Category: News

Bland County high school in Rocky Gap will be the site for Titans of the Cage #26 on Saturday, December 1st.  Doors will open at 5:00 P.M. and fights start promptly at 6:00 P.M.   Many of the region’s best amateur MMA fighters will be in action on this card.

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In the main event, it will be Wytheville up and coming fighter, “Razor” Robbie Ring making his bid to take the bantamweight title from the clutches of current TOC champion, A.J. Sanchez of Chicago, IL.   Ring who represents Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville comes off of an impressive win over Josh Cook of Halifax, VA, while Sanchez comes in riding high after retaining his title against Ring’s teammate, Ray Ray Holston. Ring hopes to take the next step in his promising young career, but standing in his way is a very formidable opponent in Sanchez.

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The Co-Main event will be Nick Beal of Asheboro School of martial arts challenging current TOC lightweight champion, Sean Mitchell of South Hill. In a bout being billed as a “super fight” it will be Ray Ray Holston of Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville facing Eric Rodriguez of Team Phoenix out of Greensboro, NC. Both of these fighters are on the verge of moving up to the professional ranks.

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In a special “expo” grappling match, two decorated U.S. Military veterans will face off.     Derik Rogers Joined the United States Army on January 31, 2007. Part of Big Red One 1st Combat Battalion 1-77FA, Falcon First, Derik was injured in August during a training exercise and has been fighting to save his foot ever since.

Garrett Carnes joined the U.S. Marines in 2009 as an infantryman. In February of 2012 while conducting a helicopter raid he stepped on an improvised explosive device resulting in the immediate loss of both of his legs. After nearly 40 surgeries and 16 months of rehabilitation he left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center walking on prosthetic legs. He has always challenged himself to not let his amputation’s limit him or identify him.   Derik and Garrett will do battle in the TOC cage in a special grappling match to serve as an example that anything is possible if you are determined.

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This event is full of great match-ups.   Clay Anders (Wytheville) vs. Josh Cook (Halifax), Adam Zolot (Greensboro, NC) vs. Nick Farley (Cool Ridge, WV), Tyler Carrico (Wytheville) vs. Raymond Greene (Bland), Jaylee Long (Independence) vs. Isaiah Thompson (Galax), Derick Bias (Wytheville) vs. William Hale (Roanoke), Danny Edwards (Wytheville) vs Adrian Guijoza (Martinsville), Jacob Catron (Wytheville) vs. Jeff Wright (Hillsville) and Josh Lilley (Myrtle Beach, SC) vs. Jacob Coller (Greensboro, NC).

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Still other great bouts that will be featured are; Joey DeSanto (Indiana) vs. Jeremy O’Quinten Cooper (Greensboro, NC), Joshua Rush (Roanoke) vs. Nicholas Fisher (Roanoke), Zack Humbertson (Fairmont, WV) vs. Jacob Lamb (Greensboro, NC) and Zack Bobbit (South Hill) vs. Jeff Copeland (Martinsville).

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Several youth expo grappling matches will be featured, including sisters Ada and Jillian Lambert testing their skills against each other.   Both Ada and Jillian are part of the Tiny Titans program at Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville. They are the daughters of Jody and Olena Lambert of Bland. Ring girls for the event will be Tiffany Barr of Abingdon, Maranda Allen of Wytheville and Katie Crump of West, Virginia.

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The early weigh-in event will be held on Friday, November 30^th at Italian Garden in Wytheville and is free and open to the public starting at 6 P.M.  Fans are urged to come out and meet all the fighters and ring girls and have your picture made with them. The event is sponsored by and will benefit the Bland county girl’s softball program.  Everyone is urged to come out to Bland County H.S. in Rocky Gap and support local MMA and student athletes. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.titansofthecage.com Tickets can also be purchased at the early weigh-in event or at the door at Bland high school.

