Julian Erosa lands a front kick against Drew Brokenshire in the main event

The Emerald Queen Casino was the place to be on February 21st as the partnership between Halquist Productions and Asia's Super Fight League continued with another great night of professional mixed martial arts action in Tacoma. Super Fight League 37 (aka Super Fight League America 3) saw 8 bouts go down, including two championship fights to round out the evening. In the main event, a rematch two years in the making finally came to fruition as CageSport 145 lb Champ Drew Brokenshire took on SFL America 155 lb Champ Julian Erosa for the vacant SFL America 145 lb Title. The two fighters met previously in December of 2012 at CageSport 22, where Brokenshire beat Erosa in a thrilling 5 round war via decision. Both have progressed immensely as fighters since that time and fight fans around the NW were looking forward to a great bout from these two warriors.

The first round was a pure standup battle between the two, both hitting their target with their kicks and punches, both throwing in bunches. Brokenshire was all business in moving forward on Erosa, finding success with combos to Erosa's head, some nice body shots and kicks to Erosa's torso. Erosa on his part was also constantly moving forward, utilizing front kicks to keep the distance and landing numerous combos to Brokenshire's head. A number of times during the round, the pair stood toe to toe throwing hard leather. When they did briefly clinch up, both would stay busy throwing knees to their opponents legs and midsection. The pace of the fight stayed high in the 2nd round, with some good standup exchanges before the pair clinched against the cage. Erosa did a good job of keeping Brokenshire's back against the cage and scoring with punches and knees. The pair finally broke apart and Brokenshire had success in grabbing Erosa's neck and landing some solid knees. After another clinch, Brokenshire grabbed hold of Erosa's neck and took him to the mat looking for the choke finish. Erosa avoided the submission and the round ended soon after.

In the third, Brokenshire started the round connecting with a overhand right but when he threw a kick with his left leg, Erosa caught it and put Brokenshire onto the canvas. From there it became a grappling contest, with Erosa working from the top and Brokenshire defending on the bottom. At one point, Erosa briefly stood up and Brokenshire grabbed his leg and went for a heel hook, followed by a knee bar attempt. Erosa escaped and again went back on top and positioned his way into attempting a d'arce choke. Brokenshire escaped and went back to guard. Erosa passed guard to side control, worked Brokenshire against the cage, and then sunk another d'arce choke. This time it was super deep and Brokenshire was forced to tap at 4:35 of the 3rd. Great fight and a big win for Erosa who moves to 14-2 and is now the SFL America 145 and 155 lb Champion.

The SFL America 170 lb belt was up for grabs in the co-main event and featured the return of the Interim Champion Ben Fodor, who in his previous bout went 5 rounds with Tyson Cunningham at SFL America 2, in perhaps the best MMA fight the EQC has ever seen. At SFL America 3, Fodor went through a couple opponent changes before undefeated 155-pounder Jason Novelli stepped up last second to take the fight. Novelli landed a nice kick to the body of Fodor to start the fight, with Fodor answering back, before the pair clinched up. It was Novelli who was able to get position and then take down Fodor against the cage. From there, Novelli landed punches to Fodor's body and head, and mixed in some big elbow strikes as well. Fodor was actively trying to escape from the bottom but every time it looked as if he would, Novelli was quickly back on top to dish out some more punishment to the end of the round.

The 2nd played out similarly, after a couple brief standup exchanges, Novelli shot in and got a takedown. Fodor had his neck and worked hard for the guillotine, but Novelli popped out and working in Fodor's guard, again had success with his ground strikes. The bout stalled at one point and the ref stood them up, with Fodor landing some nice combos on the restart. Novelli slipped to the canvas and as Fodor tried to throw down some strikes, Novelli wrapped his legs in Fodor's, took him down, and then scrambled on top again. Fodor was able to limit the damage from Novelli, but Novelli held the position to the end of the round. In the third, Fodor came out hard throwing big bombs, but Novelli again shot for and eventually got a takedown. Fodor trapped Novelli's arm with his legs, and the pair had an awkward looking tussle against the cage until Novelli worked his arm free and was on top in side control. As Novelli tried to swing his legs over Fodor's to get in better position, Fodor was able to slip out and reverse to get on top. From there he moved to a North-south position, then to side control, and then to a full mount. Novelli went to escape but left his neck exposed and Fodor made no mistake in taking it and sinking the rear naked choke. Referee Ryan Hoisington was forced to stop the contest when Novelli passed out from the constriction at 3:06 of the third, making Ben "Flattop" Fodor the new SFL America Welterweight Champion.

