On a busy night in MMA, WFC 7 Performs!

Yes there was that “other” MMA event going on tonight but in Sacramento, California WFC 7 held it’s own. The door’s opened at the Jackson Sports Arena and the fans began to pure in, each of them to route on their favorite local fighter.

WFC 7 kicked off with two amateur fights, one of which was a title fight in the West Coast Fighting Championship lightweight division. The third fight started the pro side of things and would last for nine fights, bringing the total fights at WFC 7 to 11. The night’s main event featured the current West Coast Fighting Championship welterweight champion Max Griffin looking to capture the interim middleweight strap against Fernando Gonzalez.

The night was entertaining and filled with a few potential future stars of the sport but let’s get right into the night’s action.

WFC 7 Results:

Amatuer 135 lbs.: Brandon Waltz (3-0) vs. Shawn Brendle (1-1)

• A big takedown by Brandon Waltz to opening the fight. Waltz didn’t do much but spent the majority of the round in top control.Waltz missed a front kick that forced him to scramble out of a bad position. He finally got top position but fished for a submission this time around. Like the first round though Brendle got a late reverse and ended the round on top. Final round gets slowed by a knee to the cup but when action resume it was all striking until Waltz secured a late takedown right before the final bell. Brandon Waltz wins via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Amatuer 155 lbs. Title Fight: [Champion] Jason Powell (3-0) vs. Edgar Loza (4-2-1)

• The two exchange early kicks until Jason Powell gets the easy takedown. Edgar Loza eats several shots on his way back up but he cannot escape the grips of the champion. Right away to open round two Powell dodges the kicks by Loza and quickly puts him on his back. From there Powell dropped a heavy dose of ground and pound on his opponent for the remainder of the round. The finale round looked very similar to the first round as a few flashy kicks leads to Loza ending up on his back. Other than a cup check the round continued on like the others. Jason Powell wins via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

170 lbs.: Bill Carothers (2-7) vs. Lamar Reed (2-2)

• The first pro bout of WFC 7 pens with Lamar Reed slamming Bill Carothers hard to the canvas. Reed began dropping heavy hands that forced Carothers to give up his back. Reed continued the ground and pound until the referee calls a stop to the fight. Lamar Reed wins via 1st round TKO (1:30)

205 lbs.: Granson Clark (2-0) vs. Myron Smith (0-0)

• Early action turned into cage dancing against the fence for far too long. A brief outburst of action followed a referee separation but much to the fans dismay they began to dance some more. That is until Granson Clark pickup up Myron Smith and dropped him loudly onto his back to finish the round. A sloppy takedown attempt from Clark results in him nearly getting tapped due to rear naked choke but as Smith yelled “tap” Clark escaped and reversed. Obviously unhappy with the yelling, Clark punished Smith until the fight was stopped. Granson Clark wins via 2nd round TKO (2:25)

125 lbs.: Steven Gruber (2-0) vs. Oscar Ramirez (1-0)

• Early feeling out process from the flyweights but Steven Gruber does secure a takedown, only to get reversed. Oscar Ramirez did well with top position, dropping a high volume of strikes. Gruber is able to get up and the two trade off takedowns for the remainder of the round. Ramirez suffered a cut towards the end of the round. Gruber comes out strong in the second round with his striking but might have gotten a bit too comfortable as he gets leveled by Ramirez. The fight nearly was stopped right there but Ramirez put an exclamation point on the fight with some ground and pound. Oscar Ramirez wins via 2nd round TKO (2:58)

205 lbs.: Brandon Costa (0-0) vs. George Jordan (1-1)

• Brandon Costa comes out throwing wildly while George Jordan countered nicely. When the two clinched it was Jordan with a big takedown. The fight gets back standing due to a strike to the back of the head by Jordan but he immediately took Costa down again. Not a very technical round but completely dominated by Jordan. Round two didn’t last long as Jordan clipped Costa with a spinning elbow , swarmed and finished things. George Jordan wins via 2nd round TKO (0:16)

145 lbs.: Josh Emmett (2-0) vs. Noah Schnabel (4-4-1)

