Hero Sports Management

Although fairly new to MMA, Jeff Haddad has made quite an impact. The most literal form was his 3rd round head knockout of John McLaughlin.

The come from behind knockout earned him the Reality Fighting Bantamweight Championship.

2011 KNOCK OUT OF THE YEAR – Emil Haddad When looking at KOs, there are always so many brutal and shocking KOs that some times we have to look at other factors, like two undefeated fighters, former high school wrestling stable mates, Bantamweight Title on the line, and one huge come from behind KO! Ten minutes after Matt Bessette and Joe Proctor walked out of the cage leaving the Fight of the Year in their wake, John “The Convict” McLaughlin and Emil Haddad were each looking across that same cage at a former training partner. Here’s how I saw the action:

PLAY BY PLAY: (NortheastMMA.net)

135lb Bantamweight Title Fight
Emil Haddad 2-0 (FAA)
John “The Convict” McLaughlin 4-0 (Kipp’s Basement) These two warriors are former high school wrestling pals now fighting for the Bantamweight Strap! Round 1: Haddad gets a takedown to top of guard and John ties it up tight. Haddad works the FAA G&P, keeping busy and John defends from the bottom. John stands and eats a punch. Haddad lands a leg kick and a knee. John seems unsettled a bit, but he finally lands a knee of his own. They circle and jab and measure when The Convict lands a monster overhand right and Haddad is hurt. They clinch and strike, but now The Convict is controlling the pace and distance. Haddad is bleeding bad and probably has a busted nose! John stuffs one more nasty jab in there to end the round, one that The Convict has stolen. Old School score: John “The Convict” McLaughlin 10-9

Round 2: They come out swinging and John is winging big shots. He connects on a big uppercut. Haddad’s face and nose are looking nasty and he is leaking MMA DNA real bad, but he’s smiling the whole time! They continue to swap strikes, but The Convict is winning these exchanges. John is really finding that range and connecting. More exchanges and each one seems to be won by John, as he has now found the range. Awesome round! Old School score: John “The Convict” McLaughlin 10-9

There’s blood everywhere in the cage and the Reality Fighting DNA removal crew is working overtime. Haddad’s face is a mess and his mother isn’t gonna let him back in the house looking like that!

Round 3: The friends come out smiling and they are circling. Haddad throws a lead leg head kick that cracks The Convict and John is OUT! End of story! We have a new Bantamweight Champ!

Winner by KO @ 0:39 Rd 3: Emil “Don’t Freaking Blink!” Haddad

Johnny is eventually taken out on a stretcher. This is KO of the Year materiel. Holy Cow! Where did that one come from? Emil had lost the first two rounds soundly. He had a busted nose that was leaking like a broken faucet when out of no where he hit McLaughlin like a rented mule! Haddad stole one from the Convict. What I want to know is how does a fighter make weight at 135 lbs when he has 140 pounds of balls?!