Eight men opened up the first round of the highly anticipated REDLINE Grand Prix Tournament and by simple subtraction laws, only four would continue. Those four having proved their right to be here by the only thing fair in life, survival of the fittest. Competing in the tournament on this night would be an up and coming former boxer named Clint Hester who proved his worth in the cage by picking apart and knocking out submission artist Tex Johnson in under a minute of the first round. Tonight he would face another submission specialist, this one had an equally impressive arsenal of striking and, might we add, blocking abilities.
Douglas Lima a native of Brazil who calls Atlanta his home, survived a near death experience after being front flipped slammed on to his head while in route to submitting the vicious Eddie Hernandez by arm bar in the first round, of their RGP1 showdown.
Also remaining in the tournament is Cortez Coleman a street certified soldier out of Matt Hughes' Hit Squad who was completely written off in the first round as a last minute fill-in and place holder in the tournament, yet managed to shock the crowd by grinding out a decision over the highly favored, highly experienced George Allen. Tonight he would be squaring off with the man favored by many to win the tournament hands down, George Lockhart. A USMC hand to hand combat instructor, his completely chiseled frame looks as if he were ripped straight out of a GI Joe comic book and adds a touch of "damn that dude looks tough" to every fight poster he graces.
NextMMAfighter.com walks us through the fights.
Coleman vs. Lockhart
Most of the first round involved Lockhart pushing Coleman up against the cage, but there was little damage done on either side. Both men landed a few punches and some decent knees, but nothing decisive. I gave this round to Lockhart, 10-9, only because he managed a nice single-leg takedown at one point, but otherwise this round was pretty even and uneventful.
In round 2, Lockhart managed another single-leg early on, but the rest of the round favored Coleman, who was able to land a couple of decent blows, including one really nice left hook that knocked Lockhart down; Coleman then spent the better part of the round on top, where he was able to land a few short elbows to the side of Lockhart’s head. I gave this round to Coleman 10-9.
After they traded some more shots, the ref called the doctor in to look at Lockhart’s eye around 1:23 or so into the third round. The fight continued, but Lockhart’s left eye was pretty swollen and he seemed leery of getting hit again on that side. Coleman pushed the advantage, and although Lockhart was able to keep him up against the fence for a while and get another nice takedown later in the round, Coleman was quick to reverse position and deal some decisive short elbows from the top. I scored this round 10-9 Coleman.
In the end, the judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 for Coleman, making it a unanimous decision.
Hester vs Lima
This is a fight, people will be talking about for a long time. A broken hand, a tenacious and relentless rookie with a sledge hammer hook and perma-grin. The crowd was going mad, stomachs were in knots and the stars of the show packed action into this fight, like sardines in a can. Definitely a contender for any legitimate "Fight of the Year" category.
"This one was easily the fight of the night: Both Hester and Lima are great young fighters, both in great shape, and both loving what they do. While both are excellent strikers, with solid boxing and good kicks, Lima is an excellent counter-puncher and has great knees from the clinch, and that and his somewhat unorthodox fighting stance gave him a significant edge.
Around 3:10 into the first round, after a number of fast, exciting exchanges, Lima was able to land a solid knee to Hester’s chin, following up with a rush that brought Hester down against the cage, where Lima was able to maintain side control for the remainder of the round. I scored this round 10-9 Lima.
In round 2, Lima demonstrated some remarkable reflexes, reacting to Hester’s double-leg takedown attempt early in the round by bouncing off the fence and shoving Hester back off balance, then riding him back and down into a full mount. Around 1:45 into the round, Hester was finally able to scramble around and get to Lima’s back, but Lima then broke away himself and they ended back up on their feet. Lima then landed a few nice right hands, shaking Hester up a little, and at 3:10 Lima took advantage when Hester tried a high roundhouse and slipped. Lima then spent a little while in side control against the fence, dropping in some wicked short elbows. At 3:55, he got Hester’s back, digging in both hooks, and landed some nice head shots, until he slipped in for an armbar around 4:33. Much to the amazement of the audience, however, Hester was able to hold the armbar off for the remainder of the round, locking his hand against his own thigh and countering Lima’s constant pressure, a testament to Hester’s strength and will. I called it 10-8 Lima.
Both fighters came out throwing hard in round 3, but Lima slipped under and got a big double-leg, landing in Hester’s guard. While Hester almost slipped away a couple of times, Lima spent most of this round on top, and in the last minute of the round he got into a full mount, raining down some hard shots from a full upright posture. Right at the end, Hester turned away and Lima got his back, almost sinking in a rear naked choke before the bell. Again, 10-8 Lima.
The judges scored this one 30-27, unanimously. That said, it was a very energetic and exciting fight, even when Lima clearly had the upper hand. Hester is a tough guy with a lot of heart, and we look forward to seeing both of these guys step in the ring again."
