BEYOND THUNDERDOME

By Mike Pisano

Fight 1 – Jason Rubio vs. Mike Martinez – 155 – Elimination

Round 1 – Martinez opened with a hard leg kick followed by an immediate hip toss. He took mount and dug power shots to the ribs as Rubio held on. The referee stood the fighters. As action resumed, Martinez got a huge body slam which caused Rubio to wince in pain. Martinez took an arm, locked it out easily and tapped Rubio with the armbar at 1:44.

Fight 2 – Amanda Haller vs. Latrisha Breidenbach – 130 Elimination

Round 1 – The ladies wore pink and black as they touched up and began to exchange tentatively, Haller’s corner instructing her to establish her jab. Breidenbach drove Haller into the cage and busily worked knees and punches to the body, the referee telling them they could stay there as long as they continued to work. Breidenbach kept Haller’s back to the cage and stayed busy. Both fighters landed fists to the face in an exchange to close the round.

Round 2 – Breidenbach’s face was stone serious, Haller covered up with peek-a-boo defense. They began to let their hands go as the crowd warmed up. Breidenbach landed an overhand right and Haller a left counter. Breidenbach clinched after the punch from Haller and went for a head toss but Haller was too strong on her feet. Breidenbach controlled the clinch and went to work with knees and punches to the body. Both ladies showed good conditioning as they kept a furious pace from all the way to the horn.

Round 3 – Haller turned the tables from the previous two rounds and pressed Breidenbach against the cage. Haller landed two strikes to the face and reversed a Breidenbach head toss to take full mount. She immediately opened up her hands and landed several punches to the face before Breidenbach turned her hips and scored a crowd pleasing reverse of her own. Unable to do anything with the position, as Haller had, Breidenbach saw the referee stand the fight. Haller landed a solid left hook to the jaw and followed with a flurry, backing Breidenbach into the cage until the horn ended the fight with the crowd cheering. Judges: 29-28-Breidenbach,  29-28-Haller, 29-28-Breidenbach

Fight 3 – Jesse Snider vs. Bruce Aguirres – 155 – Elimination

Round 1 – Snider slipped a totally telegraphed haymaker by Aguirres and scored a big slam. He worked wrestling on the ground and passed guard. Snider got off some effective ground and pound as his corner instructed him to unload strikes. Aguirres slipped into side control and stopped the damage.

Round 2 – Snider showed his speed shooting in for a single leg. Aguirres escaped temporarily but Snider’s wrestling was too good. He took Aguirres immediately back down and landed some fists from side control. Aguirres worked to escape, but Snider was too much from top position.

Round 3 – Aguirres, much more tentative in opening the round, finally threw a kick which Snider grabbed and used to take him down forcefully. On the ground, Snider listened to his corner which was giving him instructions to set up a Kimora. Snider came close, but as time was expiring, he took full mount and threw more punches to the face of Aguirres to leave no doubt about the decision. Judges: 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 – Snider.

Fight 4 – Brittney Elkin vs. Edwina White – 160 – Elimination

Round 1 – After the referee instructed them to “fight like girls” the two came out hard, Elkin muscling White into the cage and working feverishly with White’s arm around her neck. Every punch and knee from Elkin packed power. She let White have some space briefly just to create more room to tee off with power punches, then pinned her along the cage again to close the round.

Round 2 – Elkin powered White into the cage and set in a guillotine. White appeared ready to tap but fought on trying to shed the choke. Elkin cranked, threw knees, and reset the crank until the game White finally tapped. Time: 1:13

Fight 5 – Joey Jesser vs. Tom Connell – 140 Elimination

Round 1 – Jesser immediately stung Connell with a leg kick and followed with a hard slam and rapid fire fists to the face and head to overwhelm, disorient and finish Connell by TKO. Following the fight Jesser told his corner that he broke his hand. Time: 31 seconds

Fight 6 – Kevin Sears vs. Sylvester Mitchell – 275 – Elimination

Round 1 – Sears, who stated before the fight that he wanted to make it to the UFC and become a world champion, showed no caution as he walking straight in and tagged Mitchell with a sharp left to the face. Mitchell returned fire, dropping Sears with a right of his own. Mitchell jumped on and there was a brief ground skirmish but both fighters clearly wanted to stand and bang. After some wild action, Mitchell was taking huge breaths and holding his hands low. Sears threw power punches from distance, landing with most of them until Mitchell turned his back and fell to his knees prompting the referee to step in. Afterward, Sears thanked the crowd for coming out and confessed he hadn’t slept all night. Time: 1:28

