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Robbie Ring looking to stay undefeated as a professional MMA fighter

There’s only a few days left until “Razor” Robbie Ring will make his way to Knoxville, TN for his 4th professional MMA fight.  He will be fighting for Aries Fight Series, on Friday, March 4th, at the world famous Cotton Eyed Joe.   His opponent, Dusty Little is also undefeated as a pro and is coming off of a one-minute knockout in his last fight.  Little accepted the fight with Ring after his original opponent, Edward Massey pulled out in mid-January. 

Ring has had a difficult time with opponents pulling out of fights leading up to fights, which causes a fighter to  have to readjust their training and game plans accordingly to adapt to a different fighter.  Ring is totally confident in his training at Ring-Combat Sports in Wytheville.  He stated “Ring-Combat Sports is where I put in all of my training for all these fights.  I’ve learned and I’m still learning under my parents who have been teaching me since I was a little kid, along with all the others they have taught throughout the years.  I still learn new things nearly every week and my training has never failed me”.

Ring also has a stable of fighters and teammates at Ring-Combat sports that push him and challenge him to be his best leading up to fights.  Ring said “My fight camps are tough.  We have what we call pro-day on Wednesday and its super challenging.  I have some beasts for training partners.  Our gym has lots of talented fighters in it and my dad designs pro days that push me to my limits”. 

Robbie also works part-time at Anytime Fitness in Wytheville which is also where he gets in a lot of his cardio training for his fights.  Ring continued “Between my strength and cardio training, having a bunch of Killers for training partners and the fact that our gym has produced numerous champions, I feel more prepared than I have ever felt going into this fight.  People probably don’t realize that they have one of the most active MMA fighting gyms in the Southeastern Region right here in their own back yard.  We have had well over 300 cage fights over the years”.

When not training himself you will find Robbie teaching classes at the family gym that he hopes to take over in the coming years.  Robbie said “We start them young at Ring-Combat Sports.  At 4 years old our Tiny Titans start learning our Combat Jiu-Jitsu system, as well as start learning the basics of MMA.  Of course at these younger ages there is a huge focus on student safety, but that does not stop the youngest of kids from getting a leg up on the competition at a very young age. Many of our young students get the chance to compete inside the cage with modified rules that allow only mild contact and no contact at all to the face and head.  The kids love it and if they decide as they get older that they want to pursue MMA competition, they end up way ahead of the game, like I did”.

The last time Ring fought in Knoxville he remembers a lot of screaming fans many of them from Wythe County who made their way to Knoxville to support him.  Ring stated, “It means the world to me for people to come out to the shows and support me as I try to reach my goals in this sport that I love.  This has been my goal since I was a little boy coming up in the gym and it has never changed.  I know God has blessed me with a work ethic and the right people around me and by his grace I will keep giving it all I have to try to reach the top in this sport”.

Ring said, “I really couldn’t do this without all of my great sponsors and I have created a banner (see photo) that includes all of them on it”.

Robbie wanted everyone to know that they can still get tickets to his upcoming fight by going to www.robbiering.com or dropping by Ring-Combat Sports, 2190 W. Ridge Rd in Wytheville any evening during the week.

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WYTHEVILLE MEETING CENTER TO HOST TITANS OF THE CAGE MMA NOV.6th

Titans of the Cage will hold its 30th MMA event on November 6th at the Wytheville Meeting Center.  Five (5) championship belts will be up for grabs at this event, with over 20 hard hitting MMA bouts lined up.  The event is overseen by the Virginia DPOR and sanctioned by United Combat Arts.

Many Wytheville based fighters will be competing on this card, including Ring-Combat Sports fighter, Micah “the original” Sheffey who will be taking on former Titans of the cage featherweight champion, Dylan Smith of Elite Grappling in Lebanon, VA.  Not only will this be the main event, but it will be for the Titans of the Cage lightweight championship.   Sheffey has had over 20 fights inside the cage and is the former TOC lightweight champ and makes his return to the cage to try to reclaim the title against a very tough Smith. In the co-main event of the evening the vacant TOC featherweight title will be up for grabs when Dallas Manspile of Roanoke, VA takes on Josh Lilley of Beaufort, SC.

