MMA ROUND TABLE

The Strikeforce Challengers series returns to the Save Mart Center November 6th. It will feature some of the best MMA talent in Fresno. VSP MMA columnist James Gilliland caught up with a few of the fighters that will be featured on the card. Cole Escovedo (CE), who has overcome insurmountable odds to come back to MMA and is one of the first notable fighters to come out of the valley, Ben Holscher (BH), a teacher at Clovis High and undefeated MMA fighter, Casey Olson (CO), a former Fresno State wrestler and valley MMA favorite, and undefeated Billy Evangelista (BE), who will be fighting in the main event against Jorge Gurgel.

JAMES GILLILAND: What do you think about the growth of MMA?
BH: I think the growth of MMA is awesome. People are starting to become more educated about the sport and we’re starting to break down stereotypes. For a long time, people thought it was just a bunch of thugs going out there fighting. Over the last three years people are starting to learn about the game and all the skills that are involved.
Kids at my school are starting to get involved. They’re starting to see that you have to train you can’t go out there and fight. I think the media has done a good job educating the public that it is a sport. I’m excited to see all the young people training and where the skill level will be in ten years.

CO: If you look at where it has come from to where it is now. It’s exploded especially in the last four years. To see big venues being sold out all over the country, all over the world. It’s definitely exciting to see a sport like this because it is a sport. You train just like any sport, we push our bodies to the max just like any sport you would do. It is neat to see kids now have idols that are in this sport and you can no longer be good at this sport by having one skill. When it started it was a boxer versus a wrestler, if the wrestler got you down it was over. A wrestler versus a jiu-jitsu guy, the jiu-jitsu guy would probably tap you out. You have World champion jiu-jitsu guys, world champion kickboxing guys, and you have national champion wrestlers and that’s all one person. It’s become such a well-rounded sport these younger kids, I can’t wait to see some of these kids I think are phenomenal right now at 12 and 13 when they’re going to be 20. You think GSP (Georges St. Pierre) is good, just wait until this sport gets going.

CE: You see the building blocks for what the sport is going to be… It’s a new lunch box idea to them, you’re going to see guys like Chuck (Liddell) and Randy (Couture) on lunch boxes and trading cards. It’s just a matter of time they already have action figures, that’s the start… It’s like the new Nike; it’s the new sport of the generation.

JG: What’s it like dealing with MMA stereotypes?
CE: It’s not as hard as it was five or six years ago. We have had some much mainstream attention… They (general public) start to see more than just fighting. They see how we are active in the community, we’re not just thugs. Your average MMA fighter is probably a dad or family oriented and they come from a competitive background in sports… We don’t have to deal with the stereotypes as much. Except for people like the Mayor, who think it is still backyard brawling and doesn’t understand the economical ramifications of it and how much revue can be made off what it’s become. Instead of holding it back like (John) McCain. Who still thinks it “human cockfighting” they don’t want to take a step back and look at the big picture. Those are the stereotypes we still have to deal with; more political stereotypes than from the community.

CO: Unfortunately, I still get a little bit of stereotypes of the thugs and the brutal combat of the sport. I do a lot of speaking engagements and I was going to do one at a cancer camp this last summer. It was planned out for a whole year and then a month before they cancelled it because of what I do. The head of directors cancelled it because they didn’t think it was right to have somebody who fights for a living and they didn’t think the parents would like it. I do this because I want to be out there in front of people, I want to be an inspiration for kids to look up to. I think there are so many false idols out there, there’s always going to be the bad apples in any group. I could have been Michael Vick and they probably still would have let me do the speaking engagement because it’s football. But, because I have fighting in my career they didn’t like that so the stereotype is still out there… There are a lot of good idols out there that set good examples. Most of the guys you see on T.V. who are world champions have college degrees. So, how is that not a good example, they are doing the best that they can in they’re sport. It’s sad that the stereotype is still out there. In my way the stereotype is kind of like racism. I don’t see a difference black or white there is no difference to me, whether you play soccer, football, baseball, or you fight.

BH: I think the stereotypes will be broken down. Parents ask me, “you’re a teacher but you fight how do you support that?” After I tell them my reasons for fighting that it’s a sport that I compete… The stereotypes seem to get broken down from what I’ve seen. I think once I’ve said my piece, I’ll get some people that were turned off on fighting to check it out. The more educated the public gets the more the stereotypes will be broken down… The sports going to change in five years, there’s not going to be as many stereotypes.

JG: Where do you think the growth of MMA will end?
CO: Chuck is on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ that just shows you the sky’s the limit.

BH: We’re just starting it’s going to be up there with football. Whether it’s Strikeforce or UFC there’s going to be Friday night fights just like boxing. Once that all gets packaged, I don’t think there is going to be a difference between MMA, the NBA, and the NFL.

