By: Yael Grauer
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR
Nick “Inspiration” Palmer handily dispensed of Anchorage, Alaska native Tony Francis in an amateur welterweight scrap. Palmer, who was born with only one hand, followed up inside leg quicks with a heavy left, ending the bout by KO in just fourteen seconds. The Team Discipline & Crystal Fight Club representative advances to 2-4.
Next up was Ben Miller vs. Jimmy Zidek. Zidek began the fights with inside leg kicks and a steady stream of punches. Miller pulled guard and the two tied up on the ground, but Zidek was able to stand, and the fighters exchanged heavy kicks and punches. It was Zidek who landed the better of these exchanges, dropping Miller and raining punches from top turtle position, culminating in a TKO victory 3:21 into the round.
The third fight of the night saw Floyd “the Hitman” Hodges take on Dan Wales. The first round of this spirited featherweight preliminary bout started with back-and-forth action, as the two exchanged on the feet. Hodges found himself trapped against the cage on two separate occasions, eating knees and responding with punches. When he worked his way off the fence and utilized his precision striking, Wales responded with his wrestling. Hodges would find himself in trouble temporarily, but ultimately managed to sprawl and end up on top in a spirited first round. In the second round, Hodges pressed forward with heavy punches, dropping Wales on multiple occassions but ultimately letting him get back to his feet. It only took 1:02 in this round for Hodges to walk away with the win, as Wales tapped out due to heavy strikes from top turtle position.
Up next was a spirited bout between Adric Kennedy and Max “The Gold Standard” Clifford, both undefeated in their amateur careers. Red Schafer MMA prospect Adric Kennedy pressed forward on the feet in the 1st round, landing the better of the exchanges, including a right hook to the body which sent Spartan MMA’s Max Clifford to the ground and some heavy shots from top position. Clifton recomposed his guard, and Kennedy let the Spartan MMA representative back to his feet. Kennedy scored some kicks but Clifford began to find his rhythm, landing a good combo in the last seconds of the round. Kennedy utilized leg kicks and head shots in the second stanza, but Clifford landed some combinations of his own in a back-and-forth round. The back-and-forth action continued in the third period, though Kennedy had a slight edge in cage control as he pressed forward with leg kicks and punches to the head and body. Clifford countered with strikes of his own. In the end, Kennedy defeated Clifford by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27).
The next bout was Frank Young vs. Carl Deaton III. Young came out swinging and Deaton countered with a leg kick; Young later landed a kick of his own but Deaton scored a takedown, following it up with punches from rear mount, and a textbook transition to rear mount, ground and pound, and a rear-naked choke which ended the fight in 4:32 of the 1st round.
In the co-main event, Sean Richman (Bellator fighter Mike RIchman’s little brother) squared off against Angel Pacheco. In a fast-paced first round, Richman landed a quick takedown but Pacheco got back to his feet. Richman pulled guard and worked for a triangle choke, and Pacheco landed punches until he managed to work his way out of the choke with a few seconds left in the round. The two fighters swung for the fences in the second round, exchanging combinations. Pacheco landed a huge head kick, but Richman pushed forward with a takedown, controlling from top guard and stopping some of Pacheco’s attempted sweeps. Pacheco eventually got back up to his feet, but Richman landed another heavy takedown at the end of the round. The final round started with a heavy headkick and follow-up punches on the ground. Pacheco worked his way up but Richman scored another takedown, throwing punches from the top untl the buzzer rang. Richman won the fight by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Grappler Nate Homme made his return to the cage after five years out due to injury to face the highly experienced Ted Worthington, who had 67 fights under his belt. His ground expertise was evident in the bout, as he passed from guard to mount, fishing for an arm triangle, avoiding a sweep attempt, landing ground and pound and eventually finishing with an armbar 4:22 into the round
