Haro suffers KO loss in FFC main bout; Owens outlasts Ruiz in co-main

 

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In the main event before a nice crowd at the Maverik Center in West Valley City Saturday May 16, Suleiman Bouhata, of Montreal, Canada, scored a shocking upset over highly favored Joel Haro. 

The featherweight pro MMA bout ended in 41 seconds after Bouhata, 16-10, floored Haro, 7-3, with a right hand. Haro was pummeled on the ground before the bout was stopped. Bouhata was taller and slightly heavier than his opponent. Haro was very groggy for several minutes after the stoppage.

In a strongly anticipated co-main event between two solid professionals, Ha'va Nathan Owens, Ogden, 144, scored a mild upset with a second round TKO over Julian Ruiz, 5-3, 146, of Salt Lake City. (The photo above is of Ruiz, at left, congratulating Owens after the bout.)

Owens had the upper hand in a close first round, showing strong boxing. Ruiz rallied in round 2 with a strong right hand and put Owens to the ground. However, Ruiz was hampered by what appeared to be a broken nose, which bled profusely. Late in round 2, after they were up, Owens staggered Ruiz with hard shots that sent him against the ropes. The fight was stopped at 4.59. (The below photo is of Owens (at left) and Ruiz competing in round 1.)

In a pro welterweight bout Teague Vigil, of Roy, 5-4, sent Desmond Manabat, 4-8, fighting out of Las Vegas, to the canvas early. Vigil finished the bout in 32 seconds with a rear naked choke submission.

In the final pro bout, bantamweight David Kim, 1-2, of Provo, picked up his first win with a hard-fought three-round decision over Jordan Gonzales, 0-2, of Salt Lake City. Scores were 29-28 and 29-27 twice. Utah Fight Game scored the bout 29-28 for Kim.

In a five-round amateur bout for the Fierce Fighting Championship bantamweight title, Talon Carvalho, 7-3, generally controlled the action over challenger Rey Lee, 5-3, of Gardenia, Calif. Judges scores were 50-45 across the board. Utah Fight Game scored it 49-46 for Carvalho.

In other amateur bouts:

Ashley Green, 2-0, from Las Vegas, scored a mild upset over Provo's Nicole Fuga, 4-4. Scores were 29-28 unanimously, which is how Utah Fight Game saw the women's bout too.

In a bout between 190-plus pounders, Hunter Birdsley, 3-1, of Salt Lake City, used hard punches to quickly end the unbeaten record of Park Abegglen, 2-1, of Cedar City. The bout was stopped after 34 seconds.

In a 150-pound catchweight bout, Park City's Chris Ventura, 3-2 with 1 no contest, needed one right cross to end his bout with Morgun Colledge, 5-9. The fight was stopped at 41 seconds

In a welterweight bout Edgar Mixan, 3-1, of Bozeman, Mont., used a big right hand to stop Provo's Lance Lovoie, 1-1, in 42 seconds of round 1.

In a match between debuting 155-pounders, Brady Gourson, wore down debuting Joseph Marshall to score a second-round submission win. Both are Northern Utah fighters.

In a lightweight bout between Northern Utahns, London Van Camp, 1-2, caught Chris Vandemyle, 1-1, with a hard shot midway in the first. The bout was stopped at 1.57 of the first with Van Camp the winner.

In a featherweight bout, Eric Lazo, 2-0, defeated Pouya Bahamin, 0-2, via unanimous decision. Utah Fight Game scored the bout 29-28 for Lazo.

In the first bout of the night, between 200 pounders, Traie Buhler,1-0, scored a close unanimous 29-28 win over heavier Raven Janis. Utah Fight Game agreed with the 29-28 tally.

A scheduled bout between amateur middleweights James Prescott, 4-1, and Jett Swain, 2-1, was scrapped when Swain had to pull out. Prescott entered the cage and thanked fans for their support.

-- Doug Gibson

Haro headlines FFC card; Ruiz versus Owens an intriguing MMA co-main

 

NOTE: ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED: Mixed martial arts fighter Joel Haro, of Herriman, is the headline name for Fierce Fighting Championship 49's Saturday night MMA card at the Maverik Center, in West Valley. Haro, 7-2, who is on a two-bout win streak, takes on Canada's Suileman Bouhata,15-10, in a professional featherweight bout scheduled for three rounds. The Canadian won a modified cage/boxing match last fall in Canada but has not competed in MMA since 2021, when he suffered a defeat.

