In an exciting mixed martial arts bout Saturday night, Rowdy Akers withstood an early-bout surge from previously undefeated John Valentine to take charge in the final round, scoring a stoppage at 1.42 of round three. In the photo above, Valentine and Akers (back to cage) mix it up early in the bout)
The highly anticipated bout was billed as a retirement fight for both 40-something professionals, who have fought much of their careers with the promotion, SteelFist MMA.
In the 150-pound bout, Valentine (4-1) started aggressively, attempting to end the fight early via a submission or through ground and pound. Akers, fighting mostly on the defensive early, was successful in preventing Valentine from having an early night.
The fight started to turn in round 2, when Akers (5-4), after surviving another submission attempt, drove Valentine back with his own attack. Valentine fought back, scoring a takedown. However, by the end of the round Akers was gaining the upper hand.
In round three, Akers, who snapped a three-bout losing streak, took charge early, taking Valentine down and punishing him for a least a minute before the bout was stopped.
After the fight, Valentine congratulated Akers, saying "he was the better man tonight."
SteelFist promotion honored both fighters after the bout, presenting them with plaques and promotional belts.
An emotional Akers, his voice breaking at times, thanked a host of individuals, including Aldo Oreggia, owner of One Hit MMA, for all their support and assistance. "My God is good," Akers added, grateful for the MMA sport for helping lifting him up as an individual the past several years. (In the photo below, Akers, in green trunks, talks with Valentine after the bout)
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In the main professional bout, Jerry Shiparo (9-1), who fights out of Las Vegas, stopped Jai Santos (7-4), who fights out of Team Link Utah, in round one via rear naked choke. With the win Shiparo collected the SteelFist 135-pound pro title bout. (The main event result is courtesy of the Facebook page Fighting Out of Utah MMA News)
In the other professional bout, Idaho's William Dunkle (2-2) upset local favorite Josh Bateman (4-4) with a win via strikes in round one. After being taken down by Bateman early, Dunkle stunned his 170-pound opponent and pummeled him until the referee called it.
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The highlight of 11 amateur bouts was an extremely competitive bout between Thomas Prestriedge (8-6) (Absolute MMA) and Jordan Marshall (3-1) (Victory MMA) for the promotion's 125-pound amateur belt. Prestriedge, a skinny fighter whose frame masks quite a bit of talent and ring generalship, used experience and a strong jab to defeat his stronger, more aggressive opponent over five rounds.
Marshall nearly ended the bout early, scoring a knockdown, but Prestriedge fought off his opponent's follow-up attack and gradually gained confidence, keeping a boxing edge through the competitive match.
Other competitive amateur bouts included 135-pounded Clay Abrams ( 2-2, Victory MMA) scoring a decision over Braxton McBride (0-2, One Hit MMA), 140-pounder Morgan Colledge (2-0, Fusion MMA) decisioning Kaden Schick (0-1, Victory MMA), and 145-pounder Julian Ruiz (5-3, Fusion MMA) used his experience to take a decision over Gavin Weston 3-1, One Hit MMA).
The opening bout of the card had heavyweight Zephaniah Na'oupu (2-0) putting on the heat late in round two, pounding opponent Kingzlee Tabile (1-2). Tabile was unable to meet the bell for round three. In other bouts, that ended in the first round:
Matt Marshall stopped Jeff Isham, 175 pounds.
Justin Horsely stopped Dakota Culley, 140 pounds.
Jayden Marshall stopped Christian Gilford, 125 pounds.
Hayden Brown stopped Brian Reed, heavyweight.
Rico Valdez stopped Kieran Merton, 145 pounds.
And Jon Wixom stopped Tracy Hardy, 185 pounds.
The fights of SteelFist 52, Defend Your Honor, were in Salt Lake City at the Riverbend Sports Complex before a large crowd.
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