jkdberlin
16-04-2006, 08:33
The Maine-iac' Reigns Again; Ortiz Gets Decision but Griffin Wins
Crowd
By Thomas Gerbasi (mma crossfire)
ANAHEIM, CA, April 15 – In mixed martial arts, fortunes can change
in a split second. Just ask Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. Within
moments of rocking and dropping Sylvia with a big right hand to the
jaw in their UFC 59 heavyweight championship bout at the Arrowhead
Pond, the champion soon found himself without a belt as Sylvia
rebounded with a right to the jaw of his own that allowed the Maine
native to regain the championship belt he had sought for over two
years.
The bout, which was held before a sold out crowd of over 17,000
which witnessed the UFC's first show ever in California, was a
rematch of a February 2005 bout won by Arlovski in the first round.
That was then, this is now.
The tension was thick early as the two heavyweights squared off and
shot out range finders. Arlovski struck first with the same right
hand that dropped Sylvia in their first bout, but Sylvia took it
without flinching. With a little over 2:30 to go in the round, `The
Pitbull' struck again, this time sending Sylvia to the ground hard.
But instead of Arlovski capitalizing on his good fortune. Sylvia was
able to scramble back to his feet, and when he did, Arlovski came in
wide open and `The Maine-iac' came back with some payback of his
own, courtesy of a short right hand that dropped the soon to be ex-
champion to the canvas. A follow-up barrage by Sylvia came in a
fast and furious fashion, and referee Herb Dean immediately halted
the bout at the 2:43 mark.
In the UFC 59 co-feature, the legend grows.
Despite dropping a split decision to former UFC light heavyweight
champion Tito Ortiz, `The Ultimate Fighter' season one winner
Forrest Griffin won over a partisan crowd and gained even more fans
with a courageous performance and comeback that marked him as truly
one of the best 205-pounders in the game.
"I feel so good right now, I could go another two," said
Griffin. "Let's make it five."
It was Ortiz' night on the scorecards though, as `The Huntington
Beach Bad Boy' earned the close verdict via scores of 30-27, 28-29,
and 29-27, as a huge first round and a few big moments in the final
frame proved to be the difference, despite the fact that he entered
the Octagon for the first time since February of 2005 with a laundry
list of injuries.
"I hurt my ACL before this fight," said Ortiz. "I didn't want to
disappoint the fans so I knew I had to fight. Injuries are one of
those things you have to fight through. I need to heal my injuries
and relax for the next few weeks. I'm a competitor and I'll be
back. You only saw 70 percent of me. Forrest fought a great fight
and you have to respect that."
Oddly enough, this instant classic was almost over in the first
round.
With the crowd erupting as John McCarthy waved the fighters into
action, both fighters began trading, with Ortiz quickly securing a
takedown and then opening up on Griffin, who had no answers for
Ortiz' brutal ground and pound. Within moments, Ortiz' forearms
opened up a cut over Griffin's left eye, and though the gutsy
Georgian refused to give in, Ortiz looked to be at his best as he
opened up with any limb at his disposal. Finally, with a little
over a minute to go, Griffin escaped and opened up with both hands,
briefly jarring Ortiz, who fired back and put his foe on the mat
again as he pounded his way through the remainder of the round.
Ortiz' jab was on target to begin round two, with Griffin's punches
landing, but lacking pop. Ortiz tried for a takedown, but Griffin
stuffed it, and soon a chant of `Forrest, Forrest' went up from the
pro-Ortiz crowd, which started it's own chant moments later.
Seconds after, Griffin stuffed two more Ortiz takedown attempts and
seemed to have regained his confidence as he tagged Ortiz with a
series of roundhouse punches that may not have been hurting Ortiz,
but they were scoring points, and suddenly it was a brand new fight
entering the final round.
"I never said I was the best," said Griffin. "I'm just a dog. I
fight."
Looking to regain control, Ortiz tried the takedown twice more early
in the third, only to be rebuffed each time. All the while Griffin
kept jabbing and kicking, looking to score as Ortiz appeared
befuddled by the fight's turn. At the three minute mark Ortiz
landed his best punch of the fight, an overhand right, but Griffin
took it and then avoided yet another takedown, yet soon he was
bleeding from under his right eye as well. Finally, with under two
minutes to go, Ortiz got his first takedown since the first round,
and the crowd's roar was deafening. This time it was Griffin though
doing much of the work from the bottom, and when the Georgian stood
up and started trading with Ortiz it was a moment fans won't forget
anytime soon.
