Mike Lullo vs. Mackens Semerzier at UFC Fight Night 25

Midwest Training Center’s Mike Lullo will get his second shot in the UFC on September 17, when he fights Team Curran’s Mackens Semerzier.

The fight will take place at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans, and Lullo will make his debut at featherweight. He told the Sun-Times that, “I’m usually walking around at 160, so for me to make 155, I never really cut any weight. I think it will be a lot better for me.”

Lullo dominated the local circuit here in Chicago. A submission specialist, Lullo lost his first professional bout before running off 8 consecutive wins in the XFO, Chicago Cagefighting Championship and other promotions. His UFC debut was a loss to Edson Barboza, but Lullo will have the benefit of a full training camp in his preparation for Semerzier.

Mackens “Da Menace” Semerzier gained new life with a win over Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres at UFC Fight Night 24. It was likely a ‘win or go home’ proposition for him in that bout, as he had dropped 3 straight in the WEC.

Another local fighter, Roufusport’s Eric Koch, will fight TUF winner Jonathan Brookins on that card.

MIKE LULLO LOSES UFC DEBUT

Midwest Training Center fighter Mike Lullo made his UFC debut Saturday night in Detroit against Edson Barbosa, but came out on the losing end after the fight was stopped just moments into round 3.

After Lullo was slammed in round one, he pulled guard on Barbosa into what Joe Rogan and 10th Planet devotees like to call “Mission Control”. From there Lullo worked for a gogoplata for about 2 minutes. He almost had it but could not bring his right leg over the left arm of Barbosa. Barbosa was able to escape.

Barbosa repeatedly landed thunderous leg kicks to Lullo’s lead leg, and when Lullo pulled guard again you could see the redness and swelling caused by them. He again worked for a gogoplata but was unable to secure it. Barbosa landed more leg kicks and you could tell they were really affecting Lullo.

Before round 3 Alex Trujillo told Lullo that they were down 2 rounds and he needed to focus. Rogan made a bit of a snide comment, saying that Lullo needs specific technique instruction to counter the leg kicks, not “there’s 5 minutes left, don’t lose”. But we did not get to hear the rest of what Trujillo was relaying to Lullo, so I thought that was a bit unfair.

Lullo ate some more leg kicks and was having trouble getting up after them. Eventually the fight was stopped because of this early in round 3. Lullo was giving up some size and length to Barbosa, but he showed the world just how tough and game he was throughout the match.

NORTH AMERICAN FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP: BAD BLOOD

Plenty of Chicago-area fighters will be doing battle at The Expo Center at Potawatomi Bingo Casino next Wednesday night in Wisconsin, taking place in the North American Fighting Championship’s “Bad Blood”. MTC’s Jason Guida will be on the card, trying to come back from a loss just over a month ago at the Chicago Cagefighting Championship.

Here is the card for the event:

Lightweight (155 lbs.): Sherron “Rob Roy” Leggett-Kenosha, WI vs. James “The Unbreakable Heavy Hitter” Warfield-Madison , WI

Catchweight (140 lbs.): Chico “King” Camus-Milwaukee, WI vs. Jameel “The Real Deal” Massouh-Kenosha , WI

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.): Jason Guida-Chicago, IL vs. “Smiling” Sam Alvey-Waterford, WI

Catchweight (140 lbs.): Omar “Baby Sas” Choudhury, Shrewood, WI vs. Joao “Mosquito” Bosco-Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Heavyweight (265 lbs.): Antoine “Herc” Hayes-Chicago, IL vs. Chuck “Diesel” Hoskins-Oshkosh, WI

Featherweight (145 lbs.): Brian Learn-Milwaukee, WI vs. Peter Grimes-St. Louis, MO

Bantamweight (135 lbs.): Floyd “Hitman” Hodges-Janesville, WI vs. Matt Brown-Appleton, WI

Featherweight (145 lbs.):Jose “Temato” Pacheco-Milwaukee, WI vs. Stanton “The Viper” Gavia-Rockford, IL

Middleweight (185 lbs.): Rex “Chaos” Griepentrog-Milwaukee, WI vs. Dan Bolden-Chicago, IL

Lightweight (155 lbs.): Dylan Falduto-Kenosha, WI vs. Jeff Golden-Chicago, IL

Welterweight (170 lbs.): Matt “Buffy” Thompson-Milwaukee, WI vs. Anthony Enyobe-Janesville, WI

MTC’S MIKE LULLO GETS UFC CALL

Midwest Training Center fighter Mike Lullo is headed to the UFC. MMA Fighting reports that Lullo will take the place of Darren Elkins, who sustained a knee injury during training. Elkins fights out Duneland Vale Tudo in nearby Valpo.

