Another former UFC fighter, Wilson Gouveia, fought for the first time outside of the UFC in almost 4 years. Gouveia was also dumped from the big leagues after back-to-back losses. Despite putting on a Fight of the Night performance in a losing effort against Alan Belcher at UFC 107, Gouveia was released from Octagon duties, in part because he had failed to make the 185-pound weight limit for the fight. Now, at MFC 25, Gouveia was fighting at light heavyweight, 20 pounds heavier, however, he once again failed to make weight, coming in 3 pounds heavy at 208 pounds. What this pattern shows is a lack of discipline.
This lack of discipline showed in Wilson Gouveia's fight with Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo. Although Gouveia was a favorite on the betting lines, it didn't look that way once the fight started. Jimmo beat up Gouveia for the first round, and was battering him with vicious elbows and punches towards the end of the second round, to the point where the fight should have been stopped. The second round was a 10-8 round if ever one existed. To his credit, Gouveia would not die. He looked fat and slow, but he has so much inherit talent that his body would not let him quit, even if it appears he's burnt out as a fighter. This is now Gouveia's third straight loss, and he seems to need a vacation.
Assuming Ryan Jimmo doesn't sign with the UFC before his next fight, it will be against Emanuel "The Hardcore Kid" Newton for the vacant MFC Light Heavyweight Championship. MFC had likely been hoping for a Wilson Gouveia victory, because Jimmo and Newton just fought at MFC 23, and it was a complete snoozefest. Newton proclaims that he has changed his lifestyle and is a different fighter now. It did appear this way as Newton outpointed Dwayne Lewis for fifteen minutes, and looked much better than he did against Jimmo. Newton won by unanimous decision to set up the future title fight. I would not, however, be surprised to hear Jimmo has signed with the UFC after this impressive performance against a former top UFC prospect.
Pete "Secret Weapon" Spratt won his second straight MFC fight, scoring a TKO over Luigi "The Italian Tank" Fioravanti, who came down with a case of food poisoning before this fight and was clearly not fighting up to his ability. Fioravanti had significant trouble trying to take Spratt down, and his lackadaisical stand-up was no match for the heat Spratt was bringing. Spratt was firing on all cylinders. Fioravanti chugged along for three rounds, but finally succumbed to punches near the end of the fight, after taking one too many kicks to the liver.
Gavin "Forrest" Neil made it look easy against former UFC TUF 6 fighter Richie "The Dirty Samurai" Hightower, who was fighting at lightweight for the first time in his career. Neil slapped around Hightower for a couple of minutes, and then sunk in a read-naked choke for the submission win.
The opening televised fight was the least entertaining of the main card fights. Chase Gormley used his wrestling to ground and pound Ryan "The Vanilla Gorilla" Fortin for most of the duration of their 3-round fight. Gormley never brought the pain in a way that was going to end the fight, and Fortin seemed to have no answer for Gormley's wrestling...or really any gameplan at all that was discernable. Fortin did not look good, and although Gormley walked away the winner, he couldn't have picked up a whole lot of new fans with such a plodding victory.
MFC 25: VINDICATION
Thales Leites (17-3) won by SUB over Jesse Taylor (14-6) in R1. [2:27]
Ryan Jimmo (13-1) won by UD over Wilson Gouveia (12-8). [15:00]
Emanuel Newton (13-6) won by UD over Dwayne Lewis (11-5). [15:00]
Pete Spratt (21-17) won by TKO over Luigi Fioravanti (16-7) in R3. [14:02]
Gavin Neil (8-1) won by SUB over Richie Hightower (8-4) in R1. [2:52]
Chase Gormley (7-2) won by UD over Ryan Fortin (3-3). [15:00]
Chad Freeman (4-3) won by SUB over Mike Froese (3-3) in R1. [3:48]
Keto Allen (4-0) won by TKO over Aaron Berke (4-2) in R1. [2:58]
Jevon Marshall (1-0) won by SUB over Garret Nybakken (1-1) in R3. [12:00]
Ryan Jimmo (13-1) won by UD over Wilson Gouveia (12-8). [15:00]
Emanuel Newton (13-6) won by UD over Dwayne Lewis (11-5). [15:00]
Pete Spratt (21-17) won by TKO over Luigi Fioravanti (16-7) in R3. [14:02]
Gavin Neil (8-1) won by SUB over Richie Hightower (8-4) in R1. [2:52]
Chase Gormley (7-2) won by UD over Ryan Fortin (3-3). [15:00]
Chad Freeman (4-3) won by SUB over Mike Froese (3-3) in R1. [3:48]
Keto Allen (4-0) won by TKO over Aaron Berke (4-2) in R1. [2:58]
Jevon Marshall (1-0) won by SUB over Garret Nybakken (1-1) in R3. [12:00]
Complete MMA win-loss records with total fight time in brackets.
UD = Unanimous | SD = Split Decision | SUB = Submission | R = Round
MADMAN AWARDS
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Ryan Jimmo vs. Wilson Gouveia
KO OF THE NIGHT: Pete Spratt (over Luigi Fioravanti)
SUB OF THE NIGHT: Thales Leites (Triangle Armbar over Jesse Taylor)
QUICKEST WIN: Thales Leites over Jesse Taylor in 147 seconds
BIGGEST UPSET: Pete Spratt (+220) over Luigi Fioravanti
GOAT OF THE NIGHT:( Ryan Fortin