"At the end of the third round I looked at the clock and thought `if
I land a few big punches, I could steal the fight,'" said
Griffin. "Unfortunately, I was unable to do that. I have to take
some time to heal and get back and start training. This is my job."
It was a job well done.
In undercard action…
Sean Sherk made his last fight at 170 pounds a winning one, as he
outpointed Nick Diaz unanimously over three rounds in a bout that
was a lot closer than the three scores of 30-27 would indicate.
`The Muscle Shark' said after the bout that he will now move to the
155-pound lightweight class. Diaz, obviously upset at the verdict,
has now lost three in a row in the UFC, the other two decision
defeats coming to Diego Sanchez and Joe Riggs.
Sherk was impressive early as he moved forward behind a high guard
and looked to make Diaz work for everything he got. For his part,
Diaz' takedown defense was on the mark, but his habit of crouching
over to meet the height of his shorter foe seemed to be a recipe for
disaster. A prolonged scrum against the fence was finally broken by
referee Marco Lopez at the 1:54 mark, and Sherk immediately got back
to work, boxing effectively on the inside against his bigger
opponent.
The second round continued the pattern established by the first,
with Sherk being the busier fighter as Diaz tossed out the
occasional punch while waiting to turn back Sherk's takedown
attempts. After a brief break to replace Diaz' mouthpiece though,
the Stockton, California native started to land more frequently and
effectively with both hands while still staying off the mat. Even
on the inside, Diaz fired away as Sherk appeared winded. With a
minute and a half left in the round, Sherk was finally able to take
Diaz down, though neither fighter was able to inflict much damage on
the other.
The third round saw more of the same, and the packed house started
to get restless with a bout that had the unenviable task of
following Ortiz-Griffin. Both fighters kept throwing and kept
trying to win though, even though the punches seemed to lack
stopping power.
"I thought it was gonna be closer," said Sherk, "But I knew I had
done enough in each round to get the decision."
Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner bounced back
impressively from consecutive losses to Rich Franklin and David
Loiseau, submitting rising 185-pound prospect Justin Levens in the
opening round.
"This was a must win for me," said Tanner. "In order to stay in the
UFC I had to win. This is my first victory towards the title."
Tanner immediately took the fight to Levens, who was making his UFC
debut, bulling him to the fence and landing a series of shots to the
head and body. Levens was able to escape and get some breathing
room briefly, but Tanner pounced again and took Levens down. After
a brief pounding of Levens, the UFC newcomer tried to get Tanner's
leg, only to see the veteran escape and then jump beautifully into a
triangle choke. Levens gamely tried to escape with a slam, but the
choke was in tight, and the Philadelphian finally tapped at 3:14 of
the opening round.
"I saw the opening for the triangle choke," said Tanner. "I have
been working on that in training. I'm glad I was able to execute
it."
`The Snowman', Jeff Monson, continued his rise up the heavyweight
ranks with a three round split decision win over old grappling rival
Marcio `Pe De Pano' Cruz.
Surprisingly, the two world-class grapplers opted to stand in the
opening stages of the bout, with Cruz effectively using his height
and reach advantage to land awkward jabs and the occasional leg
kick. Monson stalked patiently, looking for an opening, but after a
brief clinch the two went back to standup. At the 2:30 mark a
straight left dropped Cruz and the two finally began grappling with
Cruz controlling the action from the standing position near the
fence until the two hit the mat. After a lull in the action,
referee McCarthy stood the two up and the action continued at a
diminished pace until the horn sounded to end the round.
Within the first 30 seconds of round two, Monson got the takedown,
but after a brief scramble he rose to his feet, with `Pe De Pano'
following. Monson, his nose bloodied, continued to press the
standup, and then briefly locked Cruz up, only to have the Brazilian
escape danger again. Monson then tried another form of attack as he
bulled Cruz to the fence and landed some knees to the leg before
McCarthy broke the two. Monson's jab again hit the mark regularly,
with Cruz having little answer for it. With less than 30 seconds
left, Cruz landed a perfect kick to the nose of Monson, but even
though the blood flow increased, it also served to anger Monson, who
took Cruz down and drilled him with head shots until the round ended.
