MMA fight night is a knockout

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Heather Stanton
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  More than 800 fans cheered on their favorite fighters during the first Mixed Martial Arts fight night on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Feb. 19.

The night's cage fights featured 10 MMA bouts, four of which had title belts up for grabs.

"The MMA fight night was a huge success for the 4th Force Support Squadron and the Eagles Landing Club," said Tech. Sgt. Nathan Rubin, 4th FSS sustainment services flight program manager. "We delivered an action-packed event to a very excited audience. Things have been quiet around Seymour Johnson for quite awhile. Now it's time to shake things up and entertain Team Seymour."

The 20 amateur fighters came from all around the Eastern seaboard to showcase their skills and take the next step toward turning into professional MMA fighters.

"The difference between these guys and (the professional) guys on TV is that these guys are trying to get on TV," said Kenny Letts, Fight Lab Promotions owner. "They are fighting like it's their last 30 seconds on Earth. They don't mind taking a little for the chance to give some (punches)."

Though the fighters train at different venues, all their training is similar, according to Roger "The Leprechaun" Carroll, professional fighter and owner of Superior Martial Arts Academy in Conover, N.C. Fighters train in Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Tai along with other martial arts concepts, and also undergo cardio fitness, strength conditioning and cage training.

Fight 1

The first fight of the night was a featherweight bout between Rusty Haun and Austin Hiatt. Haun pinned Hiatt and won the match by an arm bar submission in 2:59 of the first round.

Fight 2

It took Ricky "The Assassin" Rainey 17 seconds and an explosive right hook to knockout Malik McDaniel in the first round of the light heavyweight bout.

Fight 3

In the lightweight bout between Josh "The Natural" Nichols and Jason Salvo, a former U.S. Air Force Airman, Salvo quickly took down Nichols. Nichols tapped out at 2:23 of the first round after Salvo performed a guillotine choke.

Fight 4

Ryan "The Emperor" Overcash and Jaime Pickett duked it out during this one-round welterweight match up. Pickett hoisted Overcash up and dropped him to the floor before Overcash submitted to a guillotine choke at 1:31.

Fight 5

In this featherweight bout, Matthew "Spiderman" Tran pinned Zach Hazlett to the floor against the cage seconds after the match began. Hazlett kicked his way out but was pinned again, then tapped out at 2:57 of the first round when Tran performed an arm bar.

Fight 6

William Bratz took on Carl Stevens in this two-round welterweight bout. During the first round, Bratz kicked Stevens in the face, then the fighters grappled back and forth around the mat for the remainder of the round. In the second round, Stevens pinned Bratz to the mat, landing multiple punches to Bratz's face. Stevens won the bout at 1:27 after performing the submissive rear naked choke move.

Fight 7

The bout for the North Carolina International Sport Combat Federation welterweight title took place in a four-round matchup between Blaine "No Pain" Thomas and Bobby "The Bull" Sellers. In the first round, Sellers pinned Thomas against the cage floor, but Thomas used his flailing legs to get out before the bell rang. The second and third rounds consisted mostly of grappling between the two fighters, with each landing multiple punches in their opponent's face. The match ended 18 seconds into the fourth round when Thomas pinned Sellers on the mat and clobbered him with punch after punch.

Fight 8

The North Carolina ISCF lightweight title bout between undefeated fighters Jacob Allman and Kevin Forant was the first fight of the night to go five rounds and came down to a decision by the judges. During the first and second rounds, Allman dominated Forant, pinning him to the mat multiple times. In the third round, Forant got a good punch in, but was still taken down by Allman. The two got in an ankle lock until Allman came up and bludgeoned Forant. Forant then attempted to choke Allman with his legs, but failed before the bell rang. At the start of the fourth round, Forant served a kick to Allman who grabbed his foot and took Forant down. Forant twisted his way behind Allman, but Allman took over before the bell rang once more. Allman tackled Forant in the beginning of the fifth round and was able to get in multiple bashings before the end of the match. The judges unanimously decided Allman would take the title belt.

Fight 9

Fight Lab Promotions bout for the interim welterweight title between Micah "The Machine" Lail and U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Shawn "Spidey" Harris ended in 25 seconds when Lail conquered Harris with a rear naked choke, causing Harris to tap out.

Fight 10

The main event of the night between Adam Dehart and Bradley "Big Daddy" Desir was the bout to unify the middleweight North Carolina ISCF and Fight Lab Promotions titles. The match began with Desir dropping Dehart to the floor. Dehart dominated Desir, throwing punches to his face from above. Desir twisted his way out from under Dehart and clobbered Desir with hits before the round ended. In the second round, Desir dropped Dehart against the cage, then Dehart turned the tables, topped Desir and began battering him until the end of the round. The fighters grappled back and forth during the third and fourth rounds, taking turns throwing punches at each other. The fifth round ended in a surprise victory 1:59 into the round when Desir climbed out from under Dehart, overtaking him and causing him to submit by arm bar.

"It was nice to see all of our hard work pay-off," Rubin said. "I just sat back and watched the patron's reactions as well as the fights. Folks really appreciated the event and I was proud I helped deliver that excitement."

Another MMA fight night is in the works for June.

(Editor's note: This is part two of a two-part series about the MMA fight night on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.)