Shark Fights 13 recap and post-fight discussion for 'Jardine vs Prangley'

Shark Fights 13: "Jardine vs. Prangley" has come to a close from the Civic Center Coliseum in Amarillo, Texas, and Keith Jardine's quest to fight his way back onto the UFC roster is off to a rocky start.

"The Dean of Mean" headlined the pay-per-view event, fighting outside of the Octagon for the first time in nearly six years, taking on South African wrestling stud and current Shark Fights light heavyweight champion Trevor Prangley in a non-title affair.

And things would not go as planned for the Greg Jackson pupil.

Prangley took the first round with his wrestling skills, easily fending off some early surprising takedown attempts by Jardine and then scoring with one of his own. From there he maintained solid top control for enough of the round to take the early lead on the cards.

Jardine was able to stay upright for the majority of the next two rounds, but Prangley did a nice job of counter striking and not letting that unorthodox movement frustrate him. Prangley got off with some power and floored his opponent at least once, while also softening him up with some nice knees and elbows from the clinch.

The final result was a split decision for Prangley even though Jardine threw everything but the kitchen sink at the South African in the third round. The loss for Jardine is his fifth in a row and the seventh of his last nine overall.

In the co-main event, hard hitting knockout artists Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Houston Alexander fulfilled expectations by trading fireworks right from the opening bell in their light heavyweight bout.

It was "The African Assassin" who jumped out early, dropping Alexander with a right hook that he followed up with some nasty ground and pound. But Alexander somehow survived the opening round while Sokoudjou was busy gassing himself out with punches.

When they came out for round two it was clear that Sokoudjou had nothing left in the tank. His hands were by his waist and his foot movement had disappeared. Alexander took advantage and opened up with some brutal right hands.

Sokoudjou ended up on his back with a relentless Alexander all over him with punches. It took a while for the referee to finally intervene, but once Alexander was on top raining down those punches, everybody watching knew it was only a matter of time.

The stoppage marks win number seven for the Nebraska native by technical knockout and win number eleven overall.

UFC exile Paul Daley won for the second time since being served his walking papers by the Las Vegas based promotion earlier this year for his post fight incident with Josh Koscheck. The British fighter won unanimously on the judge's scorecards over American Top Team trainee Jorge Masvidal.

"Gamebred" was visibly displeased with the decision afterward.

He scored with a number of takedowns throughout the fight, and he obviously felt as though his wrestling had won him the match. However, he was unable to keep "Semtex" on the mat and/or do much damage while he had him there. Daley pushed the pace on his feet and was aggressive with punch and kick combinations while minimizing the time he spent on his back, and those were clearly big factors in the final verdict.

Strikeforce and Elite XC veteran "Smokin" Joey Villasanor was defeated soundly in a three round decision by Brazilian jiu jitsu expert Danillo Villefort in other main card action.

The Greg Jackson student had trouble getting off with his strikes because of "Indio's" length, and when he was able to get inside, the Brazilian scored at will with takedowns. On the ground, the advantage was even more clear for Villefort as he ground and pounded his way to a third straight win.

Welterweight up and comer Tarec "Sponge" Saffiedine notched perhaps the biggest win of his young career when he out-pointed former WEC number one contender Brock Larson on the judges scorecards for a unanimous decision victory.

Larson appeared to gas out early on in the fight, and he was unable to finish on any of his takedown attempts. "Sponge" showed excellent balance and poise to keep the fight where he wanted it, and his striking was superior. He was the clear cut winner after three rounds and improved his record to 10-2.

In undercard action, twenty-three year old British sensation Ronnie Mann captured the Shark Fights featherweight title by squeezing out a split decision over two-fight UFC veteran Douglas Evans.

That's a wrap from "The Lone Star State," but there is plenty more mixed martial arts action on tap for the rest of September, including the debut of "The Ultimate Fighter 12" and UFC Fight Night 22: "Marquardt vs. Palhares" this Wednesday night (Sept. 15,) as well as DREAM 16 and UFC 119: "Mir vs. Cro Cop" on Saturday, September 25.