MCC 27: “Mutapcic vs Cummings” Makes History

MCC 27: “Mutapcic vs Cummings” Makes History

With another event in the books, MCC 27 is already being regarded as quite possibly, the best event in the promotions history. From open to close, these warriors came out to put on a show for the fight fans, and with raw talent, determination, and the willingness to push each other beyond imaginable limits, they performed beyond expectations. And when the dust settled, every one left Veterans Auditorium raving.

The night started out with two MCC newcomers; Josiah Oppman and Dustin Updike bringing the crowd to their feet with three rounds of solid striking. With neither fighter willing to take the match to the ground, they bloodied and battered each other at a feverishly fast pace. With Updike getting the better of the exchanges, Oppman looked to land the one punch knock out. Unfortunately, time ran out and the judges awarded a unanimous decision victory to Dustin Updike. Look for big things to come from both of these young competitors.

A welterweight match up between Jiu-Jitsu specialist, Jay Olsen and hard-nosed striker Chad Vandermark turned out to be an extremely close, back and forth battle. Midway through the third round, Olsen attempted a rear naked choke, but when he was unable to secure the submission, the referee called the fight back up to the feet and Vandermark saw that as a sign to turn up the intensity. He was able to finish strong and for his efforts, he was awarded a split decision victory over the previously undefeated Olsen.

Former MCC Featherweight Champion, Will “The Real Deal” Shutt returned to the cage to face Omaha’s Jordan “The Nebraskan Nightmare” Eggli, who was making his MCC debut. Although Eggli got off to a slow start, he was able to defend over ten arm bar and triangle submission attempts from Shutt, while going for submissions of his own. The Vaghi Jiu Jitsu blue belt, remained calm and composed as he wore down the former champ. But, at 3:44 of the final round, Shutt was finally able to secure the triangle choke that he had been searching for the entire night, forcing Eggli to tap.

Touted as one of the best fights of 2009, Laramie “The Contract Killer” Shaffer and Zak “The Maniac” Laird, agreed to a rematch which marked both fighters professional debut. History was able to repeat itself as both of these warriors went back and forth with punches, kicks and incredible grappling. Laird was able to get off some clean shots that clearly took its toll on the face of Shaffer, while Shaffer attempted to utilize his superior wrestling skills to take the fight to the mat. When the final bell sounded, all three judges saw it the same- a unanimous decision victory for Zak “The Maniac” Laird. The rematch lived up to the hype, and I think all fight fans would agree that we could stand to watch these two go at it on every MCC card.

In the two number on contender bouts, Jesse Lund proved to be too much for “Mean” Dean Bradley. Bradley, who had been on a winning streak, taking out Josh “Bull” Christensen and former MCC Middleweight Champ, Mike “Mini Van” Van Meer, put on an excellent performance, and, at moments, had the more experienced Lund in some compromising positions. However, Lund showed his hard training and never say die attitude as he forced a tap out by strikes late in the second round.

Chris “Mad Dog” Mickle once again proved that strategy can overcome strength and power as he wasted no time going to the mat with hard hitting, Cory “Tha Projekt” Simpson and ending the fight just two minutes into the very first round with an arm bar. Simpson, who made it known that he wanted to stand and trade punches, never had the opportunity to use his hands. It was a tough break for Simpson and a solid win for Mickle. After the fight, Mickle announced that he would be deployed to Afghanistan later this year.

The main event of the evening re-classified the definition of talent and heart! Former MCC Middleweight Champion, Zak Cummings returned to face the current title holder, Elvis “The King” Mutapcic. For five rounds, fans watched the native of Sarajevo, Bosnia pick apart the grappler with brutal leg kicks and punches. While Cummings was able to get off several clean punches of his own, Mutapcic was clearly the superior striker. Cummings took shot after shot, only to be shrugged off and countered by the current champ. Late in the fifth and final round, Cummings grazed the eye of Mutapcic which set him up for a swift combination. Momentarily, Mutapcic was wobbled as the referee looked on closely. It appeared that, although Mutapcic had secured all of the previous rounds decisively, he would be finished. Digging deep, Mutapcic was not only able to survive, but reverse the position to finish out the fight in a dominant fashion. The crowd was electrifying and the atmosphere was almost deafening as Bosnian and American supporters alike, cheered for “The King”. Mutapcic had faced and conquered his toughest opponent to date and proved that he has what it takes to fight amongst the most elite mixed martial artists in the world. Fight fans can expect big things from Mutapcic in the upcoming months!

The Internet has been buzzing and people have been raving over MCC 27 for the past several hours. With fight fans hungry for more, MCC has already started working on the next line up, which will take place in August. For more information, check out www.MidwestCageChampionship.com.

Full Results Below:

Josiah Oppman v Dustin Updike -    Updike by  Unanimous decision- 3 rounds
Henry Meza v Eric Kapayou-     Kapayou by triangle choke 2:32 Rd 1
Seth Craig v Johnny Coleman-    Craig by RNC :22 rd 1
Jay Olsen v Chad Vandermark-    Vandermark by split decision - 3 rounds
Mitch Parker v Luis Saldana –     Saldana by RNC 1:40 rd 2
Jordan Eggli v Will Shutt – Shutt by triangle choke – 3:44 rd 3
Jeff Carstens  v Miguel Rios –  Rios by RNC 1:41 rd 1
Rick Glenn v Colby Karaidos – Glen by TKO 2:49 rd 1
Laramie Schaffer v Zak Laird – Laird by Unanimous decision- 3 rounds
Jesse Lund v Dean Bradley- Lund by Tapout from strikes  3:34 rd 2
Cory Simpson v Chris Mickle –  Mickle by Armbar 2:00 rd 1 

Middleweight Championship

Zak Cummings v Elvis Mutapcic- Mutapcic by unanimous decision after 5 rounds