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Saturday night Operation Octagon held their tenth event in Northern Virginia, showcasing five title fights and an amazing 18 bouts. The first title fight of the night saw Gold Medal Grappling’s Bryan Robey take the flyweight title by securing a rear-naked choke on his opponent, Cody Carter, early in the first round. For the 170 pound title Josh Duggins controlled the stand up and hurt Nah-Shon Burrell, causing the ref to stop the fight with just 1 second left in the first round. Fighting out of Capital Jiu-Jitsu, Chad Malone defeated Zed Mitchell by guillotine choke and won the interim middleweight title.
MiKiDo MMA took home two belts over the course of the night. First was the bantamweight title in which Umaer Haq was hurt early in the first round but came back to lock in a rear-naked choke 31 seconds into the second round. Later in the night Brent Hess, son of MiKiDo’s Master Mike Hess, dominated the fight his against Casey Johnson, winning by guillotine choke in round one.
Earlier in the night, were two of the longest but closest fights of the night. First, Migo DeOcampo drew blood early against Dave McGraw. But McGraw, refusing to let it stop him, fought back for two close rounds with each man working the top game at different points. Just seconds into the third round DeOcampo threw a kick followed by a huge right hand that left McGraw out on the mat. Following that bout Christian Rivera, spent three rounds trying to submit his opponent Duy Le. Rivera, forced to fight off his back by his opponents takedowns and explosive sweeps, attempted a plethora of submissions including a tight guillotine at the end of round two, a heel hook, and a close arm triangle. However, Le escaped each attempt and was awarded the unanimous decision for controlling the bout.
Operation Octagon X 3/20 Results
MUAY THAI –
Catchweight Tyler Boswell vs Eliud Arbelo Boswell wins by Split Decision
170 lbs. Thomas Edwards vs Michael Kalathas Edwards wins by TKO RD 1 (Failure to answer the bell)
145 lbs. Jimmy Mackey vs Carlos Lopez Lopez wins by Unanimous Decision
MMA-
Featherweight 145 lbs. Matt Stemmler vs Justin Kirtley- Kirtley wins a UD
Lightweight 155 lbs. Roland Barringer vs Kevin Rohrer- Rohrer wins by armbar at 2:01 in Rd 1
Welterweight 170 lbs. Joel Hockenberry vs Dirk Hurrin- Hurrin wins by RNC at 2:01 in Rd 1
Lightweight 155 lbs.Name: Dave McGraw vs Migo DeOcampo- DeOCampo wins by TKO at :11 in Rd 3
Featherweight 145 lbs.Duy Le vs Christian Rivera – Le wins by UD
Flyweight TITLE fight Bryan Robey vs Cody Carter – Robey wins by RNC at 1:45 of Rd 1
Bantamweight 135 lbs. Name: Aubrey Hummer vs Michael Logan – Hummer wins by KO at :42 in Rd 1
Heavyweight Sean Cox vs Joshua Cobra Brown - Cox wins by TKO at 1:47 of Rd 1
Welterweight TITLE Josh Duggins vs Nah-Shon Burrell –Duggins wins by TKO at 4:59 of Rd 1
Bantamweight.--TITLE Umaer Haq vs Bryan Lashomb – Haq wins by RNC at :31 of Rd 2
Middleweight interim TITLE Chad Malone vs Zed Mitchell – Malone wins by Guillotine at 3:57 in Rd 1
Featherweight--145 lbs.--TITLE FIGHT Casey Johnson vs Brent Hess – Hess wins by Guillotine in Rd 1
Featherweight Michael Ledman vs John Vroman – Ledman wins by triangle choke at 1:16 of Rd 1
Flyweight Andrew Heatwole vs Jaren Williams – Williams wins by KO at 2:12 in Rd 1
Lightweight 155 lbs.Name: Damien Mickey vs Kevin Smith – Smith by RNC at :41 of Rd 1
Even with the large number of matches the evening moved pretty quickly. Except for a couple short breaks for a word with Kris McKray about his upcoming run on The Ultimate Fighter, and a chance for the ring girls to throw out a few t-shirts, the evening was non-stop action.
Most of the championship fights were a little lop-sided, but Umaer Haq had to weather a big storm in the first round as Bryan Lashomb almost slugged his way to a win in the first minute of the first round. Umaer remained calm, scrambled back to his feet, and ended the round the aggressor. In round two he remained on the attack, finishing by submission in under a minute. Brent Hess dominated his opponent, both standing and on the ground, and seemed to have his choice on how he wanted to finish. He jumped into a tight guillotine wrapping up the main event early in the first round.
Check out our interview with Brent here!
The highlight of the night was Migo DeOcampo match with Dave McGraw. McGraw got an ugly cut early in the first round, but he kept top control stifling Migo's offense and landing some solid ground and pound. Round two saw Migo regroup, and after initially ending up on his back as in the first round he got an impressive reversal, and took the second round with a very active top game. With the score cards even it was anyone's fight going into the third, but Migo wasn't leaving it to the judges. He landed a solid overhand right to McGraw's chin, and quickly followed up to get the stoppage in the third round.
The event was a resounding success, and reinforced what I said in my review of Ultimate Fight Night in Fairfax last January. There's nothing like attended local shows and smaller promotions. I've been to dozens of events, from the smallest sideshow to Pride's debut in Vegas, and if the matchmaking is there, the fights are worth seeing. Smaller shows also offer the opportunity to meet the fighters and their supporters. You get to see behind the camera, and see the hearts of iron that need to compete in the cage. Who knows, maybe you'll meet the next Eddie Alvarez or Clay Guida, and be able to follow their career for years, like you would a favorite sports team.
For more pics and to discuss Operation Octagon X click here!
- Jim "DC Books" Kirkland
Unbeaten amateur fighter Brent Hess (8-0) talks with BloodyKnux.com about his upcoming fight at Operation Octagon against Casey Johnson, the history of Mikido Mixed Martial Arts in Bailey's Crossroads Virginia, training with MMA legends, and the future of the MMA scene in Northern Virginia. Be sure to follow all the local coverage of the nation's capitol's mixed martial arts scene, and tune in for coverage of the upcoming Operation Octagon event on March 20th at the Dulles Sportsplex in Sterling Virginia.
http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38639
While the rest of the MMA world was glued to CBS to watch the sport's greatest champion prove once again that he's the best, nearly 3000 local fight fans gathered in Northern Virginia for Operation Octagon IX. Joining forces with Scott Howard's Valhalla promotion, Operation Octagon upped their game adding five professional level fights to their already exciting amateur formula. The only hitch of the night was caused by the Virginia State Athletic Commission's demand that the pro fights begin promptly at 9pm, so the event an amateur under card that took place both before and after the pros did their business.
More:
http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38041
