Get ready, get set, go!
"I'm probably going to catch him with something on the feet, take him to the ground, and finish him with strikes on the ground," said Ryan Williams before taking on Miletich fighter Jesse Lennox.
Early on, Williams connected with some nice low kicks and scattered punches before clinching with his opponent. Upon separation, Lennox hit home with a nice left hand. From there, until just before the 2:00 mark Lennox started showing his boxing superiority, connecting with nice shots in spots. Then Williams managed to take him down.
Bad move.
Lennox transitioned from a viable armbar attempt that failed to a triangle choke that didn't, and that was that.
Jesse Lennox wins via triangle choke in round one.
Next up was a fight between Pat Curran and Ramiro Hernandez. Hernandez was another Miletich fighter, competing close to home. You have to ask yourself whether the home crowd would be helpful for all of these fighters or simply add to the pressure on them.
Hernandez came out dancing to Stevie Wonder music and looking loose, so maybe that was a poorly placed question.
From the outset, Curran looked very good in this one, connecting with some very nice low kicks and then a right that sent his opponent to the ground. Hernandez then weathered a flurry on the ground, fighting back the whole time, before Curran gained the mount position. Somehow Hernandez escaped and got to his feet. Soon after, Curran took Hernandez down again and achieved the mount again. After taking some more abuse, Hernandez achieved the guard.
It's going to be hard to take Hernandez out. He's one tough hombre.
For the rest of the stanza, Curran switched in and out of full mount, connecting with some sporadic ground and pound along the way. That is, until Curran's armbar attempt, which was valid but started too late.
Because that's when the bell tolled.
The second round saw Curran land a nice overhand right early on. But then Hernandez began to connect with punches and kicks in spots while staying away from his opponent's power. Near the 2:00 mark, Curran connected with another nice overhand right and soon after clinched with his adversary. Then came the takedown.
From there, Curran transitioned to side control and then the mount. Then came another armbar attempt that might have worked had the bell not gonged, saving Hernandez. Hernandez won most of this round on his feet. But Curran landed a couple of nice shots, gained a takedown, and went for a submission, so give him the stanza. After a possible two point first round for Curran anyway, figure that Hernandez must stop his opponent to win.
The next round saw Hernandez connecting with the best punches and kicks of the fight. Further, he shirked a couple of takedown attempts. That said, Curran eventually did take him down and then took the mount. Hernandez almost got up and gained guard for his efforts.
But then Curran took the mount once more. For the rest of the round, Curran connected with sporadic ground and pound while his top position kept changing. Hernandez was a little bloody by the end of the stanza.
Pat Curran wins via unanimous decision.
Next up was a fight between former IFL champion Ryan McGivern and Geno Roderick. Would Roderick even have a chance against a guy with the cardio of a Ryan McGivern?
No.
McGivern started things off by tripping Roderick to the canvas. Soon after, he took his opponent's back. Then came the rear naked choke.
Ryan McGivern wins via rear naked choke in round one.
Before his fight against Gabe Lemley, Dan Loman said, "I look for any weakness that I can exploit." Of course, Lemley spoke of his well-roundedness before this bout as well. So who would have the weakness to exploit?
Lemley took Loman down quickly and ended up in his adversary's guard. But Lemley stood up and allowed Loman up, possibly worried about submissions. Then Loman landed a big right that dropped his adversary. Loman followed him to the ground only to see Lemley stand up, take him down, and get him in a north- south position choke. But Loman simply waited it out and didn't panic. So Lemley transitioned to the mount and started landed punches. But then Loman got out and to his feet.
This is some fight so far!
After some trading on their feet, Lemley achieved another takedown, though it was short lived. Then, however, Lemley connected with a big punch. He followed Loman to the canvas afterwards, where he connected with several more unanswered punches before Lemley surprisingly walked away.
Huh?
That allowed Loman to get up. For the rest of the round, the two traded some nice shots. A great round that goes to Gabe Lemley.
The second round was a brawl while it lasted with both fighters landing big shots. However, at one point a big flurry by Loman hurt Lemley. Punch after punch with a knee mixed in landed from there. This eventually resulted in Lemley falling to the ground before the referee stepped in.
