November 22, 2004:
Ironheart Crown 8 "Ethereal"

QUICK RESULTS:
1 Joao Hurdy DEF Dave Pearson TKO 1:58 1
2 John Paun VS Kyle Watson Draw 5:00 2
3 Joe Pearson DEF Jay Estrada Submission (Triangle Choke) 1:41 1
4 Mario Williams DEF Charles Barron Submission (Armbar) 1:23 2
5 Andres Soares DEF Ulysses Rocha Decision (Unanimous) 5:00 2
6 Ron Fields DEF Jake Ambrose TKO 2:21 1
7 Gesias Calvancanti DEF Bart Palaszewski Submission (Choke) 1:03 1
8 Thiago Alves DEF Jason Chambers Submission (Verbal) 4:57 1
9 Miguel Torres DEF Alex Khanbabian Submission (Armbar) 1:01 1
10 Keith Wisniewski DEF Derrick Noble Decision (Unanimous) 5:00 3

Event Review
Written by Jason Rose
Reprinted from MMAringreport.com

The Ironheart Crown returned to Hammond, Indiana and the Hammond Civic Center with their own special brand of Mixed Martial Arts. Special because the Iron Heart Crown works like no other promotion to produce one of the most competitive and prestigious MMA events in the Midwest and on November 20, 2004, with The Iron Heart Crown VIII “Ethereal”, the tradition continued. After losing their original Main Event, which is now the Main Event for Ironheart Crown 9, and seeing many other bouts dropped and opponents switched, Ironheart called in fighters from across the country to fill spots and retain the integrity of the show. From as far as California and Florida and as close as Chicago, the fighters entertained a capacity crowd in traditional Ironheart Crown fashion.

Keith Wisniewski and Derrick Noble, two Midwest fighters, were bumped to the Main Event. Both carry modest win to loss ratios and had little on the line unless you consider pride and dignity petty emotions. Nevertheless, the match, at three five-minute rounds, was still a stepping-stone for each in the long road to determine the Shooto Americas Middleweight Title.

The opening minute was spent with the fighters feeling each other out. Each fighter feinted and countered trying to judge the others reaction until Wisniewski dropped and took Noble to the ground. The rest of the round was spent with Wisniewski, either in Noble’s guard or in the full mount just long enough to do damage before Noble could get guard back. One stall in the action and the referee stood the fighters, however, after some maneuvering, the fighters made their way back to the ground and the round ended in convincing fashion for Wisniewski.

The second round was a mirror image of the first, if you were on the other side of the mirror, and this round was more of Noble pressing the fight against Wisniewski. His tenacity paid dividends and throughout the round Noble found more and more openings in Wisniewski’s guard to exploit. The referee stood the fight up once again because of inaction and in subsequent action, the fighters hugged in the corner delivering some painful foot stomps to one another. In the tie up, Noble reached around Wisniewski, picked him up and threw him onto his back with a thud from the apron and a gasp from the crowd. Noble finished the second round in as dominating fashion as Wisniewski did the first.

The fighters came out of their corners for the final round determined to finish one another standing up in the middle of the ring. Understanding the fight was probably tied a round apiece, neither fighter wanted the fight decided by the judges, so they spent much of the round circling one another looking for the opening that would finish the fight. Midway through the round, Noble overextended once and Wisniewski got the takedown. In the full mount Wisniewski couldn’t finish Noble and despite working from a bad position Noble never quit. Another stand up and quick takedown by Wisniewski and the round ended with Wisniewski in a full mount landing shots to Noble’s head. Maybe not doing a lot of damage, but it was convincing enough for the judges to score the bout unanimously for Wisniewski.

In another preliminary bout to determine the Shooto Americas Middleweight Title, Thiago Alves from American Top Team out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Jason Chambers from ADCC veteran Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu out of Los Angeles, California battled in a fight that could very well have been the Main Event.

