Collard's 2020 boxing run ends with decision loss to LaVallais in a rematch

 

Clay Collard's remarkable boxing year 2020 ended on a slightly down note on Saturday in Las Vegas, in The Bubble, as he lost an 8-round decision to taller New Orleans boxer Quincy LaVaillas, It was a rematch of a 2019 draw between Collard (9-3-3) and LaVallais (10-0-1).

It was a close middleweight fight. Two judges scored it an acceptable 77-75. Another erred in a too-wide 78-74 margin. This blog scored the bout a draw, giving the more aggressive Collard (seen above on the left) rounds 1, 2, 5 and 7. However, there's no doubt that the judges were impressed with repeat right hands that LaVallais landed on Collard's head/ They didn't seem to hurt the Burley, Idaho, boxer, but he rarely could get out of their way.

In the latter half of the fight, LaVallais also had success slipping punches when the more aggressive Collard pinned him in a corner. Collard was often effective, however, when he followed a retreating LaVallais, landing hooks to the head and body. In the final round Collard started strongly but LaVallais excelled in the final moment.

It's been a remarkable two years for Collard, who merits great respect for barnstorming around the nation, taking on local favorites in their home locations and usually pulling out a win or a draw. Things improved even more this year when Top Rank took notice of his talents and fan appeal. He was 5-0 in this Covid-19 year until Saturday's loss.

Collard, who until recently fought out of Utah, is well known as an MMA pro with UFC experience. He will be taking a year off to compete in the Professional Fighter League MMA tournament for 2021 that promises weight class winners a $1 million prize. We wish him the best and thank him for providing us a lot of cheers in the boxing ring.

O'Connell wins PFL tourney final; Steelfist card Saturday

Sean O'Connell, pictured above, retired a happy fighter on Monday by earning a million dollars winning the light-heavyweight year-long tournament from the Professional Fighters League. O'Connell, a heavy underdog in the finals, literally walked through Vinny Magalhaes in the final, taking control after a competitive first round with power punches and sprawling well to avoid his opponent's increasingly weaker takedown attempts. After a third round that involved -- several times -- O'Connell pounding Magalhaes, Magalhaes falling to O'Connell's knees, and O'Connell waiting for Magalhaes to rise, the top seed retired from the bout prior to round 4, with O'Connell, of Utah, being cheered on by his fans.

Another Utah fighter, Steven Siler, (seen above) came up short in his quest for a million-dollar purse, losing to Lance Palmer via a unanimous five round decision in the featherweight final. Siler had a good first round, rallying in the final 90 seconds and stunning Palmer just before the bell. However, Palmer, a former national collegiate wrestling champ, used those skills to sweep the rest of the rounds, using several takedowns and wearing Siler down, keeping him on the floor and trying to avoid punches that landed with more frequency in the final two rounds. The scores were 50-45, 49-46, and a ridiculous 50-43 for Palmer. I have heard, but can't confirm, that runner ups received $200,000.

Here and here are two articles that include complete results and a feature on O'Connell retiring.

SteelFist card on Saturday

Remember that Saturday night at The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, 235 N. 500 West, SteelFist has a card. Doors open at 6 pm, fights start at 7 p.m., and it's for all ages. Main event matches veterans Joe Rodriguez and Hank Weiss. Entire card is here. Our advance story is here.

And remember ... Mountain Force MMA has a card in Logan on January 26. Main event matches Utah 185-pound pro Mike Jones against Joe Miles. Entire card is here. It's all ages, at the Cache County Event Center. Fights start at 7 pm.

Siler, O'Connell fight for the big money on New Year's Eve

Just a reminder that the Professional Fighters League tournament finals is in New York City, Monday night, New Year's Eve, aired twice on the NBCSports Network (34 Xfinity), live at 5 pm and repeated at 9 p.m. As we have noted, two Utah MMA pro veterans, Steven Siler and Sean O'Connell, are in the finals.  O'Connell fights Vinny Magalhaes in the 205-pound tourney final and Siler fights Lance Palmer in the featherweight (145 pounds) final. The entire card, featuring six finals, is here.

If Siler and O'Connell win Monday night, they earn a $1 million winner's purse. We salute our two Utahns who have worked to gain this opportunity.

