Hardrock MMA 25: Night of the Champions 3

Justin Gamble and Joe Maiani Hardrock Champs

Hardrock MMA 25, “Night of the Champions 3,” was held on Saturday, August 14, 2010 at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre in Shepherdsville, Ky. The night showcased eight non-title amateur fights, two amateur title fights, and two pro fights. CageCraze.com was in attendance posting live event results and chatting with Kentucky fight fans at the CageCraze.com table. Storms rumbled overhead in Shepherdsville as the action was set to begin but the only thunder anyone cared about was happening inside the Hardrock MMA cage.

The night began in the Bantamweight division with Joe Schiff facing off against Montez Jordan. The fighters waste no time going to the ground and we see Schiff secure side control. After a brief stalemate Montez is able to work Schiff into his full guard but Schiff postures up and starts landing punches. Schiff decides to let Montez up and whiffs a hard left hook past his head as Montez ducks under it. With his opponents head down, latches on a standing guillotine choke and pushes Montez against the cage. Montez uses the cage to climb up and pushes off in a Superman-like thrust, sending both fighters to the mat. The action stays on the ground for most of the round and the bell sounds with Schiff on top of Montez. Round two begins and we see the fight go to the ground again, this time Schiff seems to be the fresher fighter and he controls the fight until the midway point when Montez Jordan is able to sweep Schiff and lands in his guard. Schiff does not allow Montez to rest as he slaps on a triangle attempt. Schiff cannot finish the fight though and the bell sounds for the end of the second round. Schiff controls the third round as he works on the ground on top of Montez. Montez is visibly tired and he eats punches from Schiff throughout the round. Schiff is still unable to finish though as Montez is somehow able to withstand the onslaught until the bell sounds to end the fight. The fight was close in the first round but Schiff was the dominant fighter in rounds two and three. The judges agree and award Schiff the unanimous decision victory, all judges scoring the bout 30-27 in his favor.

The second fight of the night pits two 185-lb amateurs against one another as Brandon Hurst makes his MMA debut against Chris Beam. The fighters touch gloves and then clinch, Beam lands a hard trip and falls on top of Hurst. Hurst is able to reverse position and in the ensuing scramble he takes Beam’s back and locks on a rear naked choke, forcing Beam to tap at 0:53 in the very first round.

Andy Caldwell and Shawn Woodyard squared off in the third fight of the night. Caldwell secures a standing guillotine early in the fight and uses the position to fire knees to the head of Woodyard. Several knees connect and Woodyard appears to be in trouble early. Caldwell forces Woodyard against the cage and then backs off to throw a hard right hook and then the fighters clinch again. Caldwell tries to throw Woodyard to the mat but Woodyard turns it into a trip and scores a takedown. Caldwell tries to stand up but Woodyard repositions himself and drops back into a guillotine choke, forcing Caldwell to tap at the 2:30 mark in the first round.

Fight four was contested at 185-lbs. between Kyle Pearson and Justin Freeman. Freeman was making his MMA debut but seemed eager to exchange with Pearson at the start of the fight. All of that changed when Pearson landed a straight right that floored Freeman. Pearson pounced on his downed opponent, forcing the referee (Pro fighter, Rob Mooney) to step in and stop the fight at the 2:12 mark in round one.

During the first intermission, Louisville’s Rob “Ironman” Smith entered the cage to announce that he is relinquishing the Hardrock MMA Bantamweight Title. Rob says he will compete in September in Evansville and then he will be turning pro. CageCraze.com wishes Rob the best of luck in the coming months.

Doug Ballinger and Cody Kessinger fought in the fifth fight of the night. Kessinger shot in for a takedown in the opening seconds and put Ballinger on the mat. However, Ballinger was able to secure an armbar and force Kessinger to tap at 0:40 in the first round.

Knockout of the Night

Rich “TKO” Tunstill lived up to his nickname in the sixth fight of the night when he dropped the much taller Dan Ware with a brutal right hand in the first round. Tunstill landed several additional punches before the referee saved Ware from further punishment at the 0:19 mark in the first round.

The only Heavyweight fight of the night took the seventh spot on the card and put Josh Walker against Nick Feeler. The big boys came out swinging heavy leather, with Nick Feeler getting the worst of the exchanges. The fight stayed standing throughout the first round as Feeler was able to withstand several hard shots from Walker. Feeler could not answer the bell for round two, and Josh Walker left the Hardrock cage with the victory.

Fight of the Night

The final non-title fight of the night (Amateur) proved to be the most exciting fight of the evening. Rich James and Ortez Tompkins put on a fast-paced fight that left the fans wanting more. Round one opened with both fighters feeling each other out on the feet. Tompkins tagged James with a couple of solid punches before the fight went to the ground. A solid display of wrestling and jiu-jitsu followed as we were treated to several sweeps and reversals in this close round. Round one ended after James failed to put Tompkins away with a triangle. Too close for us to call! Round two opens with James throwing a body kick and eating an overhand right from Tompkins. The fighters clinch and James forces Tompkins into the cage and scores a hard fought takedown. James works strikes from the top before Tompkins is able to sweep and gain top control. Now Tompkins lands strikes from the closed guard of James. Round two ends in this position, and this is still anyone’s fight. The decisive third round begins with the two combatants touching gloves in the center of the cage. Both fighters throw strikes that do not hit the target and they clinch against the cage once more. Again, James fights for a takedown against the cage and gets Tompkins to the mat. James walks Tompkins across the mat and stacks him up against the side of the cage, landing punches throughout the maneuver. James spins around to put his back to the cage, still on top of Tompkins in full mount. Tompkins uses this movement to sweep James and ends up in his guard. Tompkins tries to posture up and drop bombs but James’ defense is too strong. Tompkins settles back down and lands a couple of right hands but they do not do enough damage to end the fight. The bell sounds to end the round and the crowd waits with bated breath as the judges finalize the scorecards. The announcer informs the crowd that we have a split decision. Judge One scores the bout 30-27, Tompkins. Judges Two and Three score the bout 29-28 for the winner, Rich James. This was definitely the fight of the night. Some of the crowd is unhappy with the decision but the two fighters embrace and acknowledge how close the fight actually was. Congratulations to both fighters for putting on a great fight.

