We are here to cover yet another awesome show put on by the fine folks at Fight Night Challenge. As is the case with many events, there were some fights that were changed and/or fell off, but it’s still set to be a great card!

David “Sprinkles” Riner v. Luke Canady (Muay Thai)

Beard Advantage for Riner, who is rocking a short business beard.

RD1: Canady opens with a leg kick, and Riner responds in kind. Both fighters exchange a series of leg kicks and combos with some success. Riner lands a leg kick that turns his opponent around, then lands a spinning back-fist shortly thereafter. As the round comes to a close, Riner lands another spinning back-fist and a kick right before the bell rings.

RD2: Canady opens with a leg kick but leaves his guard down, and is countered by Riner, who lands some punches and a leg kick in return, then uncorks another leg kick that turns his opponent for a second time. Riner lands a body kick that resonates loudly in the arena, eliciting a few cheers from the crowd. Canady lands a combo, with Riner returning the favor. The round comes to a close with both fighters exchanging punches at a fast pace.

RD3: Riner opens with a leg kick, but is countered by a right hand from Canady, who uses his range well on a series of punches that are landing flush to the face of Riner. Riner lands a leg kick, but eats a left hand in return. Riner lands a leg kick, but is countered in kind, then misses with a head kick. Canady throws a jumping punch of sorts, is countered, then eats another leg kick. Riner throws a leg kick, and is countered, then dropped on a subsequent punch. The round comes to a close with Canady landing a few punches.

This was an entertaining fight. Sometimes with Amateur Muay Thai you never know what you are going to get. These guys came in prepared. Riner had a great first two rounds, then Canady began to really find his range and took the third round in my book. All in all, a great fight to watch.

UD Win for David Riner, (30-27, 29-28,29-28) , who had nothing but praise for his opponent, routinely saying, “He hits hard!” while being interviewed post fight.

“Big Daddy Anbone” Anthony Wilson v. James “Showtime” Neville (Hvywt)

Wilson has beard advantage with a full beard.

RD1: Wilson opens with a series of hard punches, many of which land. Listening to his corner, Neville shoots for a takedown, but is reversed, and Wilson gets on top looking to land more punches. Neville weathers the storm, sweeps, ended up on top in half guard, then passes to side control, showing great pressure in keeping a very visibly strong Wilson in place. Neville passes to mount, then postures up and lands a series of punches. Wilson pulls him in close to get some space, Neville works a few short elbows. Wilson gives up his back to avoid further strikes, and Neville sinks in a Rear Naked Choke in short order, forcing the tap and stoppage from Referee Mike King.

First Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Win for Neville.

Fodhel Benamor v. John Stover (130)

RD1: Fodhel opens with a leg kick, and then both fighters spend a solid amount of time throwing wild and hard punches with reckless abandon in a manner reminiscent of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Stover gets a takedown, Fodhel quickly reverses and gets on top and lands some punches, having to be warned by the ref about hitting the back of the head. The two soon return to their feet. Stover gets a takedown and the two jockey for position, Fodhel looks for a choke of sorts from side mount, but doesn’t get it and Stover gets on top in mount. Fodhel gives up his back, and Stover locks in a Rear Naked Choke, forcing the tap.

First Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke) win for John Stover.

Jack “Rakkazak” Ruppurt v. “Awesome” Brian Dawson (158)

Ryan Dawson is in solid possession of Beard Advantage, sporting a very solid full beard. Easily the best beard of the night. Major props!

RD1: Dawson opens with leg kick, then slips on a subsequent kick attempt. Ruppert lands in full guard on top, with Dawson quickly throwing up his legs for a submission.  Dawson shows great flexibility, using the Rubber Guard to then transition to a solid looking Armbar attempt. Ruppert, attempting to get out of the submission, ends up kicking Dawson in the head on the ground several times, forcing the ref to stop the action due to the foul.

The ref takes a point from Ruppert, but the physician calls of the fight due to Dawson being unable to continue.

First Round Win for Dawson by Disqualification.

Mike Butler v. Jacob Ashley (145)

Beard Advantage for Butler, who is sporting a short business beard.

RD1: Ashley lands a leg kick, but eats a few punches in return. Ahsley lands a few leg kicks, but Butler fires back, landing a series of gnarly punches. Ashley lands a jumping knee to the head of Butler, dropping him. From the bottom, Butler looks for a leg lock, but doesn’t get it. Ashley gets up, and quickly resumes hiss efforts, landing a barrage of strikes to Butler against the cage. Ashley seems to wilt and bit, and Butler come back, sling some hard shots, eventually landing on top on the ground after bowling Ashley over. Butler lands some short strikes to the body of Ashley, staying tight on top as the round comes to a close.

That round was a gnarly one, necessitating the cage clean up crew to come in and clean up some of the blood coming from a visibly leaking Butler.