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Pulaski County high school played host to Titans of the Cage’s 25th event this past Saturday evening. Fans from all around the region filed in to enjoy some 17 MMA bouts, as well as some youth grappling bouts and sport karate matches inside the cage. Competitors from all around the region, with one competitor coming from as far away as Chicago, IL helped to make up this explosive fight card. The fans in attendance got treated to a super entertaining night of fights.

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Title fights and championship belts were on the line, with seven (7) different title fights on the card. The main event of the evening seen challenger Zion Tomlinson of Legion MMA in Roanoke dethrone the champion, Christian Bradberry of Knoxville, TN by triangle choke late in the 3rd round of the contest. Tomlinson had lost the first two rounds on the judges’ scorecards before he came roaring back in the 3rd to get the win and become the new TOC middleweight champ. Pulaski County native and the area fan favorite, C.J. Burleson out of Ring-Combat sports in Wytheville retained his cruiserweight title by way of 1st round TKO over Chris Hamlett of Blacksburg. Burleson landed a strong knee strike which wobbled Hamlett a little over a minute into the fight and Burleson swarmed in to finish the fight by TKO from strikes.

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18 year old “Razor” Robbie Ring is a rising fighter who is already widely recognized throughout the region and he stepped inside the cage to do battle with Titans of the Cage veteran fighter and TOC hall of fame member, Josh Cook of Halifax fight team. Robbie Ring dominated the action in this one, winning all three rounds on the judges’ scorecards and scoring the unanimous decision win. Ring hurt Cook in the first round with a solid knee to the head from a standing clinch, but Cook somehow weathered the storm and survive the round. The next two rounds were much of the same, with Ring mixing in a steady diet of strikes, coupled with being able to easily land takedowns and deliver ground and pound. Cook did display great heart and determination to be able to last out the three rounds.

A.J. Sanchez of Chicago, IL retained his bantamweight belt by defeating Ray Ray Holston of Ring-Combat sports by 3rd round TKO. Austin Cox of Elite grappling in Lebanon stopped Micah Sheffey of Ring-Combat Sports by 3rd round TKO to become the new TOC welterweight champion. Sean Mitchell of South Hill claimed the TOC lightweight championship by defeating Dylan Smith of Elite grappling in Lebanon by rear naked choke in the 1st round. Adam Zolot of Team Phoenix out of Greensboro, NC took home the TOC featherweight title by stopping Mike Sant of Absolute Jiu-Jitsu in Bristol, TN by rear naked choke. Finally, Logan Hurley of Ring-Combat sports in Wytheville retained his TOC flyweight championship by stopping Coeburn fighter, Billy Byrd by TKO in the 1st round.

In other results it was Tango Rogers defeated Josh Cloud, Danny Edwards defeated Will Wilson, Kristy Stafford defeated Stevana Shouvley, Tyler Gilger defeated Jacob Coller, Matthew Hairston defeated Derek Wisser, Jeffrey Carrico defeated Danny Stubbs, Tanner Perry defeated William Hale and Ron Vance defeated Devon Shewey.

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Participants in the youth expo bouts were five year olds; Emily Porter, Riley Grubb, Joey Larkin and Eli Holston, all of the Ring-Combat sports Tiny Titans program in Wytheville. Other youth participants were nine year olds, Sierra Llewellyn and Hunter Penningon, as well as thirteen year olds Emily Foore and Grace Crowder, also of the Ring-Combat sports youth martial arts program.

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The event helped to benefit the Pulaski County Special Olympics. TOC will return to action on December 1st at Rocky Gap high school. You can stay up with all the TOC action by searching on facebook for Titans of the Cage or visiting the website at www.titansofthecage.com

If you missed the Titans of the Cage #24 event this past Saturday evening in Independence, you missed what was probably the most exciting fight card, from top to bottom in the history of the event. Every fight was evenly matched and highly competitive. This event had a little bit of everything, from knockouts, several submissions and fights that were determined by close decisions.

