Tyson Cunnigham and Ben Fodor battled hard for five rounds in the Co-main Event

CageSport MMA and Halquist Productions, in conjunction with the Asia's Super Fight League, presented Super Fight League America 2 on December 13th to a sold-out I-5 Showroom at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma WA. This was a night to remember as the 9-bout pro fight card included one of the best MMA fights ever contested in the Pacific Northwest in the five round barn-burner between Tyson Cunningham and Benjamin Fodor. The main event was also a great fight and featured a couple of the best strikers in the NW in Yakima MMA's Julian "Juicy J" Erosa and AOBJ's Harrison "Wolverine" Bevens battling it out for the SFL America Lightweight Title. In the first round, both fighters were aggressive in their standup. The unorthodox style of Erosa was displayed with him finding success early on with kicks to the body, mixed in strikes from odd angles. Bevens meanwhile was a little more conventional as he moved forward, throwing kicks to the legs or body, followed up with punches. As the round progressed and the fighters keeping up a fast-pace, Bevens loaded up on his strikes as he waded in, while the taller Erosa was effective in using push kicks to keep Bevens at distance. Erosa likely won the round with a little more offensive output then Bevens, but Bevens ended the round landing a nice kick to Erosa's head.

In the 2nd, it was more of the same from both fighters, each scoring with their brand of standup. In the 2nd minute of the round, Bevens moved in to throw a big left but Erosa was a split second ahead with a big left of his own that dropped Bevens to the canvas. As Bevens stood up, Erosa came in with a perfectly timed flying knee that landed flush to Bevens' head for the knockout. A big win for the newly crowned 155lb champ Erosa who moves to 13-2 as a pro, while Bevens falls to 7-3. Afterwards, Cagesport 145 lb champ Drew Brokenshire came into the cage and called out Erosa to fight for the SFL America 145lb Title. Erosa immediately accepted, grabbing the mic and telling the crowd that it was Erosa himself who for two years had been trying to setup this contest, looking for revenge after suffering a decision loss to Brokenshire in their title fight at CageSport 22 in December 2012. The pair will match up in February at Super Fight League America 3.

It was the evening's Co-main Event that everyone was talking about after the show, as undefeated Ben Fodor of Team Wise and Tyson Cunningham of Combat Sport & Fitness battled hard for five rounds for the SFL America Welterweight Title. In the first round, after a brief exchange on the feet, Cunningham shot in on a single leg and took Fodor down against the corner post of the cage. Cunningham stayed heavy there for most of the round, keeping Fodor under him as he worked in some ground and pound. Fodor was constantly moving, trying to get out from under, but it wasn't until Cunningham took his back that Fodor was able to reverse and then lock on a guillotine in the scramble as the round-ending bell sounded. In the 2nd frame, the two traded leg kicks before Fodor shot in for a brief takedown. It quickly went back to standing though and Cunningham then got a takedown and again worked his ground game, scoring with some big elbow strikes. Fodor tried for a couple upkicks, so Cunningham grabbed a leg, dropped down and went for a knee bar and then a heel hook. Fodor escaped out, but in the scramble, Cunningham again gained top position until the end of the round.

In the third, Fodor came out with urgency, throwing a series of punches before grabbing Cunningham's neck and going for another guillotine. Cunningham was able to pop his head out and in the ensuing scramble, Fodor fired off 3 successive kicks that connected with Cunningham's face. However, these were illegal as Cunningham's knees were still on the mat and referee Mike Mikkelson deducted a critical point from Fodor. On the restart, Fodor flurried in on Cunningham, a few good punches finding their mark. Cunningham slapped some good leg kicks on Fodor before again getting the takedown. Cunningham went into full mount, but Fodor reversed, and again went for guillotine. But Cunningham popped out, gained mount again, and the round ended with some big shots from Cunningham.

