4/17/11 by Curt Heinrichs

The North American Allied Fight Series took Canton, Ohio by storm with their latest edition of Caged Vengeance.

In the first amateur bout of the night, Dylan King used some solid work from the clinch and some dirty boxing to score a split decision victory over a tough Jeff Kashdan. Kashdan nearly had a submission in the 2nd round, but King was able to slip free and earn the victory.

An amateur bout between Al Calabrese and Canton’s own Adam Warmath signified the first bout in the careers for both fighters. Warmath used a nice takedown and some nasty ground and pound to make short work of his opponent and earn his first victory inside the cage.

Middleweights Curt Lemmon and Mike Garcher put on what was an early contender for the fight of the night. Garcher came out swinging and nailed Lemmon with some devastating punches, but Lemmon continued to press forward and dish out some punishment of his own. When the dust settled, Lemmon had won 2nd round TKO and improved his record to 4 wins and 0 defeats.

Heavyweights Nathan Bryant and Terry Smith each showcased their granite chins and boxing skills, with both men proving their toughness inside the cage. After 3 hard-fought rounds, Bryant was declared the winner by decision, but both men undoubtedly won the respect of the fans after a stand-up battle.

In one of the most anticipated bouts of the undercard, Tyler “The Daywalker” Saltsman squared off against Bhrandon “Bad Intentions” Poindexter in a clash at 145 lbs. Poindexter showed some serious skills on his feet, peppering Saltsman with some nasty strikes, but he couldn’t prevent all of Saltsman’s many takedown attempts. Saltsman found himself in a triangle attempt after he took Poindexter to the ground, but Saltsman was able to work free and dished out some strikes to the body of his opponent. All 3 judges scored the bout for Tyler Saltsman, who will be facing Cody “No Love” Garbrandt at Fight Nite in the Flats in June.

In the night’s first action at 205 lbs, Team Instigator’s Pat Schottenheimer took on Jason Huss, who was making his amateur cage fighting debut. In a bout that featured some excellent striking exchanges, Huss was able to do enough in the eyes of the judges to earn his first career victory by way of split decision. If this fight is any indication, Jason Huss has a bright future ahead of himself, especially once he gets some cage experience under his belt.

In the night’s only women’s MMA action of the night, Chandra Engle put her talents on display against Rachel “The Rage” Dovidio. Dovidio used heavy doses of takedowns and ground and pound to earn a unanimous decision over Engle. Both women showed lots of skill in the cage, but Dovidio’s heavy hands were just too much for her opponent.

Next up, Tony Metsch put his undefeated record on the line against NAAFS mainstay RJ Buck in a bout contested at 145 lbs. Buck had 2 quick takedowns in the fight, including one that ended with a slam that brought some cheers from the frenzied crowd. Unfortunately for Buck, Metsch has some skills on the ground and caught Buck in a triangle choke that ended the fight in the very first round. With the victory, Metsch moves up to 5-0 as an amateur.

In a matchup of excellent nicknames, Bill “The Honey Badger” Algeo took on Aaron “Hamburgler” Bartow in lightweight action. The long, lanky Algeo used his reach to keep his powerful opponent at bay with jabs before taking the fight to the ground and ending it by way of rear naked choke in the first round.

With the amateur bouts concluded for the evening, Columbus’ Brandon Sailing took on Canton’s John “Bullet” Fields in a middleweight contest. Sailing’s unorthodox but effective striking proved to be too much for Fields on the feet, and Fields looked to take the fight to the ground. Once the fight went to the ground, due to a Sailing knockdown of Fields, Sailing slapped on a rear naked choke that ended the fight with only 3 seconds left in the first round.

In the night’s first semifinal bout for the NAAFS Heavyweight tournament, Bobby Brents took on the massive Antoine “Herc” Hayes. Brents showed versatile striking and impressive strength as he looked to do damage to his opponent from all positions in the fight. Brents used flying knees and body kicks to grind his way to the tournament finals with a unanimous decision.

The wildly popular Stipe Miocic took the cage against late-replacement William Penn, to determine who would face Bobby Brents for the NAAFS Heavyweight Tournament Title. Miocic weathered the early storm of heavy punches from Penn, and did some sharp striking of his own. Miocic’s knees to the head from the clinch were the beginning of the end, and a devastating right hand from Miocic ended Penn’s night early. With the knockout victory, Stipe Miocic will take on Bobby Brents for the NAAFS Heavyweight Tournament Title.

Tony Castillo Jr. and Terry Blackwell put on one of the scrappiest fights of the evening, with the Canton crowd throwing their support behind hometown fighter Terry Blackwell. After some back and forth action, Blackwell landed a vicious right hand that floored Castillo, causing referee Mark Matheny to stop the fight at 3:29 of the first round.

Former Welterweight contender Mickey Hughes put his skills to the test against the dangerous Travis Clark in a Middleweight bout. Clark showed no signs of ring rust, and put his quick hands and excellent grappling on display early on in the fight. Once the fight went to the ground, it was all Clark, who won the fight by TKO (referee stoppage) in the 1st round. Mickey Hughes ran into a buzz saw in Travis Clark, but we will undoubtedly see Hughes back in action in no time.

In the night’s penultimate fight, Strong Style’s Chris “The Cleveland Assassin” Lozano looked to dish out a beating to veteran Gerric Hayes, but Hayes had other plans. Typically Lozano is known for his flashy striking, but he showcased some flashy grappling as well, and it nearly ended up costing him the fight, as Hayes secured Lozano’s back for an extended period of time, but was unable to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Lozano eventually escaped, and let his top-notch striking do the talking. Lozano knocked Hayes out cold with a right hand/left kick combination that occurred with just 1 second left on the clock in the round.

In the night’ s main event, Nick “The Savage” Duell looked to give Kevin Knabjian a rude welcome to the NAAFS when the pair met for the NAAFS Pro Series Welterweight Title. Knabjian proved to be a game opponent, knocking Duell down with punches in the first round, and delivered another stiff blow to Duell in the outset of the 2nd round. Duell stayed focused and managed to unload a violent left head kick that immediately turned Knabjian’s lights out. With the victory, Duell becomes the first NAAFS champion to successfully defend his title two times, and does so in dramatic fashion.

Special thanks to our great sponsors Mr John P Lennon, Intimidation Clothing, Discount Drug Mart, Tim Lally Chevrolet, B3 Enterprises, The US Marines, The Ferrucio Law Firm, Skinvazion Tattoos, Razor Rack, Hexlinc.com, Diamond Royale, Muscle Basix, and The Ultimate Wrestler.

CLICK HERE for a photo gallery from Caged Vengeance 9!