In the main event of the evening, it was champion K.C. Cockran, of Roanoke retaining his lightweight belt by stopping a game challenger, Micah Sheffey of Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville, by arm bar late in round four. Entering the 4^th round, Sheffey was up on the judges’ score cards having won the first two rounds. Cockran grappled his way to the mounted position midway into the fourth round where he finished the fight with an arm bar submission.

In a fight being billed as a “Super fight”, Ray Ray Holston of Ring-Combat sports stopped Eric Rodriguez of Team Phoenix out of Greensboro, NC with a beautiful heel hook submission, to earn his 11^th win inside the cage, along with another “submission of the night” award to add to his collection.

In another thriller, it was current light heavyweight champ, Tyler Cardwell of Ring-Combat sports, stopping accomplished boxer and current black diamond beat down heavyweight champ, Josh Short of Charlottesville. Cardwell came out and was extremely dominant in rounds one and two.   He ran into some adversity he had to overcome in round three when Short landed a stiff shot to his chin that rocked the champion. Cardwell was able to weather the storm and retain his title by arm bar submission late in the 3^rd round.

Other winners included; Will Holtzclaw (Norfolk) def. Stacy Dalton (Wytheville), Josh Cook (Halifax) def. Dee Venable (Martinsville), Danny Edwards (Wytheville) def. Devon Shewey (Fort Chiswell), Evan Lineberry (Hillsville) def. Will Wilson (Roanoke), Jared Gravely (Beckley, WV) def. Mathew Porter (Wytheville), Kyle Davis (Princeton, WV) def. James Dean (Max Meadows), Clay Anders (Wytheville) def. Josh Cloud (Martinsville), Tango Rogers (Princeton, WV) def. William Hale (Roanoke), Jeremiah Wills (Greensboro, NC) def. Justin Shatto (Dublin), Tony Booher (Bristol, TN) def. Sean Mitchell (South Hill) and Cody Prior (Covington) def. Jaylee Long (Wytheville).

The night also featured three “expo” bouts. Ring-Combat Sports teammates, Zach Perkins and Tanner Sark went three exciting rounds in a teen kickboxing expo, with no winner declared. Seventeen year old, Alex Troxal of Pennington Gap, defeated seventeen year old Keith Pecora of Beckley, WV by rear naked choke, while Austin Cox of Lebanon and Kaine Tomlinson Jr. of Roanoke fought to a three round draw.

Youth competitors included; Brie Hubbard, Emma Allen, Matyus Kennard, Kayden Walters, Desiree Simpkins, Gabrielle Waller and Makenzie Pennington, all members of the youth programs at Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville, as well as Aaliyah Lacks of Norfolk. Ring girls for the event were Tiffany Barr of Abingdon and Katie Crump from Beckley, WV.   Ring announcer for the evening was Pastor Jody Pyles of Radford.

The event was sponsored by and helped to benefit the Grayson County H.S. athletic department.   Titans of the cage events are sanctioned by the state of VA and overseen by United Combat Arts sanctioning body. The next Titans of the Cage event is tentatively scheduled for October. Stay informed about the event by following Titans of the Cage on facebook or visiting www.titansofthecage.com.

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Photo 1: Micah Sheffey (right) lands an inside leg kick to the champion KC Cockran (left)

Photo 2: Ring-Combat Sports fighter Ray Ray Holston (right) finishes his opponent Eric Rodriguez (left) with a heel hook submission.

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Photo Credits:  Cody Houck – 5 O’Clock Photography

Local and regional MMA fans came out in record numbers at Pulaski County H.S. to support the sport of mixed martial arts, the fellowship of Christian athletes, as well as the several area fighters competing in the event. The event was sanctioned by United Combat Arts and the sport of MMA is regulated by and overseen by the DPOR of the State of VA.

Highlighted bouts on the night seen Pulaski County fighter, C.J. Burleson bring home the TOC cruiserweight championship belt by defeating C.W. Ferguson of Roanoke, VA by first round TKO. Also, A.J. Sanchez of Team Enigma out of Chicago, IL pulled off the upset of the evening when he pulled off a guillotine choke to defeat Ray Ray Holston of Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville to become the new TOC bantamweight champion.

