Ryan Hall beats Diego Sanchez ufc superfight grappling tournament!!!!
by John Morgan on Apr 30, 2011 at 3:35 pm ET mmajunkie
TORONTO – With the UFC Fan Expo grappling superfight tourney title on the line, there would be no last-second heroics for Diego Sanchez.
One day after pulling a come-from-behind submission win over Andrew McInnes, Sanchez was stymied by Abu Dhabi Comabt Club Submission Wrestling World Championship medalist Ryan Hall, who defeated "Dream" on points, 6-2.
Hall, who submitted Jorge Britto to earn his spot in the finals, claimed back control in the final minute of the fight to break a 2-2 deadlock, though he was unable to secure a match-ending rear-naked choke.
Sanchez opened the match intelligently, quickly taking a seated position in order to pull Hall out of his usual kneeling attack. Unfortunately for Sanchez, Hall still secured a 50/50 guard within the opening minute.
Both fighters had earnest attempts at heel hooks, but neither could secure the move. Instead, it was Hall defending well underneath Sanchez before the final scramble that sealed the result.
Once securely on the back with a figure-four around the waist, Hall furiously sought a rear-naked choke that wouldn't come. Sanchez couldn't shake Hall off, even as he worked to his feet and then slammed back into the mat. Hall finished the fight in the position, and he walked away with the win after 10 minutes of grappling.
In an additional superfight, Latvian MMA vet and Xtreme Couture Toronto fighter Misha Cirkunov submitted seven-time Grappler's Quest champion Nolan Dutcher at the 8:16 mark of their contest.
Cirkunov dominated the moderately paced affair, as Dutcher voluntarily went to his back early in the bout. With Cirkunov controlling from the top throughout the match, Dutcher found himself down 10-0 before finally succumbing to a D'arce choke with less than two minutes remaining in the contest.
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