Pair of Undercard Fights Stealing the Spotlight
Jan 24, 2011
(PRESS RELEASE) -- Two of the Tachi Palace Fights undercard fights
on February 18’s “All or Nothing” mixed martial arts card have
stolen a little of the main cards thunder.
Bouts between Kyle Griffin and Alan Jouban and Tyler Freeland and Diego Melendez have caught the eye of MMA fans in Central California.
Tachi Palace Fights will stream live and free on MMAJunkie.com at
5:30 p.m. (PST) with MMAJunkie’s John Morgan, Tachi Palace Fight’s
welterweight champ John Alessio and Fresno’s B95 Andre Covington
cage side with the call.
The stream will be blacked out to fans within 100 mile radius of the Palace unless there is a sellout.
Griffin (1-0), the younger brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship star Tyson Griffin, will test his skills against up-and-coming welterweight prospect Jouban out of Legends gym in Los Angeles, Calif.
“I’ve wrestled forever, and I would come into the gyms where Tyson would train and work with the guys. I would be a sparring partner, but was never really expecting to get fully involved with MMA,” said Clovis, Calif.’s Griffin, who made his debut in April 2010 with a technical knockout of Nick Ellison.
“I had to take a year off of wrestling at Oklahoma State because of a knee injury and then after I rehabbed, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I started to do a little jiu-jitsu and I liked it, I decided to take a fight. I moved out to Las Vegas to train with my brother. It kind of all just happened.”
Things just didn’t happen like that for Jouban.
“I’ve been training for over five years. I started with the Bomb Squad and met Chris Reilly. I then started to train Muay Thai and loved it. Muay Thai is my passion, but there isn’t much money in it. I started doing my jiu-jitsu training with Eddie Bravo,” said Jouban, who makes his MMA debut at 29 years of age.
“I took the long road to my MMA debut. I have some catching up to do. I pride myself on being well-rounded and not just a guy that’s very good at striking.”
The Griffin and Jouban bout is only slightly overshadowed by the MMA debut of Tyler Freeland, who was born with Hypochondroplasia, which is a rare form of dwarfism that gives the appearance of a normal trunk and head size, but smaller extremities.
“Yeah, Diego will have a height advantage on me,” joked Freeland, who will make his pro debut at 145 pounds after compiling a 15-6 amateur record. “I mean, I’m only 5-foot tall. But we really don’t concentrate on my height being a negative factor, we work on the things that I can do well in the gym and how my size can help me.”
Freeland trains out of Las Vegas, Nev. with Shawn Tompkins and company at Team Tapout.
“I find a lot of strength in being the shorter fighter. I can do anything any other fighter can do. I just have to close the distance,” Freeland said. “I have some good wrestling and good punching power.”
Melendez, who also trains in the Las Vegas area, will also be making his pro debut, but knows Freeland well. The pair competed against each other in an amateur fight with Melendez winning by submission.
“That was my very first amateur fight and I had not even really trained standup yet,” Melendez said. “Tyler had a lot more experience than I did and he tagged me a few times and took me down, but I was able to catch him with a triangle.
“I’m a much different fighter now. I’m more confident in my standup and I’ve been training a lot on my all-around game.”
Freeland claims to not be the same fighter either.
“When they called me for that fight the first time, I was at a house party drinking and partying. I wasn’t even really training hard or anything. It was a mistake I shouldn’t have ever taken a fight in the condition I was in,” said Freeland. “I take MMA a lot more serious now. I live out here full time and have made a commit to coach Tompkins.”
In the main event, Tachi Palace Fights Middleweight Champion Leopoldo Serao defends his title against Montreal Quebec, Canada’s David Loiseau. Serao (17-7) rides a 3-fight win streak and the Oakland, Calif. based grappler has recorded 13 submissions in his 17 wins. Meanwhile, the former UFC title contender Loiseau (19-10) has won four of his last six bouts.
The co-main event features a pivotal flyweight tilt, as the World’s top ranked 125 pounder Jussier da Silva puts his unblemished record on the line against World Extreme Cagefighting vet Ian McCall. Brazil’s Da Silva (9-0) made his first appearance in the U.S. in December with a decision victory over Danny Martinez. McCall (8-2) has notable losses to Dominic Cruz and Charlie Valencia, but the San Clemente, Calif. fighter will be looking to turn things around in a more natural weight class.
Las Vegas, Nev.’s Ulysses Gomez (7-1) will defend his Tachi Palace Fights Flyweight title against Chino, Calif.’s Darrell Montague (8-1) and Parlier, Calif. middleweight Mike Moreno makes his return to the cage after a two year absence to take on UFC vet Yuma, Ariz.’s Edgar Garcia (8-2)
In other bouts;
-Oakland, Calif. lightweight Dominique Robinson (5-4) vs. Las Vegas, Nev.’s John Gunderson (30-11-2).
-Porterville, Calif. lightweight C.J. Keith (7-0) vs. San Diego, Calif.’s Fabricio Camoes (10-5-1).
-Lemoore, Calif. welterweight Andrew Martinez (7-2-1) vs. Taft, Calif.’s Doug Hunt (8-4).
-Las Vegas, Nev. lightweight David Bollea (3-0) vs. Sacramento, Calif.’s Ryan Burton (3-0).
