UNANIMOUS CLOTHING

They brought a stretcher into the cage for Jared Hess, even though he was wide awake. It was not a good sign.

Hess suffered what appeared to be a dislocated knee in his 2010 Bellator Fighting Championships middleweight tournament semifinal against EliteXC veteran Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 20 on Thursday at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio. The gruesome injury, sustained when Hess buckled from an ideally timed Shlemenko knee, ended the match 2:20 into round three.

Empowered by superior wrestling and grappling, Hess appeared to have the first two rounds in the bank. In the third, Shlemenko landed the crippling knee, which sent Hess crashing down awkwardly on his leg. Amazingly, the injured 2009 tournament finalist stayed in the fight until Shlemenko backed away from an ensuing scramble and invited him to stand. Hess could not, and the bout was halted on the spot.

The Siberia-based Shlemenko, 26, has won 14 of his past 15 fights. He will face once-beaten World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Bryan Baker — a first-round submission winner against Eric Schambari — in the tournament final.

Baker coaxed a tapout from Schambari with a triangle choke 2:29 into the match, as he won for the seventh time in as many appearances. The 24-year-old judo black belt absorbed an early takedown from Schambari, worked from his back and locked in the choke. Schambari fought valiantly to free himself, but Baker tightened his grip as his opponent postured and left him no choice but unconditional surrender.

“I knew he was going to come out and try and take me down,” said Baker, who also defeated Schambari by split decision at WEC 31 in December 2007. “He’s a strong dude. On the ground, I knew I had evolved my game to where I could finish it.”

In a non-tournament heavyweight matchup, UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez turned the tables on Marcus Sursa and powered his way to a technical knockout 23 seconds into round three. Nearly stopped by a second-round right hand, Sanchez has pieced together a four-fight winning streak since being released by the UFC in December 2008.

His path to victory against Sursa proved perilous. After the two heavyweights battled to a virtual standstill in the first round, Sursa christened the second with a straight right hand that crumpled Sanchez. The 27-year-old Duke Roufus protégé threatened to finish Sanchez with ground strikes but surrendered dominant position with a failed guillotine choke attempt. Sanchez recovered and, by the end of the round, had Sursa mounted and under fire.

“He caught me pretty good,” Sanchez said. “I came back, though. I have a tough chin. I knew if I just hung in there I’d finish it off.”

Visibly exhausted and bleeding from one of his ears, Sursa had nothing to offer in the third round. Sanchez landed a heavy body shot, bullied his foe to the mat and moved immediately to mount. From there, he let the punches fly until the referee intervened.

Finally, Nick Mamalis stunned EliteXC veteran Mark Oshiro, as he submitted the Hawaiian with a second-round rear-naked choke. The end came 1:29 into round two. Signed to compete in the forthcoming 2010 Bellator bantamweight tournament, Oshiro entered his promotional debut with wins in eight of his last nine fights. He had never before been finished.

“I’m never the underdog in my eyes,” said Mamalis, who took the opportunity to campaign for a spot in the promotion’s 135-pound draw. “I want in [the tournament]. Give me my spot.”

Other Bouts
Andrew Chappelle def. Cedric Marks — Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 3:18 R2
Jimmy Flick def. Humberto DeLeon — Unanimous Decision
Fernando Rodriguez def. Kenneth Battle — Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 1:28 R2

Episode No. 9 recap: “The Ultimate Fighter 11: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz”
by Dann Stupp on May 26, 2010 at 10:55 pm ET
“The Ultimate Fighter 11″ hits the homestretch with tonight’s ninth episode and two more quarterfinal fights.

As teased in episode No. 8, tonight’s show has a double-billing: Kyle Noke (Team Liddell) vs. Kris McCray (Team Ortiz) and Brad Tavares (Team Liddell) vs. Seth Baczynski (Team Ortiz). Two will advance with coveted spots in the semifinals.

Additionally, the editors make it clear in the opening seconds of the episode: the “big news” we’ve heard about all year – coach Tito Ortiz’s expected departure from “TUF” – may finally be revealed in tonight’s show.

And in this episode, we get right down to business and head to the UFC Training Center for first-fight weigh-ins. Kyle is up first and weighs 185 pounds, and Kris tips the scale at the same weight.

