By Misty Cryer
Several Eddy County athletes stood out throughout the Oil & Gas Grappling Championships—Warriors Collide, presented by Universal Fight Promotions on Saturday, September 14, at the Walter Gerrells Performing Arts and Exhibition Center. The event consisted of teams from Carlsbad, Artesia, Hobbs, Alamogordo, Las Cruces, and Texas and was live-streamed via pay-per-view for all to see.
"Universal Fight Promotions has been around since 1996," said Jimmy Westfall, CEO of UFP. "We've had events in Carlsbad and all over New Mexico and Texas," he said, adding that this is the second event of the year at PAC.
"The majority of Universal Fight Promotions' events have been professional and amateur MMA events. Three years ago, we started having grappling events—submission wrestling with Jujutsu. I wanted to give the younger kids a platform to showcase their skills in front of a lot of people," Westfall said.
"The format that I have is the only one in New Mexico; it's real big in Texas. I put up my octagon ring, and we allow them to grapple in the ring. It is actually a lot safer because there are no out-of-bounds. There are cage panels there to stop them," he said.
"The atmosphere that the cage brings is really cool; it's real exciting for the kids. We let the kids come out to their own music. We have lights and smoke and all of that good stuff. We try to make them all feel as special as we can," Westfall said.
"I brought my pay-per-view team in from Houston to do this event. Whenever I promised the kids last time, I said, you know, next time, I'll bring the pay-per-view team and do a pay-per-view. At that time, I didn't know that the UFC Noche and the Canelo fight were on the same night, so I actually promised the pay-per-view on the worst possible night of the year, but I wasn't going to go back on my word. I promised the kids I would do that, and I did. The pay-per-view numbers were unreal. I didn't expect anything like what we got," said Westfall.
"We did have a lot of Carlsbad kids that did really well. I had five title belts, and one kid from Carlsbad, Daniel Lopez, he won a title. That was like the match of the night; it was amazing," said Westfall.
"Something Universal Fight Promotions has done since we started the business, we've always donated to a worthy cause. At the event, I had all the athletes sign a title belt, and we auctioned it off. We had a pretty good bidding war for this one, and we got $1,000 for it. David Vasquez (one of the owners of Evo) and his family won the bid, and that money went to Faith, Hope and Love Foundation for Brittany's Hope," he said.
Westfall expressed gratitude to the David Vasquez family for having the winning bid on the UFP Title belt, his matchmaker, Kari Barrick, his production team, and the corporate sponsors who helped make the night such a special event. He emphasized that Southeast New Mexico is becoming a "hotbed" for great Martial Artists, while commending the coaches in Carlsbad and surrounding areas for doing such an amazing job.
"Some really big things are in the works for the very near future," he said.
Official Results of UFP's Oil & Gas Grappling Championships—Warriors Collide
Main Events, Title Matches:
Richard Jennings, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo, defeated Ian Ridenour, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad
Daniel Lopez, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Jaden Sano, Hugo-Sida Bushida MMA, El Paso
Alex Navarro, The Works, Hobbs, defeated Case Hinkins, Artesia BJJ, Artesia
Charlotte Combs, Varsity Academy, Artesia, defeated Danielle Gallagher, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad
Izzy Portillo, Predator MMA, Odessa, defeated Craig O'Brien, Blindside Combat Wrestling, Austin
Jaden Sano was chosen for the John D Westfall "Fighting Heart" award, given to one athlete, win or lose, who shows true grit and never gives up.
Matches:
Sejadus Hudson, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo, defeated Braxton Norman, Varsity Academy, Artesia
Aden Zuckahosee, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo, defeated Sean Summers of Artesia BJJ
Ian McBeth, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Niko Gomez, Artesia BJJ
Dayana Gallagher, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Lydia Narramore, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo
Cooper Warren, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Kevin Garcia, Varsity Academy, Artesia
Brooklyn Robinson, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Wai Kealoha, Blindside Combat Wrestling, Austin
Layton Downen, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Jace Schoonmaker, Artesia BJJ
Axel Rodriguez, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Weston Ramon, Blindside Combat Wrestling, Austin
Logan McBeth, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Jayson Alvarez, Desert Dynasty, Alamogordo
Jerron Arredondo, Artesia BJJ, defeated Esai Dimas, Team Purgatory, Las Cruces
Santino Sigala, Artesia BJJ, defeated Logan Craft, Desert Dynasty, Alamogordo
Ryder Littlejohn, EVO BJJ, Carlsbad, defeated Jesse Ray Snyder, Artesia BJJ
Gerrardo Hernandez, Artesia BJJ, Artesia, defeated Art Tovar, Blindside Combat Wrestling, Austin
Mikey Huerta, Predator MMA, Odessa, defeated Yovis Perdomo, Desert Dynasty, Alamogordo
Rob Mosso, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo, defeated Edgar Ontiveros, Artesia BJJ
Justin Fannette, Artesia BJJ, defeated Demetre Hinds, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo
Zeke Vargas, Team Purgatory, Las Cruces, defeated Nicholas Villalobos, Artesia BJJ
Ashley Hudson, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo, defeated Madi Baker, Team Purgatory, Las Cruces
Jerron Arredondo, Artesia BJJ, defeated Arnold Ramon, Blindside Combat Wrestling, Austin
Juan Cuellar, Desert Dynasty MMA, Alamogordo, defeated Raymundo Arroyo, Artesia BJJ
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