Duane “Bang” Ludwig def. Sammy Morgan via Submission (Strikes) at 2:01 of Round 1
Frank Trigg def. Falaniko Vitale via Decision (Unanimous)
Donnie Liles def. Pete Spratt via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:59 of Round 3
Billy Evangelista def. Luke Caudillo via Decision (Unanimous)
Carlos Zevallos def. Andre Walker via TKO (Punches) at 4:48 of Round 1
Michelle Watterson def. Tyra Parker via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:20 of Round 1
Tyler Toner def. Ricky Johnson via TKO (Punches) at 3:44 of Round 2
Notes
– Denver resident Nate Marquardt was interviewed by HDNet’s Ron Kruck and hinted that he may be next in line for a shot at Anderson Silva. According to Marquardt — who just last month roasted Martin Kampmann in 82 seconds at UFC 88 — said he expects to return to the octagon in January but that he doesn’t know who he’s fighting yet because “they’re kinda waiting to see what happens in October to see who my opponent is.”
– Hometown hero “Bang” Ludwig made apt the evening’s title by avenging his 2005 KO loss with a nasty liver punch which made the grounded Morgan tap immediately. Ludwig has now gone 8-4 since 2006, with all of his losses coming at the hands of current champions — Takanori Gomi, Paul Daley, Josh Thomson — plus UFC contender Tyson Griffin.
– Trigg spent three rounds picking apart the durable Niko Vitale with heaps of combinations (effective to varying degrees), jabs and standing elbows en route to a well-earned unanimous decision. The judges scored it 30-27 and, somehow, 29-28 twice.
– After taking a seven month hiatus from MMA, the Greg Jackson-trained Watterson won her third straight fight in as many months and put the considerably overmatched Tyra Parker to sleep with a deep choke after stunning her with sharp punches.
– Touted lightweight Evangelista improved to 8-0 after outstriking “Lil Hulk” Caudillo in the final two frames of their battle. Caudillo very nearly put the first smudge on Evangelista’s record by dropping him with a series of vicious punches and knees from the clinch early in the first round.
Undercard (Amateur) results from MMAWeekly:
Drew Dober def. Lumumba Sawyers by KO (Punch) at 0:16, R1
Alan Gomez def. Jordan Goodwin by Unanimous Decision, R3
Eric Galvan def. Jeremy Malaterre by Split Decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29), R3
Turrell Galloway def. Brett Tillis by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:21, R1
Aaron Trujillo def. Haven Torres by TKO (Strikes) at 2:59, R1
(Photos courtesy of April Pishna and Strikeforce)