SteelFist card part of a big combat sports weekend in Utah

 

---

It's a busy, big combat sports weekend in Northern Utah. On Saturday there's a UFC card in Salt Lake City. A big highlight is that Utah MMA icon Court McGee will have his final bout. McGee has excelled in combat sports since he was a high school wrestler a generation ago. He won UFC's annual Ultimate Fighter tournament in 2010 and has stayed in the top tier of mixed martial arts since. We're all rooting for Court in his final UFC bout. He fights Eric Nolan. The Delta Center card starts at 4 p.m.

Saturday afternoon in Ogden Foley's gym will have an amateur card. It starts at 2 p.m. Foley's gym itself will have about a dozen amateur boxers competing, including 168-pounder Luciano Salazar, who's hoping to continue a winning streak at Foley's gym. This reporter, Doug Gibson, will be there. It's at 375 31st Street in Ogden.

I'll also be at the Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, 235 N 500 West, Friday evening for a combat sports card from SteelFist Fight Night. The fights include: MMA, Muy Thai kickboxing; kickboxing; and submission-only. Above on the graphic is the main event. It's for the promotion's amateur middleweight title, matching Alex Johnson, 4-0, of Mori Academy, versus John Henderson, 4-3, of Nevada Jiu-Jitsu. A bantamweight amateur title bout match matches Aaron Jennings versus Angel Diaz.

For information on more fights on the card, and ticket information, go to SteelFist's website here. Bouts start at 7 p.m. You can buy tickets at the SteelFist site.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article (link here) about a submission-only 8-minute pro bout between former MMA pros John Valentine (I interviewed John) and Sooksan Simpleman. I loved watching both compete in the past. This bout is part of the Forever Now effort to raise funds for a memorial to the 58 people tragically killed, and many more injured, by a gunman in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017. The aforementioned, linked article, has information on how to donate to Forever One and/or apply part of your SteelFist ticket price to the memorial.

-- Utah Fight Game

Rowdy Akers earns a bare knuckle fight date with BKFC

A while back we noted that Rowdy Akers, an Idaho combat sports veteran who has fought MMA many times in Utah, journeyed to Kansas for a tryout with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships. At the time we noted that despite a good tryout, it appeared that Rowdy -- who has pro bare knuckle fighting experience -- was not going to get a call to fight for the promotion. However, that changed. We are pleased to announce that Rowdy was signed to BKFC 13, in Salina, Kan., on Oct. 10. He will meet LJ Hermreck in a preliminary bout on the PPV card. Information on getting the PPV event can be found at the BKFC link above.

We asked Rowdy to tell us a little about the opportunity he's been presented with. He replied:

So, with the pandemic and everything I decided that I would go try out for the BKFC in Kansas a month or so ago. They were giving away two contracts. I went down there by myself with some sponsors that got me a plane ticket in a hotel. The staff at the BKFC said that they were going to let us know in 5 to 7 days. They didn't say anything for a while, a couple of weekends, and then they decided to pick me and give me a fight October 10^th.  I don't know much about my opponent. he's got some MMA fights and this is his bare knuckle debut. I'm 1 and 0 as a professional bare knuckle fighter. My coach is doing the research and me and Jesse Rock will head down to Kansas on Thursday morning and we will do what we need to do. I've been training my ass off and I would love to get my Utah fans something to watch.

We wish Rowdy the best this Saturday.

In other news, in a UFC bout on Oct. 3, Utah's Court McGee lost a competitive decision to Carlos Condit. At the end of a close first round, Condit floored McGee with a right hand. It took Court much of round two to recover although round three was more or less even. 

Also on Oct. 3, former Utah MMA fighter Destiny McCubbin traveled to Florida to fight for the World Class Fight League promotion's flyweight title. Destiny was defeated by Jordyn Orgera. 

Recently MMA professional fighters Kerry Lattimer lost to Ben Hollier in Idaho and Orem MMA pro DeAnna Bennett was defeated by Liz Scarmouche in a Bellator promotion bout, on TV, in Connecticut. 

Due to Covid 19, a Mountain Force MMA card in Logan has been pushed back from a scheduled Sept. 26 date to Friday, Oct. 23, still in Logan. Local fighters Eric Munoz and Jessica Poole are on that card. Munoz' son, Jordan, an amateur MMA fighter, will compete on an Mountain Force MMA card in Grantsville on Oct. 17.

