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CageSport XXXI - July 19th, 2014

Emerald Queen Casino - Tacoma, Washington

Recap, Post-interviews, & Photos by Mike Renouard


Will Noland throws a punch in the main event of CageSport 31


10 professional MMA contests went down July 19th at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma WA as Halquist Productions presented CageSport XXXI to a large crowd of NW fight fans. Despite a few last minute opponent changes, the card provided plenty of action and proved to be another satisfying fight event inside the casino's I-5 Showroom. The main event was originally scheduled as a 185 lb title fight between Champion Brent "Mankill" Knopp and tough challenger "Iron" Will Noland. But when Knopp suffered an injury in training, as did replacement Alfonso Gonzales, Will Noland wound up facing local favorite CJ "Siege" Marsh who took the fight on just 3 days notice. Both Noland and Marsh are explosive strikers and this bout had all the earmarks of a standup war. The first round had Noland holding the center of the cage, staying patient and mixing in leg kicks and straight punches. Marsh circled on the outside, trying to avoid Noland's power and countering his striking. Late in the first, Noland charged forward and landed with a kick to the body, followed by a series of hard shots that put Marsh down and left him stunned as the bell to end the round sounded. Marsh gathered himself and came out hard in the 2nd, getting a brief takedown before Noland got it back up to the feet, and then connected with more hard punches that dropped Marsh again and forced the TKO stoppage at 20 second in.








In the co-main event, Harrison "Wolverine" Bevens made his 9th appearance in the CageSport cage, taking on Missoula MT fighter Chris Sowell in a lightweight matchup. Bevens was taking his first MMA fight since losing to Justin Harrington in the CageSport 155 lb championship last October, but he's gone 2-0 in the interim as a pro boxer. This emphasis on his standup game certainly served his well in the bout with Sowell as the fight played out mostly on the feet. The first round was the closest with both Bevens and Sowell connecting with some solid punches. Sowell landed a takedown towards the end of the round but wasn't able to do much with it as Bevens got it quickly back to the feet. In the 2nd, Bevens started pulling away, scoring repeatedly with his hands, and looking both relaxed and patient as he circled around Sowell. Sowell attempted another takedown but Bevens sprawled well and wound up on top, throwing a few elbows to Sowell's head. The third round was all Bevens who kept up his pace and continued to land punches. Sowell fell to his back at one point hoping to draw Bevens into a ground battle, but Bevens immediately took a step back and beckoned Sowell to stand up. The round ended with Bevens controlling Sowell on the ground and landing more elbow shots to the head. The bout went to the judges who all unanimously saw it 30-27 for Bevens, whose record as a pro moves to 7-2.







Portland's Katie Howard and Issaquah WA's Amy Montenegro were originally to fight in mid-June at a casino show in Oregon, but when that show was cancelled last minute, CageSport MMA's matchmaker astutely booked the fight for the CageSport 31 card. And a good thing they did as this was an excellent fight to witness between two of the NW's top up-and-coming female strawweights. The first round was a close one that saw great back and forth action from the duo. In the 2nd, Howard was able to get a takedown of Montenegro against the cage in Montenegro's corner, took her back and spent much of the round searching for the rear naked choke before Montenegro broke free. In the third frame, the positions reversed with Montenegro getting a nice takedown and searching for rear naked choke of her own which Howard defended against to the final bell. In the end, it came down to how the judges saw the first round, and two of them saw it for Howard who took the split decision win 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.







Comeback of the night came in the lightweight matchup between Victory Athletics' Woo Johnson and United Training Center's Bobby McIntyre. Johnson came out fast and furious throwing punches, kicks and knees. McIntyre weathered the storm well, countering with punches of his own. The pair were against the cage in a clinch when McIntyre saw an opportunity to lock on an inverted armbar. Johnson power-slammed his way out and punished McIntyre with some big bombs as McIntyre lay prone against the mat. McIntyre again locked on an armbar and again Johnson power-slammed his way out to then land more hard shots. This pattern repeated itself a couple more times before the round ended. McIntyre had a huge mouse under his left eye which was nearly swollen shut. But that did not stop him from putting it on Johnson in the 2nd, getting a takedown and then Johnson's back, before raining down strikes that forced referee Steve Newport to stop the contest at 4:37 of the round. McIntyre wins in his pro debut while Johnson falls to 2-1.







Jason "The Grinder" Gray was highly successful in the NW amateur ranks going 14-2, and had been seeking to make his pro debut for quite some time, but had numerous fights fall through for various reasons. With CageSport 31, it looked as another fight would fall through again, but NW veteran fighter Omar Avelar stepped in literally last second to challenge Gray. The bout went the distance and saw Gray utilize his superior wrestling skills to time and time again take down Avelar, usually by crowd-pleasing slam. On the ground, the smaller but experienced Avelar was able to tie-up Gray to limit the damage, though Gray did have his moments where he made Avelar pay. Avelar on his part was able to sneak through a couple hard punches in some of the brief standup in the first and third rounds, but Gray did not give him more opportunities than that with his smothering attack plan. After 15 minutes, Gray won his pro debut by scores of 30-27, 30-26, 30-25.







