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Mo Delivers a Mighty Message By Michael Afromowitz muaythaimes@aol.com American powerhouse "Mighty Mo" Siligia unleashed his wrath on three opponents, including championship round adversary Brecht Walis, to take hold of the "Battle at Bellagio III" tournament crown at Las Vegas, Nevada's Bellagio Hotel and Casino on Saturday, August 7th. "I felt some pain from the kicks to my legs, but when I feel those kicks, I'm gonna snap out of it and take care of business," said the 33-year-old Siligia of his final "Battle at Bellagio III" fight with Walis. Siligia, who joined the ranks of K-1 earlier this year after enjoying a lengthy career in the sport of professional boxing, has since been adjusting to the rules of K-1 that allow kicks above and below the waist as well as knee strikes. "I snapped out of it and every time he hurt me, I wanted to hurt him even more. I felt the kicks he was giving me and, in my heart, I wanted him to feel the same thing - if not from the leg kicks, then on his chin," Looking impressively fit after tipping the scales at a muscular 281 pounds one day earlier, Siligia came out of the gates in similar swing for the fences fashion as he did during the second Battle at Bellagio installment on April 30th. Standing toe to toe with Belarus's Sergei Gur, Siligia dropped his opponent in the second round with a hard overhand right to the head. Gur beat the count and made it out of the round on his feet, but was constantly pressured by the unyielding Siligia in the third round. After the final bell, Siligia was awarded a unanimous judges' decision victory. In the semifinal round of battle, Siligia was faced by fellow American Scott Lighty. Lighty, a prodigy of famed California training center, The Pit, had scored an impressive second round knockout on Frank Cota during the event's reserve tournament bout. After Siligia's scheduled semifinal round opponent, Alexander Ustinov, withdrew from the tournament due to a battered leg that he suffered en route to his quarterfinal round victory, Lighty was called in to take his place. At the 1:29 mark of the opening round, Siligia, who outweighed Lighty by 63 pounds, connected with a looping overhand right that snapped the receiver's head back and sent him to the mat on his back. Lighty was able to beat the referee's count, but the third man in charge quickly called a stoppage after The championship round of action saw a showdown between Siligia and Walis, who had earlier staged a remarkable comeback against American superstar Carter Williams and, later, coasted to a unanimous judges' decision win over Sweden's Jorgen Kruth. During the first three minutes of battle, both fighters were cautious while attempting to find their range. While he struggled to overcome the three inch height disadvantage that he faced in the 6 foot 4 inch Walis, Siligia managed to connect with a couple of overhand rights that left an impression on his opponent. The following round saw the referee order a momentary stoppage after a low kick from Siligia accidentally connected with Walis's groin area. A vicious exchange of punches ensued after the fight resumed and, with five seconds remaining in the round, Siligia planted a hard overhand right on Walis that sent the receiver down on his back. Seeing that Walis was badly hurt from the blow, the referee waved off the fight and awarded Siligia the victory by way of technical knockout. Siligia's tournament victory earned him a spot in September 25th's K-1 "Final Elimination" event in Tokyo, Japan's Nippon Budokan arena. Other Tournament Results: Quarterfinal Round: Brecht Walis defeated Carter Williams - TKO at :55 of the 3rd Round 2003 K-1 USA champion Carter Williams got off to a fantastic start when he put Walis on the canvas in the opening round with an overhand right that he used to counter a Walis attack. Walis was out on his feet by the end of the round after Williams scored with a hard, straight right hand to the head. A more cautious second round was followed by another vaunted attack from Williams in the third. At the :55 second mark of the round, however, Walis launched a head kick seemingly from nowhere. The blow landed squarely on the side of Williams's head and sent the American to the mat on his stomach. The referee quickly called an end to the fight. Jorgen Kruth defeated Rony Sefo - Unanimous Judges Decision Throughout the first two rounds of the second quarterfinal round bout of the event, Kruth maintained the upperhand with repeated roundhouse kicks to the body and several jumping knees to the midsection. Sefo rallied in the third round with a slew of body punches, but Kruth poured on his power kicks and won the favor of all three judges at the close of the third and final round. Semifinal Round: Alexander Ustinov defeated Jan Nortje - Unanimous Judges Decision Several heated exchanged occurred during a matchup between 6 foot 6 inch, 282 pound Alexander Ustinov and 6 foot 11 inch, 323 pound Jan "The Giant" Nortje. Ustinov took enough shots to bring about swelling near both of his eyes, but also did enough damage to The Giant with his repeated knee strikes and to gain a unanimous judges decision victory. Brecht Walis defeated Jorgen Kruth - Unanimous Judges Decision Preliminary "Battle at Bellagio III" Fight Results: LaTasha Marzolla defeated Nikki Darham - 2nd Round TKO James Martinez defeated Rob McCullough - 1st Round TKO Anthony Brown defeated Brian Warren - Majority Judges Decision Raul Romero defeated Tommy Glanville - 1st Round TKO
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