International Combat Events (ICE) returned to Metropolis Night Club, in search of restitution from the last Nov. show that had numerous fighters from NY pull out at the last second. Monte Cox and Kerry Schall returned with a new line-up that was sure to please the capacity crowd in attendance and with an unreal 20 fights on the card, there was plenty of KO’s and submissions for everyone. The line up featured young guns Kenny Jerrell and Eric Meyer battling it out for the coveted ICE 155 lb. championship, and ICE stars Trevor Garrett and Ron Fields returning to face stiff competition. The main difference between this ICE show and the past, was the addition of a 170 lb. and 155 lb. tournament. These tournaments would decide who would possibly be fighting for the 170 lb championship and who would stake their claim as the number one contender for the 155lb title. The rundown of the night’s action is as follows…

Chris Malgeri vs. Nathan Haller

The night started off with 1 st round action in the 155 lb. tournament. Chris Malgeri, traveling all the way from Martial Arts Unlimited in Michigan , and took on local Cincinnati product and Killingfields member Nathan Haller. Malgeri came out as the aggressor and was able to get the initial takedown on Haller. Haller defended well from the bottom and almost got caught in a kimura, but was able to escape. With Malgeri attempting to gain the mount, Haller reversed to gain the top position but from there, Malgeri worked his was off the fence to take the back of Haller and immediately transitioned into a beautiful armbar. With no escape, Haller was forced to tap at 53 seconds into round 1.

Dwayne Bowser vs. Jason Halderman

Continuing with the 155 lb. tournament, next up was Dwayne Bowser out of Monroe Martial Arts in Middletown , OH taking on Covington , KY and Meat Truck Inc. product Jason Halderman. With a huge crowd cheering on its local fighter, Halderman looked to take the fight to the ground while Bower looked to strike early. Unable to stop the takedown, Bower pulled guard while Halderman worked his way out. Bower had no answer as Halderman gained the mounted position and began pouring down with the punches. Unable to buck Halderman off, Bower gave up his back and Halderman easily locked in a rear naked choke and forced Bower to tap at 1:14 of round 1.

Sal Agrusa vs. Scott Hill

The 3 rd fight began the 170 pound tournament action with Sal Agrusa out of Tracy ’s Kempo in Michigan against Scott Hill from Patton’s Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn , OH . Agrusa pushed the early action getting the initial takedown and forced Hill into the fence. Hill defended in the half guard well, neutralizing the attack of Agrusa and escaping out of round 1 relatively unharmed.

Round 2 began the same way as round 1, with Agrusa getting the takedown and trying to pound from the top. Unable to do any significant damage from the top position, Agrusa attempts a very ill timed armbar and Hill easily escaped and came within a heartbeat of sinking in a rear naked choke. To Agrusa’s credit, he fought it off and was able to reverse the position and land a few punches before the bell rang ending round 2.

No real game plan changes as Hill was again unable to defend the takedown attempt and Agrusa again found himself working from the guard. Knowing he was behind in the fight, Hill attempted a kimura with his back up against the fence. Hill pulled the right arm of Agrusa and slowly moved it up higher and higher up Agrusa’s back. Agrusa’s corner men shouted instructions to roll out of the hold, but Hill held on tightly. Unfortunately, time was not on Hill’s side as round 3 ended with Agrusa still fighting off the kimura. In the end, the takedowns and pounding was more than enough for Agrusa as he pulled out the unanimous decision victory.

Tyler Combs vs. Phil Bowen

“Tyrant” Tyler Combs of the Killingfields battled Indiana fighter Phil Bowen in another match in the 170 lb. tournament. As Combs attempted the takedown, Bowen was ready and locked in a tight guillotine choke against the fence. Arching his back, Bowen put a lot of pressure onto the neck of Combs and although Combs tried to slip out, and even began throwing body shots hoping to escape it was not enough. Bowen was unfazed by the shots and refused to let the choke go. Suddenly Combs collapsed and referee Franklin saw enough and called a halt to the fight at :48 seconds of round 1.

Juan Ortiz vs. Greg LaJoye

1 st round 170 lb. tournament action found Team Voodoo member Juan Ortiz taking on Indiana fighter Greg LaJoye in a stand up battle. Both were looking to hand heavy shots, but it was Ortiz landing the more significant blows. After eating a few solid shots, LaJoye attempted a takedown, which Ortiz defended well, unable to take down Ortiz, LaJoye was forced to trade and found himself eating a big left hook and was KO’d for his efforts at 1:18 of round 1.

Jason West vs. Vito Woods

Another 1 st round match up in the 170 lb. division found Middletown , OH fighter Jason “The Fury” West taking on Vito “the Bulldog” Woods out of Team Bushido in Michigan . West was able to get the initial takedown and even worked his way to full mount but no real damage was inflicted as Woods held on tight and even was able to reverse the position. Unfortunately, the round came to a close as neither fighter was able inflict any real damage on their opponent. Both rounds 2 and 3 found West attempting the takedown and getting it most of the time. Woods did defend well and worked his way out of numerous submission attempts but in the end, West was closer to submitting Woods, once by rear naked choke and once by triangle, and the judges awarded West with a Majority decision over a very game Woods.

Other ICE action was as follows…

ICE veteran Gerald Pearson used his dominant strength and experience to overwhelm Lima , OH fighter Leonard Smith. After executing a huge slam on Smith, Pearson was able to take his back and landed some devastating punches which forced referee Rich Franklin to call a stop to the contest at 1:23 of round 1.

Meat Truck Inc. fighter Justin McElfresh, coming off a close decision loss to Eric Thompson at ICE 11, took on Brian “Holla” Wilson in a Light Heavyweight match up. After landing two Semmy Schilt like jabs, Wilson was down for the count at :52 seconds of Round 1.