In the 4th, Fodor again came out swinging but Cunnningham was able to take him to the mat again. From the bottom, Fodor landed with a nice up kick, and a wicked elbow, but Cunningham was able to keep his top position. As he was working his GNP game though, the referee oddly decided Cunningham wasn't doing enough and stood the pair up. Fodor connected with a couple nice punches before again he was taken down. This time though Cunningham wasn't able to keep Fodor under him and the pair spent the rest of the round scrambling, both fighters gaining advantageous positions on the other and landing shots. In the final championship round, Fodor landed a series of shots standing as well as elbow strikes to Cunningham's head as Cunningham worked for the takedown. Finally getting the takedown, Cunningham worked some body and head shots from top position, while Fodor was very active from the bottom, pushing off with his legs and connecting with some hard punches and elbow strikes. The ref again stood the pair up and the round ended with Fodor looking for a guillotine choke finish. The scores were tallied and one judge had it 49-45 for Cunningham, while the other two saw it even at 47-47, making it a majority draw. A controversial decision for sure but this was one fantastic fight and both athletes recieved a rousing standing ovation from the crowd.

One of the most anticipated matchups of the night was the lightweight contest between undefeated fighters Jason "Pepsi" Novelli and Jason "The Grinder" Gray, with both athletes and their respective camps engaging in epic back and forth smack-talk sessions leading up to the contest. When the fight got underway, Gray immediately shot for the takedown but Novelli deftly shucked a couple of attempts, before Gray finally got Novelli down on the third shot. Novelli though quickly escaped and it went back to standing before a fourth shot from Gray pushed the fight against the cage and into a clinch battle. Novelli started landing knees from the clinch before Gray went down low and took Novelli down. Again, Novelli got back to his feet while Gray stayed on him against the cage and searched for another takedown. Gray went hard for a single leg and as he drove forward, Novelli locked his legs around Gray's neck in a reverse triangle, and then landed numerous elbows and punches to his midsection. Gray eventually was able to escape the triangle but went from the frying pan to the fire as Novelli grabbed his neck and locked in a tight guillotine that Gray was force to tap to at the 4:10 mark of round 1. With the win, Novelli moves to 6-0 while Gray falls to 4-1.

In the welterweight division, two talented Western Washington fighters engaged in a tight 3 round contest that ended in a draw. Undefeated Albert Tadevosyan came out with a cool double kick combo, following up with strikes before moving in and clinching up with Uluilakepa against the cage. The pair spent much of the round - and the fight - in this position with Tadevosyan pushing in and Uluilakepa with his back against the cage in a battle of attrition, both fighters staying busy with short knees, punches and elbows to the other. The ref split them up at one point and Uluilakepa scored with a couple body kicks in the ensuing standup exchange before Tadevosyan again had Uluilakepa clinched up against the clinch and both fighters battling for head position and getting in their shots on the other.

In the 2nd, Uluilakepa charged out hard but Tadevosyan turned him back into the cage and clinched up again. The round was spent with Tadevosyan persistent in grinding it out against the cage and looking for the takedown, while Uluilakepa had success scoring with knees throughout with his back against the cage. The third had Uluilakepa charging out hard and getting a nice takedown. But Tadevosyan scrambled out and it went back to the clinch position against the cage. The ref pulled the pair apart at one point and the ensuing standup exchange saw Uluilakepa land with a nice high kick before driving in for a takedown attempt. Tadevosyan though defended and it went back to a clinch battle again. Tadevosyan looked to have finally succeeded in taking Uluilakepa down but Uluilakepa grabbed the cage to stop the takedown. The referee immediately called a time-out and took a point away from Uluilakepa. On the restart, Uluilakepa charged in with strikes and got a takedown. Tadeyvosan popped back up to the feet and it went against the cage where the fight ended with both swinging for the fences. After three rounds, all three judges scored it 28-28 for the unanimous draw.

An entertaining fight that saw non-stop offensive output from both combatants came in the women's 125 lb division, with Team Execution's Jenny Liou taking on Mamba MMA's Susy Watson. Early in the first, Liou went for takedowns while Watson did well in rebuffing her advances, both fighters scoring in close with short punches and knees. It became a clinch battle before going to the mat with Watson on top and Liou in full guard, and shortly after Liou had Watson in a deep armbar. Watson rolled out and going back up again, it was another clinch battle. This time Watson got a nice single leg trip takedown and punished Liou with strikes against the cage. Liou grabbed an ankle and went for the submission finish. Both ladies rolled through and had top position in the ensuing scrambles, with Liou getting in the harder shots and ending in the top position before the bell.