The ninth fight of the evening was the first of two professional bouts on the card. Mike Fleniken was originally scheduled to fight Roger Minton but there was an issue with his bloodwork so his Louisville MMA teammate, Josh “The Pitbull” Blanchard stepped up to fight Minton. This fight is Blanchard’s professional MMA debut. “The Pitbull” is an appropriate name because this fight was all Blanchard. He landed a takedown in the opening minute and controlled Minton the rest of the way. Blanchard postured up and unleashed the best ground and pound of the evening. The strikes forced Minton to roll over and give up his back. From that point, Blanchard flatten Minton on the canvas and continued dropping heavy shots. Minton tapped due to strikes at 4:20 in the first round, giving “The Pitbull” his first professional win.

Joe Maiani vs Robert Podgorski - Hardrock MMA 25

The tenth fight of the night was for the Hardrock MMA 145-lb. title. Champion Joe Maiani would have the task of defending his belt against a very game challenger in Robert Podgorski. Podgorski would go on to put Maiani in trouble in the first round but the Champ held his composure and regained control of the fight. The second round saw the challenger tag the champ with a hard right cross that landed squarely on the chin. A visibly shaken Maiani shoots in for a takedown to get a chance to recover but takes several punches in doing so. Even with that punishment, Maiani gets the takedown. The rest of the round is all Maiani as he eludes further scares by controlling Podgorski from the top. The next three rounds would see Maiani pick up where he left off. Only in the fourth round did we see Maiani in any real danger again but he was able to defend against a solid armbar attempt by Podgorski. The fight went the distance and all three judges scored the bout 50-45 for Joe Maiani, who retained his title.

Submission of the night

Fight eleven was for the Hardrock MMA Middleweight Championship. Challenger Orlando Smith looked to take the title from Justin Gamble. Gamble slammed Smith to the mat in the opening seconds of the fight and then steamrolled from there. Gamble forced Smith to give up his back and sunk in a rear naked choke. Smith stood up with Gamble hanging tightly on his back and everyone could sense the imminent danger for Smith. Gamble and Smith fell backwards to the mat once Smith could no longer keep standing in that position, the end result being a submission win for Gamble at 1:18 in the first round. Gamble retains his belt. CageCraze.com caught up to Gamble after the fight to discuss his future plans. Justin said that he would take a week off to relax and celebrate and then he will be turning pro.

Comeback fight of the night

Sha-la Edwards vs Josh Clark - Hardrock MMA 25

The Main Event of the evening was the second professional bout on the card. Sha-la Edwards faced Josh Clark in the Light-heavyweight fight. Edwards and Clark came out aggressively but Edwards was clearly getting the better of Clark with punches and kicks. Clark appeared to be in danger of getting dropped by the hard shots being thrown by Edwards. Unfortunately for Edwards, the fight did not remain standing and he fell into a triangle choke at the hands of Clark. Edwards fought it as long as he could stand but he was forced to tap at 1:21 in the first round. Great comeback victory by Josh Clark, proving once again why MMA is the most dynamic fight sport in the world.

CageCraze.com would like to thank Hardrock MMA for allowing us to be a part of this night of local Mixed Martial Arts action. Hardrock MMA will hold their next event in Bowling Green, Ky. on September, 4, 2010.

Quick Results

Joe Schiff def. Montez Jordan via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Brandon Hurst def. Chris Beam via Tapout due to RNC at 0:53 in Rd.1

Shawn Woodyard def. Andy Caldwell via Tapout due to guillotine choke at 2:30 in Rd.1

Kyle Pearson def. Justin Freeman via TKO (Ref stoppage) at 2:12 in Rd.1

Doug Ballinger def. Cody Kessinger via Tapout due to armbar in Rd.1

Rich Tunstill def. Dan Ware via TKO (ref stoppage) at 0:21 in Rd.1

Josh Walker def. Nick Feeler via TKO (Feeler could not answer bell for Rd. 2) at 3:00 Rd. 1

Rich James def. Ortez Tompkins via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 to 30-27) at 3:00 Rd.3

Josh “Pitbull” Blanchard def. Roger Minton via Tapout due to strikes at 4:20 in Rd.1

Joe Maiani def. Robert Podgorski via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) at 3:00 in Rd.5

Justin Gamble def. Orlando Smith via Tapout due to RNC at 1:18 in Rd.1

Josh Clark def. Sha-la Edwards via Tapout due to triangle choke at 1:21 in Rd.1

Full article coming soon…