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Heat Fighting Championship 1 Times are changing in Brazil as new event debuted in flamboyant style! By Eduardo Alonso
As any MMA show worldwide couldn't leave only from good production and presentations, the fighting card was also very interesting, combining some promising newcomers with well known Brazilian veterans and still managing to add some international flavor to the show. Taking place in the city of Natal, up in the northeast of the country, HEAT FC in its first edition gave opportunity to some tough local fighters, since rarely a Northeastern fighter from Brazil is given a chance to compete in a prestigious event. Talents such as Paulo Guerreiro, who is now bound to participate at the AFC, Fabio Bolinho and Silmar Rodrigo took advantage of their opportunities and showed the value of the local fighters. Newcomers Eduardo Simoes, from Ruas Vale Tudo, and Marcelo Azevedo, even in a losing effort, also proved they have a future in the sport and were just needing a chance. Experienced fighters such as Alexandre Barros, Ebenezer Braga and Renato Babalu fought in Brazil for the first time in recent years, and that alone was a achievement itself by the show, while American Forrest Griffin finally had the chance to face a top fighter proving he is indeed a talented fighter and his countryman Ben Rothwell treated the fans to a truly brawl against veteran Carlos Barreto, who finally was able to showcase his newfound Muay Thai skills scoring his first ever KO standing up. All in all the show had numerous attractions, making this and unforgettable experienced for those who attended, and leaving major expectations for HEAT FC 2 in November, as the promoters and promising a even bigger show. However, November is still some months away, and since we're doing a review here, it's time to run you trough the action of the fights themselves: The preliminary bouts brought matches with 3 rounds of 5 minutes each, and a chance for fighters wanting to establish their reputation to show their skills. The show started with local fighter Fabio Bolinho bringing his Jiu-Jitsu skills against Gracie Barra late replacement Savio Maia, who took the fight in a one week notice for the injured Charles Andrade: Fabio Bolinho vs. Savio Maia: The fight started with Fabio taking it to the ground on the spot, just to suffer numerous attacks from Savio who was displaying an active ground work. At one point Maia locked a Kimura on Bolinho that seemed to be about to end the bout at any minute, but with the crowd on his side Bolinho just refused to tap and battled his way out of the submission attempt. The second and third rounds saw Fabio unleashing his ground and pound game, cutting Savio above his nose and wearing him out, to a point he would only butt-scoot and get punished on the stand up exchanges, giving Bolinho a fair judges' decision. Paulo Guerreiro vs. Magnus Decio: Magnus Decio came into the fight also with the support from the local crowd, and high expectation as he just won his division at RN Vale Tudo 2 tournament. However, Guerreiro's experience and better stand up were too much for him to handle. Trough numerous failed takedown attempts Magnus took plenty of punishment from knee strikes, punches and kicks, as Paulo was way superior on the stand up game. To his credit, Magnus showed the heart of a lion as he endured the severe punishment till the end, refusing to tap out and giving a judges' decision to Paulo Guerreiro. Eduardo Simoes vs. Carlos Indio: Coming from the Ruas Vale Tudo team, young Eduardo Simoes came in to the HEAT FC ring to make his debut in MMA, as he was already known in Brazilian submission wrestling circles for his good ground game. On the ohter side of the ring was a dangerous opponent in Carlos Indio, as he held wins over Paulo Guerreiro and Rivanio Aranha, two northeastern stand outs, in recent bouts and was reported to have a very strong punch. Smartly, Simoes avoided the stand up action during all fight with numerous takedowns where both guys scrambled in the ground with Eduardo getting the nod most of the times. In the end the characteristic ankle-locks from the Ruas Vale Tudo team proved to be the deciding factor as Simoes finished Indio twice on the fight with the same move, one time in the very end of the first round with Indio being saved by the bell [he tapped out a second after the bell started to rang] and another time for good in the second round, earning him the first win of his career, by ankle lock. After the preliminary bouts there came the undercard and the main events, where all fights had the 1st round of 10 minutes, and the 2nd and 3rd of five minutes each. At this point the fighter entrances also had a special treatment in terms of lights and other gimmicks, and it was time for the veterans to compete: Alexandre "Baixinho" Barros vs. Josenildo Tigre: Alexandre Barros, out of the RVT as well, is another guy that was making his comeback to Brazil after a long time. The former IVC champion last fought in Hook N' Shoot and WEF, and was a little nervous in his comeback to the ring. Josenildo on the other hand was coming from fights at MECA and Bitetti Combat, and had the support from the crowd. During the fight neither of the fighters took risks and this caused a somewhat stalled fight. In the end, Barros used his experienced to dominate the clinches and get more takedowns, earning a split decision in a fight that left most spectators disappointed. Angelo Araujo vs. Edson Paredao: Angelo Araujo is a tough veteran from MECA and IVC Venezuela, with wins over names such as Nilson de Castro, Claudio Godoy and Cyborg. This was the first time he was fighting under the Brazilian Top Team flag, and a lot of expectations were created regarding his participation. His opponent, Edson Paredao, was coming from a WVC win over Mark Smith and impressed everybody with his physique. Unfortunately for him his skills weren't as impressive, and a somewhat out of shape Angelo