Chats with James Francis, Kelsey Skillman and Destiny McCubbin

This week includes a couple of chats with MMA fighters competing at the Friday June 29 SteelFist MMA card at the Union Event Center in Salt Lake City (Doors open at 6 p.m.). James Russell Francis takes on returning LJ Schulz in the co-main three round event. They’re featherweights. Francis, in his career, holds a pair of wins over Daniel Stratton and fought Steven Siler earlier in his career.

Here’s our chat with Francis:

JAMES RUSSELL FRANCIS

Utah Fight Game: What got you interested in MMA, who are some MMA athletes you admire? Where are you training for the bout. Who are your coaches? What other fighters are training, or sparring with you? What are your strengths, what are your opponent’s strengths and what’s your strategy to come out on top? Where do you hope to be in your career a year from now?

FRANCIS: I’ve been in the fight game for quite a while and I can definitely say why I took my first fight and why I decided to stay fighting are not the same. My next opponent LJ and I go way back. He is a very dangerous and talented opponent, so I look forward to the challenge that he brings to this fight. There is no doubt in my mind we will be fight of the night. Regardless if it ends in round one or round 3, I guarantee it will be the best fight. 

As far as my future, I’m climbing up the hill in age and my goals are to put focus on coaching and improving my coaching skills, along with other skills. I look to open my own MMA school in the next 5-8 years if possible. Nothing is set in stone for my future goals though as far as time frame... except that LJ is going to get a beating on Friday June 29th ha ha ha!! We both come from very high-quality gyms, but I will come out on top for this fight.

Also fighting on the card is Kelsey Skillman, (below) an amateur from KOA Kingdom gym in Davis County. Kelsey is fighting Shandra Sisneros. The bout’s at 135 pounds. Utah Fight Gamde  asked her the same questions.

KELSEY SKILLMAN

Skillman: I am 27, a single mom of two little girls and I own Salon Vibe in West Jordan. I started out just kickboxing to lose weight after dropping 50 pounds and being in the MMA gym consistently I decided I wanted to take a fight and fell in love with MMA and the MMA community. My biggest influences in MMA are my coaches David Castillo and Miles Welk. On an UFC level I like Thug Rose and Holly Holm. 

I train out of KOA Kingdom in Layton. My coaches are David Castillo, Miles Welk, Bobby King, and Anthony Lobato. We have a super strong team right now, I train with- Miles Welk, Bobby King, Bryce Edminster, Hector Lopez, Brandon Rease, Tyler Trantham, Bryce Scanlon, Edgar Sorto, Alonzo Salas, and Sammy Conners. 

 I'm known as a striker but I feel good standing or going to the ground. I don't know much about my opponent besides she's only had one fight. Strategy for the fight is just to stay focused and take it where ever I want it to go. 

This time next year we want to have a couple titles and just keep progressing in the sport.

MCCUBBIN FIGHTS IN LAS VEGAS

Destiny McCubbin, (below training on top) a Top of native who now lives in Las Vegas, is fighting for a Tuff N Uff amateur title in Las Vegas on June 30. Destiny is a popular fighter here who recently won on a Fitcon card. She fights Nadine Mandiau. We asked Destiny the same questions as the others.

DESTINY MCCUBBIN

McCubbin: I started my MMA Journey in 2014. I fought a lot growing up and once I turned 18 I got mixed up with the wrong crowd and was just going down a really ugly path. Once I hit rock bottom I woke up and realized I was not here to live this life I was living and decided to step into a MMA gym. That was summer of 2014 and since that day fighting has been my life. My dad and I would watch a lot of Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture when I was younger. Fighters I admire would be Rose Namajunas, Lomachenko, Triple GGG, Connor McGregor(for his work ethic) All of the fighters I train with are amazing. I admire anybody who works their ass off for a dream nobody can see but them.

I am training in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture. My Head coach is Dennis Davis. He runs all of my practices and he as amazing fight IQ he can break down any opponent I face. Danny Davis is my strength and conditioning coach as well as my overall coach he is very good at his craft and always coaching me in every aspect of camp. I've been working with Max Rohskopf on my wrestling, He's a very high level wrestler/grappler, also a professional fighter. We just started working together but I plan keeping it going in and out of camp. My main partners for this camp have been a little bit of everybody honestly! Our team is always there for whatever I need. Cheyanne Vlismas is always there for sparring and drilling. Tai Emery has been working a lot of wrestling with me , she's been a huge help. She also is really great at sports massage so she keeps my body healthy! Josh Morales holds pads for me as well. mostly at night for the late night sweats after road work, we also work a lot of hand/eye coordination drills.

