Amy Montenegro tops Glena Avila via unanimous decision to win the SFL America 115 lb Title

On December 12th, CageSport MMA and Super Fight League presented their final show of 2015 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma - Super Fight League 45 - with 8 professional MMA contests taking place. The main event was a fight for the SFL America Strawweight Title and featured a much anticipated showdown between the NW’s two top 115lbrs in Seattle’s Amy “Resurrection” Montenegro versus Portland’s Glena “Heartless” Avila. And these athletes did not disappoint, engaging in a furious 5-round war and leaving everything they had inside the cage! In the first round, the fighters wasted little time with the feeling-out process, choosing instead to engage and throw hard leather. Montenegro usually initiated the exchanges, moving forward with combos that frequently found their mark. For her part, Avila touched Montenegro’s face on numerous occasions with effective counterpunching. Much of the first round was also spent in the clinch with both ladies firing knees at each other and working positioning.

In the 2nd frame and 3rd frames, it was again a standup affair, both ladies scoring with their fists time and time again. The third round in particular was a marvelous to watch, with Montenegro plunging full force ahead in the first half of the round and consistently scoring with punches in bunches, while the 2nd half of the round saw the flow go towards Avila who landed some major bombs in letting her hands fly. The pace in the fourth round slowed slightly with Montenegro holding the center of the cage and again initiating the exchanges, while Avila countered, both ladies landing more often than not with their striking.

In the final championship round, it was more of the same with the standup exchanges before Montenegro landed a nice takedown. Avila though, thwarted any Montenegro offense on the ground and was able to scramble out, helped in part by connecting with a nice upkick. It went back to the feet and the fight finished out with the ladies working for position in the clinch.

What a war and what a fantastic 25 minutes of action! Definitely one of the top pro bouts of the year in the NW! In the end, it went to the judges, with two seeing it for Montenegro 49-47, 49-48, and the third for Avila 49-48, giving Montenegro the split decision win.

The last time Brent "Mankill" Knopp was in the cage was exactly two years previous at CageSport 28 where he beat Cory Devela by 4th round TKO in defending his CageSport 185 lb Title. Knopp returned to action in the SFL 45 Co-Main Event, a 197 lb catchweight bout, taking on Idaho fighter Jordan Currie who was coming in on a two-fight win streak. The first round was characterized by Knopp moving forward and throwing hard combos followed up with a knee or a kick to the body. Currie got his licks in a well, and when the pair clinched up, Currie would turn Knopp against the cage and work for a takedown. Knopp though had solid defense and made Currie pay for the attempts with short strikes and elbows to the head.

In the 2nd frame, Knopp again waded forward with punches but this time when they clinched up, Currie was able to take Knopp down with a double leg against the cage. Currie managed to get Knopp's back but wasn't able to sink the rear naked choke. Knopp stood up and when Currie grabbed Knopp's legs for another takedown attempt, Knopp landed numerous elbows to the head and hard punches under Currie's armpit. Currie moved to his back in defense and Knopp went in for the kill, raining down elbows and punches to round's end, the hardest shots landing flush as the bell sounded. The referee immediately assesesed that the dazed and bloodied Currie was done for the night and called an end to the fight, giving Knopp the TKO victory. With the win, Knopp is now 6-0 as a pro, while Currie moves to 7-5.

Any opponent of "Tiny" Thomas Hoeper in the 205 lb division has to not only contend with his formidable skills in the cage, but also his athletic 6'7" frame as well. Rob Burgess at 6'1" stepped up to the challenge, coming off his debut pro win in July of this year and looking to make it 2-0 in the cage. Hoeper started out with some stiff left jabs and then a front kick that Burgess was anticipating, making Hoeper pay with a big right hand as he clinched up with Hoeper against the cage. Hoeper landed a few nasty knees before Burgess got Hoeper down to the mat with a drag takedown. On the ground, Hoeper quickly reversed and then rode top position for a couple minutes, racking up points with short punches and hard elbow strikes. Burgess got it back to standing but not before eating a few more knees from Hoeper. On the feet, Burgess perfectly countered a leg kick from Hoeper with a big right hand that landed flush, taking Hoeper down. Burgess seemed to have top position, but Hoeper had a hold of Burgess' neck with his long wily arms, locking on a guillotine choke and rolling Burgess over for the tap with just 14 seconds left in the round. Hoeper moves to 4-2 with the win.

