World Grand Prix tournaments are the pinnacle and most celebrated contests in any combat sport, whether it's kickboxing, boxing, submission grappling, or mixed martial arts, and just like in any tournament, they always have their clear favorites and potential darkhorses entering the field in these gladiatorial 8-man ironman competitions. Friends, oddsmakers, and the Las Vegas sports books alike usually base their lines on the common understanding of each fighter's chances in each of his three potential match-ups throughout the night. However, on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at K-1's annual "Battle at the Bellagio" in Las Vegas, Nevada it would not be that simple for those trying to predict an accurate forecast for the winner of the prestigious K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas. As each man entered the field of eight in hopes of winning this sought-after crown and earning an automatic bid to next month's 16-man K-1 Final Elimination in Seoul, South Korea, it would prove to be the most unlikely of champions by night's end.
--Preliminary Bouts--
Undercard K-1 Rules Fight (3 rounds x 3 minutes):
Peyton "The Artist" Russell (127 lbs) vs. Raymond "Rio de Janeiro" Daniels (125 lbs)
The first fight of the night on the undercard was a bout between two 125 pounders. In the blue corner was the hometown Las Vegas, Nevada fighter Peyton "The Artist" Russell (4-2 : 1 KO) and he would be squaring off with the man in the red corner Raymond "Rio de Janeiro" Daniels (1-1) in the red corner hailing from San Jose, California.
Round 1:
It was a brutal opening round in the first bout of the evening to start off the festivities. It showcased speed, technique, and an excess of energy from Raymond Daniels. Daniels was able to deliver a seemingly endless array of kicks on Peyton Russell that would make any Tae Kwan Do stylist or Kung Fu movie buff proud.
Round 2:
Daniels continued his onslaught of the gutsy Russell, as he slammed a generous assortment of high kicks, spinning-heel kicks, axe kicks, and flying knees into Russell's battered body much to the amusement of those fans that arrived early to the event.
Round 3:
Daniels was able to deliver his strikes with accuracy and ease in a fashion that could only be described as dynamic. The striking clinic, courtesy of Daniels, finally finished at 2:20 of the third round via TKO due to K-1's three knockdown rule, as Russell was taken to the mat three times even being completely knocked through the ropes at one point.
Reserve K-1 Rules Fight (3 rounds x 3 minutes with possible extra round):
Doug "Vicious" Viney (207 lbs) vs. Mahmoud "Mo" Fawzy (225 lbs)
The second preliminary match of the night was an alternate match for a potential spot in the 8-man World Grand Prix taking place later in the night. This was to ensure that there would be an active replacement ready in case one of the eight featured tournament fighters was injured during the competiton and could not continue into the later rounds of the tournament. This fight took place before a sparsely populated ballroom crowd, pitting Mahmoud "Mo" Fawzy (19-1-1 : 12 KO's) against Ray Sefo protégé Doug Viney (15-5 : 9 KO's) hailing from Auckland, New Zealand.
Round 1:
It was a quick and thrilling match where Doug "Vicious" Viney demonstrated KO punching power, which is characteristic of his fellow New Zealand countrymen Ray Sefo and Mark Hunt. Viney's accurate and powerful hands found Mahmoud "Mo" Fawzy unable to respond or cover up fast enough. Viney landed a right hand and followed with an uppercut that were able to knock Fawzy to the mat twice in rapid succession, which ended the fight at 2:08 mark of Round 1 in accordance with the World Grand Prix's two knockdown rule in a reserve bout. Viney gave a modest nod of his head as his hand was raised by his less modest instructor Ray Sefo. Viney had made a successful first appearance in K-1, while giving us a preview of what we should expect of him in his future fights to come.
Women's K-1 Rules Fight (3 rounds x 2 minutes):
Van Do Milnes (112 lbs) vs. Ardra "The Mexican Machine Gun" Hernandez (112 lbs)
The final preliminary match featured the lone female fight of the night. In my mind it was the dubbed the "Battle of OTM at the Battle at Bellagio" as both women were adorned in OTM shorts and insignia. In the blue corner was K-1 legend Cung Le's understudy Van Do Milnes (7-3) of San Jose, California who had Cung Le in her corner. Standing across the ring from Milnes in the red corner was the hometown Las Vegas, Nevada native and Master Toddy student Ardra "The Mexican Machine Gun" Hernandez (12-1), who is well-known from her time spent on the Oxygen Network's Muay Thai reality television show "Fight Girls".
Round 1:
Ardra Hernandez took the center of the ring to start the action. She appeared
|
