Tonight’s Vault episode feature Chris “The Crippler” Ade and Leonard Carter. Though Carter’s record makes him appear unproven, he’s well known in his local area as a competent fighter. Ade, meanwhile, has made a name for himself as a well-rounded fighter. He also starred on Bodog Fight’s season 6 in a bout against Koji Oishi.

Make sure you check back here tonight to see this episode. Trust me - it doesn’t disappoint.

Osbourne’s been running women’s fights for years, frankly leading the charge in female mixed martial artistry. This tournament is just another step on the road to proper mass-acceptance of women’s MMA. Read this previous post to understand how this tournament will work.

JORDAN SPRAGUE VS. PATTIE LEE - 125LB TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER

My first impression of this pairing was that Jordan was going to get truly fucked up. She’s way skinnier than Lee, who sported some nasty tattoos and the pipes to back them up.

Things looked bad really fast, Jordan presenting fairly amateurish and receiving numerous leg kicks. She nicely resisted a takedown though, and dodged numerous attacks. Lee was looking calm and deadly, then finally delivered a roundhouse kick followed by a spinning backfist that connected beautifully to the crowd’s delight. They circled each other carefully, trying various shots, Lee landing several leg kicks and a magnificent high head kick that seemed to awaken the fire in Jordan. She wanted to keep going even after Brockmole stepped in.

Round 2 brought in a scared-looking but aggressive Jordan, but she once again took a hard right to the face from Lee. Lee mysteriously clinched, then delivered a brutal knee that drove them apart. Lee seemed to have found Jordan’s weak spot however, and took advantage of it – another roundhouse kick followed by a spinning backfist. People were starting to laugh at Jordan’s weak jabs and hunched shoulders.

Round 3 started with Lee slamming Jordan to the mat for something new. She quickly took full mount and seized Jordan from the rear, seeking strikes and a choke. Jordan flailed weakly, appearing totally outmatched. Finally, Jordan spun and Lee wrapped one leg over Jordan’s shoulder, one under the other, and thumped her good at the 1:55 second mark. Brockmole stopped it, which was a good thing: a smashed skull doesn’t heal fast.

All in all, I’d be remiss to not mention that Lee could have taken that match a lot sooner than third round. It would have been a good idea to save her strength for the upcoming battles.

JEN BABCOCK VS. NICDALI CALANOC - 125LB TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER

I was really looking forward to this one. Nicdali is unbeaten at 3-0, and the two took the fight at short notice despite being close friends.

They were smiling girlishly as the round started. Babcock got the first hit – a leg kick, but Nicdali swung into action delivering numerous hooks. She took Jen into the ropes with a stream of brutal hits and a volley of uppercuts. Jen dropped to her knees at 30 seconds in, completely overpowered. Brockmole gave Nicdali the win by knockout.

As such, Nicdali will face Patti Lee for the 125 semi-final. Considering what I’ve just seen, that match will be a real brawler.

SUZY SMITH VS. KAITLIN YOUNG - 135LB TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER

Suzy, wearing a cowboy hat and walking out to some crowd-pleasing country music, jounced into the ring looking ready for fun. Kaitlin Young, an enormously tall fighter, chose music more to my preference – AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. There’s an amazing height difference on these two.

Things started at lightning pace, Smith seeming to take Kaitlin by surprise with her ferocity, delivering numerous strikes which Kaitlin quickly got up to speed on. In seconds, the tables turned, Kaitlin leaping to action and throwing numerous jabs.

Several hard, HARD knees connected with Smith’s face. I think Smith was actually knocked out but still standing for about 5 seconds. Finally, she fell face-first to the mat and lay there for a few minutes while the doctor’s attended to her.

Kaitlin Young takes the match at 22 seconds due to knockout – and a pretty sweet one at that. Suzy was holding a rag to her face as she left. To drive the point home, Sean Brockmole took a moment to clean the blood off the mat.

MIESHA TATE VS. JAN FINNEY - 135LB TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER

Jan Finney entered dressed as a Native princess, belying her visible upper body strength. Miesha Tate was looking pretty calm and relaxed, very different from what I’ve heard about her.

Finney landed the first slow blows, then they clinched, Finney showing a nice sprawl. They traded knees to the gut and thighs, none seeming particularly effective, then fell to the ground, Finney appearing to have better control.

Tate managed to achieve half-mount with Finney taking a very high guard. Finney tied up her arms pretty good though and so the round zeroed-out with little more action.

