Mike Davis’s United Combat League put on their annual charity event, Season’s Beatings. The night of action took place at the Local 399 Union Hall in downtown Chicago. The night of action featured ten amateur mixed martial arts fights. All of the proceeds from the night went to Folds of Honor which provides scholarships to families of fallen soldiers. Davis stated that at least a full scholarship was raised.

The main event featured James Waller taking on Jimmy Moreno for the vacant light heavyweight title. The first round was a crazy back and forth boxing battle with both Waller and Moreno landing clean shots on the other. Moreno was looking to counter Waller’s punches and as such landed more in the round giving him the round. The second round Moreno switched things up and took Waller down. The entire round was spent on the canvas as Moreno transitioned from side control to mount to back mount. Waller kept trying to escape and toyed with being mounted or having Moreno take his back. Moreno was looking for a rear naked choke but when he couldn’t get it, he threw punch after punch. The third round Waller’s right eye looked nearly swollen shut and was caught with a right hand by Moreno. Moreno either didn’t realize it landed or was trying to set something else up as he didn’t follow. The two set their feet and started throwing. Moreno landed first and it seemed like Waller was going to go down, but then a perfectly placed right hook by Waller sent Moreno crashing to the canvas in a crazy knockout.

The co-main event featured David Hammonds taking on the crowd favorite Quinn Corbett. Corbett had a massive height advantage over Hammonds, but Hammonds immediately closed the distance and took him down right away. Hammonds postured up and started to throw left hand after left hand and Corbett was in trouble and tapped to the strikes.

After the break heavyweights Jeff Szakas and Eric Bucio took the cage. Szakas swarmed Bucio and pressed him against the cage. He was working for a takedown and got it, keeping all of his weight on top of Bucio. Bucio sat up and worked punches to the head of Szakas and after several went through clean Szakas tapped to the strikes.

Todd Wilson and Andrew Munoz were up before the intermission and they put on a fantastic fight. Munoz came out swinging and then shot for a takedown, but Wilson worked for a guillotine choke. It looked tight, but Munoz continued to move and worked his way out. The two stood up and Wilson dropped Munoz, but Munoz was quick to secure an armbar. Wilson stood up, curled Munoz who was on his arm, and then slammed him to the canvas to break the submission. He landed a couple of punches from on top before he stood up. Munoz then took him down and landed in side control. Wilson tried to escape but Munoz took his back and sunk in a fight ending rear naked choke.

The longest entrance award goes to Juan Tapia as his song was over halfway done playing before he came out against Bryan Titus. He also scored one of the fastest wins of the night as Titus immediately shot for a takedown and Tapia grabbed a guillotine. At first it was standing, but then he pulled guard and was able to tighten the choke and force the tapout at 31 seconds into the fight.

A quick bout between Eric Siciliano and Terry Little. Siciliano came out swinging and Little tried for a double leg takedown. Siciliano sprawled and defended then took Little’s back. He threw multiple punches earning the technical knockout.

Lawrence Sieber dropped Chris McDonough at the start of the fight. He pounced and it looked like the fight was going to be stopped, but the ref let the fight continue. McDonough and Sieber clinched and worked knees. McDonough took Sieber down and then worked punches. He took the mount and threw punch after punch. Sieber didn’t defend and the ref stopped the fight.

Andrew West came out swinging against Trevor Relyea and didn’t let up until the fight was over. West quickly charged Relyea and landed punch after punch. He threw a knee that looked clean, but Relyea said it was low and a time out was called. After the restart West continued to throw punch after punch. Relyea tried to take the fight to the ground, but West reversed. The two stood up and West again charged Relyea working punches against the cage. Relyea ducked down for a single leg, but West got his arm around the throat of Relyea and squeezed. Relyea gave a thumbs up, then his knees buckled and the ref stopped the fight.

Bit of a controversy between Augie Rodriguez and Robert Little. The first round Rodriguez took Little down and worked small punches from side control. He got too top heavy and Little was able to roll him over and worked on top. Little tried for a keylock to finish Rodriguez off, but it wasn’t there. Little was too high and Rodriguez was able to sweep him. Little gave up his back and Rodriguez finished the round with punches. The second round Little came out with a front kick and Rodriguez caught it and took him down. They got back up, but again the fight went to the ground. Rodriguez was working for a kimura or a straight arm armbar and Little started yelling while trying to muscle his way out. He did it a couple of times and the ref took it as a verbal submission and called the fight.

