Collard opponent set in boxing; Westin to headline MMA card

Just a quick few notes: (UPDATE BELOW)

According to ESPN's Steve Kim, MMA/boxer Clay Collard has an opponent for an Aug. 22 boxing card in "The Bubble" MGM Grand in Las Vegas, promoted by Top Rank. Collard (8-2-3), winner of four bouts this year, will face middleweight Maurice Williams (7-1).

The bout will likely be broadcast on ESPN as Collard has gained a following as boxing's most consistent face, and winner, during this pandemic year. Collard is seen above stopping L.T. Nelson in his most recent win.  ... Noted also is that 17-year-old professional boxer Jesus Haro, of Merced, Calif., logged his first win last weekend in Tijuana, Mexico. Haro, a prominent amateur, has family in Utah. Also winning on the card was Miklo Arnold, a 16-year-old professional, of North Plains, Ore.

And in MMA news, Mountain Force MMA is planning a card in Evanston, Wyo., on Aug. 1. Utah professional Westin Wilson, of Orem, will headline the card, meeting Kurt Steinke. The card is here. Mountain Force's Facebook page is here. Its website is here. ... On the weekend of Aug. 21 and Aug. 22, FitCon 2020 is planning to have amateur MMA bouts. Its Facebook page is here. Utah amateur MMA fighter Brittany Guillemin is scheduled to fight on Aug. 21.

ALSO, on Friday, July 31, Utah MMA pro heavyweight, Zac Cavender, (3-1) fights in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Legacy Fighting Alliance 87 card, which is being broadcast on UFC Fight Pass. Cavender meets debuting Zac Pauga. The card starts at 7 p.m. MST.

UPDATE TO WESTIN and CAVENDER MMA bouts: Cavender, 3-2, lost a three-round decision in his streamed bout against Pauga, a highly touted amateur who was making his pro debut. Westin, 8-5, stopped the debuting Steinke in the first round.

Boxer Jose Haro signs with Sheer Sports Management

West Jordan, Utah, professional featherweight boxer Jose Haro is shown above in a promotional poster for a bout he won in 2018, earning the United States Featherweight title. Haro has not fought since the win. However, he recently signed with Sheer Sports Management and plans to resume his career in 2020. Haro is a world-class fight who can compete on an equal level with any featherweight in the world today.

On Dec. 14, in Salt Lake City, there was a boxing card. Among professionals, Francisco Jalel Lopez, Antonio Brown, Brandon Douglas were among winners. The full card results are at boxrec here. I appreciate Utah professional boxer Christian Aguirre keeping the blog up to date on results that night.

UFC MMA fighter Clay Collard, who has scored several wins as a pro boxer, plans to step into the boxing ring again on January 3 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He fights undefeated Quashawn Toler, 9-0. Based on the caliber of opposition both fighters have faced, I'm choosing Collard, 4-2-3, to win.

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Congratulations to professional kickboxer Kaecy Raddon, who holds a Mountain Force Kickboxing belt, for scoring a KO win, and a PanAmerican Kickboxing Confederation belt, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, on Dec.14.

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SteelFist MMA has a great fight card scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 4 at the Union Event Center in Salt Lake City. the main pro bout matches Eric Iman versus Zac Cavender for the 265-pound belt. Another pro fight matches Rowdy Akers versus Justus Minardi at 135 pounds. Also at 135 pounds, undefeated pros Warren Weingartner and Justin Horsley meet. The card also includes four amateur title belts. More information is here at SteelFist's website.

Another MMA card, from Fierce Fighting Championship, is set for Feb. 15, at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. The main event is a great match -- Bobby King versus Samson Phommabout. More on this card in a later post.

Interview with MMA pro Joe Rodriguez, LFA MMA card Friday

It's a big night tomorrow for Utah MMA. Legacy Fighting Alliance is in West Valley City at The Maverik Center. The AXS TV card headlines Jon Neal, of Ogden, against Tyler Diamond. Also fighting in bouts are Josh Burkman, LJ Schulz, Westin Wilson, Kaytlin Neil, Zac Cavender, and Marco Sanchez. Also, Bobby King meets Fabio Serrao.

Also on the card is veteran 185 pounder Joe Rodriguez, who trains out of One Hit MMA and University of Grappling. He meets Emilio Trevino. We've followed Joe's successful career for years and appreciate him granting Utah Fight Game a pre-fight interview.

What does it mean for you to return to an LFA fight card, particularly one in Northern Utah?

Rodriguez:  I wasn't expecting to fight on a big show. After Glory kickboxing, an injury put me out for a year then I couldn't find any fights a year later for 185 lbs. (After) two years of not fighting I was about to call it quits. Beginning of 2018 I moved up to 205 lbs to fight a guy from Colorado, then I had another one after that and now LFA will be my 3rd fight at 205. I'm honored to fight for LFA given the fact that I am 41 years of age so maybe I do have some fight left in me.

What do you know about your opponent?

