Home      Fight Schedule     On the Record     Links

MMA Summer Showdown "East vs West" - August 22nd 2014

Tulalip Casino Resort - Tulalip, Washington

Photos and Interviews by Mike Renouard


Glena Avila (l) enroute to a TKO win over Stevie VanAssche in the main event


For years, many a NW fight promotion has viewed the Tulalip Casino Resort as a great potential venue for MMA fights and have attempted to strike a deal with the casino to do so. But it was only Rick Little's ExciteFight promotion - having held dozens of successful fight events in the Spokane area - that was able to bridge the gap from talk to reality by staging the first ever Mixed Martial Arts event at the casino's beautiful Tulalip Amphitheatre. The MMA Summer Showdown "East vs West" featured some of the best up-and-coming fighters from both sides of the state and beyond throwing down in 7 professional and 6 amateur bouts. Three very special guests were also on hand in UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, TUF 18 winner and UFC Bantamweight Julianna Pena, and TUF 15 winner and UFC Lightweight Mike Chiesa.


 

In the main event, Rose City FC's Glena Avila and the Submission Factory's Stevie VanAssche squared off with the ExciteFight Pro 125 lb Superfight belt on the line. At the opening bell, Avila drove VanAssche against the cage and clinched up to set up a takedown. VanAssche separated and threw a number of kicks to keep the distance, but again Avila moved in with punches and the pair clinched up against the cage. The bigger VanAssche though would not be taken down and once Avila realized this, she began to let her hands go. As the round progressed, Avila connected with shot after shot, putting VanAssche on the defensive against the cage. Avila punctuated the end of the round by landing a big left hand to VanAssche's jaw. The fight would not continue as VanAssche did not answer the bell for the 2nd round giving Avila the TKO win and the belt. Avila is now 4-2 as pro.






 

The Co-main Event was a great fight while it lasted with Skagit Valley's Matt "Livewire" Coble mixing it up with Spokane's Will "The Complete Athlete" Comstock in a pro lightweight bout. At the opening bell both fighters came out aggressive and moved forward swinging. They tied up against the cage and Coble put Comstock in a Muay Thai clinch and landed a nice knee to Comstock's head cutting him. Coble went for a takedown, but Comstock circled out and landed with a punch or two. The pair clinched up and in close quarters both were throwing punches and knees, trying to get the advantage. Coble grabbed Comstock's head and landed a big knee to Comstock's jaw. Comstock broke free and came at Coble, but Coble landing an overhand left to Comstock's skull that stunned him. Coble sensed it, moved in quickly throwing another big knee and dragged Comstock to the canvas. There he got mount, threw some big forearm smashes that turned Comstock, whereupon Coble quickly sunk a rear naked choke finishing the fight at 2:10 into the first.






 

NW Elite's Rob "Ironman" Cann had the night's quickest finish, submitting Bellingham's Taylor Parker with a 1st round triangle choke in their pro featherweight contest. Parker shot early and got a nice takedown of Cann, but Cann locked on a triangle, threw a few elbows to bloody Parker, and then cinched the choke tight to elicit the tap at 48 seconds in.





 

In the a pro 135 lb matchup, Spokane's Josh Gow took on Bellingham's Anthony Zender. Much of the first round was spent in the clinch after moments of good standup exchanges. Zender caught Gow's leg after a kick to his midsection and drove Gow across the cage. Gow got it to the feet and the pair traded knees in the clinch. Late in the round, it went to the mat wheer Gow grabbed Zender's arm and went for a kimura finish. Zender was able to roll out of it and when the fight went to the feet again, Gow scored with a big knee to Zender's head. In the 2nd round, Zender came out and missed with a high kick, slipping in the process and winding up on the canvas. Gow moved in quickly, again grabbed Zender's arm and went for the kimura submission. The pair rolled over until Gow got the leverage he needed, bringing in his right foot to apply even more torque to Zender's arm, until finally Zender tapped at 43 seconds into round 2. With the win, Gow remains undefeated as a pro at 4-0.








 

Team Execution's Austin Arnett of Lewiston ID put in a stellar performance in his pro 145 lb bout with CSF's Tony Reyes who recently moved to the Pacific NW from Guam. Arnett was able get takedowns and once on the ground, punished Reyes with some big elbows and punches. Reyes never quit throughout, getting a couple reverses and one big slam, but each time Reyes looked to have an advantage, Arnett would utilize his excellent scrambling ability and wrestling to power his way back into top position on the ground. After 15 minutes of fighting, the bout went to the judges who all saw it 30-27 for Arnett who is now 5-2 as a pro.







 

Ivan Salaverry MMA's Jacob Boysen and KOK Fight Club's Robbie Dodgin matched up in a pro 155lb contest. Opening the fight, Dodgin moved in to throw a kick while Boysen took the opportunity to shoot and land a takedown. Dodgin was able to throw a couple elbows from the bottom, but Boysen quickly moved to side control. After landing a couple knees to Dodgin's back, Boysen trapped Dodgins head with his right leg, isolated Dodgin's right arm and applied an armlock to end it at 1:27 of the first. With the win, Boysen moves to 7-1 as a pro, while Dodgin drops his pro debut.





 

In a pro welterweight contest, CSF's Albert "Canine" Tadevosyan went to 2-0 as a pro with a 2nd round rear naked choke of Adam Smith. In the first round, Smith caught a Tadevosyan kick and got a double leg takedown. Tadevosyan was able to maneuver it to the feet but Smith dragged him down to the mat and tried to move around to take his back. Smith's arm was free though and Tadevosyan saw the opportunity to go for an armlock. He was able to flip Smith over and take top position with the move, and quickly gave up on the sub attempt to start in with some ground and pound instead. Smith covered well and at one point locked on an armbar but Tadevosyan powered through and continued his assault to the bell. In the 2nd round, it was all Tadevosyan who executed an early takedown and then punished Smith over the next 3+ minutes with elbows and punches on the ground as Smith tried to cover and defend. Finally, when he realized that the ref wasn't going to step in to stop the contest, Tadevosyan flattened out Smith and sunk the fight ending choke at the 3:34 mark of the round.







