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CageSport XXIX - February 8th, 2014

Emerald Queen Casino - Tacoma, Washington

Recap & Post-interviews by Hadley Griffith
Photos by Mike Renouard & Hadley Griffith


Drew Brokenshire enroute to victory in the main event of CageSport XXIX


CageSport XXIX, presented by Halquist Productions and hosted by the Emerald Queen Casino, was a complete sell-out despite the 4 inches of snow that dumped on Tacoma Saturday Feb 8th. The lucky fight fans who scored tickets were indeed given a night to remember with an exciting title fight, two great female matchups, and a long list of the best fighters the Northwest has to offer. The main event was for the CageSport Featherweight Championship and it was Drew Brokenshire successfully defending his belt for a third time, on this occasion against Talon Hofman, a very seasoned wrestler from Oregon.


Brokenshire looked to improve his record against the challenge of a well-rounded opponent with great wrestling. Talon Hofman showed how much trouble highly skilled wrestlers with solid MMA fighting abilities can be. Hofman was able to draw Brokenshire in to his side of the cage and clinch up, dragging Brokenshire to the canvas more than once. Brokenshire defended well, and scrambled hard to improve his positions, but fought for every inch he got. More than once Hofman had Brokenshire on his back and was working hard to find a way to finish the champion.






Brokenshire never got distracted from the calm execution of his gameplan. A veteran of championship rounds, Brokenshire was still light on his feet and bouncing across the mat going into the third. Hofman had expended a lot of energy the first two rounds, clinching and pulling Brokenshire around the cage. While Hofman never looked tired, Brokenshire looked fresh as he began to work submission chains on the ground. Hofman defended kimuras, keylocks, and chokes, but was finally caught in a very deep rear naked choke after being softened up with a knee and punches, and was forced to tap at 4:16 of round three. Brokenshire remains the CageSport 145 champion.









In the co-main event, Julian "Juicy J" Erosa secured his (T)KO of the Night against skilled veteran Mike Joy in their 145 lb matchup. Joy came in 5 lbs heavy and started to tire by the end of the first round. Erosa kept up a fast pace with his footwork, and circled Joy from the outside, looking to take advantage of his reach. Joy tried to get the fight to the ground, but Erosa defended the first few takedowns, and in the second round was able to slip away from Joy whenever Joy went for the ankle pick and heel hooks.








The takedown attempts took a lot of gas out of Joy and Erosa never let up. Getting Joy against the cage, Erosa began a vicious barrage of punches, knees, and elbows, stopped only when Joy's corner threw in the towel and the ref quickly jumped between the two fighters. The fight ended 2:23 into the second round.







Submission of the Night came from Reagan Benedetti in her professional debut against Cheryl Chan in a 115 lb bout. Dangerous as an amateur fighter and a fierce grappler, Benedetti trained hard to prepare for the skilled and strong Chan. The two clinched up for a lot of the first round, working hard to try to gain control over the other. Both landed some good strikes in and out of the clinch, and Chan threw some head kicks to keep Benedetti on her toes. Chan was able to get a couple takedowns, but couldn't keep Benedetti on the ground long enough to get anywhere. In the second round Chan was in the clinch and looking for a takedown again, pulled guard and landed on her back. Benedetti wasted no time passing guard and transitioning all around, working different angles of submission attack. Chan was able to defend Benedetti's d'arce choke attempt in the first round, but Benedetti denied her in the second. Sinking the choke in deep, Benedetti put Chan to sleep at 2:22 of round two.









Fight of the Night was an all-out war between Paul Njoku and Rob Cann. The 145ers came for battle - both landing some heavy hands on the other. Njoku connected with a solid thigh kick, but never followed it up. Cann landed a few good kicks of his own, and kept moving forward the whole fight. Njoku was able to get a couple takedowns in the fight, but both men were unable to put the other in danger on the ground. It was the heavy handed battle on the feet that kept the fight close, pushing it to a split decision from the judges for Njoku 29-28, 29-28, 27-30.








In a fight of the night runner-up, India's Super Fight League veteran Kario Issac Maheo, who was making his US debut, was able to hold up longer than Tacoma's Arjay Murphy in their 135 lb match up. Both men fought their hearts out - landing heavy punches, kicks, and knees. Both were bloody early - Murphy from a well-placed elbow in the clinch, and Maheo's nose from some heavy strikes. Maheo also had his arm broken from an early Murphy kick but he fought on. Impressive work on both sides had it looking like the judges were going to have a difficult decision to make, but the doctor didn't like how some of Maheo's heavy blows had affected a visibly dazed Murphy and stopped the fight between the second and third round.