Alves and Chambers came out swinging for the fences. Alves was quicker to the punch and looked to be the stronger of the two fighters. Alves bullied Chambers against the ropes and landed a hook that dropped Chambers to a knee. Chambers tried holding onto Alves to keep from falling and, in a controversial move, because striking a downed opponent from a standing position is illegal, Alves planted his knee into Chambers’ face. The blow didn’t knock out Chambers, in fact, he got back to his feet and eventually reguarded but, the blood pouring from Chambers’ nose onto his shoulder and mat forced the referee to stop the action for the ringside doctor to examine. The blood flow was stopped and while the doctor tested Chambers’ nose for breaks, Chambers begged him to let the fight continue. The doctor let Chambers continue and as grim as the situation appeared, all Chambers needed was one thing to go his way.

In this night, that one thing didn’t happen. Alves pushed Chambers into the ropes and targeted the nose, one clean shot later, Alves sent Chambers to the ground and fell on Chambers to continue his onslaught. Chambers defended himself by rolling underneath the bottom rope and halfway off the ring apron. The blood start to pour again and this time the floor of the Civic Center was painted a little redder, Chambers couldn’t continue and when he got back into the ring he verbally submitted giving Thiago Alves the victory.

In Featherweight action, young, local Miguel Torres brought to the ring his serenading Mariachi Band, an impressive 32-1 record and a reputation for finishing fights fast. His opponent, Alex Khanbabian of San Francisco, California and the Ralph Gracie Academy, many years Torres’ elder carried in a far less daunting record at 3-1, but the fight was one of the more anticipated of the evening.

The round started fast and furious and both displayed some impressive skills striking. But Torres used a significant reach advantage and was the first to land anything meaningful and knocked down Khanbabian forcing a standing 8 count. After the count, Torres moved in and got a takedown and worked for an armbar, eventually the hold was in too deep and Khanbabian was forced to tapout in the first round.

Bart “Bartimus” Palaszewski of Curran Martial Arts and Gesias Cavalcante of American Top Team were matched up in another preliminary bout to determine the Shooto Americas Welterweight title. Palaszewski took some hard shots from Cavalcante and defended himself by trying to get a takedown. He succeeded in the takedown, but fell into a guillotine choke and tried to escape, but Cavalcante was far too strong. Palaszewski held on for as long as he could but finally tapped shortly into the first round. He probably held on too long because while Cavalcante celebrated his victory in the middle of the ring with some break dancing, Palaszewski moved only with help for several minutes. Before the worry got to be too much, “Bartimus” popped up off the apron and congratulated Cavalcante.

Jake Ambrose was a victim of one of the fights that had seen an opponent drop out. His replacement was Ron Fields. Fields entered the ring with a less than menacing stature and Ambrose looked the part of a terrorizing, bone breaker. But, of course, looks can be deceiving and often are. Ambrose got an early takedown after he found out Fields wasn’t going to be a push over. Ambrose worked an ankle lock, but couldn’t finish as Fields easily rolled out of the attempted submission and got side mount on Ambrose where the referee finally had to stop the fight because of the punishment Fields was handing down on Ambrose.

In another Featherweight Bout, Andre Soares, another fighter from American Top Team, and Ulysses Rocha fought in a two x five minute round match. Both fighters were impressive at countering one another’s takedowns and sub attempts but after two rounds, the judges awarded Soares the unanimous decision.

Charles Barron and Mario Williams put on one of the better fights of the night in an exhibition bout that wouldn’t count against their records. Williams showed a better-rounded repertoire of striking and ground skills. However, Barrown wasn’t going to make it easy, often pressing the action and forcing Williams to do some things he didn’t want to do such as fight from his back. The two put on a show for the crowd, the action was so constant the crowd was cheering through the fight and it seemed the fighters were the conductors orchestrating to the crowd. When the two circled each other, catching their breath, the applause would settle and on cue the fighters would break into a flurry sending the crowd into another frenzy. Williams slammed Barron to the apron hard several times, but Barron had some wrestling experience and never seemed out of place from his back. However, he did tire faster and Williams took advantage and finally applied a reverse naked choke that couldn’t have been any deeper.

