaped from the submission attempt, to take the fight to the ground again and once he had Hanako there it felt like it was only a matter of time and a mid round gogoplata brought the championship reign of The Black Rose to its conclusion.

What’s Next for Jordan? For the time being? JPK gets to sit back and wait to see who his next challenger will be. I’m sure the well travelled fighter will be thankful for a breather and for the opportunity to celebrate his entrance into the two time champion club with Derrick La’bell. A fight with August Pope could be intriguing, though, if he manages to get past Lea Sun. Could there be controversy brewing, though, from other top 5 lightweight fighters who might be displeased they are being passed over for a shot at the Lightweight Championship? Time will tell.

What’s Next for Hanako? For her own sake I hope she takes a step back. She is an amazing fighter, an amazing representative for women around the world, and an incredible role model. But the human body can only take so much. If this is the last we see of her for some time I hope I’m not the first to say Thank You, Hanako, for all that you have done for women in the world of combat sports.

“Your Drug of Choice” Seth Daniels vs. “The Shooter” Roscoe Robinson (c)

I’ll be the first to say I’m not the biggest Roscoe Robinson fan. He’s tremendously talented but, in my opinion, his antics take away from his appeal. His behavior in the aftermath of his fight with Jason Jackson was reprehensible. And while he is clearly a big time draw, he could learn a lesson or two in humility, maturity and class.

With that said, from a purely competitive standpoint, there’s no question why this fight was gifted the final spot of the night and while Seth Daniels has not had the run of success that Roscoe has had, he also was the only blemish on the champ’s record coming into Boss Fight XI.

Right off the bat Seth showed that, in spite of his pedestrian record, he is an extremely dangerous fighter. Imagine being kicked in the liver the way Daniels did to the champion? I think I would have just laid down and died right then and there. And while I’m not a fan of Roscoe’s antics outside of the cage, his ability to recover from a blow like that is a testament to his resilience and grit inside of the cage. However, in spite of that, if he hadn’t been able to check the kick that Daniels followed up with the fight could have been over then and there.

Nevertheless, what followed was simply two men standing in the center of the cage determined to swing until the other one collapsed. Once more it was Seth who found himself with the upperhand, rocking Roscoe with a nasty uppercut that pushed him back into the fence and anyone watching at home was surely on the edge of their seat anticipating the finish that was merely moments away from happening. Though I doubt it was the one any of them, at that moment, expected.

With Robinson on the ropes, Seth shot in for a takedown and what followed was a scramble that resulted in a high kick that opened up a cut on Daniels chin. And then a second high kick that turned out his lights.

Just.

Like.

That.

From being another solid punch or two away from being done, to completely flat lining his opponent. Roscoe Robinson defended his championship once more.

What’s Next for Seth? This one is going to sting, undoubtedly. And with being eliminated from the cruiserweight tournament he should get at least the next month and a half off from a fight in UGP. Hopefully he goes home. Regroups. Gets some rest. And comes back and gives us the tiebreaker fight we’re all hoping for.

What’s Next for Roscoe? There are still a few fights that have to happen before we know who he’ll be defending against next. It will either be Cal McCluskey, which for sheer back and forth on the timeline I think a lot of people are hoping for, Ian Clemens or Ardan Kelly. I can’t say that I find any of those to be fights that move the needle but anytime you’ve got Roscoe in the picture you’re going to have eyes on television screens.

Boss Fight XI Statistics and Awards

That wraps up my thoughts on the fights and now here’s that treat I promised you all at the very beginning of this blog post. Mr. Reed has forwarded the information in regards to attendance, total gate, earnings and the performance awards for the evening and they are as follows:

BOSS FIGHT XI: SHOOTER vs DANIELS II

Venue: Nationwide Arena

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 19,500

Date: July 20, 2019

Gate: $4,875,000 (average $250 / ticket)

Sponsorship: $2,000,000

Fighter Payouts: 3,476,250

Net Earnings: 3,398,750

RECAPS

Maxine Ball def. Julian Chambers via KO (Punch) at 1:18 Round 1

J.T. Spencer def. Joseph Byrne via Submission (Guillotine) at 2:02 Round 2

Mike Hunt def. Aleki Fa’atiu via Unanimous Decision

Asher Jrue def. Randall Wade via Submission (Flying Omoplata) at 2:40 Round 2

Kennard Rozier def. Milo Dragomir via TKO (Punch) at 4:06 Round 1

Dallas Meechan def. Louie Bartolo via TKO (Punches) at 2:33 Round 1

Lake Reese def. Chris Santiago via TKO (Punches) at 3:15 Round 2

Brendan McCarthy def. Jethro Benson via KO (GnP) at 1:10 Round 1

Jordan Parker-Kane def. Hanako Takeuchi via Submission (Gogoplata) at 3:49 Round 3

Roscoe Robinson def. Seth Daniels via KO (High Kick) at 2:55 Round 1

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT

Hanako Takeuchi vs Jordan Parker-Kane

PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT

Asher Jrue, Jordan Parker-Kane, Roscoe Robinson

Boss Fight XI Concluding Thoughts

All in all I feel like this was exactly the sort of event Union GP needed to reestablish itself in the Mixed Martial Arts world. Both championship fights were exciting and we were able to get a glimpse of a lot of young, promising talent on the UGP roster today.

We’ll see you after UGP 13 concludes.

Ciao