Lullo will be fighting another UFC rookie in Edson Barboza. Barboza holds a professional record of 6-0 and is from Brazil. He fights out of “The Armory” in Jupiter, Florida, and was named one of MMA Ranked’s top 50 prospects, as well as the overall top prospect in the lightweight division.

Lullo most recently fought on October 16th at Chicago Cagefighting Championship. He was featured in the co-main event of the card against Tyler Combs. Lullo submitted Combs with an armbar in the 3rd round.

RESULTS: CHICAGO CAGEFIGHING CHAMPIONSHIP 10/16

Results from Chicago Cagefighting Championship on October 16th at the Odeum in Villa Park.

Rick Johnson vs. James Gleissner

Gleissner showed great wrestling and had a few catches. But after a takedown in the 2nd round, the 6’6″ 260lb. Johnson reversed position and pounded out Gleissner. Johnson via TKO- Ref Stoppage due to strikes, 1:25 round 2.

Colton Martin vs. PJ Cajigas

Cajigas landed an early knee to the body and had a takedown in round 1. They slugged it out from there and Martin had a late takedown. Cajigas won the round. In round 2, Martin landed two heavy right hands that somehow didn’t faze Cajigas. Cajigas unleashed a barrage of strikes and eventually took down Martin, mounted him and got him in the crucifix position. He pounded on him until the ref stepped in to stop it at 1:23 of round 2

Kris Blainey vs. Nate Patrick

Patrick picked up where he left off when we last saw him in DeKalb at the Body Lock/APFC “No Mercy” event. Patrick tapped gloves with Blainey then slammed him to the ground to start the fight. He immediately got side control and spent most of the round improving his position, hunting for subs and landing strikes. It was all Patrick in round 1. Round 2 began the same as round 1 — Patrick slammed Blainey and got full mount. He unleashed about ten unanswered strikes before the ref stepped in and stopped it at 1:24 of round 2.

Nic Thompson vs. Matt Hong

Just moments before the fight, Hong’s cornerman leans in and tells us, “I don’t even know this guy. I just met him about 10 minutes ago.” Nevertheless, Hong showed himself to be extremely game. He took some serious right hands from Thompson and kept going. They were huge strikes that would have felled most fighters. Later in the round Thompson cracked Hong again with a right, but Hong countered with his own right hand that sent Thompson to the ground. Hong rushed in, but Thompson tied him up, reversed and secured the mount. From there he punished Hong with strikes and bloodied his face. Hong hung in there until the ref stepped in to stop it at 2:09 of round 1.

Bryan Fielder vs. Adam Ward

Bryan “The Hostile Pentacostal” Fielder was initially supposed to fight Mike Santiago. Santiago had to withdraw and Gilbert Grappling’s Adam Ward took the fight on just about two weeks notice. And Ward was just too much for Fielder on this night.

Ward caught a rear naked choke early and worked it the entire round. His grappling and position held Fielder on the ground for almost the entire first round. In round 2 Ward was again extremely aggressive with his wrestling and it paid off. Fielder had no answer for the takedowns of Ward. Round 3 they slugged it out a bit, but Ward dominated those exchanges and again had Fielder on his back. Fielder is left a bloody mess, and Ward wins via unanimous decision.

Ray Grindstaff vs. Dennis Dombrow

Grindstaff was making his pro debut and started out aggressively. But Dombrow worked him to the ground and repeatedly looked for triangles. He locked one in late in the round and also took Grindstaff’s arm. Grindstaff eventually tapped, but he should have done so sooner. He lay on the ground writhing in pain for a few minutes after the end of the bout. Thankfully, he was able to stand for the official announcement and left under his own power.

It was also Dombrow’s pro debut. The 145-pounder out of MTC in Schaumburg notches his first pro win at the Chicago Cagefighting Championship just a few months after competing as an amateur in the same promotion. He displayed a slick ground game, securing a heel hook early in the round and then finishing with the devastating sub at 4:46 of the first.

German Reyes vs. Frank Pizzirulli

Reyes was making his first appearance back in the cage since 2007. That’s a long layoff but you never would have known it watching him fight against Pizzirulli. Reyes exuded extreme calm and had his way with “The Strength”. He spent nearly all of round 1 on top of Pizzirulli. Round 2 was also all Reyes, with Pizzirulli seemingly not wanting to engage. His corner, including Strikeforce fighter Louis Taylor, seemed discouraged that Pizzirulli would not bring it to Reyes. Round 3 saw Pizzirulli work harder, but Reyes eventually landed a triangle at the end of the round. Pizzirulli survived, but Reyes won a unanimous decision in a very impressive performance.

