National Cage Fighting in Tucson
By Yael Grauer on Oct 13, 2009
It was just two months ago when I was complaining to fellow MMA Opinion writer Josh Stein that there weren’t many good promotions anywhere near me. It’s bad enough that press credentials for, say, WEC are unavailable for the vast majority of online publications. But when there are great promotions offering creds but I can’t shill out the cash for airfare, gas, hotel rooms, etc. so have to stay at home anyway, I feel even worse. Unfortunately, the majority of traveling reporters (you know, the ones who not only get to cover MMA for a living but also get to put all their expenses on company credit cards) are not exactly independent reporters. What’s a fight fan/MMA writer/starving teacher to do?!
Since that time, the next best thing has happened. Not one but two promising promotions have come to fruition in Arizona. I’ve already written about WFFMMA quite a bit (any local promotion that has female fighters–real ones–gets major props from me) and then got to go to National Cage Fighting a mere week later. The event, which took place at Hi-Corbett field on October 10, drew quite a crowd with its $9 seats. After running around trying to find my promised creds (it’s the same story every time) I spotted MMA celebrity Herb Dean walking around. Dean is probably my favorite ref because he seems to make good snap decisions the vast majority of the time and doesn’t really call fights too soon. He also really knows his women’s MMA, which is refreshing.
The five pro fights were incredibly quick. Ray Robinson had a beautiful RNC transition to armbar in 17 seconds, bringing his record to 7-3 and Kenneth Mendoza to 2-5. Allen Sullivan scored a keylock in 2:19. The one pro fight that stuck out in my mind as particularly disappointing was Jacob Ortiz taking on Tim Wagoner. Ortiz said he “manhandled” Tim Wagoner, which is entirely accurate, if by “manhandling” you mean “punching in the back of the head at will” and “evading submission attempts by holding on to the cage even after far too many warnings from a ref who should have grown a pair.” (No, it wasn’t Herb Dean). Wagoner, who wasn’t exactly keeping his cool either, managed to sink in a nice knee after Ortiz lost a point for grabbing the cage. (Somehow Jacob managed to evade loss of points for the repeated punches to the back of the head.) The fight was stopped due to the cut on Jacob’s forehead. In an example of modern-day revisionist history, Ortiz has since posted an interesting youtube video in which he claims that “no one knows where (the cut) came from” but it may have been caused by “Wagner’s teeth when his mouthpiece fell out.” I think everyone present knew where the cut came from, especially those of us who were sitting with our face pressed right up against the cage. I asked Wagoner’s coach, Jeff Paulson, about it and he pointed out the impossibility (anatomically) of cutting someone’s forehead with your teeth. Paulson’s eye witness account concurs with that of everyone else who was there… Paulson recalled,
“When he came in, Tim fed him a knee, just like we trained. In all of Jacob’s previous fights, we watched him shoot in with his head down, so we practiced and anticipated it. Among all of the other drama happening with the numerous cage holds to get out of submissions and 6,7, 8 punches to the back of the head that altogether combined for only1 penalty point, Tim was still able to capitalize on what we trained and fed him a knee that cut him immediately. I expected that it would be stopped as soon as I seen how deep it was….as it was a very dangerous cut.”
Sources close to MMA Opinion reveal that Jacob Ortiz has had controversial fights before, including a loss to Eddie Arizmendi that somehow became an exhibition match after the fact. The details are unclear, but I’ll keep my watchdog hat on.
In the co-main event Dustin Phillips capitalized on the fact that Muay Thai specialist Gabe Rivas does not train on his back. The reporter sitting next to me, who was friends with Rivas, used many opportunities to inform me of my bias towards ji jitsu and said that holding position doesn’t count for points in MMA. I countered back by explaining that maintaining top position is far more crucial in MMA where judges don’t realize how dangerous one could be off their back… and that holding a dominant position may not be worth a lot in MMA but it’s certainly better than being held in a bad position. Anyway, Phillips did more than just hold position in the second round, getting some ground and pound in with punches and elbows from the top in addition to advancing position. Rivas did manage to sink in a guillotine and get out of side control and on his knees and even attempt a rear naked choke. He was reversed, stacked and ultimately lost by what I thought was a very fair decision.
In the other co-main event, Shannon “the Cannon” Ritch (who was signing autographs of an ESPN magazine article that was basically making fun of him for having so many losses on his record) surprised the crowd by scoring a heel hook in only 23 seconds in a bout with Marcus Gaines. (Take that, Jeff MacGregor! You’re a writer, not a fighter.)
