Battleground 04/30/07
The charismatic Don Frye—the man, the myth, the moustache—and his Tucson Scorpions were featured on tonight’s episode.
“The fight game ain’t a place for complaints. You know, the kitchen is the place for complaints. Put an apron on and go do the dishes; do the laundry. That’s where you do your complaining.†–Don Frye
“Don Frye is like the mixed martial arts Tom Selleck.†–Savant Young
Frye admitted to over two years of pain medication abuse following his fight with Ken Shamrock. He got sober in four months after his wife helped him get into a rehab. Now, he’s building a team with the potential for being champions.
Fight one pitted the Anaconda’s Chris Hordecki against Ed “Wild†West in West’s last fight as a Tokyo Sabre before joining the Scorpions. The fight began in the typical fashion of Horedecki’s fights: fast, aggressive, Hordecki pushing the action and dominating the bout. To West’s credit, he was able to take Hordecki to the mat, landing solid ground and pound before Hordecki returned to his feet. Ed West started the second round getting the takedown on Hordecki. West gets Hordecki in what appears to be a locked in kimura but somehow the Polish Hammer escaped. Hordecki punished West with heavy punches from West’s guard before the round ended. The final round opened with Hordecki landing a heavy punch, taking West to the ground. Hordecki attempted three ax kicks, all successfully defended. Hordecki escaped a guillotine then returned to punishing West with haymakers and kicks to his opponent’s glutes before being stood up by the referee. The round ended with Hordecki landing knees to West’s thighs. Hordecki took the unanimous decision but West’s impressive effort earned him a spot on the Tucson Scorpions.
The Scorpion’s heavyweight “Iron†Mike Whitehead took on Mark “The Smashing Machine†Kerr in the episode’s second fight. This was one of two super fights that took place in November 2006. Kerr showed his ring-rust when Whitehead hurt him with a right hook then rained leather until the fight was stopped by the referee.
Fight Three: The Sabres’ Antonio “Mandingo†McKee debuted against the Scorpions’ Gabe Rivas. McKee got an early takedown but Rivas was able to defend most of the damaging punches. Between rounds, Don Frye informed Rivas that he’s wasting time and to “get in there and knock him out.†Despite Rivas’ efforts to keep the fight on its feet, McKee gets another takedown…right where Rivas didn’t want to be. The fight is stood up by referee Yves Levign which was a waste of time as the fight quickly returned to the floor. The fight is returned to its feet again but is immediately called when Rivas’ knee went out, leaving him unable to continue to fight.
Dwayne Compton took on the Sabres’ Vladimir Matyushenko in the next fight. 1:47 into the first round, The Janitor secured an armbar on his Scorpion’s counterpart for the win.
Fireman and Scorpion, Chad Griggs, showed an early dominance over Sabres’ John Marsh. Marsh managed a heel hook on Griggs but Griggs rolled and powered his way out of it. Griggs secured an armbar but Marsh was literally saved by the bell. The two-spot opened with Griggs eating a heavy right hand. Hardly phased, he powered Marsh to the ground and landed two hard punches before the fight was moved to the center of the ring. Marsh landed another right hand before powering Griggs to his back. With no action, the fight was returned to its feet. Griggs hammers Marsh with knees and uppercuts, clearly hurting Marsh. Marsh attempted another heel hook in the third round but Griggs rolled out. Griggs damaged Marsh from half guard with devastating hammerfists. Yves Levign stopped the fight, a little early if you ask me, giving Griggs the TKO. It was an early stoppage, to be sure, but Griggs would have likely won anyway; Levign just hastened the inevitable.
Savant Young of the Sabres, in his IFL debut, faced Ed “Wild†West, now a Scorpion. West shot for an impressively high flying knee but was taken down by Young. Despite West’s spinning back kick, Young fed him five ounces of leathered fist, dazing him enough to get the former Sabre to the ground. Referee Terry Hadley put the fight back on its feet but Young took it back to the mat just before the bell. Young powered West with a combination, backing him up then taking him down. The fight is stood up, giving West the opportunity to land a roundhouse. Savant missed with a superman punch but took West back to the canvas. The fight would go to the third with West trying for a takedown but was taken down by Savant Young, instead. Young missed another superman punch, allowing West to achieve a takedown. Hadley moved the fight to the center where Ed West landed an unorthodox but legal headbutt to Young’s solar plexus. The fight returned to its feet with Young throwing an aggressive combination. West ate a hard knee just before the fight would go to the judges for a unanimous decision in Savant Young’s favor.
Don Frye lamented being the league’s worst team but explained how his team would pull itself out of the crapper and become champions.
The last bout featured the Scorpions against Carlos Newton’s Toronto Dragons.
“Iron†Mike Whitehead, in his Scorpions debut, faced Wojtek Kaszowski. Kaszowski opened with two kicks to the head. Whitehead defended against a guillotine. He took Kaszowski’s back, pounding the snot out of him until the fight was called. Oh yes, Don is back in the game.
The episode ended with Renzo Gracie and Frank Shamrock talking much smack about who would win if they fought again. My thoughts: Renzo would win.
The Inside Pulse
By far, this was one of my favorite Battleground episodes. I love Don Frye.