• A complete mauling from Josh Emmett as he stunned Noah Schnabel with strikes and dropped him with a slam. It wasn’t long after the takedown that Emmett finished the fight with ground and pound. Josh Emmett wins via 1st round TKO (0:45)

135 lbs.: Drey Mitchell (1-0) vs. Joe Neal (1-0)

• Loud ovation for Drey Mitchell by the hometown crowd though they got real quiet when Joe Neal nearly gets the standing Guillotine. The choke never really materialized but Neal changes things up and scores a takedown and dominates the round. Mitchell working hard for a takedown to start the round and pins his opponent against the cage. The referee separates them but the fight ends up staling out until the last 30 seconds of the round. Slow start to the final round turns the natives restless and unfortunately it remained that way. Joe Neal wins via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

150 lbs.: Michael Christensen (10-7) vs. Charley Huston (3-1)

• Michael Christensen opened with a sloppy takedown attempt but corrected things and got the fight to the canvas. Despite being in top position for the majority of the round he really didn’t punch Charley Huston like he should have. Round two was all Christensen but that is only because he laid on Huston for four and a half minutes.Huston willingly put himself on his back looking for a submission and was never able to get off his back. Michael Christensen wins via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

165 lbs.: Nick Christy (8-6) vs. Mehdi Bagdad (8-3)

• The two strikers spent the first minute of the fight measuring each other but then they let it go. Nick Christy was throwing more combos while Mehdi Bagdad was going for the big shot. Christy lands some good shots but his looping punches were landing with more of his palm. Christy came out fast in round two, chasing Bagdad across the cage. Both fighters are going very hard this round until the referee stops the action for what he thought was a head butt, it turned out to be an elbow though. The elbow cut Christy above his eye and seemed to take the wind out of him. Bagdad slipped on a high kick but ended up on top during the scramble and quickly took the back of Christy. That was all she wrote. Mehdi Babdad wins via 2nd round Rear-Naked Choke Submission (4:47)

185 lbs. Interim Title Fight: Max Griffin (6-1) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (20-10)

• The WFC 7 main event is for the interim middleweight title and Max Griffin is looking to hold two WFC title at the same time. Griffin landing the leg kicks early but looks a bit over anxious. Fernando Gonzalez bloodies up the nose of Griffin with jabs and the round ends with the face of Griffin looking battered. Griffin looks to have calmed down a bit now and is able to secure the fights first takedown. Gonzalez though quickly reverses things and puts Griffin in some tight spots before the fight resumes on their feet. Gonzalez hurts Griffin with a liver kicks and as he goes for a takedown, Gonzalez grabs a choke that allows the reverse right into full mount. Griffin opens the round as if he was shot out of a cannon but that gas tank might be running low. Gonzalez sins in another deep choke and some how Griffin escapes and gets back to his feet. Another outburst from Griffin hurts Gonzalez against the cage but just when you think the fight might be over a brawl breaks out. the round ends with Griffin getting a takedown. Griffin opens the fourth strong and had Gonzalez turtled up against the cage. It looked as if the fight was going to be stopped but gonzalez was not done just yet. Gonzalez worked a reverse with a kimura attempt and picked his shots until the round came to a close. Both fighters look extremely tired heading into the fifth and final round and its either guys fight to win here. A much slower pace this round but two minutes in Gonzalez takes Griffin down, briefly. Griffin gets back up and puts Gonzalez on the mat with a nice slam, then takes his back. Griffin tries to make something happen but cannot and the fight goes to the scorecards, which could go either way. Easily the fight of the night! Max Griffin wins via Split Decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

Tags: Bill Carothers, Brandon Costa, Brandon Waltz, Charley Huston, Drey Mitchell, Edgar Loza, Fernando Gonzalez, George Jordan, Granson Clark, Jason Powell, Joe Neal, Josh Emmett, Lamar Reed, Max Griffin, Mehdi Bagdad, Michael Christensen, MMA, Myron Smith, Nick Christy, Noah Schnabel, Oscar Ramirez, Results, Shawn Brendle, Steven Gruber, West Coast Fighting Championship, WFC 7

Category: Exclusive, Featured, Local MMA, MMA, Results, West Coast Fighting Championship