Their fellow cast members are looking forward to the Kyle-Kris fight because they know the duo trained together before their time on the show. UFC president Dana White said he didn’t shy away from the booking because he had to make one thing perfectly clear: “There are no friends in the UFC,” he says.

After the weigh-ins, the focus turns to Tito, who tells his team that a doctor has recommended surgery because a disc is pushing against his spine. The condition makes sleep impossible and causes his legs to tingle.

“If I keep chancing myself or fighting injured, I’m going to hurt myself worse” Tito says. “I”m not going to make the same mistake I’ve made before. I’m not going to let Chuck beat me because I wasn’t 100 percent. No way.”

And that, my friends, is what we call good ol’ foreshadowing.

In any manner, the fighters return to the gym the following day. Kris and Kyle both talk about the difficulty about fighting a friend and how it’s something they never really have experienced before.

But soon, they make their way to the cage, and it’s fight time with:

TEAM LIDDELL’S KYLE NOKE (16-4-1) VS. TEAM ORTIZ’S KRIS McCRAY (5-0)

Dana does the introductions, referee Steve Mazzagatti gets the action started, and a touch of gloves gets us underway.

Kris dips for a takedown and eats a couple knees to the body, but he picks up and takes Kyle to the mat and drops into half guard. Kyle keeps him in a head lock, but Kris pops his head out and presses his opponent into the cage. Each fighter looks for instruction from his corner, and Kyle implements first and gets to his feet and then breaks from the clinch for a restart. Kyle comes in with a big overhand right that’s blocked, and Kris then clinches and trips him to the center of the mat. Kris again works from half guard and throws punches to the head and body in short spurts. Kyle remains patient from his back and then sees an opening to back out and return to his feet. Kris clinches again from the standing position, eats some punches and knees, and then fails in a takedown attempt and lands on his knees. Kyle follows him to the mat and looks for a guillotine while dropping to his back. When Kris escapes, Kyle follows him to their feet, and Kris pins his opponent against the cage while looking for another takedown. Kyle looks for a kimura, which allows him to drag Kris to the mat. Kris takes a dominant top position before Kyle pulls him back into full guard. Kyle then works butterfly guard as Kris does little from the top. Kyle looks for an arm and throws some elbows while his opponent connects on nothing as the round ends. It’s a very close round, but based on takedowns and overall control, MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Kris.

Both fighters get pep talks from their corners between rounds and then meet in the center for round two.

Kris uses punches to set up a takedown attempt, but Kyle stuffs it. Kyle moves in with a punch, but Kris clinches, picks him up and slams him to the mat. Kyle is in the sitting position against the cage and briefly gets to his feet, but Kris slams him right back down and works from half guard. Kyle rolls to a side and looks to back out, but Kris secures him to deliver more punches. Kyle continues to back up until he’s against the cage, but Kris remains on top while delivering punches to the body. Kris’ top game isn’t dominant, but it’s won him the first half of the round. Kyle makes another attempt to get to his feet, and he makes it after some effort. The fighters jockey for position and tumble to the mat, and during the scramble, Kyle takes his opponent’s back. Kris remains in the kneeling position and tries to fight off the rear-naked-choke attempt by controlling his opponent’s wrists. He’s successful at first, but Kyle sees an opening, gets in a single hook with his leg, and torques the rear-naked choke. Kris, though, survives and even takes top position. Kris works short elbow strikes. Kyle nearly kicks his way free and gets to a sitting position against the cage. Kris tries to pull him away and nearly gets the mount before the round ends. It’s another close one, but MMAjunkie.com again sees it for Kris based on overall control.

Dana confirms the judges have rendered a decision and that a third round won’t take place but then enters the cage, says he was mistaken, and calls for the sudden-victory third round. Kyle won a round with at least two of the judges and gets a second life. Tito is pissed, chucks a water bottle, and then uses his anger to pump up his fighter.

