Gonzaga snaps two-fight losing streak at UFC 86
July 5th, 2008, 5:41 pm · Post a Comment · posted by CARLOS ARIAS
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LAS VEGAS - Gabriel Gonzaga of Ludlow, Mass., went from promising prospect to world-title challenger to fighting for his survival in the UFC after back-to-back losses to Randy Couture and Fabricio Werdum.
Gonzaga showed why many believe he still has a bright future by disposing of Justin McCully of Huntington Beach with a kimura in the first round on the UFC 86 undercard on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Gonzaga (9-3) knocked McCully (8-4-2) to the canvas with a right leg kick. McCully was in Gonzaga’s world when the fight hit the deck.
Gonzaga mounted McCully quickly, forcing McCully to give up his back. McCully was able to squirm out of danger, but only briefly. Gonzaga locked in a kimura and cranked on McCully’s left arm until he was forced to tap out at 1:57 of the opening round.
“I worked hard for this fight,” Gonzaga said. “Thank God I got the submission.”
Lightweight Jorge Gurgel (16-4) of Cincinnati, Ohio, was dominating the standup for most of the fight and appeared to be on his way to a points victory before American Top Team’s Cole Miller (14-3) of Coconut Creek, Fla., pulled off another come-from-behind victory in the final round.
Gurgel was trying pass Miller’s guard late in the third round when Miller locked in a triangle choke. Gurgel tried tried to roll out of the choke, but Miller sank it in even tighter and the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt was forced to tap out at 4:48 of the third round.
“Not bad for a purple belt,” Miller said. “That’s ATT Jiu-Jitsu for you. I’m not just some redneck from Georgia. I train with American Top Team and that’s what we put out.”
Lightweight Melvin Guillard (40-8-3) of New Orleans, La., has had a habit or winning or losing in spectacular fashion.
Guillard snapped a two-fight losing streak in the UFC by dismantling Dennis Siver (11-6) of Mannheim, Germany, in less than a minute.
“The Young Assassin” leveled Siver with a wild overhand right in the opening seconds. He let Siver up before landing a pair of right to the temple that dropped Siver a second time. Guillard landed nine consecutive punches before referee Herb Dean halted the beatdown 36 seconds into the first round.
“I battled a lot of stuff in my personal life, but I’m back,” Guillard said.
Lightweight Justin Buchholz (9-2) of Sacramento withstood some vicious strikes and takedowns in the first round and came back to submit Corey Hill (2-1) of Bettandorf, Iowa, in the second round.
Hill had side mount and was working a kimura before Buchholz spun out of the submission attempt, took Hill’s back and submitted him with a rear-naked choke at 3:57 of the second round.
