This will be a place for me to post about my love for all things MMA and combat sports.
I am in the process of developing The DaMMAge Report - a new approach to the MMA news show. A show for die-hard MMA fans from an authentic perspective. Stay Tuned for more details.
USFFC 11: Redemption (US Freedom Fighters Championship)
Saturday, March 30, 2013
From the Swamp Fox
Marion, North Carolina
Thanks to Ryan "Mouth of the South" for the Live Feed commentary Thanks to John Moorehouse for the official results info
Hannah "Shockwave" Cifers defeats Delaney Owen by Unanimous Decision Winning the USFFC Straw-weight Title (ammy)
Michael Torres defeats Marcus Levester by Unanimous Decision Winning the USFFC Bantamweight Title (ammy)
Walker Vivian defeats Brandon Bowes by Unanimous Decision
Ali Elreda defeats Dustin Messer by Submission (Armbar) at 2:42 of Round 1
Chase Gamble defeats Jordan Humphries by TKO at 1:17 of Round 2
Nathan Callahan Bronson Kaahui by Submission (Triangle)at 2:49 of Round 1
Brandon Barrett defeats Adam Gregory by Submission (Head & Arm Choke) at :41 of Round 2
Samuel Behr defeats Josh Westmoreland by Unanimous Decision
Aaron Brooks defeats Jeremy Doyle by Submission (RNC) at 2:27 of Round 1
Patrick Ward defeats Pedro Obrer by Unanimous Decision
CJ Vanover defeats Ashten Koontz by Submission (RNC) at 1:13 of Round 1
See full recap at: http://mma-insider.com/News/tabid/78/MMAi/824/USFFC_11_Live_Report.aspx
Fighters
give up alot to be a fighter. Even at the ammy level these people
sacrifice alot to do what they love. I know people who drive about an
hour (or more) both ways several times a week just to train & this
is a pain in the wallet with gas prices these days. At the
local/regional level fighters need to have a "day job" to help pay the
bills, support their families & make ends meet. Chasing the dream
puts this job or jobs at risk & getting hurt can mean not only
missing a fight, but missing out on work & not getting to pay some
bills.
So you have to think about things like paying
rent/mortgage and utilities plus putting food on the table with the cost
of gas & gym membership(s) when you think of the costs of what
training to fight means to the fighter... but that's not all.
You need to factor in things like the costs of getting supplements &
other nutritional needs, the costs of equipment & other accessories
(like shorts, athletic support/cup, gloves, wraps, tape, etc) in with
things like the costs of travelling to fight (gas to/from, hotel. food,
etc) or compete in submissions/grappling competitions and the cost of
compensating the people who support your efforts like cornermen &
coaches/instructors... and you can see how this ends up being quite a
large number - and that is just for ONE FIGHT! Imagine having to repeat
this process over & over to cover the total for an entire year!
I've dealt with sponsors a little. I won't say it was/is on the level
of someone fighting in the UFC... but I think I have learned enough to
understand the basics of how companies deal with fighters... and I also
see how some companies abuse this opportunity to their advantage &
not really helping the fighter they "sponsor".
I can understand
why a company might not want to offer cash as part of a sponsorship for
an amateur fighter, since they aren't a proven commodity & rarely
get on TV to offer a company sponsoring them much exposure beyond social
media updates... but for a company to NOT have cash be part of the
sponsorship package of a professional fighter is a company who is NOT
really sponsoring a fighter, but one who is using a fighter to get their
name out without giving a fair amount back.
I'm not going to
say names... companies who act wrongly know who they are & it
doesn't take much for people to see who is doing it right & who
isn't - regardless of what the companies say on their websites & in
their social media updates/releases.
Recently I was asked what I
thought a fair amount would be if a company wanted to be an exclusive
sponsor of a known fighter (meaning they are or have been fighting at
the highest levels of MMA in the UFC or other promotions of equal or
similar rating of importance) who would be fighting on a televised event
for a national promotion.
Again, I won't say who the fighter
is, or the company that was trying to sponsor them... but just talking
in general terms of a fighter LIKE THAT and a company LIKE THAT - I said
I would think that the sponsorship amount SHOULD be in the neighborhood
of $20,000 - $25,000 when I factored in all of the things I mentioned
above... BUT that I could understand a company trying to get a steal of a
deal by offering somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 - $15,000.
Take into consideration this would be the only company sponsoring this
fighter, because they wanted to have exclusive rights to the fighter. I
came to what i thought would be a reasonable number considering it would
be for about 6 weeks of this fighter's career & covering the costs
he/she might have to cover over that time to properly prepare for their
opponent so they could win - which should be the goal of the sponsoring
company so the public associates them with the winner of the fight... or
so you would think.