Cruz went for his first takedown to open the round, and Monson
stuffed it effectively, but the Brazilian was able to push Monson
into the fence seconds later. The two switched positions against
the Octagon, with McCarthy being forced to break them seconds
later. After the two hit the mat again, it was Monson pressing the
action, but Cruz was adept enough defensively to stay in the fight.
With 2:20 left, McCarthy stood the fighters, and they both traded
briefly, though neither thought of throwing more than one punch at a
time. The final minute and a half of the bout was spent on the
ground, with Monson the more active of the two thanks to a series of
forearms to the head, but Cruz doing enough to survive the bout.
Unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough to win the fight.
"I didn't expect the fight to go the distance," said Monson. "My
plan was to knock him out but I couldn't get in tight enough. I was
going to call out the heavyweight champion if I knocked out Marcio.
I would still like a shot. I'm not sure if I'll get it after that
fight."
Karo Parisyan may have missed his first punch of the night, but he
was rarely off the mark for the rest of the four minutes and forty
four seconds he pounded on Nick Thompson as he recorded a first
round victory over `The Goat' in a welterweight bout.
After missing his first haymaker, a move that drew a taunting wave
of an imaginary bullfighter's cape from Thompson, Parisyan secured a
takedown of his foe and never looked back, mixing in his ground
control with leaping punches to the head of his foe. Thompson was
game throughout, but once Parisyan got in the mount position, it was
good as over. `The Heat' rained strikes on Thompson, opening a cut
over his eye, and after a few more shots, the Minnesotan tapped and
Parisyan had the victory, his first since injuries forced the
cancellation of his welterweight title shot against Matt Hughes last
November.
"Nick is a great opponent, but I think my experience had a lot to do
with this victory," said Parisyan. "If the UFC gives me a title
shot, I'll take it. I fight anyone."
David Terrell made his return to the Octagon for the first time in
over a year a successful one as a submitted Scott Smith with a rear
naked choke in the first round of their middleweight bout.
"I want to keep fighting and stay active," said Terrell, who was
sidelined by injuries for over 14 months following a loss to Evan
Tanner for the vacant UFC middleweight belt in 2005.
The fast-paced action saw Smith taking control early behind a couple
of slams while Terrell held guard. After a few moments on the
ground, Smith stood and implored Terrell to join him. Terrell was
able to push Smith towards the fence, where he landed a few knees to
the back of the leg, but after a few stagnant moments, referee Marco
Lopez apparently told the fighters to break, and a moment later, to
resume. In the interim, Terrell put Smith on the canvas, and as
Smith looked to Lopez to complain, Terrell quickly got his back and
sunk in the fight ending choke at 3:08 of the opening stanza.
With the win, Terrell improves to 2-1 in the UFC; Smith falls to 0-1
in the Octagon.
Light heavyweight prospect Jason Lambert of Long Beach improved to 2-
0 in the UFC with a second round TKO win over Chicago's Terry Martin.
After a brief feeling out process, both fighters engaged, with
Martin getting the better of the action after rocking Lambert with a
punch to the head while at close range. Lambert recovered and
quickly and spent the better part of the next two minutes trading
knees against the fence until Martin was able to get the takedown
with a little over a minute left in the opening round. Lambert
fought well off his back though until the bell rang.
The second saw Lambert immediately trying for the takedown, but
Martin stuffed the attempt and the fighters went back to the fence
until Martin could again get a takedown of his own. Once down,
Lambert quickly got Martin's back and started pounding away while
simultaneously looking for a submission. The sub didn't come, but
once Lambert got his foe's back completely, it was over, as a series
of punches brought the stoppage from referee John McCarthy at 2:37
of round two.
In the welterweight opener, Thiago Alves erased the memory of a 2003
submission loss to Derrick Noble by stopping his foe with a barrage
of strikes in the first round of a scheduled three.
Intent on working his Muay Thai on Noble, Alves struck early with
leg kicks and knees, only to be answered back by the punches of the
scrappy Noble, who took the bout on short notice after Drew ****ett
was forced to pull out of the bout due to injury. With 2:30 left in
the round, Noble attacked Alves with a series of shots that almost
forced `The Pitbull' to the mat, but Alves quickly recovered,
shooting in a short right hand that floored Noble. Alves pounced on
his stunned foe and a barrage of unanswered blows forced referee
Mario Yamasaki to halt the bout at the 2:54 mark.
