Austin Springer submits Dylan Atkinson via guillotine choke in the main event

In the past couple of years, there has been a serious lack of opportunities for the pro MMA fighter to get fights in the greater Portland/Vancouver metro area. This situation is starting to be remedied with the rise of the Prime Fighting promotion last year and now another brand new promotion in Main Event Sports. Headed by longtime NW Coach & fighter Nic Kuning, Main Event Sports held their inaugural Pro/Am event on January 18th to a sold-out crowd in the intimate Centennial Arena in Vancouver WA. A total of 11 fights went down starting with 7 Amateur bouts that included a Superfight and 2 title fights, followed by 4 pro MMA matchups.

The Main Event Sports Pro Bantamweight title was on the line in the main event and pitted undefeated Austin Springer, repping Rose City FC & Gladiator MMA, against a tough Dylan Atkinson out of Gracie Barra Portland. The fight started with the pair feeling each other and it was Atkinson breaking the ice with a body kick that Springer caught, dumping Atkinson onto the canvas. He popped back up and from there both fighters circled, moving in briefly to throw a precision punch or kick and move out. Springer shot low and took Atkinson down, but again the Gracie Barra fighter popped right back up. Springer landed with a nice superman punch followed by a body kick, but Atkinson went down low, picking Springer up and dumping him across the cage. Springer worked his way to his feet but Atkinson was able to pick him up again for the slam. Springer did well defensively on the bottom, at one point isolating an arm for a straight armlock, but Atkinson was able to work in a couple nice shots from the top. With half a minute left in the round, it went back to the feet where both fighters engaged and landed with some nice punches.





In the 2nd round, Springer backed Atkinson up with an attack, threw a high kick that missed and promptly landed on his can. Atkinson went down to tie up Springer and looked for a submission but it was Springer who came out on top in the scramble. Springer landed with a big knee to the chest of a seated Atkinson, and Atkinson answered by grabbing Springer for a double leg takedown. Springer though had hold of Atkinson's neck and latched on a tight arm-in guillotine choke that forced the tap at 1:21 of the round and gave Springer the 135 lb belt.

The co-main event saw a pro 150 lb catchweight bout between Zane Behrend and Jake Thomas. Thomas came out looking for the takedown. Behrend sprawled and the pair clinched up, but Thomas eventually got the takedown by grabbing hold of Behrend's right leg and riding him to the canvas. With the pair in the corner against the cage, Thomas looked to land strikes from the top while Behrend stayed busy throwing up elbows and strikes from the bottom position. Unfortunately, one of the elbows Behrend threw seemed to find the back of Thomas' head which debilitated him enough that Behrend was able to quickly lock on a kimura and force a verbal tap at 2:42 of the round. It goes into the books as a win for Behrend who moves to 2-0 as a professional. After the bout, Behrend talked with NWFS about the fight and its ending.

Brandon Kesler got a quick submission win over Clemente Bosch in their pro middleweight matchup. Bosch came out charging hard for the takedown which he got. However, Kesler from the bottom, first put him in a guillotine chokehold, then switched to an armbar. When Bosch tried to slam his way out, Kesler transitioned to the triangle choke, eliciting a tap from Bosch at just 27 seconds in.

Rose City FC's Ricky Simon won his pro debut in impressive fashion, scoring a 1st round TKO over ACA's Alex Eastman. After a couple exchanges in the center of the cage, Simon started connecting with some big power which backed Eastman against the cage. Simon followed, got him in a muay thai clinch, and threw up a big knee that landed solid with Eastman's head. Eastman dropped but was able to get back to his feet again, whereupon Simon threw up another big knee that dropped Eastman again. At this point, referee Ryan Hoisington had seen enough, halting the 135 lb contest at 1:34 of the first round.

Fight of the Night hands down was the Amateur Flyweight Championship between Luke Smith and John Heilman Jr. These two combatants threw down for a solid five rounds, connecting throughout with punches and kicks, and bringing the crowd to its feet on numerous occasions. Smith had a slight edge in the standup game but the difference in the fight was Smith's timely takedowns and top control on the mat. After 15 minutes of fighting, it went to the judges scorecards who all saw it unanimously for Smith 49-46.

The amateur Bantamweight Title was on the line as a pair of undefeated fighters met up in Jake Marshall and Dave Robison. Early on Marshall started getting the better of Robison, dropping big bombs from standing onto a prone Robison. Robison on his part tried to tie up Marshall and there were a couple good scrambles, but it was Marshall who held position and punished Robison. Late in the 2nd, after a series of hard shots from Marshall, the referee stepped in and called the bout at the 2:52 mark. The crowd was unhappy and Robison protested, but he was taking a lot of damage. With the win, Marshall moves to 8-0, while Robison falls to 5-1.

In a Light Heavyweight Superfight, Travis Trent rode Brandon Anderson to the mat, threw down a few well placed strikes, and sunk the Rear Naked Choke when Anderson turned and gave up his back. Official time: 34 seconds of round 1. Trent moves to 4-0 as an amateur with the win.

In an amateur lightweight fight, Kody Kramer wrapped up Kiel Heckler and got a big slam, then went to work on the ground. After numerous punches from mount, Kramer took Heckler's back and got the Rear Naked Choke finish at 2:10 of the first round.

In an amateur 170 lb bout, Amin Kajtaz sprawled to avoid a Kory Cox takedown attempt, took Cox's back and rained down punches. Kajtaz briefly looked for the RNC but switched back to punches and got the TKO finish to strikes at 1:59 of the first round.

In a amateur 145 lb contest, Veronica Wickersham got Becca Fieken against the fence and forced her to tap to a standing guillotine choke at just 1 minute into round 1.

In the night's opening bout, Andrey Zaytsev won his amateur debut with a very effective standup game, connecting with numerous kicks and punches. His opponent Thomas English certainly was game, firing back punches of his own, but the cumulative effect of Zaytsev's strikes began to mount until a final few shots on the ground caused the ref to step in and stop it at 1:56 of the third.

Main Event Sports hold their next event April 19th at the Centennial Center located at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay in Vancouver WA. More info at maineventmma.net