The co-main three-round bout has intrigued combat sports gyms in Utah. Featherweights Julian Ruiz, 7-2, and Ha'va Nathan Owens, 4-5, are matched. Both are young veterans who have enjoyed recent success. More on these two later in this article.

In another pro MMA bout, lightweight Sergio Mamone Jr., makes his pro debut against Washington's pro debuting Andrew Martinez. Mamone fights in Utah often but lives in Hawaii. He had an impressive MMA amateur career. Mamone also made a successful pro boxing debut recently in Ogden. Martinez is 4-0 as an amateur but has not competed for three years.

UPDATE: The Mamone vs Martinez fight is no longer on card. It has been replaced by a 135-pound pro bout matching David Kim, 0-2, versus Jordan Gonzales, 0-1. Both are from Northern Utah.

The other pro bout matches featherweight Teague Vigil, 4-4 against Nevada's Desmond Manabat, 4-7.

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Utah Fight Game interviewed both Ruiz, of Salt Lake City, and Owens, of Ogden. Below are their responses. (The photos below, in order, are of Owens and Ruiz.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: What's your typical training day like?

RUIZ: Monday and Friday I train 2-3 times; Thursday I only train in afternoon. I always finish with Saturday morning workout, then take rest of weekend off.

OWENS: My typical training day will have at least two training sessions. The first session will either be a strength, or cardio workout. The second session will either be Jiu Jitsu, boxing or kickboxing; a minimum of four miles roadwork every day as well.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: Who is training you? Who are you sparring with. 

RUIZ: The Pit, (and) Agema Jiu Jitsu and MMA. (And) a few different boxing coaches. My head coach (at gym) is Ramsey Nijem and my other coach is Dayne Aristizabal.

OWENS: My coaches are Eduardo Mori and Ernest Chavez. My sparring partners are a handful of talented competitors, Alex Johnson, Ryder Campo, Van Woods, and many others.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: What do you know about your opponent? Do you have a style of fighting that differs with him?

RUIZ: He's experienced and he's down to scrap. He's well known around here. People talk highly of him, so I know he's a good guy. And (he) works hard. Our styles are similar. I'm just the 2.0 version. He's good with his hands but not on my level. I can't wait to show.

OWENS: What I know about my opponent is that he has power and is dangerous at any moment. My style of fight that I have set for him, however, is a perfect counter to his more power-heavy approach.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: Where do you hope to be a year from now in your career?

RUIZ: A year from now I'd love to be in Contender Series or in talks to fight across seas! (I'm) taking it all the way!

OWENS: I hope to see myself on a larger stage, against higher-caliber opponents, testing myself to my absolute limits to reach the best version of myself.

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There are several amateur, mostly three, three-minute round contests, a couple for FFC championships They are (updated):

- James Prescott vs Jett Swain, for the FFC Amateur Middleweight belt. (Five rounds)

- Hunter Birdsley vs Parker Abegglen, heavyweights.

- London Van Camp vs Chris Vandermyle, lightweights

- Pouya Bahamin vs Eric Lazo, lightweights

- Nicole Fuga vs Ashley Green, 150 pounds

- Morgun Colledge vs Chris Ventura, 150 pounds

- Brady Gourson vs Joseph Marshall, 155 pounds

- Lance Lavoie vs. Edgar Mixan

- Raven Janis vs Traie Buhler

- and for the FFC Amateur Featherweight belt, Taylor Carvalho vs Rey Lee (Five rounds)

Tickets are available online from the promoter FFC and the Maverik Center website. The Maverik Center address is 3200 South Decker Lake Drive in West Valley. The gates open Saturday at 4 p.m. Bouts begin about 5 p.m. Fierce Fighting Championships has a Facebook page but make sure it's legitimate because spoofers try to clone it.

- Doug Gibson 

Owens, Munoz MMA winners in Ogden

Here's a quick Utah Fight Game update: Last Friday night at the Weber County Fair in Ogden, Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night put on its 30th card. (Above see a photo of amateur Eric Munoz getting his hand raised against opponent Graham McMillan, 185 pounds. Photo is courtesy of Ruben Munoz, originally posted on Facebook)

Card results are here. In the main pro bout, Anthony Miller decisioned Casey Beckstead. In the pro co-main, 150 pounds, and  Ha'va Nathan Owens stopped Steve Chan in round 2, 135 pounds. On the Facebook Utah MMA page Fighting Out of Utah MMA News, Jeffrey "Dutch" Dutcher said it was a great bout, adding "I could watch these two fight every weekend. Great show of sportsmanship as well."