Round 2 saw Finney land a thundering liver kick. Things got hot fast, both fighters delivering numerous well-targeted strikes. They soon hit the ground with Finney in control, but Tate reversed it nicely and took half-mount. Again, Finney had her arms tied up on her chest. Finney caught Tate’s arm and wrapped her legs over Tate’s neck, but failed to lock in the arm bar. Tate then delivered several painful knees to Finney’s ass, causing the crowd audible pain. The round swiftly ended.

The next round saw Tate receive a trio of leg kicks. She didn’t like that much, so slammed Finney to the ground and took side-control. Again, Finney showed good control and glued Tate’s head down. Tate attempted striking at several points but nothing was doin’ thanks to Finney’s control and evasion skills. Again, the final round ended without further action. I’m calling a draw right now, to be honest.

The judges indeed called it a draw, and so Osbourne requested a two-minute “sudden death” round. Kinda reminds me of Prangley-Santiago last week, which was a mess if you haven’t seen it yet.

Both came out on fire and strong, Finney giving the better of it at first. Tate pursued a single-leg takedown for quite a while until Finney voluntarily took them both down. There, Tate worked for a mount but the action stalled briefly, Finney and Tate delivering strikes to the body while Tate tried for the face. The round ended very close – too close to call. Maybe Tate took it, but I’m not sure.

Again, the judges called a draw – 29-30, 30-29, and 30-30. The crowd booed vehemently as the judges, ref, and Osbourne worked for a solution. Meanwhile, the crowd was grumbling. Was a 2nd “sudden death” round in the making?

Finally, they decided that Brockmole would choose the winner. He rose Tate’s hand. Finney left shortly thereafter, looking cheesed.

And so Meisha Tate will face Kaitlin Young for the 135 lb semi-final.

NICDALI CALANOC VS. PATTI LEE - 125LB TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL

Both Patti Lee and Nicdali Calanoc entered the ring walking very tall and maybe a little arrogant. This should be a real slammer. Winner of this match will face the 135 winner.

Nicdali came in like a grrrilla, pushing and smashing her way through. Finally, Patti caught a leg and shoved Nicdali to the ground with a painful crash-landing on her ass. Nicdali tied her up good but she eventually escaped, resulting in Lee standing and dodging up-kicks. She eventually rejoined Nicdali on the ground and almost lost her arm to Nicdali. Again, Lee was up and seeking re-entry which she soon achieved, but Nicdali’s defense was mostly sound; she never got more than half-mount.

Finally, after some weird twisting, Patti seized Nicdali’s leg and managed a heel submission at 2:59. These two wins reveal Patti Lee as a sound competitor for the absolute tournament win.

KAITLIN YOUNG VS. MIESHA TATE - 135LB TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL

This time, Kaitlin prayed briefly before entering the ring. Meanwhile, the tired and beaten Meisha Tate (she just went four rounds not an hour ago) took the canvas looking fresh and ready to rumble. Tate is clearly at a disadvantage what with Kaitlin winning her match by knockout at 30 seconds…

Tate dodged a hard combo, ate several knees, then got super-knocked-out by a high right kick that nearly bent Tate in half and sent her crashing ragdoll-style into the ropes. It was a fucking lightspeed masterpiece!

Kaitlin Young seizes the brass ring at :38 by brutal, brutal knockout. That was pure badass. Man, I need a replay on that one.

And so it’s Kaitlin Young VS. Patti Lee for the final.

KAITLIN YOUNG VS. PATTI LEE - TOURNAMENT FINAL

So this should be pretty fucked up. Kaitlin Young, the 135lb tournament finalist, now faces Patti Lee, the 125lb tournament finalist. Both are looking pretty tough… but I’m calling Kaitlin Young due to her Herculean wins earlier this evening and her weight advantage. Crowd seemed to be with me on this one.

And so our two Amazons faced each other. Kaitlin started in with a good liver kick and a few deep uppercuts, then both reverted to striking. They traded blows until Lee suddenly collapsed. No one saw the blow but she was definitely writhing in pain. The doctors escorted her from the ring before the hand-raise. Fairly odd…

And so at :53 into the first round, Kaitlin takes the tournament win having spent only 1:53 in actual combat through the entire event. Eric Nicholl, matchmaker for Bodog, instantly offered her a fight at the next Bodog Fight event.
Man, that was good.