Kicking off the night of action was Jason Crose taking on Gilbert Grappling’s Justin Hughes. The two were quick close the distance and started throwing right hands at each other. Hughes ducked under and picked Crose up, slamming him to the canvas. He moved from side control to mount and threw a couple of punches. Crose tried to escape by giving up his back, but Hughes unloaded a flurry of punches forcing the ref to stop the fight.

Quick Results
Justin Hughes defeated Jason Crose by technical knockout at 0:35 of round one
Augie Rodriguez defeated Robert Little by verbal submission (Americana) at 1:47 of round two
Andrew West defeated Trevor Relyea by rear naked choke at 2:27 of round one
Chris McDonough defeated Lawrence Sieber by technical knockout at 2:20 of round one
Eric Siciliano defeated Terry Little by technical knockout at 0:41 of round one
Juan Tapia defeated Bryan Titus by guillotine choke at 0:31 of round one
Andrew Munoz defeated Todd Wilson by rear naked choke at 1:52 of round one
Eric Bucio defeated Jeff Szakas by submission due to strikes at 0:58 of round one
David Hammonds defeated Quinn Corbett by tapout due to strikes at 0:13 of round one
James Waller defeated Jimmy Moreno by knockout at 0:23 of round three

November seems to be shaping up extremely well for Chicagoland fans of mixed martial arts.  As of this writing there’s three amatuer shows and two pro-am shows that will be taking place in the greater Chicagoland Area.

Up first is Total Fight Challenge as they return to the Willowbrook Ballroom on Friday, November 9th.  No fights have been announced yet, but fighters from Goytia’s Martial Arts, Elite Performance, Uflacker Jiu Jitsu, Chicago Fight Team, No Comment, Team No Ego, Top Notch, Colon’s Martial Arts and more will be represented.  Tickets start at just $35 and more information can be found at www.totalfightchallenge.com

On Saturday November 10th there’s two shows.  Hidden Talent MMA returns to the Libertyville Sports Complex for their second event.  Our very own Mike Finch will be fighting that night in his third amateur fight of his career.  Tickets for the event can be purchased at http://www.localmmatickets.com/fighter/Mike-Finch-1298.html

Also on November 10th, Hoosier Fight Club is back with HFC 13.  The night will be a pro-am event headlined by Josh Shockley taking on Mike Cannon.  Other local favorites on the card include Danny morales, Lloyd Carter and Terry House.  Tickets and info can be found at www.hoosierfightclub.com

Continuing on to November 14th, United Combat League once again invades Bourbon Street.  The long standing Brawl @ Bourbon Street is one of the most popular amateur events in the area that is almost always a sell out crowd, even on Wednesday nights.  For more information on this card visit www.uclmma.com

Finally, XFO returns on November 17th to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.  Headlining the pro-am card is Adam Maciejewski versus Miodrag Petkovich.  Other notables on the card include XFC open tryout winner Daniel Vizcaya, Daniel Aguirre, a great battle between Phil Williams and Andre Feliciano, a flyweight fight between Joey Diehl and Jerald WIlliams, the return of Ramy Daoud, Christian Reynoso takes on Jeff Lavalee and Charles Radtke makes his pro debut.  Tickets to the event can be purchased at http://www.localmmatickets.com/get-tickets/2314.html

United Combat League put on their sophomore event at Bobak’s Signature Room in Woodridge, Illinois. The night of action was kicked off with two amateur kickboxing matches that got the crowd into the fights. The rest of the night showcased twenty amateur mixed martial arts fighters headlined by James Waller and Andrew Potapenko.

Waller rushed in at the start of the main event, but Potapenko was ready and landed a counter. He then threw a kick, but it was Waller’s turn to counter punch. Potapenko pulled guard as he had a good grip on the arm of Waller, but Waller started to throw bomb after bomb to get free. Potapenko tried to threaten a submission with his legs, but Waller opted to stand up and trade. Potapenko immediately clinched and Waller tripped the legs out from under Potapenko. Unfortunately for Waller he was reversed and Potapenko spent the last seconds of the round trying to pass to mount.

The second round Waller swarmed again, this time landing a knee. Potapenko wanted a takedown, but Waller countered with a guillotine. Potapenko popped free and landed an uppercut. Waller stepped back but a left hook landed flush and dropped him. Potapenko rushed and looked for the quick finish but Waller was able to recover. Potapenko adjusted his positioning, passed to mount and landed a big right hand. The right was enough to have Waller stop defending and the ref jumped in and stopped it.