Besides Munoz, another amateur bout saw Juan Alcantar stop Jon Sellers in round three, 150 pounds.

One note; a September MMA bout that was to have matched comebacking pros Mike Crisman and Eric Tillotson has been pushed back after Tillotson injured his hamstring while training.

Chat with Christian Aguirre, Horn MMA card at fair

Let's start with some boxing. Christian Aguirre, (see above at right) who recently lost a tough fight to Larry Gomez in Layton, has been quite active. In fact, a week after his loss to Gomez, he traveled to Connecticut and lost an eight-round decision at Foxwoods Resort to Jimmy Williams, who holds a national welterweight title. And Aguirre, later this month, will fight on a televised Top Rank card Aug. 25 in Phoenix, meeting undefeated Sagadat Rakhamankulov. Aguirre is training with a boxing legend, Jesse Reid. Utah Fight Game chatted with Christian as he prepared for the fight later this month.

UFG: What do you know about Rakhamankulov? Are you excited to fight with Top Rank?

Aguirre: I don't know much about Sagadat but I know I'm going into the ring ready to fight. Yes, I am excited to fight for Top Rank but even more excited for that bell to ring.

UFG: Tell us what it's like to train with Jesse Reid? Who else are you working with in the gym? Are you spending more time out of state?

Aguirre: Jesse Reid is an honest man that only wants the best for me. I've been training in Las Vegas for this upcoming fight. I live with my sparring partner, Tommy Hartshauer, and boxing is all we focus on.

UFG: What are your goals over the next year?

Aguirre: My goals over the next year are to continue to work in the gym and improve on my skills. I'll most likely fight in Mexico in September and then fight in Utah in October.

We wish Christian the best later this month in Phoenix.

MMA

Tomorrow night is the Horn's Elite card at the Weber County Fair in Ogden. I'm intrigued by one pro bout, debuting Ha'va Nathan Owens versus Steve Chan. Both were good amateurs. Chan, in his second bout, lost his pro debut to the very talented Miles Welk. An amateur bout matches Eeric Munoz against Graham McMillan. The entire card is here.

SteelFist results from last Friday are here and here. In pro fights, AJ Garcia stopped Karl Grace very early and and Leo Plaz stopped Joe Rodriguez in 2. .... Mountain Force MMA had a card in Pocatello last Saturday. Kerry Lattimer scored a win in one of the pro bouts.

Lattimer will be facing Carson Gregory in the next SteelFist card. Also fighting opponents on that card are pro Dominic Gero, amateur Hayden Brown, and amateur Xasha Lopez, who recently dropped a decision in Wyoming. In a pro flyweight promotional title fight, Nicky Barz meets Nicholas Clem. The card is Oct. 12 in Salt Lake City.

Aguirre takes close nod over Estrada in boxing match

The Complex in Salt Lake City hosted a pro/am boxing card on March 16, and the main event matched undefeateds Christian Aguirre and Bladimir Estrada in a promotional six-round title fight at 168 pounds. It was a fantastic bout (I had the opportunity to view it via Facebook Live (thanks Julian Stevens). It matched the Jake LaMotta-like aggression of Aguirre against the strong boxing and counterpunching skills of Estrada. Aguirre was the winner via a split decision, which was fair, but if Estrada had gotten the nod it would have also been fair. What likely earned Aguirre a win was a knockdown he scored in round 5. I'd love to see these two good prospects fight a rematch, this time over eight rounds.

Here is the undercard: You can see the results at the bottom of this webpage:

Debuting featherweight Brandon Douglas, who Utah Speaker of the House Greg Hughes believes is a great prospect, won his pro debut with a KO in 35 seconds over Andre Kennedy.

Undefeated heavyweight Frank Sanchez Faure defeated Eric Salazar

Heavyweight Eric Wahlin, also an MMA pro, is 2-0 as a boxer after defeating Uchendan Alete.

INVICTA

On Saturday, March 17, the Union Event Center in SLC hosted an Invicta card that was also streamed on UFC Fight Pass. In the semi main, Orem-based DeAnna Bennett won a split decision over Karina Rodriguez, of Mexico. In a preliminary bout, Spanish Fork's Kaytlin Neil lost a unanimous decision to Tracy Cortez of Phoenix, Ariz. The entire card is here. Thanks to Eric Tillotson for keeping us informed of the results via Facebook.

