Collard scores electrifying boxing upset on national television

Readers of this blog may have noticed that we have been charting UFC MMA fighter-turned professional boxer, Clay Collard's career. In the past several months, the Northern Utah boxer has fought 10 times, in his opponent's hometown or his promotional banner. Remarkably, the journeyman Collard has won five of those bouts, scored draws in three, and lost twice.

Last night he fought one of the top 160-pound prospects in the world, Raymond Guajardo, (5-0) of El Paso, Texas. Collard (6-2-3) was brought in, like many journeymen boxers, with the expectation that he would pad the prospect's record, or in other words, lose. I had noted in past blogs that one reason Collard was scoring upsets over undefeated boxers is the level of competition he is facing. In his last 10 fights, Collard has met opponents with a combined record of 59 wins and two losses. Prior to last night's bout, Guajardo had met opponents with a combined record of 4-6.

The photo above is a TV grab from last night's bout on Fox Sports 1. Collard is standing over Guajardo. You can watch the fight here.

Over the course of 4 minutes and 42 seconds, Collard floored Guajardo twice and severely battered the young prospect around the ring before it was stopped. The game Guajardo managed to floor Collard once during the wild bout, that is already being touted as an early candidate for fight of the year. Certainly the first round may remain round of the year.

Guajardo might become a great fighter but in Collard he was essentially facing a veteran, a fighter who fought the toughest UFC fighters, including Max Holloway, and had been boxing tough competition on more or less a monthly basis. No one vocally noted this on the PBC fight card. But it was out there had the promotion, and perhaps Guajardo's braintrust, done some due diligence.

So congrats on a great win for Collard. In an interesting twist, this may be it for him for a long while regarding boxing. He has an opportunity to compete in the Professional Fighters League annual MMA tournament. The winners earn $1 million. However, he's now a hotter boxing commodity after the drama of last night's bout. Major promoter Lou DiBella wants him on an upcoming Utah boxing card, and I'm sure other large promotions have tucked Collard into their proverbial "Rolodex."

O'Connell advances in PFL, Aguirre wins boxing match, SteelFist results

We haven't mentioned Utah's Sean O'Connell as much as we have Steven Siler this year in the MMA PFL tournament. But he merits mention now after a remarkable Saturday night in Long Beach, Calif., in which the 205-pounder scored upsets in the quarterfinals and semifinals to advance to his weight division tournament final. Like Siler, a featherweight,O'Connell will fight December 31 for a million-dollar purse, that goes to the winner. Both O'Connell and Siler merit media attention from Utah's daily newspapers and television news stations for these accomplishments. If they don't get it it will speak ill of our state's news sources.

Also Saturday, in a preliminary, non-tournament bout, Utah-based fighter Ramsey Nijem scored a pro win in Long Beach.

STEELFIST -- Results of the SteelFist card on Friday night are in. You can read them at Jeffrey Dutcher's Facebook page Fighting Out of Utah MMA news. In a pro flyweight title bout, Nick Burgos defeated Nicholas Clem, and in another pro bout, Carson Gregory decisioned Kerry Lattimer. In amateur title belts, winners were Hayden Brown, Justin Horsley and Jordan Marshall.

BOXING -- Last Friday in Costa Mesa, Calif., super-welterweight Christian Aguirre, of Salt Lake City, (seen above at left in an earlier fight) scored an upset KO over previously undefeated Joey Alday, Jr., of Odessa Texas. In the fourth round, trailing on points, Aguirre (8-3) flattened Alday Jr., with a left hook. You can see the bout at Facebook here.

I chatted with Christian about the bout. Here is our conversation:

Utah Fight Game: Tell us how the bout came to be and training?

Christian: This bout against Joey Alday was the hardest bout I’ve had in my career. In all my other fights I would try to brawl and turn it into a street fight but I knew I had to really dig inside and change my style into a boxing style. I sparred Jon Bryant, Gary Bailey and worked with Rick Manzanares on my boxing skills. It was an 8 day notice so I had to make it happen.

