Weekend Rundown: Bae Bashes MacSwain to Lift Legend Belt
Chris Nelson Jul 18, 2011
Myung Ho Bae (right) mashed Rod MacSwain. | Photo Courtesy:
Legend Fighting Championship
It took a round and a half, but once Myung Ho Bae found his advantage over Rodney MacSwain, he didn’t let up.
Returning from a shoulder injury which prevented him from competing for the belt in January, 24-year-old South Korean Bae lifted Legend Fighting Championship’s welterweight title from MacSwain, battering the New Zealander for the better part of two rounds Saturday at Macau’s City of Dreams.
Advertisement
Midway through the second round, Bae found his winning tactic, dragging MacSwain to the canvas and drilling him with hard, short elbows from the crucifix position before hopping to mount in the waning seconds. The challenger did more of the same in the final period, dropping relentless hammerfists through MacSwain’s guard while the exhausted champion offered virtually nothing in return. Bae went “Wolverine” in the final 30 seconds but could not finish MacSwain off, settling for a clean sweep with scores of 30-27 from judges Daniel Pereira and Ka Wai Yung, and 29-28 from judge Henry Chan.
“His striking was good and his style is the same as mine, so I just
changed my strategy,” said Bae after the win. “I’m a varied
fighter; I can fight on the ground and standing up as well.”
Yui Chul Nam entered his lightweight bout sporting a black eye sustained in training the day prior, but made sure Australian opponent Rob Hill left the ring bearing even worse marks. Fighting on his 30th birthday, Nam weathered a wild first round in which Hill rattled him with uppercuts in the clinch. The second was a different story, as the Team M.A.D. fighter sent Hill reeling with a knee and series of punches. Trapping Hill against the ropes, Nam unloaded with vicious elbows, punches and knees which left Hill bloodied and dazed, forcing referee Khomkrit Niimi to halt the action at 1:12 of the second round.
In the final of Legend’s inaugural featherweight title tournament, Honggang Yao used his experience in the traditional Chinese wrestling style of shuaijiao to thwart South Korean youngster Nam Jin Jo. Nearly a decade older than 20-year-old Jo, the Chinese fighter matched his opponent in the stamina department, grinding Jo down with punches and elbows from half-guard. Yao was docked a point in the final round for an illegal upkick, but still earned scores of 29-27 from judges Pereira and Yung, and 29-28 from judge Chan.
Despite largely shutting down Mark Striegl’s grappling-heavy attack for three rounds, Yusuke Kawanago came up on the wrong end of a baffling split decision in the semifinals of Legend’s four-man bantamweight tourney. Kawanago used superior boxing and excellent sprawls to punish the unbeaten Striegl, whose best moment came with a first-round guillotine choke attempt. Kawanago, who also took advantage of permitted knees to the head of a grounded opponent, took the bout 30-27 on Sherdog.com’s unofficial scorecard. However, the officials ringside saw it differently: judges Pereira and Yung had it 29-28 for Striegl, while judge Chan dissented with a narrow 30-29 for Kawanago.
Tytschyo Takes Title at Max Fight 8
Chute Boxe representative Cassiano “Tytschyo” de Freitas outlasted Sergio “Junior” Melo in a seesaw five-rounder to win the Max Fight welterweight title Saturday night in Tytschyo’s hometown of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Tytschyo, 22, repeatedly floored and mounted Melo in the first few frames, but expended much of his energy in doing so. The Renovacao Fight Team fighter took control of the standup after round three, but Tytschyo’s ground game ultimately proved too much. Despite a powerful, last-minute surge from Melo, it was Tytschyo who earned a split decision in his 30th career start, raising his record to 21-9.
True to his “Friday the 13th” persona, Team Nogueira featherweight Rony “Jason” Lima terrorized Marlon Medeiros on the mat for the brief duration of their bout. After smashing Medeiros from guard for the first half of the opening round, Lima was swept and forced to briefly dodge punishment from his back. Seizing control of Medeiros’ left wrist, Lima lashed on a lightning-quick triangle choke which had Medeiros tapping instantly at the 3:14 mark.
Jungle Fight veteran Thiago “Bodao” Perpetuo dropped two rounds to late replacement Edgar Castaldelli Filho in their light heavyweight affair, but surged back for a stoppage win at 3:10 of the final period. Bodao is now expected to face the man Filho stepped in for, Wagner Prado, at the next edition of Max Fight.
Quick Hits
Jeremy Horn claimed the vacant Elite 1 MMA light heavyweight title at the Canadian promotion’s “Hostile Territory” event Saturday in Moncton, New Brunswick. The 13-time UFC veteran made quick work of Shawn Marchand, forcing the Ontario native to tap to a rear-naked choke at 2:18 of the first frame; after the loss, Marchand announced his retirement from MMA. The win was the 88th of Horn’s 15-year career, and his 59th victory by way of submission.
Japanese organization Zst and its rough-around-the-edges younger sibling, The Outsider, both staged events Sunday in Tokyo, with the Rings-born leagues hosting a total of five inter-promotional bouts. As in past exchanges, the more polished professionals of Zst won the series by a score of 3-0-2, including a pair of finishes by Naoyuki Kotani (60-second doctor stoppage of Ryo Asami) and Yojiro Uchimura (second-round TKO of Keinosuke Yoshinaga) in the co-main events of The Outsider 17. In the headliner of Zst’s “Battle Hazard 5,” ex-Sengoku featherweight Shigeki Osawa fought to a time-limit draw with Shunichi Shimizu.
More Weekend Event Coverage
• Takaya, Mousasi Retain Gold in Dream Title Doubleheader
• Shoe Fits: 'Cinderella Boy' Tokoro Takes Dream's Japan GP
• Rosholt Gets Revenge, Defeats Horwich at Shark Fights 17
• Featherweight Youngster Buschkamp Blazes to Victory in Germany
Related Articles
