Jeff Curran and coaches Doug Mango and Brett Brendel corner 4 professional mma bouts at Chicago Cagefighting Championship in route to a 3-1 record.
Jens Pulver wins his second straight under Team Curran with a split decision victory in which he broke his foot at the end of the first round.
Felice “Lil Bulldog” Herrig was impressive in her round 1 victory easily controlling the fight from the beginning and ending it with a TKO.
Eric Kriegermeier easily had the biggest comeback after escaping several attacks to choke out Mike Santiago in the second round.
Joey “The Real” Diehl had a rematch with Chris Haney and came out fast in the first round. In a very competitive fight, Joey succumbed to a triangle choke in the second round.
Team Curran continues it’s fast start in 2011 with a 13-3 record.
Excerpts from MMARecap are below.
Chicago Cagefighting Championship 3 Recap And Results
by Brent Todd – 03-06-2011
Chicago Cagefighting Championship 3 took place on Saturday March 5 from The Odeum Sports Complex in Villa Park Illinois. The event featured an all pro card with a main event of Jens Pulver taking on Wade Choate and a co-main event of Chase Beebe versus Steven Kinnison. Read on for the recap of the event and the quick results.
Chris Haney took on Team Curran’s Joey Diehl in a rematch, only this time it was a professional fight instead of an amateur fight. The first round Haney attempted a superman punch and over shot Diehl. Diehl quickly worked for Haney’s back, but settled for side control. Diehl worked elbow after elbow forcing Haney to try to escape. Diehl was able to get the mount and again threw punches and elbows. Diehl had a fantastic transition from mount to an armbar and the submission was in deep. Haney was able to roll into it and finished the round in Diehl’s guard. The start of the second round looked like both fighters wanted to stand and trade, however Haney shot for a takedown and Diehl quickly tied up a peruvian necktie. Unable to get the choke, Diehl worked for a guillotine but Haney escaped and was in Diehl’s guard. Diehl wanted to use a kimura from the bottom to sweep Haney, but Haney used the opportunity to get Diehl’s back and ultimately mount. The back and forth grappling match continued as Haney nearly finished with an arm triangle choke. Diehl escaped and Haney quickly transitioned to a triangle choke. Diehl tried to escape, but Haney squeezed and continued the pressure giving Diehl his first loss of his professional career.
Prior to the fights, MMA Recap predicted that the fight of the night would belong to Eric Kriegermeier and Michael Santiago and the two did not disappoint. The first round started with both fighters looking to throw bombs. Santiago was able to get the fight to the ground and from there he landed punches in bunches and elbows galore. Kriegermeier was visibly hurt as he had a cut above his eye and a mouse under the other. Santiago clearly won the round with the sheer damage he was inflicting. Like the first round, both fighters stood in the pocket to start the second round throwing massive punches. Santiago again took the fight to the ground and had the dominant position. Santiago had a crucifix and looked to finish the fight, but Kriegermeier was able to escape and pulled guard. Santiago quickly passed to side control and attempted to throw a knee to the body. Unfortunately Kriegermeier used the opportunity to slide out from under him and escape. Kriegermeier grabbed a front headlock and then transitioned to Santiago’s back. Kriegermeier flattened Santiago out and was landing big lefts and rights until Santiago’s neck was exposed and then squeezed to force a tap.
The women were up next as Team Curran’s Felice Herrig took on Andrea Miller. Herrig came out with a push kick that sent Miller back. Miller retaliated with a good stiff jab to Herrig’s nose that bloodied it up. Herrig looked for leg kicks before clinching Miller against the cage. Herrig dropped for a double leg takedown and got it landing in side control. Herrig worked small strikes to set up the pass to mount. Once in the mount Herrig threw punches and elbows over and over. Miller covered up, but the strikes were relentless and the ref was forced to stop the action.
The main event featured former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver taking on Wade Choate. Pulver came out and stalked Choate through out the fight. Both fighters were respectful of the other’s power. The first round was a great back and forth round. Pulver landed a big kick and winced after but it wasn’t evident what was going on right away. The second round featured the two fighters circling and trading punches and kicks. It was an extremely close round that could go either way. The third round Choate became the aggressor and while Pulver was stalking Choate, it was Choate who was landing punch after punch. When the fight was over, Pulver was visibly hurt and his left foot was extremely swollen. The judges gave their score cards and it was a split decision for Pulver.