Last night on social media MMA pro Steven Siler announced he will challenge Bobby King for the Fierce Fighting Championship Nov. 14 at The Maverik Center in West Valley.City. That will be an interesting matchup. On the undercard Utah's Thomas "T-train" Prestriedge will make his pro debut.

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.

Akers wins at Steelfist; Olquin wins boxing belt

In an 150-pound pro bout, Rowdy Akers stopped Gregg McFarland in the main event at the SteelFist MMA card in Salt Lake City on Oct. 19. Results of all bouts on the card are available at the Fighting Out of Utah MMA News Facebook page.

Also on Oct. 19, at a UFC MMA card in Boston, Utahn Court McGee dropped a three-round decision to undefeated Sean Brady.

Speaking of Akers, he was scheduled to fight in a submission-only limited-rules 7-minute bout in Las Vegas Nov. 9 at Sam's Town against John Valentine. The pair fought a memorable MMA bout a couple of years ago that Akers won. However, this past week Valentine announced on social media that Arron Carson will be replacing Akers. It will be the second bout between the pair. Valentine won the first match.

SteelFist's next card is Nov. 22 in Salt Lake City at the Union Event Center. Bouts include professional fighters Hayden Brown and Joe Maama fighting at 175 pounds. Also, Lehi Dominguez will fight Jordan Marriott in a lightweight pro bout.

BOXING

In Salt Lake City on Oct. 11, heavyweight Helaman Olquin won the FKF promotional state pro heavyweight title with a majority decision over Joseph Jones. In two other pro boxing bouts, both super-lightweight, undefeated Ignacio Chairez scored a decision over Anthony Curtiss and Joey Borrero decisioned Edison Charley.

According to state athletic commission website, DiBella Entertainment is planning a pro boxing card on Nov. 15 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. I have heard no information on that card as of yet.

KICKBOXING -- This week professional kickboxer Kaecy Raddon, who now lives in Colorado, is competing in Sarajevo in the 22nd WAKO Masters World Championships. Raddon is Mountain Force Kickboxing promotional pro champion. On Wednesday Raddon was defeated in the tourney by Marzaq Soufiane of Morroco. Mountain Force Kickboxing plans a kick boxing card in Ogden on Nov. 16.

Neal, several other locals, on September LFA card in West Valley

Some quick updates on the Utah Fight Game:

On Sept. 6, in West Valley at The Maverik Center, Ogden's Jon Neal is the co-main event on an LFA card, fighting Idaho's Andrew Cruz. Several area  MMA professionals are on the card, including Samson Phommabout, Westin Wilson, Carson Hardman, Eric Iman, Kaytlin Neil, Trever Bradshaw, and Mike Jones. The entire card is here.

On Oct. 19, at The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, professionals Rowdy Akers and Gregg McFarland head the SteelFist MMA card.

On Sept. 21, at the Eccles Ice Arena in Logan, professional Dom Gero of Ogden meets debuting Max Riddle in the pro main bout for Mountain Force MMA.

Some recent MMA cards:

SteelFist, Aug. 9: In the main event, former amateur champion Hayden Brown made his pro debut against veteran Nick Martinez, who used his experience to score a win. The entire card is here.

Mountain Force MMA, Aug. 3: Veteran Aaron Sutton, of Idaho, announced his retirement after losing in the main bout to Billy Carothers. Results are here. ... Also Utah's Court McGee will meet Sean Brady in a UFC bout Oct. 18 in Boston.

Fierce Fighting Championships, Aug. 3: Phommabout defeated Randy Rowland in the main bout. On the undercard, Thomas Prestriedge won the 135 pound amateur belt, defeating Simon Prado. Results are here.

Idaho professional MMA pro Kerry Lattimer remained busy, scoring a win in Hawaii and a loss in northern California.

Finally, Utah MMA pro Court McGee is back in the UFC cage on Oct. 18 in Boston. He meets Sean Brady.

BOXING:

On Aug. 31 at the One Event Center in SLC, there is a boxing card. Professional Helaman Olguin will be fighting. Bouts that included featherweight Jose Haro and super middleweight Christian Nava will not be occurring. ... Salt Lake City welterweight pro Christian Aguirre is scheduled to fight on Sept. 6 in northern California.

Jon Neal to headline LFA card at Maverik Center

Some quick recent takes from the Utah fight game:

On May 10, undefeated MMA featherweight Jon Neal headlines an excellent pro card in West Valley City. Neal meets Tyler Diamond in a bout that will be televised through the AXS network. Also competing on the card in bouts are Joe Rodriguez, LJ Schulz, Westin Wilson and Josh Burkman. Another excellent match on the card (here) is Bobby King versus Fabio Serrao.

