THE CLINCH REPORT

By: Jonathan King The Clinch Report Photos by: John Walsh

Young fighters usually bring a desire and hunger that usually provides for exciting fights, if the match making is legitimate. However on the regional scene the big names are the draws. Often these names are in the twilight of their fighting career. Last night, we saw the start of some very promising careers, and we watched the end of two very prolific ones.

Gabe Ruediger has fought on the biggest stage in the world. As a former WEC and UFC veteran, Ruediger achieved the loftiest of a mixed martial artists aspirations. Now fighting for the last time, Ruediger was not only dealing with the retirement butterflies, but the man he was facing knocked him out last time they fought. Scott Catlin, himself no spring chicken also announced after the fight that he too was calling it a career. Both fighters had their moments, Catlin early and often, but in the end its was Ruediger’s submission game that secured the swan song victory!

Also on the card was the first ever BAMMA USA light weight title fight. E.J. Chavez landing some very heavy strikes, and avoided a very slick submission game to secure the first ever promotional title. The three round fight saw Chavez on top for pretty much the whole fight, but Jorge Valdez proved to be quite slick on his back, often working for several submissions. However Chavez proved to be too tough, and eventually ended the fight via TKO in round number 3.

The headline bout featured well known fighter Ronald Lebreton jr. against Mikey Gomez. Lebreton came out aggressive immediately taking control of Gomez, and grinding him against the cage. Counter the aggression Gomez was able to secure a take down, and once on the ground he was able to transfer to side control. From a strange angle Gomez secured Lebreton’s arm and rolled it into an arm-bar, forcing the tap early into the first round.

Regional promotions in southern California are not rare these days. Each day it seems a new one is popping up in casinos around the state. Often times, the fight cards only feature one or two competitive bouts, with the rest serving as ‘tomato cans’ to pad a fighters career stats. BAMMA USA however, subscribes to a different method of thinking.

Each fight, including the preliminary bouts featured well matched opponents that led to extremely exciting fights. BAMMA USA offers the casual fight fan, and the die hard a unique experience that will lead to more growth in the sport of MMA.

Commerce Casino served as the home venue for BadBeat 9 which was co-headlined by the first ever lightweight title fight

Sevak Magakian (12-4-1) v Eric Brown (3-3) 155 Lbs (Lightweight) Winner Eric Brown Rd 1 Submission

Scott ‘K.O.’ Catlin  (8-7) v Gabe ‘Godzilla’ Ruediger (17-8) 160 lbs (Catch weight) Winner Gabe Ruediger rd 2 Submission

Justin ‘The Mortal Sinn’ Linn (3-0) v Chris ‘The Urban Legend’ Culley (16-10) 150 lbs (Catch weight) Winner Culley via UD

Ernest ‘EJ’ Chavez (6-0) Jorge ‘The Envy’ Valdez (6-2) 155 lbs (Lightweight  Title 5×5 rounds) Winner EJ Chavez rd 3 TKO (new champion)

Ronald Lebreton Jr. (8-7) v Mikey Gomez (14-9) 185 lbs (Middleweight) Winner Mikey Gomez rd 1 Submission