Crowd
By Thomas Gerbasi (mma crossfire)
ANAHEIM, CA, April 15 – In mixed martial arts, fortunes can change
in a split second. Just ask Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. Within
moments of rocking and dropping Sylvia with a big right hand to the
jaw in their UFC 59 heavyweight championship bout at the Arrowhead
Pond, the champion soon found himself without a belt as Sylvia
rebounded with a right to the jaw of his own that allowed the Maine
native to regain the championship belt he had sought for over two
years.
The bout, which was held before a sold out crowd of over 17,000
which witnessed the UFC's first show ever in California, was a
rematch of a February 2005 bout won by Arlovski in the first round.
That was then, this is now.
The tension was thick early as the two heavyweights squared off and
shot out range finders. Arlovski struck first with the same right
hand that dropped Sylvia in their first bout, but Sylvia took it
without flinching. With a little over 2:30 to go in the round, `The
Pitbull' struck again, this time sending Sylvia to the ground hard.
But instead of Arlovski capitalizing on his good fortune. Sylvia was
able to scramble back to his feet, and when he did, Arlovski came in
wide open and `The Maine-iac' came back with some payback of his
own, courtesy of a short right hand that dropped the soon to be ex-
champion to the canvas. A follow-up barrage by Sylvia came in a
fast and furious fashion, and referee Herb Dean immediately halted
the bout at the 2:43 mark.
In the UFC 59 co-feature, the legend grows.
Despite dropping a split decision to former UFC light heavyweight
champion Tito Ortiz, `The Ultimate Fighter' season one winner
Forrest Griffin won over a partisan crowd and gained even more fans
with a courageous performance and comeback that marked him as truly
one of the best 205-pounders in the game.
"I feel so good right now, I could go another two," said
Griffin. "Let's make it five."
It was Ortiz' night on the scorecards though, as `The Huntington
Beach Bad Boy' earned the close verdict via scores of 30-27, 28-29,
and 29-27, as a huge first round and a few big moments in the final
frame proved to be the difference, despite the fact that he entered
the Octagon for the first time since February of 2005 with a laundry
list of injuries.
"I hurt my ACL before this fight," said Ortiz. "I didn't want to
disappoint the fans so I knew I had to fight. Injuries are one of
those things you have to fight through. I need to heal my injuries
and relax for the next few weeks. I'm a competitor and I'll be
back. You only saw 70 percent of me. Forrest fought a great fight
and you have to respect that."
Oddly enough, this instant classic was almost over in the first
round.
With the crowd erupting as John McCarthy waved the fighters into
action, both fighters began trading, with Ortiz quickly securing a
takedown and then opening up on Griffin, who had no answers for
Ortiz' brutal ground and pound. Within moments, Ortiz' forearms
opened up a cut over Griffin's left eye, and though the gutsy
Georgian refused to give in, Ortiz looked to be at his best as he
opened up with any limb at his disposal. Finally, with a little
over a minute to go, Griffin escaped and opened up with both hands,
briefly jarring Ortiz, who fired back and put his foe on the mat
again as he pounded his way through the remainder of the round.
Ortiz' jab was on target to begin round two, with Griffin's punches
landing, but lacking pop. Ortiz tried for a takedown, but Griffin
stuffed it, and soon a chant of `Forrest, Forrest' went up from the
pro-Ortiz crowd, which started it's own chant moments later.
Seconds after, Griffin stuffed two more Ortiz takedown attempts and
seemed to have regained his confidence as he tagged Ortiz with a
series of roundhouse punches that may not have been hurting Ortiz,
but they were scoring points, and suddenly it was a brand new fight
entering the final round.
"I never said I was the best," said Griffin. "I'm just a dog. I
fight."
Looking to regain control, Ortiz tried the takedown twice more early
in the third, only to be rebuffed each time. All the while Griffin
kept jabbing and kicking, looking to score as Ortiz appeared
befuddled by the fight's turn. At the three minute mark Ortiz
landed his best punch of the fight, an overhand right, but Griffin
took it and then avoided yet another takedown, yet soon he was
bleeding from under his right eye as well. Finally, with under two
minutes to go, Ortiz got his first takedown since the first round,
and the crowd's roar was deafening. This time it was Griffin though
doing much of the work from the bottom, and when the Georgian stood
up and started trading with Ortiz it was a moment fans won't forget
anytime soon.