On April 27, on a UFC card telecast on ESPN Plus, 170-pound pro Court McGee fights Dhiego Lima.

On April 26 at the Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, veteran 155 pound pro Troy Dennison and Kerry Lattimer headline the SteelFist MMA card. Another pro bout matches Eric Munoz versus Nick Martinez. Card is here.

Here are results from a card in Logan on March 30 from Mountain Force MMA. The promotion's kickboxing unit plans a card May 18 in Farmington that will headline Jarrett Kelton versus Cole Rose.

Results from the Fitcon MMA card April 12 in Salt Lake City included Dustin Clements stopping Eric Iman in a heavyweight pro bout and Mike Chavez taking a split decision over Lehi Dominguez for the promotion's 155 pound amateur title. Professional Mike Jones also logged a win.

Amateur middleweight MMA fighter Hayden Brown will fight for a TuffNUff middleweight title on May 10 in Las Vegas.

BOXING

On April 12, Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves met to determine who will send fighters to the nationals in Tennessee next month. Locals Jon Bryant, Diego Alvarez and Jay Wright are among those making the trip. A story on the bouts in SLC is here.

Utah professional boxer Christian Aguirre fought on national TV last Saturday against undefeated middleweight Money Powell IV. The bout was scheduled for six round. Early in round 6, Powell floored Aguirre and the fight was stopped.

Undefeated pro boxer Larry Gomez, of Midvale, announced this week he is fighting 6-1 pro Kevin Johnson is Las Vegas Friday, April 19.

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.

Sports training business starting; updates on MMA, boxing

Matt Oyler, and impressive athlete that I've known for a while, is starting a business that offers physical training for young athletes and also assists coaches. It's titled Undefeated by Choice and an Indiegogo account is helping provide funding. Below is a news release about the new business. We wish Matt, an amateur MMA fighter, success with the venture.

UNDEFEATED BY CHOICE:

A new website is soon to be launched by a Weber County based company, Undefeated By Choice (UBC). This website is designed for use by young athletes and their coaches in both the city sponsored sports programs, and the junior high and high school levels. Using this UBC tool, young athletes can greatly improve their skills during the off-season, by following specifically designed drills for speed, agility, and endurance. product will contain general training techniques, future versions will incorporate training that will be sport specific, and specific to different levels and ages. Their coaches and athletic directors can use the site to track the participation and progress that their players are making.

This tool and concept is being developed by Matt Oyler, (seen above) a lifetime Weber County resident. As a player, coach, and certified athletic trainer, Matt has come to understand the lack of resources that most athletes have access to during their off season. He has seen that the need to develop a year round program of fitness and skill training is essential to those young athletes who desire to reach their full potential.

As an athletic trainer himself, Matt knows that most of these young people cannot afford to hire a personal trainer. While his website will have a very minimal cost, it will certainly be affordable for any income level of family. Matt has met with numerous players, coaches, and athletic directors throughout Utah as he has developed this concept and tool. Their enthusiasm and support for his plan has been hugely encouraging, and has given him many additional ideas for his development of the UBC site, “myteamtrainer.com”. In addition to the training material, the site will provide Mattʼs unique, humorous, and wildly enthusiastic motivational advice.

An Indiegogo account will soon be opened to provide additional funding for ongoing development of a high quality website, and marketing efforts. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/my-team-trainer-sports/x/17548311#/ (Here).

---

MMA update:

Mike Jones, Idaho MMA pro, fought in Atlantic City last weekend for the CFFC promoltion 170-pound pro title. Jones was stopped in round 2 by Sean Brady.

A trio of local fighters have matches within the next couple of weeks or so. Steven Siler fights the main event in Washington D.C. against Lance Palmer in a web-televised pro MMA bout promoted by Professional Fighters League, once The World Series of Fighting. A web telecast will be on several sites, including Facebook.

Top of Utah amateur MMA fighter Bryce Edminister, who fights out of The Garage MMA, will make his pro debut on Nov. 10 in Boise, Idaho, on a card promoted by Front Street Fights.

Weber County amateur MMA fighter Destiny McCubbin, who trains in Las Vegas, fights for the Tuff-N-Uff Straw-weight title on Nov. 11 in Las Vegas.