But this company wasn't offering anything
close to that, even the lowest figure I mentioned as an estimate... I
was totally shocked to hear that it was a mid-level THREE DIGIT number
they were offering to pay to be the only name associated with a known
fighter for a televised fight, not even a FOUR DIGIT figure, and I was
thinking how does the person who offered that from this company sleep at
night?
I see companies plastering their name all over the
place, getting associated with entire events on the local/regional
level... and having a huge list of fighters they sponsor... but if all
they are doing is sending a few shirts now & then or kicking in a
few bucks once in awhile... how is that really sponsoring a fighter who
is putting out money from their own pocket just to be able to fight? How
is that fair considering what the sponsoring company gets in return?
How is that supporting the industry?
In my opinion, the answer to all of those questions is "IT'S NOT!"
We've seen recent news stories where fighters in national promotions
fighting in televised events weren't paid by their sponsors for
agreements they had already made with the fighters... it's clear to me
that some companies feel they can just screw people over 7 use them to
get their company name into the public eye & feel that it's ok to do
whatever - rather than being fair & square with the people they
choose to sponsor & giving them a fair compensation in exchange for
the fighter getting the company's name/product out to their fanbase
& viewers of the fight/event/sport.
Not every sponsor is
like this... I have seen some go the extra mile to help out their
fighters when needed. But more than enough take the easy way out &
shortchange their fighters & that is just WRONG in my opinion!
These people bust their asses to live the dream... it's not right for
someone to take advantage of fighters in need and abusing the system in
place just so they can make a buck.
Fighters deserve better
from sponsors who benefit from them putting blood, sweat & tears
into everything they do as they try to live their dream of being a
professional MMA fighter.
Hopefully the companies not treating
their fighters right will act more like the ones who are doing right by
their fighters. I don't expect them to all of a sudden just change
their ways & get less when they are getting more... but I can hope
they see that there is a right way to do things & that by doing what
the companies who go the extra mile to support/sponsor their fighters
do they will end up making more in the big picture.
The
negative publicity from being shown as a company who doesn't pay their
fighters when an agreement is in place... or shortchanging their
fighters by only kicking in a few shirts or so would be worse than not
making as huge of a profit by screwing over the fighter by not fairly
compensating them throughout the course of the sponsorship.
Today, March 4, 2013 Albert Cameron & Drew Shannon (co-hosts of the MMA RunDown) released a video on YouTube announcing the comeback of the MMA RunDown and the beginning of a "sister program" called Cage Nation TV.
For a fan of the local MMA scene like myself this was amazing news! I went to ABC23 WATM Sundays at noon to get my weekly fix of all things MMA from Albert & Drew - and it was a sad moment when Albert made the announcement on his MMA Blog that the show had finished its run on TV.
Many people I know were also upset & sad by this, and because the hosts didn't get a chance to address the show ending (to the viewers and each other) a video was filmed just before Complete Devastation 8 was about to begin addressing that issue of the hosts not getting to say goodbye to the loyal viewers of the show.
I was lucky enough to be asked to film this moment in local MMA history, and believe me when I say that it was hard for me to remain professional & keep my composure as I was hearing what Drew & Albert were saying. I was thinking this was just a simple goodbye video... imagine my surprise & excitement as I was listening in real time that the show was coming back on YouTube AND an additional show on MMA was going to begin that supplements the great programming we have come to expect from the MMA RunDown.
The video announces the links to the Cage Nation TV pages and here they are:
Complete Devastation 8 Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pa.
03/02/13
Pro Fights:
Main Event: Brett "Showtime" Shoenfelt over William Ward by TKO 1:48 of Round 1
Jeff Holmes over Brad "Machine Gun" Mountain by RNC 1:22 of Round 1 Jason Willett over Tyler "Country Boy" Updike by Guillotine 1:22 of Round 1 Charlie "The Madman" Gathers over Donte Adams by RNC 2:52 of Round 1
Ammy Fights:
Title Fight: Featherweight Rich Cantolina over Zachery Shultz by Unanimous Decision
Doug Haupt over Jason Royer by Stoppage (Guillotine) :25 of Round 1 Kyle Dunmeyer over Chaz Dowdell by Key-lock 1:15 of Round 1 Jacob Kozorosky over Matthew Maney by Unanimous Decision Ethan Goss over Daniel O'Neill by Unanimous Decision
Another awesome night of fights at the Blair County Convention Center as Complete Devastation 8 came to Altoona, Pa. Even with a few fights not getting to happen - most notably a Heavyweight fight featuring Complete Devastation veteran Clark Young) - the fights that did survive were exciting. It was a night of 1st round finishes & unanimous decisions. The crowd was animated and very involved. Even with what seemed to be added seats to the venue from previous events, it appeared to be a sold out crowd - even possibly standing room only.