Another fight that had a last minute replacement was the featherweight bout that saw an experienced Lupe Hudgens step up last moment to take on CSF's Paul DeVeglio. This was one of the best fights of the night with both combatants displaying their skills in a matchup that saw some great standup, lots of scrambling and reversals on the ground, and ranged over every inch of the cage. In the 2nd, Hudgens locked on a guillotine choke and elicited the tap from DeVeglio at the 4:32 mark. With the win, Hudgens is now 7-4 while DeVeglio suffers his first pro loss and moves to 1-1.








At 170 lbs, Taki Uluilakepa moved to 2-0 as pro with a win over Ricky Carrillo. The pari battled hard in the first round, but it was the in the 2nd where Uluilakepa really displayed his power by getting Carrillo against the cage and landing shot after shot. One uppercut looked to have Carillo actually out on his feet but he was able to recover and tried to defend. However, Uluilakepa continued to punish him, ending the round in full mount and raining down strikes. The cageside doctor came in and deemed Carillo unable to continue, giving Uluilakepa the TKO victory.






In the evening's opening bout, Yakima MMA's Hector Lopez took home a unanimous decision win over American Combat Academy's Alex Eastman. Mostly a standup battle throughout, Eastman may have had the edge with his output, but Lopez was able to connect with some audibly hard punches throughout that swayed the judges in his favor. The final tally saw it 29-28 on all three judges scorecards for Lopez who moves to 3-0 as a pro.






Emily Corso moved to 3-0 as a pro, picking up her win with a 1st round rear naked choke of Hadley Griffith. Corso slipped under a Griffith punch, and drove her against the cage. There she secured a single-leg takedown, got Griffith's back and locked on the choke for the tap at 1:52 of the first.







Trent Tyler got his 2nd pro win by submitting Lonya Champion in the first round. The pair quickly clinched up and battled for positioning. It was Tyler who got the eventual takedown, and once on the ground quickly threw strikes to Champion's head, secured his back and sunk the Rear Naked Choke at 1:53 of the first round.




Halquist Productions will present their next MMA event on October 4th at the Emerald Queen Casino in conjunction with India's Super Fight League. The official name for the event is "CageSport presents Super Fight League 35: America". More info at halquistproductions.com and at superfightleague.com.


CAGESPORT XXXI RESULTS AND PHOTOS
Bout 1 - 135 lbs
Hector Lopez (2-0 - Yakima MMA, Yakima WA) def
Alex Eastman (0-4 - ACA, Ellensburg WA) by Unanimous Decision (All judges 29-28)


Bout 2 - 171 lbs
Trent Tyler (1-4 - Academy of Brian Johnson, Elma WA) def Lonya Champion (0-1 - Roughhouse MMA, Auburn WA) by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:53 Rd 1


Bout 3 - 145 lbs
Lupe Hudgens (6-4 - Underground Fight Club, Mabton WA) def Paul DeVeglio (1-0 - Combat Sport & Fitness, Enumclaw WA) by Guillotine Choke @ 4:32 Rd 2


Bout 4 - 128 lbs
Emily Corso (2-0 - Gracie Barra Portland, Portland OR) def Hadley Griffith (1-1 - Academy of Brian Johnson, Lacey WA) by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:52 Rd 1


Bout 5 - 170 lbs
Taki Uluilakepa (1-0 - Puyallup WA) def Ricky Carrillo (0-1 - Pasco WA)
by TKO (Doc Stoppage) before Rd 3


Bout 6 - 155 lbs
Jason Gray (Debut - Enumclaw WA) def Omar Avelar (8-8 - Team Avelar, Lummi Nation WA) by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)


Bout 7 - 155 lbs
Bobby McIntyre (Debut - United Training Center, Spanaway WA) def Woo Johnson (2-0 - Victory Athletics, Spanaway WA) by TKO (Ref Stop - Strikes) @ 4:37 Rd 2


Bout 8 - 115 lbs
Katie Howard (2-2 - GIRLS Gym, Portland OR) def Amy Montenegro (2-0 - White Buffalo Warriors, Issaquah WA) by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)


Co-Main Event - 158 lbs
Harrison Bevens (6-2 - AOBJ, Tacoma WA) def Chris Sowell (2-0 - Missoula MT) by Unanimous Decision (All judges 30-27)


Main Event - 185 lbs
Will Noland (8-4 - Trevor Prangley's AKA, Spokane Valley WA) def CJ Marsh (5-5 - White Buffalo Warriors, Lynnwood WA) by TKO (Ref Stop - Strikes) @ 0:19 Rd 2


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