Barron never gave up and the crowd starting getting behind Barron trying to help him through the sub attempt. Barron did get out and crowd rewarded him with applause but Barron had expended a lot of energy and made a mistake by giving Williams his arm. Williams locked in the armbar, but again Barron wasn’t giving up. In Shooto rules, “if the referee deems that the fighter caught in the hold is in danger but refusing to submit, he may terminate the bout.” Now was certainly the time to call a “catch”. Williams bent Barron’s arm in several directions and several at ringside squinted waiting to hear and see the snap of Barron’s arm (I know because I squinted and turned my head from the expectation). Finally, Barron did submit and both fighters were given a rich ovation from the crowd.

Joe Pierson of Miletich Fighting Systems defeated Jay Estrada in less than two minutes of the first round of their bout. Pierson pulled guard on Estrada after a takedown and wrapped his legs around Estrada’s head submitting him with a triangle choke.

John Paun and Kyle Watson fought to a majority draw in their two round bout. Paun displayed an effective ground and pound style that never put Watson in a lot of danger but was effective in getting points. Watson had several sub attempts that he could never quite finish. The most meaningful was a triangle attempt that Paun finally escaped by picking Watson up and dropping him. The two fought to a majority draw.

Joao Herdy and Dave Persin opened the night, and Herdy made quick work of Persin. Herdy knocked down Persin early in the fight, barely making the standing 8 count, Persin went toe to toe again and subsequently got knocked down again. This time the referee was forced to call fight.

This was only the eighth show in five years for the Ironheart Crown and for fans of MMA, we can only hope they do more. The IHC matchmaking spares no expense to insure quality fights, even if it means flying in fighters from across the country or even from outside the country. The staff is friendly and helpful, often helping you to your seat and thanking you for coming and production members are tuxedoed and constantly walking through the crowd and mingling making sure everyone is having a good time.

The Hammond Civic Center is fits appropriately between 2,000 and 2,500 MMA fans, and with balcony seating there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The IHC has set a standard for other Midwest fight organizations, and they continue to pull off quality shows in a small, rural town whose claim to fame is being just 30 minutes from downtown Chicago, only if there’s no traffic!

Any unauthorized use of any Photo's without the expressed written consent of MMA Ring Report LTD is strictly prohibited

Questions or Comments? Email them to
sushiboy@mmaringreport.com

MMAringreport.com

Hammond is a small town in Indiana just east of downtown Chicago, and is home to one of the Midwest’s most popular Mixed Martial Arts events, the Ironheart Crown. On Saturday, June 5, the Hammond Civic Center served as host to the Ironheart Crown’s seventh event, The Crucible.

The fight card featured fighter names as big as the town is small. Originally, the main event was set to feature UFC veteran Keith Hackney’s number one student Gideon Ray versus Curtis Stout. However, Stout pulled out of the fight when he got “the Call”, from the UFC to step up and fight Lee Murray in the UFC. Instead, Jason Black, of the Miletich Fighting Systems, stepped in to take Stout’s place. Considered by many to be one of the top ten welterweights in the world, Black’s addition to the fight card was a strong addition. Gideon Ray’s last opponent, Jason Medina, also of MFS, was finished by Ray 10 months ago by TKO early in the second round of their bout. A win by Black could serve as some order of redemption for his teammate so with a little bit of back story and some obligatory trash talking at the weigh ins, the main event was full of drama and ready to go.

Lead by Miletich teammates, Jens Pulver, Spencer Fisher, and Jason Reinhardt, Black was introduced first. Stone faced and pacing his corner, Black listened to his cornermen’s final instructions. Introduced as, “The Assassin”, Gideon Ray and his entourage entered the ring in ominous fashion. A line of black hoods walked the side of the ring, with the head executioner stepping into the ring looking to behead his farmer tanned opponent, but unfortunately for Ray, Black wasn’t going to lay his head on a chopping block.