The December SteelFist card, which will be at the Rail Event Center on Dec. 9, is starting to take shape. The main event is worth the price of admission. It matches Ben Moa and Eric Iman for the promotion's heavyweight title.

Finally, in UFC action, Court McGee fights on  Nov. 11 when he meets Sean Strickland in Norfolk, Va., as part of UFC Fight Night 120.

---

BOXING:

Remember that Nov. 3 is boxing at The Complex. A pro bout between middleweights Michael Gomez and Christian Aguirre headlines. Also scheduled to fight are Gabriel Chairez (pro debut), Ignacio Chairez, Larry Gomez, and Bladimir Estrada.

Cache Valley Boxing, run in the garage of Ryan Gregory, was recently featured by USU Aggies news. Here's the news feature. Congrats Cache Valley Boxing.

There was an amateur card at The Legacy Events Center last weekend. It was promoted by All Heart gym. (Above, Shakeem Barnwell (at left) wins a decision over Filimone Fontongia, heavyweights).

The card:

Interview with MMA amateur Destiny McCubbin

Mixed martial artist Destiny McCubbin, formerly of West Haven, has been in Las Vegas a while, training very hard as she pursues her goals in the cage. (She's seen above training in the Rich Castro photo and in the two mat photos below she's training with Dewey Cooper) On Saturday, Sept. 16, in Mesquite, Nevada, she's part of a TuffNUff card at the CasaBlanca. McCubbin, whose moniker is "My Time," faces Cindie Torango.

I recently interviewed the Northern Utah fighter:
---

UTAH FIGHT GAME: Destiny, relate some about your experience training in Las Vegas? The gym, your gym mates, your trainers, how has it improved your skills and cardio and strength? 

DESTINY: Hey Doug! My experience thus far training in Vegas has been everything I expected and more. I knew it was going to be straight grind mode day in and day out once I stepped foot through those doors. It's different here. This is all people have it's all we do. Train, Eat, Rest, Repeat. Xtreme Couture is great. It is a big gym with big names. Lol I went from being a big fish in a small pond, to a tiny fish in a huge lake. Awesome coaches full of so much knowledge, and they've all seen and done it all. My head coach is Dennis Davis, a vet of our sport. Dewey Cooper is my striking coach - Black Kobra Striking Systems. He's amazing. Also a vet. I'm his only amateur, and although he trains fighters such as Kevin Lee (UFC), Raquel Pa'Aluhi (Invicta FC) and tons of great boxers , he still puts the time and effort into me. Both of my coaches are very dedicated to coaching and being the best, I'm definitely blessed to be apart of their team. Miesha Tate works with me a lot as well whenever she is in which is awesome because she's such a vet. It's cool to see her still care so much about helping WMMA grow even though she is retired. 

Not only great coaches, but I'm surrounded by teammates who are hungry and grind day in and day out. They push me way passed my limits, Making me dig deep. (They) give me the beatings I need in the gym so we have a nice day come fight night! My two main training partners are Cheyenne Vlismas and Gina Mazany. Cheyenne is getting ready to turn pro. If you haven't watched her check her out. She is actually who inspired me to move to Vegas. I used to tell Josh (Morales, Destiny's friend, and a pro boxer), one day I'm going to train with her - just wait. Now she's my main partner and has helped me so much. Gina recently signed under the UFC. That girl has taken me under her wing and is always there to remind me who I am whenever doubts kick in. She's helped a lot with my wrestling and has made me fall in love with it. 

As far as for me, it's made me so much stronger. My body is starting to change into the body of an athlete. My skills have leveled up so much! I'm stoked about my next fight to see where I stand in this sport now. Something tells me I'm going to shock everybody, including myself. Since I've been here I've been training full time. It's hard training full time as well as working full time, so sometimes it's a struggle staying above water. And it's not like there's not money to be made, it's Vegas. There's money all over the place at the tip of my fingers. But I didn't come here to work a ton of hours at a hotel serving cocktails (lol), or sit and work a 9-5 at a desk. I came here to grind, and grow and chase this crazy dream of mine. So that is what I will do, no matter what it takes. I miss my family and they help me so much whenever they can so I've been blessed with them.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: What do you know about your opponent?

DESTINY: I know she has some slick hands and she's a 4 stripe blue belt in Jiu Jitsu from Missouri with a record of 5-1. I think she's going to bring a good fight for sure but I know there isn't any situation that the fight can go to that I haven't been in during my training. It's funny, everybody asks "Is she tough?" or "So is she good?" Lol , yes of course she is. At this point in my career, even as an amateur, they are all going to be good with the sport evolving like it has everybody is pretty well rounded. And even if she's not, as far as I'm concerned she's the best in the world and I have to train to go out there and beat the best in the world. 

