I don’t usually do Parting Shots columns for smaller promotions, but since Resurrection Fighting Alliance 8 was on AXS.tv and featured flyweight prospect Sergio Pettis (younger brother of UFC standout Anthony Pettis), I figured why not? Dillard Pegg, of course, was a late substitute for Jeff Curran, brother of Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran.
Sergio Pettis, who looks like a teenaged version of his brother, Anthony, has a lot more going for him than just positive comparisons to his sibling, though. Anyone who watches Sergio in action knows that he deserves credit not for his last name, but for who he is and what he brings to the table.
Pettis put it all on display against Pegg, who didn’t appear overmatched early on, but just wasn’t nearly as sharp as Pettis. Pettis has some nice tricks- he can counter a left hook, for instance, by ducking low and away while throwing up a right head kick like the one he hit Pegg with- but was also deadly accurate with sharp 1-2 combinations, showing a respect for the basics.
I don’t know that Pettis is ready for the UFC yet- he’s just 18 and as a new division, the flyweight ranks in the UFC do not have the depth to allow Pettis to continue growing before getting thrust in with top ten opponents. He might be able to compete right now, but he’ll be better off in the long run taking some time to continue developing while walloping the competition.
Quick Shots
–Zak Ottow looked good in his win over Matt Gauthier, as he showed great head movement, footwork, and excellent timing on his takedowns before getting the submission with an arm triangle from the mount. Like many developing fighters, Ottow struggles with not setting up his kicks properly, but he can work on that.
–Speaking of not setting up kicks, how many times did Lance Palmer throw up a left high kick without setting it up whatsoever, only to have it easily blocked by Jared Downing? 15? 20? 100? Why keep doing that when it’s clearly not working?
–How did Jose Pacheco think he won against Dan Moret? It kills me every time when I see fighters celebrate after an obvious losing effort, as if they can trick the judges into changing their scorecards if they just pretend they won. Or do they actually believe it themselves?
–I have to hand it to RFA- their presentation was really top-notch, with solid production values throughout. Some nice touches (leg reach stats on the tale of the tape, graphics showing the last several fights of each competitor) really added to the presentation, even though there were a few silly things, like the RFA “Fight Gauge”. It’s good to see Pat Miletich and Michael Schiavello, even if it’s perplexing that we see the same five or six announcers get work all the time in the smaller promotions, as if there is no new blood available to commentate the sport.
–Props to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin crowd for not booing or acting like ADHD-riddled noobs, even during more methodical fights like Palmer-Downing. They especially deserve credit considering it was a 20-fight card where 11 of the 14 preliminary fights went to a decision! Props also go to Al Wichgers and Otto Torriero, who reffed the entire event between the two of them, with Torriero officiating eleven fights.
Movin’ On Up Award
Besides Pettis, I was most impressed with Pedro Munhoz, who is not only a BJJ black belt with great leglocks but also a very capable striker with solid wrestling. He’s one of those rare all-around fighters who can do everything, and he showcased that fact with a great performance against a sadly overmatched Mitch Jackson, who couldn’t control range even with a reach advantage and had no answer for Munhoz on the mat, either.
Beautiful Loser Award
This has to go to Jared Downing, who may have deserved a 48-47 win anyway, even before a point was deducted from Lance Palmer for five (!) groin shots during their title bout. It seemed like a draw was the worst-case scenario for Downing, but then again, sometimes we forget how reliably awful MMA judges are. Two of the three gave the fight to Palmer, 48-46, even with the docked point. That means they somehow had Palmer winning four rounds, which is hard to fathom. Downing did fade down the stretch considerably and gave the fourth and fifth rounds away, but I thought the first three rounds, where he out-struck and even managed to out-wrestle Palmer, were all his.
Holy $#!% Award
It’s gotta go to Pettis for his laser-sharp, accurate strikes. The 1-2 he landed to put Pegg away was a thing of beauty. Honorable mention goes to Mike Rhodes, who landed a beautiful left hook-right straight counter while moving backwards to drop an uneasy Ben Smith earlier on the main card.
E-Mail Jon Hartley
Follow Jon Hartley on Twitter
The post RFA 8: Pettis vs. Pegg Parting Shots appeared first on FightMania.com.