are you not entertained?
B2 FIGHT PICS B10 TIGER LEAGUE WRESTLING B3 Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - Vernal Express
are you not entertained? Daniels grabs belt; Collard and Meacham win big at Rocky Mountain Fight Championship 3 BY GRAHAM C. TERRY Vernal Express
Roosevelt’s Billy Daniels capped off an evening of explosive mixed-martials arts fights by outlasting Daniel Goode and submitting him with a triangle choke hold in the fourth round, to win the Rocky Mountain Fighting Championship featherweight title and improve his record to 4-0. In the co-main event to Daniels vs. Goode, Clay Collard of Castle Dale bested Scottie Casey in a violent, fast-paced fight that ended with Casey submitting to Collard’s rear naked choke hold. Around 1,000 fans filled the Western Park Arena to watch the third RMFC, which was promoted by Blake Sprouse of Rocky Mountain Combat Sports, and channel X94 FM. Also on hand was Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Jeremy Horn, who was cornering two fighters from his Elite Performance Gym in West Jordan. Amateur Card The first five fights on the card were amateur bouts, beginning with the welterweights Zach Hatch of Altamont and Nick Sorenson, fighting with Team Unbreakable out of Payson. Sorenson took control early and worked his ground and pound game on Hatch for the better part of the first round, other than a couple of outbursts by Hatch. Early in the second round, Sorenson got into full mount position and rained down punches until referee Ethan Andrews stopped him, giving Unbreakable its first win of the night. Lightweight Jarom Putvin of Elite Performance was impressive in the second fight, working the game plan given to him by cornerman Horn to defeat Jason Sanders, from the All Day MMA gym. Like Sorenson, Putvin used a superior ground game to score points throughout the first round, then got a full mount early in the second and whaled away until Andrews stepped in. In the third amateur fight, Alexzander Brown, who took a loss from Chris Sanchez in RMFC 2, showcased a much-improved ground game in picking up the win over Brian Smith of Rocky Mountain Combat Sports. Smith couldn’t get Brown dislodged from on top of him, and Andrews once again stepped in for a TKO. Unbreakable got its second win when lightweight Justin Jenkins defeated Quinn Richens of RMCS in the
fourth amateur bout. Richens looked sharp while the fight was standing, but once Jenkins got hit a few times he shot in for a takedown. Once the fighters were on the mat, Jenkins pounded Richens from his guard and then worked his way into a triangle choke that made Richens tap out. The final amateur fight was between light heavyweights JC Troutman, who trains at the AK Fight Club in Roosevelt, and Shelvin Ladd of Fort Duchesne. Ladd had nearly reached the cage when he realized he had forgotten his athletic cup. The fight was on hold until Ladd was able to gird himself and return. As soon as Andrews instructed the men to fight, it was obvious Ladd’s cup was out of place as he reached down to readjust it several times, even while circling to evade Troutman. Despite this handicap, Ladd was able to give as good as he got from Troutman, displaying quick hands and footwork to outland Troutman on several exchanges. Troutman got a takedown on Ladd, but the fighters got back up before Troutman landed the deciding punch, a right hook that smacked loudly as it hit flush on the side of Ladd’s head. Ladd remained shakily on his feet for a moment before Troutman knocked him to the mat and Andrews stepped in to protect the Ladd, ending the amateur portion of the card. Pro Card The first pro fight of the evening pitted two very promising young flyweights, Odin Meacham of RMCS, and Ularbek Ashirbekov, a Russian fighter from Moab with a 2-0 record, against each other. In Meacham’s rookie fight, he didn’t permit Ashirbekov to stand tall and use his superior reach on him for long. Meacham shot in, got the takedown, and displayed the ground game of a wily veteran, rapidly improving his position and punishing Ashirbekov with punches and elbows. It was only a matter of time before Andrews put a stop to it, for the fourth TKO on a referee stoppage due to strikes of the evening to that point, and the RMCS gym’s first win. “That’s what we’ve been working on for a long time,” the high school senior said of his ground and pound attack. Though he enjoyed getting his first professional MMA win, Meacham said he is putting his grades first for now, and plans on graduating from Union High School before he SEE RMFC 3 on B8
GRAHAM C. TERRY, VERNAL EXPRESS
(Above) Billy Daniels poses with his brand-new featherweight championship belt. (Below left) Daniel Goode looks to land a KO punch with his strong right hand; (below right) Referee Ethan Andrews stands the fighters up as Goode looks on; (lower left) Goode lands a kick to the body as Daniels scores a takedown; (below right) Goode taps out of Daniels’ triangle choke in the fourth round. (Bottom) Andrews names Daniels the winner as RMFC promoter Blake Sprouse straps the champ’s belt on.