The co-main event featured Kalee Howell taking on Deandra Brenn. Brenn took the fight to Howell immediately taking her down. She got the mount and started to throw punch after punch, but was holding the cage and was stood up with a warning. After the restart, Brenn again got the takedown and battled Howell. Brenn had a choke of some sort, but couldn’t secure a finish. The second round Brenn again scored the takedown. She immediately passed to mount but started to ride up to high. As she was attempting to sit back down, Howell muscled her way to a reversal. Brenn’s head was pushed against the cage and Howell unloaded with every bit of strength she had left. Brenn wasn’t defending enough and the ref stopped the fight.

David Mitchell rushed Hassan Umer at the start of the bell for a takedown, but Umer defended it well. He then dropped for a single leg takedown of his own, but Mitchell wanted a guillotine. Umer popped free from the submission and then scored another takedown. Mitchell gave up his back and Umer sunk in a rear naked choke. After a small grip adjustment, Mitchell was forced to tap.

There were back-to-back knockouts, both ending quickly. First up James Camisa took a big punch from Skylar Lindsey, but then countered and dropped Lindsey. He followed up with two short punches as the ref pulled him off, but they were unneeded. Just after Xavier Guzman took on Matt Colt. Colt came out with kicks, while Guzman wanted to counter. Another counter by Guzman that lands and Colt is unconscious.

Shane Camp and Mike Murphy should both be awarded a tough-to-finish award. In the first round Murphy defended a takedown attempt and worked for a D’Rce choke. He couldn’t get it, and switched to a guillotine choke. Again he couldn’t finish, so he let it go and took Camp’s back. He rode the back of Camp to mount and back all the while throwing punches. Camp tried to roll out, and Murphy used the opportunity to try for an arm triangle choke. He had it in deep, but couldn’t get the angle as he was against the cage as time ran out. The second round Murphy landed a right and Camp returned the favor. This time Camp defended the takedown attempt and wound up with a top mounted guillotine. He tried to adjust several times, but eventually he was too high and had to let go of the choke. Murphy rolled him over, and Camp threatened with a kimura, but time expired. All tied up after two rounds both fighters wanted to leave it all in the cage. Murphy scored the quick takedown and both fighters worked short punches. Murphy was able to pass to side control and against wanted the arm triangle. Camp was able to escape, but Murphy was able to control the position for the rest of the round . The judges were split, but Murphy won the fight.

Heavyweight Robert Little opened the fight with a flying kick against Pete Juska. Juska was able to avoid it, but the two fighters clinched against the cage. Juska landed body punches while Little worked knees to the body. Little attempted a standing guillotine, but Juska was able to escape. Once free of the submission attempt he unloaded a barrage of punches. Little looked hurt and he immediately clinched to recover. The two fighters separate and Little slipped while back-peddling. Juska tried to rush Little, but Little was able to shoot for a takedown and got it. Little started to work hammer fists, but Juska threw his legs up and secured an armbar. He adjusted his grip and Little was forced to tap.

Mike Demakes and John Marino put on an exciting back and forth battle. Demakes scored a takedown early but Marino tried to counter with a guillotine. Marino held onto the guillotine attempt for a long time before Demakes was able to slip free. Once out he started to work punches to the ribs. He postured up and threw short jabs before settling back into the guard. Marino was looking for an arm to trap, but Demakes kept punching his way out. Marino was able to push away and stood up, but not without eating several knees on his way up. Marino returned the favor by landing a knee to the body of Demakes who crumbled to the ground. Marino swarmed, but Demakes was playing possum as he secured a triangle. He couldn’t get the leverage and let it go as time expired in the round. The second the two fighters immediately went toe-to-toe before Marino scored a takedown. Demakes was able to trap an arm and had a deep armbar. Somehow Marino escaped and he started to throw punch after punch. He took the back and continued his punching assault until the ref stopped the fight.

Jason Croses had a reach advantage over Vaughn Camacho and tried to utilize it at the start with a kick. Camacho landed a straight right hand and then clinched. The two fighters went down, then stood back up and Croses landed a big knee. The two separate and Camacho lands a great one-two combo and Croses stumbled. Camacho jumped on Croses, took his back and sunk in a rear naked choke.

Both Martin Jones and Jorge Ignacio threw feint after feint to start the fight. Neither looked like they wanted to commit to a punch, so Ignacio threw a big leg kick to start the damage. Martin looked for a jab, but Ignacio countered with an overhand right. Martin rushed in, clinched and threw knees, but Ignacio took him down for his troubles. Ignacio was able to get Martin’s back, but Martin was trying to hold the held. Once he let go, Ignacio was able to get his hooks in as well as his arm under the chin of Martin and secure the fight ending rear naked choke.

