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Fight Night in Dothan
Dothan, Alabama, 90 miles outside of Birmingham, with a population of 62,713 has become a melting pot for its friendly atmosphere of Southern Hospitality. Dothan once played host to the UFC back on February 7, 1997 for UFC 12 "Judgment Day", also known as the "underground" era of the UFC. UFC 12 was the first UFC event to feature weight classes; heavyweights at 200lbs and up and lightweights at 199lbs and under. This event featured the "Super-fight" between Dan Severn and Mark Coleman which would determine the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Coleman defeated Severn with a nasty triangle choke which forced him to tap. The event also marked the first appearance of Joe Rogan, who was handling backstage and in-cage interviews for the event.
On Saturday April 19, 2008 the Dothan Alabama Civic Center welcomed Lane Collyer's XFN Extreme Fight Night, one of the top MMA promotions in the Southeast. Unlike many of the smaller previous MMA promoters in Dothan who were unsuccessful, XFN Extreme Fight Night is sanctioned under I.S.K.A rules, which will bring certified judges and officials, rules and regulations of I.S.K.A sanctioning body, and stream line internet pay per view. Lane Collyer, owner and promoter of Extreme Fight Night recently signed a deal for the next four years to host fights at the Dothan Civic Center. Along with the scheduled shows for August and November this year, Collyer's other events include XFN Gainesville Fight Night VII at the Georgia Mountains Center on May 31st and XFN Gadsden Fight Night at the Gadsden Convention Hall on June 28th. All shows will include Professional MMA fights, Amateur MMA fights, and Muay Thai Kickboxing matches. April 19th was Collyer's first event at the Civic Center and featured eight amateur MMA bouts, two professional MMA bouts, and one Muay Thai Kickboxing bout. Fighters represented gyms from Alabama's Dothan Combatives and Shadow MMA, gyms from Georgia included Bulldog Kickboxing, X3 Sports, Alpha Fighting Systems, Tifton MMA, and Rage MMA, gyms from Florida included Fierce Fight Team and Capitao Jiu-Jitsu. Headlining Saturday's show and making his professional MMA debut was Dothan Combatives own Eric West with a 5-1 amateur record. He is known to be a strong, well-rounded fighter with good hands and a solid ground game. He was up against a star of BET's "Iron Ring" reality show, Primus Moore out of Tifton MMA. As predicted by many, Eric West defeated Primus Moore by TKO at 4:58 in round one. Other teammates from Dothan Combatives to take the win that night were Xavier Morales and Richard Lamb. Check out the quick fight results below.
1) 3 Rounds of Lightweight Mixed Martial Arts
Mike Cefalu (Bulldog Kickboxing/Georgia) versus Xavier Morales (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Winner: Xavier Morales at 2:56 of round one by rear naked choke
2) 3 Rounds of Welterweight Mixed Martial Arts
Clint Swartzlander (X3 Sports/Georgia) versus Juan Berrios (Fierce Fight Team/Florida)
Winner: Clint Swartzlander at 1:30 of round one via triangle choke
3) 3 Rounds of Light Heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts
Tony Pavolini (Shadow MMA/ Alabama) versus Matt Bass (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Fight ruled a no contest due to an unintentional groin kick
4) 3 Rounds of Lightweight Mixed Martial Arts
Ethan Watts (Alpha Fighting Systems/Georgia) versus Joshua Thomas (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Winner: Ethan Watts at 41 seconds into the first round by rear naked choke
5) 3 Rounds of Middleweight Mixed Martial Arts
Jerod Salter (Capitao Jui Jitsu/Florida) versus Aaron Wilcox (Shadow MMA/Alabama)
Winner: Jerod Salter at 1:57 into round two by arm bar
6) 4 Rounds of Welterweight Muay Thai Rules
Josh Shaddock (Bulldog Kickboxing/Georgia) versus James Isler (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Winner: Josh Shaddock by TKO at 2:00 into round three
7) 3 Rounds of Welterweight Mixed Martial Arts
Steele McCall (X3 Sports/Georgia) versus Dave Pattie (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Winner: Steele McCall at 1:22 of the first round due to a triangle choke
8) 3 Rounds of Bantumweight Mixed Martial Arts
Larry Landry (Alpha Fighting Systems/Georgia) versus Micah Goss (Rage MMA/Georgia)
Winner: Larry Landry by knockout at 20 seconds into the first round
9) 3 Rounds of Light Heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts
Mike Bradford (Shadow MMA/ Alabama) versus Richard Lamb (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Winner: Richard Lamb by TKO at 1:18 into the first round
10) 285lbs Amateur Mixed Martial Arts
James Percy (Fierce Fight Team/Florida) versus Kenneth Linen (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Winner: James Percy by TKO at 3:15 into the third round
11) 185 lbs. Professional Mixed Martial Arts
Primus Moore (Tifton MMA/Georgia) versus Eric West (Dothan Combatives/Alabama)
Winner: Eric West by TKO at 4:58 of the first round
by Donna Knoll
photo courtesy of extremefightnight.net
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