In the 2nd, Watson came out hard for the takedown but Liou used Watson's momentum to do a somersault roll on the ground and gain top position. Liou displayed some great grappling in the round, going for submissions and keeping Watson in bad positions for strikes. Watson scored with a direct up kick that elicited a big crowd response, but the round belonged to Liou who got another nice throw and finished on top throwing strikes. The third round opened with both fighters trading shots on the feet, with Liou mixing in some leg kicks, before driving Watson against the cage and getting a single leg takedown. Watson got it back to the feet and looked for a standing guillotine, but Liou escaped and immediately moved in throwing punches. Liou was finding her range and landing with a mix of knees, punches to the body and head, and legs kicks. Watson took the punishment for awhile before shooting in and persevering through the takedown. The round ended with Watson on top throwing strikes and Liou on the bottom answering back. This was another awesome bout with the final tallies going to Jenny Liou 29-28 on all three judges cards. Liou moves to 3-1 as a pro with the win.

In a lightweight contest, Tacoma WA's Woo "Why so Serious" Johnson finished Northern California fighter Josh LaGrange early in the first round to move to 3-1 as a pro. Johnson timed a shot perfectly to take down LaGrange against the cage and proceeded to light him up with a flurry of punches, hammer fists, and elbows until LaGrange verbally signaled the referee that he had enough at the 1:07 mark.

In the middleweight division, Trent Tyler immediately charged Mike Devose looking for a takedown, but Devose displayed some good defense and made Tyler eat some short punches against the cage for the effort. But Tyler was relentless and was able to eventually get him to the mat. In Devose's guard, Tyler was able to work and make Devose eat a few punches. Devose was able to lock on a triangle for a few brief moments but Tyler got out and went back to work with his ground strikes. Then, as Devose tried to sit up to escape, Tyler got hold of Devose's neck and sunk the choke at the 2:41 mark of the first round.

Light Heavyweight Thomas Hoeper of Arlington Kickboxing Academy picked up his first pro win via unanimous decision over Nate Cook. In the first round, Hoeper and Cook traded knees in the clinch before Hoeper got a single leg takedown. On the ground, the 6'7" Hoeper quickly took Cook's back and worked for the choke finish, but Cook was able to fight it off to the end of the round. In the 2nd, Cook came out throwing and connecting with hard punches, before Hoeper again took him down with a double leg, moved to his back and looked for the RNC. Cook was able to reverse a couple of times, but was unable to keep Hoeper from scrambling and taking his back again. In the 3rd round, Cook found some success on the feet, stunning Hoeper with a hard left hand. Hoeper drove in for another takedown but Cook was able to explode back to the feet again. Unfortunately by this point though, both fighters had little left in the gas tank, and the final few minutes were spent with Hoeper back pedaling and using front kicks to keep Cook out of range, while Cook would occasionally throw but miss with big haymakers. After 3 rounds, all three judges saw it 29-28 for Hoeper.

Sean "The Beast of War" Gee won his pro debut via a 2nd round TKO of Alex "The Beastman" Eastman in an entertaining 135 lb battle. In the first round, Gee held the center of the cage and threw with bad intentions, while Eastman was moving in an out of the pocket to deliver combos or an occasional high kick. Gee caught an Eastman kick and took him down, but Eastman was able to scramble out of trouble and it went back to standing. Gee connected with a thunderous uppercut that won the crowd's approval, but Eastman was able to answer as both fighters engaged. From the clinch, Gee scoop up Eastman for a thunderous slam, and then got Eastman against the cage and delivered punches, big knees to the body, and more punches to the end of the round. In the 2nd, the pace slowed somewhat as Gee picked his shots and Eastman looked to counter. Midway though the round though, Gee flurried on Eastman, landing some big bombs and knees before Eastman shot in and the fight went to the ground. From the bottom, Eastman worked for a triangle and then an armbar submission, but Gee kept him stacked and was able to eventually pick up Eastman and slam his way out. Seizing on the opening, Gee proceeded to throw numerous unanswered strikes that forced a referee stoppage at 4:05 of round 2.

Halquist Productions' next event is the all-pro boxing Battle at the Boat 99 on Friday, January 9th, followed by more MMA action with Super Fight League America 3 on February 21st. Then on March 28th, the promotion will present their 100th Battle at the Boat show which promises to be a very special event indeed. To learn more, visit halquistproductions.com and superfightleague.com. Videos of all 9 fights are also available for viewing at the SFL youtube channel at youtube.com/SFL.