March 19th marked the second event of Sportfight, the MMA venture of Team Quest members Matt “The Law” Lindland and Randy “The Natural” Couture. Mixing pro and amateur bouts, Sportfight “On the move” featured a ten fight card with plenty of action.

March 19th marked the second event of Sportfight, the MMA venture of Team Quest members Matt “The Law” Lindland and Randy “The Natural” Couture. Mixing pro and amateur bouts, Sportfight “On the move” featured a ten fight card with plenty of action.

Reno Backstable stared the evening off with a KO over Brent Miller at 1:07 of the second round.

Brandon Melendez made the trip from Salt Lake City, Utah to take on John Paulson in a slugfest of a fight. Both men went right after each other and whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their fisticuffs. Melendez was the first to take the fight to the ground, and had to fight off a guillotine attempt by Paulson as payment. The two would find their way back to standing and end the round the same way they started, with flying hands. The remainder of the fight saw Melendez score takedowns, administer some nice shoulder shots, and employ a solid ground and pound game on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Cam Ward of Tigard, Or defeated Chris Wilson of Portland by split decision.

Next up was Enoch “Animal” Wilson who lived up to his name as he mauled veteran Shawn Cahill. (Although, “Animal” could be in reference to his frizzy hair, which does remind one of the Muppet drummer.) In any case, Wilson started the match with a big slam and continued to execute his ground and pound technique with machine-like precision. Wilson would inflict the most damage while standing in Cahill’s guard, easily defending against multiple armbar and triangle attempts. The two would find their way back to their feet, where Wilson would land big shots, rocking the overpowered Cahill on several occasions. Twice did Cahill jump on the back of Wilson trying for the standing choke, but Wilson escaped both times and resumed his onslaught. Cahill would sustain a cut that warranted a doctor check in the second round, but held on to drop a unanimous decision to the “animal”.

“Brutal” Brad Horner was armbarred at 1:15 seconds into his fight with John “Guns” Gunderson.

Charles Beasely won by TKO from strikes at 2:59 of the first round over Sebastian Rodriquez.

Dubbed the “People’s Warrior”, Josh Burkman took on Denver resident Chillo Gonzalez. Gonzalez landed the first strike with a body kick, which enabled Burkman to get the takedown. With Burkman in his guard, Gonzalez would secure a kimura from the bottom, but fail to lock his feet, which allowed Burkman to jump out and roll over as both fighters scrambled to their feet. After a brief exchange, the two clinched, Burkman took Gonzalez’s exposed neck and sat into a guillotine to end the fight at 1:58 of the first round.

Dennis “The Piranha” Davis defeated Dave Cochran by triangle at 1:45 of the first round to win the Sportfight Lightweight title.

The next match between Matt “Suave” Horwich and the man simply known as “Wrecc” (as in wrecking ball) would be for the Light-Heavyweight title. Wrecc came out with a lot of power and energy, and looked for the quick KO, while the crafty Horwich wanted the fight on the ground. Wrecc would show his strength as he threw Horwich, landing in half-guard. Horwich would achieve full guard and slow the fight down until referee Dave Hagen stood the two up. Again, Horwich tried to close the distance, clinched, and was thrown in ragdoll fashion. With Wrecc in his guard, Horwich was able to slip out the backdoor, get his opponent’s back, and secure the choke at 4:55 of the first round. “Suave” Horwich is emerging as a big fan favorite in Pacific Northwest shows. The crowd went absolutely CA-RAYYYYZEE with the tap. He got the belt, and the adoration of his PNW fans.

The main event was between Team Quest product, Heath Sims, and Brad Gumm of Littleton, Co. It was a battle between the wrestling of Sims, and the Jiu Jitsu of Gumm. There were big takedowns and lots of ground and pound action, with Sims getting the better of the very game Gumm. This would be the way the fight would go until the middle of the second round, when Sims opened up with solid punches while standing, forcing Gumm to drop to his back in defense. Sims would follow him there and nearly sink in a rear naked choke after Gumm gave up his back. Although out of the choke, Gumm ate more punches and tapped at 3:01 of the second round.

In addition to Lindland and Couture, fighters on hand included Pride standout Dan Henderson, Evan Tanner, and Benji Radach, who took on judging duties for the event. The next Sportfight event will take place on April 17th, slated as “Team Quest takes on the world”. The promising up and comers of the Team Quest stable will show that they are at the top of the heap in the Pacific Northwest. This being their second show, some of the kinks have yet to be ironed out, but the caliber of fighters was top notch, making for a very entertaining night of fights. Of course, what else could one expect from an event with two of the best fighters in the world behind it.