NW Fight Challenge XIV “Night of Champions”

After a few years off of writing up reviews of the local MMA fights, I’m going to try and get back into it. In Indiana at any  given week there was probably a fight company trying to put on a local fight. Some legitimate productions, others not so much. In  my area of Washington one of the larger productions that has really made a name for itself is the Northwest Fight Challenge. From the past few fights I have gotten to see the promoter, Brian Johnson works very hard to put on a good show with good matches. Local UFC fighter Demetrius Johnson was there to judge and sign autographs/ take pictures during the intermission. There were 12 amateur fights for  the night,1 kickboxing match , 11 MMA fights, with 6of them being title fights.

Fight #1 Brandon Wall (Strong Center MMA) vs. Zack Stanley (Brian Johnson Fight Team) 185lbs Zack started out controlling the fight and did not let up. He took down Brandon and the fight remained on the ground. Brandon did have an attempt at a choke but Zack escaped, and ended up on top of Brandon’s turtle. Zack succeeded in getting back mount and finished the fight with a Rear naked choke, at 2:26.

Fight #2 Kyle Fromm (Strong Center MMA) vs. Steve Nguyen (Brian Johnson Fight Team) Heavy Weight This fight was the only kickboxing match of the night. It was a Class A Heavy weight match. Kyle started out strong landing the first couple of punches. Steven retaliated immediately, and put Kyle into the side of the cage. Kyle dropped due to Steve’s punches. Kyle failed to respond to the Referee. Steve won the match due to knockout,  51 seconds into the first round.

Fight #3 Trevor Severn (Martial Sports) vs. Talon Hammons (Elite Martial Arts) 145 lbs.  Both Trevor and Talon put on a good fight. It went all three rounds and was a close match. Talon controlled the first round by taking down Trevor and trading a few punches.  Trevor did have a few guillotine attempts but didn’t have the technique right, and talon was able to escape. In round two Trevor controlled the round. He got the takedown and did a landed a few punches before they were stood back up. Round three Talon again controlled the round. He took down Trevor, controlled him on the ground he attempted a choke, and americana and an arm bar. Trevor defended well but in the end the split decision went to Talon Hammons.

Fight #4 Sefo Nansen (Clan Jacobs System) vs. Ian Jarman (N.W. Elite)185 lbs. This fight was another that went all three rounds. Round one stayed mostly on the ground Ian took Sefo down and maintained control the entire round. Sefo was unable to escape and Ian continued to advance position and land good shots to the body and head. Sefo came out in the second round with the first hit. He stuffed Ians first takedown attempt but wasn’t able to keep him off. Ian got the take down and continued to control the fight. Ian attempted a choke from back mount but it gave Sefo the chance to escape. In round three Ian kept control and dominated the fight Sefo pulled guard to avoid the take down but Ian passed got mount and kept mount the rest of the fight. Ian won by unanimous decision.

Fight #5 Blake Casey (Premier MA) vs. A.J. Edmison (Lenderman’s Academy) 150 lbs. A.J. got the first hit of the round, and started off with a quick attack against Blake. Blake fought back but got  pushed up against the side of the cage by A.J. Blake tried a standing guillotine but A.J. took him down and controlled Blake on the ground for most of the first round. Blake escaped to standing but wasn’t able to gain control of the round. Blake started off the second round with a kick to A.J. After the first strike A.J. held control of the rest of the fight with 2 takedowns, and control on the ground. Round three started with both coming out strong. Both Blake and A.J. traded in their stand up until A.J. took Blake down. Blake did get cut but kept fighting hard, and both end up standing A.J. got the final take down, while Blake tried to defend from the bottom of mount. Blake almost swept but time ran out. Both fighters put on a great fight and showed they both had outstanding conditioning. A.J. Edmison won by unanimous decision.

Fight #6 David Alexander (Cell Jitsu) vs. JD Cullins (Brian Johnsons Fight Team) Heavy Weight. David got the first strike but JD clinched and retaliated quickly landing a few good knees and trying a takedown. David stopped the take down and attempted an awkward standing armlock. JD escaped and both started to trade punches. JD caught David and the referee stopped the match. JD won by Knockout 1:48 into round one.

Fight #7 Ryan Johns (Olympia BJJ) vs. Damion Martindale (503 West Coast BJJ) Heavy Weight Title fight. Surprisingly even though both of these men come from BJJ schools the fight stayed standing for almost the whole fight. The fight was almost ended  early twice by Ryan. During round one near the middle of the round Ryan caught Damion with a good jab and Damion dropped, but recovered before the referee stopped the fight. Somewhere between the second and third round the referee had the doctor check out Damion. Damion was pronounced ok to continue and the fight went all five rounds. Ryan continuously picked apart Damion with his stand up and continuous kicks to Damion’s legs. Damion did get in a few good strikes, succeeded in a takedown, and tried to rally in the final round but it wasn’t enough. Ryan won by unanimous decision.

Fight #8 Ricky Satterwhite (West Coast Fight Team) vs. John Keay (Cody Houston Fight Team) Super Fight Title, 155lbs. Unfortunately I did not see this fight. My teammate Ryan had just won his match and I got lost in getting pictures and high fives. Ricky Satterwhite won the fight and gained the belt.

Fight #9 Nick Coughrin (Battleground MMA) vs. Aaron Martin (MABJJ & Brian Johnsons) Super Fight Title 160lbs. Nick and Aaron started of trading a few punches. Nick shot in for the takedown but Aaron caught a standing guillotine. Aaron won by standing guillotine 1:20 into Round one.

Fight #10 Nathan Stolen (Twin Dragons) vs. Zack Mukai (AMC) Title Fight 145. Nathan and Zack came into the fight wanting to win. Nathan and Zack traded their fair share of strikes. Zack did get a few takedowns and worked to keep control of Nathan. In the third round Nathan did have a good Rear Naked Choke attempt, but Zack was saved by the bell. The fight was cut short unfortunately in the fourth round. Although both fighters put their all into the fight, Nathan broke Zack’s jaw and the doctor would not allow Zack to finish the fight. Nathan won the fight due to doctor’s stoppage.

Fight #11 Cody Kidder (Battleground MMA) vs. John Daigneault (MABJJ) Super Fight 155lbs. John quickly took control of the fight. He landed the first hit and even when Cody came back trying to trade, John clearly had the upper hand. Cody dropped to the mat and when John hit again the referee jumped in and stopped the match. John won by knockout 1:28 into round one.

Fight#12 Robert Burgess (Team Un-Tamed) vs. Grady Duncan (Battleground MMA) Title fight 185 lbs.  Grady immediately tried to take down Robert but Robert reversed it and took him down. Robert got 3 takedowns in the first round but as Robert was in Grady’s guard the final time Grady caught an arm and pulled off a solid arm bar. Robert was unable to defend and tapped. Grady won via arm bar 2:13 into round one.

All in all the fights were really well put together. The fighters put their all into their fights, and worked hard to show off their skills. One other bright point in the night was meeting the team from Alphight. They are a new website that will be launching July 21. Their goal is to give local fights, fighters, tournaments etc, the boost they need.  They were at the show taking pictures, and let me borrow a few, thank you by the way Alphight! Maybe I can get an interview with the owner so I can give a better explanation of what they do, how they do it, and why.