Amateur MMA Quick Results
Jorge Ignacio defeated Martin Jones by rear naked choke at 1:26 of round 1
Vaughn Camacho defeated Jason Croses by rear naked choke at 1:10 of round 1
John Marino defeated Mike Demakes by TKO at 1:34 of round 2
Pete Juska defeated Robert Little by armbar at 2:17 of round 1
Mike Murphy defeated Shane Camp by split decision
James Camisa defeated Skyler Lindsey by knockout at 0:13 of round 1
Xavier Guzman defeated Matt Colt by knockout at 0:26 of round 1
Hassan Umer defeated David Mitchell by rear naked choke at 1:44 of round 1
Kalee Howell defeated Deandra Brenn by technical knockout at 1:46 of round 2
Andrew Potapenko defeated James Waller by technical knockout at 1:06 of round 2

Muay Thai Quick Results
Nick Savino defeated Asef Aksar by unanimous decision
Jeremy Miller defeated Askar Askar by split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28

Cage provided by Kage Concepts. Visit them online at www.kageconcepts.net

Mike Davis is back with his second event under new banner United Combat League. This time the all amateur event will take place at Bobak’s Signature Room in Woodridge, Illinois.

Scheduled to fight on Thursday are two flyweight amateurs who have been making a splash on the scene as Dannie Lee and Matt Wilcox are set to throw down.

Additional fighters scheduled to appear on the card include Andrew Potapenko, James Waller, Mike Murphy and Vaughn Camacho.

The first UCL event took place at Bourbon Street and was a near sellout crowd. Impressive considering it took place on a Wednesday and was a new promotion to the venue.

For more information on United Combat League, visit them online at www.uclmma.com

United Combat League put on their first event at Bourbon Street and it was an action packed night. Headlined by Kenny Jordan and Danny Somers for the featherweight title, the night saw a total of thirteen amateur fights and was announced by Mark Nisson of ABC’s 190 North.

Kenny Jordan and Danny Somers put on one of the best amateur fights of the year. Many thought the fight would end in the first round, but the question was who would win. Jordan was quick to grab a single leg and slammed Somers down to the canvas. Somers was quick to get up and Jordan landed an accidental low knee. After the restart both fighters came out swinging. Somers looked for a takedown of his own, but Jordan defended it well. Jordan eventually gave it up, but then reversed it. From his half guard position he rained down punch after punch. He worked for a top mounted guillotine, but gave it up. Jordan ended the round diving in for a final punch.

Round two Jordan again scored a takedown. Somers showcased his flexability in working for armbars and triangles, but every time he went for a submission, Jordan postured out of the dangerous spot. Jordan eventually stood up and let Somers do the same. It was just a bait as he quickly scored another takedown, landing in side control. He trapped Somers’s arm and threw three punches before Somers escaped the bad position.

Round three Jordan tried again to get a slam takedown, but had to settle for a small trip instead. He worked several punches and as Somers was trying to escape, he spun to work a D’Arce choke. He didn’t have the angle and let go. The two stood again and Somers landed a knee scoring his first major offense of the fight. Jordan went for another takedown, but Somers reversed and worked an inverted triangle and a kimura. The crowd went wild for Somers’s submission attempt but then erupted when Jordan escaped. The judges had an easy time scoring the fight, and Jordan was crowned the new UCL featherweight champ.

Nick Garcia has been dubbed the submission magician and rightfully so. Andrew West rushed Garcia after a body kick and grabbed a guillotine. He immediately pulled guard, but Garcia jumped to side control to avoid being choked out. West held onto the choke and Garcia utilized the rarely seen Von Flu Choke and West started to squirm bad. From our point of view it wasn’t clear if West tapped or if the ref stopped the fight, but as soon as Garcia let go, it was clear that West was in trouble.

In one of the weirdest endings to a fight ever seen at MMARecap, Mike DeLaVega won after a referee stoppage in between the first and second round. DeLaVega took Rue Ben Mendez down and immediately got the mount. After some punches, Mendez gave up his arm and DeLaVega quickly tried to secure an armbar. Mendez was able to roll out of the submission and stood up. DeLaVega worked kicks while Mendez tried to score uppercuts. DeLaVega again took the fight to the ground and got the back of Mendez. He continued to throw punch after punch, all the while looking for the rear naked choke. It wasn’t there and Mendez was able to sneak out the back as time expired. In between rounds, Mendez was shaken and threw up and the ref was forced to stop the fight.