In the biggest and most anticipated fight of the evening, it was the current TOC featherweight champ, Jeromy Mitchell of Advantage Martial Arts in Princeton, WV taking on Doug Williams of Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville in a bout deemed a super fight. Williams used takedowns and ground and pound techniques to defeat Mitchell in a bout that was contested at 150 lbs. Early in the second round, Williams scored another takedown and then secured a position known as the crucifix position and begin to open up on Mitchell with repeated strikes, until referee Marcelo Rodriguez stepped in to stop the fight, with Williams victorious by TKO referee stoppage.

In other events of interest, K.C. Cockran of Hybrid martial arts in Roanoke defended his lightweight championship by defeating Dylan Smith of Elite grappling in Lebanon. Brandon Williams of Greensboro, NC became the new TOC welterweight champion by defeating the reigning champ, Joey DeSanto of Indiana by rear naked choke in the fourth round. Jaylee Long of Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville defeated Will Holtzclaw of the UFC gym in Norfolk by second round TKO to move Longs record to 2-0. In the main event of the evening it was Christian Bradberry of Knoxville, TN (formally of Wytheville), claiming the vacant TOC middleweight belt by defeating veteran fighter Antwon Curtis of Modern Gladiators in Roanoke, by first round TKO.

Up and coming fighter Zion Tomlinson of Team Legion out of Roanoke stopped Micah Dando of Josh Cate MMA out of Knoxville, TN in the quickest fight of the night by TKO in only 18 seconds. Tyler Carrico of Ring-Combat sports in Wytheville stopped Charlie Conner of Halifax fight team by TKO in the second round. Other results on the night included; Robert Niday (modern gladiators) defeated Stacy Dalton (Ring-combat sports) by TKO, Jacob Coller (Uprise MMA) defeated Dee Venable (Martinsville) by TKO, Jake Lineberry (backyard brawlers) defeated Clay Anders (Ring-Combat sports) by guillotine choke, Josh Cook (Halifax fight team) defeated Daniel Parsons (Big Stone Gap) by rear naked choke, Austin Cox (Elite Grapping) defeated Jody Pyles (Pyles combat) as fighter could not continue due to injury.

Elijah Caviness (backyard brawlers) and Addison Hendry (uprise MMA) showcased their kickboxing skills in a teen kickboxing “expo” bout with no winner being declared. Also Chris Spencer (Ring-Combat Sports) took on Stacy Dalton II (Austinville) in an MMA “expo” with no winner being declared. There were also two crowd pleasing youth expo bouts featuring students of the Tiny Titans martial arts program at Ring-Combat sports in Wytheville.     Four year olds Riley Grubb and Joey Larkin entertained the fans with their jiu-jitsu skills. Riley is the daughter of Danielle Reeves and Cody Grubb of Wytheville and Joey is the son of Joe and Ashley Larkin of Rocky Gap. Next it was seven year olds Brady Sark and Dalton Walters displaying their jiu-jitsu technique to the enjoyment of the large crowd.   Brady is the son of Greg and Tonya Sark and Dalton is the son of Wayne and Denise Walters, all of Fort Chiswell.

Ring girls for the event were Tiffany Barr of Abingdon and Keyona Miller of Roanoke.   The National anthem was performed by sisters Ashley Larkin and Lindsay Gray of Rocky Gap. The event was sponsored by and benefited the Pulaski County fellowship of Christian athletes.

Titans of the Cage live MMA comes to Pulaski Co. H.S.

Live MMA action is coming to Pulaski County H.S. in Dublin, VA Saturday, April 7^th. Doors will open at 5:00 P.M. and the fight card begins promptly at 6:00 P.M.   The fights are being sanctioned by the state of VA and overseen by the United Combat Arts sanctioning body and DPOR of Richmond, VA.

