Mixed Martial Arts at Mason

By Broadside Correspondent John Porter

Fans were treated to nine action-packed bouts featuring top local and national fighters. Hometown favorite Kris McCray, fighting out of Gold Medal Grappling, increased his record to 2-0 by dominating Mannie Okorie from the get go, and sealing the deal with rear naked choke that forced Okorie to tap out in the second round.

History was also made when Iman Achhal and Felice “Lil Bulldog” Herrig stepped into the cage for the first professional woman’s MMA bout in the nation’s capital. Herrig, fighting out of Chicago, Ill., trains with former UFC champion Matt Hughes and EliteXC fighter Robbie Lawler. Herrig, a national Muay Thai champion, had a tough opponent in Iman Acchal, who was making her professional MMA debut.

Acchal, fighting out of Capital Jiu-jitsu in Alexandria, Va., came to the United States from her native country Morocco to escape an arranged marriage and has found solace in combat martial arts. She suffered from an eye that was swollen shut due to fierce strikes early in the fight. Acchal was able to pull through, stuff Herrig’s Muay Thai and score takedowns that would gain her a split decision victory over Herrig.

Another local favorite, Ron Stallings faced a tough opponent in former Green Bay Packers running back Herbert Whisper “Gorilla” Goodman. Fans found out why Goodman got the name Gorilla when he started the fight, slamming Stallings into the fence, almost sending him over the top and out the cage. As the fight progressed, Stallings found his pace and began dominating Goodman with strong punches, knees and kicks. When Goodman took the fight to the ground, Stallings was able to rely on his Jiu-jitsu to keep Goodman from landing good shots. 20 seconds before the end of the second round, Stallings connected with a knee to the former NFL player’s head, sidelining him for the night.

In another notable fight, former Tap Out show veteran, John “The Magician” Dodson faced two time National Muay Thai champion and World Muay Thai Championship finalist, Jose Villarisco.

The two fighters exchanged strong blows and displayed great grappling. Villarisco’s Muay Thai and a failed armed bar were not enough for Dodson. Dodson, who trains under Gregg Jackson in Albuquerque, N.M., had a few tricks in his bag such that his high flying kicks to the head and great takedowns took the fight by unanimous decision.

In the co-main event of the evening, International Fight League veteran Jamal “The Suit” Patterson faced Antwain “The Juggernaut” Britt. As a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter show, Britt had no answer for Patterson’s Jiu-jitsu in a fight that lasted only a couple of minutes. Patterson, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie, came out and quickly got to business. Patterson quickly recovered from a couple of failed takedown attempts to finally get Britt to the mat and finish him off with a guillotine choke.

The main event of the evening, the first MMA title fight in the history was not without its flaws. Former WEC veteran Chase Beebe was under contract to fight Mike “The Hulk” Easton, but failed to catch his flight to D.C. and ended up being a no-show. UWC and the Virginia’s sanctioning body are seeking to impose a penalty against Beebe. Beebe also has a three-fight contract with Japanese promotion Dream and is scheduled to fight two weeks from now in Japan.

On extremely short notice, Justin Robbins, a member of Matt Hughes’ H.I.T. squad out of Springfield, Ill., took the fight against Easton. According to Robbins, he was constantly training and was prepared for the fight. Robbins, stating he was going to get in the ring and fight like he was in first grade again, certainly got schooled.
Although Robbins was able to hold his own ground against Easton’s powerful strikes, he learned his lesson while on the ground. Easton finished the fight in excellent fashion, forcing Robbins to tap out in the third round of the the five-round title fight with a guillotine choke.

Once again, D.C. fans were treated to top level fights from the best MMA promotion in the Mid-Atlantic. The UWC will return to the Patriot Center on April 25 for UWC—Capital Punishment.