CE: It will be a business thing too clothing lines like Tapout, Dethrone, and Cage Fighter. They will have to start competing with Nike and Reebok. They’re going to start realizing how much money they are missing out on by not being involved in the sport. Once that happens, it’s going to be a huge turning point when the major athletic companies. When that happens it will help bring more legitimacy to our sport…
We are still in our infancy as much as we have accomplished in the past ten years. You see Chuck on Dancing with the Stars you start to notice these kinds of thing. You’re not just seeing Chuck on the Ultimate Fighter and on UFC shows. You’re seeing him on ABC on a show that every family will gather on a Monday night to watch. They’re going to start seeing things and be like “hey, that’s the UFC fighter what’s he doing on this show?” It starts to peak interest then you see him on other show shows. It will start to spread out to mainstream society and it will be become accepted as an everyday thing…

JG: What do you guys think about steroids in MMA?
CO: If somebody needs to use them, let them use them. If that’s what they have to do who cares… I’ve never done anything; I think it just comes down to working hard and the right nutrition. I don’t think it’s a huge thing, I don’t think if my opponent does steroids it’s going to affect the outcome.

CE: It makes them feel dumber after he beats them.

CO: I’ve wrestled guys on who are on steroids and I don’t think it affects the outcome if I’m working hard and I’m suppose to win, I’m suppose to win… I don’t condone them at all just like drugs but if that’s what you think you need to do to get by, then do it to get by. I think I’m going to run extra sprints, you think you’re going to poke yourself in the a** go for it.

CE: It just shows lack of self-confidence in your training. I’ve never been happy about my cardio, okay I start wearing a weigh vest and I’m going to add a snorkel to my training. I’d rather do that than stick a needle in my butt, that’s where I sit down its sore all the time. If you think you need that to win it shows a lack of self-confidence. There is the main problem of why you’re not winning fights. If you think you need to juice yourself to win your fights. Then you need to take a step back and look at why you’re losing your fights to begin with… It’s because, your stand-up sucks and your ground game sucks. I’m with Casey on that I don’t condone it at all; I don’t think people should use it. If you use it and you get caught then you deserve the spanking you get. Its things like that hurt our legitimacy… We don’t need it in our sport.

BH: I agree with what they said it’s dumb and it’s pointless. On the side of our athletic commissions they can take a stand right now and set up a strict testing policy. We’re a new sport and we can avoid those black eyes and things like that… We’re a relatively new sport set-up strict testing where everyone gets tested so many times a year. Fix the problem before it becomes one.

CO: We already have to do physicals, eye exams, neural exams, MRI’s, and blood tests. Every other month every two months, if you’re a fighter and your status is fighting you do a test. If it’s such an issue then might as well just nip it in the butt right then. There are some many little things oh well he’s got point zero milligrams of this in his system. What does that do? Oh well, it helped him hold on to that triangle a little bit longer.

JG: What do you think about the growth of MMA in the Central Valley?
CO: I think it’s grown a lot and it has a lot more to go. We’re in the Save Mart Center now and probably being able to do about 5,000 people. That’s a huge thing from when I first started watching Cole fight in Lemoore at the Palace. They tried to do it at Table Mountain a couple of times it wasn’t very good so the Palace was the only place that really had it. They would probably do about 2,000 people over there but now with Zinkin being a huge manager here. He doesn’t have just any fighters, he has the best of the best he’s got Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and Mike Swick. He’s got the best of the best and brining those guys to Fresno when we have fights is huge. It’s huge for the sport those guys are icons, people look up to them and people want to see them… I think since we have local guys, who are very good, Cole’s been fighting for years he build up his name a long time ago. Billy is the best kept secret of Fresno; he’s going to be the next big thing. He’s been coming up for a long time off and on in fighting but now he is headlining the Strikeforce show with Jorge Gurgel which is on Showtime. It’s a big thing for Fresno.

BE: It’s changed so much. I remember going to Porterville, driving really far. My first amateur fight I went to Medford, Oregon, my first fight they gave a hundred dollars and a gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse (Everyone laughs) it was rough. Now, guys are crying for like a thousand dollars but they don’t understand it’s your first fight. It could be worse; a lot of people had it a lot worse.

CE: I got a trophy and congratulations and I was like ‘Yeah, I got a trophy!’