One of the many Wytheville based fighters will be Ring-Combat Sports Austin Sayers who will face Angel Rigney for the TOC Youth 145 lb. championship title.  Rigney is the current champion and fights out of Roanoke, VA.  Other title fights include two Roanoke based fighters butting heads when Chris Hamlett faces Nick Fisher for the interim Cruiserweight title, with the winner having a chance to face current cruiserweight champion, C.J. Burleson.  Brandon Holloway of Greensboro, NC, will battle Jonathan Freeman, of Winston-Salem, NC, for the vacant bantamweight title.  In a big “super fight” battle it will be Wyatt Joyce of Asheboro, NC martial arts academy taking on Kyle Johnson of team Round 30 out of Roanoke.

Ring-Combat Sports gym of Wytheville is a gym that trains both professional and amateur MMA fighters and has become known as one of the most active MMA gyms in the state and has put fighters inside the cage for over 500 bouts.  They once again have several fighters represented with the following fighters on the card; Pedro Jimenez Vasquez (RCS) vs. Curtis Davis (Wytheville), Luke Kincer (RCS) vs. Josh Cook (Halifax), Chris Spencer (RCS) vs. Jon Dalton (Roanoke), Shalee Spencer (RCS) vs. Desiree Simpkins (Myrtle Beach, SC), Bobby “the bland county bad boy” Collins (RCS) vs. John Coalson (Wytheville), Trevor Carter (RCS) vs. Lance Tate (Bluefield, WV), Kyle Frankenfield (RCS) vs. Devan Hancock (Wytheville), Jordan Cizl (RCS) vs. Mike Salazar (Roanoke), Tyler Mills (RCS) vs. Hunter Anderson (RCS), Alijah Webb (RCS) vs. Justice Cizl (RCS) and Savanna Smith (RCS) vs. Brianna Hancock (Wytheville).

Still other great fighters will be in action in the following bouts;  Gavin Thomas (Denver, NC) vs. Demetri Mebane (Greensboro), Shane McGrew (Hurricane, WV) vs. Dakota Martin (Lacross), Eduardo Castillo (Beaufort, SC) vs. Ryker Powell (Greensboro), Daniel Wilkins (Denver, NC) vs. Matt Justice (Lebanon) and Darren Williams (Winston-Salem) vs. James Anderson (Clover).

The Wytheville meeting center will provide great comfort for all spectators as all seats will be padded banquet room chairs.  There will also be two large projection screens so fans will always have a clear view of the action inside the cage.  Undefeated professional MMA fighter “Razor” Robbie Ring will be in attendance to meet fans and take pictures, so if you have never attended Titans of the Cage, make this your first one.  Titans of the cage recently won “Best of Wythe County 2021” as the top Family Entertainment Venue.  Doors open at the Meeting Center, 333 Community Blvd, Wytheville, VA at 4:00 PM and fights start promptly at 5:00 PM.  Tickets are available online at www.titansofthecage.com , at Ring-Combat Sports (2190 W. Ridge Rd. in Wytheville) or at the door.  Please follow Titans of the Cage on Facebook or visit the website to keep up with all the latest MMA action.


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Titans of the Cage holds 20th event at Grayson County H.S.

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Titans of the Cage holds 20th event at Grayson County H.S.

Fight teams came all the way from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, along with fighters from throughout the region to compete on the Titans of the Cage #20 event at Grayson high school in Independence. An excited group of MMA fans filed into the gymnasium for several matches that were greatly anticipated. New champions were crowned as Kyle Johnson of Roanoke defeated Cody Prior of Covington to become the new middleweight champion. Jeromy “pretty boy” Mitchell of Advantage martial arts in Princeton, WV defeated Josh Cook of Halifax fight team to take home the featherweight belt. And in the fight of the night, it was Joey DeSanto of Indiana defeating Chris Pontier of Beckley, WV to become the new TOC welterweight champ. This was a great fight that seen Pontier come out and win the first two rounds and looked as if he was going to cruise on through to take the title home, when Joey DeSanto came out of nowhere in the 3rd round to win by submission when he applied a Kimura forcing Pontier to tap out.

