If you were not in Indiana watching the local fights or at Excalibur in Chicago last Friday, you missed out on great MMA matchups.  We were over at the Gary Railcats Steelyard Stadium attending the Hoosier Fight Club 4: Showdown at the Steelyard event, and it was amazing.  From what we heard at the event, their next scheduled event will be on October 1, at the Star Plaza Theater in Merrilville, Indiana.

First of all, the seating was great granted the cage was directly over home plate and it was stadium seats.  No matter where you were, you could see the cage.  If they were in a blind spot, you also had the jumbotron over center field giving you a live feed of the fight.  The fights themselves were well balanced, and many times they left the crowd debating the whole time who the winner would be.  There were only two intermissions, and both only lasted at most fifteen minutes.  The event itself was a full four to five hours of non-stop action. 

The only factor that made this event go off without a hitch was the weather.  As with all outdoor events, weather plays a key role in an event.  In the start of the event, the weather was perfect.  It wasn’t too hot, or too cold and there was no heavy winds.  Things changed once the sun went down though.  The temperature went down a bit and people were concerned with rain coming near midnight.  Through the slight change in weather, the canvas became wet and slippery.  The commission stepped in and removed the slick stickers on the ground and dried off the mat relatively quickly.  However, because of the conditions HFC was faced with, they had to push past the last three fights to get to their main events.  This was unfortunate, especially for the fighters and those who came to see those fights, but I think it was a smart decision.  It’s the commission’s job to keep the fighters safe.  It is what keeps this sport what it is; a sport and not a street fight.  Had they let all their fighters fight, they would have been putting the fighters through unnecessary risks.  It’s one thing to let the fighters fight, and another to leave them prone to injuries that can affect their future careers for the sake of an event.  I’m sure HFC will have another event, and I’m sure they will let these fighters get their chance.  As of right now, HFC does have another event scheduled for October 1 at the Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville, Indiana.

As we mentioned earlier, the fights were amazing.  I don’t know who did the match making, but the fights were all great.  All the fights were evenly matched.  I think it was the match maker that made this event, because everyone there could not believe some of the outcomes of the fights.  Even some of the fan favorites had a difficult time ending fights or making themselves the obvious winner as they went into decisions.  I know it was late by the time it was over, but I was drained mentally from all the momentum changes throughout each fight.

Since these are amateur and pro fights, we are still trying to find out how you can view these fights.  HDNet was there taking video, so these fights should be up on cable soon.  We also took video, but until we get the go ahead we will not be putting the fights up.  However, we do have the results from the show located below.    

Amateur Fights

135 lb. weight class

James Porter                                     vs                                            Josh Bulak

Team 765 Combat Club                                                                  Team No Comment

James Porter wins by TKO in :37 of the 2^nd round due to an injury

195 lb. weight class

Brandon Slabaugh                           vs                                            Nick Wayne

No known team to date                                                                LA Boxing

Nick Wayne wins by submission in 1:09 of the 2^nd round (verbal tapout)

145 lb. weight class

Brady Hovermale                             vs                                            Jorge Gonzales

Team 765 Combat Club                                                                  Team Colon

Brady Hovermale wins by unanimous decision after 3 rounds (all three judges score 30-27)

145 lb. weight class

Brandon Thomerson                      vs                                            Ralph Nurse

Team Makame MMA                                                                      LA Boxing

Ralph Nurse wins by submission in :25 of the 1^st round (standing guillotine choke)

185 lb. weight class

Luke Ausin                                          vs                                            Leo Husarik

Team Pac MMA                                                                                 Team Bloody Knuckles

Leo Husarik wins by submission in 2:35 of the 1^st round (rear naked choke)

 145 lb. weight class

Jacob Morales                                   vs                                            Terry House

Team Extreme Martial Arts                                                          LA Boxing

Terry House wins by unanimous decision after 3 rounds (all three judges score 29-28)

 Pro Fights

125 lb. weight class

Josh Sampo                                        vs                                            Jake Rosenbaum

Team St. Charles MMA                                                                  LA Boxing

Josh Sampo wins by submission in :57 of the 3^rd round (rear naked choke)

 135 lb weight class

Josh Robinson                                   vs                                            Mike Welch

Team 360 MMA                                                                                 Team Colon

Josh Robinson wins by submission in 4:22 of the 1^st round (guillotine choke)

 155 lb weight class

Charles Wilson                                  vs                                            Mark Miller

Team Superkicks Martial Arts                                                     Team Dino Costeas / Gilbert Grappling

Mark Miller wins by unanimous decision after 3 rounds (all three judges score 30-27)

 185 lb weight class

Robbie Nieto                                     vs                                            John Cantu

Team Jujitsu                                                                                       Team Colon

Robbie Nieto wins by unanimous decision after 3 rounds (all three judges score 29-28)

 Co-Main Event

205 lb. weight class

Lew Polley                                          vs                                            Anthony Gomez

Team Alliance                                                                                    Team Torres Martial Arts

Anthony Gomez wins by split decision after 3 rounds

Judge 1 = 28 – 29 for Gomez

Judge 2 = 28 – 29 for Polley

Judge 3 = 28 – 29 for Gomez

Main Event

170 lb weight class

Luigi Fioravanti                                  vs                                            John Kolosci

Team American Top Team                                                            Team LA Boxing / Gilbert Grappling

John Kolosci wins by submission in :42 of the 1^st round (rear naked choke)