(L-R) Wiseman, Sakurai, Shoji, Sakakibara, Pearson, Barnett, Hume

Loveland pounding Morris

With such high stakes, Team Quest fighter Ian Loveland made a great account of himself by submitting Paul Morris by rear-naked choke in the evening’s main event. With head trainer, Robert Follis, and the self proclaimed “Cat Smasher” Chris Leben in his corner, Loveland made short work of an overwhelmed Morris. In the opening moments, Loveland stunned Morris with a flurry of punches, following it up with double underhooks into a slam takedown. On the mat, Loveland landed some solid punches causing Morris to give up his back for the submission victory only 1:23 into the opening round.

Other standouts included Kale Bradford winning a back and forth battle against the previously undefeated Chris Jensen. Steve Skidds of AMC Pankration also had an impressive showing finishing his opponent with a text book arm triangle choke late in the second round.

After the event, FCF had the chance to catch up with Mr. Sakakibara. Here is what he had to say:

FCF:   What were your overall impressions of the event?
Nobuyuki Sakakibara:     I thought it was a wonderful event.

FCF:   After watching this experimental event, could you foresee working with Matt Hume to promote an official amateur Pride event in Washington State?
NS:     Yes, certainly, we would like to be more aggressively involved and support these events.

FCF:   Could any of the fighters you watched tonight eventually work their way up and fight in the Pride Fighting Championships?
NS:     There were several fighters that had the potential to go to the next step, to fight in Pride or another event. We were very impressed by not only the fighters but also were very impressed by the audience. They were very educated and we saw a lot of women in the audience which was a good surprise to us.

FCF:   Thank you.
NS:     Thank you.

Special thanks to Yukino Kando for the translation.

Submission Wrestling Results

• Haemon Song def. Seth Marker by a score of 2 – 1 after one 5-minute round

UFCF Pankration Results

• Bryce Hamilton def. Nick Cantrell by TKO ref stoppage from punches at 0:26 of R2
• Derriek Knox def. Jeramia Paterio by TKO ref stoppage from punches at 0:50 of R 2

Amateur Pride Results

• Brian Poirier def. Dustin Nicholson by TKO ref stoppage from punches at 1:32 of R2
• Steve Skidds def. Jason Sampaga by arm triangle choke at 1:48 of R2
• Brian Shawn def. Adam Krumwiede by rear-naked choke at 0:30 of R1
• Kale Bradford def. Chris Jensen by choke at 1:27 of R2
• Casey Fortin def. Jeremy Utz by submission from strikes at 0:45 of R1
• Wyatt Bassham def. Galen Bush by TKO ref stoppage from punches at 0:15 of R 1
• Tyrone Glover def. Jake Draves by keylock at 1:08 of R 1
• Ian Loveland def. Paul Morris by rear-naked choke at 1:23 of R1

Bout#2 lightweight 2×5 min rounds
J-TARO TAKITA (Wajutsu Keishukai Tokyo Hombu) def. NUKINPO! (Pancrase P’s LAB Tokyo) by 3-0-0 unanimous judges’ decision at full time limit

Bout#3 featherweight 2×5 min rounds
TAKUMI MURATA (Wajutsu Keishukai A-3) def. DJ.taiki (K.I.B.A.) by 3-0-0 unanimous judges’ decision at full time limit

Bout#4 heavyweight 2×5 min rounds
YUJI SAKURAGI (Seikenkaikan) def. ASLAN DZEBOEV (Russia/ Marupro Gym) by left middle kick KO at 2R 1:31

Bout#5 lightweight 3×5 min rounds
TAKUMI YANO (Ugokai) def. KUNTAP WEERASAKRECK (Thailand/Weerasakreck-Fairtex Gym) by referee stop TKO (arm bar) at 1R 4:38

Semifinal featherweight 3×5 min rounds
IVAN MENJIVAR (Canada/ Tristar Gym) def. MIKI SHIDA (Pancrase P’s LAB Tokyo) by 3-0-0 unanimous judges’ decision at full time limit

Headlining the event out of Goodridge Minnesota will be Kyle Jensen. Jensen with over 30 fights has fought across the country and overseas in England and has a record of 24-08-01. Most notably he won the International Fighting Championships Welterweight Title on March 26th 2005 in Sault Ste. Marie, MI against Danny Higgins from Australia. Jensen won by knock out in just 1:36 in the first round.

He will face Vern Jefferson out of Tama, Iowa. Jefferson who has over 20 pro bouts is looking to upset Jensen for the DFC Welterweight Title.

For the Lightweight Title, current DFC Champion Saul Mitchell out of Shakopee, MN will rematch Thief River Falls’s own Keith Sogla. In the first title fight Mitchell won a three round decision over Sogla. Mitchell was deducted points for kicking the head of a downed opponent, something which is against the ISKA-MMA rules the DFC follows. The rematch promises to be an all out war.

In the Heavyweight division is the DFC HW Champion Chris Tuchscherer out of Fargo, ND. Tuchscherer who is now 9-0 will face new comer Jim Dobson from Essex Ontario, Can. for the HW Title.

There are 12 bouts scheduled for the event:

• Joe Keavney – Aaron Palmer
• Alex Ferrer – Spencer Holands
• Butch Hajicek – Eric Hageman
• Jesse Barbot – Adam Ortiz
• Jade Purgande – Joe Purcell
• Ryan Schmitz – Nathan Spence
• Bobby Strutz – Zach Shroder
• Steve Hurley – Zack Schumack
• Joe Winterfelt – Ethan Boyle
• Saul Mitchell – Keith Sogla
• Chris Tuchscherer – Jim Dobson
• Kyle Jensen – Vern Jefferson