Haro, Collard and McGee among fighters with upcoming bouts

We have a lot of news since we last posted in the blog.  I hope I remember what I have memory stored of late. The mentions will be pithy. But this is a big fall for boxing and MMA in Utah.
First, some results:
Middleweight boxer Clay Collard, 9-2-3, stopped a badly outmatched Maurice Williams in The Bubble in Las Vegas on Aug. 22. Williams, 7-2, was saved by the referee in round 2.
BIG NEWS: Top Rank announced that Collard will fight on Oct. 17 in The Bubble on the Lomachecko versus Lopez supercard. No opponent named yet.
Minimum weight boxer Jesus Haro, of Merced, Calif., and a relation to Utah boxer Jose Haro, moved to 2-1 with a quick TKO on Aug. 29 over Francisco Garcia in Baja California. His Haro Bros' stablemate, Miklo Arnold, 1-1-1, also fought. I never got his opponent's name but it was a draw. I had Arnold winning three of the four rounds. (For some bizarre reason Boxrec.com is not archiving Haro's two wins, nor Arnold's. It appears to be a tiff with the promoter?)
Speaking of Jose Haro, the West Jordan, Utah, boxer resumed his career earlier this year. And, on Sept. 23, on Fox TV, Haro will meet Mark Magsayo for the IBF International Featherweight championship. The bout is in Los Angeles.
There's an excellent feature on Jose Haro at BoxSocial.com.
MMA
Court McGee (seen above) will be fighting Carlos Condit on Oct. 3 on UFC Fight Night at UFC Fight Island.
Eric Munoz, of Ogden, 185 pounds, fights in the pro cage again on Sept. 26 in Logan, Utah for Mountain Force MMA. In the main event, Munoz fights Montel Williams. MFMMA's Facebook page is here.
On that same card in Logan, 135 pound MMA fighter Jessica Poole, who trains at Foley's gym in Ogden, makes her pro debut against Wendy Freeman. (fight photo with both below).

Check out this interesting interview in which Poole, an accomplished body builder, talks about preparing for her MMA career. It's at MyMMANews.
Also, on Oct. 17, on a Mountain Force MMA card, in Grantsville, Utah, middleweight pro Aaron Thomson, of Salt Lake City, will fight Cole Shafer.
Amateur MMA fighter Destiny McCubbin is returning to the cage on Oct. 3 in Tampa, Fla. She will fight Naomie Young for the World Class Fighting League 125-pound title.
Fitcon recently had an all-amateur MMA card in Lehi; results are at Fighting Out of Utah MMA Facebook page.
Idaho-native MMA pro Kerry Lattimer, who has fought in Utah, has a bout this Saturday, Sept. 12, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, against Ben Hollier of Idaho. The card is promoted by Mountain Force MMA.
Finally, Rowdy Akers, a fighter who has fought often in Utah and currently lives in Boise, Idaho, tried out for a spot with the Bare Knuckle FC recently. He did not get the call but by all accounts it seemed a very positive experience, working out with Chris Leben, among others.
Also, Orem MMA pro DeAnna Bennett fights Liz Scarmouche Saturday at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut at Bellator 246.

Utah MMA cards, Larry Gomez set to fight, Collard wins in boxing again

Some MMA news first. Here is an update on the Fierce Fighting Championship card set for Feb. 15 at the Maverik Center in West Valley, Utah.

The main bout matches Samson Phommabout against Bobby King. The rest of the card features similarly well-matched bouts. They include:

Fabio Serrao versus Mike Hamel; Mike Jones versus Kyle Stewart; Carson Hardman versus Nate Kearsley; Eric Munoz versus Tracy Hardy; Aaron Thomson versus Josh Quinlan; Trever Bradshaw versus Randy Rowland; Thomas Hughes versus Brian Mitchell; and Nathan Owens versus Justin Horsley; with more bouts. A complete scheduled card is here. More info at FFC's Facebook page. This is a damned good card.

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Speaking of good MMA cards, SteelFist has another card six days later, Feb. 21, at the Union Event Center. The main bout matches Nick Martinez versus Cole Shafer. The co-main matches Hayden Brown against Craig Grove. And undefeated Lehi Dominguez against Jeff Carson, and another pro bout. Ryan Thaxton and Zack Partridge meet in an amateur promotional title bout. Another amateur bout matches Jordan Munoz against Austin Atkinson. Jordan Munoz is the son of professional Eric Munoz, who, as mentioned, fights on the FFC card six days earlier. The scheduled card is here. For more information, go to SteelFist's website.

BOXING

Utah's Clay Collard, a UFC-quality mixed martial artist, continued his remarkable barnstorming-around-the-nation boxing career by scoring another solid win over a previously undefeated professional boxer ... usually in their home towns. On Jan. 1, in Cincinnati, Collard defeated Quashawn Toler, who is now 9-1. Collard is now 5-2-3. In the past seven months, Collard has fought nine times against opponents with a combined record of, I believe, now, 51 wins and three losses. He has won four of those fights, lost one by decision and drawn three times. His only stoppage loss was against a "super-prospect," Bektemir Melikuziev, on the undercard of the Canelo Alavarez victory over Sergey Kovalev.