MORE: FitCon MMA card is April 6 at the Salt Palace. In the main event veteran MMA pro Jarome Hatch meets Ben Robinson. A series of amateur state title belts include Destiny McCubbin versus Lauren Chidester, Nathan Owens versus Daniel Arelleno (a rematch of a bout won by Arellano) and Hector Lopez versus Julian Ruiz. The scheduled card is here. ... The regional Golden Gloves are also at FitCon on April 6-7. ... Finally, Northern Utah professional MMA fighter Miles Welk will fight May 18 for SteelFist. He meets another undefeated fighter, Nick Clem, for the promotion's 125-pound belt. The pair were scheduled to meet in Logan earlier this month but Welk was injured.

SteelFist results; a chat with returning Rowdy Akers

To get things going this week, let's get to SteelFist results from last Saturday. You can see them at Fighting Out of Utah MMA News Facebook page. Some of the top fights included former UFCer Clay Collard stopping Troy Dennison in the first round, undefeated Carson Gregory stopping Mike Jones in the second round (that was for a for a pro title). In amateur title bouts, Lehi Dominguez decisioned Alonzo Salas and Ha'va Nathan Owens TKOd Tyson Roberts in round 4. Both Dennison and Jones are tough vets who have won often so Collard and Gregory's wins were impressive.

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If you see the above photo, you can see there's an Infamous MMA card Jan. 27 in Casper, Wyo. On the card is One Hit MMA pro Rowdy Akers. He had announced his retirement after defeating John Valentine last year but is back, and in fact is also scheduled to fight in March. We chatted with Rowdy as he prepares for the 27th against Kehlin Roszel.

Utah Fight Game -- Tell me about the fight, what you know about your opponent, how training is going and what you have that makes you the victor on the 27th. Also, in detail, tell us why you decided to return to the cage after announcing your retirement?

Rowdy: About the fight I don't know much about my opponent. I know that he was 11 and 6 as an amateur and this is his pro debut. Training is going well, even though this is a short-notice fight I took it because I have stayed ready.

My last fight with John Valentine was an epic and I shined like I wish that I always would have. I have continued training consistently at One-hit MMA. ... 

I'm returning to the cage. I'm not done. I don't know why I quit (hard work pays) ...  some of it has to do with making my rent and paying some bills and I need the money. I work too but between sponsorship and fight-first if I can pick up this ... it puts me ahead.

What makes me the victor in this bout? Experience, violence and I have no quit. It should be fun; that's the way it's supposed to be. My opponent is humble and (I'm) excited to make a new friend inside the cage. 

A lot of why I fight is I've been going through a lot of struggles in my life. Within myself I am my own biggest critic. I have something left to prove to myself. MMA saved my life, I've always wanted to be part of something. Years of wrongdoing and trying to be part of stuff that I shouldn't have has some regret in my past but where I'm at today MMA saved my life. I change daily because it makes me a better person. I have real friends at the gym, they're my family and I'm a part of something way bigger than me. They say the MMA isn't a team sport because it's just two men getting in there but my team is with me and we're going to get this one for one-hit MMA.

Good luck on the 27th, Rowdy. We''ll be rooting for you later this month.

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Notes: SteelFist has already announced a couple of bouts for its Feb. 24 SLC card at the Union Event Center. In a pro welterweight bout, Trever Bradshaw will meet Pedro Artal and in a pro  bantamweight bout (the main event) Cody Bunderson meets Fabio Serrao. ... Jarome Hatch, who has fought often locally, announced on social media that he will be fighting April 7 on the FitCon card at The Salt Palace. ... Hector Lopez, amateur from KOA gym in Layton, fights tomorrow night in Las Vegas at The Orleans on a TuffNUff card. His bout against Evan Schoonmaker is the co-main event. ... Finally, two amateur boxing cards next month. Foley's gym in Ogden will have fights Feb. 17 and PAL in SLC on Feb. 24.

Interviews with MMA amateurs Nathan Owens, Tyson Roberts

One of the title fights this Saturday at the SteelFist card in Salt Lake City matches amateur bantamweights Ha'va Nathan Owens, of Ogden, and Tyson Roberts, of Harrisville. It's an interesting matchup in a card that also includes a pro lightweight title bout between Clay Collard and Troy Dennison and a pro welterweight fight between Carson Gregory and Mike Jones. There is another amateur title bout, between welterweights Alonzo Salas and Lehi Dominguez.

