Video: Kaitlin Young talks Invicta FC & new opponent
Kaitlin young fights for Invicta Friday April 5th
Huntley Takes short notice bout in Colorado
Jason Huntley did what very few 2-0 amatuer fighters would do given the chance he was given late friday night on march 15th. Ressurection Fighting alliance needed a substitute at 135 pounds to fight Carlos Huerta a 6-0 local prospect from a gym in the Denver area. When Jeremy Bjornberg, a local matchmaker, promoter, and well known manager of fighters asked Jason if it was something he was interested in… he was up for the task.
With less than a week to prepare and coming off a short break from training, Huntley got back in the gym as much as possible to ensure he was ready to take his record to 3-0 as an amatuer. At age 34 and knowing shots like this dont come around often, he was excited to travel to denver and give the young fighter a real fight.
The fight did not go the way of huntley, but was a true showing of heart and toughness. Round 1 saw many submission attempts by Huerta with solid defense by Huntley. Round 2 was a stand up affair that Huerta got the better of. Round 3 was comparable to the 1st. Huerta would win by Unanimous Decision (30-27 on all cards). But the experience was a victory in itself for Huntley, stimulating his love of the sport and the excitement of competing. now at 2-1 Jason will look to continue his journey at 125-135lbs.
Video:Donald Williams breaks down his next fight w/ MN MMA NEWS
Donald Williams Talks about his upcoming fight march 23rd in Burnsville,MN.
Mike Richman Moves on to tournament final over “popo”
Heated, is a good way to describe the official Bellator weigh in between Academy Product Mike Richman and Alexandre “popo” Bezzera. After both men weighed in “popo” got in Richmans face and made contact, Which prompted Richman to give him a solid shove. Immediately after the stage was swarmed by people from both camps and bellator officials holding them back from each other. The next night there wouldnt be anybody holding them back.
The first round saw a relentless takedown attack by Bezzera for the first minute, Richman was able to stuff the first couple attempts and even countered with a front choke off of Bezzera’s single leg takedown attempt. A front choke in which Mike is known for hitting alot in the practice room. After getting Richman to the ground “popo” got Mikes back and would stay there for the rest of the round attacking with choke attempts and punches from behind. (10-9 Bezzera)
Round 2, was all hands. Richmans world class striking would be the story of round 2. Bezzera showed his grit and concrete jaw by staying on the feet and trying to go punch for punch with the superior boxer, of course he attempted to shoot for a takedown ocassionally, but Richman wasnt allowing it. Bezerra’s head was knocked back countless times by stiff jabs and quick straight left hands by the deadly southpaw ( 10-9 Richman)
Round 3 left off where round 2 ended, on the feet for the first minute and a half. Finally Bezzera secured the takedown he had been searching for. Ground and pound at first from top position, then getting richmans back again he attempted more rear naked chokes. Richman would get back to guard then spring up to his feet and throw everything but the kitchen sink at Bezzera for the final minute of the 145 lb. tourney quarter final.
In easily the fight of the night and possibly fight of the tournement so far. Mike “the Marine” Richman takes the 29-28 split decision victory to move on the the Finals of the $100,000 tournement. His Opponent will be Magomedrasul “Frodo” Khasbulaev (20-5) a super tough Russian with a hard hitting free style approach.
The Academy’s MMA updates: news & notes
Here at the Academy Competing is our business… And business is good.
This coming Thursday (march 7th) Mike ” the marine” Richman is set to do battle with Alexandre “popo” Bezzerra in the semi final round of Bellator’s featherweight tournament. The winner will go on to the tournament final on either march 28th or april 4th. This is Richmans second tournament run under the bellator promotion. During his run he has gone 3-1 with all 3 wins by knockout.
Jordan “pretty boy” Parsons was scheduled to fight March 2nd for CFA (cage fighting alliance) in Miami, Florida at 145 lbs in a rematch against Danny Chavez who Parsons beat to win CFA’s Featherweight title just last summer. Coming off his 1st career loss in his defense of the belt, “pretty boy” has been chomping at the bit to get his hands on anybody they will give him. Hungry for battle, to say the least. The fight has now been pushed to April 20th.
On March 23rd Donald williams, Ben Locken, Jesse Midas, and Sean Richman will all fight for SEG/Driller promotions in Burnsville, MN. The show is nearly sold out, the only way to get tickets in the next few weeks is from the fighters themselves. One of the more anticipated fights of the night will be Sean Richman vs Nick Spina for the promotions 145lb Amatuer belt.
Stay Tuned for news, notes, and match ups for April!
Jacob Volkmann signs up for World series of fighting
After a 6-4 run in the UFC, Academy Team member Jacob Volkmann was given his release after a recent loss to Bobby Greene (20-5) just two weeks prior.
