BloodyElbow Goes Regional: Michiana Fight League

We don't cover a great deal of regional action here at BloodyElbow but every now and then one of us gets the bug to go out and catch a local show.  Outside of the occasional Chicago or Ohio show there aren't a lot of fights in the Midwest that get much attention.  This doesn't quite fit with the fact that there are a lot of solid gyms in the Illinois/Indiana/Michigan area and also a few good promotions putting on shows.  Whenever anyone asks me if regional shows in this area are worth attending I just tell them that the first regional card I ever attended was Ironheart Crown 3.  Which featured 4 man tournaments won by Stephen Bonnar and a young Miguel Torres.  Obviously not every show is going to be loaded with future stars but you could see a real talent somewhere on the card.

Michiana Fight League is one of the bigger promotions in my area (southwest Michigan, northwest Indiana) and I was live at their "Back in the Pit" card Saturday night.

The show was held in the Bendix Theatre at the Century Center in downtown South Bend.  The building is really nice with plenty of room for the crowd, refreshment stands and merchandise vendors in the lobby areas.  The Bendix Theatre has stadium seating making for a really great environment to watch a show as every seat provides a good view of the cage and there were two camera feeds (one camera cageside, one overhead on a crane) being shown on a projection screen if you did happen to have a bad angle at any moment.  It was a much better set-up than any regional show I have ever been to.

The card was made up of 8 amateur fights and 5 pro.  Matchmaker Alan Stockman did a nice job of avoiding the gross mismatches that seem to infect most small shows and it made for a solid night of action.  The main thing to remember is that with local shows a lot of pros aren't going to have their full records listed on Sherdog or wherever.

Results:

(145 - AM) John Burns defeated John Bradley - Bradley looked pretty big for 145 and looked sharp counter punching early but he looked like he was pulling his punches a little bit and his corner was yelling at him that it wasn't practice and to go full speed.  This ended up costing him as Burns hit a body kick followed by a right hand that put Bradley on the floor.  In the ensuing scramble Burns locked up both of Bradley's arms in a crucifix and sunk in a choke from the position forcing a tap at 1:42 of the first round.

(145 - PRO) Ed Torres drew Rico Robinson - In the first round Robinson looked more dynamic than Torres on his feet but Ed got through the initial assault to secure a takedown and move to mount where he worked submission attempts before securing the back and being unable to finish before the round ended.  The second round featured a quick takedown by Torres and a quick mount.  He was unable to do any damage and Robinson reversed into top control where he stayed for the majority of the round doing no significant damage.  Torres got a takedown to open the third round but Robinson reversed and spent the round on top, occasionally throwing punches until the fight ended.  The official scorecards were 29-29, 29-28 Torres, and 29-28 Robinson.

(HW - AM) Danny Martinez defeated Jordan Rasmussen - Early in the fight I figured Rasmussen had this fight well under control as he trains out of the very solid Bulldog Fight Team in Osceola, IN and Martinez appeared to have no real training to speak of.  Danny held his hands low, threw his punches like a guy in a bar and seemed to have no ground skills beyond just hanging on.  However after being dominated positionally for the entire first round and most of the second he landed some punches that appeared to hurt Jordan.  As the third round opened the combination of Martinez punching constantly and Jordan being too tired to deal with it was enough to force the referee to stop the fight with 1:31 left in the final round.  It wasn't the result I expected but a win is a win so good on Martinez.

(170 - AM) Michael Burns defeated Scott Bradley - Bradley shot for a takedown right out of the gate and Burns grabbed a guillotine.  Bradley responded with a huge scoop slam but Burns simply tightened down on the choke and forced the tap in 23 seconds.

(145 - AM) Jake Speck defeated Amodo Sterry - Sterry won the first round with a takedown and spending a good amount of time in the full mount but wasn't able to do much with it before the round ended.  In the second Speck took over, staying on top of Sterry on the ground landing hammerfists and punches.  In the third Speck was on top in full mount and locked in a very deep kimura but Sterry gamely survived but could mount no offense.  The official scorecards were 29-28 across the board for Jake Speck.

