North Texas Fisticuffs
Winner: Johnny Bedford
In a year that saw MMA explode in popularity here in North Texas a number of extremely talented fighters have made their mark this year in the sport of mixed martial arts. However, one fighter clearly had a transcendent 2011 and that fighter was Fitness Fight Factory’s “Brutal” Johnny Bedford.
While Bedford’s name was no secret to local MMA heads here in North Texas few knew his name outside of the Lone Star State. This all changed in 2011 as Bedford landed a coveted spot in the UFC’s The ultimate Fighter reality show. Not only was Bedford prominently featured in the series, but he also exhibited his exemplary fighting talents in the biggest stage of his young career. While ultimately Bedford came short of winning the coveted prize of a six-figure UFC contract, his tenacity and marketability saw him welcomed into the promotion with a fight looming on the horizon.
Bedford is the type of person who you openly root for. Not only can the guys scrap, he’s one of the most humble, down to earth individuals you will ever meet. Not to come off as a raving fanboy, but Bedford’s the type of fighter you want your kids to idolize.
Bedford is rapidly approaching a level in MMA where he will become a household name. Not bad for a guy who use to toil in relative anonymity in small local promotions. Now, Bedford is on the big stage and that is why he is North Texas Fisticuffs 2011 MMA Fighter of the Year.
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Winner: Roberto Marroquin
It wasn’t exactly the deepest year in terns of pugilistic action here in North Texas but none the less Oak Cliff’s Roberto Marroquin demonstrated yet again why many consider him the cream of the crop of local pros.
Sure, this year saw Marroquin taste defeat as a professional for the first time in his career but as the old heads say, if you don’t have a loss then you haven’t fought anybody. Still, the testament of a true warrior is how they rebound from adversity and in that instance Marroquin showed tremendous fortitude by rallying back to close the year with a two fight win streak.
Fighting five times in a year is a good way to climb the rankings and one has to believe that this year should see Marroquin begin to see his name mentioned as a title contender. However 2012 shakes out the fact remains that Marroquin has done more than enough to garner 2011 Boxer of the Year.
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FORT WORTH, TEXAS --- After a great 2011 that saw Paulie Ayala Productions, led by former world champion and Fort Worth boxing legend Paulie Ayala, put his stamp on the Dallas-Fort Worth fight scene with the Battle of DFW and Fright Night, Paulie Ayala Productions looks to raise the stakes even greater with their first event of the year, Gloves & Guitars, on Saturday, January 28th at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Gloves & Guitars will combine an exciting night of professional boxing with 7 bouts followed by a live performance from Fort Worth’s own Tejas Brothers. The Tejas Brothers debut CD was recognized as the 7th most played album for 2009 by the American Music Association.
The card will headline Miguel “The Fighting Marine” Buendia (7-1, 4KO) against Angel Rodriguez (5-7-2, 4KO) in a lightweight battle. Local crowd favorite Buendia has rallied off 7 consecutive wins after losing his pro debut in 2009. Although Rodriguez has lost 3 straight decisions, he won’t be intimidated fighting in Buendia’s backyard. Rodriguez has been in the ring with some of the best prospects in the division including Casey Ramos, Adrien Broner and Diego Magdaleno.
Also featured on the card will be Ayala’s own Manuel “The Punisher” Rojas (3-0) who kicked off his pro career with 3 impressive wins in 2011 after a stellar amateur career which included the 2008 Junior Olympic State Championship, 2008 National Junior Olympic Finals, 2008 World Ringside Finals and 2009 National Silver Gloves Championship.
Another hot DFW prospect on the card is Samuel Clarkson (2-0, 2KO), who has two impressive 1st round knockouts in his first two pro fights. Like Rojas, Clarkson had impressive amateur career with an overall record of 54-9 that included the 2008 National Black Gloves Championship, 2009 National PAL Championship and 2011 Texas State Golden Glove Championship among his many accomplishments.
