MEDINA, Minn., June 19 — Though I physically grew up in the Midwest (Rochester, Minnesota, to be exact), my mixed martial arts experience came about during time spent in California … so I guess you could say, I grew up “in MMA” out west. Now back home, my two worlds merge into this column.
This summer, it’s no different on the MMA scene, as shows big and small seem to be popping up all over the Midwest. And it couldn’t be a more appropriate time since now, more than ever, MMA appears to be on the verge of going mainstream.
Monte Cox’ Extreme Challenge 62
Past the restaurant, past the lounge and still past the bowling alley, up a narrow, steep stairwell is the last place you’d expect to find hundreds of screaming mixed martial arts fans, but you do. Knowing what fight fans want, Cox delivers, once again packing a full house in Minnesota’s Medina Entertainment Center.
With a 10-bout card, of which four belonged to the four-man middleweight tournament, fight fans eagerly awaited and cheered on local favorites.
The night started with an under card of young — to the world of pro MMA that is — fighters. Joe Purcell won a unanimous decision over Norm Waters in bout one. Bout two ended at 1:56 in round one, as Steve Wright tapped to a keylock, making Chuck Grigsby the victor.
The four-man middleweight tournament preliminary bouts pit Darin Brudigan against Kyle Jensen and Sean Huffman against Victor Moreno. Jensen defeated Brudigan at the end of round two due to doctor stoppage, advancing him to the finals where he would meet Moreno, who in attempt to save his hands for the finals played it cool to win a unanimous decision over Huffman.
At 2:16 in round one of the middleweight tournament final, Jensen tapped to an armbar Moreno quickly sank. Both Jensen and Moreno were coming off TKO wins against local fighter Miguel Cooley prior to EC 62.
Making his pro MMA debut, Dave Menne student Rick Sherer defeated Matt Albright just 15 seconds into round one via TKO. In preparation for his upcoming UFC/Spike TV fight, Josh Neer faced Indiana fighter Todd Kiser, earning the W when Kiser submitted to strikes at 1:14 of round one. Richie Miller, another Menne student, faced Nebraska’s Dustin Mlynarik. Miller won the TKO 38 seconds after the opening bell.
The co-main event and last fight of the night found Jerry Spiegel facing Menne. Though on paper Spiegel did not appear to be a threat to the UFC, SuperBrawl, Rings (and the list continues) veteran (Spiegel’s record going into this fight was 2-6-1, compared to Menne’s recorded record of 37-11-2), he seemed to hold his own, cutting Menne above his right eye early in the fight.
At 3:17 in round one, however, Menne, looking as if he was tired of playing and ready to win, positioned for a guillotine as he brought the fight to the mat, sinking it in for the win.
Fight of the Night
Hands down this honor belonged to Travis “Diesel” Wiuff versus Team Quest fighter Matt Horwich. The fight began with a very non-traditional tone, when underdog, perhaps not by MMA standards, but by this crowd’s standards, Horwich entered Diesel territory to a somewhat calm worship song, “Our God is an Awesome God.” Bible in hand, beanie atop his wild curly hair, he humbly jogged through rows of seated fans surrounding the cage. As he shook hands with many perplexed crowd members, it was almost as if the stage was being set for Good vs … .
Good? Wiuff entered the floor to another Christian-themed song, “Jesus Walks,” and the crowd went wild. In a sport that so many naysayers find to be nothing but violent and “bad,” it’s refreshing to see athletes bringing their personal beliefs into view these days despite much criticism (think Belfort, Rampage).
In a very back-and-forth round, mainly dominated by Wiuff, but equally challenged by Horwich, Wiuff threw precise and solid combinations, effectively landing knees to Horwich’s inner thighs. With a successful slam, Wiuff took Horwich down, only to have Horwich repeatedly attempt positioning himself to lock in an armbar. Wiuff, looking a more comfortable and solid 205 than ever before, defended well.
With 20 seconds left until the end of the first round, both fighters on their feet, Horwich threw a high kick with his left leg and landed it perfectly on Wiuff’s face. Already against the cage, Wiuff fell back and looked nearly unconscious for a moment as his eyes fluttered, blinking to gain composure. A kick about which he said, “Wow, that hurt!” The caliber of this fight was one that most observing Diesel fans, many of whom were decked out in “Diesel” t-shirts, had not yet seen live, as their local hero fought an all out war.
Horwich, cornered by Ryan Schultz, was no cakewalk. Chants of “Diesel, Diesel” encouraged the exhausted Miletich fighter, who muscled it out for the final 20 seconds in round one, the horn blew, and the two fatigued athletes went to their corners for a much-deserved rest.
The following two rounds were much of the same. Wiuff began landing solid combinations, but once on the ground, Horwich, known for finishing fights via submission, continued for the armbar. At one point, Horwich nearly sunk a guillotine, however, Wiuff quickly reversed, sat in Horwich’s guard and landed forearm after forearm. When the horn blew, the drained fighters raised arms. Regardless of the outcome, both had to be proud of the battle they just survived. At the end of the 15-minute bout, the win was unanimously awarded to Wiuff.
Rumors and Other News
Miletich fighters Matt Hughes and Travis Wiuff will join Rich Franklin, Joe Doerkson and possibly Forrest Griffin to help Jeremy Horn train for his upcoming UFC 54 bout against Chick Liddell. Nutritionist Billy Rush, who also helps Franklin, is part of the training camp, as well. … Team Bison fighter, Sammy “The Squeeze” Morgan, is strongly rumored to be one of the upcoming TUF2 welterweight cast members. Manager and trainer Mike Reilly was unavailable for comment. I guess we’ll have to wait until the show premiers August 22 on Spike TV to find out! … Josh Neer recently signed to fight Drew Fickett on the August 6 UFC/Spike TV card. … Miletich fighter Robbie Lawler is rumored to be fighting Falanko Vitale in the upcoming SuperBrawl. … Justin Eilers is currently recuperating after hand surgery. He will soon undergo surgery on his knee; injuries acquired during his UFC 53 fight against Andrei Arlovski.
AFA, June 10, Quick Results
With a full house packed in Waterloo’s Pavilion, Travis Fullton’s AFA was a local hit.
Dan Wheatly def. Matt Albright front choke 0:43 R1 Nick Baker def. Dustin Showbird TKO 1:30 R1
Josh Stramp def. Jason Miller TKO (shoulder separation) 0:50 R1
Derek Billman def. Gabe Maas TKO 2:14 R2
Nate McManus def. Shawn McDougall rear-naked choke 2:40 R1
Brian Price def. Matt Bauler ankle lock 2:50 R1
Joel Stahl def. Chris Clark triangle choke 1:44 R1
Vern Jefferson def. Pat Shirley ankle lock 1:16 R1
AFA light heavyweight champion Clayton Miller def. Shawn Nolan TKO 1:46 R1
AFA heavyweight champion Travis Fulton def. Steve Pilkington rear naked choke 2:31 R1
Upcoming Events.
This weekend, June 25, Monte Cox and Dan Lardy put on Xtreme Fighting Organization 6, a 14-bout, outside event in Chicago. UFC veteran Jeff Curran vs. Steve Kinison headlines the card. See x-fighting.tv for more information.
Extreme Challenge 63 will return to LCO Casino in Hayward, Wisconsin.
Xtreme Kage Kombat will have a must see event in Des Moines, Iowa on August 27. As well as, two big events scheduled for September.
Travis Fullton’s AFA has two events in the works for the coming summer months.