In the bantamweight division, Impact Jiu-jitsu's Journey Newson remains undefeated at 2-0 as a pro with a 1st round submission win over debuting Justin Hugo. Early in the fight, Newson put Hugo against the cage and then executed a beautiful takedown, landing in side control. From there, Newson displayed impressive ground skills by maintaining top pressure on Hugo, eventually putting Hugo in a triangle choke, dropping in a couple strikes that caused Hugo to roll, and then cinching up the choke from the bottom that caused Hugo to pass out at 2:27 of the first round.

Dylan Potter moved to 2-0 as a pro with a first round KO of Artiom Cula in a 185 lb matchup. Potter came out firing off a variety of kicks, and then when the fight went to the ground, momentarily had a nasty-looking armbar of Cula who was able to spin out of it. Later in the round, Cula had Potter against the cage and momentarily worked for a standing guillotine choke before giving up on the hold. The pair circled each other with Cula landing flush with a punch that elicited approval from the crowd. Moment later though, Potter connected with a big knee that dropped Cula, and then finished with two big elbow strikes on the ground for a brutal knockout at 2:31 of round one.

In a 155 lb matchup, Team Quest's Kody Kramer mixed it up with local favorite Patrick Benson. Kramer got an early takedown but Benson locked on a tight choke from the bottom that Kramer did well to scramble out of. Kramer clinched up with Benson against the cage, eventually getting another takedown and then taking Benson's back, but it was Benson's turn to play the escape artist this time and the fight went back to the feet. Benson began taking over the standup, impressive in throwing and landing combos in the exchanges. Kramer shot in to avoid more damage and Benson seized the opportunity to secure a guillotine choke, but the round ended before he was able to finish it. In the 2nd frame, Kramer moved in for a takedown, but when the fight went to the mat, Benson was in position to secure a kneebar, forcing a tap from Kramer at 38 secs in. Benson is now 1-0 as a pro, while Kramer falls to 1-1.

Unbeaten Eric Cronkhite and debuting Danny Elliot both were impressive in their featherweight matchup. In the first round, Elliot hobbled Cronkhite early with some nasty leg kicks. The round progressed with Elliot mixing in a varied offensive style, including spinning back fists and kicks, while a limping Cronkhite found success in his counterstriking. In the 2nd round, Elliot immediately crumpled Cronkhite with a hard kick to Cronkhite's bad leg. He lost a point soon after though when he kicked Cronkhite in the head while Cronkhite was still down. On the standup, Elliot backed Cronkhite against the cage and looked for the finish with his punches. Cronkhite countered with a big left hook that hurt Elliot and the tide had turned, with Cronkhite pouring it on, landing a big knee and a final hard left that dropped Elliot. Cronkhite finished on the ground with a rear naked choke that ended the bout at 4:03 of the 2nd round. Cronkhite moves to 3 and 0 as pro with the victory.

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SNRG's Rafael Brew Brewster signaled his arrival to the Pro Light Heavyweight ranks by impressively submitting Nate Cook via standing front choke early in the first round. Brewster ate a few leg kicks from Cook before shooting in for a takedown. Cook though limited the damage on the ground and did well in getting it back to the feet. When Cook fired off another kick, Brewster caught Cook's leg, grabbed hold his neck, and then lifted Cook off his feet for the standing front choke finish at 1:36 of the first.

CageSport MMA presents the next Super Fight League at the EQC on Saturday February 20th. Catch Pro boxing at the casino on Friday January 15th with Battle at the Boat 104. More information about both events at halquistproductions.com.