Weekend Rundown: Doerksen, Lambert, Imanari Victorious

UFC veteran and former World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight contender Joe Doerksen defeated Chad Herrick by split decision in the King of the Cage “Bad Boys 2” headliner on Friday at the Cabo Arena in Detroit. Scores were 29-28 from all three judges, two of them siding with Doerksen.

Doerksen, dismissed by the UFC following his technical knockout loss to Jason MacDonald in April 2008, has rattled off five consecutive wins. The 32-year-old Canadian punctuated his victory over Herrick with a strong third round, as he knocked down the King of the Cage mainstay, mounted him and tried for the rear-naked choke. Herrick survived but fell short on the scorecards.

Another UFC expatriate did not fare nearly as well as Doerksen.

Steve Berger succumbed to first-round punches from Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Waylon Lowe. The attack, which left Berger unconscious and resulted in his leaving the cage on a stretcher, culminated 4:18 into round two. Lowe will carry a six-fight winning streak into his next appearance.

Lambert Stops Brown in First

Former WEC light heavyweight champion Jason Lambert needed less than three minutes to dispatch Dominic Brown, as he stopped the Strikeforce veteran on first-round strikes in the C3 Fights “Knockout Rockout Weekend 2” main event on Saturday at the Lucy Star Casino in Clinton, Okla. Brown met his end 2:41 into the opening stanza.

The defeat snapped a five-fight losing streak for Lambert. The 32-year-old -- who owns notable victories over former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral and one-time International Fight League middleweight titleholder Matt Horwich -- had not tasted victory in more than three years. Lambert finished Brown with some of his patented ground-and-pound.

Meanwhile, 2009 Bellator Fighting Championships welterweight tournament finalist Omar de la Cruz forced a second-round doctor’s stoppage against Prince Mclean. The end came 1:30 into round two.

Imanari Taps Tereda; Nakanishi Takes Deep Grand Prix

Former two-division Deep champion Masakazu Imanari submitted Isao Tereda with an armbar 27 seconds into round three at Deep “47 Impact” on Saturday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Imanari has put together a three-fight winning streak since his unanimous decision loss to Bibiano Fernandes in the 2009 Dream featherweight grand prix.

In a surprising conclusion to the Deep light heavyweight grand prix, Yoshiyuki Nakanishi defeated tournament favorite Christian M’Pumbu by split decision in the semi-final and Ryuta Noji in the final to become the promotion’s 205-pound king. The once-beaten Nakanishi has won five straight fights.

Finally, K-1 veteran Bernard Ackah -- the man perhaps best know for knocking out Johnnie Morton in the former NFL wide receiver’s only professional MMA appearance three years ago -- earned a unanimous decision against Minoru Kato in a light heavyweight grand prix reserve bout.

Loveland Wins Sixth Straight

International Fight League veteran Ian Loveland stopped Xavier Desrochers on first-round punches in the featured match at Wreck MMA “Unite for Brian’s Fight” on Friday at the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Desrochers succumbed to strikes just 41 seconds into round one.

Loveland, a 26-year-old Team Quest standout, has won six bouts in a row. The previously unbeaten Desrochers was a late replacement for 2009 Sengoku featherweight grand prix quarter-finalist Nick Denis.

The Wreck MMA show also featured Maximum Fighting Championship veteran Simon Marini, as he submitted Louis-Philippe Carles by rear-naked choke 2:08 into the first round. Marini, who holds a 2008 victory over UFC castaway and former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Alberto Crane, has posted four wins in five fights.

Arm Injury Ends Villante’s Undefeated Run

An arm injury to Gian Villante cost the heavyweight champion his undefeated record and forced an immediate stoppage to his Ring of Combat 29 match with light heavyweight titleholder Demetrius Richards on Friday at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. The injury brought an end to the bout, which was contested at 205 pounds, 3:27 into round one.

Richards retained his 205-pound crown with the bittersweet victory. Spawned by the Bellmore Kickboxing Academy, Villante had finished his first six opponents, five of them inside one round. A former college football player at Hofstra University, he remains one of the top prospects on the East Coast.

Meanwhile, Ultimate Warrior Challenger veteran Jessie Riggleman submitted Tuan Pham with a guillotine choke 3:17 into round two of their bantamweight affair. The Charlottesville, Va.-based Riggleman remains perfect through nine bouts as a professional.