We chatted with both Roberts and Owens this past week.

Utah Fight Game: Hos is training going?

Roberts: Training for a big fight like this one consists of more than just going to practice. I had a 20-pound weight cut so diet was a huge factor. I would wake up and start the day with a good cardio workout with the love of my life. Then I would continue with some great training over at One Hit MMA; a lot of the days I would be putting in 3 workouts a day spending more than 5 hours in the gym getting prepared for this bout!

Owens: ... I don't train for just one bout or get into fight camps. I always stay ready no matter what. I train hard every single day with no breaks. I train about 10-12 hours a day every day. 

Utah Fight Game: How will your strengths provide you the edge over your opponent on Saturday night?

Owens: ... My strength is that I will outwork anyone who decides to challenge me in any aspect. Striking, grappling, anything. Simply put, I choose how I want to finish the fight. My opponent I will be facing Saturday has disrespected me by not training as hard as I do. By not taking this fight seriously, Come Saturday night I will not give him the luxury of being finished early. I'm going to hurt him, cut him up, I'm going to break him. So after I beat him down Saturday night he'll have to look in the mirror every day at the scars I will leave him and he'll remember not to challenge me.. The dominate species. Just another step to becoming world champion.

Roberts: My strengths I have over my opponent this Saturday ... the biggest one is I have the best training partners and gym in the state, putting in work with Jon Neal, Rowdy Akers, and LJ Schulz. I know how Nate fights and I know once it hits the ground he is going to be in some big trouble. I have reach and have developed a strike game he will have to try and match. I can’t wait to get out there and showcase my skills after this 3-year break I have had since my last fight. Come Saturday I plan on having that belt around my waist.

Thanks to both competitors and we wish them well on Saturday night.

Some more MMA notes: Kaecy Raddon, 155 pounds, who recently fought for a Tuff N Uff title, is returning to the cage on Feb. 10 to fight Dean Cotton in SCL (Sparta Combat League) 65. The card is at the Grizzly Rose in Denver, Colo.

We announced last week that featherweight MMA fighter Rowdy Akers (One Hit MMA) is fighting Tyler Polito on March 10 for Fierce Fighting Championship. That's still on but Akers announced on social media that he also take a pro bout on Jan. 27 in Casper, Wyo., against Kehlin Wayne Roszel.

Jose Haro looks to 2018, Owens meets Roberts for MMA belt

Happy holidays from Utah Fight Game blog! We'll likely take a break next week but we wanted to get some news in. Jose Haro (seen above at left on the attack) the US featherweight champ, is featured in an article at fightnetwork.com (here). Jose, of West Jordan, almost fought for the world title this fall. But the bout failed to materialize. We hope he gets his shot in 2018 -- we think he'll win.

In MMA ... The January 13 SteelFist card is taking shape. Ha'va Nathan Owens (Mori) will fight Tyson Roberts (One Hit MMA) for the SteelFist amateur bantamweight title. Also, Alonzo Salas (KOA) will fight Lehi Dominguez for the amateur welterweight title. The entire scheduled card, which highlights Clay Collard versus Troy Dennison and Carson Gregory versus Mike Jones, is here.

Also, Top of Utahn amateur MMA fighter Destiny McCubbin, who fights out of Las Vegas and recently fought for a Tuff N Uff title, will be back in the cage on Feb. 3 fighting Valerie Wong. The bout is in Jackson, Calif.

Finally, a promotion, Mountain Force MMA, is presenting its first card in Utah on March 17 in Logan at the Eccles Ice Arena. The promotion's website is here. Several promotions are planned for next year.

Hughes wins pro debut at fairgrounds, Jordan gets main event win

Here are results from last night's Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night MMA card at the Weber County Fairgrounds. In the co-main event, Ogden's Thomas Hughes made a successful pro MMA debut winning in round one over another debuting pro, Marcel McCain of southern California.

In the main event, David Jordan stopped Bobby King in round three.

Below are all the results, courtesy of Jeffrey "Dutch" Dutcher's Fighting Out of Utah MMA News. Above are three photos of the Hughes, McCain match (Hughes at right), taken by Katie Aurich, who was cageside for Utah Fight Game blog. On Thursday, we will have a photo gallery of the card courtesy of Aurich.

The other results:

Hunter Azure defeated Jonathan Lorenz, round one.

Alonzo Salas defeated Eric Munoz in round three. It was the popular Munoz' final bout.

Nathan Owens stopped Kevin Torres in round two.