BE: I was proud of my gift certificate. The hundred dollars went for gas and trail mix. Then come back the next year and so I do it all over again. Maybe this time I can get two gift certificates. (Every laughs)

CE: It’s grown the days of saying thanks for the couple hundred bucks I got. You would get a free flight out of state somewhere and a free hotel room for the night, and here’s a hundred bucks split between your cornermen. Those days, thank God, are long gone and the sports grown enough to where it’s a matter of, as greed as it sounds I hate to say it with this economy and the way things are going you get to auction yourself off…
For some of the smaller guys who aren’t on T.V. yet. I can go fight at the Palace, I can fight at the Save Mart Center, I can go fight in Tulare or Visalia it’s a matter of who wants to pay me the most. How much money can I get for my time and my effort? These guys want to pay me two and two (Earnings are based on a fighter showing up and weighing in then the second portion is based on winning the fight.) but these guys want to pay me four and four. Where do you think I’m going to go? I’m going to go where the money is because that’s what pays the bills and puts food on the table…
As opposed to “oh there are fights in Porterville, how much a couple hundred bucks. Okay, what time do I have to be there? Then it’s just a matter of sitting around wondering am I going to get paid? Okay, I’m getting paid cash the checks not going to bounce.” Now it’s like okay, how much are you going to pay me? Okay cool where is the contract? It’s us bringing more professionalism to the sport… Now, it’s like no, you want me to fight show me the piece of paper. I need to get paid, I have bills and a family to feed because most of the time you’re going to find fighters that are probably fighting to put food on the table. That’s what they do for a living they don’t work a nine to five… That’s how we pay our bills as opposed to sitting in a cubicle working a nine to five wanting to blow his brains out. That’s how I think valley sports have grown, instead of begging for fights you get to pick and choose.

JG: What do you think about the Mayor not wanting to hold MMA in Woodward Park?
CE: I’m sure she’s extremely intelligent. You don’t’ get to be mayor by being a doorknob but I don’t know, its Fresno. I don’t think she realizes the loss of revenue for north Fresno… For the mayor to say no we don’t want to have fights in north Fresno, that’s pulling money from north Fresno businesses. You’ve got the north Fresno hotels, if you can get a promoter to put everybody in up in north Fresno hotels, as opposed to having to go down the 41 to Tulare or Divisadero to get a hotel room for the show. I don’t think she’s an ignorant person, I just think she’s very firm on it and I think it’s a mistake it’s hurting north Fresno businesses… I know people that didn’t want to go to the Fresno Fairgrounds event because they did not want to be down there after dark and I don’t blame them. I was just walking to my car and I told my girlfriend “hey, I’m going to walk you to your car,” then I’m going to walk to my car and then we’ll leave because I didn’t want her walking by herself in the parking lot. That’s just me at a Woodward Park or a Save Mart Center event you can walk to your car and really not have a care in the world… Granted the parking was pretty bad, I guess it took a while to get out of there but were no incidents, no major problems, and no fights. Nothing that she would really have to worry about aside from the north end peoples complaints. Well if you don’t like it don’t go the park is pretty much closed at that time of the night anyway. It’s not like we’re ruining your Sunday picnic and it’s not like we’re going to be there holding an event while you have family time at the park. So it really doesn’t conflict with anything, it’s just hurting north business…

BH: I just don’t see the reasoning; you can have concerts out there things like that. The concert’s going to generate way more noise. I think it’s just the people in that area just being kind of ignorant to the sport and complaining about it. If I was running things as long as it’s a safe environment and putting on a good show that’s regulated. I don’t think I would turn down money in this economy from a business stand point. I would just like to hear her actual reasons other than I don’t like it and people in that area don’t like it. There are a lot of things in life you don’t like but you can work with it and can benefit. There’s definitely a greater good to have an event there as far as revenue… I just think the city is throwing away anywhere from $20 to $40,000 that weekend. If they can do without $40,000 per weekend then that’s cool.

CE: I would like to work in one of those restaurants and be able to $10,000 in a weekend.

CO: It’s a tough situation; I think there’s a lot of old school people involved. I think our mayor now thinks very old school, like I was saying earlier we have to adapt to the times… Now to bring more events over there it doesn’t to me even when they have offered to three times the rent to do it. It doesn’t make sense when they have cut people from jobs in parks and recreation because of the economy. But yet they’re turning down money that could be going into that, it doesn’t make sense. The event is at six o’clock at night, very few times do you see people walking around at six o’clock at night with their kids or nine o’clock. It’s over by nine, the next day if they have a good cleanup crew, everything is cleaned up they won’t even know. The issues of it took too long to get out well look at a baseball game it takes just as long. Sit on the 405 in L.A. travel down south it’s just like anything else, there are going to be good and bad in everything… The fact of what it can do for Fresno, we’re in a bad economy and why are we cutting peoples jobs when you have a chance to bring in money and have a surplus. It’s sad but the fight will go on, you tell us we can’t go somewhere, guess what we’re going to go somewhere else. That’s exactly what’s happened and it costs a lot more money to do it at Save Mart Center but we’ll do it and more people will come. It just stinks that a lot of people aren’t going to the north Fresno side because we’ll be over here now.

BE: I think it’s just a great place, the time that I went there; there were so many people just to watch the fight there were people sitting out on the dirt. If they may made that place bigger, like Casey and everyone said imagine how much more money would come in.