There were 9 amateur bouts. Former NFL lineman Travis Scott scored an awesome rear naked choke in a 57 second bout against Rudy Verdugo. And Stephen Watson got a nice guillotine in 2:21 versus Ashley Gagnon. Mitch Wheeler from Lion’s Den scored a decision win against Lionel Dagrah. Kevin Henderson tapped out Richard Swalve Jr. by kimura. Kavi McAleavy attempted a triangle on his opponent Art Salcido and transitioned to straight arm bar in 1:30. Stone Manako and the much older Richard Swalve went at it in a heavyweight bout–trading punches back and forth in a stand-up war. Swalve was ahead after the first round. In the second Manako had him up against the cage and got a takedown to mount and some ground and pound for the win. 165-lber Nadeem Al-Hassan looked a bit off during his bout with Benny Madrid and was ultimately knocked out. 170-lber Jaime Guiterrez somehow scored an armbar win in a bout I was sure he was going to lose as Sean Scott seemed far more skilled and technical.
There was one amateur bout that really stood out for me. Larry Esparza, who appeared to be favored to win based on the long list of credentials read off by the announcer, came out to the cage. (I didn’t realize they did Greco Roman wrestling championships in high school.) But then Cale Errigo came out, and I knew he had a good shot because he’s my favorite vegetable. The Jamie Varner tattoos are also usually pretty indicative of a champion spirit. Cale dominated the first round, scoring a picture perfect takedown and taking Esparza’s back and attempting a rear naked choke. Somehow he ended up on his back at the end. In round 2 Cale continued to take down Esparza at will before getting caught in an arm bar just over a minute into the second round. It was a great battle between two dynamic and skilled 155 lbers–can’t wait to see either one of these class acts fight again.
All in all, a great night of fights. It’s just exciting to see so many MMA fights popping up right in my home town… maybe NCF will take WFFMMA’s lead and put a female fight on a future card in which case I’d be all over it. Here’s hoping!
Filed Under: UFC
I have to agree that the ESPN article written by Jeff MacGregor was just plain rude. The fact that Shannon was signing them is just another testament to what a really cool guy he is. He just loves the sport and the fans.
Shannon is an awesome man as well as a gladiator!! Alot of people from the fighters to the promoters but especially the fans owe a debt of gratitude to him because many times there wouldn’t have been a show if it wasn’t for him. From taking on anyone at the last minute to bringing in a whole team to complete a show that would have otherwise been cancelled, Shannon loves the sport. Everyone wants a great fight record but the true record is that of your deeds, your attitude, your example and your commitment to your craft. Shannon has shown these traits throughout his career and anyone who knows him or follows his career knows this to be true.
There are always those who will find things to pick at a person about but those people are usually jealous or trying to make a name or statement for themselves by putting others down.
I saw him fight recently in Amarillo. The other fighter didn’t make weight. They were the main event and the fans would have been greatly disappointed as another match had been to be cancelled from the show already. Shannon agreed to fight and also negotiated a payday for the overweight fighter. ESPN Magazine had been there with him that week. He spent alot of his time making a dream come true for a little boy with luekemia, spending time with him at the hospital and carrying the young boy on his shoulders into the ring. It was an emotional show for Shannon regardless, carrying the dreams of a sick little boy on the anniversary of the death of his own mother, who died in 1993 from lung cancer.
All the fighters are more than winners or losers, more than hero’s they are men. Each with their own path and I have been proud to walk along side “Shannon the Cannon” my brother, my friend.
I really like Shannon Ritch. The more I read about him, the more I like the guy.
Apart from the fact that ESPN magazine, generally, has plenty of idiots on staff, they should have the decency not to run an attack piece on Ritch, especially given the depth of opposition in his record.
If he was 0-67, I’d feel differently, but the guy’s basically got a 40% win percentage. He’s not a Scott Blevins or a Joseph Bochenek.
Not to mention he’s fought some legends, even many who outweigh him by a ton. Mad respect to the Cannon.
Hi, yes, Jake didn’t post that video online, I did. I made it without his knowledge.
I now a little more facts into the subject. Jacob is an extraordinary athlete that does not except loss by corrupt politics or misfortune accidents.
No one has “beat” Jake in the cage.