REDLINE Grand Prix Recap: Round 2
Eight men opened up the first round of the highly anticipated REDLINE Grand Prix Tournament and by simple subtraction laws, only four would continue. Those four having proved their right to be here by the only thing fair in life, survival of the fittest. Competing in the tournament on this night would be an up and coming former boxer named Clint Hester who proved his worth in the cage by picking apart and knocking out submission artist Tex Johnson in under a minute of the first round. Tonight he would face another submission specialist, this one had an equally impressive arsenal of striking and, might we add, blocking abilities.
Douglas Lima a native of Brazil who calls Atlanta his home, survived a near death experience after being front flipped slammed on to his head while in route to submitting the vicious Eddie Hernandez by arm bar in the first round, of their RGP1 showdown.
Also remaining in the tournament is Cortez Coleman a street certified soldier out of Matt Hughes' Hit Squad who was completely written off in the first round as a last minute fill-in and place holder in the tournament, yet managed to shock the crowd by grinding out a decision over the highly favored, highly experienced George Allen. Tonight he would be squaring off with the man favored by many to win the tournament hands down, George Lockhart. A USMC hand to hand combat instructor, his completely chiseled frame looks as if he were ripped straight out of a GI Joe comic book and adds a touch of "damn that dude looks tough" to every fight poster he graces.
NextMMAfighter.com walks us through the fights.
Coleman vs. Lockhart
Most of the first round involved Lockhart pushing Coleman up against the cage, but there was little damage done on either side. Both men landed a few punches and some decent knees, but nothing decisive. I gave this round to Lockhart, 10-9, only because he managed a nice single-leg takedown at one point, but otherwise this round was pretty even and uneventful.
In round 2, Lockhart managed another single-leg early on, but the rest of the round favored Coleman, who was able to land a couple of decent blows, including one really nice left hook that knocked Lockhart down; Coleman then spent the better part of the round on top, where he was able to land a few short elbows to the side of Lockhart’s head. I gave this round to Coleman 10-9.
After they traded some more shots, the ref called the doctor in to look at Lockhart’s eye around 1:23 or so into the third round. The fight continued, but Lockhart’s left eye was pretty swollen and he seemed leery of getting hit again on that side. Coleman pushed the advantage, and although Lockhart was able to keep him up against the fence for a while and get another nice takedown later in the round, Coleman was quick to reverse position and deal some decisive short elbows from the top. I scored this round 10-9 Coleman.
In the end, the judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 for Coleman, making it a unanimous decision.
Hester vs Lima
This is a fight, people will be talking about for a long time. A broken hand, a tenacious and relentless rookie with a sledge hammer hook and perma-grin. The crowd was going mad, stomachs were in knots and the stars of the show packed action into this fight, like sardines in a can. Definitely a contender for any legitimate "Fight of the Year" category.
"This one was easily the fight of the night: Both Hester and Lima are great young fighters, both in great shape, and both loving what they do. While both are excellent strikers, with solid boxing and good kicks, Lima is an excellent counter-puncher and has great knees from the clinch, and that and his somewhat unorthodox fighting stance gave him a significant edge.
Around 3:10 into the first round, after a number of fast, exciting exchanges, Lima was able to land a solid knee to Hester’s chin, following up with a rush that brought Hester down against the cage, where Lima was able to maintain side control for the remainder of the round. I scored this round 10-9 Lima.
In round 2, Lima demonstrated some remarkable reflexes, reacting to Hester’s double-leg takedown attempt early in the round by bouncing off the fence and shoving Hester back off balance, then riding him back and down into a full mount. Around 1:45 into the round, Hester was finally able to scramble around and get to Lima’s back, but Lima then broke away himself and they ended back up on their feet. Lima then landed a few nice right hands, shaking Hester up a little, and at 3:10 Lima took advantage when Hester tried a high roundhouse and slipped. Lima then spent a little while in side control against the fence, dropping in some wicked short elbows. At 3:55, he got Hester’s back, digging in both hooks, and landed some nice head shots, until he slipped in for an armbar around 4:33. Much to the amazement of the audience, however, Hester was able to hold the armbar off for the remainder of the round, locking his hand against his own thigh and countering Lima’s constant pressure, a testament to Hester’s strength and will. I called it 10-8 Lima.
Both fighters came out throwing hard in round 3, but Lima slipped under and got a big double-leg, landing in Hester’s guard. While Hester almost slipped away a couple of times, Lima spent most of this round on top, and in the last minute of the round he got into a full mount, raining down some hard shots from a full upright posture. Right at the end, Hester turned away and Lima got his back, almost sinking in a rear naked choke before the bell. Again, 10-8 Lima.
The judges scored this one 30-27, unanimously. That said, it was a very energetic and exciting fight, even when Lima clearly had the upper hand. Hester is a tough guy with a lot of heart, and we look forward to seeing both of these guys step in the ring again."