JG: Are you guys excited to fight in front of the hometown crowd for the Strikeforce card?
CO: I think the fight in front of our hometown that’s exactly what we get up for, this is kinda what we do it for. I think everybody could have fought anywhere but to do it in Fresno… This is it, this where we grew up, this is where we were raised… It’s a dream for a fighter to fight in your hometown. As much as we travel in this sport to find fights, it’s nice to do it right here to do it right here in front of everybody.

CE: It’s tough with added the pressure, but there’s pressure with all fights. Nobody wants to lose in front of their friends and family, it’s an opportunity… There’s little perks, aside from being able to fight in your own hometown which is a huge plus. Plus, you get pressure but you get local support. Pretty much everybody there is there for you. It’s not like having to go to Colorado or Utah, when you’re fighting their hometown guy and opposed to all you hear is boos. The arena goes nuts just for you because they hear you’re from Fresno or they know you personally, or train with you, or their kid goes to school with your kid…

BH: I think it’s awesome it’s like they said it’s sweet how much the people of Fresno support local guys. I’m not originally from here but just the way the community, the central valley especially Fresno has taken me in. It’s awesome and when they hear you’re from Fresno it makes them cheer that much louder… I’m very excited, I would rather go into a fight and have all my buddies behind me and that’s what we’re able to do. The fans of Fresno are awesome; I would never imagine I would have as many people yelling for me as I have just being somebody new to the area…. The last time I fought in the Save Mart Center was unreal. I can only imagine what it’s going to be like this time with this many Fresno people on the card, it’s going to be awesome.

BE: There is pressure at the same time the support itself, I think is helping me out. Especially for this fight, I do feel a lot of pressure for this fight. But to each one of us, the family is going to go support you; your friends are going to go support you and everyone that you know is going to go be there and cheer for you. Just a little motivation like “Yeah, right on keep fighting,” it helps you out. You ever see Hulk Hogan do his thing, that’s what it does (everyone laughs). Cheering for you it helps you out during a fight; it gives you a push in motivation to just keep going.

For more information on the event, go to www.strikeforce.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

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MENDES REMAINS UNDEFEATED; SOTO’S SURPRISE SUBMISSION VICTORY

Cagefighting returns to Lemoore in successful fashion.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist

Lemoore, Calif. – The Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) debuted at the Tachi Palace Casino with their first card, “Most Wanted” Thursday night. It also marked the return of the cage which hasn’t been seen at the Tachi Palace since World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) left in 2006.

The show featured nine bouts with valley favorites Chad Mendes, Phil Collins, Poppies Martinez and Joe Soto.

The main event had Chad “Money Shot” Mendes collide with Mike “Almond” Joy.

Mendes (4-0) displayed his wrestling pedigree as he dominated Joy (7-4) in all three rounds. Mendes threw an uppercut in the second round injuring his hand but that didn’t stop him from putting on a takedown clinic.

“I think I might have broken my hand,” said Mendes. “I can’t even make a fist with that hand.”

Mendes controlled Joy on the ground and kept scoring points with aggressiveness and takedowns. He remains undefeated as he takes a one-sided unanimous decision.

“It’s a win he’s a tough opponent it was a good win,” said Mendes. “” I felt good that I won. That’s always a good thing.”

UFC veteran War Machine (10-2) was heavy handed as he fought David Mitchell (7-0). It wasn’t enough as Mitchell would go on to slay the War Machine with better grappling, taking the split decision.

Bellator Fighting Championship featherweight champion and Porterville native, Joe Soto (7-0) remains undefeated as he finishes Mike Christensen (4-0) with a surprising gogoplata choke at 2:06 in the first round.

“I didn’t want anyone to know I have jiu-jitsu,” said Soto. “I was on my back and I knew I could finish it from there.”

Experience defeated youth as Poppies “The Tachi Kid” Martinez (16-5) was calm and collected in the fight got the submission win over Sergio Salcido (4-3) by way of guillotine choke in the second round at 3:21.

Merced’s Phil Collins (7-4) was better on the feet but Leopoldo Serao (15-7) had better grappling and wins a close split decision.

“He did enough to win the fight,” Collins said. “A couple of times I thought I had him.”

In the only woman’s bout on the card, pro boxer, Jessica Rakoczy tried her hand at MMA. But, Michelle Ould (3-2) took Rakoczy down and then used ground and pound to get the technical knockout win at 1:40 in the second round.

Michael McDonald’s (7-1) aggressive striking would lead him to a knockout victory over Carlos Garces (3-1) at 2:01 in the first round.

In the first fight of the evening, Coalinga’s Francisco Loredo (3-5) takes the split-decision victory over Exeter’s Chris Tangonan (2-1).

