The last time I sat down to write, this column was put to the wayside due to days filled with boating on the River (Mississippi) and Vegas adventures to cover the UFC.
I won’t ignore you again!
Nearly each weekend this fall has been fight filled, and I love every minute of it. A big shout out to local promoters doing what they can to step up their promotions — today I will look at three.
Extreme Challenge 65
First and foremost, an event that has grown to be one of my all time favorites: Extreme Challenge. While Monte Cox has little, if anything, that could be changed to step up his event, he definitely does his part in paving the path of excellence for promotions of its kind.
Last weekend was nothing less, though some found the event quite controversial in the end.
In a back-and-forth match between Miletich fighter Sean Huffman and TNT fighter, Minnesotan Joey Clark, judges deemed Huffman the victor by majority decision. Huffman, coming off a round one win over John Halverson in EC 64 just one week prior, was a last-minute replacement for teammate Jason Medina.
Sitting cage-side during the match, I can vouch for the tough decision the three judges had to make. But in the constantly repeated words heard from Dana White in TUF season one: “Don’t let the fight go to the judges.”
For whatever reason, whether the decision goes down as a loss or a draw, Clark seems to be on the short end of the deal. In a year and a half, this is the third bout I have witnessed where it was, or almost was, too close to call.
Three times should indicate something to Clark and his corner Scott Ferrozzo: perhaps a slight stepping up in game could be in order. But the answer is definitely not a verbal bashing.
My moment of Postpartum Depression goes to Clark’s corner man, Ferrozzo.
Around the fight game long enough to know better, UFC 8, 11 and 12 veteran Ferrozzo approached judges Fred Ettish and Brock Larson, both UFC veterans themselves, after the event. From what I could hear between F-bombs during the one-sided tongue-lashing that lasted much longer than a moment, Ferrozzo told Ettish and Larson they were a disgrace to the sport.
And freaking out at the judges after the fight isn’t? Keeping their cool — and I don’t know how they did because I was hot just observing — both agreed it was a very close fight. But Larson saw Huffman to be the winner. Ettish scored the bout a draw. No harm, and definitely, no foul.
Ferrozzo responded by challenging Larson to a match with Clark, and the will-fight-anyone-at-anytime Larson agreed. The “conversation” ended with the Godfather Monte Cox stepping between the foursome (Clark had joined in at this point) to calm Ferrozzo down.
The other main event of the night, this one inside the cage, pit Travis Wiuff (Pictures) against New Mexico’s Jimmy Westfall. The Diesel, who came back to Minnesota from Utah, not just to fight, but to live, returned to the cage as a heavyweight. In a bout that could have ended as early as the 235-pound Wiuff (and he could have been any shape or size) wanted, you can’t help but give props to Westfall for showing up.
Westfall was quick to brawl once the bout got underway, but not quick enough. Wiuff dug his hooks in and landed a knee, followed by a huge takedown. Taking side-mount, Wiuff began landing elbows. The action moved across the cage, where Wiuff took mount. Westfall answered by struggling to roll his body out of position, only to get caught in an armbar and tap at 2:56 in the first.
I can’t help but wonder if the crowd filled with Diesel fans even recognized the bout to be one-sided, or if they actually thought Wiuff had a chance of losing?
Wiuff finds himself in that gray area of ability: better than anyone being brought in by a small-time show, but perhaps not quite ready to jump once again to Octagon level of competition (though the latest match-ups seen in the UFC — Gannon vs. Hinkle — would definitely tell us otherwise!).
Originally set to fight this upcoming weekend in New Jersey for Euphoria MFC but no longer on the card, MFC matchmaker Miguel Iturrate stated, “Travis is hard to get an opponent for sometimes!” Back to his original training camp, it will be interesting to see what road Wiuff takes next in his career.
NFA - Battle for the Belts
Northstar Fighting Association promoter Kris Ottem, recently invited me to her September 24, 2005, show.
While the promotion worked with many beginning fighters, I was pleasantly surprised to find the bouts evenly matched. The event itself was put together in a very professional manner with security guards, concessions, local radio support and a “half-time” show filled with pro-wrestling. Fun entertainment! If you’re in the Northern Minnesota-North Dakota area, this may be something for you to check out.
UCS
Last month, Ultimate Combat Sports promoter Jami Klair invited Miletich fighter Adrienna Jenkins (Pictures) to share her prowess with his crowd. In a very fast bout, Jenkins, who could have chosen any means she wished, defeated local barroom brawler Cindy Romero with a rear-naked choke early in round one.
Jenkins, hailing from Kauai, “The Garden Island” of Hawaii, moved to Iowa in February 2004. Already a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Relson Gracie, the 24-year old rounded her game studying kickboxing at Haru Shimanishi’s HMC with B.J. Penn (Pictures) prior to her move to the Midwest.
“I never figured I’d fight,” Jenkins recalls. “I just wanted to compete. I was a surfer.” Life had other plans for her, however, as she met Jens Pulver (Pictures) in 2003 at a kickboxing match. Three weeks later she moved to Davenport, Iowa. “It’s a great opportunity for me — for college, for training,” states the physical therapy student.
Her introduction to fighting MMA was made in January 2004 at the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 9 in Lemoore, Calif., where she defeated Keri Crothers (Pictures), who was disqualified for illegal strikes.
Jenkins recalls the experience saying, “The event itself was scary. There were thousands of people, and I remember meeting (Randy) Couture and (Chuck) Liddell … Erin Toughill (Pictures) was there. It was intimidating.”
Jenkins laughs as she remembers, “I got a ton of support [from the crowd] because everyone thought I was Mexican!” During the bout, Crothers broke Jenkins right orbital with a soccer kick and later dropped a knee to her face, at which point Crothers was finally disqualified.
In early October, Jenkins second fight pit her against Wisconsin’s Alisa Cantwell in the Xtreme Fighting Organization (XFO) 3, where Jenkins verbally submitted at 1:17 in the first. She reveals, “I couldn’t see anything from my orbital injury.”
Barely one month later, a last-minute opportunity arose, and Jenkins was offered a fight with Shelby Walker (Pictures) in HOOKnSHOOT: “Evolution.” “She was a boxer, and I had years of jiu-jitsu to rely on. I wanted to take it to the ground.” And that is just what she did, as she submitted Walker to a rear-naked choke in the first.
“I was getting more comfortable in the ring,” Jenkins remembers.
“You can’t help but become serious about training at Miletich,” she said. “Regardless if you’re a girl, they’re tough on you.
“MMA is different for girls than it is for guys. There is not enough money [or bouts] for females. You have to have an outside job.”
On top of training and studying full-time, Jenkins works six days a week. She stays motivated from the support of her mom and 16-year-old brother, as well as her teammates.
Hoping to stay busy in the Amateur Boxing circuit and looking forward to NAGA, Jenkins continues to train and wait for more MMA opportunities to come her way.