PORTLAND, Ore. -- Two fighters with wrestling backgrounds relied on their boxing skills for five rounds Saturday in the main event of Sportfight 23 at the Rose Garden. Nathan Coy (Pictures), an All-American wrestler from Oregon State, earned a razor-thin decision over Mike Pierce (Pictures), a former wrestler at Portland State, to win the Sportfight welterweight title: 49-46, 49-46, 48-47. Four of the rounds could have gone either way in a fight that was as much about cross-town rivalry as two up-and-coming combatants trying to reach the next level.
Early on, neither fighter established dominance in the clinch, so they settled on circling near the center of the ring. In trouble early, Coy began to take advantage of his size and southpaw stance, landing several looping jabs and opening up a cut below Pierce's eye.
Rounds two through five were nearly identical with both fighters landing effective blows, but neither gaining a clear-cut advantage.
"I had just a little bit more heart," Coy said.
The gym-versus-gym rivalry peaked during the co-main event when Braveheart's Ricky Story and Team Quest's Jake Ellenberger (Pictures), an IFL veteran, continued the action after the bell. Story, second in the 2006 national wrestling tournament while at Southern Oregon, dominated the welterweight bout with takedowns, top control and sheer size (he weighed in at 171 pounds on Thursday, 197 on Friday), winning 30-27 on all three judges' cards.
In the final seconds of the third round, both fighters squared off at center ring. Ellenberger landed a kick after the bell, and Story began mocking Ellenberger's bloodied nose. While awaiting the decision, the fighters continued to jaw with Ellenberger asking for another fight and Storey reminding him of the recent outcome.
"When we were fighting, he started talking trash," Storey said. "When I was hitting him, he was saying, ‘Why don't you fight?' I said, ‘Why don't you fight better?' I don't know why he would talk so much trash when his face looked like that."
Fight of the Night
Technique and blood were thrown out of the ring when Josh Queen and Josh Bennett (Pictures) went toe-to-toe for the Sportfight heavyweight title. An action-packed first round ended when Queen defended his title by securing a rear-naked choke at 2:16.
Queen stunned Bennett early with a left hook, and Bennett quickly began to bleed. Bennett answered with a left hook of his own, and both fighters continued to batter each other while blood and sweat sent ringside spectators scattering. Queen landed several effective uppercuts and floored Bennett with a straight right. Queen followed Bennett to the mat and grabbed the challenger's back for the submission.
Turning the Tables
In a mild upset, Mychal Clark (Pictures) beat Fabiano Scherner (Pictures) by verbal submission at 3:51 of the second round. Scherner, a 6-foot-4, 264-pound Brazilian who came to Portland to compete as Team Quest's heavyweight in the IFL, used his 40-pound weight advantage to take control early. He manhandled Clark in the opening minutes, scoring a takedown, securing a top-side crucifix and opening a cut over Clark's right eye. But Clark fought back to his feet and the longer the fight went, the more the weight difference played to his favor.
In the second round, Clark landed a straight jump kick to Scherner's face, fought off an armbar attempt and eventually floored the tiring giant with a punch. Clark pounced on Scherner and landed several blows before the Brazilian submitted, citing an injured knee.
Submission of the Night
Amateur Mike Coble asked "What happened?" after he had lost consciousness due to a rear-naked choke applied by Eli Peterson. Coble charged out at the bell, but he fell into a guillotine. He escaped the choke only to have Peterson take his back and stop the fight at 52 seconds.
Beatdown of the Night
The son of former pro wrestling star "Rowdy Roddy" Piper made his presence felt on the face of his opponent. Amateur Colt Toombs landed 30 to 40 unanswered punches and kicks on Steve Quick before the referee stepped in at 1:38 of the first round.
Other bouts:
Ryan Jensen (Pictures) d. Mitchell Whitesel, TKO (strikes) 4:44 R1
DJ Linderman d. Justin Moody, TKO (strikes) 2:37 R2
Amateurs:
Lee Morrison d. John Heath, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Adam Stone d. Ray Virgen, guillotine choke :44 R1
Mark Forsyth d. Mike Chiesa, armbar 1:10 R1