The long anticipated, most hyped mixed martial arts event in Kansas City has arrived, and it is called "Border War". For the first time in Kansas City's mixed martial arts history, 108 Promotions pitted Missouri against Kansas fighters to see which state won the bragging rights as having the superior mixed martial artists. No one can accuse the promoters of being biased in this event because one is a MU alumni and the other a KU alumnus. Needless to say, the matchmaking were equal for both states. KCWE will be airing portions of this event on October 3 at noon, so stay tuned to catch the action in case you missed it.
The excitement and anticipation from the energetic crowd was there from the time gates opened at 5:30 p.m. To gauge the hype surrounding this event, "Border War" was practically sold out the week before. Luckily, the promoters held onto some tickets so fans can still purchase them at the gate on fight day.
With the music rocking the crowd and the atmosphere in party mode, Kansan Mike Tharp electrified the spectators with a brutal knockout over Blake Brockway. The crowd erupted when the referee stopped the fight early in the first round declaring Tharp the winner by TKO. Bringing his hometown fans from Louisburg, Kansas with him, Tharp looked impressive and lived up to all the hype about his devastating punching power. The guy's got a bright future in mma and will no doubt be a household name for Kansas City fans down the road.
Another exciting fight of the night was Kansan Heath Finkemeier versus Missouri boy Phillip Lovell. Lovell surprised everyone by bringing it to Finkemeier on the first round. Showing no fear of Finkemeier's striking abilities, Lovell managed to take Heath down several times and end the round on top of the judges score card despite being knocked down by a vicious right early in the first round. Lovell continued where he picked up in the first round with takedowns that Finkemeier seemed to have no answers to. The fight went from good to bad for Lovell when Finkemeier reversed his mount and took Lovell's back. Finkemeier wasted no time, dropping bombs to Lovell's head and securing the TKO victory. Great fight by both men, and Finkemeier proved once again that he can take a beating and still come back for a win. The guy's in phenomenal shape and has a heart of a lion. Kudos to Lovell as well. He displayed great striking skills and his ability to take a punch. Look forward to having both these guys back.
Kansan P.J. O'Neal notched a second lost on his resume, this time to Missouri Valley collegiate wrestler Zach Long. Long exposed O'Neal's questionable ground game early in the first round with a takedown and eventual TKO victory via ground and pound. O'Neal has great standup, but will need to improve his jujitsu in order to keep opponents from exposing his ground game. He still has a bright future ahead of him and cannot let this loss affect his game. There's no doubt he'll be a better P.J. O'Neal in his next fight.
Crowd pleaser Eric Ulleberg from Kansas got knockout of the night over Mathew Haefle. You have to give it to Haefle for having the courage to stand in the middle of the ring and go toe to toe with Ulleberg. However, it was Ulleberg who unleashed his fists and dropped Haefle in the first round. Impressive knockout by Ulleberg.
Honorable mention for knockout of the night went to Muay Thai specialist Jason Perrotta from Kansas, who picked apart his opponent Arturo Villareal (MO) with vicious leg kicks. Villareal succumbed to defeat after Perrotta threw him across the ring and followed up with brutal strikes. The referee had no choice but to save Villareal.
Submission of the night went to Kansan Jared Nance who pulled guard and locked in a beautiful, textbook armbar on opponent Caleb Davis early in the first round. Davis appeared to hold his own in the standup department against Nance early on. But once they hit the ground, it was a totally different story. Nance wasted no time in getting high guard and locking in an armbar submission. Great work by Nance!
1 Zero 8's main event was a 170 lbs. title fight between defending 108 Champion Derek Williams from Higginsville, MO and challenger Jason Arington from Kansas. Arington came into the fight physically in shape and looked impressive against the champ in the first round with excellent takedowns and close to securing a rear naked choke before the bell rang. Though it was Williams who showed everyone why he's the champ in the second round. Looking like a totally different fighter, Williams rocked Arington with some quick combinations followed by a takedown. Capitalizing on the takedown, Williams quickly took Arington's back and locked in a rear naked choke. The crowd went wild and Williams retained his 108 Championship belt. Great fight to both guys!
The final score for "Border War" was Kansas 8, Missouri 8. Neither state won mixed martial arts bragging rights on this night, but there will be more to come! We thank everyone for coming to our show and supporting the local fighters. We look forward to seeing everyone October 29, 2010 for "Freaker's Brawl". Prizes will be handed out for best costume!