 

In the women's amateur 125 lb weight division, Rock Solid Fighter Mari Mata won via 2nd round submission over Sikjitsu's Anjela Pink. Mata took down Pink in the first round and did some damage on the ground but Pink was able to survive to the bell. In the 2nd, Mata again got a takedown, connected with strikes from full mount, and then made a textbook transition to a fight ending armbar at 1:35 of the round.





 

Byron Fernandus Jr and Pat DePuydt battled hard for 3 solid rounds in an entertaining amateur 150 lb bout. The fight ranged all over the cage with Fernandus having the edge with the standup and DePuydt being a bit better on the ground. The close fight was reflected in the judges scorecards with two seeing it for Fernandus Jr 29-28, and the third for DePuydt 29-28, giving Fernandus Jr the split decision victory.






 

BC fighter Mike Brackett, cornered by newly-signed Bellator featherweight Julia Budd, made his amateur MMA debut a successful one via a 1st round TKO of Ed Pink. Brackett started out the bout with a big slam of Pink which Pink responded to by going for a takedown of his own. Brackett sprawled well though and on the feet both fighters started throwing hard leather. It was Brackett who caught and dropped Pink with a big shot, and then followed up with strikes on the ground forcing the ref stoppage at 1:05 of the round.






 

The first MMA fight of the night saw a pair of middleweights make their amatuer debut. Juan Romero of Ivan Salaverry MMA utilized takedowns with ground control and striking to win a unanimous decision over BJJ of Tacoma's Isahah Sanders, all 3 judges seeing it 30-27.





 

In the first of two amateur kickboxing matchups at 185 lbs, Sikjitsu's Chris Schell scored a knockdown of Sefo Nansen in the first round, followed by a big knockdown in the 2nd that had Nansen stunned. After an 8-count from the referee, Nansen gamely continued but Schell again connected with a big shot that put Nansen down for good midway through the 2nd round.





 

In the 2nd kickboxing bout of the night, Adam Clark connected with a kick to Mark Wittig's midsection early in the first that knocked Wittig backwards into the cage. Clark charged forward for the finish but clashed heads with Wittig, and then as Wittig fell to the canvas, Clark threw some punches while Wittig was on the ground. Wittig was unable to continue, and as it was the incidental head butt and not the illegal blows on the ground that caused his incapacitation, the fight was ruled a no-contest.




 

Rick Little's ExciteFight promotion will hold their next event on November 15th at the Northern Quest Casino with another edition of the pro/am Conquest of the Cage. Learn more about the promotion at excitefight.com.

 


Bout 1 - Amateur 185 lbs
Juan Romero (Ivan Salaverry MMA ) def Isahah Sanders (BJJ of Tacoma)
by Unanimous Decision (All judges 30-27)

 

Bout 2 - Amateur 185 lb Kickboxing
Chris Schell (Sikjitsu) def Sefo Nansen (Academy of Brian Johnson)
by KO in Rd 2


Bout 3 - Amateur 170 lbs
Mike Brackett (Gibson's MMA) def Ed Pink (Sikjitsu)
by TKO @ 1:05 Rd 1


Bout 4 - Amateur 150 lbs
Byron Fernandus (Academy of Brian Johnson) def Pat DePuydt (Rock Solid Fighters)
by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)


Bout 5 - Amateur 185 lb Kickboxing
Mark Wittig (Academy of Brian Johnson) vs Adam Clark (Sikjitsu) results in a No-Contest (Incidental head butt by Clark left Wittig unable to continue Rd 1)


Bout 6 - Amateur 125 lbs
Mari Mata (Rock Solid Fighters) def Anjela Pink (Sikjitsu)
by Armbar @ 1:26 Rd 2


Bout 7 - Pro 170 lbs
Albert Tadevosyan (Combat Sport & Fitness) def Adam Smith (Sikjitsu)
by Rear Naked Choke @ 3:34 Rd 2


Bout 8 - Pro 155 lbs
Jacob Boysen (Ivan Salaverry MMA) def Robbie Dodgin (Knockout Kings)
by Kimura @ 1:27 Rd 1


Bout 9 - Pro 145 lbs
Austin Arnett (Team Execution) def Tony Reyes (Combat Sport & Fitness)
by Unanimous Decision (All judges 30-27)


Bout 10 - Pro 135 lbs
Josh Gow (Sikjitsu) def Anthony Zender (Rock Solid Fighters)
by Kimura @ 0:43 Rd 2



Bout 11 - Pro 145 lbs
Robert Cann (NW Elite) def Taylor Parker (Rock Solid Fighters)
by Triangle Choke @ 0:48 Rd 1


Bout 12 - Pro 155 lbs
Matt Coble (Livewire MMA) def Will Comstock (Sikjitsu)
by Rear Naked Choke @ 2:10 Rd 1


Bout 13 - Pro 125 lb Superfight Title
Glena Avila (Rose City FC) def Stevie VanAssche (Submission Factory)
by TKO (VanAssche did not answer bell for Rd 2)




All Photos, Design, and Content © 2006-2017 NW Fightscene™, unless otherwise noted.

Any usage of content on this site is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of NW FightScene™.

Report any errors to webmaster@nwfightscene.com