"At the end of the third round I looked at the clock and thought `if
I land a few big punches, I could steal the fight,'" said
Griffin. "Unfortunately, I was unable to do that. I have to take
some time to heal and get back and start training. This is my job."
It was a job well done.
In undercard action…
Sean Sherk made his last fight at 170 pounds a winning one, as he
outpointed Nick Diaz unanimously over three rounds in a bout that
was a lot closer than the three scores of 30-27 would indicate.
`The Muscle Shark' said after the bout that he will now move to the
155-pound lightweight class. Diaz, obviously upset at the verdict,
has now lost three in a row in the UFC, the other two decision
defeats coming to Diego Sanchez and Joe Riggs.
Sherk was impressive early as he moved forward behind a high guard
and looked to make Diaz work for everything he got. For his part,
Diaz' takedown defense was on the mark, but his habit of crouching
over to meet the height of his shorter foe seemed to be a recipe for
disaster. A prolonged scrum against the fence was finally broken by
referee Marco Lopez at the 1:54 mark, and Sherk immediately got back
to work, boxing effectively on the inside against his bigger
opponent.
The second round continued the pattern established by the first,
with Sherk being the busier fighter as Diaz tossed out the
occasional punch while waiting to turn back Sherk's takedown
attempts. After a brief break to replace Diaz' mouthpiece though,
the Stockton, California native started to land more frequently and
effectively with both hands while still staying off the mat. Even
on the inside, Diaz fired away as Sherk appeared winded. With a
minute and a half left in the round, Sherk was finally able to take
Diaz down, though neither fighter was able to inflict much damage on
the other.
The third round saw more of the same, and the packed house started
to get restless with a bout that had the unenviable task of
following Ortiz-Griffin. Both fighters kept throwing and kept
trying to win though, even though the punches seemed to lack
stopping power.
"I thought it was gonna be closer," said Sherk, "But I knew I had
done enough in each round to get the decision."
Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner bounced back
impressively from consecutive losses to Rich Franklin and David
Loiseau, submitting rising 185-pound prospect Justin Levens in the
opening round.
"This was a must win for me," said Tanner. "In order to stay in the
UFC I had to win. This is my first victory towards the title."
Tanner immediately took the fight to Levens, who was making his UFC
debut, bulling him to the fence and landing a series of shots to the
head and body. Levens was able to escape and get some breathing
room briefly, but Tanner pounced again and took Levens down. After
a brief pounding of Levens, the UFC newcomer tried to get Tanner's
leg, only to see the veteran escape and then jump beautifully into a
triangle choke. Levens gamely tried to escape with a slam, but the
choke was in tight, and the Philadelphian finally tapped at 3:14 of
the opening round.
"I saw the opening for the triangle choke," said Tanner. "I have
been working on that in training. I'm glad I was able to execute
it."
`The Snowman', Jeff Monson, continued his rise up the heavyweight
ranks with a three round split decision win over old grappling rival
Marcio `Pe De Pano' Cruz.
Surprisingly, the two world-class grapplers opted to stand in the
opening stages of the bout, with Cruz effectively using his height
and reach advantage to land awkward jabs and the occasional leg
kick. Monson stalked patiently, looking for an opening, but after a
brief clinch the two went back to standup. At the 2:30 mark a
straight left dropped Cruz and the two finally began grappling with
Cruz controlling the action from the standing position near the
fence until the two hit the mat. After a lull in the action,
referee McCarthy stood the two up and the action continued at a
diminished pace until the horn sounded to end the round.
Within the first 30 seconds of round two, Monson got the takedown,
but after a brief scramble he rose to his feet, with `Pe De Pano'
following. Monson, his nose bloodied, continued to press the
standup, and then briefly locked Cruz up, only to have the Brazilian
escape danger again. Monson then tried another form of attack as he
bulled Cruz to the fence and landed some knees to the leg before
McCarthy broke the two. Monson's jab again hit the mark regularly,
with Cruz having little answer for it. With less than 30 seconds
left, Cruz landed a perfect kick to the nose of Monson, but even
though the blood flow increased, it also served to anger Monson, who
took Cruz down and drilled him with head shots until the round ended.
