We have gone national!  For a day anyway.  Tap It Clothing has been testing the waters in Colorado with the help of our Denver marketing agency, FIG Advertising.  We hit Castle Rock, CO in December with a Cage Girl sponsorship and some items at the official booth, but last Friday we were officially open for business at Annihilation XXIII in Colorado Springs.  So if you weren't lucky enough to come see us, oh and the fight too, pick up a shirt and let's recap the action.

Thanks to our lovely Tap It Clothing Cage Girls for rocking our gear.

 First up was Warriors Academy's Ron Willis Vs. Casey Bernards of Kongo Do.  Willis went down to a TKO at 2:24 in the second round and had to be helped to his feet and out of the cage.

Next we saw 45 year old Ken Henry (Army Combative) VS Phil Campanella (Team Ronin).  Henry won in 17 seconds with an arm bar, now that's military efficiency!

The third fight went the distance with Justin Hayden of Spartan House beating Tyler Watt of Warriors Academy by unanimous judges' decision 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27.  While Watt dominated the second round but the first and third were owned by Hayden.

The 4th fight was a bit of a let down.  Rick Garcia from PWIA had to concede early in the 1st round after his knee gave out on its own.  Donell Branch of Kongo Do got the win after 1:20 and announced to the crowd that he did in fact "Get my sexy back!"

After that Travis Aragon of Colorado MMA took down Kevin Madrid of Team Hitman with a rear naked choke hold 1:23 into the first round.

Isaiah Gomez of Freedom Fighters landed a kick in Billy Martin's (Wy GNP) crotch.  Accidental of course.  Martin took a minute or two to get to his feet and was able to continue the battle.  Unfortunately he chose to begin with a flying knee that Gomez dodged and was able to turn into a rear naked choke.  Gomez was victorious in round 2.

The last fight before intermission was Mark Pidilla from fight factory winning 1:33 into round 3 by TKO versus Brandon Campos of Kong Do.

The first fight back was a great girl fight between Heather "The Hellcat" Smith of Grizzly MMA against Wanda Nilson of Team Hitman.  Nilson dominated rounds 1 and 2 both with striking and on the mat, but somehow Heather held it together. Round 3 started pretty much the same way until Smith turned it on and turned the tables.  At 2:54 in the 3rd "The Hellcat" earned her name with a surprise TKO.

Next was the first Title Fight (125lbs-135lbs) of the evening with James DeHerra of PWIA VS Brandon Downing of Team Heights.  Downing tapped out 1:37 into the second round giving DeHerra the win.

The next fight was the 160 lbs Title Fight between Scott Cleve of Fight Factory and Levi Marden of Fatal Strike.  Cleve was bloodied but ultimately won by judges' decision unanimously with all three judges scoring 30-27.

Now the moment you've been waiting for the, the Pro Fights!

First was the men's Pro Title 155 lbs match of Grizzly MMA's Joe Kelso VS Ian Stonehouse of Trybz.  Stonehouse won by TKO at 2:52 in round 2 after some serious give and take.

Finally was the women's PRO Title Fight between Stephanie Skinner of Wy GNP and Angela Hayes of Rough House/3-D in her Colorado Springs debut.  Hayes won by an amazing standing choke hold in round 1 at 1:53.  She savored the victory by playing to the audience and announcing that she's been to Japan and around the world but this was "the best crowd" she's seen.

So there you have it, sorry you couldn't make it, but that doesn't mean it's too late to grab a souvenir.

