Jesse Lund

With less than a week left before I step into the cage, I feel I am more than ready. Training has been going great and now it is time to get mentally focused. Getting mentally prepared for a fight is one of the hardest things to do. Everyday is a game of what may happen, how will I react, and what will be the outcome. I always say the day of the fight that it is 90% mental and 10% physical. If you go into a fight with any doubt at all, you will loose. This is not the time for second-guessing or questioning you ability to fight. It is the time to realize that no matter what happens, that you have done everything you can to prepare yourself and that you will apply it without any hesitation and come out on top.

Unfortunately my original opponent had to withdrawal from competition due to ……… Well who really knows, but it really got under my skin. I really wanted this fight and thought it would be a great war and one for the books. But this is part of the game. It plays a role on the mental aspect, as I really don’t know a lot about my new opponent. I’m just glad I still have a fight and didn’t waste my time the last two months on training. This is going to be one action packed, in you face, bang till someone drops fight. I can’t wait!!!

If you don’t have you tickets, get em. I want to hear Vets roaring with my family, friends, and fans as I try to put on the best fight of the night and bring the belt to my hometown of Greenfield!! 

Jesse Lund

“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.” – Muhammad Ali

Richards Vs Lund

Opponent Change for Lund; It Just Got Real

By Randy Thomas

Often times, especially in higher profile contests, opponents change as the fight night draws near.  This is a time when mixed martial artists fall victim to injury due to the intense workouts and stress they put their body through.  Jesse Lund was set to face Derek Mehman for the MCC Interim Light Heavyweight title.  In Mehman’s case, however, he was forced to withdraw from the upcoming bout for greener pastures, that can’t be discussed.
 
When one door closes another one opens.
 
In this case, Demetrius Richards has answered the call, and with nine days until MCC 23, Richards is gearing up to fight one of the top up and comers in the sport, Jesse Lund.  “D-MO” as he’s often referred to, is bringing quite an impressive resume.  He wrestled through high school and became a Nebraska state champion.  He was an all American in football and wrestling.  In college he wrestled with UFC Vet Jason Brilz at UNO.  After college he played semi-pro football for The Omaha Beef, Arena 1 Football League.  So, how did he get into mixed martial arts?  Simple!  He got into a fist fight at an Omaha Beef game, where he was kicked off the team, and he was approached to fight by someone who immediately recognized his potential.

Luckily, Richards, who is the face of Tapout mouthguards and works part time as a security guard, is able to dedicate the majority of his time to training. D-Mo has enlisted the help of Elite Performance (Omaha,NE), with other popular names such as UFC fighter’s Ryan Jensen, Jason Brilz,  Jake Ellenberger, Chad Reiner, and Bellator’s Alonzo Martinez.   At 5′10″ and 205 lbs, he believes he has the heart, power, and talent, to bring the MCC Light Heavyweight strap, back to his home state of Nebraska.   
 
But there’s more at stake in this fight than simply beating Jesse Lund.   With a recent and only loss to MCC champion, Chuck “The Reverend” Grigsby, beating Lund will give him the opportunity to avenge the loss.
 
Richards has issued the statement, “Fighting Jesse Lund is a great opportunity for me. I plan to put on a great performance, and capture the MCC Interim Light Heavyweight title.   Then, I want my rematch with Chuck Grigsby.”
 
 
Normally a reserved, sort of quiet competitor, Jesse Lund answered, “I watched his tape with Chuck. I don’t think he’s anything special. He looks sloppy and gasses out quick. I don’t care who he trains with, what team he played for, or who he’s the face of. I will wear him down and be wearing the belt by the second round.”
 
This just got real.
 
MCC 23 “Thanksgiving Throwdown”, Wednesday, November 25 at Vets Auditorium.  Tickets are available on-line at www.MidwestCageChampionship.com, at all Dahl’s ticket outlets, Iowa Events Center Box Office, or by phone at 515-229-8566.  The doors open at 6:30pm with the first bout set for 7:30pm.  For more information about this, and the other fights on the card, log onto the MCC website.

Elvis Mutapcic

What up everyone, it’s about to go down in nine days I can’t wait!  This week will be my last week of practice before I take on Mike “Mini Van” Van Meer during the MCC Thanksgiving Throwdown on November 25th. 

In this blog I am going to take some time and tell all of you a little about my thoughts toward my upcoming opponent, Mike “Mini Van” Van Meer.  First off I’d like to say that I have a lot of respect for Mikey!  As I’m sure most of you know he’s been in the game a lot longer than I have and has had much more experience in the cage than myself.  He has fought and beaten a lot of very tough opponents in his career; because people don’t take him seriously as a fighter because of his physical appearance.

It’s not a secret how this fight is going to go down.  He is going to try and take me down against my will and work his ground and pound.  It is also well known that I will try as hard as I can to keep the fight on our feet and work my stand up until I finish him off.

Although I have a lot of respect for Mike, that will not be on my mind in the cage.  I have every intention of leaving my feelings toward Mike outside of the cage; fighting is my job and my life and I will not let my respect for him affect the outcome of this fight.  We both want the win and want to walk out of the cage with the belt; it’s all going to come to who wants it more and I want it more! 

I would love to talk to you all a little more in detail about my fight against Mike “Mini Van”  Van Meer; but you’ll all have to come down to Vets Memorial Auditorium and watch it all unfold on November 25th.
Thanks for all your support!

Until next time!

