8th Street Gym Supports Relay For Life

8th Street Gym will have a car wash and open house to benefit Relay for Life May 29th from 10:00 am till 5:00 pm at 8th Street Gym located on the corner of 11th and Pitkin. We will also have hamburgers and hot dogs. All proceeds go towards Cancer Research. Please visit their website @ http://www.grandjunctionrelayforlife.com

Josh "The Machine" Kissell wins Kick Down 125 lb Title

Although it was a rough weekend for 8th Street Gym fighters in Wyoming (2-4 overall) Josh Kissell won the Kick Down 125 lb Amateur MMA Title by arm bar in the first round over Kylan Zumpf. This makes Josh the first person to win three titles in three different weight classes in the history of the promotion. Congrats to "The Machine" on another submission win.

Cage Raiser 1 Fights on Youtube

Here is the link to see four of the fights from last weeks Cage Raiser 1 show. There are also videos from the Cage Wars 5 and two shows from Montrose.

http://www.youtube.com/user/bert460

Cage Raiser 1 DVDs Now Available

I was glad to get to see the video of my fight, I think the guys did a great job and am planning on buying a couple of copies of the DVD. Check out there Youtube page for all of the videos from recent local shows.

8th Street Gym Fighters Stay Busy

This Saturday 8th Street Gym fighters go on the road. Josh "The Machine" Kissell fights for the 125 lb Kick Down Amateur Title and Rusty Turley fights on the under card of Kick Down 79 in Casper, Wyoming. Jorge "El Original" Corrasco steps up to fight Eugene "Crazy Legs" Coulston and Lance Meyer makes his amateur debut on the Don't Blink Cage Fights in Riverton, Wyoming.

KJCT News 8 Report on Cage Raiser 1

Cage Raiser: Mixed Martial Arts action returns to G.J.

Cage Raiser 1 Wrap Up

by Jeff "8th Street Wolverine" Barney

May 15th's Cage Raiser 1 was another successful if not crazy night of fights. Here is how things went down as I saw it.

Fight #1

Juan Magana of Glenwood Springs, Colorado defeated Tanner Ellenberger of Paonia, Colorado by first round TKO in their 170lb amateur MMA bout. I was in the dressing room during this fight but was told that a left head kick was the beginning of the end for Ellenberger who came back to the blue corner warm up area quite bloody.

Fight #2

8th Streets Brandon Crispen won with a dominate performance over Billy "The Kid" Martin in there welter weight MMA bout. Both fighters threw a few early strikes standing before Crispen got a body lock take down on Martin in the neutral corner. Crispen landed strikes from inside the guard as Martin moved to a higher guard looking for a possible triangle or arm bar. Crispen passed the guard eventually working to mount and landing multiple punches and elbows until the referee stopped the fight when Martin was unable to defend himself. I was very impressed with the calm and confident ground work shown by Brandon in this fight and look forward to seeing the progression of his career.

Fight #3

Angelo Archuleta of Grand Junction who boxed out of Impact but now represents both Impact and 8th Street once again did more ground work than boxing in his third amateur MMA bout against the very tough Dan Hudak of Glenwood Springs. Hudak performed well in the first round with both fighters exchanging a few strikes before it went to the ground with Angelo ending up on bottom. Angelo tried for a arm bar from the guard but Hudak was able to slam his way out of it passing the guard and eventually working his way to the mount. From there he landed some good punches with Archuleta turning to his side and then giving up his back before eventually escaping the bad position. In the second round Archuleta came out throwing strikes standing and Hudak looked for the take down. Angelo reached back instinctively and grabbed the fence for a split second and landed on top. The referee didn't catch him on the fence grab and Angelo quickly took his opponents back, softened him up with some punches and finished the fight with a rear naked choke. Great back and forth action in this fight and the crowd really appreciated the effort put out by both athletes.

Fight #4

Josh "The Machine" Kissel out of 8th Street put on a clinic in what from I understand was a rematch of a three round war from earlier this year in Montrose with Guy Love. Love out of Montrose spent the majority of the fight trying to escape from one bad position after another before finally tapping to a armbar half way through the first round.

Fight #5

Mike Rush of Grand Junction was supposed to take on Pecas McClellan of Paonia, Colorado but before the fights even started one of the fighters, I would assume Rush because he was in the other warm up room, dislocated his shoulder warming up. Unfortunately this would be the first of three fights to be scratched from the card during the show.

