YAMMA Pit Fighting made its debut tonight on pay-per-view from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J. The show featured an eight-man heavyweight tournament that included former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez, Travis Wiuff, Sherman Pendergarst, Marcelo Pereira and more.
In addition, Eric "Butterbean" Esch took on Pat Smith in a "Masters Super Fight" and Mark Kerr attempted to derail Oleg Taktarov (both were two round, five-minute fights).
Tonight's event also included the unveiling of "The Yamma," a new fighting surface that uses sloped edges within the cage. The format, YAMMA executives say, could revolutionize MMA strategy and help avoid fighters from stalling against the fence.
The night belonged to Travis Wiuff, who defeated Marcelo Pareira, Ricco Rodriguez and Chris Tuscherer to win the eight-man heavyweight tournament. Despite blocking some punches with his face in the opener against Pareira, Wiuff pretty much dominated his fights. He looked a little wobbly towards the end but that isn't a fair criticism considering it was his third opponent.
Butterbean hasn't been able to buy a win in the past year, and I'm wondering how long before his novelty wears off. We know he can throw hands, but in mixed martial arts, heavy hands just aren't enough.
Taktarov and Kerr are two guys pushing 40, and boy did they look it. I guess we should be grateful it was over so quickly. And speaking of things that are obviously over, I'm not sure what the answer is for Sherman Pendergarst. He's 2-6 since 2007 and doesn't look to be turning it around.
Here are the full Yamma Pit fighting quick results:
Lamont Lister defeats Oleg Savirsky via TKO (strikes) - 0:33 of Round 1.
Bryan Vetell defeats Antwain Britt via unanimous decision.
Alexey Oleinik defeats Sherman Pendergarst via submission (choke) - 4:18 of Round 1.
Chris Tuscherer defeats Tony Sylvester via unanimous decision.
Travis Wiuff defeats Marcelo Pareira via unanimous decision.
Ricco Rodriguez defeats George Bush via unanimous decision.
Oleg Taktarov defeats Mark Kerr via submission (kneebar) - 1:50 of Round 1.
Chris Tuscherer defeats Alexey Oleinik via unanimous decision.
Travis Wiuff defeats Ricco Rodriguez via unanimous decision.
Patrick Smith defeats Eric "Butterbean" Esch via TKO (strikes) - 3:17 of Round 1.
Travis Wiuff defeats Chris Tuscherer via unanimous decision.
It will be interesting to see what the pay-per-view numbers are, and how that will affect the future of the organization. For now, we got a chance to see the new fighting platform and some decent fights.
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