Friday April, 8th 2011 Team Bluegrass MMA travelled to the mountains of eastern Kentucky. Other than a brief stop on US 23 the trip down was great. Pikeville College Gymnasium played host to Gruesome MMA III - The Homecoming. Brandon Newsome promoted a great show that was locked in by matchmaker Greg Maynard. This was a stacked fight card with a great Main Event along with some great amateur battles.
The night kicked off with a stellar performance of the National Anthem. Shortly after the last note was sang the first fight of the night set the pace. Abe Samples of Fight Junkies earned the Discount Auto Brokers Knockout of the Night by throwing big punches and ending it very quickly against James Brown.
For the most part all of the fighters came with a chip on their shoulder looking to embrace their short time in the spotlight. Hard work in the gym paid of for most while others realized what they needed to do to improve. Lots of big strikers and heavy hitters laced this card. Ryan Bryant looked excellent in his grudge match against Jarrad Newsome. They both had high expectactions and were poised to make a statement. Bryant got the better end of this brawl, ending the bout in the first round with a TKO victory. Brandon Newsome declared Bryant the Dr. Jason Long Fighter of the Night.
Here are the results courtesy of http://www.gruesomemma.com
Joe Jordan defeats Billy Vaughan (Split Decision)
Marc Stevens defeats Charlie Mullins (TKO Ref Stoppage) Round 1
Ryan Bryant defeats Jarrad Newsome (TKO) Round 1
Josh Walker defeats Justin Holloway (TKO) Round 1
Paul Amaro defeats Britain Wells (Ref Stoppage) Round 2
Donta Wade defeats Billy Poe (Unanimous Decison)
Austin King defeats Jeff Smith (Submission Armbar) Round 1
Bill Conley defeats Rickey Rom (Submission Triangle) Round 1
Steven Marcum defeats Justin Cornett (TKO Ref Stoppage) Round 1
Joey Donahue defeats Chris Sallie (Submission RNC) Round 2
Corey Spencer defeats Zaldy Tabon-Tabon (Submission RNC) Round 1
Kyle Conn defeats Spencer Mitchell (Unanimous Decision)
Brad Stafford defeats Michael Lawson (TKO Ref Stoppage) Round 1
Josh Adkins defeats John Taylor (Unanimous Decisoi)
Ace Samples defeats James Brown (KO) Round 1
Ryan Bryant - (Dr. Jason Long "Fighter of the Night")
Austin King - (Cornerstone Investment Group "Submission of the Night")
Ace Samples - (Discount Auto Brokers "KO of the Night")
Alot of groups were well represented at the show. Four Season MMA, Fight Junkies, Hells Forty and several other gyms were in action and MMA is growing at a rapid pace all across the state. Greg Maynard matched the fighters well and Brandon brought in the home run with a standup guy in Jorge Gurgel.
Pikeville rapper Apollo Greed took the stage before the last few fights to showcase his talents. Fan or not of the genre of music, Greed demonstrated a great deal of swagger and even though most of the crowd was not feeling it he continued to perform and did a great job.
The main event was well worth the price of a ticket. It is a fight that you sometimes wish you got to see as a main event on a pay-per-view show. Joe Jordan sporting blue tape on his ribs vs Billy Vaughn. This went 3 rounds with heavy fists, stinging kicks and some good ground & pound action. Vaughn screamed out in pain after a sharp kick to the leg. That didn't stop him though he kept pushing the pace. Jordan kept looking for the kick again but was not able to land anything of significance. Neither men could finish the fight and it went to the judges. Jordan ended up with the split decision that could have went either way.
Overall this was a highly entertaining show. It featured great men doing what they train and love to do. Most of them didn't make a red cent off of this, they fought for the pride and love of the sport. Gruesome MMA is a true fighter first, fan always company. They gave the 1000+ fans what they asked for and more. The "show"aspect of the event was just as good. Two huge screens played the action from multiple camera angles. The catwalk provided the fighters a great entrance. For only the third time out for Gruesome it was a huge success. There were minor things that they could work on. The event was long but it didn't drain your energy like some would think. The great fights kept everyone wanting more. Gruesome is eyeing a May 20th outing with the venue to be announced at a later date. Wherever it may fall Bluegrass MMA will be there to cover all the action and support a great group of guys living the dream.
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