Another Fight of the Night contender and another bloody fight for the crowd was in store when Chaz Jordan and Zach Conn battled it out at 170 lbs. Zach used his reach well, and landed good straight punches on Jordan. Jordan used his footwork and head movement to stay active on the feet and landed some nice kicks. The crowd was impressed by the heart and tenacity of both fighters, neither one wanting to leave it up to the judges. To the judges it went though, all three who saw the fight in favor of Jordan 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.






Katie Howard and Miriam Cardoso made their pro debuts against each other at 115 lbs in a three round stand-up fight. Katie Howard is known for her brawling, and worked hard to keep her distance from the immensely talented Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, never wanting to face Cardoso on the ground. Cardoso put together some heavy jabs and a couple good knees, but it was Howard that rightfully won the judges decision and her first pro win.





Woo Johnson made short work of his 135 lb pro debut despite not making weight, rushing across the cage and catching Rico Rough with a knee to the face. Rough dropped and Johnson pounced, swinging away until the ref separated them 30 seconds into the fight.


Tacoma's Raven Guice had a difficult time with debut fighter Ricky Carrillo at 170 lbs. Carrillo was good on the ground, and moved well on his feet. At the end of the first round, it looked like Carrillo would end the fight with an armbar, but Guice was able to transition free. Back and forth, the two would work for a submission with the other escaping. Guice was able to hold the dominate position on the ground for a little longer than Carrillo, and landed a bit more on the feet, and even with a point deduction for an illegal strike, Guice earned the majority decision from the judges 29-27, 29-27, 28-28.





Yakima MMA's Eduardo Torres scored a first round submission win over Victory Athletics' Trevor Sojot in a 140 lb Catchweight affair. A good scrap while it lasted, the end came late in the round after a Torres takedown. Torres on top went for an armbar and then transitioned to a triangle in the scramble, getting the tap at the 4:53 mark.




Halquist Productions next event at the Emerald Queen Casino is the all-pro boxing Battle at the Boat 95 on March 25th, followed by CageSport XXX scheduled for May 3rd. More info about CageSport and Battle at the Boat at HalquistProductions.com.


CAGESPORT XXIX RESULTS
Bout 1 - 170 lbs
Raven Guice (0-1, Team Carnage) def Ricky Carrillo (debut, Yakima MMA)
by Majority Decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)


Bout 2 - 135 lbs
Woo Johnson (debut, Tacoma) def Rico Rough (0-1, United Training Center)
by KO (Knee) @ 0:30 Rd 1


Bout 3 - 135 lbs
Kario Issac Maheo (1-0, Victory Athletics) def Arjay Murphy (2-3-1, MABJJ/Team Carnage)
by TKO (Doc Stoppage) after Rd 2


Bout 4 - 170 lbs
Chaz Jordan (1-1, Ivan Salaverry MMA) def Zach Conn (1-3, American Combat Academy)
by Unanimous Decision (30-27- 29-28, 29-28)


Bout 5 - 140 lbs
Eduardo Torres (2-2, Yakima MMA) def Trevor Sojot (4-9, Victory Athletics)
by Triangle Choke @ 4:53 Rd 1


Bout 6 - 145 lbs
Paul Njoku (2-1, Ethnic Fights MMA) def Robert Cann (2-2, NW Elite Tacoma)
by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30)


Bout 7 - 115 lbs
Reagen Benedetti (debut, Team Wise) def Cheryl Chan (0-2, Titan MMA)
by Technical Submission (Ref Stop - D'arce Choke) @ 2:23 Rd 2


Bout 8 - 115 lbs
Katie Howard (debut, GIRLS Gym) def Miriam Cardoso (debut, Elite BJJ Redmond)
by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)


Co-main Event - 145 lbs
Julian Erosa (10-2, Yakima MMA) def Mike Joy (9-6, Olympia)
by TKO (Corner Stoppage) @ 2:28 Rd 2


Main Event - CageSport Featherweight Championship
Drew Brokenshire (8-1, Ludus FC) def Talon Hofman (9-6, Dragon Bushido)
by Rear Naked Choke @ 4:16 Rd 3



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