Gracie family members Neiman, Gregor and Rolles took to the cage last night, with only one of the three earning a win on Saturday night at World Series of Fighting 5.
In the night’s first contest, debuting middleweight Neiman Gracie proved victorious in his first appearance as a professional MMA fighter, scoring a first-round submission win over Darren Costa.
It was Costa who scored with his hands early, but submission ace Gracie clinched up, brought the fight to the floor and rolled quickly into an armbar, forcing the tap at the 3:57 mark of the first round.
“I’m very happy to be here,” the Neiman said after the win. “This is a dream. Since I was a kid, I always wanted to fight, and finally I’m here.”
In welterweight action, Rich Patishnock joined a small fraternity of fighters who have defeated multiple members of MMA’s first family by scoring an impressive decision win over Gregor Gracie (7-4).
Gracie took the fight to the floor early, but Patishnock crawled back to his feet and punished his opponent when there. Gracie stood firm in the pocket and traded blows, but it was the constant pressure of Patishnock that saw him through to a unanimous-decision win, with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Afterward, Patishnock admitted he wasn’t sure if he had executed well enough in his sprawl-and-brawl approach but was happy to get the result.
“That was my strategy,” Patishnock said. “I really didn’t think I did that well with my strategy, but that was my strategy, and I’m glad everybody thought I did it.”
In a heavyweight bout, Derrick Mehmen earned the biggest win of his career, scoring a second-round knockout over Rolles Gracie.
Rolles surprised in the opening round, largely forgoing the ground game in favor of boxing with his opponent. The unexpected gameplan worked well early but backfired in the second frame when Mehmen started to get comfortable in his striking game.
With Rolles retreating in a standup exchange, Mehmen blasted him with a clean right hand to the chin. Rolles was out on his feet, and his body slowly twirled before crashing to the canvas in a highlight likely to be seen for years to come. Mehmen was awarded the knockout win at the 2:40 mark of the second round.
In the evening’s featured bout, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski picked up a decision win over Mike Kyle.
“It was a great fight,” Arlovski said after the win. “He’s a top fighter, and I really appreciate him for this fight.
“I guess I could have followed the gameplan more, but I did what I did. It was a good comeback from my fight March 23.”
Other fighters victorious on the card were David Branch, Georgi Karakhanyan, Rick Glenn, Jimmie Rivera and Ozzy Dugulubgov.
(Elements from this story were taken from press release)