Cruz went for his first takedown to open the round, and Monson
stuffed it effectively, but the Brazilian was able to push Monson
into the fence seconds later. The two switched positions against
the Octagon, with McCarthy being forced to break them seconds
later. After the two hit the mat again, it was Monson pressing the
action, but Cruz was adept enough defensively to stay in the fight.
With 2:20 left, McCarthy stood the fighters, and they both traded
briefly, though neither thought of throwing more than one punch at a
time. The final minute and a half of the bout was spent on the
ground, with Monson the more active of the two thanks to a series of
forearms to the head, but Cruz doing enough to survive the bout.
Unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough to win the fight.
"I didn't expect the fight to go the distance," said Monson. "My
plan was to knock him out but I couldn't get in tight enough. I was
going to call out the heavyweight champion if I knocked out Marcio.
I would still like a shot. I'm not sure if I'll get it after that
fight."
Karo Parisyan may have missed his first punch of the night, but he
was rarely off the mark for the rest of the four minutes and forty
four seconds he pounded on Nick Thompson as he recorded a first
round victory over `The Goat' in a welterweight bout.
After missing his first haymaker, a move that drew a taunting wave
of an imaginary bullfighter's cape from Thompson, Parisyan secured a
takedown of his foe and never looked back, mixing in his ground
control with leaping punches to the head of his foe. Thompson was
game throughout, but once Parisyan got in the mount position, it was
good as over. `The Heat' rained strikes on Thompson, opening a cut
over his eye, and after a few more shots, the Minnesotan tapped and
Parisyan had the victory, his first since injuries forced the
cancellation of his welterweight title shot against Matt Hughes last
November.
"Nick is a great opponent, but I think my experience had a lot to do
with this victory," said Parisyan. "If the UFC gives me a title
shot, I'll take it. I fight anyone."
David Terrell made his return to the Octagon for the first time in
over a year a successful one as a submitted Scott Smith with a rear
naked choke in the first round of their middleweight bout.
"I want to keep fighting and stay active," said Terrell, who was
sidelined by injuries for over 14 months following a loss to Evan
Tanner for the vacant UFC middleweight belt in 2005.
The fast-paced action saw Smith taking control early behind a couple
of slams while Terrell held guard. After a few moments on the
ground, Smith stood and implored Terrell to join him. Terrell was
able to push Smith towards the fence, where he landed a few knees to
the back of the leg, but after a few stagnant moments, referee Marco
Lopez apparently told the fighters to break, and a moment later, to
resume. In the interim, Terrell put Smith on the canvas, and as
Smith looked to Lopez to complain, Terrell quickly got his back and
sunk in the fight ending choke at 3:08 of the opening stanza.
With the win, Terrell improves to 2-1 in the UFC; Smith falls to 0-1
in the Octagon.
Light heavyweight prospect Jason Lambert of Long Beach improved to 2-
0 in the UFC with a second round TKO win over Chicago's Terry Martin.
After a brief feeling out process, both fighters engaged, with
Martin getting the better of the action after rocking Lambert with a
punch to the head while at close range. Lambert recovered and
quickly and spent the better part of the next two minutes trading
knees against the fence until Martin was able to get the takedown
with a little over a minute left in the opening round. Lambert
fought well off his back though until the bell rang.
The second saw Lambert immediately trying for the takedown, but
Martin stuffed the attempt and the fighters went back to the fence
until Martin could again get a takedown of his own. Once down,
Lambert quickly got Martin's back and started pounding away while
simultaneously looking for a submission. The sub didn't come, but
once Lambert got his foe's back completely, it was over, as a series
of punches brought the stoppage from referee John McCarthy at 2:37
of round two.
In the welterweight opener, Thiago Alves erased the memory of a 2003
submission loss to Derrick Noble by stopping his foe with a barrage
of strikes in the first round of a scheduled three.
Intent on working his Muay Thai on Noble, Alves struck early with
leg kicks and knees, only to be answered back by the punches of the
scrappy Noble, who took the bout on short notice after Drew ****ett
was forced to pull out of the bout due to injury. With 2:30 left in
the round, Noble attacked Alves with a series of shots that almost
forced `The Pitbull' to the mat, but Alves quickly recovered,
shooting in a short right hand that floored Noble. Alves pounced on
his stunned foe and a barrage of unanswered blows forced referee
Mario Yamasaki to halt the bout at the 2:54 mark.