Rodriguez: I know my opponent has a karate background, fights southpaw and orthodox. Doesn't matter to me, I've trained with the best southpaw in Utah (Jordan Smith) for years. He hasn't fought the level of guys I have fought so I'm sure I'll be a challenge for him but I will not underestimate him.

How has training gone? It's at One Hit MMA and University of Grappling.

Rodriguez: Training has been good, One Hit MMA (Aldo Oreggia) and University Of Grappling (Marc Brewer). I train and spar with all my guys, big and small with experience from both gyms. It's good to have a variety of styles and people always making the movement different.

Where do you hope to be in your career a year from now?

Rodriguez: I am 41 years old. I didn't imagine fighting this long so where I'll be in a year, I really can't say. I've accomplished something that I never would have imagined doing, Fighting Bellator twice, RFA, Glory Kickboxing and now LFA. Not many people can say they've done what I have starting at 34 years old with absolutely no fight experience, not knowing a thing about MMA.

Good luck Joe, tomorrow night, as well as the others on the card. 

A couple of extra notes. As we mentioned last week, Utah MMA amateur Hayden Brown fights for a Tuff-N-Uff title Saturday in Las Vegas. Also, last week, MMA fighter Rowdy Akers scored a first round stoppage in his debut as a professional kickboxer, winning a Bare Knuckle Combat League title. And last weekend in Georgia, Kaecy Raddon, formerly of Utah now living in Colorado, who is a Mountain Force Kickboxing champion, scored a kickboxing win over Mexico's Luis Espinosa in international competition sanctioned by the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO).

Montoya, Collard main bout at SteelFist; more boxing, MMA results

SteelFist has a big fight Friday night at The Union Event Center in SLC. It matches comebacking former WSOF MMA fighter Lucus Montoya against SteelFist welterweight champ Clay Collard, who of course had a long stint in the UFC. Both these fighters are returning to where they excelled early in their careers and the winner will likely see a path back into the PFL, Bellator or UFC. Although Montoya has competed in grappling events, he hasn't been in the cage since he broke his forearm in WSOF 20, on nationally TV, almost four years ago. Collard, after winning a title at SteelFist, suffered a setback late last year Final Fight Championship 33.

The entire SteelFist card is here. Undefeated pro Zac Cavender fights at 205 pounds against Chris Thompson. In another pro bout for the women's 125-pound belt, Kaytlin Neil fights Shannon Sinn. In a 115 pound women's amateur title fight, Brittany Guillemin fights Sadie Ault. Others on the card include Ryder Newman and Zack Partridge in separate bouts.

A couple of weeks ago at the Utah State Fairpark, Fierce Fighting Championships had an MMA card. In the main bout for the promotion's 155-pound title, Bobby King stopped Nate Kearsley. In an actin-packed pro co-main that saw a lot of ebb and flow over five minutes, Randy Rowland, 155 pounds, stopped Thomas Hughes just prior to the end of round one, referee call due to strikes. The entire card is here.

BOXING

In SLC on March 8 undefeated Midvale pro welterweight Larry Gomez moved to 8-0 with a first round KO over veteran Mikhail Lyubarsky. Counter left hooks eventually left Lyubarsky stunned and on the canvas. In other bouts, former MMA fighter Eric Wahlen remained undefeated as a boxer, defeating Garrard Williams, heavyweights; Helaman Olguin defeated Anjel Osiris, heavyweights; Brandon Douglas defeated Mulapi Enjani, featherweights; In an amateur bout, Jay Wright defeated Emmanuel Gonzales, and amateur Gary Bailey also was a winner.

Last weekend at the Utah State Fairpark, there was the state Golden Gloves. Jon Bryant repeated as Utah 152-pound Golden Gloves champ with a decision on Saturday over Julian Ruiz. And 132-pound GG champ Diego Alvarez also repeated with a decision win over the aforementioned Wright, who fights out of Foley's gym. In the 165-pound GG final, Danny Galloway defeated Bailey for the state title. I don't have all Sunday results but here's a few: Carlos Padilla decisioned Isaac Lugo, 150; anfd Juan Higuera decisioned Robert Martinez, 201-plus pounds.

On Saturday, which included some semifinal bouts, winners were Eric Castanada, Dillan Neuyen, Alvarez, Kathryn Lopdez, Ruiz, Emmanual Gonzales; Carson Matthews; Jayden Lopez; Wright; Jesus Garcia; Galloway; Dan Butterfield; and Toa Piutua.

Montoya takes on Collard in SteelFist MMA bout in March

Here are some news briefs involving the Utah Fight Game:

Tonight in Boise, Idaho, Front Street Fights 18 card includes Top of Utahn Bryce Edminister (2-1) who meets Cody Sattler in a 145-pound pro bout. Also, Utah pro Carl Dieckmann meets Emilio Trevino at 205 pounds. And the main bout, for a 145-pound promotional pro belt, matches Idaho's Andrew Cruz against Drew Brokenshire. Card is here.

