This Saturday in Salem, Oregon Knucklehead Fights Presents: Fight to Defeat ALS

Thursday, November 12, 2015

David Golden of GoLocalPDX Partner Site Oregon Sports News

via Knucklehead Fights' Facebook page

Over the past four years, Salem-based fight promotion Knucklehead Fights has earned a reputation as a promotion that gives back to its community. This Saturday, November 14th at the Salem Armory will be no different as Knucklehead Fights Presents: Fight To Defeat ALS. Five dollars from every ticket sold will be donated to the Oregon and SW Washington chapter of the ALS Association. A great night of fights will benefit a great cause.

The fight card is as follows:

Bantamweight – Ignacio Mendez vs. Keegan Davis
Featherweight – Brian Heenan vs. Austin Stephens
Welterweight – Artem Marchuck vs Angel Espino
Featherweight – Cesar Zarate vs. Brandon Uri
Lightweight – Jose Ibara vs. Brandon Dettra
180lb Catch weight – Josh Connelly vs. Curtis Kotter
Heavyweight – Loren Sims vs. Corrine Symolon
Lightweight – Chase Holley vs. Mark Cano
Heavyweight – Chris Hight vs. Mauricio Duran
Flyweight – Raymond Woodward vs. Chris Garcia
Welterweight – DJ Nuttal vs. Ray Gonzales
Middleweight – Carlitto Luis Silvey vs. Cordon Jewell
Bantamweight – Chris Weston vs. David Converse
Welterweight – Scott Philp vs. Amin Kajtaz
Pro* Welterweight – John Constien vs. TJ Koehler
Pro* Welterweight Title Fight – Hadi Alawadh vs. Tyson Jeffries
Pro* Light Heavyweight Title Fight – Ray Garcia vs. Nick Biron

Card is subject to change.

This card features a number of great amateur fighters but it is the professional side of the card that really peaks my interest. In the first pro bout of the night, John Constien will be making his professional debut against another first timer, TJ Koehler. John Constien fights out of Team Quest and has an 8-0 record as an amateur. Having found great success under the tutelage of Matt Lindland, Constien believes the time is right to make his professional debut. Constien is a very good wrestler who favors top position. Leading up to the fight, Constien mentioned that even though his opponent also has a solid top game, he believes that his experience will allow him to be superior in that area and expects to impose his will on Koehler. TJ Koehler is on an eight-fight win streak of his own. Training at Rose City FC in Portland, Koehler has become very well rounded. While he may instinctively return to his wrestling, it is no secret that Rose City FC fighters love to strike. Koehler seems to have studied his opponent and noted that the head kicks of Constien would be something he would be on the lookout for. With both fighters having wrestling backgrounds, this one could end up being a war on the feet and will certainly entertain the crowd.

The first of two titles fights for the evening will feature an up and coming pro taking on a veteran welterweight champion. The young upstart is Hadi Alawadh, who trains with Team Chaos in Salem. Team Chaos is a young but very talented fight team. Known for dispatching solid game plans, the coaching staff at Team Chaos will most certainly have Alawadh prepared to take down the veteran champ, Tyson Jeffries. The issue for Alawadh will be the experience factor. Jeffries has more professional wins than Alawadh has amateur and professional fights combined. Considering that Jeffries has true big fight experience having fought for King of the Cage, M-1 Global and even Bellator MMA, it seems that he is the clear favorite in this fight. With that being said, Alawadh has serious knockout power and hopefully wasn’t taken lightly by Jeffries during his fight camp.

The night’s main event pits Ray Garcia against Nick Biron. This matchup is a return bout for the two who met once already as amateurs. In their first meeting, the fight went to the scorecards and ended in a decision victory for Biron. This fight will be the professional debut of Biron, who is coming off a stellar amateur career. With an amateur record of 12-0, Biron certainly has the hot prospect buzz humming around him. He seems to be all business heading into this matchup and made it clear that he won’t be looking past his opponent. Look for him to utilize his kickboxing in this fight, as that has become a trademark of many fighters training with Rose City FC. Garcia is already 2-0 as a professional but at 33 years old, it seems that he understands he needs to use his brain as much as his athleticism. Leading up to this fight, Garcia has been very complimentary of Biron and it is clear that he is taking this fight very seriously. For him, this fight will come down to fighting his fight. If Garcia falls into a slugfest with the quick and powerful Biron, it could spell disaster for the Team Chaos fighter.

With a total of seventeen fights on this card, the guys at Knucklehead are offering up more than a fair value for the $25 entry fee. If you want to see what a quality local MMA show looks like, don’t miss out on this show. Additionally, it is a great opportunity for you to go out and support Pacific Northwest MMA and the ALS Association. For further information on tickets, fighter interviews and future events, you can learn more at the Knucklehead Fights Facebook page, here.

GoLocalPDX partner Oregon Sports News: Since 2011, Oregon Sports News has provided entertaining, hard-hitting local sports news & commentary every weekday. To read more from this author, check out Oregon Sports News by clicking here.

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