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Prime Fighting IV - October 11th, 2014

Clark County Event Center - Ridgefield, Washington

Photos, Recap, & Post-fight Interviews by Mike Renouard


Eben Kaneshiro throws down against Rex Payne Jr in the Co-main Event


Prime Fighting IV went down October 11th at the Clark County Event Center with Promoter Joe Watson and Matchmaker Heather Standing putting together a smoothly run, action-packed show that saw 5 pro and 5 amateur fights take place. The main event was a women's flyweight matchup between Emily Corso of Gracie Barra Portland and GIRLS Gym fighter Katie Howard. The pair had met twice before as amateurs in 2013, with Corso coming out the winner both times by submission. But this time they were fighting as professionals for the Prime Fighting Pro 125 lb Title.

The fight began on the feet with the pair circling and trading kicks. Howard started to find her range with her striking, catching Corso with a straight left that dropped Corso to the canvas. Wary of Corso's ground game, Howard held back and allowed Corso to get back up. They went back to circling with Corso throwing kicks and Howard landing with her punches. Corso moved in and got Howard into a clinch against the cage and then got an eventual takedown. Corso searched for a submission, isolating and arm and then later latching on to Howard's neck looking for a guillotine. Howard popped out and landed a couple hammerfists to finish the round.

In the 2nd, the pair traded on the feet for a bit before Corso moved forward and drove Howard across the cage with both fighters going to the mat. While Howard wound up in top position, Corso didn't give her any room to strike and eventually was able to reverse position, take Howard's back and sink a rear naked choke at 2:02 of round 2. Corso takes home belt and moves to 4-0 as a pro, and both fighters were awarded with Pro Fight of the Night.












The Co-main event was a 160 lb matchup between NW veterans Eben "Hi-Ya!" Kaneshiro and Rex "Bring the" Payne Jr., coming in with over 50 professional fights between the two. At the opening bell, both fighters engaged and traded with some hard strikes. Kaneshiro timed a leg kick perfectly as Payne moved in which dropped Payne to the canvas. Kaneshiro moved in but Payne was able to sweep and scramble back to the feet, landing a big knee as they both stood up. Again the pair traded on the feet, but Payne either slipped or was knocked to the canvas when he was off balance. Kaneshiro moved in and landed a big punch to Payne's shoulder followed by numerous shots that forced the referee to step in and stop it at 1:32 of round one. As Kaneshiro celebrated with his patented "Hi-Ya!" pose, Payne remained on the ground as his collarbone was broken.









Rose City FC's Jake Smith and Team Reckless fighter Jason Lambert met in a pro 175 lb catchweight fight that was a rematch of an amateur 2010 bout between them which Smith won by decision. In their pro fight, Smith started out aggressive looking to land a big punch, but settled down and the first round progressed at a more even pace with both fighters moving in to exchange and then moving out of harm's way. Lambert was throwing a lot of kicks while Smith was utilizing his hands with combos. Toward the end of the round, Smith caught a Lambert kick and swept Lambert's other leg for the takedown. The 2nd round played out on the feet similar to the first round as both fighters looked for their opportunities. Smith took advantage of his when he got Lambert against the cage, grabbed his neck in a muay thai clinch, and let loose with a flurry of knees and elbows that eventually forced a ref stoppage at 1:44 of the round. Smith was awarded Pro (T)KO of the Night for his effort and moves to 2-0 as a pro.










Undefeated welterweight Alex Alverez got a first round finish over debuting pro Hadi Al-Awadh. Alverez mixed in hard body shots with punches up high to keep Al-Awadh on the defensive. Alverez took Al-Awadh to the canvas at one point and was landing ground strikes when the referee called a time-out as Al-Awadh had lost his mouthpiece. Inexplicably, after having the mouthpiece rinsed off, the ref re-started the fight on the feet but this was no help to Al-Awadh as Alverez continued his offensive onslaught. The end came with Alvarez connecting with some hard punches to Al-Awadh's head against the cage that forced a ref stoppage at 3:45 of the first round.






In a 145 lb matchup, 503 West Coast Jiu-jitsu's Gus Bessa won his pro debut, plus Submission of the Night, by getting Cole Milani to tap to a rear naked choke in the first round. Early on, Bessa moved in after a leg kick and clinched up and then pulled Milani to the ground. There, Bessa deftly flipped himself over Milani to get top position. He then transitioned to side control and eventually took Milani's back and sunk the choke at the 1:57 mark.