MUNOZ TO MAKE PRO DEBUT

Remember, SteelFist has an MMA card on Saturday, January 5th. Here's an earlier preview. One late addition to the card is Weber County's Eric Munoz, who after an amateir career will be making his pro debut against Andy Witt. It's a heavyweight bout. The main bout features 170 pounders Joe Rodriguez and Hank Weiss. Card is here. It's at the Union Event Center, 235 N. 500 West, in Salt Lake City. Doors open at 6 p.m. Here's our advance story. (Above, Munoz at right seen after a win)

Siler scores win at PFL MMA tourney

Ogden's Steven Siler, who now fights out of Provo, (seen in a file photo above) scored his first win in a major competition in a while with an exciting, comeback first-round submission of young contender Magomed Idrisov.

It didn't come easy, through. In the Professional Fighters League featherweight bout, Siler (30-17) was losing the striking battle to Idrisov (8-2). A couple of minutes into the round, Siler was floored by a hard shot by his opponent. The Utah fighter, who has competed in Showdown, the UFC, Titan and PFL, probably came within a punch or two of the referee stopping the bout.

But he survived, and got off the ground, shakily resuming action. In the final minute, Siler's 47-bout experience paid when, with Isidrov getting a takedown, Siler skillfully maneuvered his opponent into a triangle choke and expertly tightened it. At that point, Isidrov was finished, with the submission tallied at 4.19 of round one.

Despite dominating most of the first round, Isidrov seemed wary, perhaps with reason given the ending, of engaging his veteran opponent on the ground. On more than one occasion he allowed Siler to get to his feet.

The card, at New York City's Madison Square Garden Hulu Theater, had its early portion (including Siler's win) streamed via PFL's Facebook page. Later bouts were televised on NBCSports cable TV network.

Two recent opponents Siler lost decisions to, Lance Palmer and Andre Harrison, also scored wins on the card. Siler is part of a featherweight PFL competition/tournament that could net the winner $1 million.

You can watch the entire card, including Siler's fight (roughly 45 minutes in), at PFL's Facebook page. Here's a recap from mmafighting webpage.

This was a good win for Steven, and we hope that some of Utah's "legacy media" will note his well-deserved win.

RESULTS FROM THE COMPLEX BOXING CARD

Last Saturday there were several pro bouts at The Complex in Salt Lake City. The card results are at the bottom of this boxrec webpage. Winners included Gabriel Chairez, Eric Wahlen and Jerhed Fenderson.

ETC:

Later this month there will be MMA in Logan on June 23, (Mountain Force MMA) in Salt Lake City on June 29 (SteelFist), and  an amateur boxing card on June 30 in Clearfield (from Lights Out gym). Starting next week, we will begin interviews with participants on these cards. To see a future schedule of state MMA, boxing, kickboxing events, go here.

Also, amateur MMA fighter Destiny McCubbin, who recently won the Utah state flyweight title, will be fighting for a Tuff N Uff belt on June 30 in Nevada. We hope to speak with her prior to the fight, as well.

Akers motivated by family as he makes final journey in cage

This Saturday night SteelFist promotions will have an MMA fight card at Riverbend Sport Complex. The co-main matches John Valentine, 47, versus Rowdy Akers, 42. It's the final MMA bout for both. We interviewed John last week and today we follow with a chat with Rowdy, who trains at One Hit MMA in Layton. (Above, he's seen (on top) fighting in a SteelFist bout against Jeff Carson. Credit for the photo goes to SteelFist Fight Night's Amanda Lynn, sports photographer.)
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UFG: What's on your mind as you decide to step into the cage for the final time? What's your motivation?

AKERS: My motivation is my son and my new son; I just found out recently that I have a 23-year-old son. I (also) have custody of my ten-year-old son. It's time for me to move on and to create a career for myself and my family. My motivation to step into the cage is to prove to everybody that all my hard work was worth something in our lives. Fighting has taught me the lessons that are supposed to be learned. I have a lot on my mind satisfying the fans, making my coaches proud, my children proud and (finally) walking away from something that I've been doing for a decade.

UFG: What are the best things about being an MMA fighter? What were some of the lows or challenges? What advice would you give to youngsters starting out?

