TCP; Cougars rumble at the Roseland *WEB EXCLUSIVE*

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Feb. 05, 2013
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Sports

Marching along the warrior’s path, two mighty prodigies stepped up to defend Clackamas’ honor in the cage on Saturday, Jan. 19. Rumble at The Roseland no. 69, presented by the Full Contact Fighting Federation. At 6 p.m., droves of fight enthusiasts began filling the building, anticipating the 7 p.m. start.

Taekwondo black belt Brogan Stewart-Ng fights in the 155 pound division. Originally from Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, he was a national Taekwondo champion and alternate for Australia's Olympic team. He wrestles in the 157 pound division for CCC and recently joined Team Quest in Gresham, one of the most prominent mixed martial arts gyms in the nation.

“I also did amateur boxing in Australia,” said Stewart-Ng.

Urmas Yanis wrestles in the 125 or 133 pound division for Clackamas and fights in the 135 pound division in the cage. Yanis wrestled for North Salem high school where he was the team captain during his junior and senior years. “I’m a thrower,” said Yanis. He and Stewart-Ng trained at Team Quest together in preparation for the fights.

As the crowd milled around, they made themselves at home. The hum of the bustle was interrupted by booming speakers crackling, reminding everyone to avoid throwing things in the cage and requesting no flash photography. Introductions were made and the fights were underway.

The first fight of the night featured the 131 pound division. True to his name, Bob ‘Gunslinger’ Graisbery blazed forward firing punches and a spinning kick at his opponent Derek Neff. Graisbery secured a rear choke after a quick takedown and punches, winning in 47 seconds of round one via tap out.

Eyes wide with excitement, the fight fans were still in awe from the quick opening battle when fight number two hit the cage. At 205 pounds, Zane Robinson defeated Grant Harman, going the distance through all three rounds and earning a unanimous decision. Fight number three was a heavyweight match between Sam Sprauer who pummeled a downed Richard Ryan earning a TKO victory at 2:03 of round one.

The 141 pound division brought Chance Stamps and James Wade to match number four. Stamps wasted no time in taking the fight down and controlling his opponent to secure a TKO victory by strikes on the ground at 58 seconds of the first round.

If it was a movie, the title would read: Enter the Cougar! CCC wrestler Stewart-Ng climbed the cage stairs and stepped inside to face a very intense Reuben ‘T1000’ Heath.

Stewart-Ng started the match with two textbook takedown attempts, but Heath recovered after each. Bouncing up and down in true Taekwondo style, Stewart-Ng stayed light on his feet. Moving deftly around the cage, controlling range and rhythm of the fight, he fired off pinpoint strikes, solid knees and traded punches with Heath.

While momentarily clinched against the cage, Heath attempted foot stomps. Stewart-Ng broke away from the cage, continuing to bounce and staying relaxed. Out of nowhere he launched a killer head kick, partially blocked by a lucky Heath. In a highlight reel moment, Stewart-Ng executed a spinning back kick to the head of his bewildered opponent. The flashy technique sent a roar of applause through the crowd during the last moments of round one.

“Set it up with the hands,” said Stewart-Ng’s corner, Cody Isaacson, between rounds. The corner is a fighter’s cage side coach, helping with strategy and looking out for the fighter’s health between rounds and during the fight.

Starting off round two, Stewart-Ng fired off another solid head kick which Heath partially blocked.

“More jab, please,” Isaacson called out. The fighters exchanged more strikes and Heath landed a strong head punch. Leg kicks by Stewart-Ng taunted Heath who pressed forward, closed the distance and assumed cage pressure. Heath grappled for a takedown which Stewart-Ng fought off, but on the way back up, Stewart-Ng caught a knee to the head. The bell signaled the end of round two.

As round three began, Stewart-Ng dropped for a double leg takedown and was successful. He gained top control and flattened out his waning opponent with strikes on the ground. One final punch ended the night for Heath at 1:59 of round three and earned Stewart-Ng a KO win for his mixed martial arts debut.

“He did very well,” said Isaacson after the fight, “he used good stand up and we thought he did well against the fence so we went to wrestling and found the advantage.”

With his left eye swollen from a hard strike, Stewart-Ng made his way backstage.

“My vision was all blurry,” said an excited Stewart-Ng. “I was seeing two of him at one point; it was hard to focus on where he was. I’m not used to guys just throwing haymakers. I’m used to striking it out at a more measured pace. I was confident with my strikes, but I wanted to show I had wrestling too.”
The fights continued to energize the crowd as a pair of 155 pounders battled it out for three rounds; John Baker won decisively with a unanimous decision against Nelson Hernandez.

At a catchweight of 175 pounds, Michael ‘Gumby’ Delgado, handed Josiah Wessel his first loss with a tenaciously secured arm bar to force the tap out at 1:46 of round three.

Using well timed strikes and solid grappling techniques, 205 pounder Emmanuel Cammarata won his three round US debut against Nate Cook via unanimous decision.

Prowling the edge of the cage was yet another Clackamas Cougar, hungry for battle. Yanis pounced into the cage bearing his fangs at his opponent. David Magliane stood across the cage, prepared and waiting.

The cage closed and the 135 pounders were let loose by the referee. Yanis shot in for a single leg takedown to set the pace for the round. The fight continued to escalate as both fighters battled tenaciously. Towards the end of the round, Yanis wrapped his arms around his opponent from behind and launched a devastating slam takedown. Yanis finished out round one decisively with excellent standing punches.

Round two began with a leg kick by Magliane. Against the cage, a knee by Yanis gave Magliane an opportunity to reverse the position in his favor. Magliane tripped Yanis and launched a ground attack, but was kicked off. Yanis latched on to Magliane’s back again, they battled for position, but Yanis gained leverage, unleashed a flurry of strikes on the ground and attempted a rear choke as round two closed.

Yanis shot quickly grabbing a double leg takedown, beginning the final round, he secured top control and jumped to his feet just to grab Magliane’s back again. With better position and leverage than previous attempts, Yanis fired punches in bunches at his increasingly defenseless opponent until the official stepped in to declare Yanis winner by technical knockout at 1:27 of round three.

“I felt pretty good, my striking was there,” said Yanis. “I like taking peoples backs, I planned the slam.”
Next, Tyree Fortune defeated Paul Sims by TKO at 1:10 of round two becoming the the new FCFF heavyweight champion.

Shaking the house, Ricky Alcaraz won the FCFF super heavyweight championship against Brandon Flint by TKO at 2:19 of round one.

The headline bout of the event was a siege of combat that took place up, down, against the cage and everywhere in between. Katie Howard showed excellent poise in overcoming her opponent, Kyra Batara. Batara proved to be a very solid fighter during the five round fight. The fight was the highlight of the night and was the fastest paced. Congratulated by resounding cheers from the crowd, Howard was awarded a unanimous decision by the judges and became the new FCFF women's junior flyweight champion.

At the end of the night, the Clackamas wrestlers took home a win each, honoring their wrestling team and coach. All their hard work and dedication in training had paid off.

“Special thanks to coach Josh Rhoden,” said Stewart-Ng. March 9 is the next scheduled FCFF event, but no upcoming fights have been set for the Clackamas Cougar pair. They have both stated their intentions of competing in the cage again soon.