Black and the relentless ground and pound that some Miletich fighters have become known for, and Ray with his quick footed, fast punching style were well known to both fighters coming in. Over 2,000 people in attendance were about to find out which fighter would be able to impose his style when the bell rung to start the first round.

Black and Ray started the round circling each other with neither looking anxious to make the first move. Black continued to move, extending the left arm to measure the distance, and Ray bounded from side to side looking for a chance to counter any move.
Black finally cornered Ray and shot in for a takedown and finished by putting Ray on his back, where he would spend most of the of the first round. Black smothered Ray like a steel blanket on the ground, moving in and out of side control or a full mount at will. Ray tried to fight from the bottom, but leverage and Black never allowed him to do any real damage. Black stayed active, and the first round ended with the MFS fighter in control.

The second round started much the same as the first. Everyone watching knew the key was going to be Ray’s ability to keep the fight on their feet, a feat which is easier said then done. Black waited for his chance and shot in again taking the fight to the mat and the theme for the rest of the round might as well have been, 4-1, 4-1, 3-1. 4 to the body and 1 to the head. With every 1 to the head, a smacking sound came from the ring, followed by a collective, “whhoaa!” from the crowd and Black’s corner. Again, Black won the second round but he had to fight harder to keep the position and looked to be tiring and slowing. The question was how much gas would Ray have after getting beat up for two rounds.

When the third round started everyone waited for Black to takedown Ray. And it happened, but this time the stand-ups came quicker and Black was finally showing signs of fatigue. Ray took advantage of the opportunity and for the first time, had a chance to fight on his feet. Ray landed a left hook that wobbled Black. Ray who also looked fatigued, waited to see if Black was going to go down but Black hung tough and was able to finish another takedown. They stood again and Ray landed again, there was just too much Jason Black for Ray to finish, but Ray did much more in the third than Black and took the last round for himself. In the end, every judge scored the fight 2 rounds to 1 for Jason Black. What the loss means to Ray is unsure. If Ray acquires a world class sprawl, he could become a dominant welterweight and a fighter worthy of the title “Assassin”. As for Black, he continues his streak as the overshadowed welterweight in the Miletich camp, taking home another victory to add to his undefeated record.

In feature bout action, Miguel Torres and Mustafa Hussaini squared off in a preliminary bout to determine the SHOOTO Americas Featherweight title. When Torres was introduced he took his time coming to the ring, as he was accompanied by a Mariachi Band that played for Torres as he was followed by his family.

The ringside feeling was that Torres would walk right through Hussaini, and for a moment it seemed that would be true. Torres’ first punch of the round, a straight right, dropped Hussaini flat on his back, but Torres didn’t follow up, supremely confident that he would finish the fight hard and fast regardless. Hussaini had another agenda however, and was able to take Torres down on more than one occasion and did some damage of his own. In between rounds, Hussaini seemed to be the more fatigued fighter and Torres appeared to just be biding his time. The first two rounds were hard fought with Torres edging out the rounds but there was no quit in Hussaini with only one round to go. It was not meant to be for Hussaini however and when the two fighters exchanged again, Torres sent Hussaini into the corner and followed with a flying knee. Hussaini spun and fell to the mat, and this time Torres unloaded a maddening flurry of strikes that forced the referee to end the fight.

In more action, “Robocop” Stephan Bonnar made short work of last minute replacement Sean Sallee with an armbar tapout at 2:28 of the first round.

Justin Wisniewski lost to Antoine Skinner via unanimous decision.

Christina Allen, from Denver, Colorado, who was cornered by Duane Ludwig ran into a mound of muscle also known as Antonio Carvalho. Carvalho, from the Shah Franco Team from Ontario, Canada, traded strikes with Allen while on their feet, and dominated the fight on the ground. Carvalho finished the fight with dominating ground and pound from the mount, until the ref stopped the fight at 3:55 of the second round, giving Carvalho the victory in this preliminary bout for the SHOOTO Americas Lightweight Title.

