Doug Marshall

Marshall Victorious, Oliveira Injured at PFC

Former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall overcame a scary first round to stop a game Phil Collins in his return to the California outdoor fight scene at the Palace Fighting Championship’s latest event, dubbed “The Return” last night in Lemoore.

A slow start saw Marshall get stunned with a combination early in the first round. Collins capitalized on his dazed foe by hopping on Marshall’s back and fighting to sink in a choke from behind for nearly three minutes. Marshall defended well and was eventually able to shake Collins off before taking him down and working some ground-and-pound just before the round ended.

Marshall turned up the heat in the second round. A blocked Marshall high kick resulted in an abrupt toe-to-toe exchange between the two, which ended after Marshall landed a right hook that sent Collins crashing to the canvas. Marshall pounced on his opponent and landed two more right hands before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

PFC light heavyweight champion and Chute Boxe USA product Jorge Oliveira left the arena with the belt still in his possession, but likely not the way he wanted to. After an exciting two-round war where both fighters let everything hang out, things came to a crashing end, literally, when opponent Isaiah Larson attempted a takedown that caused both fighters to fall out of the ring.

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Marshall-Collins Headlines Tonight’s PFC

Former World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall will take on fellow submission artist Phil Collins in the main event of Palace Fighting Championship’s latest show this evening at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California.

“It’s hard to keep raising the bar, but we keep trying to raise it,’’ PFC president Christian Printup said in a press release sent out to the media. “This is one of the most balanced cards we’ve ever had. We have established veterans with name value, and we have a lot of young talent. We’re not a small show anymore. I don’t care what anybody says.’‘

Marshall, who received permission from World Extreme Cagefighting to fight in the event, will attempt to bounce back from his first loss in nearly two years, a first-round TKO defeat to current WEC title holder Brian Stann. Collins has won his last two bouts under the PFC banner, most recently submitting Mike Martinez in March.

The card will also feature a PFC light heavyweight title bout between Chute Boxe product Jorge Oliveira and top contender Isaiah Larson. Additional featured bouts include lightweight prospect Casey Olson going up against Tito Jones and Gladiator Challenge veteran Jaime Jara clashing with Dominique Robinson.

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Marshall Returns to Lemoore to Face Collins

LEMOORE, CA - Not very many fighters are willing to throw away a title shot. But then again, not many people are thinking the way Merced’s Phil Collins is.

Palace Fighting Championship President Christian Printup announced Monday, June 7 that Collins will fight Visalia’s Doug Marshall at PFC 9 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino on July 18. Marshall (7-3) is the former World Extreme Cagefighting Light Heavyweight champion and will return to the Palace where he started his mixed martial arts career with a submission victory over Tulare’s Anthony Fuller (1-2) at WEC 8 in 2003.

“I absolutely love this fight. Doug is the former WEC Light Heavyweight champion. He’s been in there with some of the best in the game. He’s an intimidating guy,” Printup said. “But in Phil Collins, here is a guy who has also fought tough competition, makes exciting fights and is not intimidated by anyone. He has nothing to lose.”

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CKA: May 28, 2008

Former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall has reportedly signed a one-fight contract with the California-based Palace Fighting Championship and will fight at the promotion’s next scheduled event on July 18th according to the to the Visalia Times-Delta. Five Ounces of Pain was the first to make the find.

PFC President Christian Printup stated in the article that Marshall remains under contract with Zuffa and was given permission to seek a fight in a smaller show to help bounce back from his recent knockout loss to Brian Stann in March, a loss that cost Marshall his title with the organization.

The fight in July will be Marshall’s first career bout outside the confines of World Extreme Cagefighting.

Burns to Replace Chonan at UFC 85

Iowa native Kevin Burns has been tapped to replace longtime PRIDE and DEEP veteran Ryo Chonan in his scheduled welterweight preliminary fight against Roan Carneiro at UFC 85: Bedlam next weekend in London, England according to our friends at MMA Junkie.

While the reason being Chonan’s withdrawal from the card are currently unknown, sources close to Burns have confirmed that the Glory Fighting Championships veteran has agreed to come in as a late replacement on the card.

Burns is currently riding a two-fight winning streak. He has won his last two fights by way of submission, most recently forcing Steve Schneider to tap out courtesy of a triangle choke in December of last year.

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WEC 33 Recap and Thoughts

So I figured I’d put down some of my thoughts/opinions regarding last night’s televised WEC 33 card on the Versus network.

First off, the WEC may just be my favorite promotion.  Because they feature the lighter weight classes, there always seems to be action.  While many of the guys are raw, they always seem to bring it.

Last night the WEC began using Craig Hummer for the post fight interviews.  I like Frank Mir as the color analyst a lot.  His knowledge really comes through in the call of the fight.  Sometimes he makes the claim that a submission is “locked in” and that “its over” a bit prematurely, but I can live with that.  The only weakness was his post fight interviews.  By using a professional like Craig Hummer, it came across much better. 

On to the broadcasted fights.

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Report: Filho, Marshall to Defend Belts in March

WEC champions Paulo Filho and Doug Marshall will each defend their respective titles at World Extreme Cagefighting’s next event on March 26th.

