Bully Gang MMA cage fighter Nathan Rice won the heavyweight title and main event and Chris Ensley retained his 170-pound title with Brass Knuckles Promotions Saturday night at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis.
Rice dominated his opponent, Ryan Miller of Team Spartan in Salem, after taking a hard early hit in his match.
“He caught me with a good shot,” Rice said.
Rice took Miller down and then held him down, delivering blows as he could while Miller fought back, regaining his feet a couple of times.
Both looked fatigued as the first round ended, but Rice, bleeding from a cut above his left eye, looked ready to go at the start of the second round.
“I noticed he was really tired in the second round,” Rice said. “I just knew if I could take him down and control him, (I would win).”
Miller flew at Rice to open the round, but Rice dodged the blow, grabbing Miller and taking him to the ground. After a brief struggle, with Miller “gassed out,” Rice rolled him over, got on top and repeatedly punched Miller in the face, winning after knocking Miller out.
Rice is now 4-0.
Ensley’s fight lasted only seconds against challenger Toby Bollier of Salem. Bollier lost when Ensley knocked him out.
Ensley said he hit Bollier “with a right, and he was out,” Ensley said. “I had to tell the ref. He was actually unconscious (before) I got him in the choke.”
In other fights, Shorty Weikel went three rounds, his longest so far, winning a unanimous decision against Joe Rosa of Sweet Home, representing Victory Gym, at 155 pounds. Weikel extended his record to 3-0. Rosa entered the fight with a 3-0 record.
Brad Seiber won his first cage fight against Gene Blevin of Douglas County Punishers, a Roseburg club, at 210 pounds. Blevin tapped out.
At 155 pounds, Jeff Landtroop won his first fight against Jimmy Johnson, another newcomer, of Team Spart in Salem by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Allen Davis, at 185 pounds, was defeated by technical knockout in a match against Casey Gonzales, a first-time fighter. Davis’ record is now 1-1.
“Everybody had great fights,” team manager Cory Graham said. “Everybody was paired up perfectly.”
The one loss was “very debatable,” he said. Overall, it shows the Bully Gang is the toughest around.
“I’m real proud of them,” Graham said.
For information, to sponsor team members or to join the Bully Gang, call Graham at 409-5515.