Hughes, Raddon, Edminister have fights scheduled

A quick Utah Fight News report this week.

-- Proving Grounds Invitational 5 was held this past weekend in SLC. I don't have results but its FB pages is here and website here.

--- Mountain Force MMA unfortunately had to cancel its card in Logan last week due to just plain bad luck of fights falling out the last week. Here's a press release. Mountain Force does plan another MMA card in Utah, in Logan on March 30.

Factum gym in Sandy had an amateur card last weekend. Photos and more are at the gym's Facebook page here. Winners included Jon Bryant and Jay Wright. ... There is another amateur card Jan. 26 in Pocatello where many locals will box. Former MMA fighter Brad Davidson will make his amateur boxing debut.

-- Thomas Hughes, MMA professional (above), will be fighting March 2 in SLC in a Fierce Fighting Championships card. He's training at One Hit Gym with Kaecy Raddon, who has a scheduled kickboxing bout with Mountain Force Kickboxing Feb. 23 in Farmington. Both Hughes and Raddon have international kickboxing experience, as well as being MMA fighters.

-- Bryce Edminister has a professional MMA bout in Boise on Feb. 1. Edminister trains at KOA Kingdom gym and has been training there with Raddon as well.

-- Madie Meacham, of One Hit, fought on a televised card with LFA promotions last weekend. She did well but was stopped due to a permanent retainer inside her mouth that broke and caused a cut.

--- Remember, Feb. 16, in SLC, Carson Gregory versus Craig Grove headlines the next SteelFist MMA card.

-- And there is a PFK pro/amateur boxing card scheduled for March 8 in SLC at the 801 Event Center. ... You can see a complete list of fights cards on the Utah athletics site here.

Rodriguez wins SteelFist bout; Proving Grounds Invitational

At the SteelFist MMA card in SLC last Saturday night, 205-pound Joe Rodriguez (seen above) won the main event stopping Hank Weiss in the first round. In another pro bout, debuting Eric Munoz stopped veteran heavyweight Andy Witt in the first round. And in a professional 125-pound women's MMA bout, Katlin Neil ended her fight with Andrea Miller in round one. The best amateur bout was a highly competitive match between Augustin Valdez and Thomas Prestriedge for the 135-pound belt. Valdez earned a split decision win. The entire card is here.

The next SteelFist card is Feb. 16 at the Union Event Center in SLC. Bouts include Carson Gregory versus Craig Grove, Eric Iman versus Joshua Brown and Trever Bradshaw versus Jo Maama.

The Proving Grounds Invitational 5 is on Jan. 19 at 370 S 300 East in Salt Lake City. One intriguing superfight matches Sean Powers versus Josh Burkman. Competing again in the grappling competitions is Lucus Montoya, among many other local competitors.

Also, Mountain Force MMA has a card in Logan at the Cache Events Center on Jan. 19. Mike Jones headlines the main event. Card is here.

O'Connell wins PFL tourney final; Steelfist card Saturday

Sean O'Connell, pictured above, retired a happy fighter on Monday by earning a million dollars winning the light-heavyweight year-long tournament from the Professional Fighters League. O'Connell, a heavy underdog in the finals, literally walked through Vinny Magalhaes in the final, taking control after a competitive first round with power punches and sprawling well to avoid his opponent's increasingly weaker takedown attempts. After a third round that involved -- several times -- O'Connell pounding Magalhaes, Magalhaes falling to O'Connell's knees, and O'Connell waiting for Magalhaes to rise, the top seed retired from the bout prior to round 4, with O'Connell, of Utah, being cheered on by his fans.

Another Utah fighter, Steven Siler, (seen above) came up short in his quest for a million-dollar purse, losing to Lance Palmer via a unanimous five round decision in the featherweight final. Siler had a good first round, rallying in the final 90 seconds and stunning Palmer just before the bell. However, Palmer, a former national collegiate wrestling champ, used those skills to sweep the rest of the rounds, using several takedowns and wearing Siler down, keeping him on the floor and trying to avoid punches that landed with more frequency in the final two rounds. The scores were 50-45, 49-46, and a ridiculous 50-43 for Palmer. I have heard, but can't confirm, that runner ups received $200,000.

Here and here are two articles that include complete results and a feature on O'Connell retiring.

SteelFist card on Saturday

Remember that Saturday night at The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, 235 N. 500 West, SteelFist has a card. Doors open at 6 pm, fights start at 7 p.m., and it's for all ages. Main event matches veterans Joe Rodriguez and Hank Weiss. Entire card is here. Our advance story is here.

And remember ... Mountain Force MMA has a card in Logan on January 26. Main event matches Utah 185-pound pro Mike Jones against Joe Miles. Entire card is here. It's all ages, at the Cache County Event Center. Fights start at 7 pm.