Raddon wins kickboxing title; Hughes among MMA fights this weekend

On Feb. 23 in Farmington at Mountain Force Kickboxing 2, Kaecy Raddon, 6-4, stopped Ian Scott, 5-3, in round one to win the promotion's lightweight title belt. Raddon, who has competed internationally, had too much experience for the game Scott, who has dropped seconds after the opening bell and then pummeled until the bout was stopped. You can see the bout at Raddon's Facebook page.

At the card it was announced that the promotion's pro welterweight champion, Jarrett Kelton, will defend his title on May 18 against Cole Rose. (See poster above)

This Saturday in Salt Lake City Fierce Fighting Championship 10 will have an MMA card at the Utah State Fair Park. The main event matches Bobby King and Nate Kearsley for the promotion's 155-pound belt. The co-main matches Ogden MMA pro Thomas Hughes against Randy Rowland. Local fighters competing on the card include Brandon Rease, Jeffery Prado-Morales and Kelsey Skillman. More info on FCC is here.

In boxing news, as we reported previously, undefeated pro Larry Gomez headlines a card in SLC on March 8 and Christian Aguirre fights Thomas Hill in Texas on March 16 on the undercard of Erroll Spence Jr. versus Mikey Garcia world welterweight championship bout..

Gregory wins at SteelFist; Larry Gomez to box on March 8

Some nuggets of fight news in Utah.

At the SteelFist MMA card last Saturday, 170-pound pro Carson Gregory (7-1) scored a first-round win, via strikes, over Craig Grove. After withstanding an early attack from Groves, Gregory took charge, wearing his opponent down before bout was stopped at 2.37.

In other pro bouts, heavyweight Eric Iman and 170-pounder Trever Bradshaw scored first round stoppages over Joshua Brown and Joe Maama. And 185-pounder Tracy Hardy stopped Marco Sanchez in round two in a pro bout. In a 265-pound amateur title bout, Dakota Witkopf stopped Kent Mafileo in round 4. All card results are here.

--- On March 8 in Salt Lake City, undefeated boxer Larry Gomez, (7-0), of Midvale, will headline a boxing card. It's at the 801 Event Center. Fights start at 7 p.m. Above photo shows Gomez after a KO win.

-- Tomorrow night, Saturday, March 23, at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington, Mountain Force Kickboxing will have its second promotion. Kaecy Raddon, formerly of Utah and now fighting out of Colorado, will fight for the promotion's super- lightweight belt against Ian Scott. A list of the bouts is here. One fighter, Joe Flores, had to pull out due to injury.

--- Finally, last night in Southern California, for Fight Club OC promotion, at the Hangar in Costa Mesa, Calif., Utah pro MMA welterweight Westin Wilson (7-3) scored a first-round choke submission over Javier Garcia, (4-3). Westin stunned Garcia with a leg shot from the floor before getting him into a choke finish.

A chat with MMA pro Carson Gregory, Aguirre to box in March

Saturday night in Salt Lake City, SteelFist has an MMA card at The Union Event Center, 7 p.m., 235 N. 500 West, that headlines pro welterweights Carson Gregory against Craig Grove. The co-main matches Eric Iman against Joshua Brown. In other pro bouts, both middleweight fights, Trever Bradshaw fights Joe Maama and Tracy Hardy meets Marco Sanchez. In a 265 pound amateur promotional title fight, Dakota Witkopf meets Kent Mafileo. Card is here.

We chatted with Gregory, 6-1, as he prepares to meet Grove:

UFG: Carson, I want to get a little personal here. You suffered your first professional loss, then you took on a tough, spoiler fighter in Kerry Lattimer and you got the win. How is it coming back from a loss? Do you have a pragmatic attitude, or do you have to deal with the subsequent feelings of setback, and get right in your fighter's mind, as much as learning new ways to improve?

Gregory: It was tough losing to Clay in the fact that I didn't fight at my best. It's one thing to lose when you go out there and do the best you can, but it's humiliating losing because you choked and looked like a fool in doing so. Leading into the Lattimer fight I had the thought of having another mental breakdown and choking mid-fight. I was constantly pushing thoughts of self doubt out of my head, even during the match. It wasn't until weeks after I won the Lattimer fight (that) I regained my confidence back. I learned that the key to moving past a loss like that, is to not obsess over it and focus on what you can change.

UFG: What do you know about Groves? How is training going?

Gregory: Groves is a gamer and I definitely understand why he gets the fight name of "Caveman." He fights violently and he definitely has strength behind his punches. But that being said he also has the fight IQ of a caveman. He's done great at capitalizing on mistakes and pulling out the win, anyone can do that. I respect him for those wins but I think he will soon find out that I'm on a whole other level than his past opponents.

Training has been great. We have focused on getting back to our roots. Reconnecting so to speak. We have learned that less is more, and technique will always triumph over physical strength. I feel confident in my physical abilities as well as my skills as a martial artist.

UFG: Where do you want to be in a year?

Gregory: I would love to be fighting full time in a year in a higher level promotion, such as Bellator or UFC! Supporting my family and living the dream, being one of the world's greatest fighters is all that I want in life!

Thanks Carson, and good luck this weekend. We extend those same wishes to all the fighters on Saturday night.

BOXING UPDATE: Utah super-welterweight Christian Aguirre will be back in the ring next week. He fights Thomas Hill on March 16 in Dallas, Texas. ... Saturday there is an amateur card at the South Salt Lake Police Athletic League.

BACK TO MMA: Speaking of Lattimer, he fights in Hawaii on Saturday against Robby Ostovich for Trinity Kings promotion's title. Card is here.

Two weekends ago some local fighters competed in Idaho at Front Street Fights 18. Bryce Edminister, 145 pounds, lost a very competitive pro bout against Cody Sattler via majority decision. Carl Dieckmann of Utah retired after round one due to injury to his ribs against Emilio Trevino, 205 pounds, and Andrew Cruz won a promotional pro belt, 145 pounds, stopping Drew Brokenshire in round 3. Card results are here.

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.

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.