UTAH FIGHT GAME: What do you think your main cage strength is?

DESTINY: Four months ago I would have said stand up, mostly boxing with that "pull the trigger" demeanor. Now I feel so much more well rounded in my wrestling, and ground game. Dennis has tons of cool, dirty tricks up his sleeve that I can't wait to use! My stand up isn't just a boxing stand up anymore either after working with Dewey. He's showing me how to use all of the weapons I have. "No hesitation with the combination " as he always says. I've only been with him about 2 months now, but I'm very excited to see where my striking is at in 6 months.

Thanks so much for sharing time with us, Destiny, and good luck on Sept. 16. 

---

Some tidbits: Former Davis County prep athlete Court McGee, now well-known as a UFC veteran, returns to the Octagon on Nov. 11, where he'll meet Sean Strickland in Norfolk, Va., as part of UFC Fight Night 120.

Fierce Fighting Championships is unveiling its card in Tooele on Sept. 30. Main event matches Trever Carlson versus Antonio Arroyo. Another pro match that seems very interesting matches veteran Tanner Cowan against Nate Kearsley.

MMA pro Mike Jones, who often fights locally, will compete against Adam Vigil at Legacy Fighting Alliance 22 on Sept. 8 in Broomfield, Colo.

Next week the blog will interview MMA pro John Valentine on his upcoming SteelFist bout on Sept. 16 against Rowdy Akers. The week after we should have an interview with Akers. It's the final pro bout for both.

McGee outfights Saunders but doesn't get decision

Court McGee did what he needed to do against Ben Saunders in their welterweight UFC MMA bout Sunday night in Phoenix.

After Saunders had the edge in round one due to leg kicks, McGee put on the pressure in rounds two and three. In the final round, McGee staggered an exhausted Saunders, 21-7-2, early and the round ended with Saunders on the ground taking punishment.

It should have been a win for the Utah veteran, but three judges inexplicably scored the bout 29-28 for Saunders.

Here's some stats from the bout: McGee, 19-6,  had 90 strikes to Saunders' 74. McGee had the only takedown, and among significant strikes, McGee had 67 to Saunders' 48. And, after two competitive rounds, McGee dominated round three.

Saunders is a great fighter and it's hard to feel too bad that he got some luck tonight.

But Court McGee deserved to have his hand raised, and it's a shame the judging prevented him from a win.

In the main event, Yair Rodriguez stopped a game but way past his prime BJ Penn in round two.

Court McGee fights Sunday on televised UFC card

The big news in the Utah fight game is that UFC veteran Court McGee, 170 pounds, a former Davis County prep wrestler, fights on a nationally televised UFC MMA card on Sunday, Jan. 15. McGee, a several-year vet of the UFC has a very very competitive match against Ben Saunders. (Photo above courtesy of UFC)

The card starts on Fox Sports One (Xfinity 265) at 6 p.m. with prelims. The main card, with McGee, starts at 8 p.m. BJ Penn fights Yair Rodriguez in the main bout.

In his last fight, McGee rebounded from a stoppage loss with a points win over Dominique Steele.

The next big MMA card is Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City at the Fairgrounds. Headlining is Samson Phommabout, an 145-pounder, 4-1, who is one of Utah's top pro prospects. Hopefully, we'll have more about this card next week in the blog.

A CHAT WITH JOSE HARO

In Utah boxing news, I chatted with 126 pound pro Jose Haro, who is on the mend after foot surgery. He hopes to fight soon. I asked Jose how training goes as he rehabs

Haro: "Rehab is going well. I'm actually training ... and running for the first time since my injury. ... For 2017, I would like to get a tune up fight and fight for titles after that. I would like to fight the best."

So what are the running distances I asked, and will the fights be out of Utah?

Haro: "I'll start on mile for one week and then after that I'll start doing three miles. ... Most likely I will travel." (Photo of Haro below by Justin Hughes)

BY THE WAY ... You can find a schedule of future Utah fight cards at the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commision website here.

Finally, we end with a photo of Larry Gomez' win over Donald Griffin last month in SLC. We plan on interviewing Gomez, 6-0 and a fine prospect, in the near future. (Photo courtesy of Gomez).