Desert Dogs fighter Colton Howard and Battleground Combat Club's John Simon battled hard for 5 solid rounds in the Amateur 185 title bout. Both fighters landed good shots on the feet, had takedowns, and scored with strikes on the ground. Howard on his part dished out more punishment than he received from Simon, especially as the fight progressed into the later rounds. In the end, the judges scorecards read 50-45, 49-46 x2. Great fight with Howard and Simon displaying plenty of heart for which they were justly awarded with Amateur Fight of the Night.










In the Prime Fighting Amateur 145 lb Championship, undefeated Abdul Kamara took home the belt by beating Rose City FC's Steve Southern. Early in the fight, Southern worked hard for takedowns while Kamara displayed good defense against the fence. Southern eventually got his takedown and did have Kamara's back on the ground at one point, but Kamara fought through and reversed position. Karama began to take over the fight with takedowns of his own and by controlling the action in the cage. After 15 minutes of fighting, the judges gave it unanimously to Kamra 49-46 x2, 48-47.







Amateur Knockout of the Night went to Gladiator MMA's Lisa Spangler who dropped a debuting Alison Barnes with just one second left in the first round in their 125 lb matchup.






In the Amateur Heavyweight Division, Team Quest's Rudy Schaffroth took on Bloody Knuckles' Fadi Batroukh. Schaffroth was able to score with takedowns, including in the opening moments where he impressively caught and flipped a charging Batroukh over his back. Despite having a point deducted for strikes to the back of his opponent's head, Schaffroth cruised to unanimous decision victory, all three judges seeing it 29-27.








Opening the evening was an amateur battle at 135 lbs between Gladiator MMA's Dylan Blakesley and Fisticuffs Gym's Steven Chang that was all standup. Blakesley was crisper and more accurate with his striking and that carried him to victory via judges decision 30-27 x2, 30-26.





Myndi Stalnaker was all set to fight but her opponent unfortunately pulled out last moment due to medical reasons. Stalnaker came into the cage and thanked her supporters.



Prime Fighting V is scheduled for March 14th back at the Clark County Event Center. Learn more about the promotion at primefighting.com.


Bout 1 - Amateur 135 lbs
Dylan Blakesley (6-2 - Gladiator MMA) def Steven Chang (4-0 - Fisticuffs Gym)
by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)


Bout 2 - Amateur Heavyweights
Rudy Schaffroth (2-2 - Team Quest) def Fadi Batroukh (2-2 - Bloody Knuckles)
by Unanimous Decision (All judges 29-27)
(Schaffroth had point deducted for illegal blow to back of head in Rd 2)


Bout 3 - Amateur 145 lbs
Lisa Spangler (1-0 - Gladiator MMA) def Alison Barnett (Debut - Team Quest)
by KO @ 2:59 Rd 1


Bout 4 - Amateur 145 lb Championship
Abdul Kamara (5-0 - Vancouver WA) def Steven Southern (5-3 - Rose City FC)
by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)


Bout 5 - Amateur 185 lb Championship
Colton Howard (7- 1 - Desert Dogs) def John Simon (6-1 - Battleground Combat Club)
by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)


Bout 6 - Pro 145 lbs
Gus Bessa (Debut - 503 WCJJ) def Cole Milani (0-1 - Weapons Grade MMA)
by Rear Naked Choke @ 1:57 Rd 1


Bout 7 - Pro 170 lbs
Alex Alvarez (1-0 - Rose City FC) def Hadi Al-Awadh (Debut - Team Chaos)
by TKO (Ref Stop - Strikes) @ 3:45 Rd 1


Bout 8 - Pro 175 lbs
Jake Smith (1-0 - Rose City FC) def Jason Lambert (2-3 - Team Reckless)
by TKO (Ref Stop - Strikes) @ 1:44 Rd 2


Bout 9 - Co-main Event - 160 lbs
Eben Kaneshiro (18-11 - New Breed Jiu-jitsu) def Rex Payne Jr (7-12-1 - Gladiator MMA)
by TKO (Ref Stop - Strikes) @ 1:32 Rd 1


Bout 10 - Main Event - Pro 125 lb Championship
Emily Corso (3-0 - Gracie Barra Portland) def Katie Howard (3-2 - GIRLS Gym)
by Rear Naked Choke @ 2:02 Rd 2



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