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STAYING COOL WHEN THE HEAT IS ON

John Reedy is a professional technician in and out of the ring.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist

The sport of Mixed Martial Arts isn’t a full-time job for John “The Wild Child” Reedy. He already has one of those.

Reedy’s day job is working as an air conditioning and heating technician.

Reedy’s co-workers are encouraging when it comes to him competing in MMA.

“My boss and his son are very supportive of my fighting,” said Reedy. “They usually sponsor me.”

He also splits his time training with his girlfriend, Christine, and his daughter, Elise. “It’s not easy but I do enjoy my time with daughter,” said Reedy (photo, top). “I’m going to keep doing it.”

The Fresno native started wrestling in the fourth grade. He wrestled all the way through high school while attending Buchanan, then transfered to Yosemite High School.

After graduating from high school, Reedy (8-3) would continue wrestling at Fresno City College.

Reedy’s friend and MMA fighter Anthony Ruiz would introduce him to MMA competition.

He started training in Mariposa with Team Kihon and had a stint with Team Voodoo in Modesto.

“Watching the fights on T.V. and telling myself I can do that,” said Reedy. “I was always fighting as a kid I was always in trouble. I thought it would be a good outlet for me.”

John talked about his first MMA fight against J.R. Nestor (0-1) and the disappointment that came with it.

“I trained my butt off for that fight, said Reedy. “The guy had no business fighting. It wasn’t very satisfying.”

Reedy would finish Nestor by rear naked choke at 1:07 in the first round.

In his second fight against Brian Cobb (15-5), he would lose and he was happy about it. “That was a rush,” said Reedy.

Cobb submitted Reedy by rear naked choke in the second round at 1:54.

After moving back to Fresno, He joined and trains with Team Buhawe alongside friend and fellow fighter Brandon Cash, as well as the Evangelista brothers.

He also came up with his nickname “The Wild Child.” “I had ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) so you can imagine I was pretty out of control,” said Reedy. “I never sat still. I was always in trouble.”

One of Reedy’s favorite fights was against Dominique Robinson (4-3).

“The first night I went the distance,” said Reedy. “It was a good feeling, I felt like I accomplished something.”

He went on to win the fight by a unanimous decision.

Reedy isn’t sure what’s next in his fight career, but he still wants to fight.

“I do enjoy it. It’s a second chance to do professional sports,” said Reedy.

His next fight is against Rodney Rhoden (5-5) on October 17th in Tulare at the Tulare Ag Center as PureCombat presents “Fearless.”

PHOTO COURTESY: Jeff Sherwood, sherdog.com

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PHIL COLLINS: THE FIGHTER NOT THE SINGER

But he hopes to make sweet music in the ring in October.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist

Phil Collins is the former lead singer of Genesis and has had numerous songs top the charts throughout his career.

But this is a story is on Phil “The Pain” Collins, the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter from Merced.

Collins (7-4) started training at the age of 32 and, little did he know at the time, it would become a full-time job.

He moved furniture, worked at Home Depot, and work detail picking up trash in a park.

“Working job to job and quitting all the time,” said Collins. “You name it I’ve done it.”

Since that wasn’t working out, he took care of his kids Quincy, Monique, Anissa, Marcus, and Sabrina while his wife Vanessa, went to work.

“She made the money so I had to be mister mom,” said Collins. “MMA was secondary to getting the kids to school. Making sure they get home and have dinner.”

Unlike most MMA fighters, Phil had no prior training before he started in MMA.

“I played football in high school and that was it,” said Collins. “All I knew how to lift was 40 ouncers (beers) before MMA.”

He began training with the Stact House fight team in Merced. After training for a while he was offered a fight, but said no at first.

“They (Gladiator Challenge) said, ‘hey we’ll give you five-hundred dollars’ and I’m like I’m in,” said Collins. “I wasn’t working and I was broke.”

In his first fight, he took on Brett Carver (0-1). “I thought it was going to be easy, but it was the hardest stuff I’ve done in my life,” said Collins. “After the first round I was ready to quit.”

But he didn’t and went on to take a decision victory.

“I thought I would just do it for fun and then they called again,” said Collins. “This time, I actually started training.”

Fight number two was against Nikk Covert (3-4). He submitted him with an armbar in under a minute in the first round.

Phil then fought in the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) against Kenny Ento (9-5). He would lose by armbar at 1:07 in the first round.

Even though he suffered his first loss, Collins made the decision to pursue fighting full-time.

“If I’m going to do this, let’s just do it.”

Collins would end up changing schools from Stact House to Oakdale MMA. Now, he is training full-time at American Kickboxing Academy in Fresno.

It’s been nearly a year since Collins’ last fight.

He’ll be getting in the cage with Leopoldo Serao (15-7) at Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) debut show “Most Wanted,” on October 8th at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore.

As for having the same name as the famous singer, he just laughs it off.

