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.

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.

Boxing, MMA Jiu Jitsu results and more

A quick blog this week:

Some boxing news: There was a pro/am card last weekend at The Complex in SLC. I'm a bit frustrated at not getting results but here is what I have: Undefeated young pro Bladimar Estrada is now 5-0 after logging a win. Female boxer Lisa Carroll was a winner as was amateur boxer Jay Wright of Foley's gym. If we get more results we will share them.

The Complex may have another card in March. Also, as we have mentioned, West Jordan pro boxer, and world ranked featherweight Jose Haro will fight March 17 on ESPN, nationally televised, at Madison Square Garden in New York City against another world-class boxer, Jean Carlos Rivera.

Jiu Jitsu -- As we mentioned last week, John Valentine, who is competing in Jiu Jitsu and has won a world belt, competed professionally in a Submission-Only card alongside his three sons, Cody, James and Kyle, in five-minute bouts. All competed well and you can read about the fights, see photos and watch a video at John Valentine's Facebook page. Valentine went the distance, meaning a draw, with Mark Wegener.

On social media this past week Valentine announced he will have another sub,mission-only bout soon in Utah. We'll keep on top of that.

In MMA, Rowdy Akers, a pro fighter from One Hit MMA, headlined a pro card in Casper, Wyo., but came ups short against Kehlin Rozsel. (You can see a photo spread of the card via the local media here). Unfortunately, Rowdy broke his hand in that bout and will miss a planned March fight.

More info: Amateur MMA fighter Destiny McCubbin will fight at FitCon in April in SLC for a Utah belt. Pro Jarome Hatch is also on that card. Amateur Brandon Rease will be fighting for a Fierce Fighting Championship belt soon. Pro Bryce Edminister of KOA gym plans to fight again soon. Kaecy Raddon, who has relocated to Colorado the past year or so, fights Dean Cotton for the Sparta Combat League amateur featherweight belt in Denver on Feb. 10. 

And remember The SteelFist MMA card this month is on the 24th at the Union Event Center in SLC. Cody Bunderson versus Fabio Serrao is a strong main pro bout but there are a lot of bouts, including a pro bout between Trever Bradshaw and Benjamin Daniel Grass. Here is the promotion's Facebook page.

Gabriel Chairez wins his pro boxing debut

A quick post to let Utah fight fans know the results of a professional boxing matches at The Complex in Salt Lake City last Friday night.

Former amateur star Gabriel Chairez, who recently competed in the national Golden Gloves, won his pro debut with a first round knockout over Andre Kennedy.

In other pro bouts, Francisco Camarillo defeated Enrique Ojeda, Antonio Montoya defeated Jose Avalos, and Bladimir Estrada stopped Dylan Baffuto in round two.

In one of the amateur fights, heavyweight Shakeem Barwell stopped Lalo Riquelme in round one.

The planned main event, a middleweight Utah title fight between Michael Gomez and Christian Aguirre, was scrapped after Gomez injured his hand.

Boxing at The Complex tonight; Siler defeated by Palmer in MMA bout

There is professional boxing at The Complex in Salt Lake City tonight. Also planned are amateur bouts. Main event matches Michael Gomez and Christian Aguirre for the state middleweight titled. Also included is noted amateur Gabriel Chairez making his pro debut. For more information, go here. Fights start at 8 p.m.

Last night at a charity/auction event in Washington D.C. promoted by Professional Fighters League, Top of Utahn Steven Siler was in the co-main event, and fought former World Series of Fighting (now the PFL) featherweight champ Lance Palmer. It was a good, competitive match with Palmer's ability to get Siler on the ground providing him the edge. Although the judges scored every. round for Palmer, we thought he merited round three, where he fought impressively on his back on the ground for most of the round.

Some notes:

One Hit MMA amateur Kaecy Raddon, who now lives in Colorado, won an MMA bout last weekend in that state. Raddon will fight Dec. 2 for a Tuff N Uff amateur title.

Davis County amateur Bryce Edminister makes his pro debut a week from today on Boise, Idaho, on the Front Street Fights card.

Destiny McCubbin, of Weber County but training in Las Vegas, fights for an amateur Tuff N Uff titlre on Nov. 11 in Las Vegas.

The Factum gym is hosting an amateur boxing card on Nov. 11 in Sandy. 8383 S. 700 West.

Sports training business starting; updates on MMA, boxing

Matt Oyler, and impressive athlete that I've known for a while, is starting a business that offers physical training for young athletes and also assists coaches. It's titled Undefeated by Choice and an Indiegogo account is helping provide funding. Below is a news release about the new business. We wish Matt, an amateur MMA fighter, success with the venture.

