Sunday, Sep. 27, 2009

Pasco's inaugural MMA event a big hit

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

PASCO -- Night of Champions was an unabashed hit.

And a kick. And a rear-naked choke.

Billed as the first mixed martial arts event in the Tri-Cities, Saturday's spectacle at TRAC had the feel of a professional promotion, even if all the fighters were amateurs.

A crowd upwards of 800 forked over from $25 to $50 a ticket, and voiced its appreciation for nearly four hours of fast-paced action.

The 14 bouts were split between exhibitions (three 3-minute rounds), super fights (two 5-minute rounds) and title fights (five 3-minute rounds).

Thanks to a pair of large projection screens showing the action, there wasn't a bad seat in the house.

Without question the highlight of the night was a big-time combination from Pasco's Ernesto Toscano, who stunned Kalvin Froehlich of Yakima with a roundhouse backhand and then flowed into a left kick to the back of his head.

The knockout was instant.

"That's what I was planning to do the whole time," said Toscano, who has a background in martial arts and boxing and improved to 4-1 in MMA fights.

Twenty of the 28 fighters came from the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Yakima or towns in between.

Most of the fighters from the Tri-Cities are on the Northwest Elite team, whose co-owner, Anthony Hamlett, was the promoter of the event.

Many of the fighters are early in their career. Almost all work or go to school full time -- or both.

"I want to keep doing it as a hobby," said J.T. Gonzalez, the former Sunnyside wrestler who won his first fight.

Charlie Shaw, a 31-year-old personal trainer from Kennewick who is another co-owner of Northwest Elite as well as a fighter (winning on second-round knockout this night), said they hope to host more events in the Tri-Cities.

That would be just fine with fighters like Toscano.

"This is the best show I've been in by far," he said.