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Gladiator Challenge Presents “Point Blank”

"Point Blank" was a hot night of great MMA action outside of Sacramento. Read on for the results and to hear about my conversation with former UFC referee Larry Landless.

The Placer County Fairgrounds was the site of "Point Blank," with hot and heavy MMA action entertaining the crowd.

- In the first fight of the night, Robert Garcia won his light-heavyweight tilt over Stu Snyder by ground and pound TKO in the 1st round

- The second bout also saw a ground and pound TKO stoppage, as bantamweight Joe Baros beat Nick Sperling in the 2nd round

- "The Italian Stallion" Nick Reale electrified the crowd as he finished Jonny Goh with a powerbomb KO in their lightweight bout in the 1st round

- In the fourth fight, Chris Sutherland defeated lightweight Anthony Keenan by ground and pound TKO in the 1st round

- The fifth scrap was a hotly-contested bantamweight bout between Javier Vargas and Geovanni Encaracion, won by unanimous decision by Vargas

- Wes Swofford took on Justin Gore in the sixth bout of the evening. The fight ended prematurely when Swofford checked a leg-kick from Gore, breaking Gore's leg. Referee Larry Landless made a great call, saving Gore from further damage. Officially, Swofford one the middleweight bout by TKO in the 1st round

- In a heavyweight tilt, Larry Mays overcame a large weight advantage held by Chris Wood to submit the larger fighter in the first round

- In one of the most anticipated fights of the evening, local favorite Robert Hunsperger battled Derrick Burnsed in a welterweight affair. The crowd was intense, and chanted during the back-and-forth action. In the end, Burnsed quieted the crowd with a triangle during the 2nd round

- A lightweight bout was up next, as Mike Bravo ended Chad Shepherd's night with a beautiful overhand rightin the 2nd round

- In the main event, Steve Walston took on Rick Randolph with the Gladiator Challenge Heavyweight title at stake. Randolph proved to be too much for Walston, winning by tapout due to strikes in the 1st round

It was a great night, as the crowd left "Point Blank" fully satisfied. Gladiator Challenge looks forward to returning to the Sacramento area.

After the event was over, I talked with referee Larry Landless about his stoppage of the Swofford-Gore bout. In it, Gore threw a leg-kick, which Swofford lifted his knee to block. The crowd heard a loud crack, which is not abnormal with leg kicks. Gore immediately dropped to his knees to take Swofford to the ground, but Landless suddenly stopped the fight. No one had realized what had happened, and the crowd rose to its feet to protest the early stoppage. I was cageside, and was watching the ref. Landless' eyes were focused on Gore's right foot, and I followed his gaze to see his foot bent the wrong way. Both fighters stopped, and Gore rolled over and sat down. He never showed any pain, probably helped by the adrenaline, and was more upset with the fight being over than the break. Swofford was courteous, not really wanting to win that way. Kudos to ref Landless for making a great stoppage, saving Gore from further damage.

Landless has been around MMA for a long time as both a referee and a fighter. He last refereed a bout for the UFC in 2004, just barely missing the big boom MMA enjoyed that year, brought on by the UFC's Ultimate Fighter show. He decided to take time off to continue his fighting career, and lost his spot amongst the UFC referee ranks as a result. He hopes to be back refereeing in the UFC this year. I greatly enjoyed my conversation with Larry. He's a great guy.