UNDEFEATED BY CHOICE:

A new website is soon to be launched by a Weber County based company, Undefeated By Choice (UBC). This website is designed for use by young athletes and their coaches in both the city sponsored sports programs, and the junior high and high school levels. Using this UBC tool, young athletes can greatly improve their skills during the off-season, by following specifically designed drills for speed, agility, and endurance. product will contain general training techniques, future versions will incorporate training that will be sport specific, and specific to different levels and ages. Their coaches and athletic directors can use the site to track the participation and progress that their players are making.

This tool and concept is being developed by Matt Oyler, (seen above) a lifetime Weber County resident. As a player, coach, and certified athletic trainer, Matt has come to understand the lack of resources that most athletes have access to during their off season. He has seen that the need to develop a year round program of fitness and skill training is essential to those young athletes who desire to reach their full potential.

As an athletic trainer himself, Matt knows that most of these young people cannot afford to hire a personal trainer. While his website will have a very minimal cost, it will certainly be affordable for any income level of family. Matt has met with numerous players, coaches, and athletic directors throughout Utah as he has developed this concept and tool. Their enthusiasm and support for his plan has been hugely encouraging, and has given him many additional ideas for his development of the UBC site, “myteamtrainer.com”. In addition to the training material, the site will provide Mattʼs unique, humorous, and wildly enthusiastic motivational advice.

An Indiegogo account will soon be opened to provide additional funding for ongoing development of a high quality website, and marketing efforts. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/my-team-trainer-sports/x/17548311#/ (Here).

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MMA update:

Mike Jones, Idaho MMA pro, fought in Atlantic City last weekend for the CFFC promoltion 170-pound pro title. Jones was stopped in round 2 by Sean Brady.

A trio of local fighters have matches within the next couple of weeks or so. Steven Siler fights the main event in Washington D.C. against Lance Palmer in a web-televised pro MMA bout promoted by Professional Fighters League, once The World Series of Fighting. A web telecast will be on several sites, including Facebook.

Top of Utah amateur MMA fighter Bryce Edminister, who fights out of The Garage MMA, will make his pro debut on Nov. 10 in Boise, Idaho, on a card promoted by Front Street Fights.

Weber County amateur MMA fighter Destiny McCubbin, who trains in Las Vegas, fights for the Tuff-N-Uff Straw-weight title on Nov. 11 in Las Vegas.

The December SteelFist card, which will be at the Rail Event Center on Dec. 9, is starting to take shape. The main event is worth the price of admission. It matches Ben Moa and Eric Iman for the promotion's heavyweight title.

Finally, in UFC action, Court McGee fights on  Nov. 11 when he meets Sean Strickland in Norfolk, Va., as part of UFC Fight Night 120.

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BOXING:

Remember that Nov. 3 is boxing at The Complex. A pro bout between middleweights Michael Gomez and Christian Aguirre headlines. Also scheduled to fight are Gabriel Chairez (pro debut), Ignacio Chairez, Larry Gomez, and Bladimir Estrada.

Cache Valley Boxing, run in the garage of Ryan Gregory, was recently featured by USU Aggies news. Here's the news feature. Congrats Cache Valley Boxing.

There was an amateur card at The Legacy Events Center last weekend. It was promoted by All Heart gym. (Above, Shakeem Barnwell (at left) wins a decision over Filimone Fontongia, heavyweights).

The card:

SLC fights: Chairez and Brown draw, Aguirre stops Carroll

Here are results from the pro/am boxing card last night at The Complex in Salt Lake City. I want to thank Dave Foley, Julian Stevens and Jason DeCarlo for keeping me informed, as I had to work last night. Also thanks to Charles Presnell for some background information.

In the main event, for the state middleweight championship, Christian Aguirre remained undefeated with a KO in the second round over Factum gym's Tim Carroll. Congrats to Aguirre and we wish future success for Carroll, who is one of the great guys in Utah boxing.

In the co-main, undefeated SLC boxer Ignacio Chairez was held to a draw by undefeated Las Vegas boxer Anthony Brown over four rounds. This was a competitive, well-matched bout, I heard. Brown, incidentally, fought in a Golden Gloves tournament in SLC in 2013. It'd be nice to see both rematched over six rounds soon.

In a third pro bout, Clay Collard defeated Jamey Swanson.

