Brawl in the Cage III

Over in Augusta County, Virginia, down Interstate 64, off Tinkling Springs Road, lies a venue like no other--Augusta Expoland. On a frightful night of severe thunderstorms and funnel clouds with piercing rains and ferocious winds, four MMA Institute fighters from Charlottesville went to war against some talented amateur fighters from all over the Mid-Atlantic region.

The first paragraph describes Tammy and my trip up to the Expo. We were both ravenously hungry from all the days activities we each accomplished, but not even voracious appetites will stop a predator, nor will it stop two insatiable MMA fans from viewing their friends in the ring.

Tammy was armed with her expensive, high-end camera. I was armed with my 39 cent notebook and a BIC pencil. Don't mess with us.

To begin the fight coverage, five MMAI guys from Harrisonburg won their fights. MMAI of Charlottesville and Harrisonburg dominated the night. With each live fight night I attend, I get more hooked and impressed at the level of respect and reverence shown between the amateurs who take to the ring. They always put on impressive shows and the action that is there is so thick, not even a chainsaw could cut through.

So onto the meat and potatoes of the post, the victories of the four MMAI-Charlottesville fighters:

Jake McLean is a fighter who knows how to have fun, especially around the gym, but also knows when it's time to get down to business. He was all business as he approached the ring. He fought Justin Rankin, who had a 0-1 record and is also just beginning his MMA career. Jake won his first fight back on Valentine's Day, before the inception of this blog.

In the first round, a determined Jake shook hands with Rankin and got down to it. He quickly dominated the fight and got on top of his opponent and threw repeated rights and lefts. The ref stopped the fight at 1:23 into the first round and Jake pulled out a victory by TKO. It was awesome to see Jake's record go to 2-0.

Adrian Yarborough is a guy who defines the word 'tough'. I've had the fantastic opportunity to see 2 of his 3 amateur fights so far, and he had decisive victories in each. Last night, he jumped up weight classes from his usual 170 pound welterweight to fight Billy Woods, a 205 light heavyweight. Adrian stepped up and took on the challenge.

Billy looked really serious from the inception, but Adrian is no stranger to serious fighters. Billy unsuccessfully tried to get the fight to the ground, but Adrian began to lay on his Muay Thai and MMA skills and threw a few punch kicks, knees to the head and chest, and other maneuvers to gain control of the fight. The fight was called at 1:36 due to strikes for Adrian to take another victory by TKO. This brings his record to 4-0. He is undefeated.

The third fight of the night was a debut for MMAI-Charlottesville. Lucas Wright has trained hard and it paid off. He fought another guy of similar status, Jonathan Hawes, who also was 0-0 in his amateur career. During the first round, both guys fought a dramatic round, but Jonathan began to gas in the last few seconds of the round. During the second round, Lucas rained elbows, knees, and kicks to eventually get Jonathan on the ground. He maneuvered his position from having Jonathan in full guard to eventually settling on a rear naked choked. Jonathan tapped out and the fight was called at 1:41 minutes into the second round. Lucas is now 1-0 on his record.

The fourth fight was another buddy of mine and Tammy's, Tony Bruno. He fought Nick Spaulding. The fight opened with Tony immediately cast into defensive mode as he avoided kicks by hallowing out and then taking it to the ground. About a minute later, after aggressive demonstrations by both guys, Tony presented Nick with a knee to the chest, then a punch to the abdominal area. The resulting effect brought Nick down to his knees, and he was unable to go on. The fight was called about 2 minutes into the first round, bringing Tony a victory. Nick and Tony embraced each other in the end, in an awesome example of what this sport is about--honorable showmanship and respect for one another's skills and talents.

All the fighters should be congratulated for their expounded efforts in completing their tasks. No one can fully appreciate Mixed Martial Arts until they experience first hand the amount of work and dedication these guys need to go through to be the best they can be. There is no 'try' in MMA, only 'do'.

We all put countless hours into our gym here in Charlottesville, and watching the victories mount up is just another testament to the dedication and love shown for the sport and for the MMAI-Charlottesville family. We are going places, and this is just the fledgling beginning of an establishment that will soar.

Until next time,

Kimmy

PS--Pictures to follow soon.