Some of the best amateur Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the southeast gathered at the Miller Coliseum on March 28 for the first ever Murfreesboro Extreme Fight Night.
One of those fighters was Ande Paul-Hus, who was attempting to become Extreme Fight Night United States Welterweight Champion.
Paul-Hus, who fights out of Nemesis MMA, located on NW Broad Street in the Jackson Heights Plaza, arrived at the Coliseum about an hour before the start of the fight card at 7:30 p.m. By midnight he would become champion, but he also had nowhere to train for the next few days.
That same night a tornado ripped through the Jackson Heights area. It caused severe damage to Olympus Fitness Club, where he trains for his matches.
During his warm-up for his title fight, Paul-Hus said somebody in his group let it slip that the gym had been hit. He knew, however, he had a championship to win.
“I just put it out of my mind until it was over,” Paul-Hus said.
He knocked out Chris Hendry at 2:06 in the first round to take home the title.
“He came out a little more aggressive than I did,” Paul-Hus said. “As soon as I saw what he was doing, I felt him out a little bit. I got a long reach on him, and I was bigger than him, so I figured I could just overpower him and overwhelm him. So I started swinging, and they were landing. A couple of good shots landed, and I knew from there it was just a matter of finishing.”
The win improved his record to an undefeated 5-0. Paul-Hus hopes this is the first title of many in his career.
“I’m going to keep fighting and keep trying to find better competition. That’s the only way to push myself, because I look for a new challenge everyday.”
Though the roof came off the gym and power was lost until April 1, it is now open.
Two other local fighters were also in action March 28, but both came out on the losing end.
Featherweight Ryan Duncan and Middleweight Brian Nelson train together at the Iron Fist Dojo in Smyrna.
Duncan faced Patrick George in the first fight of the night. The fight was stopped in favor of George at 2:11 of the first round because of strikes.
“I noticed I hit him with a right cross, and I got a pretty hard right hand,” Duncan said. “He was able to push me into the cage. None of the hits really landed solid. I just kind of lost my balance and fell down. I guess the referee thought I was knocked out.” His record fell to 0-3.
“I just want to win one; right now this is my third loss in three fights,” Duncan said. “It’s almost frustrating having to explain to (co-workers) over and over how and why you lost. They don’t understand it takes guts to step into the ring in front of 2,000 to 4,000 people.”
Duncan said he got into fighting six years ago after seeing it on TV. His girlfriend’s brother introduced him to current coach Mike Eley a few months ago and he’s been training with him ever since.
His training partner, Nelson, fought in his hometown, but it seemed most of the crowd at ringside traveled from Lynchburg to cheer on his opponent, Joel Doak.
Doak tapped out Nelson by an arm bar during the second round, and his record dropped to 3-4.
“I didn’t hit him as much as I wanted to. I thought I had real good preparation, maybe I didn’t act on it like I should’ve,” Nelson said. “I did a couple of things good, a couple of reverses good. It was a decent fight; he was just stronger.”
Nelson said fighting in Murfreesboro was great, because it was a short drive home.
“I really like (fighting locally), especially after you get done taking a beating,” Nelson said. “I got a lot of friends here. I lived here for several years, so it’s good that they can come out and support us.”
Nelson and Duncan help each other practice for their upcoming matches. Nelson added that Duncan gives him the best preparation.
There was a total of 13 fights on the card, including nine MMA matches, two Muay Thai, and two low kick rules fights, one of which was a women’s match up.
XFN promoter Lane Collyer said he was happy with the event and added the matches were really good. The paid attendance according to Collyer was 1,200. It was the first MMA card to be held at the Coliseum since the sport became legal in Tennessee last summer.
Collyer said he waiting to hear from the board of directors before he sets another date for Murfreesboro. The next XFN card will be May 16 in Gainesville, Ga. In July, Chattanooga will host an event.