Jake went to fight Arizmenzi(EA) pro, but the corrupt RITC cooked the fight because EA is sponser child of the native American casino who pays the RITC. Frankly, there where no scorecards kept, because the RITC thew out the AZ Boxing commission licenced judges by switching pro contract to exhibition one minute before the fight. Also because EA could not make wieght (199 and supposed to be 185, RITC lied about that to and shaved 10 pounds) and would not have to if it was exhibition. So how could you judge a fight that went the distance, were one fighter grounded and pounded the other 5 times to none, landed more strikes in the 1st and 3rd period and not be called the victor? UFC give points for ring control and strikes, not Roland who is a total duech bag.
Tim Wagner fight… The fight was so short, but it was easy to see Jake was stronger and more aggressive then Tim and landed about 60 shots to about 3. He did briefly grab the cage for 2 seconds, while standing over his opponent, but he didn’t get any advantage from it. He did it again for about half a second, and ref warned him. Jack went down to top mount his opponent again, but wagner kept trying to look to one side in order to avoid blows to his his face. Jacob did accidentally hit time twice on the back of the head, not really direct hits, but kind of blindly shovel hits. The other shots where to his ear and completely legal. The ref gave the warning and about 10 seconds later deducted a point for a shot that was to Wagners shoulder, which appeared to the nervous ref a head shot. Jacob stood up and hit Tim with body shots and some head shots and received a new that didn’t look like it connected directly to the head, but to the shoulder, but the better video will reveal the actual. I think the cut was during a headbutt while they where exchanging standing up on the side of the cage.
In all Jakes 3,500 fans all boo’d Tim and the Ref out the Arena for just a Terrible job, and then Tim’s Crack head antics after his lucky decision. I can tell you Tim was so emotional because he had experienced a bout with a fighter similar to the Terminator! Jake would have continued to chase, ground, and pound Tim all around the cage with his head split open.
Jake is a true warrior and we will see great things from him in the future.
I was at the fight sitting right by the cage–and on the side that they were actually fighting, not on the side you were at where the video was shot from. And what I saw was NUMEROUS cage grabbings. I heard the numerous warnings from the ref. AND I saw at least EIGHT punches to the back of the head and heard many warnings for that as well. There was another reporter sitting right next to me, again mere inches from the cage, who can corroborate the story so your revisionist history ain’t gonna fly.
Also the point deducted was for fence grabbing, not for the punches.
I’ve met Jake before and he seemed like a nice guy but as a reporter I call them as I see them.
Btw,I got an e-mail from Jeff MacGregor in which he argued that his story “made a pretty compelling case toward the nobility of Shannon’s persistence and determination.” The hell?
Just to clear things up about the Jamie Varner tattoos, he actually got those tattoos after Cale Errigo and asked Cale Errigo if it was ok to get them. Cale Errigo was present at the time of the star tattoos.
Another thing that most people might not know is the author of this MMA article was a competitor this weekend at the Southwest classic and was a medal winner. A big congrats to our author!!!!
I’ve heard a lot of people say that Shannon Ritch has done shady things in the past, like stealing money from a benefit show. I don’t know him in person and I have no idea if the accusations are real, but there are many people on the mma.tv UG that hate his guts for some reason.
It was for the head punches…The ref put his hand behind his own head and then said…1 point. Good stuff posting this on mmaoppions.com. That’s why this is your opinion and your posting. Anyone cage said would have seen the back of the head pat.
Jake gained hundreds of fans position nothing but good comments on his social networking sites and video. Like me and everybody else saw about that exciting fight was that Jacob came to fight, and Tim came to cry.
(sorry, I need to proof read before I post)
It was for the head punches…The ref put his hand behind his own head and then said…1 point. Good stuff posting this on mmaoppions.com. That’s why this is your opinion and your posting. Anyone cage side would have seen the back of the head pat.
Jake gained hundreds of fans posting nothing but good comments on his social networking sites and video. Like me and everybody else saw about that exciting fight was that Jacob came to fight, and Tim came to cry.
Sorry Cale, was not aware of that. My bad.
Oh yeah, you’re right–I remember now. I just remember the ref screaming over and over again how he was gonna take a point away if Jacob grabbed the fence again and then when he immediately grabbed the fence he just said “stop grabbing the fucking fence” (in a British accent). In any case I’ve never seen such a blatant disregard for the basic rules of MMA.
Mitch also won his fight, that was also wrong in you story. When is HD Net airing all these fights? I’d like to see them, I bet they’ll be realllll helpful!