RD2: Ashley lands a leg kick, and Butler immediately blitzes him with punches, pressing him up against the cage. Ashley drops down to attempt a Guillotine, but Butler gets out and postures up. Ashley throws up a Triangle Choke, locking it in and furiously landing elbows to the top of the head of Butler. Butler seems to be defending and trying to get a little space, but is still stuck in the choke, just covering up. Unable to get the tap there, Ashley uses the choke to sweep to mount, then transitions to an Armbar as Butler gets on top again. Ashley switches back to a Triangle, and continues to rain down elbows to the top of Butler’s head. Ashley drops back and attempts to cinch in the choke, but doesn’t get the tap, and lands more elbows as the round comes to a close.

Very awesome round! Ashley seems to be pulling ahead now, and Butler’s face is certainly showing some damage.

RD3: Butler throws a leg kick then a punch, Ashley whiffs a spinning back-fist. Butler is throwing some hard shots in return, a few miss, but the ones that connect are hard and quite gnarly, eventually dropping Ashley to the ground right in front of his own corner. Able to take advantage of being on the ground right in front of his coach, Dave Morris, Butler throws some short punches to the body and head of Ashley, but Ashley is staying active, throwing his legs up repeatedly, fishing for a submission, which will be tough to get right up against the cage. Butler is staying tight on top of hiss opponent up against the cage. Ashley throws his legs up, but Butler takes advantage and passes to side control then back mount, throwing some hard punches as the round comes to a close.

That fight was pure gnarliness!!

Split Decision Win for Mike Butler, eliciting an equal share of cheers and boos from the crowd. Regardless, that was a great fight.

Jonathan Vernon v. James Dunn (150 lb. Catchweight)

RD1: Dunn opens with a leg kick, but both fighters end up clinched up against the cage, landing knees to their opponent’s bodies. Both fighters are battling for good position in the clinch, then Dunn lands a pair of good knees and punches, eventually getting a slamming takedown, landing in side control. Ref Mike King warns Vernon about throwing knees to the head on the ground, then the fight resumes. Dunn then lands a series of loud punches on the ground to the head and body of Vernon, as well as some elbows, as Vernon just covers up to try to mitigate the damage. The round ends with both fighters on the ground against the cage right in front of me, with Dunn landing some hard gnarly punches to Vernon, seemingly looking to tenderize his body and face.

RD2: Vernon lands a jab, then Dunn advances forward with punches and goes into the clinch, then both fighters exchange knees to the body. Dunn gets a takedown against the cage, quickly advancing to Mount, getting an Arm Triangle Choke in short order, forcing the tap in short order

That fight is an early front-runner for the “Pure Gnarliness Award”, just due to the ferocity of what Dunn brought to the table in the fight.

Second Round Submission victory for James Dunn (Arm Triangle).

Carlos Martinez v. Evan Green (Muay Thai)

Evan Green elicits some early cheers from the crowd, as he walked out to Johnny Cash, always a crowd favorite.

RD1: Green opens up with two combos, then lands a nice pair of leg kicks. Green catches a kick and attempts to sweep Martinez, but both guys hit the ground. Green is doing very well with throwing combos and landing leg kicks on the end. Martinez lands a nice counter punch to the face of Green, then lands a nice 1-2 after. Both guys exchange leg kicks, Green throws some knees to the body of Martinez, who fires back with punches as the round comes to a close.

RD2: Both guys open up immediately, Green lands some stiff punches that stagger Martinez against the cage, but Martinez trips him off of a kick. They both exchange some leg kicks, with Green opening up with another barrage of punches and knees against the cage, with Martinez firing back in kind. Green seems to really be finding his range, continuing to land accurate punches to the face of Martinez. Martinez misses with a kick but then nails Green in the face with a stiff right hand right before the round comes to a close.

RD3: Green lands a right hand to start the round. Martinez fires back, but Green lands a few more flush punches. Martinez lands a series of nice kicks to Green’s body, then Green fires back with a straight right to the body of Martinez. Both guys are staying tight in the pocket and exchanging punches, then they clinch up and exchange some knees. Green is throwing a straight right clean down the pipe, but it is just missing his opponents head. Martinez comes in with a combo, and Green responds with an uppercut and a hook. The round ends with Martinez pressing the action, backing Green up against the cage.

This was a great fight to watch. Both fighters have obviously been well trained, and it showed. Both MMAI Charlottesville and Disciple MMA have put out a laundry list of good fighters.

Unanimous Decision win for Evan Green. This was a very close and entertaining fight, but I definitely agree with the decision.

From a technical standpoint, this is also a good candidate for Fight of the Night.

“Big Nasty” Robbie Lillard vs. Stirling Walker Bell (155)

Lillard came out with a great dance and walkout song, “Apache (Jump On It!) by the Sugar Hill Gang, eliciting some dancing in response from Bell. I believe I have just witnessed my first MMA Dance Off! Awesome!

