Colusa , California June 2nd, 2005. The first of the Gladiator Challenge Summer shows kicked off on Thursday night with big bang! Wars, dominance, action, and one of the biggest upsets in Mixed Martial Arts, described the three main events put on for the 38th installment of Tedd Williams popular caged combat event the Gladiator Challenge. Without further ado, let’s get to the action…

In what was perhaps one of the best displays of heart, courage, and lots of help from a Cinderella story that I have ever seen, Flynn Ficker took on Bo Cantrell in the main event for the Gladiator Challenge Heavyweight title. Bo Cantrell, quite possibly the meanest looking person in the world, was set to fight Dan Evensen before an unfortunate cancellation. With literally 10 minutes to go till the show kicked off, Flynn Ficker, a UC Davis wrestler weighing around 210 pounds trained by phenom Urijah Faber, took the fight against the 250 lb. Cantrell with no previous fights in mma, nor a full 10 minutes to even train! The first 4 minutes of this one had everyone in the crowd wondering why Ficker had even stepped into the ring, as he was unloaded on by flurries of connecting punches from the much larger Cantrell.

Ficker had tried repeatedly to shoot in on Cantrell, which only left him eating knees, knees and more knees in the process. There were several occasions where the referee could have stepped in where the end looked near, but it was not to be on this night. Late in the first round, a battered and beaten Ficker was able to finally secure a takedown, but unable to land any punches as time ran out. Again, I felt this fight would be called or at least have the towel thrown in. However, Cantrell looked fatigued, and with the heart of a champion, Ficker came out ready to go. For the rest of the fight, Ficker was able to absorb the punches and take Cantrell down where he used GnP tactics. Cantrell was able to sprawl on one of the shots late in the third round, but just like before, Ficker used heart to finish off the takedown, even mounting Cantrell at the end of the third round. The fight went to the judges hands, and it was going to be a close one. 29-27, 29-28, 29-28, for the winner, and new Gladiator Challenge Heavyweight Champion…Flynn Ficker!

At the beginning of the night, not one person in the arena would have thought that a 210 lb. Fighter on 10 minutes notice could even get out of the first minute, much less win, against the Gladiator Challenge heavyweight and poster boy Bo Cantrell. Enough cannot be said about what heart this fighter showed in the ring, just thinking that this guy could have fought at 185 given the proper time to train! It was a very deserving and impressive win for Ficker, and hopefully not the end of this Cinderella Story.

Right before the main event, James Fanshier, riding one of the biggest hot streaks in MMA right now, was impressive once again as he was able to finish his opponent Tommy Gouge off by mount punches in only 14 seconds of the first round. Gouge shot in, only to be tossed by Fanshier and wailed on till referee Cecil Peeples pulled off the Team X fighter. Fanshier retains the KOTC and GC Welterweight titles, and says he looks forward to the rematch against Thomas Denny, a fight he won quite impressively.

Harris Sarmiento, who watched his 808 fight team go 3-0 and dominate earlier in the night, had his chance to show why he is quickly becoming one of the best up and coming fighters in the game. Early on, he was able to hurt his opponent Chas Jaquier with takedowns and some ground and pound. After a dominant first round, Sarmiento seemed to gas, which was where Jacquier made his move and tried to finish the fight standing, coming close on several occasions. Late in the second round, Sarmiento scored a takedown and left everything he had in the cage. It might have just been what did it, as Sarmiento won a split decision against a very game and seemingly underestimated Jacquier. It was an impressive showing for both fighters, and we look forward to a possible rematch.

The rest of the results for the show are below. This was once again a very impressive show put on by Tedd Williams that had a little bit of everything, something fans of Gladiator Challenge have come to expect over the years. The next installment of Gladiator Challenge will be from the Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville California on July 17th, where Dan Severn will put his Superfight title on the line against Rick Collup.

Ed Newalu def. Josh Odam Decision (Unanimious)

Bill Duvall def. Jeff Jones Rear Naked Choke 0:33 rd. 2

Paul Weremecki def. Richard Merritt TKO 0:28 rd. 1

Dave McCabe def. Brandon Smith TKO 2:40 rd. 1

Brandon Gentry def. Carlos Guerrero Submission 1:09 red. 1

Matt Nelson def. James Sacco Submission 3:21 rd. 1

Pako Woods def. Jose Rosalas Decision 5:00

Bryson Kamaka def. Roger Jackson TKO 1:23 rd. 1

Brian Badgerow def. David Hillman Submission 0:37 rd. 1

Kenny Kingsford def. Phil Harton Submission 0:30 rd. 1

Jason Gerus def. Dan Molina Decision 5:00

Eric Gonzalez def. Lee Anderson TKO 1:14 rd. 1

Ross Clifton def. Wesley Scobee Submission 1:50 rd. 1

Harris Sarmiento Chas Jacquier Decision 5:00

James Fanshier Tommy Gouge TKO 0:14 rd.

Flynn Ficker Bo Cantrall Decision 5:00 (3 Rounds)

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