In one of the most exciting fights of the night, Henry Matamoros of the Pedro Sauer Team from Milwaukee faced Rick Davis of the Vegas Combat Club from Las Vegas. Matamoros scored a flash knockdown early in the first and from there, no position was safe. Both fighters fought hard from every bad position and angle with Davis getting the better of Matamoros on their feet. By the middle of the third, Davis had Matamoros bleeding heavily from the nose and did more damage on the whole, but the knockdown in the first hurt Davis. One judge scored the fight for Matamoros, on Judge scored the fight for Davis and the third called the fight a draw so the fight was declared a Draw.

In the lone heavyweight fight of the night, big Jeff Monson of American Top Team choked out Don Richards from the north/south position at 2:25 of the second round.

Bill Hill of Straight-Blast gym loses his second fight after winning five straight. His opponent, Terry Martin failed to make weight, but Hill allowed the fight to happen with the weight concession. He may be regretting that decision in hindsight, after one standing 8 count Martin landed a looping right hand that nailed Hill on the chin and sent him into the ropes. Martin wins by KO at 2:57 of the second round and called out Stephan Bonner for a rematch, a fight which may take place in November.

John Mahlow and John Paun fought through two 5-minute rounds. Paun, from Curran Martial Arts out of Crystal Lake, Illinois brought a large following with him that cheered him all the way through. They also chanted, “Bullshit”, when the ring announcer called out Paun’s name as the judge’s unanimous decision winner.

Jay Buck was scheduled to fight in a preliminary bout for the SHOOTO Americas Middleweight Title, but Buck was a no call, no show and last minute replacement Christopher Moore stepped in to face Keith Wisniewski. Wisniewski took advantage of Moore’s unavoidable lack of preparation and tapped Moore out at 1:59 of the first round by rear naked choke.

In the end the whole show came together nicely. The programs were high quality and very informative, they included a schedule of events, the rules, a brief SHOOTO history lesson and most importantly pictures of all the fighters in the order they were fighting, an uncommon bonus on most local shows. There was also plenty of entertainment to keep fans interested when fights weren't going on. Acapella vocalist J.D. Mathein sang the National Anthem, and at the intermissions there were award ceremonies to recognize the shows sponsors. Later on in the evening, dueling violinists played a classical piece to the beat of hip-hop music, on top of other amenities. Champagne was at the ringside tables, attractive women were serving alcohol, loads of merchandise was for sale in the lobby, and the fighters mingled with the crowd after their fights.

It was very clear no expense was spared to make "The Crucible" a quality show. That being said, the most important key to any successful show is quality matches, and that they had. There was a perfect mix of local talent mixed in with fighters coming from as far away as Denver, Florida, and Toronto. Congratulations to the Ironheart Crown for a great show.

All Photo's are copyrighted and not for use without permission.

Ironheart Crown VIII will return to the Hammond Civic Center on Saturday, November 20 and you can visit their website at www.ironheartcrown.com.

The full results are as follows
Keith Wisniewski over Chris Moore - 1:59 of Rd. 1 - Rear choke
John Mahlow over John Paun - end of Rd. 2 - Unanimous Decision
Terry Martin over Bill Hill - 2:57 of Rd. 2 - KO
Jeff Monson over Don Richards - 2:25 of Rd. 2 - 69 Choke
Rick Davis and Henry Matamoros - draw after 3 x 5 minute rounds
Antonio Carvalho over Christian Allen - 3:55 of Rd. 2 - Strikes mount
Antoine Skinner over Justin Wisniewski - U.D. 2 x 5 minute rounds
Stephan Bonnar over Sean Sallee - 2:28 of Rd. 1 - Triangle
Miguel Torres over Mustafa Hussaini - Referee stoppage Rd. 3
Jason Black over Gideon Ray - after 3 x 5 minute rounds - Unanimous Decision

Headlining the card, local standout and Keith Hackney protege Gideon Ray will take on UFC veteran Curtis Stout in what promises to be a hailstorm. While both fighters are adept on the ground, Ray is sure to bring his lighting-fast hands to contend with the powerful thai kicking skills which Stout has come to be known and feared for. The man still standing at the end of three rounds will qualify to compete for the North & South American Middleweight Shooto Americas title.