Joel Hernandez (2-1, 1KO) will look to rebound from his first pro loss, an upset 1st round knockout to Carlos Casasola on Ayala’s last card back in October. Hernandez is the younger brother of Jose “Loco” Hernandez who was the main event on that same October show and was recently signed by Frank Espinoza Boxing.
Other fighters on the card include Angel Solarzano, Arthur Trevino and John Vera.
Gloves & Guitars tickets are on sale now at www.centralticketoffice.com or charge by phone at 817-335-9000. Five hundred raffle tickets will be sold at $100
no commentsOn January 14 Element Fighting Championship will hold their innagural event at the Plano Convention Center. Headlining the card will be the increadibly baller match up between Marcus "The Wrecking Ball" Hicks and East Texas warrior Josh Lee.
Check out their promotional video below and make sure to purchase your tickets by checking out their website at www.elementMMA.com.
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Winner: Josh Montoya vs. Jason Sampson (Fight Game I, December 2011)
One of the hardest categories to pick given the staggering number of exciting fights that have taken place here in North Texas in 2011. However, one fight seems to stand out from the rest for its beautiful display of human fortitude and that was the December battle between Coppell’s Jason Sampson and New Mexico’s Josh Montoya.
There was some undeniable gravity to the fight. For one thing, the fight was a rematch of a summer bout between the two that saw Sampson win easily with a first round submission. Primarily, the majority of the hype surrounding the fight was the fact that it was the then-undefeated Sampson’s first ever fight in front of his hometown fans. On paper the fight seemed like the perfect showcase for Sampson’s incredible fighting talents but someone forgot to tell that to Montoya.
As I wrote while covering the fight:
The fight was as close as war as one will ever see as Sampson came out the gates roaring behind some vastly improved boxing and his awe-inspiring takedowns. Sampson’s relentless pressure in the opening rounds seemed to indicate that the fight would not last the scheduled rounds but Montoya would rally back in a fiercely contested second round. With this fight being a rematch of their bout in August, a fight in which Sampson emerged victorious via an armbar, Montoya apparently did his homework and worked hard to seal up his takedown defense. This paid dividends Friday night as Montoya was able to evade some of the takedown attempts Sampson threw at him. With Montoya able to stuff some of Sampson’s takedown attempts the fight became more of a stand up affair than many would have anticipated. Whereas Sampson appeared to be loading up everything on his shots, Montoya looked to simply score using quick flurries to neutralize Sampson’s advances. The third round was pivotal as both fighters attempted to leave it all on the line. While Sampson kept pressing forward Montoya would counter with quick hands and some hard body shots that looked as if they hurt Sampson. However, Sampson would end the fight strong trying in vain to end the fight with a rear naked choke.
While Sampson tasted defeat for the first time that night the fact remains that his warrior mentality won him a new legion of fans.
Photo Credit: Mike Calimbas
Winner: Miguel Buendia vs. Fernando Rodriguez (Battle of DFW, May 2011)
Few fighters guarantee an evening of excitement quite like Fort Worth’s Miguel Buendia and Dallas’ Fernando Rodriguez. Neither fighter has met a fight they didn’t like and their penchant for encaging in roaring slugfests have given them a following here in North Texas. Now, when you put the both of them in the ring together, well, explosions are imminent.
This was exactly the case last Spring as both fighters squared off in the ring much to the delight of the crowd. As our ace boxing editor Hector Sanchez wrote:
The action started to heat up in the third round with combinations from both fighters. The cut on the left eye of Buendia was noticeable as he continued to move forward against Rodriguez as they slugged it out in the middle of the ring. Rodriguez then landed a hard left, Buendia landed a good right and then Rodriguez got in a nice uppercut. They then went toe to toe at the end of the round and Buendia stared at his opponent as he went toward his corner. The hard punches continued in the fourth round with both fighters exchanging punches. Buendia then landed two hard rights to the body of Rodriguez as he laid on the ropes and covered up. Rodriguez then became the aggressor and landed two hard lefts and a right to the head of Buendia and rocked him. After a quick exchange of punches from both fighters, at the end of the round, Rodriguez’ mouthpiece fell out. Rodriguez started out the fifth with a quick left to Buendia, but Buendia continued to put the pressure on Rodriguez and stalked him around the ring. Buendia then landed some very hard punches on Rodriguez and he again shook his head as if to say “no”, and landed his own hard left to the body of Buendia. Rodriguez now had a small cut on the right side of his eye, and Buendia got him on the ropes and finished the round with a good left to the body of Rodriguez.