How about that Jose Aldo? Mike Brown just couldn't handle his speed and dropped his featherweight title to Aldo Wednesday night, when Jose took his back and started swinging. Bully to you Jose, congrats. On the Ultimate fighter, Rampage talked....that’s what he is good at. Brendan Schaub took on Jon Madsen. Schaub looked like he couldn't keep up with the ground game in the first round, but in the second became the first to win by knockout this season, with a beautiful right to Madsen's head. I like Brendan Schaub, but very few of these guys impress me this season. The conditioning is not what it should be and why the *&^# is Matt Mitrione still there? C'mon Dana. I liked Justin Wren, but he's gone. Tonight is UFC 106 Ortiz vs. Griffin 2. I am going to do something I haven't done in a while...My picks. Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt, GROVE!!! I still don't like Rosholt, dunno why. Former TUF competitor Ben Saunders takse on "The Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis. I like Davis, I always have. He is explosive and always ready to bring it. He gives up 5 inches of height, but we have all seen before, that doesn't matter. The triumphant return of Amir Sadollah, taking on Phil Baroni. Sadollah has to win, or else.... Antonio Nogueira (not that Nog) vs. Luiz Cane, I think Little Nog will attack and conquer. Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, this will be a good stand up fight, both guys have a lot of power, but I am going to call Kos. Now, on to the main event, Ortiz vs. Griifin 2. FORREST!!!!! If you can't hit that head, you have a problem. I think Forrest will redeem his first loss in the UFC tonight!!!

OK, let's talk UFC 105, no I don't want to talk about Fedor...shut up.  Fight of the night went to one guy I cannot stand, Michael Bisping and Denis Kang.  Plain and simple, Kang lost the fight, rather than Bisping winning it.  Kang had him in the first round, but didn't finish, your fault idiot.  “I’m pissed, I’m really pissed, but the sport of MMA, she, MMA, is a b---h and if you let it go to the judges, you let it out of your hands, you know?” said Brandon Vera. “So, I’m going to take the blame for this loss. I’m going to man up.”  This is what I keep saying, if you don't finish him, don't get pissed about the judge’s decision.  Randy Couture controlled the cage and speed of the fight, got a few good shots in, and Vera really showed good striking, and I was impressed how he came out fighting.  Ok, Lesnar.  Looks like we may never get to see him.  He is hospitalized in North Dakota, and it appears he has more than just Mono.  Dana White says it doesn't look good.  So, for now, he is talking about an interim title, my bet, Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez.  On a personal note, congratulations to my good friend and great guy, "Dangerous" Dorin Spivey who earned the NABA Lightweight boxing title by knocking out Meacher Major in the fourth round. 

OK people, lets talk about judges.  YOU NEVER LEAVE THE FIGHT UP TO THEM!!!!!  We saw what happens when you can't finish someone.  Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida battled it out, but Rua controlled the fight.  It was obvious to me, the fans that were there, and the fighters.  Shogun was the obvious winner, the judges got it wrong, end of story.  “My corner told me that I was winning all the rounds,” Rua said. “I feel like I won this fight, but a fight is a fight. What can I do?”  This is the biggest problem with MMA.  They have judges from the athletic commission from the state, how many actually know MMA?  A lot of them came from boxing.  This is getting ridiculous and Dana White and the UFC can do nothing but complain.  It is up to the state AC and the states need to get people who know the sport.  If you agree or disagree with me, let me know by leaving a comment for this blog.  By the way, our local fighter, Mackens Semerzier, who made his WEC debut by beating Wagnney Fabiano with a triangle choke, signed a 5 fight deal.  Also, we have found that Antwain "The Juggernaut" Britt, from Hybrid Academy, signed with Strikeforce and will fight on November 20th, as well as opening his school Suffolk MMA.  Congrats to both of you and we will bring you more news on the two as we get it.

Live from the Calypso Ballroom at the Surfside Hotel at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on a cool and damp night.  Perfect to be inside watching live MMA.  We set and watched 15 bouts, including our first Muay Thai fight.  There was one fight that didn't go off, as Del Watkins of Annapolis did not show to face Clem Stewart of Yorktown.  The evening was off to a quick start with 3 of the first 6 fights only lasting 1 round.  The final 4 matches were title fights featuring Jonathan Wertz taking the Lightweight belt, Cody Snith the Light Heavyweight, Chase Walden the Muay Thai Middleweight belt and a minor issue when Josh Winters forced John Stuart to submit.  Congratulations to the winners Nicholas Rerras, Samuel Vanderslice, Wayne Hunter, Scott Ukeiley, Edie Starnes, Brett Shoefelt, Chris Huntington, A J Aguilar, Omar Santiago, and Antwan Hayes and hope for the future to the losers.  Thanks to Sam,Susan and Amy for their overwhelming support.