Tagle wins second bout; Bully Gang loses two

Bully Gang cage fighters came up with one win out of three fights Saturday night at the Capital City Cage Fights Saturday night in Salem.

“It was a bad day at the races,” Bully Gang owner and manager Cory Graham said. “We’ll come back bigger and stronger next time.”

In his second cage fight and his debut as a Bully Gang fighter, Trevor Tagle, 2-0, defeated Jimmy Johnson, 0-3, of Team Spartan by submission with an arm triangle.

Tagle came out swinging and then took his opponent down, dominating the first round. He got into a little trouble in the second round as Johnson held him against the cage, but he turned it and took Johnson down.

“I wanted to come out and swing a little bit and stay on my feet,” Tagle said. “He was going all out,” but he left the takedown open. Tagle took advantage of it and took him down to win the first round.

In the second round, Tagle tried to repeat the first round, but when he tried to take Johnson down, Johnson was able to get out. Johnson was putting his elbow over Tagle’s head, but Tagle slipped his arm under Johnson’s and was able to get a triangle to finish.

“I feel tired,” Tagle said. “I need to work on my conditioning.”

He figures if he does that, he might be able to stand longer before taking the fight to the ground.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “I would like the knockout, but submission is still a stoppage.”

“Trevor’s been training and seeking other fighting skills,” Graham said. “All around, it was just a good fight. Both were looking to prove themselves.”

Johnson is three times the fighter he was when the Bully Gang last saw him, Graham said, “so Trevor did great. Trevor is a dedicated person, and when he says something, he’s going to do it. He’s definitely dedicated to Bully Gang MMA, his teammates and his training.”

Chris Hardin, 5-3, lost the 130-pound title match to Team Spartan’s Colby Keppinger, 5-0, by referee stoppage 30 seconds into the first round. Both fighters ran full speed from their corners, with Hardin dealing a flying kick to Keppinger.

Hardin got an arm bar on Keppinger and just had to get him to the ground to finish him, but Keppinger picked Hardin up and slammed his head and shoulders into the mat three times, injuring Hardin’s right shoulder and forcing him to release the arm bar.

Hardin planned to go to the hospital following the event. No details on his injury were available at press time.

“I had the arm bar sunk,” Hardin said. “I had to get him down.”

He felt all right when Keppinger elevated him and then slammed him down, he said. He remembered three slams and still feeling all right, but “the next thing I know my corner’s there picking me up.”

For the 145-pound title and the main event, Team Spartan’s Travis Hutchison, 7-0, choked out using a rear guillotine Shorty Weikel, 4-1, in the second round, delivering Weikel’s first loss.

“I definitely want it noted that Travis Hutchison showed disrespect after his win against Shorty,” Graham said.

After the fight, Hutchison told the crowd, “He made it to the second round, which is further than I thought.”

“He knew Shorty was a dominating Sweet Home wrestler, and he wanted to beat him at his game,” Graham said. “That’s what we kept telling him, ‘He’s going to try to choke you out. He’s been waiting.'”

Graham said he was proud of both Hardin, who gives so much to the Bully Gang, and Weikel. Hardin is a full-time student with a full-time job and children, and he stays busy training and training his teammates.

“Shorty has stayed focused, dedicated and healthy – giving it all he had – and he has a lot of heart,” Graham said. The only thing that fell short was his hand-to-hand training due to transportation problems.

“Bully Gang MMA has been on top for so long, literally going on a year, we’ve gotten stagnant in our training,” Graham said. The Bully Gang dominated everyone. “Now the level of competition is catching up to us.”

Their opponents know they have to go further to reach the Bully Gang’s level, Graham said. Team Spartan trained and studied to beat Bully Gang opponents.

The Bully Gang has been taking advantage of different training opportunities to take their game to the next level, Graham said. That’s why they’ve been working with the Desert Dogs in Eastern Oregon, and Bully Gang fighters are busy getting even more kinds of training.

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