Last weekend, Jan. 26, Top of Utah amateur Hayden Brown fought in Grand Junction, Colo. Brown, 6-2, was victorious, stopping Tanner Ellenberger in round one. In Pocatello, Idaho, veteran Kerry Lattimer, of Idaho, stopped Monte Klistoff in round 3. Lattimer announced afterward that he will travel to Hawaii to fight for a promotional belt on Feb. 16. The Junction City card is listed here. The Pocatello results are here.

Utah amateur MMA fighter Joe Flores will be fighting David Meeks on Feb. 23 in a kickboxing match, 190 pounds, as part of Mountain Force Kickboxing 2. The card is in Farmington and Kaecy Raddon headlines in the main title bout (160 pounds) against Ian Scott.

As you can see from the above graphic, SteelFist has announced a major MMA bout between comebacking Lucus Montoya and veteran Clay Collard. It's for the SteelFist pro welterweight title. Montoya is a former WSOF competitor who has rehabbed for a few years after breaking his arm in a nationally televised. He has prepped for this return by competing in events such as Proving Grounds. Collard is a former UFC fighter who is on a SteelFist winning streak of late. A co-main pro bout that will be for the SteelFist women's flyweight title will match Kaytlin Neil of Spanish Fork against Shannon Sinn. Also scheduled to fight that night is undefeated Utah heavyweight pro Zac Cavender.

And SteelFist has a card on Feb. 16 in Salt Lake City. Main bout matches Carson Gregory against Craig Grove.

Kelsey Skillman, a Top of Utah amateur MMA, will fight Asia Negron on March 2 in Salt Lake City on the Fierce Fighting Championship. Ogden professional MMA fighter Thomas Hughes is fighting Bobby Rowland in a 155-pound pro bout and Top of Utahn Brandon Rease will defend his amateur 125 pound belt against Andrew Arrellano. Main bout for the pro 155 title matches Thiago Alves against Bobby King. Card is here.

Chairez brothers, Raddon, Aguirre have fights on calendar

Some fights news of the past couple of months:

Tonight, at the 801 Event Center in Salt Lake City, there is a boxing card and undefeated professional boxers/brothers Ignacio and Gabriel Chairez are scheduled to meet opponents.

Tomorrow night in Denver, Colo., at the National Western Complex, Kaecy Raddon fights in a 165-pound Sparta Combat League Muy Thai title belt. Raddon, along with Utahn Jarrett Kelton, recently competed internationally for the U.S. Kickboxing team. Kelton, by the way, recently won the pro 170-pound kickboxing belt at the inaugural Mountain Force Kickboxing promotion, in Logan.

This Thursday night, Dec. 6, at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, Calif., super welterweight Christian Aguirre (seen above at left in an earlier bout) meets undefeated pro and former international amateur star Andreas Katzourakis in the top bout of the card. Aguirre, 8-3, scored a KO win over a previously undefeated boxer, Joey Alday Jr., at The Hangar earlier in the fall. The card is scheduled to be streamed on Facebook Live. SoCal Fights is the FB page. According to boxrec.com, Aguirre's last five opponents have met with with combined records of 31-1-1.
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Zac Cavender, a Tooele MMA heavyweight who had a lot of success as an amateur with Steelfist and Fierce Fighting Championships, continued that success in the pro ranks in mid November, scoring a win in his pro debut at a Final Fight Championships card.

Utah amateur MMA fighter Brittany Guillemin traveled to Nevada for a Tuff N Uff card, suffering a defeat.

SteelFist had a fight card on Nov. 16. Here are the results. On the card, local amateur Trevor Mortimer scored a stoppage win over Brandon Lemmings. It was Mortimer's second straight win. Sadly, this past week Mortimer died. He turned 24 on Nov. 27. We express our sadness and prayers for Trevor, his family and friends.

Fierce Fighting Championships had an MMA card on Oct. 27 in Price. Here are the results. In an ongoing 155 pound pro tournament, Thiago Alves and Bobby King won semi-final tournament bouts and will meet in an upcoming championship bout.

Another SteelFist card is scheduled for January 5. Pro bouts include Joe Rodriguez versus Hank Weiss and Kaytlin Neil versus Andrea Miller. Amateur bouts include Alonzo Salas versus Aldyn Ashcraft and an amateur title bout, 135 pounds, between Augustin Valdez and Thomas Prestriedge. Here is the SteelFist Facebook page.

John Valentine, former MMA pro, continues to have success as a grappling competitor. He recently scored a win over Arron Carson in a submission-only grappling competition. You can watch the bout here.

AND I ALMOST FORGET!!! USA Boxing amateur qualifying tournament in Salt Lake City starts Dec. 2. The bouts, which through the next week, are at the Salt Palace. Here is some information. Louie's Boxing Gym, 855 W California in Salt Lake City, is offering free training for credentialed competitors, tomorrow from 10 am to 1 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2 to 8 pm and Tuesday and Thursday from 2 to 6 pm.