MMA: PWP War on the Mainland Live Coverage

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PWP runs a show from the Bren Events Center in Irvine this evening, headlined by a bout between former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and former UFC heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello. Preliminary bouts are scheduled to begin shortly after 6PM and the PPV card begins at 7PM.

Sean Choice vs. AJ Mathews

Round 1. Mathews takes Choice down early in the round and proceeds to work him over for the entirety of the round. 10-8 Mathews.

Round 2. Choice blocks Mathews’ takedown attempt and lands a nice pair of hooks that appear to stun Choice. Mathews, however, gets the takedown shortly thereafter. Mathews works ground and pound on Choice and Choice taps out to body punches.

Winner: AJ Mathews, Round 2, submission.

Cleber Luciano vs. Todd Willingham

Round 1. Luciano has Evangelista ‘Mr. Cyborg’ Santos in his corner. The first round is a sloppy kickboxing contest. Willingham successfully defends many takedown attempts by Luciano, but Luciano generally gets the better of the standup anyway. Willingham throws more but misses constantly while Luciano is more precise. Luciano gets a takedown with 15 seconds left in the round. 10-9 Luciano.

Round 2. The fight continues in the standup with Luciano continuing to land the better blows. Luciano then gets the takedown, takes Willingham’s back, and secures a rear naked choke for the submission.

Winner: Cleber Luciano, round 2, submission.

Main Card

Gustavo Machado vs. Rick Reeves

Round 1. Machado has Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral and Fabricio Werdum in his corner. They start in the standup, with each man throwing a number of kicks. Machado in particular has a lot of success with leg kicks. Machado knocks out Reeves’ mouthpiece with a nice punch. Reeves lands some nice body and leg kicks of his own. Machado continues to attack Reeves’ lead leg and you can see a lot of redness on that leg. Good, competitive round. 10-9 Machado.

Round 2. Reeves catches Machado with a nice straight right in an early punching exchange. Reeves attacks Machado’s thigh with kicks while Machado’s kicks focus on Reeves’ knee. As the round progresses Reeves appears to be taking over. He is landing a wider array of shots and opening up more with punches. 10-9 Reeves.

Round 3. Reeves goes for a body punch and gets countered with a punch to the head. Reeves shoots for a takedown but Machado defends. Reeves goes for another and this time he gets it. Machado immediately looks for a heel hook but Reeves gets out and throws a big knee as they return to the feet. Reeves throws Machado down but Machado again moves for a heel hook and uses it to get right back up. Very close round. 10-10, 29-29 draw.

Winner: Gustavo Machado, split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28).

Jens Pulver vs. Diego Garijo

Round 1. Pulver lands a pair of nice uppercuts and starts working his jab. Garijo drops Pulver with a straight punch and applies a guillotine choke for the tap a minute and eight seconds in. That was sad.

Winner: Diego Garijo, submission, round 1.

BJ Penn just came to the barricade at ringside and gave Jens a hug.

Erin Beach vs. Joao Silva

Round 1. Silva keeps going for takedowns but Beach avoids them and beats Silva up with strikes. Silva keeps persisting and gets a few takedowns. Beach keeps getting up but Silva does threaten with a heel hook and arm bar. 10-9 Beach.

Round 2. The fight continues the same way, with Silva trying to get Beach down or pull guard and Beach trying to pick him apart with strikes. Silva is missing punches by miles and shooting for takedowns seemingly 10 feet out. Beach drops Silva with punches three times and lets him back up each time. Silva looked beyond terrible in this round. 10-7 Beach.

Round 3. Beach backs Silva up with punches and Silva rests for a moment in the corner. Silva keeps going for takedowns without success. Silva’s standup is non-existent so Beach just works him over. The fight mercifully comes to an end. 10-8 Beach, 30-24 Beach.

Winner: Erin Beach, unanimous decision (30-25, 29-28, 29-28).