Jacobs peers and teammates believe he should have been given one more chance to prove himself on the biggest stage due to his relentless grappling skills and mental toughness, but with a number of fighters being imported from the strikeforce promomtion ( also owned by Zuffa.inc) cuts were made and Volkmann was one of the unlucky ones.
Bellator fighting championships was a route that Jacob wanted to go, especially with a handful of other academy teammates being part of Bellators roster. It seemed like an easy transition,but after being in contact with officials for the the promotion he learned that there would not be any opening until at least summer. With a sour taste in his mouth from a recent loss and release Jake wanted something sooner if possible. In comes World series of fighting.
World series of Fighting is a promotion out of Las Vegas, Nevada on the NBC sports network. The Roster is loaded with top prospects and former UFC veterans/champions. Andrei Arlovski, Anthony Johnson, Miguel Torres, Tyrone Spong, David Branch, and Gerald Harris are just some of the names of an ever growing list that is handled by WSOF president Former Muay thai and K-1 great “sugar foot” Ray Sefo.
Be sure to look for match up announcements with Volkmanns name included on upcoming WSOF events. Being a UFC veteran, many hungry lightweight challengers will be looking to try their hand at “christmas”. One in particular is John Gunderson (34-12-2) who has called out Volkmann in a recent interview after stating he “just doesnt like him” and that he is “annoying” to him. The next WSOF event is scheduled for March 23rd. After that they plan on another event in either may or june.
Team Academy rolls over the competition at K.O.T.C
Jason Huntley slams his opponent early in 1st round
This past saturday night in Morton,MN the Jackpot Junction casino saw many greats fights. Among those fights the four fighters from the Academy put on a great showing for a packed house. Ben Smith, Jason Huntley, and Carl Deaton finished their Opponents while Mikey Zimmer won a decision in the nights main event.
(Fight summaries by Jeremy Bjornberg/mnmmanews.com)
Jason Huntley vs Bounoun Tonsay 135 LBS
Both guys came out wild but it led to a few very exciting scrambles. Bonoun had a guillotine in for over a minute and it was very deep, but Huntley showed fantastic self control and stayed calm until he slipped out and took Tonsay’s back. The Academy product then picked him up violently and slammed him down so hard he immediately tapped. Huntley moves to 2-0 via verbal submission in Round 1. Very puzzling tap but Huntley definitely was in control. Huntley looks like the real deal and is looking to move to 125 pounds…very impressive.
Ben Smith vs Reilly Griffin 195 LBS
Ben Smith led off the action with a spinning back kick, which caused Griffin to attempt a takedown. Smith stuffed it and then picked him up and 360 slammed him on his head. He then landed a series of knees to the body and hammer fists. He pounded away until Griffin was completely out, giving Smith the KO win at 1:11 of round 1.
Carl Deaton vs Josh Wiseman 135 LBS
Early fight of the night as Deaton and Wiseman put on a show for the screaming fans. Both men landed bombs in Round 1, but Wiseman landed a stiff left that bloodied Deaton’s nose and probably gave Wiseman the standup edge. Toward the middle of the round, however, Deaton took down the highly decorated wrestler Wiseman with a double leg and then spent the rest of the round on his back. He tried finishing with ground-and-pound and a rear-naked choke attempt, but Wiseman was having none of it and the round came to an end. Wiseman came out looking to finish in Round 2 and landed a stiff jab that seemed to bother Deaton, but he was then able to get Wiseman against the cage and take him down again, thoigh it didn’t last long as Wiseman popped up quickly. Deaton however was relentless and got in deep on a double leg and slammed Wiseman, and he eventually took his back. From there, he landed some nasty ground and pound before he finished at 3:21 of Round 2 via RNC over a very game Wiseman.
Starr Roberts vs Michael Zimmer 155 LBS
Zimmer came out landing powerful strikes until he was accidentally poked in the eye which led to a 3-4 minute break while he got his vision backed. He came out with urgency and took down Starr and started teeing off with elbows and punches. Roberts threw up a few arm bar attempts but was unable to close as Zimmer powered through them. The first round ended with Zimmer on top and Starr was tired from all the pressure and ground and pound and took a while to get up.
Starr came out in Round 2 and just missed a head kick and then forced a clinch, which the popular local hero Zimmer used to force a takedown and take top position and once again he started landing powerful shots. Starr as always refused to bend and showed his heart as he kept struggling and eventually forced a stand up. From there, Zimmer landed a nasty knee to the body, which dropped Roberts and once again put Zimmer in top control, but he was unable to finish.
Zimmer rushed across the cage and once again put him in the clinch, where he did very impressive work. Starr however took advantage of a totally gassed Zimmer to take his back and also mount him in the last few minutes of the fight. He almost got the finish.
But it wasn’t enough. Zimmer claimed a 29-28 unanimous decision. The crowd went absolutely nuts in appreciation of both mens’ brave performances.