(185 - AM) John Thieubolt defeated Joseph Ward - Thieubolt with an inadvertent eye poke to start things off and after a five minute rest Ward attempted to throw a high kick and slipped.  As he hit the ground Thieubolt pounced, quickly grabbing full mount and dropping big shots forcing the ref to step in and stop the fight one minute and twenty-one seconds after it started.

(155 - AM) Skyler Holderman defeated Roman Thammavangsa - The fight started with Roman hitting a kick directly to Holderman's cup.  After the break Skyler secured a quick takedown, moved to back control and pounded out a quick TKO stoppage after only 1:36.

(205 - AM) Enrique Nunez defeated Aram Bottles - Bottles was announced with a record of 6-1 and Nunez at 2-0.  On the feet both men exchanged decent shots and as they tied up Nunez grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard.  He wasn't able to finish and they stood back up and again Nunez pulled guard after grabbing a guillotine.  The second attempt looked deeper but again he wasn't able to finish and Bottles flurried as the round ended.  In the second round Nunez threw a high kick that missed but followed up with a right hand that hurt and dropped Bottles.  Nunez quickly got to mount and landed punches.  As Bottles gave his back Nunez continued to flurry and forced a stoppage at 2:34 of round 2.  Enrique was one of the most impressive amateurs of the night, he should honestly be fighting at 185 but he looked impressively well rounded and remained aggressive the entire fight.

(135 - AM) Kevin Hartman defeated Jimmy Flory - Hartman looked to have very solid wrestling as he grabbed a very quick takedown.  He patiently worked side control before starting to land big elbows.  Flory was forced to give his back where Hartman secured the rear naked choke for the submission in just under two minutes.

(140 - Pro) Norman Alexander defeated Matt Horning - These are two vets of the local scene as Alexander was announced at 34-7 and Horning at 21-18.  Norm dominated the first round with a variety of submission attempts (including a deep looking heel hook) and was getting the best of the standing exchanges.  At one point at the end of the round Horning was on top and threw a couple of Mongolian chops which was a fun Sakuraba tribute.  In the second round Alexander got a nice takedown and eventually ended up on Matt's back before sinking in the choke for the win at 1:49 of round 2.  Fun fact: this was Norman Alexander's third submission win in three consecutive Saturdays.

(155 - Pro) Joe Swanson defeated Mike Emrich - Emrich opened the fight with a solid left kick to the body but the two quickly ended up in a body lock against the cage.  Swanson was able to work a takedown and worked on the ground until getting Emrich's back.  Mike was able to fend off an attempt at a rear naked choke and get back to guard but soon ended up in the same position again.  This time Swanson was able to secure the choke and force the tap just under four minutes after the fight started.  Swanson looked like a bit of a beast for 155 and looks like he could have a real bright future in the sport.

(170 - Pro) JJ Davis defeated Luke Taylor - Amazingly for a local show, it took until fight twelve before the crowd booed a fight.  This was a rematch of a fight which saw Taylor win a close decision.  Davis was able to win a unanimous 30-27 decision in a fight that saw him waiting for Taylor to engage and counterstriking effectively.  Most stand-up fights at local shows lean a bit more toward the sloppy but this actually was technically sound by both guys.  Unfortunately, in his winning effort Davis committed one of the more unforgivable sins on a small show by acting like a superstar.  While Taylor was trying to figure out a way to engage without getting hit in return Davis began yelling "come on! fight bitch!" And after the fourth time he struck Taylor with a low blow Luke and his corner appealed to the ref (who appeared unwilling to even provide a warning).  So what did Davis do?  Taunted the opposing corner of course.  It's just an attitude that I hate seeing on the local level and screams "I'll probably be fighting for the MFL for the rest of my career."

(HW - Pro) Pat Harmon defeated Casey Johnson - This was a title fight so it could have gone 5 rounds.  However, Harmon had other ideas.  Pat used great suplexes and top control in grinding away at Johnson from the top.  At 5'11" 250 I didn't know what to expect from Harmon but he was surprisingly explosive and never appeared gassed even while using big suplex takedowns.  In the third round Johnson tapped as Harmon was grinding away with strikes from the top.

Overall it was a positive experience.  Going to a regional show is more about hopefully seeing some good fights than thinking you may be seeing the next UFC superstar.  The MFL delivered with a solid lineup of fights impressive production values.