And .... Collard is readying to fight another undefeated prospect on Feb. 1. In Biloxi, Miss., he will fight on the undercard of a Fox Sports TV fight card, meeting Raymond Guajardo. Guajardo is only 19 and he has looked great in his brief career. However, he has met no fighter as remotely experienced or talented as Collard.

Larry Gomez, who defeated Brian Mendoza on a Top Rank boxing card late last year, will be back in the ring in Salt Lake City on Feb. 7 at the Union Event Center. His opponent has yet to be announced. Also scheduled to fight on the card is undefeated heavyweight Eric Wahlen, undefeated featherweight Brandon Douglas, heavyweight Helaman Olguin, superlightweight Francisco Jalel Lopez, and undefeated lightweight Gabriel Chairez. The scheduled, still sketchy for opponents at this date, is at the bottom of this webpage.

ALSO, Mountain Force MMA and Cache Valley Boxing are hosting an amateur boxing card on Jan. 25 in Logan at the Cache County Event Center.

Larry Gomez scheduled to fight on ESPN+ Saturday

The big news in the Utah fight game this week is that Northern Utah welterweight Larry Gomez (9-1) (above left) fights Brian Mendoza (18-0) in Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 30, in a fight that will be streamed on ESPN-Plus. It's part of a major card that features a few championship fights. As I mentioned, the Gomez v Mendoza bout is scheduled to be on the stream. The prelims will be streamed on ESPN-Plus beginning at 4:30 p.m. That's the best time to start watching. ESPN-Plus costs about $5 a month.

Larry has had a superb career to date; we wish him the best. The fight card is on this page.

In other news:

Mixed martial artist Aaron Thomson, of Utah, who had a good amateur career the last several years, made his pro debut recently, and it was a successful debut. Aaron, 180 pounds, traveled to Salem, Ore., and on Nov. 16 stopped previously undefeated Tobias Baker in round one,

One Nov. 15 in Salt Lake City, heavyweight contender Junior Fa decisioned Devin Vargas to win the WBO Oriental Heavyweight Title. The entire card, at the Salt Palace, is here.

On Aug. 22, in Salt Lake City, young professionals Lehi Dominguez, 155 pounds, and Hayden Brown, 170 pounds, scored wins in the main bouts of our local promoter, SteelFist MMA card. The results for all the fights are on this page.

Jose Haro to fight in near future, more news

SOME UPDATES: Plans have changed, and Jose Haro will fight but not in Wendover on Aug. 17.  According to Haro, plans are for a bout in the near future in Salt Lake City. Also, Aaron Thomson has had to withdraw from pro MMA bout against Eric Munoz on Aug. 3 in Price. No news yet of whether there is a replacement to fight Munoz.

It has been a while since Northern Utah boxer Jose Haro (seen above earlier in his career) has been in the ring. In his last bout he won a United States professional championship. On Saturday, Aug. 18, he fights for FKP promotions in Wendover against an opponent to be named. Also on the card will be Northern Utah professional Larry Gomez. Both Haro and Gomez also hold American Boxing Organization titles as well.

Clay Collard is a world class MMA fighter but for two months this year he boxed four times, barnstorming around the nation fighting preliminary bouts against -- I presume -- hometown favorites. He did very well considering the strong opponents and rushed schedule, compiling one win, one loss and three draws. His overall boxing record is now 2-1-3.

The Junior Olympics national championship was held recently. Several local boxers represented the Rocky Mountain states. Payson fighters Aaron Garcia Jr. and Austin Garcia were among those crowned champions.

In the last SteelFist card, Brian Thomas decisioned Carson Hardman in the main bout. Thomas' ground game was the difference. Eric Iman also scored a win. Entire card is here.

An excellent card set this Friday night in Price. Two pro bouts of note are Samson Phommabout versus Randy Rowland and Eric Munoz versus Aaron Thomson. Undercard includes veteran amateurs Thomas Prestriedge and Brandon Rease in separate bouts. Card is here.

Aaron Sutton headlines on Aug. 3 in Idaho Falls, Idaho against Billy Carrothers in a Mountain Force MMA event. Card is here.

Aug. 9, Friday, is the next SteelFist card in SLC at Union Event Center. Amateur middleweight champion Hayden Brown makes his pro debut in the main event. Card and more information is here.

And Utah MMA pro Steven Siler, who was a finalist in the PFL featherweight tournament last, was eliminated last week from this year's tourney in a nationally televised bout.

Gomez, Jones, Chairez, Bradshaw among recent fight winners

Boxing:

Last Saturday in Wendover Utah boxers Larry Gomez and Christian Aguirre met in a rematch of a 2018 bout won by Gomez. Gomez won the rematch as well, with Aguirre retiring after three rounds. In other bouts, local professional Bladmir Estrada lost via decision to Kevin Hand and professional Helaman Olguin scored a win over Joseph Jones. Card is here..