For the final event of the evening, Dan Hornbuckle faces Courtney Ray for a title rematch. The Hornbuckle contingent was HUGE… nearly everyone boooed as Ray entered, though there was some chanting in his favour. It was nothing compared to the calls for “HANDLER! HANDLER!” If Hornbuckle’s performance in season 6 of Bodog is anything to go on, this should be a real rip-roarer.

Just as Osbourne had mentioned to me earlier, Dan fights his first round like he’s losing the third. That proved true as Dan crashed into the fray with a forward kick to Ray’s stomach. Both traded kicks, then Dan took him down and achieved half-mount, then full.

With the crowd cheering, Dan tried to posture up for some ground and pound, but Ray was spinning beneath. In seconds, Ray lost his arm to Dan and tapped out via a standing armbar.

Dan very nearly fell into the audience since the armbar was so close to the ropes. He then proceeded to crowd-surf his way around the ring, getting lost for a moment in the sea of supporters.

Under a hail of cheers, Hornbuckle retains his title via armbar at the round 1, 1:25 mark.

We got a full-on visual display of these two fighters via elongated reel played on the big-screen, revealing that Merritt Warren had a strong contingency in the crowd. Warren came out wearing a Superman shirt and full camo, prayed at length at ringside, then entered looking super juiced for the win.

David Overfield, enjoying equally strong support, skipped the prayers and nearly sprinted into the ring. If anything, there might be a few knockouts in the crowd if things get nasty…

This fight is for the belt, and Brockmole held it between them during final instructions.

Things indeed got nasty, both fighters throwing heavy leather early on. They clinched soon after, Overfield holding Warren against the ropes. By mistake, Overfield sunk his kneecap 2-inches-deep in Warren’s scrotum, eliciting a short timeout.

Afterwards, Warren clinched fast and threw some dramatic, leaping knee strikes, but I don’t think they connected. The two landed on the ground, Warren half-mounted. Overfield almost managed an armlock but Warren withdrew it quickly and slammed Overfield’s head into the mat instead. Warren got his head stuck in a triangle leg choke deep in the ropes. After a few seconds, Warren tapped. The Warren contingent was mildly livid; the fight had ended fairly well tangled in the ropes.

At 2:45, David Overfield was awarded the Hook N Shoot title by way of choke. Afterwarsd, Joe Baize and Overfield argued over the mic about whether they should be matched up. Overfield seemed like he wanted to refuse and instead fight Bubby, but Baize was in fine form and kept calling him out. Overfield actually said he’d prefer to fuck it all and fight for Bodog instead. Hysterical.

Cody Welchin has to have some serious guts to face Tara LaRosa with a 2-1 record. The Bodog Fight Women’s 135 lb champion is on a 13-fight winning streak, for god’s sake. Still… there’s something about Cody that gives me hope. Tara came out dancing, fairly proving that all the gold might have finally traveled up from her waist and into her head - a far-cry from the nervous puker in season 1!

Cody managed two successful right hooks out of the gate, but Tara, smiling, dragged her to the ground for submission play. Cody was resisting well though, slowly granting Tara the mount yet managing an Everest-high guard. Good showing for Cody so far!

Brockmole eventually stood them up. Cody suffered a signature LaRosa stream of blows but survived them all. Finally, Tara clinched and tried to take her down but Cody’s sprawl was on par. Instead, Tara delivered several knees to the gut, then took her down and achieved full mount. Tara finally lobbed-in some major ground and pound but most of them seemed to hit Cody’s arms. The round ended clearly in Tara’s favour - but revealing a surprisingly resilient Cody Welchin.

Round 2 saw Cody manage a high kick that clipped Tara in the face, but Tara swooped in with a damaging left and followed up with a clinch, converting to a takedown for side-control. There, Cody again defused Tara’s attacks with good defense and head control until Tara got up, leaving Cody on the ground. Tara worked some punches from standing but few connected. Finally, she landed again and took side control, an apparent staple for the evening.

Tara almost caught Cody’s arm but instead managed a triangle leg choke that forced Cody to tap out at 2:57 in the second round.

And so Tara LaRosa adds one more win to her impressive record, continuing to prove that she’s the best, awesomest female mixed martial artist in the world. Damn, I love watching Tara fight! She’s got a gritty, random style that’s exciting to watch and effective. Fuck, who we gonna put her up against now? We’re gonna have to send scouts into the Himalayas or something…