One of the headliners for the event will be C.J. Burleson of Pulaski who will face Demetrius Dye of Halifax for the TOC cruiserweight championship belt. Burleson was a standout football player for the Pulaski Co. Cougars and will showcase his MMA fighting skills inside the octagon in the Co-Main event of the evening.   Females will also be on the card as Tiffani Underwood, also of Pulaski will take on Anne Okes of Flat top, WV in a catch weight bout. Another local fighter, Jody Pyles of Radford will face Austin Cox of Lebanon in a middleweight bout.

In the Main Event of the evening it will be Antwon Curtis of Roanoke going to battle with Christian Bradberry of Knoxville, TN (formerly of Wytheville) for the TOC middleweight title. In an interesting twist, teammates will face each other when undefeated (10-0) Austin Cooper takes on his teammate Micah Sheffey in a 160 lb. super fight bout. Both Sheffey and Cooper have reached the pinnacle in the region. Both men train out of Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville.   Having been training partners for over 5 years now, both men are very familiar with each other’s style and Sheffey looks to hand Cooper his first loss, while Cooper hopes to remain undefeated.

The current TOC bantamweight champ, Ray Ray Holston of Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville will put his title on the line as he faces the talented up and coming fighter, A.J. Sanchez out of Chicago, IL.   Also, TOC lightweight champ, K.C. Cockran out of Hybrid martial arts in Roanoke puts his belt on the line against Dylan Smith of Elite Grappling out of Lebanon in another exciting title fight. Jeromy Mitchell is the current bantamweight champion and represents Advantage Martial Arts in Princeton, WV and he will face Doug Williams of Ring-Combat Sports, of Wytheville in a much anticipated super fight bout. Closing out the title fights it will be TOC welterweight champion Joey DeSanto of Indiana putting his title on the line against Brandon Williams of Greensboro, NC.  

This fight card is stacked heavily with great match-ups from top to bottom. Other local and regional fighters who will be showcasing their talents on this card will be;   Jaylee Long (Wytheville) vs. Will Holtzclaw (Norfolk), Clay Anders (Wytheville) vs. Jake Lineberry (Hillsville), Christopher Spencer (Wytheville) vs. Christopher Oliver (Pulaski), Stacy Dalton (Austinville) vs. Robert Niday (Roanoke), Josh Cook (Halifax) vs. Daniel Parsons (Big Stone Gap), Micah Dando (Knoxville, TN) vs. Zion Tomlinson (Roanoke),   Dee Venable (Martinsville) vs. Jacob Coller (Greensboro, NC) and Tyler Carrico (Wytheville) vs. Charlie Conner (Halifax).

The event will also feature a teen expo kickboxing bout between Elijah Caviness of Hillsville and Addison Hendry of Greensboro, NC.   There will also be two of our crowd pleasing youth grappling bouts. In the first youth bout featuring 4 year olds, it will be Riley Grubb vs. Joey Larkin. Riley is the daughter of Danielle Reeves of Wytheville and Joey is the son of Joe and Ashley Larkin of Rocky Gap. In the next youth grappling bout it will be 7 year olds, when Brady Sark takes on Dalton Walters. Brady is the son of Greg and Tonya Sark, while Dalton is the son of Wayne and Denise Walters, all of Fort Chiswell.   All four of the youth bout participants are members of the “tiny titans” martial arts program at Ring-Combat sports in Wytheville.

The event is sponsored by and will benefit the Pulaski County high school fellowship of Christian athletes. Ring girls for the event will be Tiffany Barr of Abingdon and Keyona Miller of Roanoke. Advanced tickets are available online at www.titansofthecage.com. Tickets can also be purchased from select fighters or at the early weigh-ins event which will be held on Friday, April 6^th at Italian Garden Restaurant in Wytheville from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. Tickets will also be available at the door of the event beginning at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday, April 7^th. Titans of the Cage promotions, is a family friendly event and we encourage the public to come out and bring the entire family for a great evening of entertainment. Don’t miss any of the action and be sure to search for us on facebook at TOC Fights to keep up with all the MMA action, past, present and future.  