The night started off with local fighter Brett "Showtime" Shoenfelt entering the cage with some people associated with the Hollidaysburg High School Wrestling boosters and pro hobby stock car racer Curtis Guyer. Shoenfelt made a donation to the wrestling boosters and talked about his support of their program & efforts to take wrestlers to the state championships. Brett also talked about how he sponsors the efforts of Guyer as he competes in pro hobby stock car racing.
The fights began with the amateur fights. Etan Goss facing Daniel O'Neill. It was an action packed three round fight, but it was clear to those in attendance, and by the judges score cards that Goss was the winner.
Next up was Jacob Kozorosky against Matthew Maney. Kozorosky was victorious in a dominating win at Complete Devastation, and Maney was supposed to also fight on that card but had to pull out of that fight. Kozorosky again was very dominant in the win over Maney for another win at a Complete Devastation event.
Kyle "Strong" Dunmeyer squared off against Chaz "The Gladiator" Dowdell. Dunmeyer is a veteran of 3 previous Complete Devastation events, and came into this fight undefeated at 3 - 0. Even though Dowdell had a significant height advantage over Dunmeyer, Kyle pulled off a "key-lock" armbar for the first round submission.
The next fight was between Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Jason Royer and Doug Haupt. Royer usually fights at Lightweight (155lbs) but took this fight against Haupt at Welterweight (170lbs) and was giving up over a dozen pounds coming in to this fight. Haupt had fought a team-mate of Royer's (Ryan Glunt) and had lost to him. In Jason's previous fight at Complete Devastation 5 he was dominating the first round against Jesse Busfield when the doctor stopped the fight in between rounds because Royer had a cut over his eye that was effecting his vision. It was a disappointing loss for him considering he was winning the fight up to that point. Haupt & Royer started off with a furious page & ended up with a takedown and Royer being on top of Haupt - and that's where Royer had another dose of bad luck. Haupt had a guillotine on Royer from the bottom and the ref was trying to determine whether Royer was ok or not. It appeared that Royer had "spiked" his head when he slammed Haupt down to the mat. After a few attempts of trying to communicate with Royer to see if he was ok to continue or succumbing to the guillotine, the ref stopped the fight to the dismay of Royer at only 25 seconds into the fight. Royer said he was fine and didn't realize the ref was talking to him with the questioning, but the decision had been made and the fight was over. The crowd erupted in disapproval and shouts of "REMATCH NOW!" rang out because the official decision hadn't been announced to explained what had happened. Hopefully Royer's next fight ends without any controversy.
(It should be said that referee Bill Bookwalter has had fight experience and is a very qualified referee. He was doing what he felt was in the best interest of the fighter, and while it have been disappointing for Royer, hsi fans & the Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA Fight Team... it was the right call at the time.)
The last of the amateur fights was a title match to fill the spot for the Featherweight (145lb) championship left vacant when Charlie Gathers turned pro at Complete Devastation 7 last November. Originally, Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Cody "Lenny" Karlheim was set to face off with undefeated Zachery Shultz, but when Karlheim injured his ACL/MCL ligaments of his right knee a replacement had to be found on relative short notice. Pittsburgh-based fighter Rich Cantolina stepped up on short notice to take the fight. Cantolina has fought for a title previously with other promotions 3 times without coming out the champion, and was looking to finally get a belt around his waist. Shultz came in to this title fight at 3 - 0 to Cantolina's 8 - 6 record. Cantolina was teeing off on Shultz, but Zachery showed tons of heart and withstood the many strikes which landed to his head. At one point in the 1st round Cantolina rocked Shultz and seemed very close to ending the fight, when the ref had to stop the action to make him aware that in the follow-up strikes to that initial big blow Shultz had become a "downed opponent" and under Pennsylvania amateur rules you can't strike to the head when fighters are either downed or on the mat. No point was deducted due to the accidental nature of the strikes, but the time it took for the ref to address the situation with both fighters allowed Shultz to recover enough to escape the round intact. Rounds 2 and three were similar to the first, and the result was a unanimous decision to Cantolina who became the Complete Devastation Featherweight (ammy) champion.