“I can feel it coming in the air every day,” said Collins. “I hear it every day.”

For more information on TPF: “Most Wanted” contact the Tachi Palace at 1 (866) 472-5223.

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CORTEZ WINS; CLEBER JIU-JITSU FIGHTERS WIN QUICK

A quick night at the Eagle Mountain Casino in a debut-filled fight card.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist

Porterville, Calif. – The Warrior’s Cage hit the Eagle Mountain Casino for their fifth event, “Terminators.”

Only two of the 11 fights went their entire allotted time.

The main event featured Warriors Cage veteran B.J. Lacy taking on Cleber Jiu-jitsu fighter, Felipe Fogolin.

Fogolin (2-0) scored a takedown early. While on the ground, Fogolin pulled a leg lock. Lacy (12-11) fought it off as long as he could, but Fogolin kept the hold, tapping Lacy at 1:30 in the first round.

The other Cleber Jiu-jitsu fighter on the card was the leader, Cleber Luciano. He took on Tony Llamas from the Garage Fight Team.

Llamas (8-9) came out striking, but Luciano (4-3) wanted no part of it, as he went for the takedown. After gaining the takedown, Luciano would take Llamas’ back and sink in the rear naked choke.

Luciano wins by submission at :54 seconds in the first round.

Billy Terry had a rough fight as he took on Warriors Cage vet, Sergio Cortez (6-5).

Cortez dominated on the feet and on the ground. In the second round, Sergio finished the fight by technical knockout, using ground and pound at 1:21.

“I didn’t know what to expect from him. I stayed calm and relaxed,” said Cortez. “I was glad I got the win.”

In the only unanimous decision of the evening, David Sierra (1-0) used effective wrestling and jiu-jitsu to oppose his will on Anthony Gonzales (0-1) and get the win.

Marcus Bair wins by verbal submission in his debut over Brandon Mullinik (0-1) in the first round at 1:40. Mullinik turned in another lackluster showing in the cage.

Draws are rare in Mixed Martial Arts, but there was one on this card.

Porterville’s Danile Boelter fought Lemoore’s Travis Backaus in a battle between two fighters making their debuts. In the first round, both fighters were looking for the quick win either by knockout or submission. Both fighters landed solid punches but couldn’t put the other away in either round.

The two round-three minute fight ended in a draw, with both fighters winning a round apiece.

“I felt real gassed out like I couldn’t do anything in the second round. I kind of gave up” said Boelter.

“It could have went either way,” said Backaus. “I think I had more in my tank than he did.”

Jared Davis Marcus gets the win and the fastest fight of the night as he beats Tule River Fight Team’s Scott Mears (0-1). By technical knockout from ground and pound in :25 seconds in the first round.

Porterville’s TJ Williams (1-1) loses to Victor Torrez (debut) in a first round TKO by way of ground and pound.

Lindsey’s John Araujo (debut) submits Porterville’s Estevan Ceballos in under a minute by arm triangle in the first round.

Team Buhawe’s Rafael Alvarado (0-1) makes quick work of Team Kajupit’s Julio Medragon (debut) winning by kimura at 1:19 in the first round.

Starting the night of first round fights, Tule River Fight Team member Dakota Bell wins his debut over another debuting fighter, Leonard Villareal in :27 seconds by technical knockout.

“I’ve been training for six years,” said Bell. “After I landed my first kick, I saw that he was wounded and I went in for the kill.”

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MMA INVADES TULARE FAIRGROUNDS

The Project” wins a close fight, Alatorre’s striking not enough.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist:

Tulare, Ca. – Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) action took over the Tulare County Fairgrounds as Gladiator Challenge presented “Gods & Gladiators.”

The co-main event featured Tulare native Hector Alatorre, who returns to MMA after another stint in boxing. Alatorre took on Carlos Garces. The other big fight was between Jeremy “The Project” Luchau against Carlos DeSoto, a fight that was planned eight months ago.

Alatorre (0-1-1) used his boxing experience to go toe-to-toe with Garces (2-1) but he didn’t have much in the way of takedown defense, with Garces controlling the fight from the ground.

Alatorre had better striking and fans on his side but it wasn’t enough to overcome Garces’ wrestling and will. Garces scores the technical knockout over Alatorre using ground and pound in the 3rd round at 52 seconds.

In one of the better fights on the card, Team Ochoa’s Luchau (1-1) took on Team Merciless fighter DeSoto. The fight lived up to the hype, as both combatants have been trash talking each other for quite some time.

Both fighters would win a round apiece, scoring takedowns and winning battles on the ground. In the third round, Luchau would edge out Desoto in takedowns, winning the round and taking the split decision win.

“I think I won because I had better positions at times,” said Luchau. “The third round I thought I dominated.”

Luchau also said that was the last time he would fight until his wife, Priscilla, makes her MMA debut.