Fight 7 – Paul Valdez vs. Travis Aragon – 155 – Elimination (Title)

Round 1 – Both fighters entered the cage with an array of tats, then met in the middle and began throwing HEAT. They threw simultaneous leg kicks which created a loud clap as they collided together. They each unloaded with rapid fire power strikes any of which could have ended the fight had they landed cleanly. Aragon came down on top of Valdez following a slip. Valdez missed with a head kick and ate a right cross from Aragon which set off another exchange of bombs. Both fighters clinched, Aragon landing knees.

Round 2 – After taking many recovery breaths between rounds the two men stood to a huge ovation from the fans before the round. Aragon opened with brutal leg kicks and finally wrenched Valdez to the mat where he landed power punches to the side of the head as Valdez scrambled. Aragon increased the pressure landing harder and harder blows. The ref stopped to warn Aragon for blows to the back of the head. Before action resumed, the referee questioned Valdez listening closely to the fighter and looking carefully at his face and eyes. He then waived his hands and declared the fight over. Valdez had taken too much punishment and could not continue. Ruled a TKO 1:17.

Fight 8 – J.J. Aldrich vs. Jen Pomante – 125 (Title)

Round 1 – The ladies kickboxed technically from distance, neither landing cleanly until Aldrich connected on a left right that sent Pomante backward. The fighters clinched and both worked knees. On the break, Aldrich tagged Pomante in the chin with a front kick. When they came together again, Pomante held Aldrich behind the head and landed a series of right hands. Aldrich pushed her away and the two banged in the middle of the cage until the horn.

Round 2 – Aldrich circled, Pomante pursued. Aldrich missed with a hook kick and lost her footing. Pomante pounced but could not pass guard as Aldrich immediately swung a leg over her head while grabbing a wrist, rolled her, then locked out the armbar to get the tap. Time: 1:18

Fight 9 – Cameron Thurgood vs. Danny Mainus – 135 – Pro

Round 1 – Mainus set the action off with a snapping leg kick. Both pros were strategic and patient. Each boxed technically and Mainus landed another leg kick that had to have hurt by the way it sounded. The crowd broke into cheers of “Danny! Danny!” Mainus shot in and took Thurgood to the canvas. Mainus worked on top but Thurgood had a formidable guard so Mainus let him back to standing. The fighters boxed, neither particularly swinging for the fences like in the Valdez/Aragon fight.  They clinched and worked with Mainus scoring a double leg takedown before the horn.

Round 2 – Mainus slipped a Thurgood uppercut and brought the fight to the mat. The ground action was a chess match for the next several minutes. Both fighters sweating heavily. Mainus got his left arm free and dropped several big elbows, two of which landed. After a lull in action the referee stood the fighters and Thurgood immediately flurried perhaps sensing he needed offense. The fighters traded left hooks and Mainus landed a right cross before the horn.

Round 3 – The fighters smiled with respect as they touched gloves. Mainus scored a powerful double leg slam which brought the Thunderdome volume up a few levels. He freed his left again and pounded away with forearms and hammerfists as the referee watched. Thurgood covered well and blocked many of them but could not do anything else defensively so the fight was stopped at 1:37.

Fight 10 – Anthony Alirez vs. Angel Osiris – 275

Round 1 – Alirez sported a stomach tat that read Second II None. Osiris had a scorpion tat on his stomach. Osiris muscled Alirez to the cage which bowed under the weight of the two giants. Alirez landed several short punches to the forehead as Osiris kept hold of a head crank. Alirez pushed Osiris to the mat then took top position and worked a kimora briefly. He then just went with good old fashioned punches to the face. Osiris rolled, scrambled and covered up but could not get the weighty Alirez off of him as he continued to take damage. When the fight was stopped, Osiris got up immediately with a big mouse over the left eye and blood on his forehead shouting in anger.

Fight 11 – Lacey Schuckman vs. Jody Reicher – 105

Round 1 – Reicher, fighting her first pro fight at age 50, took a Schuckman head kick followed by a right left and fell backwards to the mat. Schuckman took top position, landed a few right hands, grabbed a wrist and locked out an armbar in short order to take home the submission “W.”  Time: 28 seconds.