A couple of weeks ago in SLC professional boxing brothers Ignacio Chairez and Gabriel Chairez competed in separate bouts. Gabriel won a decision over Edison Charley and Ignacio (seen above on right defeating Jorge Soto in a previous bout) ended in a no contest bout against Mikhail Lyubarsky. Early in round one, Lyubarsky, preferring to hold and clutch Chairez rather than fight, dragged Chairez to the floor. Things spiraled out of control and the bout was halted.

MMA

In the most recent SteelFist card in May, Mike Jones stopped Tracy Hardy in the main pro bout. In another pro bout, Trever Bradshaw knocked out Joe Maama in the first round. Card is here. On June 28, Carson Hardman headlines in a pro bout against Brian Thomas. The card, which also includes a heavyweight pro bout between Eric Iman and Mike Robinson, is here.

Father and son MMA fighters Eric and Jordan Munoz have separate bouts set. On Aug. 3, in Price, Utah, in an intriguing match, Eric Munoz (2-0) fights pro debuting Aaron Thomson, a one-time amateur of note. And on Aug. 9, on a SteelFist card, amateur Jordan Munoz (1-0) meets Doug Anderson.

MMA fighter David Castillo retires, updates in boxing, MMA

Davis County MMA professional David Castillo announced his retirement recently via a social media post. Castillo, an 155-pounder, has had a very distinguished career. He won a couple of belts, most recently a Front Street Fights title, and fought for Showdown and RFA titles.

Here's a look at his accomplishments in the cage (here) and he has a personal page as well. Castillo is currently involved in the sport as a coach, training partner and student at KOA Kingdom in Layton.

ON TO BOXING, ... The Factum gym in Sandy had an amateur boxing card on Nov. 11. Above shows Jesus Rodriguez, of Louie's gym in SLC, at left, fighting Joe Gibson of Foley's gym in Ogden (87 pounders). Gibson received the decision. In other fights involving Top of Utah boxers, 66 pounds, James Cox, of Lights Out in Clearfield, lost a decision to Diego Leidecker, Unbreakable; Ogden's Elijah Willet lost a decision to Collin Tuilevuku, 85 pounds; Christian Pasillas, Lights Out, decisioned Alex Poncde, Factum, 160 pounds; and Shakeem Barnwell, Foley's, decisioned Tristan Solies, Louie's, heavyweights.

Also, professional boxer Jose Haro, USBA and ABO featherweight champ, announced on social media that he had been called to fight for the IBF world featherweight in a London bout, only to learn later the promoters changed their minds and went with a different opponent. Jose may very well  be the finest featherweight boxer in the world. We hope he gets the chance to prove it.

MORE MMA: Several Utah MMA pros fought last weekend. In Boise, Idaho, at a Front Street Fights card, Bryce Edminister was defeated in his pro debut. In Las Vegas, amateurs Destiny McCubbin and Aaron Thomson lost decisions in Tuff-N-Uff promotional title bouts. On the same card, John Valentine, who recently retired as a pro MMA fighter, fought a submission-only five-minute Ju Jitsu match. It went to a no decision. Valentine announced on social media he will be fighting in Anaheim, Calif., at the World No Ju Jitsu Championships Dec, 16-17. Finally, Utah's Court McGee, a UFC veteran for several years, lost a close decision to Sean Strickland on Nov. 11 at UFC Fight Night 120 in Norfolk, Va.

Fierce Fighting MMA card Saturday, Hatch wins in Oklahoma

Saturday night, in Tooele, at the Desert Peak Complex, Fierce Fighting Championship has its latest MMA card. Matches include Tanner Cowan versus Nate Kearsley, Cy Nelson versus David Putvin, and Trever Carlson versus Antonio Arroyo in pro bouts and Aaron Thomson versus Ali Farkhar for the promotion's amateur middleweight title and Justin Oswald (champ) versus Zac Cavender in a 205-pound amateur title bout. Tickets are $30 GA and $50 VIP. ... Here's the scheduled card.

Thomson, by the was one of the division winners at last week's Proving Grounds International 3 grappling competition.

SOME MORE INFO:

Top of Utah MMA amateur Destiny McCubbin, currently living and training in Las Vegas, will be fighting in that city on Nov. 6, she announced via social media. She'll be fighting Genia Goodin on Nov. 11 at Sam's Town. Readers of the blog will note that McCubbin's Sept. 16 fight in Mesquite was called off when her opponent pulled out.  ...

Jared Hatch, who used to be familiar professional fighter in Utah, fighting bouts against pros such as Clinton Williams and Ed Whitmore, returned to the cage last weekend in Oklahoma. He was successful, defeating Chad Leonhardt in round 2 via a TKO, according to his Facebook page. ...

Finally, Utah woman MMA pro Kaytlin Neil won her first victory last weekend, taking a unanimous decision over Brooke Mayo in a preliminary match at Bellator 183 in San Jose, Calif.