In other notable bouts, Jacob Catron (17) of Team SWMA in Wytheville fought an expo bout with Elijah Caviness (16) of the Backyard Brawlers team from Hillsville. An “expo” bout cannot announce an official winner, but it was a very entertaining back and forth match between the two teenagers. Also, Logan Houston (16), also of Wytheville and a member of Team SWMA put on a kickboxing expo bout with Jordan Caviness (18) of the backyard brawlers team, in an entertaining bout.

Kristy Stafford of Big Stone Gap who trains at Team SWMA in Wytheville scored her first win in a TKO victory over Anne Okes of Princeton, WV. K.C. Cockran of Hybrid MMA in Roanoke defeated Ray Kahler of Halfax fight team to become the #1 contender in the lightweight division and will challenge Micah Sheffey of Team SWMA in Wytheville for Sheffey’s lightweight title. Tasha Hewitt of Marietta, OH defeated Joy Miller of McLeansville, NC to become the top contender in the women’s flyweight division and she will now get a shot to face TOC women’s flyweight champ, Megan Poe of Team Ironlock out of Pennington Gap.

The next event is set for September 16th at the Bland Elementary school where five (5) title fights are scheduled to be held. Visit www.titansofthecage.com or search Titans of the Cage on facebook to keep up with all the latest info from each event.

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TOC 14 Arrives in Bland on Sat 9-19-15


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Here an update from Titans of the Cage.
Titans of the Cage presents TOC 14 on Saturday, September 19th at the Bland Elementary School in Bland, VA.
 
The card is stacked with 15+ MMA Bouts including 4 TOC CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS.
 
Online Ticket Sales will close Thursday September 17th,  2015.
All remaining tickets will be available at the door prior to the event.
 
TOC FAN FRIDAY will be held on Friday, September 18th at The Bland County Fair Grounds in Bland VA.  The public is invited to join us to meet your favorite TOC FIGHTERS, Ring Girls and the entire TOC STAFF.  The Weigh-In Event is sponsored by the Bland County 4-H and Supper will be available for an $8-10 donation. Make plans now to stop by to enjoy some Great Food, Great Energy and Great People!
 
For tickets and additional event information please visit:  www.titansofthecage.com or follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/TOCFIGHTS
 
See you at the fights!
TEAM TOC


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Titans of the Cage #7 (12.14.13)

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Titans of the Cage #7 held at Hillsville VFW Post
By: TOC Staff writer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Saturday, December 14th, Titans of the Cage was held at the VFW Post in Hillsville, VA. Despite the foggy conditions and iced over Fancy Gap mountain, local fans filled the VFW post for an evening of hard hitting, fast paced mixed martial arts action. The events special guest ring announcer was Rick Caruso of Mountaineer MMA in Princeton, WV. Lindsey Smith (wife of Dee Smith of Absoloute Jiu-Jitsu) got the evening underway with the singing of the national anthem.

First up, on the undercard was James Settle (Absolute) defeating Shayne Hayden (Decimation) by TKO/Ref stoppage, after he landed a big punch early in round one. Next it was Jeff “Slim Jim” Wright (SWMA) picking up his first win inside the cage as he defeated Josh “the spider” Cox (Reaper MMA) by way of a round one triangle choke. The following fight saw heavyweight Tyler Cardwell (SWMA) stop Robert Spence (Reaper MMA) late in the first round by referee stoppage due to strikes.

The next bout saw Troy “the big bad” Wolfe (Absolute) earn his first win inside the cage, defeating Gary Brown in a light weight match-up, ending the fight in the first round by guillotine choke. Next up was a featherweight match-up between Sam “bam bam” Baker (Mountaineer MMA) and Randy Ferrill (Team Jorge Gurgel), with Ferrill scoring the win by way of rear naked choke late in round one. This was followed by a 175 lb. catch weight bout that saw Johnse “kryptonite” Hatfield (SWMA) earn his second win over James Loftis of Abingdon, winning by a first round guillotine choke and pushing his record to 2-0.