As the third and deciding frame gets underway, both fighters appear to have depleted gas tanks. A touch of gloves get us started, and Kris strikes first with a punch-kick combo. He then pins Kyle against the cage and dips for a takedown attempt. After a lift, he slams Kyle to the mat and returns to the familiar half-guard position. Kris works short elbow strikes to the face but doesn’t have much behind them. Chuck yells for a stand-up. Kris finally lands a few punches with his opponent on the mat and lying against the cage. Kyle tries to control the wrists, but Kris pops him with a few more punches. The shots are sporadic but winning him another round. With Tito’s encouragement, Kris delivers more punches to the head and body, and Kyle looks frustrated from his back. Kyle then tries to kick his way free and looks for an arm submission, but Kris blankets him and pins him to the mat from full guard. The fighters trade some elbows, but the ref calls for a standup with 55 seconds to go. Kris shoots and just ducks under a big flying knee. Kris then pins Kyle against the cage and spends the remainder of the round throwing knee strikes to the legs while looking for the takedown. It doesn’t come, but it’s enough to earn the round.

The judges agree, and Kris earns the decision victory.

Kris says he knows Kyle will now help him get ready for the semis, and he said he’d have done the same for Kyle if he had won the fight.

The fighters then share a hug while Dana admits in a confessional that the highly experiences Kyle needs to spend more time on his wrestling.

Sticking with tonight’s fight-heavy episode, we quickly jump into weigh-ins for the next bout.

Brad weighs 185.5 pounds, but Seth’s weight isn’t revealed and accidentally edited out. But from the traditional staredown, it’s clear he made weight for this all-MMAjunkie.com matchup that pits blogger vs. blogger.

Back at the house, the team alerts Chuck of Tito’s neck problems and how it could spoil their plans for a season-ending fight.

“If I have to put up with him for six weeks, he better let me fight him,” an irate Chuck says. “He’s a jackass.”

Back at the gym, the fighters are ready to go about some last-minute prep. And we have:

TEAM LIDDELL’S BRAD TAVARES (4-0) VS. TEAM ORTIZ’S SETH BACZYNSKI (11-5)

Dana again does intros, referee Herb Dean has officiating duties, and a touch of gloves gets us started.

Seth fires first and uses the punches to pin Brad against the cage. Seth jockeys for position but ultimately settles for a trip takedown when Brad takes his back off the fencing. Seth follows him to the mat and takes his back and looks to secure his hooks. Brad rolls and tries to defend, but Seth secures a body triangle and works to flatten him out. Brad eats punches while trying to shake his opponent free, and the lanky Seth fights to keep on his back. Brad gets to a standing position, hunches over and tries to buck Seth off him. Seth remains tight, though. Brad moves the fight to the fence, and Seth is warned about grabbing the fence. However, as they roll away from the fence, Seth works the rear-naked choke. It looks like he may have it, but he doesn’t have the position and tries to reset. Brad tries to stay balled up on his knees so Seth can’t flatten him out. The strategy works, and Seth has to give up the hold. Brad hops top his feet while Seth remains on his back and tries to rain down punches. Seth’s long legs help him upkick his way to a good defense. Brad returns to the mat but is quickly caught in a triangle choke. He twice has to try to slam his way free and does so on the second effort. Brad delivers some punches from the top, just gets out of the way of a big upkick, and then nearly lands a lunging blow from above. Brad unloads a flurry of sloppy strikes in the final seconds of the round and falls to his knees while trying to deliver a knee strike as Seth gets to his feet. During the frantic exchange, Brad eats an illegal knee/kick to the head from Seth just as the round ends.

Seth immediately apologizes, and Brad walks off. When someone asks if the kick was to the body, someone says no. Brad eventually drops to the sitting position and asks, “What did he hit me with?”

After a commercial break, we return to the carnage. Despite the kick, MMAjunkie.com had it 10-9 for Seth.

The doctor immediately checks in on Brad and confers with the referee for a few minutes. Brad is coherent but seems a bit dazed. He and assistant coach John Hackleman confer. After the official is done meeting with the doctor, John looks to the ref, who tells him the doctor said Brad is “out.” John agrees, and the fight is called right there.

Brad wins the fight via disqualification due to the accidental but illegal soccer kick.

Overhead replays of the blow show Brad taking the full brunt of the blow and dropping to the canvas face first.

Even Seth knew the damage was done.

“He hopped up, and I said, ‘Tavares, I’m sorry,’” Seth says. “And he said, ‘For what?’ Immediately after hitting Brad, I wasn’t worried about the fight really. I was just worried about him.”

Later, in a confessional, Brad shares his disappointment.

“It’s a bad way to end a good fight,” he says.

