MMA

Rumble at the River VII a big success, ties state record

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Local fight fans were treated to another highly-entertaining night of action at the Bear River Casino Resort on Saturday.

The Rumble at the River VII — or Bloody Mayhem in Sock-tober, as it was billed — featured 13 fights on the card, including seven title fights.

And according to organizers, that tied a state record for the most title fights on one card.

“We got a lot of good feedback,” Bear River General Manager and event organizer John McGinnis said. “I think one of the biggest compliments I heard is people saying ‘I can’t believe this is in Humboldt County.’ The production levels were next level. It was awesome.”

Just as important, the fans were treated to an exciting night of action with fighters from four different gyms around the county competing, including the Institute of Combat in Arcata, Redwood Muay Thai in Fortuna, Bodyworks Alpha Annex in Eureka and the Warrior Institute in Hoopa.

“We had a lot of top fighters from (four) gyms,” McGinnis said. “We’re trying to get to the point where this is the No. 1 fighting venue in Humboldt County and we’re trying to open the doors for everyone to come out from wherever.”

It was also a sold out event, with all 1,100 tickets sold well in advance as the popularity of the local fight nights continues.

The night’s action featured kick boxing, mixed martial arts, bare knuckle fights, dirty boxing and the first-ever bare knuckle MMA title fight on the North Coast, which saw Michael Humphrey beat Shane Sargent with a KO in 11 seconds.

That was one of the fastest KOs in Bear River history, but not the fastest.

According to McGinnis, the fastest knock out in Bear River fight history was seven seconds.

Other notable results from a busy night of action included the fight of the night between Jaxson Santander of the Institute of Combat and Caleb Harrison of Redwood Muay Thai, with the former taking the win on a third-round KO.

“That’s the fight everybody was waiting to see, and they put on a war,” McGinnis said.

The other title fights included dirty boxing wins for Tyler Parr (second-round TKO) and Brandon Borba (first-round TKO), as well as MMA wins for Logan Hooper (first-round KO) and Joshua Castillo (second-round submission) and a bare knuckle win for Jeziah Lewis (second-round KO).

One of the fighters, Stephen Moller, traveled all the way from Colorado for his fight, and he won by KO in the second round.

Moller said he enjoyed the trip so much he plans on returning again for a Bear River fight night in May of next year.

Other winners on the night included Dylan Porter, who won a bare knuckle fight by decision; Mike Kowtko, who won his bare knuckle showdown by split decision; Joey Heron, who won his MMA fight with a first-round submission; Dominic Sheppard, who won a bare knuckle fight by split decision; and Dusty Crow, who won a kickboxing fight with a third-round TKO.

“We are so grateful for the fight fans of Humboldt for their continued support of the most entertaining fight night on the North Coast,” McGinnis added.

McGinnis and Bear River will hold their next fight night on Jan. 31 and they are already planning something different.

The night, which will be presented in partnership with KP Muay Thai, will feature a full Muay Thai card, including the Thai sport of Muay Kard Chuek, which is the ancient practice of fighting with ropes wrapped around hands.

“That’s something that nobody has ever seen before in the states,” McGinnis said. “It’s on sovereign land, so our athletic commission can sanction fights like that on the reservation.

“It will be the first time seeing that in the United States, so we’re making history again.

“We’re trying to do new things every single time, and we’re trying to be a fan-centric fight card, so there’s something for everyone.”

And McGinnis said it takes a team effort to pull off a night like this.

“One of the biggest things is I want to give a huge thank you to my team,” he said. “To put on an event like this it takes so many people, so I’m grateful for the team I have.”

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  1. Michael *Humphrey* (correct spelling) actually knocked out Shane in 11 seconds claiming the fastest knockout in Red Thunder & Bear River Casino history on his way to capturing the first ever Bareknuckle MMA featherweight title ever fought for on the west coast

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