I thought I was looking all the rounds honestly but I knew my experience of tough fights would kick in, in the later rounds. I was really patient and I told my trainer in one of the rounds that Alday’s power was diminishing. I also told my corners (Jesse Reid and Jason Parillo)  that I was going to set up my left hook and counter Aldays left hook because he was landing it a lot. Alday tried to break me down mentally and physically but my experience helped a lot and in the 4th round he was in the corner and I threw a simple 1,2,3 and he fell face first. It was the hardest fight of my career but I had God on my side that night.

Utah Fight Game: So what are your fight plans for the future?

Christian: My plans for the future are to avenge my losses but first I will be fighting in November. I don’t know with who but I will fight anybody, anywhere, any time. I give my Lord and savior all the glory and I’m thankful for those who have been with me through the good and the bad.

ONE MORE BOXING NOTE: Larry Gomez, undefeated and with a win over Christian on his record, said last week he plans to fight in November. More information coming soon, he added.

Siler advances to final of MMA million-dollar tourney

Last Friday night, in New Orleans, on national television (NBCSports network) Northern Utah MMA professional Steven Siler advanced to the finals of the PFL featherweight tourney that offers $1 million to the winner. Siler, who has been on a major roll this year, outclassed Nazareno Malegarie in the quarterfinals and Alexandre de Almeida in the semifinals (his second win over Almeida in the tourney). The entire card is here.

The first bout, two rounds, was technically a draw, but Siler dominated the most-important round one, flooring Malegarie with a right hand. Because a draw would be decided by the winner of the first round advancing, Siler fought a conservative second and final round, avoiding wild swings by a desperate Malegarie. Siler advances after a draw of 20-18 (Siler) and 19-19 twice.

In the semifinal bout, Siler dominated a round-plus against de Almedia, who the Utah fighter had stopped last summer in a preliminary non-knockout round of the tournament. Early in round two, de Almedia was disqualified when, on the ground, he landed an illegal left upkick to the right side of Siler's face, who was kneeling above him.

On New Year's Eve, in a nationally televised match, Siler will fight Lance Palmer in the finals with the winner earning a $1 million purse. Palmer defeated Andre Harrison in the other semi-final bout. Last year, Palmer scored a decision win over Siler.  ... Also, Saturday night Utahn Sean O'Connell fights -- potentially twice -- in the 205 pound PFL quarter/semifinals in the tournament. One the undercard is often-Utah MMA pro Ramsey Nijem.

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Mountain Force MMA had a fight card last Saturday in Logan. Results are here at Jeffrey "Dutch" Dutcher's Utah Fighting Out of Utah MMA news. In the main bout for an 145-pound amateur belt, Tyson Craig stopped Lee Critchlow. In a pro bout, 170 pounds, Aaron Chambers stopped Andy Pitcher.

-- This Friday night in Salt Lake City SteelFist has a card (here). In pro bouts Nick Clem fights Nick Burgos for the promotion's 125-pound belt, Carson Gregory fights Kerry Lattimer (170 pounds) and Dom Gero fights Tracy Hardy, 185 pounds.

In amateur title bouts, Hayden Brown and Lehi Dominguez meet, 170 pounds, Jordan Marshall meets Robby Minor, 125 pounds, and Thomas Preistridge fight Justin Horsely, 135 pounds.

The card is at the Union Events Center, 235 N. 500 West. Fights start at 7 pm

--- A host of local amateur boxers are in Tennessee fighting in a regional championship. We'll try to get results next week.

Weekend results, O'Connell fights on PFL tonight

Above are several photos, courtesy of fight photographer Justin Hughes, of local boxer Christian Aguirre's bout in Glendale, Ariz., Saturday against undefeated Sagadat Rakhmankul. Christian is in the red trunks. The bout was streamed on ESPN Plus. It was a spirited with the more aggressive Aguirre, 7-3, dropping a decision to counterpunching Rakhmankul (3-0).

In Las Vegas, local MMA amateur Joe Flores (4-1), suffered his first loss to Billy Elekana (4-0-1) via RSC Round 2, in a 205-pound Sparta Combat League amateur title bout on Saturday.

And Kaecy Raddon this past weekend scored an amateur kickboxing win in Augusta, Ga., in a WAKO international event. (Pictures of the bout are here). Raddon, along with Ogden's Jarrett Kelton, will be competing in a WAKO even in October in Mexico.