Fight #6

Kyle Gilje of Moab, Utah and 8th Streets Cory Bendetti put on what I and many others called the fight of the night. Gilje ended up winning the split decision improving his record to 1-1 and bumping Cory down to 0-2. The first round started with Kyle landing the better strikes standing and then looking for a guillotine choke standing and then trying to finish it once Bendetti got the only take down of the fight. Cory fought his way out of the choke after about twenty or thirty seconds and threw a few effective strikes from Gilje's guard before the ref brought the fight back to the feet. Bendetti looked re-energized throwing crisp combinations before the bell rang. Round two saw more of the same stand up action Gilje seemed to slow down a little but Bendetti pace seemed to increase landing sharp strikes and controlling his opponent while he had him against the fence. The third round looked a lot like the second but Gilje seemed to get a second wind while Bendetti never seemed to slow and showed no ill effects from his 15 + pound weight cut. Gilje did catch Bentetti with a front kick that knocked him down against the fence for a split second and also landed three right low kicks in a row on him. Cory returned some good low kicks, landed a left hook that sent Gilje sideways into the cage and drove him from one side of the platform to the other with a punching combination and finished with a hard Thai kick to the ribs of his opponent. Great back and forth action beginning to end. The judges saw the 29-28 for Bendetti, 29-28 and 30-27 Gilje. I know I'm bias because I am one of Cory's trainers, but I don't know how the third judge called it a shutout for Kyle Gilje. It was a fight that could have gone either way for sure, and both camps seem open to the idea of a rematch.

Fight #7

I was in the back warming up for my fight during this one but Zach Harvey out of 8th Street made quick work of Riverton Wyoming's Matt McOmie with the fastest victory of the night by a TKO with what I was told was a huge overhand right.

Fight #8

Another one bites the dust. Kirk "The Riot" Piatt of Grand Junction was scheduled to face Trakon "The Bull" Johnston of Moab but Johnston some how kicked a chair while warming up minutes before the Harvey fight and badly injured his ankle and was unable to fight. How this happens I have no idea.

Fight #9

In the first ever sanctioned professional kick boxing match in Grand Junction I took on Eugene "Crazy Legs" Coulston out of Windriver, Wyoming. Coulston was a late replacement who took the fight on less than two weeks notice when it turned out that my scheduled opponent Sergio "The Savage" Lopez was under suspension by the boxing commission due to not making weight on a fight card three weeks ago in Montrose. "Crazy Legs" put up a good fight and I have to say that I felt a lot of ring rust from my over two year lay off from the ring. Coulston threw some good punches at me landing a few and some kicks and knees when we were in the clinch. I was able to land a couple of decent leg and body kicks. I threw a couple of superman punches one that missed and another that grazed Eugene, also backed him off with a left front kick, but to me the turning point was a left hook that I landed on him that stopped his early flurry of punches. I think the punch that was the beginning of the end for Coulston was a left hook that I landed over the top of his shoulder from the Thai clinch. I saw he was visibly rocked and I threw a volley of punches at him and he dropped to his knees. Referee Eric Hines came in and sent me to the neutral corner he started an eight count and then waved off the fight at 1:56 of the first round. I would like to thank Eugene for taking the fight so that all of my training would not have been for nothing. After the fight Sergio came to the ring and we both agreed to fight in one of Alex's next shows. The crowd really seemed to appreciate the non-stop action of a kick boxing match so hopefully this opens the door for more of them to be on the card in future shows.

Fight #10

This was to be the co-main event of the night, but disaster struck once again as it turned out that Denver fighter John Sargent who was supposed to meet 8th Streets own Mike "The Bone Collector" Smith had preexisting stitches on the back of his leg from an accident that had occurred a week before. This also came to light at the same time as the 8th fight was canceled. It is a shame that a great fighter like Mike goes through everything to get ready for the fight, makes the weight cut and then doesn't get to fight due to a mistake on his opponents part.

Fight #11

In the Main event of the evening Logan Hancock battered John Ross with a huge non stop barrage of punches and knees while Ross relentlessly but futilely looked for take downs. Referee Tim Mills mercifully stopped the beating at 1:15 of the first round. After the fight Logan announced that he would be having eye surgery and would be out of the ring for the next year. Best of luck to Logan from myself and everyone at 8th Street.

Even with the late loss of three fights the show was a great success and I'm sure it raised a lot of money for Impact's Amateur boxing program. The other thing I was happy to see was the fact that there were no fights out of the ring at this show which always puts a damper on a good night of fights. Congrats to everyone who had the guts to step into the ring.

Daily Sentinel Cage Raiser Article

Local fighters show their stuff at Cage Raiser

Tanner Ellenberger of Paonia, left, staggers backward after Juan Magana of Glenwood Springs connected with a kick to the head in the first round of the first fight Saturday night during a benefit for Impact Boxing Gym at Two Rivers Convention Center. Magana won by technical knockout.

