Brian Halquist's first MMA card of 2011 was an eagerly anticipated affair that resulted in a sold out I-5 Ballroom at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. Eagerly anticipated by the fans for the return to the cage of former UFC fighter Brad Blackburn and former WEC fighter Bryan Caraway, as well as the matchup in the main event between veterans Landon Showalter from Arlington and Justin Davis from Olympia. Eagerly anticipated by the fighters, with both Blackburn and Caraway ready to start off the road back to the UFC with wins; while both Davis & Showalter hadn't fought since the summer of 2009 and were both hungry for a victory.

When the main event started, both Davis & Showalter had a large contingent of fans on hand ready for a war and that's what they got. Showalter closed the distance and forced Davis against the cage, took him to the canvas and pummeled him a bit before Davis was able to get back to his feet again and fire off a counter. Showalter controlled the clinch with solid technique, scoring on some nice high knees and with the takedowns, while Davis did well in escaping dangerous positions and was able to counter on occasion. The first round definitely went to Showalter.

The 2nd round started out with an exchange at center and just like that, Showalter was rocked and looked to duck against the cage as Davis poured it on. Referee Ryan Hoisington saw enough and stopped the bout to the immediate protest of a bloodied but still coherent Showalter who felt it too early, as did Showalter's fans. But into the books it goes and an impressive turnaround win from the "Dangerous" Justin Davis.

The co-main event saw the return to the cage of "Bad" Brad Blackburn who was looking for a victory to get him back on the winning track after a tough 2010 that saw him cut by the UFC after a couple losses as well as a decision loss to Dan Hornbuckle at Bellator last August. He faced a game Jory Erickson out of Missoula MT and when the fight started, the determination in Blackburn was readily evident as he pressed forward with a series of punches that connected early and often, finally dropping Erickson. Erickson scrambled out but Blackburn was on him again, looking sharp with his standup and punishing Erickson with his punches and combos. Erickson took it though and stayed aggressive, able to sneak through a counter or two, and it was a final counter that caught Blackburn flush and sent him slow motion to the mat.  Erickson pounced with hammerfists until ref Steve Newport stopped it at 3:50 of Rd 1. 

Bryan "Kid Lightning" Caraway returned to the CageSport stage having gone 2-0 at the EQC in 2008/9 before being signed to the WEC in 2010. It was a rough stint there though, with Caraway getting caught in an armbar his first fight and losing by a controversial split decision in his 2nd, and then he was out of the Zuffa owned company. At 28 though, lot of fight left in the talented Caraway and first in line on his road back to the big stage was Shorty Weikel who entered the fight undefeated at 5-0 but definitely the underdog. The fight started out with both fighters trading at center before Caraway was able to get Weikel backed against the cage and down to the mat. There he wasted little time in climbing Weikel's back and for the next 2 1/2 minutes calmly held his position & proceeded to pepper Weikel with shots and look for the sub, while Weikel tried to fight him off in a vain effort as Caraway secured the Rear Naked Choke at 3:17 in the first. A solid victory for Caraway.

Tacoma based, Natalie Evans, won her pro debut by way of an early right hand that rocked her opponent Jennifer Gonzales, and following with a series of big blows that ended the contest just 19 seconds in to the absolute delight of the roaring crowd.

Matt Coble out of AKA looked sharp against NW Elite's Tyson Johnson controlling much of their bout in a high paced ground fight. Johnson lost a tooth for the third straight time at the EQC, but unfortunately was unable to get his 3rd straight win as all 3 judges saw it 30-27 for Coble.

Submission wins came from Ernesto Toscano over Angel Diaz (RNC), Nate Becker over Roy Bradshaw (Guillotine), & Julian Erosa over Omar Avelar (armbar).

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A pair of heavyweight contests rounded out the all-pro 10 fight card: 260 lb Jesus Rodriguez took Mike Riddell to the ground and pounded his way to victory via TKO; while Anthony Hamilton used his 260 lb frame to consistently take down Jared Torgeson and keep him there, grinding out a unanimous decision win (all 30-27).

Next up for Halquist Productions at the Emerald Queen Casino is pro boxing with Battle at the Boat 81 happening next month on Sat, March 19th. The Main Event will be Francisco Reyes (8-1) vs. Evginy Gradovich (8-0). Highlighting the undercard will be undefeated heavyweight Vincent Thompson battling Corey Williams (card subject to change). MMA action returns on April 23rd with CageSport XIV.

More info at HalquistProductions.com & EmeraldQueen.com.