Geovanni Gavilanez scored a decision win over Nate Cook.

Stephanie Parillo stopped Madie Park in round one.

Jeffrey Prado Morales defeated Tyler Conway in round one.

Brad Renton decisioned Victor Sanchez.

Jerome Loto scored a decision over Jacob Robbins.

Results from Fierce Fighting Championships MMA

This is a quick post to let Utah MMA fans know the results of last night's Fierce Fighting Championships MMA card at the Utah Fair Park in Salt Lake City. The card was streamed online and I watched most of it. However, I am using Jeffrey "Dutch" Dutcher's excellent Fighting Out of Utah MMA News to verify the results.

They are: Bobby King def. Nathan Kearsley via guillotine in round 3, 155 pound, pro match. Dutch described King's comeback win as "a great match."

115 pound amateur: Brittany Boone defeated Mali Rahimian in the second round via KO, a "kick to the body."

205 pound amateur, Zac Calender stopped Michael Gomez in round two, strikes.

In the main pro bout for a promotional belt, 145 pounds, Mike Hamel defeated Race Sawyer via TKO in round 2.

In an 170 pound pro bout Liam O'Neil scored a split decision win over Austin Jones.

155 pound pro bout had Randy Rowland winning by TKO over Jordan Marriot in round 2.

155 pound amateur Josh Garlick stopped Aaron Quintana via rear naked choke in round 2.

Two very competitive amateur bouts went the distance. Daniel Arellano finished strong to take two rounds (on my card) and the decision over Nathan Owens at 125 pounds. And at 180 pounds Mitch Ramirez scored a decision win over Alonzo Salas. I scored that bout a draw. Salas was penalized a point by the referee after round 2.

Talking with boxer Larry Gomez, MMA fighter Nathan Owens

I have wanted to chat with undefeated Utah professional boxer Larry Gomez (seen above after a win). The Midvale boxer, who hopes to be in the ring again next month, is 6-0. He had a strong amateur career as well. He answered questions that included his goals in 2017 and his training methods and fighting style.

GOMEZ: "I was back in the gym a week and a half after my big win over undefeated Donald Griffin (in December). My plan is to fight every other month. I will be fighting toward the end of February. 

"As much as I'd love to fight here at home there's much bigger opportunities for me to start traveling and showing my talent to the world and maybe some day become champ of the world. To get there I will do my best to stay undefeated this year.

"My goal is to have six to eight fights this year then work my way on to ShowBox The Next Generation. My next fight may be in Chicago next month. I plan to stay at 147 (pounds) for the rest of my career.

"I'd like to thank everybody who has helped me; my uncle, Gary Gomez, for getting me where I am today. Michael Hermosillo for being there and providing a nice gym (Hidden Valley MMA) for me to get ready in, and all the sparring partners who have been there for me: Michael Gomez, Jose Haro, Jon Bryant, and many more from Utah."

Gomez concludes by expressing his appreciation to his fans and reiterating his desire to win a world championship one day. We express our thanks for him chatting with the Utah Fight Game blog.

MMA FIGHTER NATHAN OWENS

We mentioned that Fierce Fighting Championships is Saturday in Salt Lake City. It's at the Utah State Fair Park, 155 N. 1000 West, SLC. The card, doors open at 5:30 p.m., can be found here. Samson Phommabout was scheduled to fight in the main event but the card has been changed. Now Race Sawyer will fight Mike Hamel for a promotional belt, five rounds scheduled.

A couple of amateur bouts with fighters from The Garage MM gym are intriguing. Alonzo Salas (The Garage) fights Mitch Ramirez at 180 pounds, and Ha'va Nathan Owens (The Garage) fights Daniel Arellano (both are undefeated) at 125 pounds. I've known Owens (photo below) for a awhile and was kind enough to chat briefly about the fight.

OWENS: "I have a tough fight coming up this weekend. (My trainer is Dave Castillo). I've had to make sure that everything I'm doing is on point. My fighting style is (traditional) MMA.

"I love it all. In a year from now, I would like to see myself as (amateur) champion of my division; undefeated.

Thanks Nathan, and good luck Saturday.

TIDBITS: Next week we'll have more on SteelFist's February 18 card. The promotion announced on Jan. 18 that it will have four cards this year at the Riverbend Sports Complex in Salt Lake City. Also, MMA pro John Valentine, who matches female MMA fighters, plans to announce some future bouts as well as a five-bout contract for one MMA fighter, soon.