Seth is nearly in tears as the cameras return to the immediate aftermath of the fight.

The doctor then tells Team Ortiz assistant coach Saul Soliz something that throws the whole fiasco into complete disarray.

“It was right in front of us,” the doctor says off camera. “He kicked him right here.”

Tito says the doctor also came to him and said Seth kicked Brad in the chest near the armpit, not illegally in the head.

Team Ortiz members then start complaining.

“You already got one gift,” Saul yells out. “Come on.”

That doesn’t sit well with Team Liddell’s Rich Attonito, who won his fight with Kyacey Uscola due to illegal knees.

“What gift?” he yells back. “I got kneed twice in the head, you fat [expletive].”

The bickering continues as Brad is officially declared the winner.

Brad seems in shock that people would doubt he was tagged in the head. Tito storms off but turns around to start yelling at some Team Liddell fighters. That sets off Chuck, who then goes after Tito and must be held back by his team and cageside officials.

“Don’t starting yelling at my guys,” he says.

Always the master of sound bytes, Dana looks at the mess and then stares directly in the camera.

“Civilized sport, right?” he deadpans before breaking into laughter.

In a confessional, Tito says he feels like a father figure and is simply looking out for his fighters.

Backstage after things have started to cool down, Dana finds Chuck and pulls him into his office. Dana then compounds the problem and says he might as well break the news: Tito has pulled out of their season-ending coach-vs.-coach fight.

Chuck jumps to his feet and reaches into his pocket.

“Don’t break your phone,” Dana says.

Chuck doesn’t. Instead, he says he has other plans.

“I’m going to go punch him,” Chuck flatly says.

And like that, this week’s explosive episode comes to an end.

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV. MMAjunkie.com will recap each episode of the reality series, and full series coverage can be found on “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ page.

What/Why:
The 13th annual T&C Surf/ Surfer Magazine Grom Contest hits Queen’s surf in Waikiki May 22 & 23 for a weekend of surf, fun and sun. The contest was created to introduce young surfers to competitive surfing in a welcoming, supportive environment.

Groms age 14 & under take to the waves vying for top spots in the following age divisions:
BOYS SHORTBOARD (5-7) (8-11) (12-14)
GIRLS SHORTBOARD(5-7) (8-11) (12-14)
BOYS LONGBOARD (5-9) (10-14)
GIRLS LONGBOARD (5-9) (10-14)
BOYS & GIRLS BODYBOARD (5-9) (10-14)

Preliminary heats run all day Saturday, along with good-fun beach games for killer prizes. The top six surfers advance to the finals on Sunday. Lunch is provided by Wahoo’s Fish Taco and drinks courtesy of Pepsi (included in entry fee). Enjoy free Enza apples while they last!

Day two, Sunday takes you back into the surf for the final heats. The highest scoring shortboarders, longboarders and bodyboarders advance to the day’s final round where this year’s champions will claim their title as top grom.

Join BoardStories TV for a very special “Expression Session” on Sunday. Grown-ups and keiki compete in a tandem division, where fun is the biggest factor. Prizes are awarded to the top three teams.

Wrap it up with the awards ceremony where the top six surfers are honored with trophies and prize packs. A few finalists will be selected as the “most deserving” surfers for showing intergrity, sportsmanship and strength of character. T&C Surf’s president Craig Sugihara will reward these special kids by handing them a new surfboard.

Best of luck to UNA Family Member Kaleo Kwan in this weekend’s Destiny!

Congratulations to UNA Family member Kana “One Man Riot” Hyatt in his recent win over KOTC Veteran Shad Smith! Kana is training in the mainland chasing his dream and Unan1mous Clothing is proud to be joining the ride with him.

Unan1mous Clothing would like to wish the best of luck to Ultimate Fight School Fighter’s and our friends Peni Taufaao, Brad Orsbone, Brent Schermerhorn and FALO in their upcoming fights this Saturday. Please come out and support as I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with our boy’s scrap..

UNA will be at the live showing of UFC 113 at Kahunas Sports Bar and Grill on MCBH. No cover and doors open at 3pm. For Base access please call 428-7707.

Unan1mous Clothing was proud to be apart of the 2010 Sprint Tradewinds Triathlon this Saturday! Over 300 participants ran, swam and biked their way to victory. Check back for official results along with pics of the event.