Hughes, Raddon, Edminister have fights scheduled

A quick Utah Fight News report this week.

-- Proving Grounds Invitational 5 was held this past weekend in SLC. I don't have results but its FB pages is here and website here.

--- Mountain Force MMA unfortunately had to cancel its card in Logan last week due to just plain bad luck of fights falling out the last week. Here's a press release. Mountain Force does plan another MMA card in Utah, in Logan on March 30.

Factum gym in Sandy had an amateur card last weekend. Photos and more are at the gym's Facebook page here. Winners included Jon Bryant and Jay Wright. ... There is another amateur card Jan. 26 in Pocatello where many locals will box. Former MMA fighter Brad Davidson will make his amateur boxing debut.

-- Thomas Hughes, MMA professional (above), will be fighting March 2 in SLC in a Fierce Fighting Championships card. He's training at One Hit Gym with Kaecy Raddon, who has a scheduled kickboxing bout with Mountain Force Kickboxing Feb. 23 in Farmington. Both Hughes and Raddon have international kickboxing experience, as well as being MMA fighters.

-- Bryce Edminister has a professional MMA bout in Boise on Feb. 1. Edminister trains at KOA Kingdom gym and has been training there with Raddon as well.

-- Madie Meacham, of One Hit, fought on a televised card with LFA promotions last weekend. She did well but was stopped due to a permanent retainer inside her mouth that broke and caused a cut.

--- Remember, Feb. 16, in SLC, Carson Gregory versus Craig Grove headlines the next SteelFist MMA card.

-- And there is a PFK pro/amateur boxing card scheduled for March 8 in SLC at the 801 Event Center. ... You can see a complete list of fights cards on the Utah athletics site here.

Rodriguez wins SteelFist bout; Proving Grounds Invitational

At the SteelFist MMA card in SLC last Saturday night, 205-pound Joe Rodriguez (seen above) won the main event stopping Hank Weiss in the first round. In another pro bout, debuting Eric Munoz stopped veteran heavyweight Andy Witt in the first round. And in a professional 125-pound women's MMA bout, Katlin Neil ended her fight with Andrea Miller in round one. The best amateur bout was a highly competitive match between Augustin Valdez and Thomas Prestriedge for the 135-pound belt. Valdez earned a split decision win. The entire card is here.

The next SteelFist card is Feb. 16 at the Union Event Center in SLC. Bouts include Carson Gregory versus Craig Grove, Eric Iman versus Joshua Brown and Trever Bradshaw versus Jo Maama.

The Proving Grounds Invitational 5 is on Jan. 19 at 370 S 300 East in Salt Lake City. One intriguing superfight matches Sean Powers versus Josh Burkman. Competing again in the grappling competitions is Lucus Montoya, among many other local competitors.

Also, Mountain Force MMA has a card in Logan at the Cache Events Center on Jan. 19. Mike Jones headlines the main event. Card is here.

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)

SteelFist kicks off new year with MMA card; pro boxing results

Two veteran professional MMA light-heavyweights will headline SteelFist MMA's first card of 2019 on Saturday, Jan. 25, at The Union Event Center, 235 North, 500 West, in Salt Lake City.

Joe Rodriguez, 7-5, who has logged wins over Damarques Johnson, Eti Palu, and Eric Wahlen, takes on 50-plus fight veteran Hank Weiss, 31-20, who in a long career has notched wins over Jarome Hatch, Sean O'Connell, Mike Crisman, Josh Burkman and Nick Rossborough, among others. Both fighters are 41 years old.

The entire scheduled card is here. A pro women's MMA bout matches Kaytlin Neil versus Andrea Miller and professionals Jared Toothaker and Andy Witt meet as well. Amateur bouts include Thomas Prestriedge and Augustin Valdez competing for a SteelFist title belt and Alonzo Salas meeting Aldyn Ashcraft. Doors open at 6 p.m. in this card for all ages.

Professional boxing results

On Nov. 30 in Salt Lake City local pro boxer Ignacio Chairez remained undefeated with a unanimous decision win over previously undefeated Anthony Curtiss. Chairez is 6-0-1 in his pro career.You can see all results here. Eric Wahlen, also an MMA pro, also won on the card, remaining undefeated as a professional boxer.

On Dec. 6, Salt Lake City professional boxer Christian Aguirre, 8-4 as a pro, traveled to Costa Mesa, Calif. to meet undefeated, former amateur star Andreas Katzourakis. Aguirre was dropped in round one but survived, and fought competitively against his larger opponent through rounds 2 and 3, although Katzourakis kept an edge with strong body shots.

Midway through round, the referee inexplicably stopped the bout, awarding Katzourakis a TKO victory. It deprived the usually resilient Aguirre of an opportunity to rally and perhaps grab a win, something he has done more than once. Results from the entire card can be found 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.

Remembering Michelle Maya, national Golden Gloves champ

We note the very sad news that Utah's Michelle Maya, 2018 National Golden Gloves champion, died early Sunday morning, Nov. 11, in a automobile accident near Salt Lake City. Our prayers are with Michelle, only 19, and her friends and family. Her death at such a young age is a tragedy, and there is additional sadness at the loss of a potentially great future for the young woman. Nevertheless, she accomplished a lot in her brief life. She was an aggressive boxer who used pressure, cardio and ring generalship to win the national title. She was scheduled to compete in next month's USA Boxing's amateur boxing championships in Salt Lake City. The photo above of Michelle was posted on Facebook by Louie's Boxing Gym. Below is a post we published on June 1, 2018, noting Michelle Golden Gloves triumph.

A GoFundMe page to help her family with Michelle's funeral expenses is here.

MICHELLE MAYA, NATIONAL GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMP

A big shout out for Northern Utah amateur boxer Michelle Maya, who captured the National open Golden Gloves championship recently. She's the 119 pound champ. In fact, three women boxers from the Rocky Mountain region made it to the finals. Idaho's Kendra Reeves won the 152-pound title. Maryguenn Vellinga took runner up at 112 pounds. The Deseret News' Amy Donaldson covered the recent Golden Gloves well. Here's a story on Maya and others. Top of Utah men at the nationals included Lights Out's Jon Bryant, who lost a split decision in the opening bout, and Los Gallitos' Diego Alvarez, who won in the first round but was decisioned in bout two. Utahns Matt Searle and Milo Gomez also lost decisions.