The second week of December brought with it a big week in mixed martial arts competition as equally as it delivered a big week of success for the increasingly impressive American Top Team gym headquartered in Coconut Creek.
From the UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” on Spike TV Wednesday night in Fayetteville to the debut of Mixed Fighting Alliance in Miami, American Top Team set the pace of champions. ATT fighters scored big as well at CQC “In the Cage” in Charlotte and during the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale in Las Vegas Saturday night.
“Snowman” Jeff Monson (25-8) defeated “Suave” Ricco Rodriguez (30-9) via unanimous decision Saturday night during the main event at the Mixed Fighting Alliance debut in Miami.
“I am happy with the win but I was a little sloppy tonight.” Monson told Fighters.com following the fight.
The main event battle at MFA “There Will Be Blood” was a full round war with each fighter going the distance but Monson winning on all cards in the end. Monson, famous for his blunt honesty, had criticism for his performance.
“A win is a win but I need to improve.” The Abu Dhabi and UFC veteran told Fighters.com. “My jiu-jitsu felt good in the fight but my boxing was a little weak.” Monson continued, “I need to spend more time in the American Top Team gym here in Florida. You know, I need to work with more guys down here to prepare for fights.”
When asked what the future holds beyond the World Grappling Championship in Switzerland 20 December and a fight at Sengoku in March 2009, Monson responded, “I’d really like a shot at Affliction eventually. I think I’d do well there.”
Monson’s teammate and former WWE star Bobby Lashley (1-0) won his MMA debut at MFA in Miami as well when he defeated Joshua Franklin (0-1) in devastating fashion with a TKO stoppage due to strikes in the first round. Lashley quickly raced forward scooping Franklin up and slamming him down into the canvas followed by a barrage of ground-and-pound cuing the referee to step in and stop the action.
Saturday night brought another big win for American Top Team when Micah Miller (10-2) defeated Jason Palacios (6-6) via submission at CQC: “In the Cage” in Charlotte to become the featherweight champion.
When asked about the victory, Miller told Fighters.com, “It was a good win but tonight I went out and fought conservatively. In the fight I lost against Josh Grispi (12-1) I was too aggressive. I think in the future I need to find a happy medium between the two.”
The championship bout at CQC was a war where Miller expressed respect for the punching power of Palacios. Miller stated, “Jason [Palacios] hits hard. Tonight he didn’t hit me flush but I could feel the wind and power from his punches.”
Miller powered through himself and defended the attacks of Palacios to score a strong rear naked choke for the win at the 4:23 mark of the second round. Miller revealed, “Eventually Jason [Palacios] slipped on his feet in the second round and as he was getting up, I jumped on his back and got the the choke.”
In other action Saturday night, American Top Team saw additional success during The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale in Las Vegas when Wilson Gouveia (12-5) submitted Canadian middleweight “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-11) with elbow strikes during the opening round.
Although Gouveia missed weight for the fight he vowed to never let it happen again when questioned by Joe Rogan.
“Killa B” Ben Saunders (7-0-2) set the tone of things to come from American Top Team for the second week of December when he defeated Brandon Wolff (5-3-0) via TKO stoppage at 1:49 of round one Wednesday night at Fort Bragg during the UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” event.
Saunders’ performance was brutally efficient and triggered comparisons to UFC middleweight champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (23-4).
American Top Team fighter and Ultimate Fighter alumnus Luigi Fioravanti (14-4) stayed in theme for the week by defeating Brodie Farber (12-5) via unanimous decision on the undercard of UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” event as well.
At minimum, such a streak of wins by one gym in a span of one week speaks to the strength and competitiveness of American Top Team positioning the Coconut Creek institution as one of the best mixed martial arts training centers in the world.