In amateur bouts:

Ozmanny Sanchez (Lights Out) defeated Vinnie Apodaca (Foleys)

Lalo Zamora (Fullmers) defeated Luis Cornejo (Foleys)

Rene Mendoza (Louie's) defeated Matt Searl (Fullmers)

Jordan Jones (Louie's) defeated Jesse Stoneman (Orem)

Interviews with LJ Schulz and Tim Carroll, Jose Haro fights Saturday on TV

The big news this weekend is that West Jordan featherweight boxer Jose Haro fights on CBS Sports Network on Saturday night (Xfinity 269) against Daniel Franco for the United States Boxing Association title. This is arguably the biggest fight for a Utah pro since heavyweight Billy Zumbrun lost, via a disputed decision, a televised bout against former heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe a decade back or so. Good luck trying to find a TV listing at CBS Sports website but fightnews.com has it starting a 10 pm EST, which would be 8 pm locally.

We'll get back to boxing, including a preview of Friday's boxing card at The Complex in SLC and an interview with one of the boxers. However, as part of our preview of the June 23 SteelFist MMA card in SLC, we were fortunate enough to chat with One Hit MMA's LJ Schulz (seen training above at left) who is fighting The Garage's Anthony Miller in the main event. The 150 pounders are competing in a 5-round SteelFist title challenge. Miller defeated Jeremiah Guzman to win the belt recently.

So, here's the interview:

1) Tell me a little about yourself. What got you interested in MMA, who are some MMA athletes you admire?

Schulz: I'm 28, married and a proud father of 2 kids. I got into MMA right about the time the first ultimate fighter came on. I was just a fan for a while. I didn't even start training until about 2 years after my first fight. When I did decide to train, I was lucky to be able to train with Shane Brennar at his basement gym. He created a lot of my grappling foundation to this day but he left to California after a year. I had to find a gym and knew Jordan Smith was the top guy in Utah at the time and he trained near me.
 
2) Where are you training for the bout. Who are your coaches? What other fighters are training, or sparring with you?

Schulz: That's how I found One Hit and the head trainer Aldo Oreggia. I've been training there for 6 years now and we prove every fight card we're the top gym in Utah. I train with the best and because there is too many to name, I'll stick with the upcoming talent that are fighting with me on June 23. Cory Rose, Gavin Weston, and Kaden Weston, will set One Hit up with a 3-0 before I get our fourth and my shiny new belt. 

3) What are your strengths, what are your opponent’s strengths and what’s your strategy to come out on top? 

Schulz: My strength is the ability to go anywhere. I've improved my boxing a lot during that pro boxing try I had. However, I've always been known as a ground guy. I recently earned my purple belt in BJJ but keep in mind I've done No-Gi grappling a lot longer. He'll most likely try taking me down which is fine, I'll be the one picking if we go there.

4) Where do you hope to be in your career a year from now?
Schulz: Not quite sure where I'll be. I'd love to get another shot at LFA but I'm more than happy to defend this belt a couple times then take the 145lb SteelFist belt. My training partner and friend Jon Neal will relinquish it because he'll be in the UFC by then.

We wish Schulz, as well as Miller, the best of luck on the 23rd. We may have some more interviews as the date of fight night approaches. Also, read these previous interviews of June 23 competitors here and here.

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More boxing: As mentioned, there is a pro/am boxing card Friday night at The Complex, which starts at 8 p.m. The main event matches Tim Carroll, (above) who teaches boxing at Factum gym, with Christian Aguirre. The bout is for the state middleweight title. 

We chatted with Carroll recently about the fight:

Utah Fight Game: Tim, what do you know about Christian Aguirre and how are you training for him? Who coaches you and helps you with your training? What is a typical day of training like? You've had some fights with tough opponents and I thought a couple should have went your way. What have you learned from tough bouts? What's it like being the coach at Factum? You started late as a pro. Where would you like to be a year from now?

Carroll: My days are pretty busy. I work 10 hours a day as electrician then I go to Factum and train people for a couple of hours. After that I try to fit in some time to train with (former pro) Gary Gomez, then go home to my beautiful wife and seven-month-old baby.

I turned pro at 34, I'm 37 now me and Christian (and I) used to be sparring partners. We both trained with Gary Gomez. I've worked the corner against him in three out of his four fights. He is a good boxer. (At this point Carroll expressed concerns with some comments Aguirre has allegedly made prior to the fight.)  ... but all of his trash talking just gets me more excited. I have forgotten more about boxing than he knows as a coach. I put more pressure on myself to win but I just want to show all the people I train just to leave it all in the ring.

That's all I expect people to do that I train; is to leave it all out there so that's what I try to do every time. 

Good luck Tim, and to all the competitors, including undefeated Ignacio Chairez, who are fighting on the card. Unfortunately, undefeated boxer Larry Gomez's fight was cancelled.

We will report boxing results through the weekend.