Despite a shaky economy, Christmas, and the unpredictable midwestern

winter, 1 Zero 8 Promotion's "Shine at the Shrine" turned out to be a

success. Eager and enthusiastic fans lined up to buy tickets on fight night,

packing the venue to near capacity. Not willing to leave the lively crowd

disappointed, 1 Zero 8 Promotions threw an action packed show that left

the spectators asking for more. Starting off, Cory Schwendemann got the

crowd on their feet with a perfectly timed left hand that sent his opponent

Fletcher Plum crashing to the canvas. Andrew Tyson and John Ford displayed

great heart and skill by going the distance with Tyson getting the unanimous

decision. Caleb Calanbro pulled off the submission of the night with an

armbar over Derek Williams with only 1/10 of a second left. It was sick.

That had to be the submission of the year and the roaring crowd approved

of Calanbro's handy work. Not to be outdone, Jett Jones put on an

impressive striking display by dropping his tough opponent Phil Morgan

with knees to the body in the Thai clinch. (Reminiscent of Silva vs. Franklin)

The Marine Corps put on an impressive showing with Preston Snook

grounding and pounding his opponent to a TKO victory in the first round.

C.J. Trahan surprised the crowd by pulling off the upset of year by

placing a perfect left hand on the chin of opponent Brian Jones. It took

only 25 seconds in the first round and Trahan even looked surprised

when Jones dropped to the mat. In what could've easily been the main

event, Jaroed Roberts put up a great fight but was TKO'd by undefeated

heavyweight Michael Smalley. Smalley got the best of Roberts tonight,

but I still think Roberts has a great future ahead of him. He's got all

the tools to do very well in this business. Great guy and great fighter.

Not taking anything away from Smalley, he proved that he's a legit heavyweight

with a victory over someone like Roberts. In the main event, Kyle Carver

made quick work of Bill Girod in the first round. Girod was unable to

shake Carver off his back. Taking numerous blows from Carver who

sunk his hooks into Girod, referee Rusty Sullivan saw enough and correctly

ended the fight with a TKO in the first round. It was a great night for MMA

and a great night for 1 Zero 8. The next show is March 20, 2009 and don't

miss it!