NW Fight Challenge 18 "Bad Blood" was presented by Northwest Promotions in conjunction with The Academy of Brian Johnson in Tumwater WA on Saturday, November 23rd. The event hosted some of the best amateur fighters from some of the best MMA gyms in Washington. With 2 super fights, 5 title fights, and 10 of the 14 fights being MMA, the rest kickboxing, the large crowd was in for an exciting night. In Main Event for the Heavyweight MMA Title between JD Cullens and Steve Sigo, the crack of Cullens' overhand right as it landed was almost as loud as the crowd's reaction to the 29 second knockout in round 1.

In the co-main event for the 170 lb MMA title, Joey Peroti walked out wearing an "I heart My Mom" shirt - and her son did his homework on his opponent, Luis Barriga. Barriga is well known for his vicious stand-up, especially his devastating kicks. Peroti would quickly find a way to get Barriga to the gound. Barriga has a solid jiu-jitsu game, as does Peroti - but Peroti also has a solid wrestling background. He was able to keep on top for most of the time on the mat, and was working his ground and pound when the referee stepped in at 2:24 of the second round.

Knock out of the Night came in an impressive 170 lb kickboxing matchup between Jason Swan and Juan Jackson. Although close, Jackson had the first round - winning in the pocket with his heavy hands and aggressive forward movement. Swan adjusted and used his range and powerful kicks all through the second, tearing away at Jackson's legs as Jackson matched the pace and kept slinging leather. Both fighters were hit with heavy shots - Jackson landing a head kick that visibly shook Swan. Round three saw Swan with his own head kick - a spinning heel kick - immediately followed by a left hook to the face that dropped Jackson to the canvas, stopping the fight 0:27 into the round.

Submission of the Night came from Jordan Hyatt in his 185 lb MMA Superfight against Caleb Padgett. Padgett was controlling most of the fight - dominating the ground with his positioning and ground and pound. On the feet, he was the aggressor, keeping Hyatt on his heels and forcing Hyatt to look for the takedowns. Hyatt kept moving on the ground and working for submissions, finally finding a rear naked choke that Padgett couldn't work his way out of at 1:37 of round 2.

While there were a number of great fights on the card, Fight of the Night went to Socheat Touch and Bouy Cooper in their 135 lb kickboxing title fight, and the crowd agreed. These two warriors came out swinging hard and extremely fast. Cooper being a more traditional American kickboxer, and Touch a proficient Muay Thai fighter, they had the crowd roaring. Touch countered Cooper's looping hooks with straight punches down the pipe and great leg kicks. Cooper constantly moved forward with heavy hands to the head and body, and some stinging inside leg kicks of his own. With such an intense pace that these two men set, by the end of the fourth round of battering each other and throwing endless punches and kicks, they had slowed a little, but were smiling at each other for the battle they were sharing. At the start of the fifth, that didn't matter - both came out swinging like it was the last 10 seconds of their career and neither was willing to lose. Cooper kept glued to Touch, backing him around the ring the whole round. Arms too tired to keep his hands up, Cooper swung from the hips and moved forward. Touch countered and circled. They kept on until the bell sounded and left the difficult decision to the judges who came back with a split decision ruling for Socheat Touch.

More info on the NW Fight Challenge at www.bjohnsonkarate.com.