Matt Horwich vs. Thales Leites

Round 1. Leites has Pedro Rizzo and Marco Ruas in his corner. Leites connects with a leg kick and some solid punches to the head early. Leites picks Horwich up and slams him down. Leites uses some ground and pound but Horwich stands back up. In a scramble Horwich takes Leites’ back and sinks in the hooks. Leites escapes nicely and briefly looks for a knee bar. Horwich takes Leites down at the end of the round. Leites grabs an omoplata as the round closes. 10-9 Leites.

Round 2. Leites gets a takedown and works into mount position. Horwich gets him back into half guard. Horwich looks for a heel hook and gets top position. Leites reverses that and ends up back on top. They stand back up and Horwich takes Leites down. He works some ground and pound at the close of the round. Very close round. 10-9 Horwich.

Round 3. They trade punches frantically at the start of the round. Leites scores the takedown. Leites gets side control and works into an arm triangle choke. It looks really tight but Horwich holds on. Leites eventually gives up and lets it go. Horwich uses an omoplata from the bottom which Leites works out of without giving up position. 10-9 Leites.

Round 4. Horwich catches a Leites leg kick and takes him down. He sinks in a rear naked choke and gets the tap.

Winner: Matt Horwich, round 4, submission.

Jason Lambert vs. Tony Lopez

Round 1. Lopez is much taller than Lambert and has a better physique. Lambert has always looked kind of soft and he looks particularly so here. Lopez is more aggressive in the standup early and Lambert goes for a takedown. Lopez defends for a while but Lambert eventually gets it halfway through the round. Lopez gets out and after a mad scramble they end up back on their feet. They clinch for most of the rest of the round. Bad round. 10-9 Lopez.

Round 2. Lopez lands a head kick and crisp punch to the face before Lambert clinches and looks for a takedown. Lambert can’t get it and Lopez knocks him out with a knee to the head. Lopez follows with punches on the ground but it was all over already.

Winner: Tony Lopez, KO, round 2.

Terry Martin vs. Jorge Ortiz

Round 1. Martin catches Ortiz off balance with a punch and Ortiz goes down. Martin drops into Ortiz’s guard and starts landing punches. Ortiz gets out from under and they end up back on their feet. They clinch and trade punches from in close. Martin gets a trip takedown with 30 seconds left in the round. He lands some punches and elbows to close the round. 10-9 Martin.

Round 2. Martin lands a really nice body punch. They continue to clinch. As Martin moves in for a takedown he gets caught with a hook and a knee. Martin gets the takedown. Martin works some ground and pound for the remainder of the round. Close round. 10-9 Martin.

Round 3. Martin moves in with some heavy hooks and lands one hard on the chin of Ortiz. After an accidental low blow, Martin returns to the big punches. Ortiz gets a few counters but Martin is generally getting the best of the punching exchanges. As the round progresses Ortiz begins to do better in the standup. He throws more than Martin but they are landing about the same amount. Another close round. 10-9 Martin, 30-27 Martin.

Winner: Terry Martin, split decision (30-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Tim Sylvia vs. Paul Buentello

Round 1. Sylvia is the aggressor early. He is moving forward with punches while Buentello moves back and fires his jab. They end up clinching in the corner. Referee John McCarthy separates them. Sylvia lands a nice uppercut and knee. Buentello uses a couple uppercuts of his own. They clinch in the corner again and are separated. Sylvia throws a good knee to the body. They trade some big punches as the round comes to a close. 10-9 Sylvia.

Round 2. Sylvia backs Buentello up with punches. They end up clinched in the corner again. The pace here is rather lethargic. McCarthy separates them again and Buentello responds with an impressive punching combination on Sylvia. They end up back in the corner. Sylvia lands a nice elbow and knee to the body in the clinch. They are separated and Buentello throws a nice series of jabs. Sylvia drops Buentello with an uppercut as the round comes to an end and McCarthy steps in to stop the fight with only 3 seconds left.

Winner: Tim Sylvia, TKO, round 2.

They announced Pedro Rizzo will fight Sylvia for the PWP heavyweight title in the future.

--Todd Martin