The Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene Oregon played host the first ever Midtown Throwdown put on by the folks of Midtown MMA & Family Fitness. With title bouts, pro bouts, grudge matches, and even two females battling it out in the cage, the night was set for action before it even started.
The main event put together two very tough pro welterweights in Donnie Evenson from NW Martial Arts, and Levi Kurtovich from Midtown MMA, who both agreed to meet at a catch weight of 175lbs. Both are strong prospects in the MMA
game, with Evenson coming into the cage with more experience than Kurtovich. The fight was quick and to the
point. Kurtovich came out and rocked Evenson, landing a huge overhand right
that stunned the NWMA fighter. Evenson quickly recovered and started using his jits game to find an opening to go for the
submission and Kurtovich quickly was in trouble. Evenson
eventually caught Kurtovich with an armbar that scored the tap in the first round and handed Kurtovich his first loss of his professional career.
The Co-Main event had bad blood written all over it and I mean BAD NASTY MEAN BLOOD! Shorty
"Tha Pit Bull" Weikel from Midtown MMA took on Denny Linton from the Dog Pound MMA fighter and these two
pro fighters really don't like each other at all. This was clear when they stepped into the cage and faced each other for the ref's instructions and both started talking trash immediately.
The fight was set at 145lbs which was a step up in weight
for Linton. This didn't seem to bother him before the
fight since he claimed his wrestling was better than
Shorty's. When the fight started it was very action packed and fast paced as you would expect for guys their
size. Linton seemed to be handling the step up in divisions pretty well, even mounting Shorty at
times. However Shorty was able to reverse and escape everything. And after reversing Linton,
Shorty caught him in an armbar and wasn't letting go until he got the tap for the win in the very first round! After the
fight, emotions were still running high as the victorious
Shorty taunted Linton, and Shorty came very close to getting fined by the
commission for pushing the boundaries of professional
conduct. Shorty later said in an exclusive NW Fightscene post-fight interview that
"heated words make for better fights!" And to be honest I couldn't agree with him more!
NW Martial Arts Team Megaton Fighter Emmanuel Sanchez took on The Pit Bull's brother, Levi Weikel, in a title bout for the
amateur 155lb Throwdown belt. Levi avoided the stand up game and took Sanchez to the ground, which was a fatal
mistake, as Sanchez was way too much for Weikel on the ground.
Sanchez displayed super slick submissions and transitions that kept Weikel
constantly on the defensive until he finally fell victim to a Rear Naked Choke that was tighter than yoga pants. The tap came in the first round,
and with the victory the young NWMA fighter Emmanuel
Sanchez becomes the Throwdown Lightweight Champ!
Midtown MMA fighter Corey "Agnarr" Wyatt took on "Old Man"
Dave Mays for the amateur 185lb Championship. Wyatt used his reach with strikes and punch kicks to keep Old
Man Dave at bay, and keep him from getting inside and using his Jiu-Jitsu that
he is known for. Wyatt landed some hard shots, circled
well, and dominated fast. When he hurt Dave, he finished the fight
immediately to become the new Middleweight champion via TKO
Ref Stoppage. Corey was very humble in his win, going right over after
the fight to Dave's aid
to make sure he was OK. This is what MMA is all about. We may punch each other in the face, but after it's over we are still human beings and
friends. This is simply a sport we all enjoy being a part of. Spaniard's Fighter of the night award goes to COREY WYATT!
In a rematch from another show two fighters named Josh had a score to settle. Oregon Kickboxing Academy's Josh Spencer got the
winning end of a split decision when he faced Team REACT's Josh Jewell in Bend OR recently in May. Mr. Jewell wanted to even up the score and get his rematch and Mr. Spencer said no problem! The two started off fast just like
previous bout, with Spencer landing huge overhands and uppercuts, while Jewell looked for leg kicks and tried to stay on the outside.
The fight seemed to be all Spencer as he dropped Jewell a couple times and was definitely ahead on the judges' scorecards. However, the fight isn't over till it's over, because just when
everyone thought it was in the bag for Spencer, Jewell
landed a huge right hand and dropped Spencer. He followed
Spencer to the mat, pouncing on him and despite Spencer
trying for the single leg, Jewell kept pounding away until
the ref stepped in. The score in the saga of The Battle of the Josh's is now
even at 1-1!
And last but not least, Art of War fighter Siche Green-Mitchell came out to fight female fighter Maria
"The Real Deal" Andaverde and this fight was over before it even started.
When the bell sounded, the fighters came out took a swing and the fight was
over. Yet only Maria was standing! I guess she is the real deal after all!!! Maria knocked out Siche in ten seconds with one punch landing her the knock out of the night awards easy.
Midtown Throwdown was an all-around great event and since it was a first,
it shows what the future has in store for MMA fans in Eugune and Springfield area. For more info on upcoming events, go
to
midtownmma.com.
