LASHLEY DOMINATES SAPP AT ‘ULTIMATE CHAOS’

 Bobby Lashley continued to progress on the road to MMA stardom by destroying Japanese pop culture icon Bob ‘The Beast’ Sapp in under four one sided minutes of the first round.  The Lashley/Sapp bout was the main event attraction of ‘Ultimate Chaos’ held Saturday night in Biloxi, Mississippi. 

Sapp, the former NFL player who parlayed his fighting career in K-1 and PRIDE to superstar status in Japan, may be past his prime as a competitor but is still a physically imposing challenge for any fighter.  ‘The Beast’ entered the fight against Lashley in better shape than he’s shown in some time.  Nonetheless, the 6’5” 322 pounds is one of the few men on the planet who can make the 6’3” 255 pound Lashley look small.  Lashley, of course, was in his usual ungodly physical shape and in his prefight press suggested that he was looking forward to a standup war with Sapp.

From the opening bell, it was apparent that it was all a ruse—Sapp rushed forward aggressively and was caught by Lashley and taken down with ease.  From that point, Lashley worked in half guard raining down a punishing ground and pound attack until ‘The Beast’ finally tapped out late in the first round.  After the fight, Sapp indicated that he’d taken a punch in his eye.  He gestured to the same eye that suffered the smashed orbital bone at the hands (and feet) of Mirko Cro Cop in their 2003 K-1 battle.  It may have been the case that he figured with his many other career options letting a younger, stronger opponent pound on the same area simply wasn’t worth it.

In the co-main event, Gilbert ‘Hurricane’ Yvel scored a brutal first round TKO victory over Pedro Rizzo.  Yvel has always had a reputation as something of an enigma, possessed with devastating KO power but often displaying questionable judgment in the ring.  His career has been marred by several disqualifications, including an instance where he slugged a referee.  In the past year or so, his training team has insisted that he’s a ‘changed man’ and Yvel was given the opportunity to fight Josh Barnett at Affliction: Day of Reckoning.  Yvel fought courageously in his loss to Barnett, and against Rizzo demonstrated a more sophisticated ground defense to compliment with frightening strikes.  Rizzo took the fight to the mat early, but Yvel withstood the ground attack and got to his feet.  At this point ‘The Hurricane’ exploded, partially connecting with a high kick followed by a right hand that floored Rizzo.  Yvel then landed five uncontested and downright destructive power shots on the ground before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

Afterwards, he displayed nothing but class.  Upon noticing that Rizzo was still lying on the canvas receiving medical attention, Yvel cut short his celebration and quieted the crowd before kneeling by his fallen opponent until it was clear that he was OK.  Even after Rizzo was alert and walking around the cage, Yvel kept his celebration low key out of respect to his foe.