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Tonight Utah MMA pro Sean O'Connell fights on national TV (NBCSports) against Bazigit Ataev in round 2 of the tournament's light heavyweight division. O'Connell has already qualified to move on in the $1 million tourney but can improve his seed with another win.

Utah amateur Brittany Guillemin, of One Hit MMA, will fight on a Tuff N Uff MMA card in Las Vegas on Nov. 16.

Finally, former UFC fighter Clay Collard of Utah, who has recently picked up a couple of SteelFist title belts, has signed with Final Fight Championships. He will fight for a FFC belt in Las Vegas on Oct. 5.

... One more thing: Louie's Boxing gym tells us that  Deserree Shines Jamison, Maryquen V and Stephanie Clausen will be going to California to fight in Beautiful Brawlers tournament. Coach Manuel Soto will be in their corner. The bouts are on Sept. 1 and title belts go to winners.

Siler fights on TV Thursday, SteelFist card announced

Steelfist announced its next MMA card for August 3. Pro bouts include the return of Joe Rodriguez and AJ Garcia meeting opponents. Fighting as an amateur will be Brandon Rease. The entire card is here. The fights are at the Union Event Center in SLC.

MMA pro Steven Siler continues in the nationally televised Professional Fighters League featherweight MMA tournament (round 2) Thursday night. The card is PFL # 4 and Siler's fight against Alexandre de Almeida is on the NBCSN cable TV network telecast (Xfinity 34), which starts at 7 p.m. MST.

MORE NEWS: MMA/kickboxer Kaecy Raddon, originally out of Utah who now fights out of Colorado, will compete for the Sparta Combat League 165-pound kickboxing title on July 27 in Denver.

Fierce Fighting Championship in Price had an MMA card last Saturday that included the beginning matches of a pro lightweight tournament. Results are here at Jeffrey Dutcher's Fighting Out of Utah MMA news Facebook page.

Finally, MMA professional and enthusiast Eric Tillotson is making a comeback, at age 50, in the cage. He'll be competing Sept. 29 on an MMA card, in Logan, promoted by Mountain Force MMA promotions.

ONE MORE THING -- Good luck to Utah amateur boxers competing this week in Mesquite, Nevada, at the Junior National Golden Gloves.

Update on local MMA, boxing action

A short post today from the blog, after returning from vacation. One June 23, Mountain Force MMA had its Pat Reeves Fight Night MMA card in Logan. In a pro bout, Ogden's Dominic Gero scored a win. Another Ogden fighter, Joe Flores, won an amateur title fight and Ogden's Eric Munoz lost via decision in another amateur title bout. Full results are here.

In a SteelFist MMA card in Salt Lake City on June 29, Ben Moa, of One Hit MMA, successfully defended his SteelFist heavyweight professional title, In the co-main pro bout, returning LJ Schulz, of One Hit MMA, scored a win over veteran James Russell Francis, who announced his retirement after the bout. Amateur winners included Hayden Brown and Jordan Marshall. Full results are here.

At a Tuff N Uff card in Las Vegas on June 30, Destiny McCubbin came up short in a strawweight title bout, losing via third-round stoppage to undefeated Mandiau. This was an exciting that can be viewed on TuffNUff's Facebook page. After being rocked in the first round, McCubbin rallied in round 2. The third round was being fought on even term until McCubbin was floored by a shot from Mandiau. The fight was stopped shortly afterward, a decision many fans disagreed with.

Also, Steven Siler's next bout in the Professional Fighters League tournament is set. The pro MMA featherweight will meet Alexandre de Almeida July 19 in Long Island, NY. Card is here.

AMATEUR BOXING:

There was a 28-bout amateur card at Clearfield Aquatic Center on June 30. It was organized by Lights Out Gym's Julian Stevens. Channel 13 did a great story on it that is available here. Winners included Jon Bryant of Lights Out, Shakeem Barnwell and Jay Wright, Foley's gym, and Mateo Holt, of Louie's gym. Speaking of Louie's, the gym is having a fundraiser/car show this Saturday. Details are here.

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.