The news comes from MMA Weekly, who reports that the promotion will now hold the event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas instead of a previously mentioned location of Sacramento, California. Indications suggest that the idea of holding an event in the home state of WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber was scrapped after an attempt to schedule a bout between him and former UFC lightweight title holder Jens Pulver was unsuccessful.

Apparently Filho will once again defend his middleweight strap in a rematch against Chael Sonnen, whom Filho defeated in controversial fashion in December. Sonnen has kept his stance that he did not tell referee Josh Rosenthal to stop the bout while being trapped in a Filho armbar.

The fight will also likely be Filho’s last at 185 lbs according to boxing coach Josuel Distak, who stated last month that Filho has opted to move up in weight due to cutting problems.

While it might seem crazy that Filho is moving up in weight, he might be a good career move for the near future if he really is indeed having problems making 185 lbs. The WEC’s light heavyweight division is very stacked talent-wise and even though Filho would be still be undersized for the weight class, he would most likely tear through guys like Doug Marshall, Ariel Gandulla, and Brian Stann.

Speaking of Marshall and Stann, the two heavy-hitting light heavyweights are also expected to clash at the event in a battle that will see Marshall attempt to retain his belt against the popular U.S. Marine.

Additional bouts mentioned in the report include a meeting between welterweight title contenders John Alessio and Brock Larson in a fight where the winner may also be fighting the victor of the Carlos Condit-Carlo Prater welterweight title bout at some point later this year. Others were the following: Kenji Osawa vs. Chris Manuel, Marcus Hicks vs. Ed Ratcliff, and Bryan Baker vs. Nissen Osterneck.

Gandulla Tests Positive for Steroids

The Nevada State Athletic Commission announced this afternoon that Ariel Gandulla has tested positive for the anabolic steroid Nandrolone.

The positive test stems from post-fight testing for WEC 31: Faber vs Curran on December 12th. Gandulla was submitted by WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Doug Marshall in less than a minute into their bout at the event.

Gandulla will now have twenty days to respond to the commission in terms of whether or not he would like to appeal the positive test.

WEC Announces Three Title Fights for December

LAS VEGAS - With three world titles on the line as well as the return of a true mixed martial arts legend, the World Extreme Cagefighting event on Wednesday, December 12th is not only the biggest and best WEC show of the year, it may be the greatest card in the six year history of the organization.
Featuring WEC Featherweight Champion “The California Kid” Urjiah Faber against Jeff “Big Frog” Curran, “The Rhino” Doug Marshall defending his Light Heavyweight title against Cuba’s own Ariel Gandulla, Paulo Filho returning to the Cage to defend his WEC Middleweight crown, and former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens “Lil’ Evil” Pulver making his WEC debut at 145 lbs. against rising star Cub Swanson, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas will be rocked off its foundations by the most explosive MMA action of 2007.
WEC: Faber vs. Curran will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT.

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Gandulla Ready to Battle Marshall

Ariel Gandulla launched himself onto the WEC scene in May when he defeated Gary Padilla by split decision. Unfortunately for the WEC and fans, that wasn’t the best Ariel Gandulla. Two months earlier, Gandulla injured his elbow when the cage door gave way during his fight with Tom Lawlor at Kick Enterprises in Ft. Meyers, Florida, sending both fighters down and out of the fighting area. Gandulla was injured and unable to continue so the fight was ruled a no contest. “I did not utilize all my weapons with Padilla because my elbow was injured. During my fight with Tom Lawlor the cage door flew open in the beginning of the first round and I fell.”

Hailing from Cien Fuegos, Cuba, Gandulla recently joined American Top Team to further his evolution as a mixed martial artist. In October, Gandulla will face his toughest test to date when he steps into the cage with WEC light heavyweight champion Doug “Rhino” Marshall. “First of all, I’m from Cien Fuegos, Cuba, and I moved to the United States in July 1994. As for my fighting background, my record currently stands at 5-0-1. My team is my family and they have definitely helped me improve a lot.”

Looking ahead to his fight with Marshall, Gandulla provided us with a little breakdown on what he plans to do, “I will exchange punches, and I look forward to securing the big take-down. In this fight I am actually going to utilize judo, that’s my weapon. I feel great, I have been a fighter all my life, yes I am ready, 100%.”

Marshall vs Gandulla Set for WEC 31

MMA on Tap has learned that Doug “Rhino” Marshall (6-2) will defend his WEC light heavyweight title in October at WEC 31 when he faces American Top Team’s Ariel Gandulla (4-0).
 
Doug Marshall is a heavy handed slugger who holds victories over the likes of Anthony Fuller, Lodune Sincaid, Justin McElfresh, and Lavar Johnson. Marshall won the WEC light heavyweight title at WEC 23: Hot August Fights when he knocked out UFC veteran Lodune Sincaid.
 
Ariel Gandulla is a native of Havana, Cuba who sports an unblemished MMA record of 4-0. Gandulla made his WEC debut on May 12, 2007 at WEC 27 squeaking out a split decision victory over Gary Padilla (7-2).