AKERS: It has been a journey, a hell of a learning experience. I have learned a lot and made a lot of great friends. One of the the best things about being an MMA fighter is keeping my body in tip-top shape. Another is making lifelong memories with friends. A key challenge is always pushing yourself. I have been injured quite a bit in training. That's got to be one of the lows in the sport. To youngsters starting out, first, find a gym; make it a home, put in the work, get involved in the classes and market yourself. Your amateur career is important. You have to get everybody to look at you and to notice you so when you're ready for sponsorship, you are marketable. One more piece of advice for all youngsters that are starting out: work hard, forget about the image. People honor hard work a lot more than they honor image.

UFC: Who in the gym, trainers, gym-mates, sponsors, have had a big impact on your career? Who is helping you for this bout?

AKERS: I train out of One Hit MMA in Layton. Aldo, Bruno, LJ, Crystal and Jordan Smith, Gustavo Rodriguez and so many more. All my teammates are so important. They have been there for me; they have sacrificed their time, their bodies, everything to push each other.

UFG: What do you know about John Valentine? How are you training for him? What are your strengths and weaknesses against him?

AKERS: I know John as part of the promotion for SteelFist. He conducted interviews and he did interviews with me for previous fights. I know that he has a very good ground game and he is very fit. I am training like I would train for any fight, definitely working more on defense because I don't really want to go to the ground with him. My strengths are probably my cardio and pressure. A weakness is probably going to be getting away from him on the ground.

UFG: What are your plans after MMA? Will you stay active in gyms, training, help with promotions, work with fighters?
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AKERS: I plan to go to work full time and to be a father. I will stay active in the gym and help my teammates when they need it. I plan to pursue Jiu-Jitsu and not stop training. I will help with the promotion of SteelFist fight night and continue to be the production foreman. I am in charge of the cage, the lights, the sound, the fighters' entrance. I build and fight for the promotion and I tear it down when I'm done. I've had a lot of sponsorships throughout my career. My current sponsors include Vapor Mania, Breaking Bad Bail Bonds, the Spider Web tattoo, Rockwell watches, Trammell Construction, Black Label MMA apparel, Those are the people that are walking with me into the fight. I thank every sponsor that has ever sponsored me and every teammate that has ever been there for me. It has been an ongoing learning experience for a decade and I have came a long ways from a guy that had two left feet when he started. 

Thanks for chatting with us, Rowdy, and good luck on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

(Below, in a photo from SteelFist Fight Night's Amanda Lynn, sports photographer, Akers fights MMA pro Kyle Herrera (in green trunks).

A few more things: A couple of weeks ago we interviewed MMA amateur Destiny McCubbin, who was scheduled to fight in Mesquite on Sept. 16. Unfortunately, Destiny's opponent pulled out of the bout. Destiny is training daily in Las Vegas and we're sure she'll be ion the cage soon.

Also, Ogden's Steven Siler, who most most recently fought on an MMA card with the World Series of Fighting, announced he's fighting on Nov. 2 with the Professional Fighters League, which is the name of the revamped WSOF. 

Burkman, Rossborough lose UFC and PFL bouts; SteelFist results

It was a tough Saturday for two Northern Utah, Salt Lake  City MMA veteran professionals who fought web-televised preliminary bouts on major MMA cards. Nick Rossborough, a heavyweight, was pounded by Jared Rosholt over three rounds in Everett, Wash., as part of the Professional Fighters League, formerly the World Series of Fighting. Rossborough had no answer for Rosholt's ground game and took a lot of punishment although he survived to a decision loss.

In a UFC 214 preliminary in Anaheim, Josh Burkman suffered his fifth straight UFC loss, being stopped by Drew Dober in the first round. A recap of the lightweight bout, televised on UFC Fight Pass, is here.

STEELFIST RESULTS:

Friday night's SteelFist card in Salt Lake City had Carson Gregory stopping Jeff Roman after one round in an 170-pound bout. Also, Troy Dennison stopped AJ Garcia in round one in an 155-pound bout. Former Ute and NFL football player and heavyweight Ben Moa won his pro debut, stopping Trevor Kuresa after one round. Amateur Michael O'Laskey, defeated TJ Mitchell in a bout for the promotion's 170-pound title.

To get all the results go to Jeffrey Dutcher's Fighting Out of Utah MMA News Facebook page.