The Throwdown Recap From An Amateur Eye

I'm so sorry that I didn't follow up on who was coming to the fights. I had some problems with my phone and couldn't get a hold of anyone. The event was awesome. They really put alot of effort into making it a really big show. I'll give you plenty of notice for the next fight. You've got to come see this. I went with a few girls from work who have never watched a fight before. They had a great time and really enjoyed the spectacle.

It started off with some amateur "rivalry fights" between UVU, BYU, Utah, and some high schools. I guess they were competing for school cred? I have no idea what that was all about. And those fights were pretty lame. There was a fight where one of the competitors was in the mount (very advantageous position) all three rounds and couldn't finish the fight off!! That was frustrating to watch.

Then the pro fights started. There was a change on the fight card and Johnny Miller (Ben's bro) was going to fight one of the guys at Absolute, Dave Bubel. I was a little surprised by this because I really hadn't seen Dave there training regularly. But when it came time for the fight it was announced that Dave wouldn't be able to compete. I wonder what happened. I feel bad when that happens, for Dave and Johnny. You prepare so long and so hard, and I'm sure that it takes a ton of mental preparation and controlling your nerves leading up to the fight, and then you find out that you're not fighting. Oh man, that would be wicked sucky. Total understatement.

There was another lame fight and then it was time for Camrann to step in the cage. I always get nervous when I see someone I know step in the ring, but I didn't with Camrann. I was so confident in his ability. He came out big and looked dominating. He landed some great kicks and got in a few throws before Casey Beckstead got him to the ground. Cam was trying to pull rubber guard and somehow managed to scrape Casey's eye. The doctor looked at it and declared that they wouldn't be able to continue the fight. It was ruled a no contest. The fight lasted only a minute and a half. But a really exciting minute and a half. You can read his recap here. I'm so proud of Cam. I've got a soft spot in my heart for him. He's a great friend and it seems that he takes special interest in seeing me succeed.

The next fight was a fun one to watch. It was Casey Carter against Dan Gardner. From the beginning I could tell that Dan had this fight. There was some serious power behind his throws, and he was landing them. In the middle of the first round, Dan got Casey to the ground, mounted him and knocked him out in just a few punches. Man, those ground and pounds are scary. That's an understatement too. That would be the worst way to lose a fight.

Next up was DaMarques Johnson vs. Harold Lucambio, two serious badasses. I've seen both of them fight before and was unsure of the way this was going to turn out. There was some good stand up and then when it got to the ground, DaMarques got him in a triangle and Harold tapped out in the first round. I was hoping that one would last longer. I really wanted to see what they were capable of.

Travis Marx and Rad Martinez were next. Boring fight. Travis won by unanimous decision.

The match-up between Tim Panter (I keep wanting to call him Tim Panther...what?) and Derek Downey was awesome. They both are fierce. The fight only lasted one round with Derek taking Tim down, working cross body and then getting in the mount. It only took one or two punches for Derek to get the knockout. Derek has such precision. It's so fun to watch him. My heart sunk though when I saw Tim on the ground after the fight and he wasn't getting up. It took a minute for him to recover but then he was fine. This bout was for the Throwdown Middleweight Championship.

The main event was Mike Whitehead against Soakai Pulu. These were heavyweights, weighing close to 300 lbs! Huge! In my personal opinion, I don't think the heavyweights are as fun to watch. They don't have the speed and agility that the others have which makes it exciting to me. Mike Whitehead choked out his opponent a minute into the first round.

And that's my recap. This has all come from my mediocre memory as I did not write anything down, and could be mistaken on a couple things. I could go into more detail, but I don't think that most of you who read this would know what I'm talking about. It's nice to watch these fights and know what's going on. I can see what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong. I kept catching myself criticizing other's ground game and then thinking it's probably difficult to remember your jujitsu when you're being punched in the face. At least when I grapple I don't have to worry about the ground and pound. Seeing these fights really made me want to compete. I want to see what I'm capable of.

So yeah, next time I'll pull a group together and I'll organize it better. Hopefully Camrann will be fighting again soon and you can see some Class A combat.