Ryan Williams vs. Ryan Bixler

XFO welterweight champion Ryan Williams looked great in all aspects of his game on this night. Williams dominated the first round, both in striking and on the ground. Round 2 was closer with Bixler providing more of an attack, but Williams still won the round. I thought that Bixler might have taken round 3, but all the judges scored it 30-27 in favor of Williams. It was an impressive performance or Williams against a very experienced fighter in Bixler. It was the second straight victory for Williams.

Nick Rossborough vs. Jason Guida

This was a battle of two very experienced fighters. Guida had the home crowd cheering relentlessly for him. But Rossborough was relentless in his pursuit of Guida. “Leatherface” controlled the pace of the fight and commandeered the cage, working Guida for three rounds. Rossborough’s length and quickness were too much for Guida. Guida, of course showed his gameness, and brought it all three rounds. But in the end Rossborough took the victory via unanimous decision.

Mikey Lullo vs. Tyler Combs

The co-main event of the card, and it lived up to its billing with some thrilling action and frantic pace. Combs had no answer for Lullo in this fight. Lullo won the majority of the exchanges and was able to take down Combs when he wanted to. A slick rubber guard kept Combs in the fight. But in the 3rd round Lullo locked up Combs arm and he had to tap. A very impressive performance by Lullo, who looks like he improves with every bout. Lullo wins by submission via armbar at 1:17 of the 3rd round.

Jared McMahan vs.Chase Beebe

Making his 3rd fight in just over 30 days didn’t prove to be a problem for former WEC champ Chase Beebe. Beebe was just too quick and powerful for McMahan. Beebe floored McMahan with a right and violently turned him into a guillotine that left McMahan out on the floor. Beebe needed just over a minute to beat McMahan.

CHICAGO CAGEFIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP 10/16

Chicago Cagefighting Championship returns on October 16th at the Odeum in Villa Park. The card looks great:

McMahan vs. Beebe is a great main event. McMahan is a veteran of the local fight scene, having fought in TFC, Ironheart Crown and C3. He fought at the June 26th Chicago Cagefighting Championship event and knocked out Seth Marquez in the first round. Beebe is scheduled to fight at Ruckus on September 11th, so that will be a quick turnaround for him.

Jason Guida just fought Jeff Monson in Florida at Elite Promotions and loss via guillotine in round 2. The veteran fighter trains and coaches out of Midwest Training Center in Schaumburg. Guida will be fighting Nick “Leatherface” Rossborough, who was on “The Ultimate Fighter” season 7. He lost to Jesse Taylor in his bout on the show.

Mikey Lullo, also out of MTC, will be fighting Tyler Combs at the event. Lullo is in the midst of a 7-fight win streak and won via Omo Plata against Jeremy Castro at Chicago Cagefighting Championship’s June event.

For tickets call 630-373-CAGE or visit the Chicago Cagefighting Championship website.

LORDS OF WAR FEATURES FORMER WEC CHAMP

The first “Lords of War” is set to take place on April 24th in Addison and the card features some veteran local fighters, a former “Ultimate Fighter” contestant and a former WEC champion. The show is jam-packed with fighters from Midwest Training Center and one from Gilbert Grappling.

The main event will match XFO vet and former WEC champ Chase Beebe against Billy Jochum. Beebe (11-5) comes back to the states after battling in DREAM to fight locally for the first time in almost 4 years. Jochum (8-3) fought here at “Fight Club One” in July last year, getting submitted by John Hosman by a first round armbar.

Hosman (15-6-1) will also fight on the card. After rattling off 7 straight wins, Hosman got the call to fight in the WEC. He got a very tough matchup in his first fight, having to face off against submission specialist Rani Yahya. Yahya submitted him in round 1. Then Hosman battled Chad George to a decision loss at WEC 45. At Lords of War, Hosman looks to get back to his winning ways and will take on Mike “The Assassin” Lindquist.

Also at Lords of War 1:

• Former TUF combatant and MTC fighter Kevin Knabjian will fight on the card.
• Gilbert Grappling’s Joe Benoit (8-3) will fight Craig Kaufman (7-4).
• Undefeated C3 and TFC vet Tony Wisnieski (6-0) will battle Iowa’s Ryan Bixler.
• MTC fighters Ryan Williams, Mikey Lullo, Mike Pitz and Vincent Ramos will all fight at the event.

click the poster to view full size

Check out our Chicago’s MMA Events page for all the upcoming local cards.

VIDEO: MTC FEATURED ON WGN-TV

The team at Midwest Training Center welcomed WGN feature reporter Marcus Leshock to their gym.  Leshock interviewed head coach Alex Trujillo and some of MTC’s fighters in a nice little feature package.   It’s always good to see a local gym get some exposure on a major local media outlet like WGN-TV.  It also looks like Marcus had a little fun while shooting this story.

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