Three months out from the UFC’s historic Indiana debut at Conseco Fieldhouse, a “who’s who” of Indiana MMA joined a near-capacity crowd at the state fairgrounds’ Blue Ribbon Pavilion on Saturday night to take in Premier Cage Fighting 6 and a card featuring ten professional and eight amateur bouts.

Herdy attempts to finish with a Guillotine

The marquee fight of the night featured three nip-and-tuck rounds between Strikeforce veteran Dustin Neace and Joao Herdy, a superior grappler out of Marcello Monteiro’s BJJ camp.  Herdy took it to Neace in the early stages of the first period, scoring a takedown to back control from the clinch and looking unsuccessfully for a finish.  Neace worked out of inferior position and spent the latter half of the round deftly avoiding submissions and scoring some modest damage from within Herdy’s guard.  After a first round that could have been scored either way, Herdy jumped guard in the second and looked for a guillotine.  Neace looked in trouble early, but worked out of it.  Herdy controlled the pace for the remainder of the round, jumping in for another late guillotine attempt as the round came to a close.  Neace shrewdly switched tactics in the third round, keeping the fight standing and catching Herdy with a stiff jab before pouncing later on a Herdy slip.  Neace scored on several elbows from within Herdy’s guard in the last minute of the round, likely earning him the round.  With the second round going to Herdy and the third to Neace, the fight likely was decided on how the judges scored a virtually-even opening period.  In the end, Herdy took a razor-thin unanimous decision (29-28 on all scorecards), with both men showing they deserve to be considered among Indiana’s elite fighters.

Dyer putting the finishing touch to the winning Triangle

The earlier pro bouts featured two leading candidates for submission of the night.  In the opening pro fight, Matt Singleton worked for a guillotine from Casey Dyer’s half-guard after scoring a double-leg takedown.  However, Dyer executed a beautiful reversal and immediately latched onto a triangle before rolling into the mounted position.  Singleton had no escape from the dreadful position, submitting to a mounted triangle 2:46 into the first round.

In another finish sure to make the highlight reel, Andrew Zook made short, painful work of Chris Johnson, incredibly latching on to an armbar from guard that left Johnson screaming in agony and tapping furiously just 15 seconds into the fight.

Despite coming in significantly overweight, James Powell  still had no answer for Team Iron Horse’s Marvin Lemock, succumbing quickly to a guillotine choke locked in by Lemock 42 seconds into the fight.

In other professional action:

Ryan McIntosh punished Toney Alvey in the clinch, controlled position when the fight went to the ground, and then finished with a devastating right head kick soon after the fighters returned to their feet.  The TKO finish came 2:32 into the first round.

McIntyre (top) vs Neville (bottom)

Rob McIntyre turned in a strong performance against a tough Bryan Neville, controlling the action in the first round (which mistakenly was allowed to continue for six minutes) before finishing Neville in the second with elbows from full mount.  Neville’s submission to strikes came at 4:22 into the second round.

Justin Allen finished off Kevin McIntosh with a single well-placed knee to the ribs that crumpled McIntosh 1:21 into the fight.

In a plodding affair featuring all the excitement of watching paint dry, James Shaw finally came alive in the third round and earned a TKO stoppage 2:55 into the round against Jerry Burns.

Garett Whitley showed superior skill in finishing Miles Shrake with a rear naked choke 3:14 into the fight, prompting testy exchanges between each fighter’s vocal contingents in the crowd.

In a superheavyweight tilt, Jimmy Jenkins earned a standing TKO victory over Terry Mellotte 1:33 into the fight.

In the evening’s amateur action:

Larry Pavey got tagged with a jab early but then quickly finished Duane Gray with a guillotine 28 seconds into the fight.

Despite a point deduction for an illegal elbow, Andrew Kepchar cruised to a unanimous decision (29-27 on all three cards) over Matthew Perry.

Ethan Cronk latched onto a rear naked choke that forced Gary Riggs to submit 47 seconds into the second round.

Garcia puts the heat on Turner against the cage

Jesse Parsley earned a TKO stoppage 1:11 into the second round against “The Amish Assassin” Brandon Hockman in a fight that featured the odd sight of Hockman being forced by regulations to wear a mouthpiece despite having no teeth.

Jeremy Baughman lived up to his nickname of “Bulldozer,” plowing through Jason Clouse for a decisive TKO victory 1:05 into the fight.

In the most exciting amateur fight of the night, Abe Garcia earned a unanimous decision (30-27 on all cards) against Jesse Turner.

Bryant Whitaker could have finished Bobby Thilman at almost any point in their fight, but instead seemed content to ride out superior mount and back control position for a clear-cut unanimous decision (30-27 on all cards).

Robert Arnett earned a victory against Casey Claybourn after the latter fighter could not answer the third round bell.

Finally, in addition to the three dozen fighters who stepped into the cage, the night featured interviews with the UFC’s perennial fight-of-the-night contender Chris “Lights Out” Lytle (who is also a partner in Premier Cage Fighting), Kimbo-retirer and TUF alumnus Matt Mitrione, and UFC vets Jason Godsey, Jason Gilliam and Johnny Rees, all of whom are eagerly anticipating the long-awaited Hoosier debut of MMA’s flagship promotion in September.

Quick Results:

Amateur Card:
Larry Pavey defeated Duane Gray via Guillotine Choke in 0:28 of the first round.
Andrew Kepchar defeated Mathew Perry via unanimous 29-27 decision.
Ethan Cronk defeated Gary Riggs via Rear Naked Choke in 0:47 of the second round.
Jesse Parsley defeated Brandon Hockman via TKO in 1:11 of the second round.
Jeremy Baughman defeated Jason Clouse via TKO in 1:05 of the first round
Abe Garcia defeated Jesse Turner via unanimous 30-27 decision.
Bryant Whitaker defeated Bobby Thilman via unanimous 30-27 decision.
Robert Arnett defeated Casey Claybourn via TKO (Claybourn was unable to answer the bell of the third round)

Professional Card:
Casey Dyer defeated Matt Singleton via tapout due to Triangle Choke in 2:46 of the first round.
Ryan Mcintosh defeated Toney Alvey via TKO in 2:32 of the first round.
Andrew Zook defeated Chris Johnson via tapout due to Armbar in 0:15 of the first round
Rob McIntyre defeated Bryan Neville via TKO in 4:22 of the second round.
Justin Allen defeated Kevin Mcintosh via ref stoppage in 1:21 of the first round
Marvin Lemock defeated James Powell via tapout due to standing Guillotine in 0:42 of the first round.
James Shaw defeated Jerry Burns via TKO in 2:55 of the third round
Garett Whiteley defeated Miles Shrake via tapout due to Rear Naked Choke in 3:14 of the first round.
Jimmy Jenkis defeated Terry Mellotte via TKO in 1:33 of the first round.
Joao Herdy defeated Dustin Neace via unanimous 29-28 decision.