Next it was a female bantam weight match featuring Tiffani “farm-all” Underwood (SWMA) who defeated Lisa Blevins in a dominant performance, softening her opponent up with ground and pound, then applying an arm bar mid-way through the 1st round to earn herself another win inside the cage and run her current fight record to 3-0.
Next up it was bantam weights, as Brandon “conflicted affair” Creed (Tiger Phoenix) defeated Coy “Country Boy” Morrision in a back and forth, crowd pleasing fight that didn’t end until the 3rd round when Creed was able to secure back mount on Morrison and applied a deep rear naked choke. The two men earned the TOC “fight of the night” runner-up award for their efforts. In the evenings next bout it was light heavy weights, as Dakota McGinn (SWMA) stopped Scott Collins (Team Psycho) in round one, by referee stoppage, due to strikes.

In the first of three title bouts, it was TOC feather weight champion, Jesse “the sponge” Hamm (PRO-HEALTH) facing challenger Gil Goncalves (Team Brutal) with the belt on the line. The first round seen both fighters exchange kicks and punches in a very technical feeling out process, with both fighters showing very good fighting skills. It was in round two when the champion Hamm was able to land a big standing knee to the head of the challenger that spelled the difference in the fight and Jesse Hamm retained his feather weight title against a very strong challenge from Gil Goncalves. Next was a 160 lb. catchweight bout with Logan Griffin (Absolute) defeating the always tough Ayron “the hurricane” Davis (Decimation) late in round one when he applied a beautiful kimura, which earned Griffin the TOC “submission of the night” award.

Next it was a 165 lb. catch weigh bout that saw TOC lightweight champion, Micah “the original” Sheffey (SWMA) stop Randy “Rambo” Gibson (Mercenary) after landing a huge knee to Gibson’s head in the evenings quickest finish at 0:15 seconds of round one. Then in the evenings co-main event it was TOC women’s bantam weight champion, Charity Walker (PRO-Health), putting her title on the line against Lutts, TN fighter, Danielle Alexander (Team last man standing). This was a crowd pleasing fight that saw each fighter land significant punches and kicks on each other. At the end of round two, Walker landed a big punch that put Alexander down (maybe out) as the horn sounded to end the second round. Alexander, like a true warrior was able to come off the stool for round #3 and continued to fight hard, pressing forward against the champion for the biggest part of the fight. In the end, after five grueling rounds, it was Walker retaining her title by way of judges split decision, in a fight that earned the TOC “fight of the night” award.

In the second half of the main event, it was big Gage Stanley (Absolute) facing off with Roanoke based fighter Brian Maxwell (Team fight to live) for the vacant light heavy weight championship belt. As the match got underway each fighter exchanged then clinched. From the standing clinch Maxwell landed a couple short punches to the forehead of Stanley, but Stanley then exerted himself and completed a takedown on Maxwell and soon thereafter he worked his way to the mounted position. From there, Stanley began to rain down hard punches. In an attempt to avoid taking the punches directly in the face, Maxwell turned his head at the same time Stanley was throwing punches, causing him self to absorb the punches on the back of the head. After a couple of times of this happening, Maxwell again turned his head simultaneous to Stanley’s incoming punches, causing the referee to call an official time-out to issue a formal warning about strikes to the back of the head. Due to the strikes being unintentional, the referee did not deduct a point, but because of fighter safety standards, the referee felt the need to break the fighters and issue a formal warning. Once the referee called the official time out, Maxwell held the back of his head and seemed disoriented, prompting the ringside doctor to step in to evaluate his ability to continue. After the standard 5 minute time allotment following an accidental foul, the ringside doctor called a halt to the bout because Maxwell had indicated that his vision was blurred and the bout was declared a no contest.

It was an unfortunate ending to the much anticipated title bout, but both men indicated afterwards that they would be willing to rematch and settle the matter at TOC #8 in April. Gage Stanley remains undefeated with a record of 7-0, while Maxwell is the current title holder in another promotion within the Danville area.

The event benefited the local VFW Post in Hillsville, VA, along with the Wounded Warrior project, a non-profit organization. Ring card girls for the event were Jessica Lynn Sexton, Melynda Lester and Rayanne Harl.