-Santa Rosa, Calif. middleweight Collin Hart (2-1-1) vs. San Bernardino, Calif.’s Mike Arellano (3-7).
Bouts between Kyle Griffin and Alan Jouban and Tyler Freeland and Diego Melendez have caught the eye of MMA fans in Central California.
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The stream will be blacked out to fans within 100 mile radius of the Palace unless there is a sellout.
Tickets can be purchased at www.tachipalace.com or charge by phone
at 1-800-225-2277. Tickets may also be purchased at the Tachi
Palace Gift Shop and start at a low price of just $30.
Griffin (1-0), the younger brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship star Tyson Griffin, will test his skills against up-and-coming welterweight prospect Jouban out of Legends gym in Los Angeles, Calif.
“I’ve wrestled forever, and I would come into the gyms where Tyson would train and work with the guys. I would be a sparring partner, but was never really expecting to get fully involved with MMA,” said Clovis, Calif.’s Griffin, who made his debut in April 2010 with a technical knockout of Nick Ellison.
“I had to take a year off of wrestling at Oklahoma State because of a knee injury and then after I rehabbed, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I started to do a little jiu-jitsu and I liked it, I decided to take a fight. I moved out to Las Vegas to train with my brother. It kind of all just happened.”
Things just didn’t happen like that for Jouban.
“I’ve been training for over five years. I started with the Bomb Squad and met Chris Reilly. I then started to train Muay Thai and loved it. Muay Thai is my passion, but there isn’t much money in it. I started doing my jiu-jitsu training with Eddie Bravo,” said Jouban, who makes his MMA debut at 29 years of age.
“I took the long road to my MMA debut. I have some catching up to do. I pride myself on being well-rounded and not just a guy that’s very good at striking.”
The Griffin and Jouban bout is only slightly overshadowed by the MMA debut of Tyler Freeland, who was born with Hypochondroplasia, which is a rare form of dwarfism that gives the appearance of a normal trunk and head size, but smaller extremities.
“Yeah, Diego will have a height advantage on me,” joked Freeland, who will make his pro debut at 145 pounds after compiling a 15-6 amateur record. “I mean, I’m only 5-foot tall. But we really don’t concentrate on my height being a negative factor, we work on the things that I can do well in the gym and how my size can help me.”
Freeland trains out of Las Vegas, Nev. with Shawn Tompkins and company at Team Tapout.
“I find a lot of strength in being the shorter fighter. I can do anything any other fighter can do. I just have to close the distance,” Freeland said. “I have some good wrestling and good punching power.”
Melendez, who also trains in the Las Vegas area, will also be making his pro debut, but knows Freeland well. The pair competed against each other in an amateur fight with Melendez winning by submission.
“That was my very first amateur fight and I had not even really trained standup yet,” Melendez said. “Tyler had a lot more experience than I did and he tagged me a few times and took me down, but I was able to catch him with a triangle.
“I’m a much different fighter now. I’m more confident in my standup and I’ve been training a lot on my all-around game.”
Freeland claims to not be the same fighter either.
“When they called me for that fight the first time, I was at a house party drinking and partying. I wasn’t even really training hard or anything. It was a mistake I shouldn’t have ever taken a fight in the condition I was in,” said Freeland. “I take MMA a lot more serious now. I live out here full time and have made a commit to coach Tompkins.”
In the main event, Tachi Palace Fights Middleweight Champion Leopoldo Serao defends his title against Montreal Quebec, Canada’s David Loiseau. Serao (17-7) rides a 3-fight win streak and the Oakland, Calif. based grappler has recorded 13 submissions in his 17 wins. Meanwhile, the former UFC title contender Loiseau (19-10) has won four of his last six bouts.
The co-main event features a pivotal flyweight tilt, as the World’s top ranked 125 pounder Jussier da Silva puts his unblemished record on the line against World Extreme Cagefighting vet Ian McCall. Brazil’s Da Silva (9-0) made his first appearance in the U.S. in December with a decision victory over Danny Martinez. McCall (8-2) has notable losses to Dominic Cruz and Charlie Valencia, but the San Clemente, Calif. fighter will be looking to turn things around in a more natural weight class.
Las Vegas, Nev.’s Ulysses Gomez (7-1) will defend his Tachi Palace Fights Flyweight title against Chino, Calif.’s Darrell Montague (8-1) and Parlier, Calif. middleweight Mike Moreno makes his return to the cage after a two year absence to take on UFC vet Yuma, Ariz.’s Edgar Garcia (8-2)
In other bouts;
-Oakland, Calif. lightweight Dominique Robinson (5-4) vs. Las Vegas, Nev.’s John Gunderson (30-11-2).
-Porterville, Calif. lightweight C.J. Keith (7-0) vs. San Diego, Calif.’s Fabricio Camoes (10-5-1).
-Lemoore, Calif. welterweight Andrew Martinez (7-2-1) vs. Taft, Calif.’s Doug Hunt (8-4).
-Las Vegas, Nev. lightweight David Bollea (3-0) vs. Sacramento, Calif.’s Ryan Burton (3-0).
-Santa Rosa, Calif. middleweight Collin Hart (2-1-1) vs. San Bernardino, Calif.’s Mike Arellano (3-7).