In a 130 lb catchweight bout, Yakima's Hector Lopez and Tacoma's Arjay Murphy went all three rounds in a crowd-pleasing fight. The pair spent the better part of the first round feeling each other out, keeping distance and moving in to throw leg kicks or a punch or two. They clinched up and Lopez picked Murphy up and put him on the mat, sneaking in a couple elbow strikes before Murphy scrambled his way back to his feet. The pair traded again before Lopez attempted another takedown. Murphy though slipped it and as Lopez lay on the ground, Murphy came flying in with a punch to his face to end the round. In the 2nd, both fighters began to find their range, with Murphy scoring with high kicks to Lopez' head and body, while Lopez came in with big heavy combos. Late in the round, Murphy threw a front kick but Lopez grabbed his leg and took him to the mat and went for a choke finish. Murphy got out and back up against the cage, but Lopez moved in and took him down again, finishing the round on top working in ground strikes. The final stanza saw the pair trade on the feet for the first minute before Lopez came in with a strong flurry and a big knee to back Lopez against the cage. There, Lopez worked for and got a double leg takedown but on the ground Murphy quickly locked on a wicked-looking armbar. Lopez though impressively rolled out of it and got Murphy's back and worked for a rear naked choke. Murphy fought it off and eventually reversed and then stood up, beckoning Lopez to join him back on the feet. Murphy then shot in quickly and got a double leg takedown, with the round ending as Murphy was throwing down hammer fists. The scores were read out and it was Lopez getting the nod 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 to move to 4-0 as a pro.

One of the best fights of night was in the bantamweight division and it was Paul "The Predator" Njoku of Singha MMA getting the victory by judges decision after a hard-fought three rounds with Portland OR's Sean "The Beast of War" Gee. The first two rounds were marked with Njoku executing some great takedowns from clinch and controlling the fight on the ground. But Gee on his part was constantly moving on the bottom, limiting damage and slipping submission attempts. In the third, Gee came out with intensity but again Njoku took Gee to the mat. Gee quickly it back to the feet and the pair played the clinch game before a 2nd Njoku takedown. Again Gee escaped and brought it back to the standing where he started to pursue Njoku around the cage and finding success with some big punches and knees to the body. It was clear both fighters were becoming gassed but just before the end of the round, Gee locked on a deep standing guillotine choke that looked to have Njoku in trouble. However, the bell sounded to end the fight and both athletes collapsed in exhaustion as the appreciative crowd gave them a big ovation. The scores were tallied and it was Njoku taking the win 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 to move his pro record to 4-1.

In a 150 lb catchweight bout, Jesse Hardenbrook out of Warrior Camp in Spokane turned the tables on Spanaway WA's Aaron Martin in an entertaining battle. The pair started out with some good exchanges on the feet, with Martin finding success with a mix of low and high kicks, before Hardenbrook scored with a big kick to the midsection followed by some hard punches. Martin moved in on Hardenbrook, getting a body lock against the cage and then taking Hardenbrook to the mat. There, Martin locked on an arm triangle on Hardenbrook that looked super deep. Hardenbrook though did not panic and fought off the choke attempt with knees to Martin's body that caused Martin to have to readjust. Eventually, Martin gave up on the choke and then in a scramble, it was Hardenbrook winding up on top where he was in position to sink an arm triangle of his own, which Martin tapped to at 3:38 of the first.

Lightweight Bobby McIntyre out of the United Training Center moves to 3-0 as a pro with a quick finish of Oregonian Will Hunt. McIntyre came out and nearly landed with a spinning back kick to Hunt's face. Hunt moved in with punches and McIntyre put him on the mat with a single leg takedown. Hunt ate a couple hard punches before pushing McIntyre off with his legs and standing up again. McIntyre though moved in and grabbed Hunt's head in a Muay Thai clinch and started throwing big knees, the last couple of which caught Hunt square in the face and put him out at 43 seconds into the fight.

Middlweight Trent "The Titan" Tyler scored an impressive win over Kina Peneueta via 1st round arm triangle. After a short exchange on the feet, the pair clinched up and worked for position against the cage. Tyler eventually was able to take Peneueta down, but Peneueta had him locked in a guillotine choke attempt. Tyler though popped his head free and then went to work, dropping a couple vicious elbow strikes that set up the arm triangle submission at 2:18 of the first. With the victory, Tyler has three wins in his last four fights and moves to 4-5 as a pro.

Opening the evening, Arlington Kickboxing Academy's "Vicious" Victor Barajas got his first pro win against Oregon fighter Shane Sargent by submitting Sargent twice via armbar. Early in the fight, Barajas executed a nice double leg slam but it was Sargent who wound up on top. Barajas though went immediately for the armbar from the bottom and locking it in tight, rolled Sargent over and stretched out the arm. The referee was right there and halted the contest, but some confusion appeared when he signaled a timeout, went over and spoke with the ringside officials, and then came back and restarted the pair in the same position. Barajas wasted no time in wresting Sargent's arm free and stretching it out again, this time Sargent clearly tapping at 56 seconds of the first.

Halquist Productions' next event is on March 28th with Battle at the Boat 100. This special anniversary show will celebrate 18 years of professional boxing at the Emerald Queen Casino and should not be missed. The next Super Fight League show at the casino is scheduled for April 25th. To learn more, visit halquistproductions.com and www.superfightleague.com. A video replay of the Super Fight League 37 is available for viewing at the SFL youtube channel at youtube.com/SFL.