Konan
02-01-2013, 10:30 AM
The last time Ricardo Tirloni put his trust in MMA judging, he suffered a surprise split-decision loss and was bounced from a Bellator tournament.
He vows he won't make the mistake again.
Tirloni (15-3 MMA, 2-2 BFC) joins his third Bellator tournament when he meets undefeated Will Brooks (8-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) tonight at Bellator 87. Their bout is one of four that kicks off the Season 8 lightweight tournament at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. The tourney bouts air on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.
Tirloni's first tournament ended with an opening-round TKO loss to Rick Hawn. But the second ended in a controversial split-decision defeat in the semifinals. Nearly every media outlet scored it for Tirloni, though two of three judges sided with opponent Dave Jansen.
"My opinion remains the same: I won that fight," he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "My main learning was not to leave it to the judges, to be more aggressive, look more for the knockout, strike harder and sooner, and to finish the fight as soon as possible."
In the Jansen fight, Tirloni likely suffered from his opponent's late suplex. It didn't do much to damage Tirloni, but he feels it was enough to unfairly sway the judges.
"I have to be smart and keep this from happening again," he said. "That suplex he landed was close to 10 seconds before the end of the round. I won four minutes and 50 seconds, and I lost 10 seconds. I think it's a mistake of the judges to give him that round. This time around, I am taking no such chances, and I'm fighting to finish my opponent."
Tirloni, 29, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who trains with the likes of Thiago Tavares and Nazareno Malegarie. His well-rounded skills have led him to five knockouts and eight submissions in 15 career wins.
However, like many non-American fighters, he gets a test with Brooks, a veteran wrestler with a sometimes-stifling top game. Tirloni, though, remains unfazed.
"I see no problem if he takes me down," he said. "If he takes me down, I can submit him. Of course, I'll avoid takedowns to keep him from getting points, but I have no fear of going to the ground. This is a bout I can fight either on the feet or on the ground."
Brooks is riding a wave of momentum following a December upset of former Sengoku champ Satoru Kitaoka at DREAM.18. An unheralded fighter before the bout, Brooks became an overnight top prospect with the victory and quickly earned a Bellator contract. Tirloni, though, said Brooks has never faced an opponent with his type of experience.
"I watched Brooks against Satoru Kitaoka, but Kitaoka kept insisting on grabbing a leg for the entire fight, until he lost by TKO," Tirloni said. "And his other fights were very short. It looks like he likes to box, get a takedown, and then go for ground and pound. I think my greater MMA experience will make the difference. I am a complete fighter who's experienced several situations he's never faced.
"I think there's little chance of him surprising me."
He vows he won't make the mistake again.
Tirloni (15-3 MMA, 2-2 BFC) joins his third Bellator tournament when he meets undefeated Will Brooks (8-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) tonight at Bellator 87. Their bout is one of four that kicks off the Season 8 lightweight tournament at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. The tourney bouts air on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.
Tirloni's first tournament ended with an opening-round TKO loss to Rick Hawn. But the second ended in a controversial split-decision defeat in the semifinals. Nearly every media outlet scored it for Tirloni, though two of three judges sided with opponent Dave Jansen.
"My opinion remains the same: I won that fight," he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "My main learning was not to leave it to the judges, to be more aggressive, look more for the knockout, strike harder and sooner, and to finish the fight as soon as possible."
In the Jansen fight, Tirloni likely suffered from his opponent's late suplex. It didn't do much to damage Tirloni, but he feels it was enough to unfairly sway the judges.
"I have to be smart and keep this from happening again," he said. "That suplex he landed was close to 10 seconds before the end of the round. I won four minutes and 50 seconds, and I lost 10 seconds. I think it's a mistake of the judges to give him that round. This time around, I am taking no such chances, and I'm fighting to finish my opponent."
Tirloni, 29, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who trains with the likes of Thiago Tavares and Nazareno Malegarie. His well-rounded skills have led him to five knockouts and eight submissions in 15 career wins.
However, like many non-American fighters, he gets a test with Brooks, a veteran wrestler with a sometimes-stifling top game. Tirloni, though, remains unfazed.
"I see no problem if he takes me down," he said. "If he takes me down, I can submit him. Of course, I'll avoid takedowns to keep him from getting points, but I have no fear of going to the ground. This is a bout I can fight either on the feet or on the ground."
Brooks is riding a wave of momentum following a December upset of former Sengoku champ Satoru Kitaoka at DREAM.18. An unheralded fighter before the bout, Brooks became an overnight top prospect with the victory and quickly earned a Bellator contract. Tirloni, though, said Brooks has never faced an opponent with his type of experience.
"I watched Brooks against Satoru Kitaoka, but Kitaoka kept insisting on grabbing a leg for the entire fight, until he lost by TKO," Tirloni said. "And his other fights were very short. It looks like he likes to box, get a takedown, and then go for ground and pound. I think my greater MMA experience will make the difference. I am a complete fighter who's experienced several situations he's never faced.
"I think there's little chance of him surprising me."