As MMA shows go, most promotions are fairly similar. There are slight differences like the use of a ring or a cage, elbows or no elbows, amateur, pro, or mixed (pro and am) shows. Aside from from these minor details, the majority of smaller MMA promotions put on entertaining yet cookie-cutter shows which mirror all the others. “Rumble on the Ridge III: Mayhem” however, was quite the opposite.
On Saturday May 16th, at the Snoqualmie Casino Ballroom in Snoqualmie, Washington, Rumble on the Ridge MMA held their third show, “Rumble on the Ridge III: Mayhem”, which was nothing less than top-notch. From the superb matchmaking to the seamless production of the entire event, the show was exciting and entertaining from beginning to end. All of the other MMA promotions in the Pacific Northwest should take notes, as Rumble on the Ridge is definitely setting the standard.
PRO MMA (promma.info) was cage side for the action-packed ten fight card which showcased seven amateur and three professional bouts. With the fights ending in knockout, TKO, decisions, a draw, and a variety of submissions, this card was a pleasure to even the most die-hard MMA fans.
Aside from the exciting action inside the cage, fans were also treated to a surprise appearance by a couple of UFC stars. Rich “Ace” Franklin and Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch unexpectedly made cameo appearances to the fans delight. After hanging out with fans for photos, they both were called into the cage at intermission to a thunderous roar from the crowd. “Many of you may be wondering what I’m doing up here. Seattle is like my second home. Before my fights I split my training time between Cincinnati and Seattle, where I train with Matt Hume at AMC,” said Franklin.
Also in attendance, and cornering fighters from their gyms, were legendary trainer Matt Hume, former UFC star Ivan Salaverry, UFC, Strikeforce, and IFL veteran Dennis “Superman” Hallman, and former IFL and current UFC fighter, “Bad” Brad Blackburn. Hallman let the crowd know about his upcoming fight on June 19th in Kent, Washington on the Strikeforce Challengers card. Blackburn followed by announcing his June 20th fight at the Ultimate Fighter finale in Las Vegas.
The seven amateur bouts, which included a 145 lb. superfight qualifier, were exciting and fast paced, much to the crowd’s delight. Tony Sanchez of Tri-City MMA made short work of Justin Johnson of White Buffalo Warriors in their 145 lb. bout, via knockout in just 42 seconds of round one. Not to be outdone, middleweight Andy Pavez of Ivan Salaverry MMA was victorious over Justin Hernandez of Team Quest with a 52 second, first round referee stoppage due to ground and pound.
In the final amateur bout of the evening, and 145 lb. superfight title qualifier match, heavy crowd favorite Dex Montenegro of Eastside MMA went against Zack Mukai from Matt Hume’s gym, AMC. In round one, both fighters came out throwing lumber. With Mukai seemingly getting the better of the exchanges Montenegro clinched up to attempt some dirty boxing. The round ended with Mukai landing some solid punches, much to the dismay of the crowd. Round two started out the same as the first with both fighters willing to trade punches. Then, after a takedown attempt, Mukai sprawls and gets Montenegro’s back. With the only options being tap or nap, Mukai gets the submission victory via rear naked choke in the second round.
The final three fights of the evening were pro bouts, with all three featuring fighters from Victory Athletics, where both Brad Blackburn and Dennis Hallman train. The first of the pro fights started off with middleweights Wesley Welch of Victory athletics vs Jeremy Brummett from White Buffalo Warriors. In dynamic and crowd-pleasing fashion, Welch runs and jumps off of the cage and lands a superman punch. Welch then shot in for the takedown but ended up on the bottom. He quickly reverses his position to the top and they both sprawl to their feet. Again Welch shoots for a takedown, but instead, slams his opponent to the floor with authority. After working the short elbows and a little ground and pound, Welch gets the full mount. He quickly worked for the triangle, transitioning to the arm-bar, then back to the triangle. The triangle was sunk deep and at 2:47 of round one, Brummett is forced to tap.
In the second pro bout, Vitory Athletics welterweight, Trevor Sojot faced off against Dillon Scouten of Team Tourettes. Sojot immediately gets a takedown, but both fighters quickly sprawl to their feet. Scouten tries a takedown of his own, but Sojot stuffs it and ends up on top. Sojot quickly passes to full mount, then punch, punch, armbar, tap, in 54 seconds of the first round.
In the final bout of the evening Len Bently of Victory Athletics went against the highly experienced Rex Payne of Alive MMA and Brazillian Top Team. Bently’s size and strength advantage was obvious out of the gate. After dropping Payne with one punch, Bently jumped on his opponent and in side mount, worked the ground and pound. At the instruction of his cornerman Dennis Hallman, Bently stands up with ease and forces the fight back to the feet. Obviously weary of Bentley’s power, Payne tries to clinch, but gets taken down with relative ease. After working for position, Bently lands two vicious lefts to his opponents head. The thud of the impact from Bentley’s punches landing on his opponents head, which rested on the mat, resonated throughout the room. Bently wins, by first round knockout, making it a clean sweep for Victory Athletics.
Full Fight Card
Amateur bouts-
205 lb Joe Hernandez def Jordan Hebert via UD
170 lb Ian Williams def Ian via TKO 2:14 rd 1
145 lb Tony Sanchez def Junstin Johnson via KO :42 rd 1
185 lb Andy Pavez def Justin Hernandez via TKO :52 rd 1
185 lb Julian Hendrickson vs josh Baker Majority Draw
185 lb Jamen Olney def Anthony Sandothe via TKO 2:02 rd 2
145 lb Zack Mukai def Dex Montenegro via Submission(RNC) 2:00 rd 2
Pro Bouts-
185 lb Wesley Welch def Jeremy Brummett via Submission(Triangle) 2:47 rd 1
170 lb Trevor Sojot def Dillon Scouten via Submission(ArmBar) :54 rd 1
155 lb Len Bently def Rex Payne via KO rd 1
PRO MMA (promma.info) would like to give a special thanks to Joe DeRobbio for having us and setting up such a great show!