After a brief intermission the pro fight portion of the fight card commenced. Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Charlie "The Madman" Gathers was looking to get back to his winning ways after a bumpy start to his professional career. After leaving the amateur ranks with a record of 6 - 1 (and being the Complete Devastation Featherweight Champion who successfully defended his title) Gathers came in to this fight being 0 - 2 as a pro, having lost two tough fights to strong wrestlers Tyler Saltsman & Charles Kessinger both by submission. Gathers was matched up against King of the Cage veteran fighter Donte Adams, fighting out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The fight began with Gathers charging Adams, and that almost cost him when Adams landed a amazing head kick that rocked Gathers. Adams tried to capitalize on this but Gathers recovered almost immediately after the action went to the mat, and after some scrambling the fight ended at 2:52 of the first round with local favorite Gathers pulling off the victory, winning by Rear Naked Choke.
Next up was Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Tyler "Country Boy" Updike versus Jason Willett. Both fighters had either been amateur champions or fought for amateur titles, and their pro records coming in to this fight was Willett at 1 - 0 and Updike at 0 - 1. The fight began with Updike taking control, but in a scramble somehow Willett managed to sink in a guillotine and the fight ended with Willett winning at 1:22 of the first round.
In the co-main event was Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Brad "Machine Gun" Mountain facing Jeff Holmes. The fighters came into this fight with almost identical records of 1 - 3 as a pro, but Holmes also had a no-contest to his record, making him 1 - 3 - 1. Mountain had moved from the Central Pennsylvania area to train & fight in North and South Carolinas before returning to this area and re-joining his Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA Fight Team brothers. Mountain has also trained with current UFC fighter Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch. Holmes hadn't fought in almost a year, and both fighters were looking to get back to their winning ways. This fight was an almost replica of the previous fight between Updike & Willett. Mountain was taking control until in a scramble Holmes sunk in a rear naked choke to win over Mountain at 1:22 of the 1st round.
After the co-main event the winner in a raffle was chosen, and an autographed banner of Brett Shoenfelt was awarded to one lucky winner.
The final fight of the night was the main event between Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Brett "Showtime" Shoenfelt and Williams Ward. "Showtime" has trained out in Arizona with current UFC fighters Ryan Bader & C.B. Dollaway before coming back to Central Pennsylvania and training with the Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA Fight Team. Ward had made his Complete Devastation debut at CDMMA 6 back in September 2012 and defeated Shoenfelt's team-mate, Ryan Glunt. Shoenfelt started off his pro career at 1 - 3, but since then he has been on a 3 fight win streak. His previous fight was in January at VFL 40 in Altoona, where he fought on the same fight card as former UFC star & local favorite, Charlie Brenneman. The connection between Brenneman & Shoenfelt goes deeper than just fighting on the same fight card, Brenneman was a teacher at Hollidaysburg High School (his Alma Mater, and where he began his wrestling career) where Shoenfelt was a student and high school wrestler before Brenneman left teaching to begin his career as an MMA fighter.
Ward is a King of the Cage veteran, and his coach at the H8 Squad is a King of the Cage champion. None of his previous pro fights have made it out of the 1st round, and with the way Shoenfelt has been ending fights quickly this shaped up to be an exciting, but short fight. The fight lived up to that billing and after a flurry of action with Shoenfelt pummeling Ward, Brett managed to overwhelm Ward to win by TKO at 1:48 of the 1st round.
After Brett won the fight, someone in the crowd of Shoenfelt supporters raised a sign that said "Brenneman Fears Shoenfelt", and when Announcer Drew Shannon asked Brett what he thought of that sign, Shoenfelt said he wants to fight Brenneman to prove that he is a UFC calibre fighter who deserves his shot at the "Big Show" that is the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
It was an amazing night of fights, and makes me want the next event to happen very soon! The Complete Devastation MMA events have increasingly entertained me as well as everyone in attendance I'm sure. The promotion puts on quality fights that are always exciting as they bring the best MMA action to the region!
I would like to thank everyone involved with making this event such a success. The people at GoTime Promotions & Nova6 Studios for an excellent show, to Ryan Glunt for putting together an incredible fight card, to all of the fighters/managers/coaches/cornermen to the members of the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission for making Complete Devastation 8 another night of memorable fights.
I would also like to thank the people who attended the fights for supporting local MMA. Also a very big thanks to the Blair County Convention Center and the staff for providing an amazing venue for an awesome night of MMA action. Complete Devastation 8 was a total success in my opinion, and I look forward to the next event from this promotion that brings the very best in MMA to the Central Pennsylvania region!