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By Patrick Bahr
Saturday, May 15, 2010

Plenty of factors go into getting the right mixed martial arts fight.

No one knows that more than Josh Kissel.

Saturday at Two Rivers Convention Center, the 22-year-old Grand Junction MMA fighter got an opportunity to fight in front of his hometown crowd at CageRaiser, a mixed martial arts event to benefit Impact Boxing Gym.

“I’ve had trouble finding fights,” Kissel said. “It’s hard to find the right kind of fighter with the experience. The last time I tried to fight in town, the weight class got all mixed up and the guy showed up 12 pounds heavy.”

Everything came together for the 130-pound Kissel, who took on Guy Love of Montrose.

Kissel ended the fight in the first round, winning by submission after he caught Love in an armbar.

The win improved Kissel’s amateur record to 12-6.

“I was trying to go with the flow and take whatever he was going to give me,” Kissel said. “Whatever he left open for me I was going to take it. I’ve worked a lot on my jiujitsu and he left the armbar open.”

Kissel grew up wrestling and graduated from Rangely High School. He’s been fighting for nearly two years, and said the biggest challenge to stepping in the cage is overcoming emotions.

“You always have to battle your nerves,” Kissel said. “It comes down to if you are going to let your body overcome your mind or your mind overcome your body.”

Kissel plans to turn professional before the end of the year.

“I think I’m ready, I’ve fought a lot of tough guys,” Kissel said. “I have the experience and it’s time to make the jump.”

Kissel wasn’t the only local fighter getting to fight in front of the home crowd.

Brandon Crispen had the second fight of the night and defeated Billy Martin by technical knockout in the first round.

“My ground game has always been there,” Crispen said. “Once I got him on his back I was able to take control from there.”

Crispen graduated from Palisade in 2006, where he wrestled for the Bulldogs. Now fighting at 170 pounds, Crispen improved to 3-1.

Crispen has been fighting for a year, and said it was the first time he got to fight in front of a large crowd.

“The crowd really pumped me up,” Crispen said.

Other highlights from Saturday’s fights included Grand Junction’s Angelo Archuleta surviving a battle with Glenwood Springs’ Dan Hudak.

Archuleta, 154 pounds, took a slew of punches in the first round, but made it to the bell. In the second round, Archuleta looked like a different fighter working his way into a choke and getting Hudak to submit.

Grand Junction’s Zach Harvey scored one of the most impressive wins with a technical knockout of Matt McOmie in only 18 seconds in the first round.

Jeff Barney of Grand Junction won a kickboxing match against Eugene Coulston by first-round TKO.

In the main event, local favorite Logan Hancock gave the fans exactly what they were looking for, landing repetitive big blows to his opponent, John Ross. Hancock won by TKO in 1:15 of the first round.

Three fights had to be canceled because of prefight injuries, including Grand Junction’s Mike Smith’s bout against John Sargent. Sargent was unable to fight.

Another CageRaiser event is scheduled for late summer.

Article On 8th Street's Jason Brenton

Fighting for a dream: GJ’s Brenton wants to work way onto ‘The Ultimate Fighter 12’

Grand Junction mixed martial artist Jason Brenton screams encouragement Saturday night to local fighter Angelo Archuleta before the start of Archuleta’s bout with Glenwood Springs’ Dan Hudak during CageRaiser at Two Rivers Convention Center. Brenton has a dream of fighting his way onto Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter 12.

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By Patrick Bahr
Sunday, May 16, 2010

Jason Brenton is on the way to fulfilling his dream.

Brenton, a 23-year-old mixed martial arts fighter from Grand Junction, is trying to fight his way onto the Spike TV reality show, “The Ultimate Fighter 12,” which will air in September.

The fighters on the show spend several filmed weeks training with contracted Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters, taking on other hopefuls. The field is narrowed to two fighters who will compete for a UFC contract.

Brenton doesn’t know yet if he’ll be in the house, but said he’s leaving for Las Vegas in June to try to make his way onto the show.

“I’m still pretty new to the sport, so I’ve been living here training full time for four months,” Brenton said. “This has been the best experience of my life, so now I’m going to try to ride this out for all it’s worth.”

Brenton got to this point by working his way through a tryout at the Omni Hotel in Charlotte, N.C., in early April. Brenton flew to the tryout with fellow local fighter Angelo Archuleta, and said he was surprised by the amount of people looking for a shot.

“As soon as we got there, there were like 1,000 people in line to try out,” Brenton said. “It took us 14 hours to go through that day.”