The night featured several fights that were finished by submission. Anthony Ferro threw a kick but Jason Crose caught it and took him down. Ferro quickly stood and the two fighters clinched and worked short knees against each other. Crose tried for a takedown of his own, but Ferro was able to end up on top. Crose tried to roll out from underneath, but Ferro followed him and took his back. From there he didn’t need much to secure the rear naked choke, and the tap.

Kyle Casey was able to open up a gash on Ted Green’s forehead after landing a well timed knee. Prior to the knee in the second round, Green found himself in control of the fight. He scored with several punches that seemed to daze Casey and took him down with ease. He nearly finished the fight in the first round after pinning one of Casey’s arms with his knee and rained down punches. But Casey escaped and in the second round, threw a knee as Green was shooting for a takedown. Green was on top and Casey seemed perfectly content to let Green bleed all over him. The stall tactic worked as Green was baited into an armbar. He tried to stand out of the submission, but it was too late and he was forced to tap.

Ben Carlson had the quickest submission of the night needing just twenty-four seconds to submit Clarence Harris. Carlson came out with a big left-right combo and then locked in a standing guillotine. Harris tried to fend off the submission, but Carlson just squeezed until Harris was unconscious and won the fight.

The night didn’t just have submissions, as there were several great technical knockouts. Billy Jessie seemed to have trouble early on against David Mitchell as Mitchell scored a takedown and was able to pass to mount. Jessie finally escaped out the back and immediately started laying hands on Mitchell’s face. Mitchell tried for a takedown, only this time he couldn’t lift Jessie up. The two clinched against the cage and threw some small knees at one another before being separated. Mitchell threw Jessie off with some wild punches, but was taken down as the round ended. In the second round Mitchell tried for a takedown, couldn’t get it and seemed to just crumble under the weight of Jessie. Jessie started swinging with bad intentions and the ref warned Mitchell to get out. When he couldn’t the fight was over.

Elias Cepeda had a good crowd behind him for his fight against Glenn Evans. Cepeda quickly took the fight down and while he was able to get the mount, Evans scrambled to ensure half guard. Evans tried to turn into Cepeda to escape the bad position, but Cepeda just went with it and started throwing right hand after right hand. After a short period of time the ref was forced to stop it.

What didn’t seem like the fastest knockout, actually was between Diego Cruz and Andrew Munoz. The two fighters came to the center of the cage and just started throwing wild punches at each other. Cruz landed a big knee, but Munoz didn’t seem to be affected at all as he kept coming forward. Cruz started to land big uppercuts to the body of Munoz and then he scored another knee to the midsection of Cruz. This time he looked dazed and Munoz smelled blood and went on the attack. Munoz stumbled and the crowd could sense the end was near. Cruz landed some heavy punches, almost at will and somehow Munoz was still standing. Finally a straight right drops him and the fight is over.

Quick Results
Shane Camp defeated Bob Stack by guillotine choke at 2:18 of round 2
Jason Martin defeated Darrel Edmonson by unanimous decision
Santana Adame defeated Tyler Florey by armbar at 1:00 of round 1
Elias Cepeda defeated Glenn Evans by TKO at 2:02 of round 1
Diego Cruz defeated Andrew Munoz by TKO at 1:25 of round 1
Ben Carlson defeated Clarence Harris by guillotine choke at 0:24 of round 1
Billy Jessie defeated David Mitchell by TKO at 1:30 of round 2
Kyle Casey defeated Ted Green by armbar at 1:39 of round 2
Joe Heuban defeated Mike Zahn by armbar at 2:42 of round 1
Anthony Ferro defeated Jason Crose by rear naked choke at 1:28 of round 1
Mike DeLaVega defeated Rue Ben Mendez by ref stoppage at 3:00 of round 1
Nick Garcia defeated Andrew West by Von Flue choke at 0:46 of round 1
Kenny Jordan defeated Danny Somers by unanimous decision

In this day and age, it seems like there is a new amateur mixed martial arts promotion popping up nearly every week. And most of these promotions, just tend to do a couple of shows and then fade away. But one new promotion is already turning heads with the announcement of the location of their first show.

United Combat League will be making their promotional debut at the famed home Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, Illinois with Brawl @ Bourbon Street on Wednesday, May 23.  And if the name sounds familiar, because the man behind it is Mike Davis.

The main event will feature Kenny Jordan taking on Danny Somers for the featherweight title. Tickets start at just $20 for general admission and can be purchased by calling 773-491-5052 or at the event.

UCL has put together a video hyping up the main event for the night below.