The entire fight was a classic back and forth slugfest of the highest order. And while Buendia would go on to get the decision, the true winners were the lucky fight fans in attendance.
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Winner: Xtreme Knockout
2011 will go down as the year that MMA firmly established itself as the combat sport of note here in North Texas. While the sport has continued to grow in tremendous leaps and bounds and a number of local fighters have begun to make noise on the national scene one local promotion has been giving live cage action to the fight fans of the DFW.
Arlington-based Xtreme Knockout (XKO) has deftly seized the reigns as the premier MMA promoter around these parts. Combining a block party atmosphere with some of the most jaw-rattling MMA action one will ever see has paid dividends for the promotion as their shows continue to get bigger and better each time out. Simply put, nearly every local fighter worth his salt has found himself making the XKO cage rattle. Then, when you factor in the television deal with TXA 21, and well, it will be hard for XKO to not take home this award next year.
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Winner: Paulie Ayala Productions
It’s no secret that professional boxing has seen a sharp decline in popularity locally. While DFW used to be largely considered a “Boxing City” with a number of enterprising local club promoters, times have been lean for lovers of the sweet science in recent years.
Still, in spite of this downward trend Fort Worth-based Paulie Ayala Productions (PAP) continues to be the lone beacon of hope for a return to prominence for the sport. Headed by former world champion Paulie Ayala, Paulie Ayala Productions had a banner year with a number of exciting fights and an innovative approach to boxing promoting. Whether it’s the posh atmosphere of their annual Boxing in the Ballroom fundraiser, or any of their other promotions, PAP constantly strives to give fight fans their money’s worth.
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As 2011 comes nearing an end its time to look back and recognize the outstanding achievements of some of our North Texas fighters. Over the next couple of days we here at North Texas Fisticuffs will roll out our annual award winners. This years first category: Rookie of the Year.
When you consider that Fort Worth’s James Vick turned pro in June its almost unfathomable how in in such a short time he has made himself a household name. The humble young fighter who pack TNT in his hands and feet and an ever improving ground game has blown through some pretty decent competition in the last six months to close out 2011 with an undefeated record of 4-0. Training out of Phalanx MMA, Vick has quickly resonated with area fight fans behind his humble demeanor and knack for engaging in fan-friendly fighters. After becoming a staple locally thanks to his exploits in the XKO promotion Vick recently traveled to Las Vegas to try out for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Word in the industry is that the UFC brass were pretty impressed with the young fighter. In what has been a banner year for MMA here in North Texas, James Vick truly shined as a fighter to keep you eye on in the coming years.
Photo by Scott Chapman no comments
As 2011 comes nearing an end its time to look back and recognize the outstanding achievements of some of our North Texas fighters. Over the next couple of days we here at North Texas Fisticuffs will roll out our annual award winners. This years first category: Rookie of the Year.
Local boxing fans who follow the amateur circuit knew that Cedar Hill’s Alex Clarkson was destined to shine as a professional boxer. Blending an uncanny blend of speed and power Clarkson has managed to replicate the buzz he enjoyed as an amateur with two jaw-dropping performances as a professional. In fact, despite having a record of 2-0, Clarkson and his team are finding it increasingly difficult to find opponents willing to step into the ring to actually face him. Of course, who could really blame them seeing as anyone brave enough to step up and fight him is in for a tough outing. Hopefully Clarkson will continue his unblemished record in the upcoming year and if you’re a boxing fan who hasn’t witnessed “The Main Event,” well, you need to make it a point to see this dynamic talent in person.
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