My bad–I corrected that error after verifying with Lion’s Den. What happened was that we were given a fight card that had the names in blue and red–presumably one for the blue corner and one for the red corner. But in the actual fight the corners were reversed. We thought it was only correct for the first fight but must’ve been wrong. But I stand behind everything I wrote about the back of the head punches and cage grabbing. And honestly it is hard to say who would’ve been the better fighter since if there was no cheating going on it would’ve been a different fight. That was a great knee though.
I’m going to contact the other reporter who was with me who witnessed the same thing I did. We are independent reporters. I sometimes make errors which I’m not afraid to admit. Mitch was obviously one of them… also I did not do the write-up immediately following the fights as I normally do because I was competing the very next day at the BJJ tourney (thanks Cale for the props) so some inaccuracies are to be expected. Was disgusted by Jacob’s behavior however and if I see anything like it again I’ll continue to write about it.
Im glad to see you are writing about me! “Any publicity is good publicity”. You are disgusted with me “because of my actions”! “you are disgusted of me, for taking whats mine”! You are disgusted with me, “because I am not afraid to take a point in order to crush my opponent”! I am a modern day Gladiator”! “When a lion is Hungry he eats” (Kobe the Stunna 2009).
And thanks for writing the biggest article about me!
I heard Jake doesn’t even train with a team or in a real gym! I heard he trains underground in an old abandoned mine shaft a mile below the ground under the old Copper Mining Town of San Manuel, AZ… with the devil himself!
HAHA!
I heard he trains with a couple mutated Gold Miners that never left the site which gained super human strength from all the gasses underground, and they gave him super human strength!
Ask Tim Wagner how strong he was.
Yael, Your BLIND as a Bat if you said you watched the fights from cage side. You know nothing about fighting, just what someone instructs you, your not born for the sport. Your just bioestly telegraphing your story from the eyes of the opposing.
If anything, I’d be biased (er, I mean, bioest) in favor of Ortiz. He wrestled for one of my coaches, who I have more respect for than almost anyone.
Here’s another video of Ortiz grabbing the cage… *sigh*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvOfQ3C0IzU
This article has all kinds of links to it on the web, im surprised. I did think that Kobe was dominating the fight up to the point the ref had to stop it because of a cut on the forehead. As far as holding the cage, I dont know any professionals that haven’t used the cage slightly. Tim used it to keep the stunna from pounding his head in the opening seconds during the first ground and pound.
You see Tim putting his toes into the cage..lol…pushing off and resting his legs there so that stunna didnt ground and pound him during full mount. That’s illegal right? Write about that.
I see deigo sanchez, hector lambard, chuck lidell, everyone always always holds on slightly, its instinct. Plus stunna was just leaning on it, not really holding on for dear life like you said. I saw stunna land 35 strikes during that 2.5 minutes. Stunna had 100% of the ring control including full mounting, half mount and stand up against wagner. Wagners frist armbar attempt at the start was unsuccessfuly, stunna just shook him off and got full mount. Wagner never had any heel hooks or leg bars, but was holding on to them for dear life.
Wagner got a huge break when the ref stood them up from the point deduction. During stand up, he was also then outmatched by stunna, but got a knee in that didnt make the stunna even flinched, I still dont know if that really made the cut, but its possible. Stunna kept punching and bumping wagner forcefully into the cage and fight revolved halfways around the cage walls. Many headbutts could have happend there. Then reff stopped the fight because of the cut.
Now to say that Stunna was not dominating up to that point would be a lie. Stunna landed over 35 strikes, Wagner 1, Stunna mounted Tim twice, Tim none, Submissions Stunna 0, Tim 0, Deducting 1 point from Stunna for head punch. Up to that point I scored the fight 7-10, or 7-9 with the point. Ref was doing his job, but I think fight could have went till end of round. Wagner was already done, you could see it in his eyes, he was leaning over in pain after the ref stopped it, then he was so surprised the medical stopped it and he got the technical knock out due to cut, he jumped around like he was smoking rocks. That was definitely, his LUCKY DAY!
Unless you train to win buy cutting people, you need to put razor blades, thumbtacks in your gloves to get wins. Cuts happen, I’m sure the intention of his knee was to got a KO or hurt stunna, but that didn’t happen at all. It was misfortune that a cut had to be the deciding factor of that fights ending.
Take a look at another fight that suffered a similar decision.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3999551474389660793&ei=PRnaSo2lK4ycwgPnlqBB&q=fedor+s+only++loss&hl=en#
I bet Tim wont want a rematch because he knows he cant beat the stunna or what happened in that video might happen to him.