Next up: the Chicago area's two most aggressive featherweights finally meet in what promises to be one of the fastest paced bouts of the night. Miguel Torres, undefeated against local competition, will face Mustafa Hussaini, the only man left with the potential to steal Miguel's bragging rights as the toughest 132 pound fighter in the Chicago area. In a subsequent show, the winner of this bout will advance to the semi-finals in the Shooto Americas tournament for the featherweight title.

The ball keeps rolling when Stephan Bonnar, undefeated in local competition, takes on a deadly newcomer in Davion Peterson of Indianapolis. Thus far, Bonnar has won all of his IHC bouts by submission, while Peterson comes to the table with all of his victories earned in the form of TKO! While both men are well-rounded athletes, this fight will go to the man who finds a way to dictate the direction of the fight.

Henry Matamoros was one of the first and greatest stars in Ironheart history but has been absent from IHC competition for nearly three years. June 5th will see him back in the ring against a new Shooto standout imported from the City of Sin! Hailing from Las Vegas, Rick Davis brings a strong background in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to his IHC debut. In only three MMA bouts, he has earned Class-A status and his performance has impressed the US Shooto Commissioner so much that the sanctioning body made this fight mandatory!

In the lightweight division, two heavy hitters from the Midwest lock horns in a fight that may never touch the canvas. Mike Haltom made his name by nearly knocking out the #1 ranked World Shooto lightweight contender in his Shooto debut. With his heavy hands and his aggressive assault, lightweights far and wide are afraid to face him in the ring. Nevertheless, Pat Miletich has a man by the name of Joe Jordan in Davenport, Iowa who does not harbor such a fear. With his 13 victories earned primarily by KO, TKO, or submission, Jordan is confident that Haltom will not have his hand raised on this night!

The welterweight division promises to provide an equal dose of excitement when Jason Ireland (13-3) of Romeo, Michigan faces a local hero in Justin Wisniewski (15-9) in a preliminary for the Shooto Americas Welterweight title! Both fighters have competed around the world, showcasing a heavy armamentarium comprised of top-notch striking and grappling skills which have earned them each a victory-laden fight record. On June 5th, one of them will add another win to the tally while the other bears the burden of a loss.

Tommy Lee has made easy work of local competition in all of his Ironheart bouts thus far. On June 5th, in a lightweight Shooto Americas title preliminary, Christian Allen will journey from Denver, Colorado to stake his claim for the belt. Allen will have to avoid Lee's powerful takedowns in order to take advantage of his muay thai skills, but when the fight hits the mat, Allen's 52-0 submission record will testify that he has the skills to contend with Lee's relentless ground-and-pound assault.

As promoter Braulio Corral puts it, "Every bout on this card could easily serve as a main event in other local shows." Jay Buck, Bill Hill, Virgil Strzelecki, Jake Ambrose, and Rafal Piszcek all return to the ring, while Keith Wisniewski and Terry Martin make their IHC debuts. No card in the history of Chicago MMA has ever featured such a heavily stacked line up of talent so equally matched on paper... And with all of the heavy hitters set to compete in this show, IHC VII has the potential to be the fastest-paced, most action-packed Ironheart to date. "There's going to be a lot of good knockouts in this show," predicts Michael Castellano, promoter of the Chicago Challenge.

"I'm calling this show 'The Crucible,'" says IHC founder, Eric Moon. "Everyone thinks of a crucible as a container used to melt metals, but the word 'crucible' can also refer to an extreme trial characterized by the confluence of powerful forces. That is what this show is going to be!"

Ironheart Crown VII, The Crucible will be held on Saturday, June 5th at the Hammond Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana. Tickets are on sale now and a limited number of ringside seats and tables are available. To obtain further information or to purchase tickets, call 773-793-6555 in the Chicago area, or 219-688-7363 in Northwest Indiana. Tickets may also be purchased online with a credit card at www.ironheartcrown.com.