My strengths have grown a lot over the last few months. I am a striker but that isn’t all the tricks I have up my sleeve! I am confident wherever this fight goes, My teammates make sure I see every situation in the gym so nothing is unfamiliar in the cage. Nadine is a gritty striker with a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu so I expect a tough fight. The strategy is to just go out there and fight my fight. It can be a first round finish or a 3 round war. Either way I'm ready to play.

A year from now I'd like us to be ready to start taking things to the next level and preparing for the pros.Going to keep grinding In and Out of camp, the future is bright!

We wish all three of these fighters the best of luck, as well as to their opponents and all competitors on the SLC and Las Vegas cards.  ... A COUPLE OF NOTES: It's Pat Reeves Fight Night with Mountain Force MMA in Logan Saturday night. If you can't make it the card will be streamed on the FITE APP. It will cost $14.99 but the App is available free for download. I've used it on my Android often. ... Also, a couple of MMA pros with Utah ties are fighting tonight on national TV as part of a Professional Fighters League tournament. Sean Connell and Ramsey Nijam meet opponents on the card, with is aired on NBCSports (Xfinity 34) starting at 7 p.m.

Results from South Valley Slam, more boxing, MMA news

Some MMA results from Saturday night in Hurricane, at the South Valley Slam. These are courtesy of Jeffrey "Dutch" Dutcher from Fighting Out of MMA Net.

Pro bouts:

155: David Jordan defeated Dustin Jenkins, 5th round TKO. "Jordan was losing the whole fight until he landed the punches to finish it," Dutcher wrote.

145: James Russell Francis defeated Daniel Stratton via 1st round straight ankle lock.

145-pounder John Valentine, fighting a heavier weight against Michael Dillard, won via a first round TKO (strikes).

135: Jerold Shapiro defeated Florin Moraru via tap to strikes.

155: Brian Thomson defeated Mitch Shapiro via slit decision.

Amateur bouts:

145 pounds: Bryce Edminister (The Garage MMA) defeated Nick Estrada via armbar in round one.

170: Aldyn Ashcraft decisioned Anthony Turchetta.

105: women: Magaly Sanchez decisioned Michelle Daley.

135: Scott Nelson defeated Luis Camacho via split decision.

125: Justus Minardi defeated Daniel Arellano via split decision.

--

MMA News: Some fighters with local presence, including One Hit MMA's Rowdy Akers, will be fighting in a King of the Cage promoted event on June 17. Others participating include Kerry Lattimer, Gabe Pelayo and Andrew Crusz.

Boxing News: Undefeated Salt Lake City boxer Ignacio Chairez will also be on the June 9 boxing card at The Complex in SLC, joining another undefeated Utah, Larry Gomez.

We'll update some of this with our next blog post.

Jose Haro to fight for USBA boxing title

Big news for Utah boxing this week. Professional boxer Jose Haro, 13-1-1, of West Jordan (seen above at left), will fight for the United States Boxing Association 126-pound featherweight championship. Haro fights Daniel Franco, 15-1-3, of Riverside, Calif., in the 10-round bout.

The fight's on Saturday, June 10 in Sloan, Iowa, at WinnaVegas Casino and Resort, and it's paired with another title bout. It also is scheduled to be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network, which is channel 269 (Xfinity).

Haro, a current American Boxing Organization regional title holder, has long merited this opportunity and we're very happy for him. They'll be thousands of Utah fight fans with him in spirit on June 10.

Also, a day earlier, June 9, at The Complex in Salt Lake City, undefeated pro welterweight Larry Gomez, 6-0, and the Utah champion, will be in the ring. We wish Larry well as his career progresses.

---

South Valley Slam this weekend

Also, this Saturday night in Hurricane is the South Valley Slam MMA card. We have focused on advancing this card, interviewing Daniel Stratton and James Francis Russell Francis, who are meeting, as well as John Valentine (here and here) and Bryce Edminister, both of whom are competing in separate bouts.

On Saturday, we will gather results courtesy of Fighting Out of Utah MMA News and make sure we have a small blog post Sunday on the card. Good luck to all the fighters and here is the entire card.

Interviews with MMA pros Daniel Stratton, James Russell Francis

This week we start previewing, in earnest, the South Valley Beach Slam that happens in Hurricane, Utah in about three weeks, We have interviewed John Valentine, who will fight on the MMA card, and today we interview Daniel Stratton and James Russell Francis, who will be meeting on the card. It's a rematch of a bout a while ago that Francis won. (Stratton is on the left and Francis the right on the photo above.

