Junior national Golden Gloves, another big win for Siler

We're back after a summer vacation from blogging again. Utah Fight Game was at the National Junior Golden Gloves tournament in Mesquite, Nevada, and we'd like to congratulate Sol Rodriguez, of Louie's Gym in Salt Lake City. She took the championship in the girl's 13-14 114 pounds division. Channel 13 news has since done a well-deserved feature on Sol's triumph. You can see it here.

Other Utahns who made it to the finals include Valentin Sanchez, 9-10, 65 pounds, and Aaron Garcia, 15-16, 90 pounds, both from Unbreakable Gym in Payson. It was a great experience watching these fights. It's literally a look at the future of boxing. Above is a photo of trainer Aaron Garcia of Unbreakable prepping his son, Austin, for a quarterfinal bout. At the end of this post there will be a few other photos.

---

Last night in Denver two fighters, one with past ties to Utah, and another from Utah, won Sparta Combat League amateur title belts. Kaecy Raddon, who trains with Bang Muay Thai in Colorado and used to train at One Hit MMA in Layton, is the SCL amateur champ in kickboxing, 165 pounds, earning a split decision over Brandon Taylor. I watched the bout and scored it 30-27 for Kaecy, who was more aggressive. And Hayden Brown, of Centerville is the SCL 190 pound amateur  champ, MMA, after stopping William Vandervier in round one. Watch the entire card here at the promotion's FB page.

Tonight, Xasha Lopez, an amateur MMA fighter from Team Link in Layton, fights in Laramie, Wyo., on a Mountain Force MMA card. She meets Nateece Tovar.

---

Also, last week on national television, MMA pro Steven Siler advanced to round three of the Professional Fighters League tournament. Siler stopped former WSOF champ Alexandre Almeida in 34 seconds. He received a referee's submission call shortly after dropping his opponent. Siler leads the competition with 12 points.

Next week we will preview MMA cards from SteelFist and Jeremy Horn's and finally talk some more about pro boxing. I've heard things about some of our leading boxers' plans.

---

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE national junior Golden Gloves, some Utah boxers. From Top: 1) Colin Tuilevuka, in red; 2) Joe Gibson, in corner listening to trainer Dave Foley with second Brian Tiffany looking on; 3) Mateo Holt, in blue; 4) Carson Matthews, in blue; and 5) Vinnie Apodaca, in gold.

MMA pro Ed Whitmore readies for SteelFist title bout

Ed Whitmore, an 185-pound MMA pro with an 11-5 record, from Provo ((see above), has enjoyed success with Team Unbreakable. In fact, most of his recent bouts have been for regional titles, including SteelFist and The Clash,

He's part of SteelFist promotion's Feb. 18 card at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington, where he'll fight another Utahn, Carl Dieckmann, for the SteelFist 185-pound pro title. It's an intriguing match. Dieckmann, of Team Extreme, 11-2, is returning after a three-year absence. Whitmore has wins over Cody Udy, Cisco Alcantara and Mike Crisman. Dieckmann has wins over Alcantara, Crisman and Shawn Conroy.

I chatted with Whitmore as he prepares for the five-round bout:

On training: Whitmore: My training for this bout is about the same as always. It includes several sparring sessions and several grappling session per week, along with lots and lots of cardio conditioning. 

On Carl Dieckmann: Whitmore: I don't know very much about my opponent's fighting style. I heard that he got hurt somehow and wasn't expected to return to MMA. Having over two years off might be a good thing for him or it might be a disadvantage. It's hard to say. 

On his fight style: Whitmore: I define my fight style as Mixed Martial Arts. You have to be good at everything in this sport and so that's what I focus on: everything. I hate watching boring fights and I hate being a part of boring fights even more. I'm not here to just win; I'm here to bust people up and make them never want to fight me again. I'm motivated to train hard for two reasons: hurting my opponent and giving a good show. I've always been into fighting, often unsanctioned. I grew up moving around a lot so there were always new people to throw down with. When I was 21 I discovered an MMA gym close to me and started training there. That was almost 8 years ago now. I see myself as having the discipline and skill of an athlete mixed with the aggression and toughness of a brawler. 

On long-term goals in MMA: Whitmore: My long term goals are to get to the highest level that I can. I'm here to fight because I love it and I don't anticipate stopping anytime soon. I haven't even reached my physical prime yet!

"Fighters that I admire are guys who put it all on the line, fighting with relentless fury. I like guys like Robbie Lawler, Diego Sanchez, Dan Henerson, and Cody Garbrandt.

Thanks a lot for the interview Ed, and we wish you the best on the 18th. It will be a good matchup. Dieckmann is a strong opponent; kudos to SteelFist for the match. More info on card here.

SOME BOXING NEWS

Chatted with Julian Stevens of Lights Out gym in Clearfield. He had a couple of amateur boxers compete on a card in Idaho last weekend. Here's his report:

STEVENS: "Ozmanny Sanchez, 9 years old, fought Ty Harris from Pocatello 11 years old. (He) lost a close decision in his first fight but improved every round. Destiny McCubbin (also an amateur MMA fighter) won against Hailey Russel, out of Mori Academy. She looked phenomenal. We couldn't get our elite fighters matched but John Daniels, Josh Morales, Chris France and Jon Bryant should all be fighting on the 25th in Brigham City."

FINAL BLURBS

Professional boxer from Logan, Christian Nava, says he's likely to be in the ring again soon, perhaps in March. ... MMA professional from Ogden Jordan Chandler will be fighting on the SteelFist April card. Opponent is yet to be named. ... Pro boxer Jose Haro of West Jordan says training is going well as he rehabs from a foot injury. ... Also, please spare some thoughts and prayers for the aforementioned pro boxer Josh Morales, who was seriously ill earlier this week.