NAAFS "Caged Fury"
Grays Armory – Cleveland, Ohio
by Tommy Mathews

Fight fans got a bang for their buck this past Saturday night in downtown Cleveland, Ohio when ten of the fourteen fights went past the first round. The electric atmosphere in the arena, combined with a great night of MMA action, made Caged Fury the hottest ticket in town.

In the Main Event, Josh "Heavy" Hendricks was able to control "Bulldog" Todd Brown for 15 solid minutes, earning Hendricks a hard fought decision victory. With the win, he improves his MMA record to an impressive 18 – 4 record.

In the Co-Main Event, two archrivals let it fly inside the cage. After years of anticipation, Jason Freeman & Jason Jones finally met one-on-one. The fight began with Jason "Wreckin Ball" Jones controlling the action early one, but Jason "Freebird" Freeman countered and sunk in a deep Guillotine choke for the win at 2:54 of the 1st round. Freeman walked away the victor in this battle, but smart money says the war between these two rivals is far from over. Both fighters came into this bout 7 – 1 and I'm sure the outcome will fuel both fighters in their next appearances in the cage.

The five other pro bouts were just as action packed. Mitch Whitesel and Allan Weickert put on one of the best stand-up displays of the night, with a case being made for either fighter. However, in the end it was Whitesel who was able to control the action and get the decision victory when the judges' score cards were tallied.

Donny "Eagle Eye" Walker took a decision loss to Mike Bonger in a long battle within the cage as well. Although, Bogner improves his record to 7 – 3, both fighters came walked away looking strong.

Torrance "The Tyrant" Taylor and Mike Boyd almost went the distance, until Taylor latched on a strong choke submitting Boyd at the 1:31 mark of the 3rd round. Both fighters put on an impressive display of skills during the fight going back and forth repeatedly.

At 160 lbs, Mike "The Bull" Russo won via TKO taking down Leo Fowler in 49 seconds of the 1st round. Once Russo took Fowler down and gained full mount, it was all over for the 3 – 3 Fowler. Russo let loose a ground n pound that surely put a smile on his coach Jason Dent's face.

2006 NAAFS National Middleweight Champion Taiwon "The Iron Dragon" Howard made his pro debut not only memorable, but successful as well. Kicking off the pro bouts, Howard was able to gain full mount over his opponent Brandon Pierce to end their contest at 49 seconds of the second round. Howard looked strong and confident as he controlled the fight improving to 5 – 1.

In the Amateur Series, Felix "The Cat" Catheline showed the crowd his cat like skills as he landed repeated strikes over the top of Greg Finney to win the decision moving up to 2 – 0. The only thing that could over shadow an impressive display of cardio from these two heavyweights was the awesome entrance of Catheline, which featured the Wooster Pipers accompanying him to the cage playing Scotland the Brave on the bagpipes. After the victory, it was announced that Felix "The Cat" Catheline will be facing NAAFS veteran Josh "Sandman" Stansbury in a highly anticipated bout at Fight in the Flats 3!

Nicholas "The Savage" Duell defeated "Slippery" Nick Golembieski landing an impressive 1st round-arm bar after a brief bit of stand up action. Duell improves his NAAFS record to 4 – 2, looking stronger every time he steps into the cage to compete.

Brian "The Predator" Rogers TKO'd Mike Darling in 23 seconds into the 1st round showing he truly is a "Predator" in the cage. He wasted no time attacking Rogers taking him down where he began a vicious onslaught of punches from both sides of Rogers before the ring official stopped the bout. With such an impressive NAAFS debut, "The Predator" has made a name for himself in the ultra-competitive NAAFS Light Heavyweight Division.

Ricky "The Thriller" Miller dropped down to 170lbs and continued his winning ways, defeating Kenny Rowe with a 2nd round TKO. Miller is now 3-0 and really coming into his own as a fighter.

Team DNA's Danny "Little Thunder" Balon returned to NAAFS action and defeated Anthony Hayes with a 2nd round submission.

Silas "The Virus" Maynard of Strong Style Fight Team scored an impressive TKO victory over Matthew Goshay to improve his NAAFS record to 2-0.

The show began with Aaron Dugan pulling out a decision victory over Aaron Weaver in a battle of fighters making their MMA debuts.

All things said and done, it was another fantastic night of MMA fighting for all to see. The NAAFS returns to action on Saturday April 21st for NAAFS Border Wars at the Skate Place in New Philadelphia, OH. Tickets for this event are available now online at www.NAAFS.tv & www.PKWLive.com or by calling 330-280-8442.

NAAFS Pro Series Featured Bouts

265 lbs – Josh "Heavy" Hendricks 17-4 (Strong Style Fight Team) over Todd Brown 13-2 (South Bend, IN) - Decision

205 lbs – Jason "Freebird" Freeman 8-1 (Vander Fighting) over Jason "The Wrecking Ball" Jones 7-2 (Infinity Fight Team) - Guillotine RD1

155 lbs -Mike Bogner 7-3 (Team Predator) over Donny "Eagle Eye" Walker 7-5 (GriffonRawl) - Decision

185 lbs - Mitch Whitesel 8-5 (Wreckroom Athletics) over Allan Weickert 9-6 (Peek Submission Fight Team)

155 lbs - Torrance "The Tyrant" Taylor 4-3 (Rising Dragon MMA) over Mike Boyd 3-2 (Strong Style Fight Team) - Submission rd3

160 lbs - Mike "The Bull" Russo 12-9 (Team Griffonrawl) over Leo Fowler 3-3 (Team Predator) - TKO rd 1

185 lbs - Taiwon "The Iron Dragon" Howard 5-1 (Rising Dragon MMA) over Brandon Pierce 3-1 (Team Gurgel) - TKO rd3


NAAFS Preliminary Card


265 lbs - Felix "The Cat" Catheline 2-0 (Wreckroom Athletics) over Greg Finney 0-1 (Team DNA) - Dec

205 lbs - Brian Rogers 3-0 (Instigator Fight Team) over Mike Darling 0-2(Team Air GadFly) - TKO rd1

205 lbs - Nicholas Duell 4-2 (Jungle Fight Team) over Nick Golembieski 2-2 (Knock Out Factory) - Armbar rd 1

170 lbs - Ricky "The Thriller" Miller 3-0 (Jungle Fight Team) over Kenny Rowe 0-1 (Team Air GadFly) - TKO rd 2

155 lbs - Danny "Little Thunder" Balon 6-3 (DNA) 0ver Anthony Hayes 1-3 (Next Level/Easlick MMA) - Submission rd 2

185 lbs - Silas "The Virus" Maynard 2-0 (Team Strong Style) over Matthew Goshay 0-1 (John Irvin MMA) - TKO rd 2

155 lbs - Aaron Dugan 1-0 (Northeastern Pummeling Den) over Aaron Weaver 0-1 (Iron Cross MMA) - Decision

Caged Fury is proudly sponsored by BetonFighting.com, Eagle Communications, Bloody Buddy Fight Gear, 2XL Sports Gear, and the On-line voice of the fight fan, PKW Live.