So, let's start with Stratton first:

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: So my name is Daniel "The Spartan" Stratton..... I am from Vernal, Utah and recently turned 27 years old. I've been into martial arts pretty much my whole life... I was never really into team sports but I always loved wrestling and martial arts. I had my first fight when I was 17 and a junior in high school and I have been in love with it ever since.

I'm currently scheduled to face James "Scrappy" Francis in an MMA bout for the South Valley Slam promotion May 13th down in Sand Hollow, Utah. This will actually be a rematch between us... he beat me back in January of 2015. So I am very eager to take a shot at redemption. I've been on a rather long hiatus from fighting... when I step into the cage to fight James it will have been 18 months since my last fight. And boy let me tell you what a crazy 18 months that has been. Among many other things I recently spent some time in the hospital with a life-threatening lung infection... this happened back in January. So its pretty crazy to me that not too long ago I was on death's doorstep and now i'm saddling up to be a gladiator again.

One of my best friends and long time fight manager Joey Montanez spent some time with me in the hospital and has been keeping up with me since I got out and thought a fight would be the perfect thing to get my life up and back on track and going again so he gave me a call and asked if I wanted to start getting ready. He did some looking around and called me back and asked if I'd be interested in re matching James again... I don't think the first fight lived up to its full potential and so I jumped at the opportunity. (Photo below is of Stratton and Valentine (right) from 2012)

(ABOUT YOUR OPPONENT) James and I are friends and I know we both respect each other as men and athletes... I know we are both tough as nails and love putting on a good show. I'd bet my purse that its going to be fight of the night so it's not going to be one you want to miss. Skill-wise we match up really well.... we are both well rounded and our fights tend to turn into slugfests so I'm excited to throw down.
(ABOUT TRAINING) I'm living in Vernal, Utah and doing the bulk of my training with Travis Marx at his gym called The Train Station here in Vernal.... I've been working with him for a couple years now and he's been a great friend and coach. I also come to Salt Lake a lot and do some training with my manager Joey and a few other fighters. I even made it up to Layton to train at with Aldo and the killers up at One Hit a while back... I want to make that a regular thing. Life has just been hectic and my schedules been a mess, but I know I'll be coming into the fight sharp, prepared, and ready to win.
(ABOUT THE FUTURE) During my time off I did a lot of thinking on my fight career and where I want to take it... I even considered retirement. Martial arts have always been a huge part of my life and my identity. Looking back I realized that when I'm living the fighter's lifestyle and im dedicated to my training that my life is great and I excel at everything I do... I also realized that when I step away from fighting is when everything in my life goes downhill.... So I made the decision to jump back into the fight game. I'm still young and have too much talent to let it go to waste. So after I win this fight I'd like to keep going with it and become really active again. Start climbing the ranks! I'd just like to take this time to thank all the fight fans, promoters, coaches, and other fighters who have made the fight game in Utah what it is. I hope to see all of you at the fights come May 13th, I promise this is one you won't want to miss. Win loss or draw I promise to give you a show! Big thanks to my family, friends, teammates, and girl for all of your support of me living the dream!

Thanks Daniel, and good luck on May 13. Now, let's chat with James Russell Francis.

How the opportunity arose: My last fight was against Daniel in January 2015. Due to my job, my training had really been hindered to be at a competitive level. Last year my schedule got to a point that I could be consistent and get in shape. I finally feel in shape and was offered a fight by my manager Jen Howe over at Elite Performance. Initially I was not aware who the opponent was when I accepted, when I saw it was Stratton, I still accepted because in my mind, nothing had changed... I want to fight.  

My fighting style:  I've been in this game for a while now. Not saying I'm not improving, but when I first started I was a striker. At this point I am no longer just a pure striker. I am an MMA fighter who can strike and grapple and combine the two quite effortlessly. But... I still do prefer striking. To nutshell though, I'm a fight finisher... I don't like decisions. I go with every intent to live with or die on my sword about your opponent? Stratton is another cat who has been in the game for a while. For our first fight I would have sworn that his background was wrestling (especially growing up in Vernal), but I learned that he is a striker. He has fought in some big shows locally (Showdown for example), so he can handle the pressure of the fight game. He has my respect in that he is a dangerous fighter that if I ignore his skill, he can and will beat me. 

