Review
by Spaniard, Photos by Warren Anderson
& Company
Valhalla Gala II
"Fright Night" took over the Bossanova Ballroom in Portland Oregon
Fri Oct 29th to help raise money for coach, fighter, and friend
"Judo" Jon Krohn. Jon is battling a tough fight outside the
cage, the kind of fight you can't really train for. It was great to see Jon attend and smiling in witness to the night of great kickboxing.
An auction item was donated by UFC Veteran and Jon's former
teammate, Chris "The Crippler" Leben. This one of a kind
memorabilia features the gloves and shorts that Chris wore
in an actual UFC fight, signed by Chris, along with pics
of that fight. The piece was on display all night for fans
to check out and will be up for auction very soon with all
proceeds going to help Jon and his family deal with the
incredible costs and mounting bills arising from his treatment
for brain cancer.
The main event was a great battle between fighters from two of the NW's best teams in Team Quest & Impact Jiu Jitsu. Quest fighter Justin Hernandez
won a tough decision victory over a game Mike Swela. Hernandez
used his distance to score in and then move to the outside,
while Swela swung his way inside and chopped away at the legs of Hernandez.
This was a close fight that could have gone either way and
in the end the decision went to Hernandez.
Brian Torres from Whet Stone Fight Team defeated Alive MMA's Rob Criswell. Torres unloaded good combos during
the exchanges and definitely took the second round with
the judges scoring the fight in his favor, giving him the
decision win.
One of the best fights of the evening was between Team Quest fighter Phil Roberti & Independent fighter Casey Cambel. Both
displayed good technique and pushed a tough pace, but it was Roberti that earned more
knockdowns and scored more points earning him the decision victory.
Another great
fight came in a Team Quest vs Team Quest battle when Adam "Stomps" Stomps took on Jason
"Pepsi" Novelli. Novelli and Stomps fought a tough fight, but Novelli dominated the second and earned the decision.
"Lightning" Liz McCarthy & Paige Grider both had dominate decision wins over tough
opponents. Both are avid competitors on the MMA
scene and both showed that females can strike just as good if not better than the boys.
Their opponents Ganeloa Choa from Team Quest & Thuy Nguyen from Touch Em Up
displayed a lot of heart, both getting knocked down yet
showing no signs of quit and staying in their respective fights to the very end.
Scott Stein from Premier Martial Arts/Quest Linn had former WEC fighter Dave Jansen cornering him as he fought and earned a decision victory over WA fighter Nick Biron.
Chris Burgett from Team Quest defeated Egan Deeks from PMA by
decision.
Brad Hanna from Team Quest defeated Tyler Morgan fighting
out of Your Mothers Basement by decision.
Beau Burke training out of PMA/Quest
Linn looked great with crisp combinations as opponent Lynn Schoenfeld from Krav Maga fired in return
staying in the fight but ultimately losing the decision to
Burke.
Trevor Howe from PMA/Quest Linn dropped a decision victory to Alden W from Team
Quest. Ty Hollbrook from PMA/Quest Linn got the only
stoppage of the night by making referee Chris Yee step in and stop
his bout with Team Quest's Jason Conradt at 1:45 of Rd 1
for the TKO win.
Jacob Cantelian from Team Quest defeated David Quinton from Alive MMA by
decision. And finally in a Team Quest vs Team Quest
matchup, "Big" Tony Vallencia beat "Big" Arlo Harvey by
decision.
After the fights, founder and promoter of the Valhalla Gala, Josh Botkin, spoke with NWFS about the event and helping out Judo Jon, and the future auction of the Chris Leben piece.
