Broken Cage Door Halts Strikeforce 'Young Guns III'

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A broken cage door forced the cancellation of five fights at Strikeforce “Young Guns III” on Saturday under the lights of the San Jose Civic Auditorium. Among the casualties was the main event bout between Alvin Cacdac and local favorite Jose Palacios.

A 10-minute intermission was given for the promotion to address the problem, but the remainder of the card was eventually nixed. California State Athletic Commission rules forbid fights from taking place under such conditions. Fans in attendance jeered the announcement but will receive free admission to the next installment of the “Young Guns” series.

Other scrapped fights included a welterweight bout pairing Eric Meaders with Ron Keslar, a featherweight match between Evan Esguerra and Gabby Solorio, a bantamweight tilt between David Barrios and Andrew Valladares and a middleweight contest pairing Daniel McWilliams with Luke Rockhold.

This is not the first time the Strikeforce promotion has had issues with its fighting apparatus. In a 2006 light heavyweight clash, Bobby Southworth drove James Irvin through the cage on a takedown attempt, resulting in a no contest. Strikeforce officials were not available for comment regarding payments to fighters who did not compete. A source close to one of the fighters, however, believes 20 percent of the purse will be paid, with the rest coming after he fights at a later date.

Fairtex San Francisco’s Chris Bostick followed the instructions of cornerman Alex Serdyukov en route to an armlock submission victory in the default “Young Guns III” main event. The end came 2:26 into round one, as Bostick (3-2) snapped a two-fight losing streak.

In the night’s lone showdown between super heavyweights, Yohan Banks landed a hook to Michael Diaz’s body, followed it with a haymaker to the head that sent his opponent crashing to the mat and finished him with strikes on the ground. The match lasted just 19 seconds. Banks improved to 2-1.

A 125-pound contest between Javi Alanis and Cung Le protégé Adam Antolin lasted a little longer but not by much.

With Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson in his corner, the San Jose-based Antolin nearly finished Alanis with a rear naked choke in the first round. Alanis, in his second professional bout, survived the round but only delayed the inevitable. The unbeaten Antolin (3-0) finished him with strikes from full mount 1:41 into the second.

Hussain Rasouli and Ryan Bastianelli, meanwhile, went the distance at 140 pounds in a match featuring mostly wrestling. Bastianelli (2-1) earned a unanimous decision, as he was awarded a 30-27 nod on all three scorecards.

It was not the only match left to the judges.

In a bout that saw both men wobbled by short hooks, Alexandre Trevino controlled the cage and earned a 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 unanimous decision against Gennaro Strangis in a lightweight battle between fighters representing San Jose gyms. Trevino remains undefeated at 3-0.

Elsewhere, Matt Pedro controlled Eric Castile and finished him with a rear naked choke early in round two. Pedro (3-1) submitted Castile 68 seconds into the second.

Featherweight David Rasouli notched the first win of his career against Jeremy Tavares. The winless Tavares weathered several big slams but could not mount the offense he needed to achieve victory. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 in Rasouli’s favor.

Finally, Mike Davis and O.J. Dominguez opened the show with a closely contested battle at 155 pounds. A Cesar Gracie protégé, Davis slipped on a high kick in the first round but reversed his fortunes despite his being on the defensive for much of the fight. Judges scored the bout 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in Davis’ favor.