The tryout started with two minutes of grappling, where UFC owner Dana White would call out two random names. At 5 feet 11, 155 pounds, Brenton is tall for his weight class and said he drew a fighter who made things interesting for him.

“I got a stocky Japanese guy and I was able to take his back and had the choke in,” Brenton said. “I didn’t get to choke him out, but I made it past that cut.”

Next was work with high pads so fighters could show off their stand-up skills. After those two cuts, Brenton said, they narrowed the field to 100 fighters for interviews with producers of Spike TV.

“They asked us some questions to try and get under our skin to see if we had any humor or personality,” Brenton said. “After that they said we’ll call you in two weeks and if not, better luck next time.”

Brenton said it was hard to wait for the callback, but once he finally got called, he was sent to Las Vegas for a variety of tests.

“You name it, we had it done,” Brenton said. “MRI, CT scan, blood work, drug test, eye exam, but they told me I passed all my physicals, so now I’m trying to get into the house.”

Making it to this point has given the Rangely High School graduate a massive amount of confidence in the cage.

“My work ethic has been boosted and I’m so much more hungry,” Brenton said. “I have a lot of motivation behind me, and this has been a crazy experience.”

Article from Grand Junctions Daily Sentinel website gjsentinel.com

Cage Raisers 1 Results

May 15, 2010 Two Rivers Convention Center in Grand Junction, Colorado

Presented by Bush Cree Promotions and Grand Junction Harley Davidson

Amateur MMA Bouts

Juan Magana defeats Tanner Ellenberger by TKO in the first round.

Brandon Crispen defeats Billy "The Kid" Martin by TKO in the first round.

Angelo Archuleta defeats Dan Hudak by RNC in the second round.

Josh "The Machine" Kissel defeats Guy Love by arm bar in the first round.

Mike Rush vs Pecas McClellan did not happen due to one of the fighters dislocating his shoulder while warming up.

Kyle Gilje defeats Cory Bendetti by split decision after three Rounds.

Zach Harvey defeats Matt McOmie by TKO in the first round.

Trakon Johnston vs Kirk "The Riot" Piat did not happen due to Johnston injuring his ankle while warming up.

Professional Kick Boxing

Jeff "The Wolverine" Barney defeats Eugene "Crazy Legs" Coulston by TKO at 1:56 of the first round.

Professional MMA

John Sargent vs Mike "The Bone Collector" Smith did not happen due to Sargent being disqualified by the athletic commission due to existing stitches on his leg.

Logan Hancock defeated John Ross by TKO in the first round.

Fighters in Blue represent 8th Street Gym.

Fight in red was the 8thStreetWolverine pick for Fight of The Night.

Here is the poster for Cage Raiser 1, May 15 2010.

This is a preview of the kind of action you can expect to see at Cage Raisers 1. Anthony C. from 8th Street put together this video of high lights from several local shows last year.

One Year of 8th Street on 11th Street

One year and hundreds of new students later. Thought I would put up the tour video of the gym for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Visit the official website from our link to the right.

Cameron Thurgood To Defend 145 lb Amateur Title

Cameron "Cut Throat" Thurgood set to defend his title at Cage Raisers 1 on May 15th. Cameron won the 145 lb Western Slope MMA Title at Cage Wars III 7-10-09 defeating Mike "El Psycho" Garcia(video below). He later defended the belt against Anthony Werner at Cage Wars IV.

Cage Raisers 1

May 15, 2010 Cage Raisers 1

MMA & Kick Boxing Fights to raise money for Impact Boxing

Featuring:

Jeff "The Wolverine" Barney vs Sergio "The Savage" Lopez

in Grand Junctions first ever sanctioned Pro Kick Boxing Match

Also scheduled to fight on the card are 8th Street Gym Fighters:

Cameron "Cut Throat" Thurgood

Cory Bendetti

Angelo Archeleta

Mike "The Joint Collector" Smith

and others

Poster Coming Soon

The Original Puppet Master Youtube Video

The video that put 8th Street Gym on the Youtube map. Shot at the old gym it now has over 19,000 views and 75 comments. Check it out, and while your at it click on one of the sponsors, you might find a good deal on MMA Gear you need.

Advanced Kids Test

5-1-10

Advanced Kids Test

Congratulations go out to all of the kids who attended and passed the advanced kids belt testing on Saturday:

Alex Gonzales-Level 5

Heather Cirka-Level 6

Jose Gutierrez-Level 6

Dalton Rader-Level 6

Katen Lowe-Level 8

Laree Lowe-Level 8

Ricky Southworth-Level 8

Ernest Gaona-Level 13

David Chaffin-Level 14