Weekend Rundown: Shamrock Outpoints Ivey at Cajundome

UFC hall of famer Ken Shamrock, now closer to 50 than he is to 40, earned a unanimous decision against Johnathan Ivey in the USA Mixed Martial Arts “Return of the Champions” headliner on Saturday at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La. All three judges scored it 30-27 for the 46-year-old Shamrock.

Shamrock, who began his professional MMA career 17 years ago, picked up just his second win in the past six years. Perhaps best known for his one-sided trilogy with former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, he has not won consecutive fights in more than a decade.

High Stops Allen at Heat XC 6

UFC veteran Jason High stopped previously unbeaten Canadian prospect Keto Allen on first-round strikes in the Heat XC 6 “Bragging Rights” main event on Friday at the Mayfield Inn Trade and Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Allen met his demise 2:08 into round one.

High dropped Allen with a crisp combination, followed him to the ground and finished him there with a series of unanswered punches.

Pruned from the UFC roster following his unanimous decision loss to AMA Fight Club standout Charlie Brenneman in March, High has since rattled off back-to-back wins. The 29-year-old Antonio McKee protégé was a finalist in the 2009 Dream welterweight grand prix, where he succumbed to a head kick from Marius Zaromskis.

Other winners at Heat XC 6 included Maximum Fighting Championship veteran Elliot Duff (second-round technical knockout against Cody Krahn), King of the Cage veteran Mike Froese (first-round TKO over Billy Torrence) and the unbeaten Shane Campbell (first-round TKO against Leo Constant).

Linhares Ends Skid, Stops Whitesel

UFC exile Lucio Linhares needed less than half a minute to dispatch Mitch Whitesel on first-round punches at Fight Festival 28 on Saturday at the Toolo Sports Hall in Helsinki, Finland. Linhares put away Whitesel just 28 seconds into round one.

Linhares has never lost under the Fight Festival banner. The 36-year-old Brazilian had not competed since being cut by the UFC following consecutive defeats to leg lock connoisseur Rousimar Palhares and the world-ranked Yushin Okami.

Meanwhile, Pride Fighting Championships veteran Luiz Azeredo outpointed Niko Puhakka en route to a unanimous decision. The first man to defeat reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Azeredo has alternated between wins and losses in each of his past eight appearances.

Other victors at Fight Festival 28 included Marcus Vanttinen, who struck Ivan Serati into first-round submission, Mikko Rupponen, who submitted John Doyle with a second-round arm-triangle choke, and Toni Valtonen, who put away Sean Salmon on first-round punches.

Quick Hits

World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Luis Santos posted his ninth win in 10 fights, as he knocked out Ivan Jorge with a first-round knee at Amazon Fight 5 on Thursday at the State University of Para School of Physical Education Gymnasium in Belem, Brazil. Jorge was felled 52 seconds into round one … Elite Japanese flyweight Masaaki Sugawara knocked out Ayumu Shioda with a knee and follow-up punches at Shooto “Shooting Disco 13” on Saturday at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo. Sugawara finished Shioda 14 seconds into the third round. Three of Sugawara’s five career defeats have come to flyweights ranked in the Top 10: Mamoru Yamaguchi, Ryuichi Miki and Fumihiro Kitahara … Ray Elbe took less than a minute to submit Shannon Ritch with a first-round triangle choke at Martial Combat 11 on Friday in the Compass Ballroom at Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre in Sentosa, Singapore. Ritch has lost seven consecutive bouts, all of them finishes. He has been submitted 53 times in his 121-fight career.