was able to control him on the ground for most part of the fight, achieving the better positions and laying punishment from the top with a series of punches that weren't defended, causing the referee to step up and stop the bout giving Araujo a TKO win. Forrest Griffin vs. Ebenezer Fontes Braga: This was one of the most awaited fights of the evening and it certainly was one of the most exciting. Braga last fight was against Gary Goodridge in the very end of 2001, and the long hiatus between his last fight and his appearance at HEAT FC proved to cost him a great deal. Griffin on the other end has been coming off a series of impressive wins, amazingly attracting little attention from American promoters. With the chance of his life at HEAT Forrest impressed everybody with his calmness since he arrived in Brazil, and in the ring he showed the reason for such confidence. The fight started with Ebenezer taking Forrest down after a one-two combination from the American followed by a kick to the ribs. Once on the ground Griffin kept busy with his guard work, not allowing Braga to do anything to him. After a stand up both guys traded strikes and surprisingly Griffin wasn't phased by a good combination by Ebenezer that connected to his face, and instead he engaged in the stand up with more appetite than before! After a series of Muay Thai clinches exchanges by both fighters, Braga ended up falling to the ground where Forrest quickly passed his guard and unleashed punishment from side control, with knees and punches to the head, to then get mount position and continue to do damage, forcing the Brazilian fighter to give him his back and find himself on a rear naked choke still in the first round, giving Forrest Griffin the most important win of his career so far. Renato Babalu Sobral vs. Marcelo "Uirapuru" Azevedo: Fresh and ready from his training for his fight at Extreme Force in England, that never came trough, Babalu was fighting in Brazilian soil for the first time since the early days of his career and was the heavily favorite over Gracie Barra black belt Marcelo Azevedo, who as debuting in MMA. Needless to say Babalu controlled all the action during the first two rounds, with takedowns and his traditional ground and pound game to wear out Azevedo. To his credit Azevedo showed great composure and a very good ground game. Being outweighed and lacking in experience, Marcelo was able to defend himself well from Renato due to a very good guard, and managed to keep the fight a contest until the third round. In the final round, feeling the fight was already yours, Babalu started to give a show to the fans, running across the ring as his opponent was but-scooting, jumping over his guard and stomping his chest, and performing some neat stand up strikes. In the end both guys were winners as Babalu got the crowd's respect and the judges' decision, and Azevedo won everybody's respect as a good fighter. Silmar Rodrigo vs. Henrique "Chocolate" Nogueira: Being the most famous of the local fighters at the show, and holding wins over MECA 9 winner Marcelo Grillo and Johil de Oliveira, Silmar Rodrigo came to the ring to face Brazilian Top Team member Henrique Nogueira with a major crowd support and plenty of expectations. Chocolate, on the other hand, took the fight on short notice as a replacement for Curtis Stout. Silmar did what he had to do to win the fight, controlling the action with takedowns, ground and pound and during stand up, apart from a knockdown he suffered during the bout. It was a solid performance, showing he is now ready for bigger tasks and will most likely get it at HEAT FC 2. In the end, a fair judges' decision to Silmar. Carlos Barreto vs. Ben Rothwell: The main event matched up two heavyweights to literally shake the HEAT FC ring. Barreto was coming to this fight willing to prove to everybody he was a new fighter, with his recent stand up skills and will to be aggressive in his fights. Rothwell on the other hand was needing a chance to fight in a bigger show and prove his value against a famous opponent, and the PRIDE and UFC veteran Barreto seemed like the right opportunity. The fight began with Carlos trying to take Rothwell down in a movement that tested the resistance of the ropes, just to be forced to continue to fight standing up. He then took the opportunity to punish Rothwell with punches to his face and a series of low kicks, completely dominating the stand up and leaving everybody with the impression the fight would be over soon. However Ben proved to be extremely tough enduring a severe punishment and showing no signs of quitting. Soon Barreto got a knockdown from a high kick to the American's face driving the crowd crazy, just to see Ben stand up again and keep battling! When things were looking like total domination by the BTT fighter, suddenly Carlos gassed and everybody got stunned as Rothwell once again showed great heart and turned the fight around, taking the Brazilian to the ground and punishing him from side control with knees and punches to his head! When the fight was going his way Ben made a crucial mistake and called Barreto to stand up again. Like in a movie scene, the extremely tired Brazilian veteran put all he had in one final strike and landed a powerful round house kick to Rothwell's face sending the heavily damaged and extremely tough fighter out for good. It was as dramatic as it could have been as Carlos Barreto was the winner by KO and the crowd erupted in excitation. In the end, HEAT FC 1: GENESIS had everything, from submissions, to dramatic knockouts, never seen before production and even a challenge by Ebenezer Braga to Forrest Griffin for a rematch inside the ring, and a emotional Babalu crying after his win due to the loss of his step-brother one month ago. The concept of the show was to bring a spectacle, and a spectacle was presented in all senses. Let's await HEAT FC 2 this coming November as our sport continues to evolve. |
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