Dan Loman wins via second round TKO. Why Lemley walked away from his downed opponent in the first round is hard to understand.
Next up was a match between Derrick Mehmen and Mike Ciesnolevicz (Mike C). "I'm gonna be bigger and stronger than Mike, so wherever this fight goes I have it under control," said Mehmen beforehand.
Early on, Mehmen pressed Mike C. up against the wall and connected with some sporadic strikes. But upon separation, Mike C. attempted a high kick that left him off balance, falling to the canvas. Mehmen followed him to the canvas and connected with a very nice flurry. Still, Mike C. got up and connected with a strong one- two combination. Soon after, Mehmen hit home with a nice knee.
For the majority of the rest of the stanza, the two traded some big shots. But then a big right by Mike C. left Mehmen dizzy. Still, he recovered and the two traded with Mike C. doing better than his adversary before the bell.
An excellent and close round.
The second round saw some trading, with Mike C. coming through with the better of it as time went on. Then Mike C. pulled guard along with a guillotine and soon after Mehmen tapped.
Mike Ciesnolevicz wins via second round guillotine choke.
Next up was a match between Braden Bice and Mike Russow. Bice spoke of his wrestling background before this match. Would that be enough to defeat the favored Russow, who, by the way, looked much bigger than his opponent?
Russow slammed his adversary to the canvas early on. Then he gained the north- south position and got the choke there. Yep, that's that.
Mike Russow wins via early first round choke.
Next up was one of the big fights, a match between Chris Guillen and Ben Rothwell. "I didn't come here planning to lose," said Guillen coming in. Well, that's a good attitude. Let's see how it plays out.
Guillen started off landing some low kicks. He eventually shot in, an attempt that was easily shirked by Rothwell. With Guillen turtled up, Rothwell landed several shots, including hammerfists, before changing the trajectory and gaining side control. Then Rothwell moved to the mount and almost went for the armbar before getting on top and landing elbows to Gullen's face, causing him to tap.
Ben Rothwell wins via first round submission due to strikes.
"Leaving with a loss, that's a monkey on your back you don't want to live the rest of your life with for sure," said Pat Miletich before taking on Thomas "Wildman" Denny in the main event of the night. "So I'm very motivated to go out and win this fight." Of course, the last time Miletich fought, Renzo Gracie used his neck injury against him, defeating him via guillotine choke. So what would happen this time?
Miletich landed a big left early and then took Denny down hard. Soon after he gained side control but lost the position to his opponent for the guard moments later. Some mild ground and pound followed until Miletich stood up. Eventually, Miletich landed a very hard body shot that left Denny on the canvas again. Miletich followed him down. Not a lot of action until the bell.
Miletich isn't doing much on the ground but looks very good on his feet.
Denny started off with jabs and low kicks in the second. But soon after, Miletich landed another big shot and then two consecutive huge rights that left his opponent on the canvas out cold. Wow! Great return to the cage for Miletich. Remember all that talk about Miletich's neck?
Forget it.
Pat Miletich wins via second round knockout.
In the end, Adrenaline II was a fun night of fights in a lot of cases. The early bouts between Dan Loman and Gabe Lemley and Pat Curran and Ramiro Hernandez were excellent. Though the Rothwell, Russow, and McGivern bouts were mismatches, watching Pat Miletich come back so strong was something to see, particularly those striking skills of his. Let's put it this way, the hometown crowd was certainly happy.
- Pat Curran def. Ramiro Hernandez via unanimous decision
- Ryan McGivern def. Geno Roderick via submission (RNC) - R1 (1:27)
- Dan Loman def. Gabe Lemley via TKO (strikes) - R2 (1:54)
- Mike Ciesnolevicz def. Derrick Mehmen via submission (guillotine choke) - R2 (1:46)
- Mike Russow def. Braden Bice via submission (north-south choke) - R1 (1:13)
- Ben Rothwell def. Chris Guillen via submission (strikes) - R1 (3:40)
- Pat Miletich def. Thomas "Wildman" Denny via KO - R2 (0:50))
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