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Knucklehead 8 "Dallas Cage Fights" - April 5th, 2014

Dallas High School - Dallas, Oregon

Photos, recap, and post-interview by Mike Renouard



Shorty Weikel TKO's Denny Linton in the 4th round in the main event


For the past three years, Knucklehead Fight Promotions has consistently been holding quality pro/am MMA fight events in Oregon and giving back to community, donating over $30,000 of their proceeds to local wrestling programs. For their latest show - Knucklehead 8 - the Dallas Mat Club were the beneficiaries of this largesse, and the local community showed their support by coming out in force and packing the confines of the Dallas High Gymnasium. And even with a rather large gaffe on the part of the Oregon State Athletic Commission, the event was a roaring success with more than plenty of action & all the fighters involved leaving everything in the cage.



The pro main event featured a rematch between Shorty "The Pitbull" Weikel and Denny Linton who had previously met back in 2011 with Weikel coming out on top with a first round armbar. This time, Weikel's Knucklehead Featherweight Belt was on the line and both fighters appropriately brought their A-Game in the Fight of the Night. In the first round, the pair started out with a good exchange of body kicks and punches. Linton was able to clinch up and take Weikel down, but it didn't stay there long with Weikel reversing and the fight scrambling to the feet again. Back and forth it went with the action ranging all over the cage both on standing and on the canvas. Midway in the round, Weikel ate a front kick to the face and then a solid right hand from Linton that briefly brought Weikel to his knees. The 2nd round played out similarly in terms of the action, with Linton getting the takedown and landing punces on the ground before Weikel escaped and it went back to standing.






In the third, Linton again got his takedown but Weikel started to exert control, reversing Linton and first going for a kimura before switching to strikes and then trying to finish with a guillotine. Linton displayed his acrobatics to flip himself over Weikel and the pair scrambled on the ground with Linton ending up on top before the bell. In the fourth round, the fight went to the mat again but this time it was all Weikel who manhandled Linton and punished him with strikes. The end came with Weikel getting Linton's back, flattening him out, and raining down punches before referee Shawn Gregory stepped with a minute left in the round.





The Co-main Event was for the Knucklehead Amateur Welterweight Title and saw a competitive fight between Team Chaos' Hadi Al-awadh and Scott Baker of the Elite Wrestling Academy. In the first round, the pair exchanged leg and body kicks with a few punches thrown in, staying patient and looking for an opening. Al-awadh hit Baker with a big knee that had him backpedaling. Later, Baker got Al-awadh against the cage and scooped him up for a big slam before the end of the round. In the 2nd, they started out similarly on the feet, but when it went to the mat Baker looked to capitalize with his wrestling, getting top position and working his ground attack. Al-awadh had other ideas however, using his jiu-jitsu to get Baker to tap to a kimura from the bottom at the 1:48 mark of the 2nd.






In the evening's 2nd scheduled bout, both Team Quest's Rafael Palma and Independent fighter Curtis Kotter were in the cage before the start of their fight, when the ringside physician entered the cage in haste and announced to the crowd that they had to cancel the bout. The reason given was that according to a relatively recently enacted policy by the Oregon State Athletic Commission at the behest of the State's Medical Advisory Committee, no person over the age of 45 will be allowed to fight due to concerns for their health and safety. In addition, fighters over 40 years old must have all the doctors of the commission unanimously agree that they healthy enough to fight. Unfortunately nobody was aware of this policy including the promoters, the fighters, and seemingly the OSAC officials, except for the doctor who only noticed last second that Palma was over 45, and Kotter at 40+ was not allowed to fight either as there was not time to get the other doctors to OK it. A third fighter was also affected in Van Holstad who at 40+ was not allowed to fight so that his scheduled bout with Brandon Ferris was turned into a grappling match.



The amateur Fight of the Night came in the first bout of the evening with the Dog Pound's Daniel Scott and Team Chaos' Yan Kuvaldin setting the tone for the event by throwing down for three solid rounds. From the first bell, the pair started slinging leather and didn't stop until the 9 minutes of fighting were complete. The crowd roared as Scott caught Kuvaldin with some huge knees against the cage, while Kuvaldin was able to land with numerous shots of his own. In the end, Scott took home the unanimous decision 30-27 on all three judges scorecards with his more effective and damaging striking. Both fighters proudly wore their battle scars as they accepted the Fight of the Night honors and spoke to the crowd.





In a 185 lb contest, Rose City FC's TJ Koehler made quick work of Team Chaos' Brandon Nunn, taking Nunn down with a double leg and then positioning himself to take Nunn's back and sink the Rear Naked Choke at 1:36 of the first.



Chase Holley and Josh Degregory had a good back and forth 145 lb battle that ended in the third when Holley was able to throw up and lock on a triangle choke from the bottom before flipping himself over to finish the choke sitting up over Degregory.




Knucklehead 9 is scheduled for May 31st at the Tillamook Fairgrounds in Tillamook OR. More info about Knucklehead Fight Promotions on their Facebook page HERE.







Bout 1 - Amateur 150 lbs
Daniel Scott (Debut - Dog Pound MMA) def Yan Kuvaldin (0-1 - Team Chaos)
by Unanimous Decision (All judges 30-27)


Bout 2 - Amateur 170 lbs
Curtis Kotter (Debut - Ind.) vs Rafael Palma (3-0 - Team Quest)
cancelled by OSAC due to age cap


Bout 3 - Amateur 125 lbs
Wyatt Passantino (Debut - Dallas Wrestling) def
Steven Vongsy (0-1 - NW Training Center) by Choke @ 2:13 Rd 1


Bout 4 - Amateur 145 lbs
Chase Holley (Mag Test) def Josh Degregory (1-0 - 503 WCJJ)
by Triangle Choke @ 1:33 Rd 3


Bout 5 - Amateur 230 lbs
Rick Jordan (Dog Pound MMA) def Jacob Wayne (Blend of Zen)
by TKO (Ref Stop - Strikes) @ 1:53 Rd 1



Bout 6 - Amateur 185 lbs
TJ Koehler (4-1 - Rose City FC) def Brandon Nunn (7-3 - Team Chaos)
by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:36 Rd 1


Bout 7 - Amateur 205 lb Grappling
Van Holstad (Ind.) def Brandon Ferris (Mag Test)
by Submission @ 2:20


Bout 8 - Amateur 150 lbs
John Wayne Hankey (Debut - Art of War) def Sam Angelo Sison (Debut - Ind.)
by TKO @ 1:28 Rd 1


Bout 9 - Amateur 170 lbs
Michael De La Cruz (Debut - Ind) def Kyle Adams (0-1 - Wilson Fight Team)
by Arm-Head Choke @ 2:10 Rd 2


Bout 10 - Amateur 170 lbs
Josh Christenson (Debut - Dallas Wrestling) def Josh Rowton (Debut - Mag Test)
by Rear Naked Choke @ 2:48 Rd 1


Bout 11 - Amateur 205 lbs
Brandon Ferris (0-1 - Mag Test) def Issac Huerta (0-1 - Mag Test)
by KO (Head Kick) @ 1:18 Rd 1


Bout 12 - Amateur 170 lb Title
Hadi Al-awadh (Team Chaos) def Scott Baker (Elite Wrestling Academy)
by Kimura @ 1:48 Rd 2


Bout 13 - Pro 145 lb Title
Shorty Weikel (9-4 - Art of War) def Denny Linton (1-2 - Dog Pound MMA)
by TKO (Ref Stop - Strikes) @ 3:58 Rd 4



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