Photo 1:  C.J. Burleson (right) of Pulaski, will face Demetrius Dye of Halifax for the TOC cruiserweight belt

Photo 2:  Long time teammates will clash inside the cage when Micah Sheffey (left) takes on Austin Cooper (right)

MMA fans brave bad weather to attend Titans of the Cage #22

Grayson County H.S. played host to Titans of the Cage #22 this past Saturday evening in Independence. With the bleachers full and all of the floor seating sold out, Airel Sturgil sang the national anthem and the state sanctioned event got underway right on time.

The main event of the evening featured one of the top 145 lb. fighters in the region, Doug Williams of Team SWMA in Wytheville, taking on one of the best 155 lb. fighters in the region in Brandon Eldridge of Advantage MMA in Princeton, WV.   After five rounds of technical, back and forth fighting, it was Doug Williams earning the hard fought decision.

Logan Hurley representing Team SWMA of Wytheville became the new TOC flyweight champ when he stopped Halifax Fight team top contender, Brandon Perkins after one round, when Perkins was unable to answer the bell for round two.  Grayson County native and fan favorite Jaylee Long made his MMA debut before his hometown crowd who came out big in support the Team SWMA member as he faced off with Wes Pennington of Rural Retreat.  Long put together a combination of punches near the two minute mark of the first round scoring a knockout victory and bringing the crowd to their feet in appreciation.

Jeff Morris of advantage martial arts in Princeton became the new middleweight champion defeating Kyle Johnson in the second round by rear naked choke.  Kathy Hatfield, also of Advantage martial arts, defeated Joy Miller in the second round by standing guillotine choke to become the new women’s flyweight champ.  Other notable area fighters competing included the following; Austin Cooper (Team SWMA) defeated Jeremy Caviness (Backyard Brawlers) by second round TKO, Ray Ray Holston (Team SWMA) defeated Daniel Parsons (YGMMA) by round one tap out due to strikes.  Zion Tomlinson (Team Legion) defeated Clay Anders (Team SWMA) in second round by referee stoppage; Tyler Carrico (Team SWMA) defeated Damon Heath of Saltville by second round TKO.

Other bouts included; Stacy Dalton of Austinville defeated Michael Warner of Princeton by round one verbal submission, Antwon Curtis (Modern gladiators) of Roanoke stopped Cody Prior of Covington with only three seconds left in the first round by rear naked choke.  Jake Lineberry (backyard brawlers) defeated Ian Sword (Absolute Jiu-Jitsu) by second round Ezekiel choke, while Dylan Smith (Elite grappling) of Lebanon, scored the KO of the night with a 19 second KO of Daniel Boyd (Team Phoenix) of Greensboro, NC.

The event also included some grappling expo bouts.  Kayden Walters, daughter of Wayne and Denise Walters of Ivanhoe took on Jeremia Caviness, son of Jeremy and Misty Caviness of Hillsville in a crowd pleasing expo grappling bout.  Both Kayden and Jeremia are youth students at Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville.  Also, Riley Grubb (4 years old)  and Leah Cooper (5 years old) are both members of the “tiny titans” program at Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville and they won over the crowd as they showcased their grappling skills in an expo grappling match during intermission.  Also in adult grappling expos Brandon Williams (Team Phoenix) and Jeromy Mitchell (Advnatage MA) grappled to a draw,  Jacob Coller (Uprise MMA) defeated Jake Barnett (YGMMA) by choke and Josh Cook (Halifax fight team) and Joseph Semones (Grayson County sandman Jiu-Jitsu) also grappled to a draw.

Maggie Borchrevink of Independence served as ring girl for the event while Rick Caruso of Princeton, WV handled the ring announcer duties.  The next event is slated for Saturday, April 7th at Pulaski County high school, where titles will once again be on the line and a whole host of area fighters will be competing once again.  The event on Saturday night benefitted the Grayson County athletic department.   Visit www.titansofthecage.com or search for Titans of the Cage on facebook to keep up with all the latest news and to learn more about the event.