By Mike Pisano

Fight 1 – Ken Atkisson vs. Mourad Laiti – 265

Round 1 – Laiti opened throwing big leather, catching the larger, slower Atkisson with left, right combinations dropping him with a left hook then rifling punches with Atkisson on the ground until the referee stopped the action at 24 seconds.

Fight 2 – Cody Johnson vs. Chris Lobato – 155

Round 1 – Lobato plodded in against the taller Johnson and scored a takedown. Johnson, composed, quickly reversed position, isolated Lobato’s wrist, secured head control and tapped him with a triangle. Time: 56 seconds.

Fight 3 – Steve Paprocki vs. Kevin Sears – 265

Round 1 – Sears lunged in with a jab and Paprocki secured a guillotine and sat back. On the ground, Sears reversed, transitioned to full mount and began to tag Paprocki with ground and pound. As the crowd warmed up, the fighters began to tire.

Round 2 – Sears landed a right cross, Paprocki was slow getting his punches off as his corner shouted, “You gotta go bud! You gotta go!” Sears slipped a Paprocki punch and head tossed him to the ground. Paprocki reversed and took mount drawing cheers from his fans in the crowd. As the horn ended the round, Paprocki was working ground and pound.

Round 3 – The crowd was loud as the fighters came out for the final round. Paprocki reversed a Sears takedown then Sears forced a scramble and took side control. He worked ground and pound as Paprocki tried to smother. Sears kept his position and finished the fight on top. Judges: 30-27,30-27,30-27 – Sears

Between fights, Anne Whipple announced a silent auction to benefit a local child with autism. The winner to receive a pair of UFC gloves autographed by Dana White, Mike Tyson, Herb Dean, Stitch Duran and Don House was framed in glass with autographed photos.

Fight 4 – Jimmy Dennis vs. Art Petrosyan – 185

Round 1 – Sporting a huge back tattoo that read, “Armenian Pride”, Petrosyan tagged Dennis with consecutive right hands, then landed knees to the body. Dennis was bleeding from the nose, his corner shouting, “Relax! Game plan, Jimmy! Calm down!”  The action was stopped briefly for a minor infraction. As the fight resumed, Petrosyan rushed in, slammed Dennis against the cage, scored a takedown and secured a rear naked, tapping Dennis. Time: 1:10

Fight 5 – Craig Cottrell vs. Donald Pierce – 265

Round 1 – Cottrell pulled guard then got reversed and caught in a rear naked. As Pierce tightened, Cottrell tapped. Time: 1:04

Fight 6 – Mike Martinez vs. James Houska – 155

Round 1 – Martinez followed a Houska leg kick with a right cross which wobbled Houska. Martinez head tossed him and tried to finish while Houska was in trouble. Houska recovered while on his back and Martinez got up and invited Houska to stand and bang. Houska dropped Martinez with a right hand but Martinez was never in any trouble.

Round 2 – Both fighters poured sweat. Martinez drilled Houska with a right hand straight to the nose knocking him down. This time he was able to capitalize, swarming Houska immediately and tapping him with a top-side guillotine at 31 seconds.

Fight 7 – Mike Madrid vs. Anthony Ackerman – 130

Round 1 –  Ackerman missed with a jab and got slammed by Madrid. Carefully following instructions from his corner, Madrid escaped a guillotine then escaped a heel hook attempt. The round closed with Ackerman in half guard working ground and pound.

Round 2 – Madrid shot with a double leg and ended up in the same guillotine as in Round 1. He escaped easily and scrambled into full mount. He landed punches as his corner shouted, “Finish this fight Mike!” Madrid then tried for an arm bar as Ackerman shrimped out from underneath him. Ackerman escaped the arm bar, took Madrid’s back then punched his face until he tapped. Time: 1:48

Fight 8 – Danny Mitchell vs. Andre Kavanaugh – 205

Round 1 – With a house full of applauding fans behind him, Mitchell opened with a series of kicks to the head and body. He used his decided height and reach advantage to keep Kavanaugh at a distance. He softened Kavanaugh with punches and knees along the cage until Kavanaugh dropped and took an 8 count. The referee permitted the fight to go on. Mitchell resumed punishing Kavanaugh with knees and punches until he went down again and was counted out by the referee at 2:55.

Fight 9 – Scott Cleve vs. Ryan Schultz – 145

Round 1 – Both fighters entered the cage lean and ripped.  They exchanged speedy hands before Schultz went for, and got, a takedown. Cleve, listening to his corner the whole time, brought the fight back to standing. Cleve wobbled Schultz with a right hand. Schultz’ eyes appeared clear but he was not steady on his feet. A jab wobbled him again and a left right combination dropped his hands to his sides as he crashed head first into the mat. The referee pulled Cleve away immediately and stopped the contest. Time: 3:04

After the fight, Cleve gave credit to his striking coach and said that he hopes his next fight is in a bigger promotion.

$643 was raised through raffle ticket sales. VIP tables, a custom longboard and other items were given to raffle winners. For more information about the autographed UFC gloves, contact Anne – acwhipple@aol.com