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McDonald Regains His Reign Written By Michael Afromowitz muaythaimes@aol.com In a sold-out event filled with non-stop thrills and heart-pounding action, two-time K-1 tournament champion Michael McDonald reclaimed his throne in North America by earning a unanimous judges' decision over a ferocious Dewey "The Black Kobra" Cooper during the K-1 "Battle At The Bellagio II" tournament at Las Vegas, Nevada's Bellagio Hotel and Casino on Friday, April 30th. From the outset of his quarterfinal round matchup with K-1 Superfight veteran and tournament first-timer, Marvin Eastman, McDonald's chances capturing a third K-1 tournament title on United States ground appeared bleak as he was roughed up in the first three minutes by his aggressive and somewhat unorthodox opponent. Eastman scored a handful of jumping knee strikes to the Canadian's midsection before landing a hard left hand that sent his opponent reeling back towards the corner. During an exchange, McDonald was put on the canvas for a partial referee 10-count. McDonald rallied big in the second and put Eastman on his knees with a straight left hand. After he was given a standing eight-count, Eastman beat victimized again by his opponent's sharp punches. A slip was ruled after Eastman hit the mat from a McDonald left hook, but McDonald finished the job with a second left hook that sent Eastman down on his stomach. K-1's two knockdown rule, whereby a fighter is awarded a technical knockout victory if he scores two knockdowns on his opponent in a single round, gave McDonald his first win of the tournament at the 1:25 mark of the second round. With momentum behind him, McDonald made quick work of his semifinal round opponent, Kelly Leo, who had defeated his quarterfinal round opponent, Tatsufumi Tomihira, by way of unanimous judges' decision earlier. Early in the first round, a right hand followed shortly after by a left hook sent Leo down. After the Gainesville, Georgia native recovered, a well-timed roundhouse kick to the head by McDonald floored Leo for the second and final time. For Cooper, the road to the championship tournament round was a marathon that commenced when he faced an unfamiliar opponent in Japan's Nobu Hayashi during the quarterfinal round of action. After failing to advance past the quarterfinal round of action last year, the Las Vegas resident looked focused and poised upon the sound of the opening bell. Cooper unloaded the same kind of quick hand combinations that led him to a perfect 10-0 record in the world of professional boxing. After three rounds of battle, the American fighter was awarded the victory on all three judges' scorecards. Cooper's showing went from impressive to inspiring when he met K-1 rookie "Mighty Mo" during the tournament's semifinal round. At 283 pounds, the 6'1" Mo outweighed the trim Cooper by 82 pounds. The lighter competitor played his cards intelligently, however, by using his speed and agility to stay away from his powerful opponent. In the second round, Cooper demonstrated that he has the power to hurt the sport's physically larger athletes when he responded to a straight right hand with a short flurry of punches that backed Mo into the ropes. After the third round in which he again chose his shots intelligently, Cooper was declared the winner by unanimous judges' decision. Styles came into play during the championship round bout between McDonald and Cooper as the latter fighter was unable to score with the same crispness as he had opposite his two previous opponents. McDonald took control of the matchup during the opening seconds of the first round when he tagged Cooper with a head kick. Cooper's knee strikes were strong on the inside, but McDonald shook them off and continued to pursue Cooper for the entire bout. The third and final round saw what was arguably the event's single greatest exchange of blows as Cooper answered a McDonald punch combination with a right hand that rocked the Canadian and followed the blow up with a straight knee on the inside. McDonald's precision and effectiveness throughout the majority of the bout, though, convinced all three judges' to declare him the victor of the bout and the "Battle At The Bellagio II" tournament. In Superfight action, Bob "The Beast" Sapp took care of business quickly against three-time K-1 Superfight veteran, Tommy Glanville. Sapp was put on the defensive in the first several seconds of the fight when Glanville rushed out of his corner and began firing leg kicks. Sapp answered with a roundhouse kick to the body and, then, a left hook that sent Glanville to the mat 33 seconds into the first round. The referee ordered a stoppage to the fight after he judged the fallen fighter unfit to continue. Martial arts fighting veteran "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge survived an early offensive from New Zealand's Toa. A veteran of seven K-1 bouts, Goodridge was backed into the corner by Toa's relentless offensive and unable to break free for several moments. After finding his way back into the center of the ring, Goodridge pushed his opponent into the corner and sent Toa to the canvas with a left hook. Toa beat the referee's count, but Goodridge pounced on him. With his back against the ropes, Toa was tagged with a right hook. A left uppercut from Goodridge finished the New Zealander at the 2:43 mark of the opening round. World champion Cung Le extended his flawless record to 16-0 by outgunning three-time K-1 Superfight veteran and martial arts fighting star, Brian Warren, during a four-round bout contested under San Shou kickboxing rules. The matchup saw Le execute several throws as well as his suplex before gaining the favor of all three judges. Other Tournament Results: Quarterfinal Round: Carter Williams vs. "Mighty Mo:" 2003 K-1 USA champion Carter Williams set out to defend his tournament crown by taking on Mighty Mo during the opening "Battle At The Bellagio II" tournament round. Williams assumed control of the bout in the first and second round as he deployed the same kick-punch combinations that earned him his first K-1 title last year. In the third round, however, Mo came up big with a left hook that sent Williams into the ropes and a flurry of punches that put Williams down momentarily. After Williams rose to his feet, the referee issued with his hands an order to stop the bout. Moments later, though, he seemingly changed his decision and began to give Williams an eight-count. Las Vegas Athletic Commission head Mark Ratner ordered that the fight be stopped in accordance with the referee's initial ruling. Mo was awarded the win by technical knockout. Kelly Leo vs. Tatsufumi Tomihira: For three rounds, Leo went to war in toe-to-toe fashion with Japan's Tatsufumi Tomihira. The Japanese fighter unloaded leg kicks over the course of the bout's three scheduled rounds, but it was Leo's strong punching that made the difference in the matchup and convinced all three judges to award him the win. Other Non-Tournament Results: Tournament Reserve Fight: Alex Jucan defeated Raul Romero - 2nd round KO Superfight: Tom Jones defeated Toshiyuki Nakagawa - Three Round Unanimous Decision Tournament Reserve Fight: Scott Lighty defeated Sean McCully - 2nd round TKO Superfight: "Razor" Rob McCullough defeated John Polakowski - 2nd round TKO (corner threw in the towel) Check out the FCF Shop for the lowest prices on K-1 DVDs! |
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