Coalinga MMA’s Francisco Loredo (2-5) prevails over Samurai Dojo’s Michael Craddock (2-4) by way of split decision.

Doug Hunt (5-3) wins the unanimous decision out-pointing Sergio Salcido (4-2).

Mike Martinez (7-5) gets the split decision victory over Mike Arelano.

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Exeter native and Samurai Dojo fighter, Chris Tangonan (1-1) defeats King’s Knights fighter Anthony Garcia by rear-naked choke at 2:13 in the 2nd round. Tangonan scored the victory after spending most of the first round in a triangle choke.

“After that I was out of breath and I wanted to end it quick,” said Tangonan. “I was hoping for a ground and pound win but rear-naked choke is cool too.”

Alejandro Bautista (1-1) makes quick work of Rick Guillen (0-2) submitting him in 57 seconds by guillotine choke.

In his pro debut, Fresno Kickboxing Academy fighter, Josue Tirado edges out a split decision over George Sanchez (1-2).

“I just came in here to work hard,” said Tirado. “I’ll take any win I can get. A win is a win.”

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MMA TO FIGHT ON AT TACHI PALACE

‘Tachi Palace Fights’ is the new name for mixed martial arts in Lemoore.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist:

Lemoore, Calif. – The Tachi Palace announced their plan to continue having Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events in Lemoore.

The new promotion Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) was unveiled during a recent press conference.

“The Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino has had a long storied history with the sport of MMA. It established two great promotions while producing some of the biggest fights in the Central Valley,” said interim entertainment manager, Joey Perez.

TPF will be in association with Gladiator Challenge (GC) and the fights will be held in a 20×20 foot cage instead a ring like the previous promotion, the Palace Fighting Championship (PFC).

This is the third MMA company to come to the Tachi Palace. The first promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), began at the Tachi Palace in 2001 until it was bought out by Zuffa (Owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship) in 2006.

The PFC filled the void left by the WEC. But, when entertainment coordinator and PFC President Christian Printup left the Tachi Palace, the PFC promotion went with him.

TPF is hoping to produce top name fighters and build on what the other two promotions have helped establish in the local MMA scene.

“Our goal is to find the talent of tomorrow,” said Tedd Williams, GC and TPF promoter. “It’s a great opportunity for the fighters, to help grow them. If you become somebody here, you are the real deal.”

One of the fighters on the card is Merced native, Phil “The Pain” Collins. He is coming off a long break and training with the new American Kickboxing Academy team in Fresno.

Phil is eager to fight again and in the new promotion.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a cage, it doesn’t matter where it would happen if it was in the street, in a ring,” said Collins. “This is what I do for a living; I can do it tomorrow if I had to.”

Another fighter on the card is Bellator Fighting Championship featherweight champion and Porterville native, Joe Soto.

“I’m really excited to be back home,” said Soto. “It feels coming back; I have a lot of friends around here so they can see me fight.”

The first TPF show will feature local fighters Chad Mendes, Poppies Martinez, and Rolando Torres.

Tachi Palace Fights: Most Wanted is set for Thursday, October 8. For more information on the event go to www.tickets.com.

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FROM BODYBUILDER TO CAGE FIGHTER

Justin Wilcox is enjoying his career change and making a name for himself in MMA in Fresno.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist

Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox has never had it easy.

His Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) journey has taken him from the East Coast to the Central Valley.

Wilcox (6-3) started wrestling at the age five and always had to be tough, growing up with three brothers.

Justin would continue to wrestle throughout high school and go on to Edinboro University. His college wrestling career would be cut short due to a concussion. So, he took up bodybuilding as a way to stay active.

But everything would for the bodybuilder after watching an episode of the Ultimate Fighter with his wife, Leslie. He saw his former college wrestling teammate Josh Koscheck competing.

“If Kos can do it that I can surely do it,” said Wilcox. “Kos inspired me to get into it and it really fit me.”

He competed in one more bodybuilding show, he started training in MMA.

“I would win a lot of shows (bodybuilding) but I still felt empty, I didn’t have that one on one competition,” said Wilcox.

When he was bodybuilding he weighed 205 pounds. After competing in MMA, he is now down to 155 pounds.

But in his first fight, he was so underweight, he weighed in with all of his clothes on. He showed size didn’t matter, as he finished his opponent by technical knockout in the second round.

“In my first fight I was a straight wrestler,” said Wilcox. “Went in for a takedown, had no striking.”

After amassing a record of 3-2, he would eventually meet up with Koscheck again. After training together, Koscheck brought him to American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose.

“First thing they did was put me in a ring with Phil Baroni and (Jon) Fitch,” said Wilcox. “They liked what they saw and I was on the team.”

Justin decided moved to the Fresno and start training with Koscheck at AKA Fresno.

