November 17, 2006 – Pro Sub League, the people who brought you LA Sub X have put together another installment, this time labeled X-Mission. Held in Culver City, California in a packed house seating over a thousand fans and many B level celebrities, would witness the return of Randy Couture to some form of competition.
There was a lot of hitches, like the first show, this show was also 2 hours behind and there was no organization as trying to get people in or managing the lines. It was put together by grapplers though so what can we expect? Luckily the fights went by fast and continuously.
The rules were a little different. 1 pt for a takedown, 1 pt for mount or back mount, and 3 pts for near submissions or catches. 2 4 minute rounds and 2 1 minute overtimes. In the end no matter what the rules are, the good players always seem to come out on top.
The first match of the night was Mac Danzig (KOTC Champion) vs Alan Zborovsky. I heard a lot about Mac before this fight and was waiting to see if he would live up to his hype which he did. Alan did a good job taking Mac down and passing his guard, but Mac had great guard work, surprisingly from an MMA fighter who is not known for his jiu jitsu. Mac forces a scramble and overwhelms Alan and applies a deep kimura for catch pts. Alan hangs tough and escapes only to be caught in a north south choke and the referee had to stop because Alan was clearly out. Mac wins by choke.
The second match was black belt Jeff Glover of Paragon and Cobra Kai Jiu Jitsu vs Shane Rice who is a brown under Rickson Gracie. Glover had beaten Shane twice in previous matches and this was supposed to be Shane’s revenge match, with Rickson himself in his corner. Jeff is relaxed and doesn’t seem to exert himself at all, or explode into moves, instead flowing from move to move and using his great flexibility. Glover attempts to jump guard but fails to earn any pts, he goes for triangles from the bottom but not tight enough to secure any points. Jeff secures a single and switches beautifully into a kneebar to earn 3 pts. In the second round, its Jeff working from his guard and Shane is not able to come close to any catches. Jeff wins 3-0.
The third match pitted Rafael Luvato Jr. vs Roberto Camargo. Rafael is well known for his gi game, but in his 2nd or possibly third fight with Camargo he had the most one sided fight of the night. It was competitive but he came through with a takedown, a guillotine attempt and an armbar attempt that put him up 7-0 giving Rafael Luvato Jr. the win.
The fourth match was last minute replacement Andy Wang vs Kron Gracie who is the son of Rickson Gracie. There were rumors that Andy was already defeated mentally. It wasn’t a lopsided affair as Kron did secure a takedown and a straight ankle lock attempt for 4 pts, which Andy protested. Later in the fight Andy was able to secure the top position and pass Kron’s guard and land in sidemount and momentarily in mount, but guard pass and sidemount do not earn any pts and the mount was not held long enough. Kron wins 4-0.
Replacement Alberto Crane (Mundial Champ) took on even more last minute replacement Joe Camacho. Crane dropped to his signature half guard and from there swept Joe and attempted a guard pass to a D’Arce/Danagher choke which Joe was able to survive and eventually fight out of. In the second round Crane quickly took Joe down, mounted him and then text book armbarred him for the submission win. Crane by armbar.
Vladimir Matyushenko and Vinicius Magalhaes had the worst match of the night, both warned for stalling with Vladdy winning by 1 pt after 2 rds by a takedown. Vinicius did try to engage and Vladdy used his wrestling to keep Vinicius at bay and basically stall. Most unimpressive. Vladdy by 1 pt.
The co-main event of the night was Jake Shields (Shooto Champ) vs Marcello Garcia (ADCC Champ, Mundial Champ). Jake was the much bigger fighter but Garcia was game. Marcello jumps to guard, Jake passes to a half guard and Garcia uses the half guard to transition to a single leg takedown and take Jake down. Marcello applies a guillotine from the top and after a brief scramble, Jake had to tap. Marcello by guillotine choke.
The main event Randy Couture vs Jacare. Everyone was expecting Jacare to destroy Randy but Randy once again proved everyone wrong. Jacare engaged early and tried a single leg but realized he was not going to take the much bigger Randy down. Randy had a huge size and strength advantage over Jacare. Jacare worked his guard and tried for armbars and triangles but none of them earned him any pts which made Wallid Ismael scream at the refs. Jacare seemed to realize that Randy was too strong to submit upper body wise and Jacare switched to kneebar attempts, the last one being close until the rd ended.
In the second round its more of the same with Jacare attempting knee bars and Randy actually trying to take Jacare’s back. The fight ends 0-0. First over time, nothing happens. Second overtime the two grapplers engage but neither is able to do anything to the other fighter. The fight ends as a competitive draw. Randy was too experienced and strong for Jacare to overcome like everyone imagined.
Until the next Pro Sub League
The Professor
Event Photos By Brad Doerges
http://mma-fighter.com/forum/threads/16653-Pro-Sub-League-X-Mission-Review
LOS ANGELES CA. Oct 23, 2006 Professional Submission League 4 Time UFC Champion – Randy “The Natural” Couture, World BJJ and ADCC Submission Champions Marcelo Garcia and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, World Shooto Champion Jake Shields, KOTC Champion Javier “Showtime” Vasquez, Pan Am BJJ Champions Jeff Glover, Shane Rice & Bill Cooper plus many more.
