back fist and Lee answered with a solid kick to Cheek's ribs that echoed throughout the ballroom, which inevitably drew the crowd to their feet as these big men continued to bang it out to the end of the round.



Round 3:

The final round saw Lee looking to bring the fight to Cheek. He charged at Cheek and tried using his size to force him against the ropes. Cheek circled to avoid being boxed in, while opting to use the outside to reestablish his range. Midway through the round Cheek delivered a sharp powerful shot to the ample belly of Lee, which momentarily had Lee doubled over in pain. Cheek waisted no time going in for the kill by following with a flying knee from a Thai clinch, which connected with the back of Lee's neck as Lee toppled over in pain from the shot to his gut. As Lee turned away from Cheek the referee stopped the fight at 1:52 and gave the TKO victory to Rick Cheek. Imani Lee began appealing to the referee and crowd that it had been an illegal groin shot which had doubled him over, but the replays on the big screens throughout the venue proved otherwise, so the crowd made sure to boo Lee for being a crybaby.





Quarter-Final #3 (3 rounds x 3 minutes with possible extra round):



Rickard Nordstrand (199 lbs) vs. Patrick Barry (232 lbs)



The evening's third quarter-final match paired the heavy-hitting Ernesto Hoost protégé Patrick Barry (14-3-1 : 8 KO's) of New Orleans, Louisiana against the professional Swedish hockey player and Muay Thai stylist Rickard Nordstrand (16-6 : 3 KO's).



Round 1:

From the first bell Patrick Barry came out swinging for the fences, almost immediately connecting with an overhand right, while establishing himself as the more confident and aggressive fighter. He proceeded to unleash a barrage of high kicks to Rickard Norstrand's head, which brought the crowd to its collective feet as they felt a brutal KO finish was in the works. Nordstrand showed some resilience by managing to escape most of this onslaught, but he was finally dropped for an eight-count by a thunderous left high kick. Despite two inadvertent groin shots from Nordstrand, Barry finished out the round constantly stalking Nordstrand around the ring.



Round 2:

Barry was able to quickly stagger Nordstrand with solid right kicks to the ribs at the start of the second stage. Nordstrand then retaliated by delivering yet another accidental groin shot with his foot. After Barry had time to recover, Nordstrand charged across the ring for an attempted flying knee. A noticably irritated Barry proceeded to punish Norstrand with an unforgiving right hook and an "accidental" groin shot of his own. This time with Nordstrand given time to recover, it was Barry who was first to the draw, delivering a sickening right leg kick to Nordstrand's already abused legs, which dropped Nordstrand for good at the 2:16 mark. In Thailand, there is an old adage that "if you kill the legs, the head will fall". These words proved to be all too true, as Barry's hand was raised in victory, while Nordstrand lay helplessly on the mat unable to rise again under his own power.





Quarter-Final #4 (3 rounds x 3 minutes with possible extra round):



Esh'Chadar "The Dispossessor" Brown Ton (221 lbs) vs. Zabit "Darting Arrow" Samedov (203 lbs)



The fourth and final quarter-final match pitted the Belarus native and Azerbaijan resident Zabit Samedov (50-5 : 26 KO's) against the Miami, Florida native and Dallas, Texas resident Esh'Chadar "The Dispossessor" Brown Ton (6-1 : 3 KO's). Earlier this year Samedov's ring savvy and skill had won over the Dutch fans, while advancing to the Semi-Finals in the World Grand Prix 2007 in Amsterdam. This time, he would look to do the same with the fans, while looking to advance further than he did in Holland.



Round 1:

The fight started off with an accidental head-butt in a clinch that bloodied Brown Ton's face, as he appeared to be visibly shaken from the blow. Samedov then proceeded to unleash a fury of spinning heel kicks, super-man punches, and menacing hooks to the body. Brown Ton was driven around the ring like a toy car, until he finally dropped to one knee, seeking a brief refuge from Samedov's wrath while trapped against the ropes. Brown Ton regained his feet only to hear the bell announce the end of the round.



Round 2:

In between rounds Brown Ton sat in his corner bloodied and appeared to be mentally and physically beaten from the first 3 minutes. Meanwhile, Samedov's face glistened with energy and the faintest of grins as he knew it was time to finish the job. The second round saw Brown Ton's face wiped clean of blood, but his nose had definitely been abused. Samedov circled and stalked Brown Ton before finally dropping him to his knees in the corner with a spinning heel kick to the ribs that would make MMA star Georges St. Pierre stand and take notice. When Brown Ton was unable to rise to his feet, the referee stopped the fight at the 1:05 mark via KO. Samedov then jumped up on the ropes with his hand raised in victory to the thunderous approval of cheers from the crowd.




--Intermission--



In a last minute change of events, it was announced Thursday that Germany's Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab was unable to obtain a travel visa from his homeland. He was subsequently scratched from this mega-card where he had been scheduled