are you not entertained? Daniels grabs belt; Collard and Meacham win big at Rocky Mountain Fight Championship 3 BY GRAHAM C. TERRY Vernal Express
Roosevelt’s Billy Daniels capped off an evening of explosive mixed-martials arts fights by outlasting Daniel Goode and submitting him with a triangle choke hold in the fourth round, to win the Rocky Mountain Fighting Championship featherweight title and improve his record to 4-0. In the co-main event to Daniels vs. Goode, Clay Collard of Castle Dale bested Scottie Casey in a violent, fast-paced fight that ended with Casey submitting to Collard’s rear naked choke hold. Around 1,000 fans filled the Western Park Arena to watch the third RMFC, which was promoted by Blake Sprouse of Rocky Mountain Combat Sports, and channel X94 FM. Also on hand was Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Jeremy Horn, who was cornering two fighters from his Elite Performance Gym in West Jordan. Amateur Card The first five fights on the card were amateur bouts, beginning with the welterweights Zach Hatch of Altamont and Nick Sorenson, fighting with Team Unbreakable out of Payson. Sorenson took control early and worked his ground and pound game on Hatch for the better part of the first round, other than a couple of outbursts by Hatch. Early in the second round, Sorenson got into full mount position and rained down punches until referee Ethan Andrews stopped him, giving Unbreakable its first win of the night. Lightweight Jarom Putvin of Elite Performance was impressive in the second fight, working the game plan given to him by cornerman Horn to defeat Jason Sanders, from the All Day MMA gym. Like Sorenson, Putvin used a superior ground game to score points throughout the first round, then got a full mount early in the second and whaled away until Andrews stepped in. In the third amateur fight, Alexzander Brown, who took a loss from Chris Sanchez in RMFC 2, showcased a much-improved ground game in picking up the win over Brian Smith of Rocky Mountain Combat Sports. Smith couldn’t get Brown dislodged from on top of him, and Andrews once again stepped in for a TKO. Unbreakable got its second win when lightweight Justin Jenkins defeated Quinn Richens of RMCS in the
fourth amateur bout. Richens looked sharp while the fight was standing, but once Jenkins got hit a few times he shot in for a takedown. Once the fighters were on the mat, Jenkins pounded Richens from his guard and then worked his way into a triangle choke that made Richens tap out. The final amateur fight was between light heavyweights JC Troutman, who trains at the AK Fight Club in Roosevelt, and Shelvin Ladd of Fort Duchesne. Ladd had nearly reached the cage when he realized he had forgotten his athletic cup. The fight was on hold until Ladd was able to gird himself and return. As soon as Andrews instructed the men to fight, it was obvious Ladd’s cup was out of place as he reached down to readjust it several times, even while circling to evade Troutman. Despite this handicap, Ladd was able to give as good as he got from Troutman, displaying quick hands and footwork to outland Troutman on several exchanges. Troutman got a takedown on Ladd, but the fighters got back up before Troutman landed the deciding punch, a right hook that smacked loudly as it hit flush on the side of Ladd’s head. Ladd remained shakily on his feet for a moment before Troutman knocked him to the mat and Andrews stepped in to protect the Ladd, ending the amateur portion of the card. Pro Card The first pro fight of the evening pitted two very promising young flyweights, Odin Meacham of RMCS, and Ularbek Ashirbekov, a Russian fighter from Moab with a 2-0 record, against each other. In Meacham’s rookie fight, he didn’t permit Ashirbekov to stand tall and use his superior reach on him for long. Meacham shot in, got the takedown, and displayed the ground game of a wily veteran, rapidly improving his position and punishing Ashirbekov with punches and elbows. It was only a matter of time before Andrews put a stop to it, for the fourth TKO on a referee stoppage due to strikes of the evening to that point, and the RMCS gym’s first win. “That’s what we’ve been working on for a long time,” the high school senior said of his ground and pound attack. Though he enjoyed getting his first professional MMA win, Meacham said he is putting his grades first for now, and plans on graduating from Union High School before he SEE RMFC 3 on B8
GRAHAM C. TERRY, VERNAL EXPRESS
(Above) Billy Daniels poses with his brand-new featherweight championship belt. (Below left) Daniel Goode looks to land a KO punch with his strong right hand; (below right) Referee Ethan Andrews stands the fighters up as Goode looks on; (lower left) Goode lands a kick to the body as Daniels scores a takedown; (below right) Goode taps out of Daniels’ triangle choke in the fourth round. (Bottom) Andrews names Daniels the winner as RMFC promoter Blake Sprouse straps the champ’s belt on.
