SBG Idaho MMA athletes turned in a strong performance on Saturday, August 4, going 3-1 on the night at Mountain Force MMA 4 (Mountain View Events, Pocatello, Idaho).
Getting things started was the debuting Briley Streeter against Jordan Hughes at bantamweight (135 lb). Hughes opens with a big right hand that missed wide. Hughes barrels in moments later, driving Streeter to the cage. Streeter defends the takedown well and circles off. Hughes remains attached, however, and drives Streeter to the opposite cage wall. Streeter shows more strong defense and reverses the takedown attempt, landing on top in side control. Hughes fights to his knees and grabs Streeter’s head. Streeter immediately moves to Hughes’ back and locks in the fight-ending rear naked choke! Congrats Briley on a fantastic debut fight!
Up next was Almir Talic taking on Dusty Jones in a lightweight (155 lb) matchup. Talic comes out aggressively with kicks, catching Jones with a right shin to the head before Jones drives forward and scores a takedown again the cage. Talic closes his guard and goes to work controlling Jones’ posture. Talic transitions to half guard where he attempts to hip escape out the back. Jones grabs a guillotine choke, and Talic returns to closed guard. A few hard punches land for Jones before Talic snatches up an armbar. Jones lifts Talic high in the air and slams him to the mat. Talic maintains his composure and switches to a tight triangle choke. After a brief struggle, Jones is forced to tap. Talic improves his record to 2-0, with two triangle choke finishes! Congrats Almir on another great performance!
Next was Moises Valadez, also making his MMA debut in a flyweight (125 lb) scrap against Aaron Jennings. Valadez takes the center of the cage, moving well. Jennings fires some punches that Valadez avoids nicely, landing some slick counters in return. A few more exchanges occur, with both fighters landing shots, before Valadez scores a double leg takedown on the cage. Jennings grabs a guillotine choke but Valadez defends nicely, stepping over into mount. Jennings maintains a strong lock on the neck, however, and uses it to reverse Valadez. Valadez quickly hip escapes out the back, but Jennings uses the opportunity to stand against the cage. Valadez lands several hard punches from behind before Jennings turns and catches Valadez with a hard right hand. Jennings pursues with a flurry, landing hard punches and knees to the backpedaling Valadez. On the ropes, Valadez shoots under and scores another double leg, stepping over into mount when Jennings grabs for the guillotine choke. Jennings turns to his back and manages to get to his feet, but Valadez greets him with hard punches against the cage as the round ends.
Round two begins with Valadez using good footwork to pressure Jennings near the cage. Jennings tries to respond with aggression, but Valadez easily ducks under for a double leg takedown. Valadez moves to mount again and Jennings rolls him to guard where he is immediately caught in a triangle. Valadez uses the triangle to sweep to mount where he lands hard punches before Jennings manages to break free, shooting on Valadez against the cage. Valadez grabs a guillotine choke and falls to guard, where they remain until the round ends.
The final round sees Valadez again pressuring Jennings to the fence. Jennings has a brief flurry that Valadez turns into another double leg against the cage. Transitioning from mount to back control, Valadez goes hard for the rear naked choke, but Jennings is able to defend and reverse to top. Valadez closes up a triangle, and Jennings counters with punches until the final bell sounds. Final scores were 29-28, 29-27, and 30-27 for Valadez, as he picked up a solid unanimous decision in his debut performance. Well done Mo!!!
Our final athlete of the evening was Billy Carothers taking on veteran Kerry Lattimer in a professional welterweight fight. Lattimer charges forward immediately, but Carothers easily reverses and takes Lattimer to the ground. Posturing up inside Lattimer’s closed guard, Carothers lands brutal elbows on a turtling Lattimer. Referee Tom Supnet looks close to stopping it, but Lattimer is able to show him enough to stay in the fight. More hard elbows land for Carothers. Lattimer opens his guard and manages to stand against the cage. Carothers drops low for another takedown, but leaves his neck exposed. Lattimer seizes the moment and jumps guard into a tight guillotine choke, forcing the tap from Carothers. Despite the result, it was a strong showing for Carothers, and just demonstrates how quickly the tide can shift in an MMA fight. Always proud of you Billy, keep your chin up!
Great effort from the entire squad, as always they represented themselves with courage and class! Special thanks to the teammates and coaches who helped our athletes prepare, and all the SBG fans who made the trip over to cheer our guys on!!!