Chris Harrison, representing the very interesting Wendy’s Show Club in Iowa , took on Dave Danner out of the Universal Fighting Gym in Charleston , SC in the 9 th fight of the evening. Harrison used his wrestling ability to takedown Danner and landed some big shots in the process. Unfortunately, Danner gave Harrison his back and after shot after shot, Danner was forced to tap at 1:51 of round 1.

Pennsylvania fighter Mike Fusco displayed his submission talent while his opponent Ricky Cain displayed his ability to take pain in the 10 th fight of the evening. Cain escaped two deep armbar attempts by slamming Fucso’s head onto the floor, the third attempt was the charm as Fusco was finally able to lock in an armbar forcing a very game Ricky Cain to tap at 1:49 or round 1.

The winner of the 155 pound tournament was decided in the 11 th fight of the night. Covington product Jason Halderman used his experience and takedown ability to finally lock in a kimura, forcing Chris Malgeri to tap at 2:14 of round 1. Halderman nows positions himself for a title shot against the winner of the Jerrell and Meyers fight on a later ICE card.

Semifinal fight #1 of the 175 lb. tournament did not last long as Phil Bowen snuck in a quick armbar to catch a surprised Sal Agruso, forcing him to tap at 1:03 of round 1.

In semifinal fight #2, Sam Ortiz and Vito Woods (Woods was filling in for an injured Jason West) each had numerous reverses and each had their moments, but it was Ortiz in the end who landed the bigger shots in the heated exchange and forced Woods to tapout from strikes at :30 seconds of round 2. With each win, both Bowen and Ortiz now find themselves possibly fighting for the 175 lb. ICE title in the very near future.

In Heavyweight action, 300 lb. Steven “Lamb Chop” Banks used his quickness and strength of fend off 350 lb. Mike “the Demon” Williams, eventually catching him with a fury of punches ending the fight. Banks was awarded the technical knockout in a quick :36 seconds of round 1

ICE veteran and local fan favorite Trevor Garrett returned to the ICE stage to face London , OH fighter Josh Cain in Heavyweight action. Trevor “The Experiment” Garrett, who was coming off a very close and controversial decision loss to former UFC champion Dave Menne, was focused on ending the fight in dramatic fashion. Cain was able to secure the first takedown of the fight, but made a huge mistake of trying to stand up. As he was trying to stand up, Garrett grabbed his ankles, and pulled Cain to the floor and immediately leaped on top. Cain did do well to avoid the onslaught of punches being thrown by Garrett but as they stood up, Garret landed a barrage of punches forcing referee Franklin to stop the fight at 1:02 of round 1.

The semi main event of the evening would crown the new 155 lb. ICE champion. Both Eric Meyer and Kenny Jerrell won their matches at ICE 11 to set the stage at ICE 13 for the final showdown. Meyer, fighting out of Team Voodoo, had UFC and Euphoria veteran Rich Clementi in his corner providing instructions throughout the contest. Round 1 began with Meyers looking to take Jerrell down to the floor and establishing the early advantage. After getting the takedown, Meyers pushed Jerrell up against the octagon fence and began raining down punches to the head and face of Jerrell. Jerrell did defend well, deflecting most of the punches with his arms and hands and looked for his opening. As Meyers continued with his onslaught, Jerrell was able to catch an offguard Meyer and was able to reverse him to take the advantage and from there, Jerrell dropped bomb after bomb, opening a cut and bloodying the nose of Meyer. Eventually, a few solid punches landed with no defense and referee Franklin had no choice but to call a halt to the contest at 3:08 of round 1. Kenny Jerrell becomes the new ICE 155 lb. champion.

The main event of the evening pitted ICE favorite Ron “Killing” Fields taking on tough newcomer Jake “Rattlesnake” Shelton . Fields has greatly improved numerous aspects of his fight game, which he proved with a big win against Chris Fontaine and a tough battle against UFC veteran FalanikoVitale at Superbrawl. He has opened his way into bigger fights, but needed to keep the streak going against Shelton , who normally walks around at 270 lbs. but weighed in at 230 for this fight. Round 1 began with Fields landing early shots with Shelton slowly looking for his opening. As Fields began to throw a kick, Shelton found his opening and landed the takedown on Fields. From there, Shelton displayed his strength advantage by landing some big shots on Fields. Fields, who is notorious for being able to slip punches from the bottom, did well to deflect most of the power and even attempted a few submissions, but was unsuccessful. The round ended with Fields still on the bottom, but Shelton seemed to be tiring a bit.

Round 2 was the turning of the tide as Fields began to take control of the fight. With Shelton tiring, Fields began to see the openings to strike and he took full advantage. Fields landed numerous right hands and visibly stunned Shelton with a big knee when he was slouched over. Wincing in pain, Shelton was finally able to press Fields against the fence, but with Fields smelling blood, it was his fight to take. Fields was able to push Shelton off and again landed a few solid blows, with a right hand landing and dropped Shelton . Fields continued his winning streak with a TKO over a very tough Shelton at 1:12 of round 2. With this win, Fields again secures himself for the bigger shows, and he told this reporter, that he is now headed to fight in a K-1 Heavyweight tournament as well as Travis Fulton in the near future.

Overall, ICE 13 made up for the last ICE show last Nov. With only two fights going the distance, the action was plentiful and completely non-stop. After speaking to a few fans after the show, everyone was in agreement that the ICE shows keep getting better and better. With the sport growing at a brisk pace, the competition also grows as well as new, young up and comers attempt to prove themselves worthy of entering the ICE cage. If you are in the Cincinnati , OH area and are an MMA fan, the ICE show is definitely one attraction well worth the trek to see.

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