In his last fight on the Carano vs. Cyborg, Strikeforce card, he scored a rear-naked choke at 3:16 in the third round against David Douglas (4-2). “It was a sweet victory,” said Wilcox.

Aside from being a fighter, Justin is a family man to his wife, Leslie, and their daughter Natalie.

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DANGEROUS SITUATION

Visalia’s Steve Ramirez is working hard at his new love: mixed martial arts.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist

At first, “Dangerous” Steve Ramirez wasn’t interested in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

The first fight he attended was World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 9: Cold Blooded, where his brother was fighting. That’s when everything changed.

“I went to my first fight where I cornered my brother and I was hooked after that,” said Ramirez. “The adrenaline rush… I had never felt anything like that before.”

The Visalia resident has lived in the Central Valley since high school, playing football and wrestling at Golden West.

After high school, he attended College of the Sequoias in Visalia, working on a degree in sports medicine.

“I have always wanted to be in sports or around sports,” said Ramirez.

Steve is a personal trainer, but after watching his brother fight, he decided to take up cage fighting.

In his first fight, he fought Chino Esparza (1-1) in WEC and won by rear naked choke in the first round.

“Forty-seven seconds. I didn’t even mess up my hair. It was over before I knew it,” said Ramirez.

After his debut in WEC, he would continue fighting for the WEC and fight in Gladiator Challenge and King of the Cage, building a record of 6-4.

Ramirez would lose his first fight in PureCombat to Jason Von Flue (14-12-1). In the fight, Ramirez showed heart and tenacity, not tapping out to a rear naked choke.

The referee called the fight after he was unconscious. It also proved to be a lesson to his son, Steve Junior.

“I have always told my son to never give up,” said Ramirez. “I decided I was going to punch and punch until I went to sleep.”

In his next fight, he would make his way into the MMA spotlight against Darvin Wattree (2-3) at PureCombat’s Home Turf.

The bell sounded, and three seconds later, the fight was over. Ramirez threw an overhand right, knocking out Wattree cold. One of the fastest MMA knockouts ever was in the books.

“I had my head down but my eyes were open and I saw the bottom of his feet in the air,” said Ramirez. “I didn’t even feel him on the end of my fist.”

With his recent fight, he stands at 7-5 and is always ready for his next challenge.

“I’m a work out fanatic. I’m always in the gym,” said Ramirez. “It’s the greatest job I’ve ever had.”

When asked who he would like to fight if he could fight anyone, one name came to mind.

“I’d like to fight Joe Rogan,” said Ramirez of the longtime UFC commentator. “I want to see what he’s got. He’s got a big head and I probably wouldn’t miss.”

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JUST KICKIN’ IT

UFC fighter Josh Koscheck opens up his Kickboxing Academy in Fresno.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist:

For fans of mixed martial arts (MMA), American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose is known for producing top fighters like Josh “The Punk” Thomson, Paul Buentello, Cain Velasquez, Jon Fitch and Mike Swick.

Now, Fresno has an AKA gym of its own, featuring different MMA classes for the general public and for fighters.

One of the owners of AKA Fresno is UFC veteran and Fresno resident Josh Koscheck. He, along with partner Jason Kraft, opened the new facility at the beginning of August.

“This town is extremely passionate about mixed martial arts,” said Kraft. “There is also a huge wrestling base.”

Kraft, a former Nebraska wrestler, left his job on Wall Street to become a gym owner and trainer.

“I liked being a broker and managing money, it was great,” said Kraft. “But really, I’m passionate about getting on the mat, wrestling and doing Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Working with the kids and teaching and coaching, it’s in my blood.”

Aside from being one of the owners, Koscheck isn’t the only MMA fighter that trains at the new gym.
Local fighters like Ben Holscher, Anthony Ruiz, and Justin Wilcox now train at the new MMA center.

“I believe who your training partners are help you excel. This is probably the best I’ll get here in Fresno,” said Ruiz.

Ruiz, a Strikeforce veteran and valley resident, used to travel two hours to train and now he goes 40 minutes to get to AKA. “I come here to sharpen my skills,” said Ruiz. “I need a lot of ground work. That’s where my weakness is.”

Anthony is coming off a knockout victory over Gan McGee at PureCombat’s recent event “Home Turf.”

MMA isn’t the only focus at AKA. They also feature jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing.

“We can turn mixed martial arts into a fitness lifestyle and grow with the sport,” said Kraft. “We’re also trying to build serious and solid wrestling club.”

One of the big goals of AKA is to eventually produce homegrown MMA fighters.

“To take local kids, not bring in any people from around the country but Fresno and around the valley,” said Kraft. “Get them in our program and then have them fighting one day in the UFC.”

For more information on American Kickboxing Academy of Fresno, call (559) 431-4290.

PHOTOS OF AKA FRESNO:
PHOTO COURTESY: Mots

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