About training: I train over at Jeremy Horn's Elite Performance. We have an awesome group of guys that have always helped me. Jeremy Horn, Josh Tyler, Mitch Thompson (who is fighting on this same card), Tommy Le, etc. Unfortunately due to my work schedule I don't get to see them regularly. For this fight though outside of my usual help, I am getting help from my friend and Elite teammate Kenneth Scott (former U of U wide receiver), Eric Wahlin (former 205 Steelfist champion), Angel Ortiz (fighter/friend/coworker from California, Jordan Clements (former 155 Steelfist title challenger), Ryan Whipple (cardio nut who knows how to push my buttons to push myself) and last but definitely not least, my biggest cornerstone for training, my wife, Giselle Martinez. My teammates from the evening randomly come through in the mornings and help when their work schedule allows them to. I have a solid group of people to help prepare and no stone will be left unturned. (Photo below is of Francis (right) with MMA pro Jordan Clements)

What's next if I win: Like almost all MMA fighters (I only know one person whose goal is to end up not in the UFC but over in Japan), it is to fight in the UFC. That is the pinnacle of my goals. I have small goals to attain that will help me reach my final goal. After I win this fight I would like to fight the winner of Jon Neal vs Skyler Frazier (Neal) for the Steelfist 145lbs belt in June or July, or fight a contender fight if that is what will be required for that title fight. I also would like to fight internationally, I heard Nicaragua (where basically all my cousins, aunts, and uncles are at) has started to promote MMA events there. I'm from New York and have friends and my dad out there and would love to fight in Long Island. I would love to fight in both locations in front of my family and friends who have never had the opportunity to see me fight live. In the end, it will be a little over 28 months when we have our rematch. The result will be the same. It will be exciting, and I will come out victorious. He trains hard, and I anticipate he will train hard for this fight because he is dangerous. But I think it is overall what we have done in the last 28 months that will be the difference. I train to evolve, not just train hard for the sake of training. I evolved, I cannot say with guarantee he has.

Thanks James, and good luck to you too.

Here is more information about the card and promotion. It starts at 7 on May 13 and is at 3351 South Sand Hollow Road in Hurricane. For ticket info, 801-427-2020. Next week we'll have an interview with MMA amateur Bryce Edminister, who is on the card.

Some boxing news: Professional Jose Haro will not be fighting this month in Tijuana, but he says an Iowa bout is likely in the future. ... Several local Utahns, including Jon Bryant and Gabriel Chairez, are heading to Golden Gloves open nationals in early May. ... Utah Junior Olympics is this weekend in SLC. We'll try to get some results. ... All Heart Boxing is planning an amateur card on June 3 at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington.

Jose Haro closer to boxing date; Munoz to fight in SLC

I

I chatted with featherweight boxer Jose Haro, of West Jordan, Utah. He's an American featherweight champ of the American Boxing Association. Haro's training after being on the mend from foot surgery. It looks like he maybe fighting later this month or in April. (The photo above of Haro (left) in a bout is courtesy of Justin Hughes).

Haro: "I'm supposed to fight March 25 in Kansas. If not, I should be fighting April 7 in California."

Haro added that the April promotion, he thinks, may be with Thompson Boxing Promotions, and it may involve his connection with the American Boxing Association.

Speaking of the ABO, Juan Curiel, chief executive officer of that organization, told me that the ABO has future plans in Utah. Hopefully, we'll have more about that next week.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

Locally, MMA amateur 185-pounder Eric Munoz, who trains at Foley's gym in Ogden with Pat Reeves' team The Pack, will fight Scott Foster in the Salt Palace on April 21 at a Jeremy Horn's card. I asked Munoz to comment on his preparation:

Munoz: "Always props to Pat Reeves and Dave Foley as well as The Pack, Ben Guymon, Giovani, and Justin Roberts." (Below, Munoz (at left) is seen training with Guymon and being coached by Reeves at Foley's gym.)

Ogden professional MMA featherweight Steven Siler will be fighting in April on a World Series of Fighting card. Whom he will fight is still to be released but we expect to have a chat with Siler in next week's blog.

Also, former main-bout MMA professional Daniel Stratton of Vernal announced on social media that he will be back in the cage on May 13 at the South Valley Slam, which will be at Sand Hollow in Hurricane. He'll fight James Russell Francis. It'll be a rematch of a bout Francis won.

And ,,, Here's a link to the upcoming events on the state athletic commission. It looks like Flash Academy will have a pro boxing card in SLC on April 1. We'll find out more about that and report.