RD1: Lillard lands a nice switch kick to the face of his opponent. Bell accidentally kicks Lillard in the groin, but he shakes it off. They clinch up, with Lillard throwing some nice strikes in the clinch. Lillard goes for a standing Kimura and ends up getting a takedown, working strikes almost immediately. Bell is working some strikes from the bottom as well, but Lillard then postures up and passes to side control, trapping one of Bells arms with his leg. He then sets up a Triangle from Mount, rolls over and gets the tap in short order.

First Round Submission (Triangle Choke) win for Robbie Lillard.

Liilard received high praise from his opponent, who repeatedly exclaimed to the crowd, “Robbie Lillard! He’s amazing! You know why? Because I’m amazing!”

Again, witnessing my first MMA dance-off was pretty awesome. Additionally, Bell seemed extremely jazzed to be in there fighting. I have rarely seen someone so happy, especially after taking a loss. Fight Night Challenge should definitely have him back.

Daryl Jones v. Matt “The Deathdealer” Ferguson (185 Title Fight)

Beard Advantage to Ferguson, who is rocking a solid mustache. In an age where a lot of people still misguidedly associate a mustache with being a pervert or creeper, you’ve gotta be a manly dude to pull off a ‘stache, and he certainly does.

RD1: Ferguson feints with a leg kick, then misses a high kick. Jones, whiffs a kick, eats one in return, then gets a takedown. Jones lands in side control, but Ferguson quickly gets to half then full guard. Jones pushes Furguson up against the cage right in front of me. Ferguson tries to buck Jones off, but fails, and Jones ends up on top in mount. Ferguson is doing a good job of holding his opponent tight to avoid getting dumped on, but Jones is staying tight in mount. Ferguson is repeatedly trying to escape or buck is opponent off, but Jones has done a good job of staying tight on top. Ferguson tries to gets up, but Jones takes his back, probing for the choke and landing some short punches to the side of his head. Jones gets an arm through, but Ferguson defends. Jones then goes for the choke again, trying to flatten his opponent out, but Ferguson escapes and briefly gets up, before Jones takes his back again. On another attempt by Ferguson to get up, Jones latched onto a leg and got a quick tap due to a leg lock.

First Round Submission (Calf Slicer) win for Daryl Jones, sporting a solid full beard himself, adding yet another championship belt to his collection.

Chris “Rocket” Rollins v. Pablo Garcia (145)

Rollins got the crowd going during his walkout for the Main Event, clearly being the hometown draw and crowd favorite.

RD1: Rollins opens with a few jabs, and Pablo answers with a few strikes of his own. Pablo lands a leg kick, then Rollins lands some punches in return. Rollins uncorks a barrage of strikes, backing Pablo against the cage. Rollins lands more strikes tight in the clinch, and Pablo drops down for a takedown. Rollins defends and they eventually separate. Rollins gets right back to his striking, looking to land another barrage of strikes. Pablo clinches up with him against the cage, getting a takedown but Rollins pops back up. Pablo goes for another, but Rollins reverses and gets on top in mount briefly, before Pablo gets back up to his feet and circles away. Both fighters then exchange a series of hard punches, with Pablo catching a knee and clinching up with Rollins up against the cage, looking for and eventually getting a tripping takedown. Pablo then tries to pass to Mount against the cage, but Rollins does a good job of getting his back on the cage and eventually gets back up. Pablo continues to look for takedowns, but Rollins continually throws punches and elbows to the body of Pablo. Pablo keeps trying for a takedown as the round comes to a close, but Rollins stays on his feet

RD2: Pablo opens with a right hook, and a leg kick as Rollins fires back with punches. Rollins lands a right hand off of a leg kick by Pablo, then both fighters uncork some nice combos. After eating some strikes from Rollins, Pablo shoots for a few takedowns, eventually getting one and grounding his opponent right in front of his home corner. Pablo is on top in half guard, looking to pass, and gets mount. Pablo is staying tight on top in mount, working some short strikes, then locks up an Arm Triangle. Rollins is defending, looking for space and  an escape, but Pablo is maintaining the submission attempt. Rollins defends and Pablo lets go and lands some shorter strikes to the face of Rollins. Pablo is staying tight on top and sets up another Arm Triangle, heeding the words of his corner. Rollins is doggedly fighting the choke, and Pablo lets go and lands some elbows to the face of Rollins. They roll over, and Pablo locks in an Rear Naked Choke, forcing the ref to call a stop to the action. Rollins protests the decision, exclaiming that he wasn’t out and/or didn’t tap, but the referee explains and stands by his decision, signaling the end of a great night of fights, this one included.

Second Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Win for Pablo Garcia.