Fighters return to battle in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Fight fans from around the Basin gathered at the Grant County Fairgrounds Saturday for a night of mixed martial arts action featuring both local competitors and those from around the state.

Thirteen fights were contested, with each fight ending in either a knockout, submission or a referee's stoppage.

The main event of the night pitted "Lucky" of Moses Lake against Ben Johnson of Yakima Mixed Martial Arts. The two towering fighters went toe-to-toe for much of the first round, trading punches in several flurries of action. Toward the end of the first round, Johnson took Lucky to the ground but was unable to do any significant damage from the top position. Lucky worked back to his feet just before the end of the round.

During the break between rounds, Johnson appeared dazed on his feet and seemed to be having trouble with his vision and balance. With Johnson unable to answer the bell for the second round, Lucky was declared the winner.

In the most action-packed bout of the evening, Mykal "Bolo" Clark of Seattle faced off with Spokane's "Cimmeron." Clark opened the match by landing a big right on Cimmeron, and after a wild scramble Clark took Cimmeron down to the ground.

Clark worked around to secure a rear-naked choke, but Cimmeron then landed a pair of punches to Clark's face and was able to escape the submission hold. In the second round, Clark nailed Cimmeron with several heavy punches that dropped the stunned fighter to the ground. Clark then jumped down on Cimmeron and landed a few more punches before the fight was stopped by the referee.

Following that fight, Keelan Vasquez and Issac Valdez, both of Moses Lake, battled in a three-round heavyweight match up. Vasquez took Valdez down early, but the fighters were brought back to their feet after Vasquez landed an illegal knee to the head. In the second round, Vasquez again had Valdez down, but Valdez was able to absorb a series of punches and knees without serious injury.

In the third round, Valdez landed a big knee to the chin that dropped Vasquez to the floor. Valdez then delivered several heavy blows, including a controversial shot to the ribs, that forced Vasquez to tap out.

For the first time in Moses Lake, fans were treated to a woman's bout. In the contest, Miesha Tate of Yakima MMA threw her opponent to the ground in the early stages of the first round and quickly ended the fight with a series of punches from the full-mount position.

Other local winners included Zach Dompier of Moses Lake, who won with a first round submission by rear-naked choke and Dereck Shafer defeated fellow Moses Lake resident Scott Oppen by rear-naked choke with just two seconds remaining in the first round.