Elvis “The King” Mutapcic

Jesse Lund

Sorry for the delay, I have been training almost every day and night, working and trying to get my house project finished before the holidays hit. My computers have been on the fritz and finally got one back and going. Of course, no video clips yet. I will still try to post one up before the fight.

The staff infection took about 4 weeks to heal good enough to resume training. In the mean time, we would find out that our 3rd child had no intentions of sleeping at night. We are still dealing with this issue as I speak. The lack of sleep pretty much erased any morning workouts and made me push hard during the few times a week I was training. Nick at Spartan was really good at working with my schedule and did not second guess me when I had to xo a few sessions due to working late and the kids catching the flu that was going around. As the fight approached, I gained more confidence and could not wait for this fight to happen. I caught a video of Vance online and I think I watched it twenty times. I thought I finally had a guy that would stand and bang with me, and I found a lot of holes in his game. The fight ended with some good legs kicks that dropped him. I knew I would really work my kick game for this fight.         
 Walking to the cage, I was overwhelmed by the sea of fans that were there supporting me! What a great feeling! The cage door closed and we touched gloves. I came out with a jab then followed it with a good leg kick. As I suspected, he threw an overhand right followed by…yes, a double leg. He landed in half guard and began to work for a submission. He latched on to a head arm choke and didn’t think he had it good enough to really lock it in. Then he passed to mount and then to side to tighten it up. I was in trouble now. I’m not sure how long I was in the choke, but it felt like the whole round. My left shoulder to the tip of my fingers went numb and I started to see the flashing stars as the blood supply to my head was slowing down. I remember the ref asking for a thumbs up if I was ok, kind of hard to do when you can’t feel you hand! I kept moving to keep it from getting any tighter. Finally, he gave up on the choke and he went back to half guard. I felt good, and started working my subs again. I managed to get a kimura locked in, but I was not in a position to finish it. End of round one.
When I got back to my corner, TJ was screaming at me to get full guard back if he takes me down again and not to stay in half guard. Gotta love that guy! As round two started, we both threw a few punches and then I landed another good leg kick. We threw some more leather and I nailed him with a left hook that wobbled him a little. He clinched up quick and I threw two good knees to the ribs before he took me down again. This time I managed to get full guard right away, thanks TJ! I threw a few short elbows waiting for a reaction to set up the sub. After an attempt to pass my guard, I slipped the arm and threw up the triangle, locked it in and swept the leg to finish the fight. For those of you that were there or watched the fight on TV, no, I will no longer do a dance after any of my next fights!!

Training is going very well, I feel like I can beat anyone that they can throw at me right now. So back to the gym to prepare for what could be the fight of the night!!
           
 
Jesse Lund

“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.” – Muhammad Ali

Elvis Mutapcic

Hey All!  In this blog I’m going to take you back to my fight at MCC 21: Mickle vs. Marriott when I fought Andy Branson. 

Going into this fight I trained as I usually do; since I didn’t know much about Andy and his fighting styles to begin with, I didn’t want to focus my training on just one particular style.  As the fight got closer I began to learn more about him and his fighting styles; I found out that Andy had a very strong wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu background.  I train with a very skilled wrestling team so I wasn’t all that worried about it, but at the same time I didn’t wait to under estimate his ability.  As the fight quickly approached I became more and more confident in myself and this fight.

As the fight began I was determined to strike first.  One of the first shots I threw made contact on his chest; causing him to lose balance and land on the matt.  As the first round continued we traded many kicks and punches.  As the fight went on I became more confident with myself.  During one of the many exchanges I threw an over-hand right; although it didn’t connect I threw it with such power that I found myself losing my balance and I was forced to pull guard.  After taking the fight to the ground I quickly realized that this wasn’t a place I wanted to be for long; knowing that he’s strength is on the ground.  As he passed my guard and ended up in a full mount I became really frustrated; I knew I couldn’t stay there for long and I needed to change my position.  As he attempted to go for a submission he became over committed and I was able to swipe him.  The buzzer finally went off and we headed to our separate corners.  Throughout the rest of the fight it was a constant battle; I wanted to keep the fight on our feet and he wanted to keep the fight on the ground.  We fought our hardest all the way to the end.

According the judges Andy Branson won the fight due to a split decision.  After the fight was over the promoters came into the locker room and told me that I won the fight in their eyes and I was paid the winning amount.

A couple weeks later Andy came into Des Moines MMA to train with us; he is moving to Des Moines in December and wants to begin training with us after he moves.  We’ve trained with each other on multiple occasions and have learned many things from each other already.

On another note I’d like to congratulate my coach Anthony on his win this past weekend at the Mission 2 Submission against my future opponent, Mike “Mini Van” Van Meer!

For those of you who don’t know Andy is also on the fight card for the MCC Thanksgiving Throwdown and I wish him the best of luck on his fight!

Thanks again for all your support and I can’t wait to see all of you at the fights on November 25th!

Elvis “The King” Mutapcic

Jesse Lund

I thought I would have some video for this weeks blog, but it will have to wait til next week. This week I joined a new fitness club in Winterset, which is where I work most of the time during the day. Now I can stop in over lunch and get a workout in everyday. Nick at Spartan has been pushing me even harder and sparring sessions have turned into fighting sessions. I have had the opportunity to work with Grigsby the past 2 weeks, which has really opened my eyes as to what the next level will take. Slow but sure, I will be in the best shape mentally and physically for this fight!

With my winning streak in full force, the next fight would be a one of a kind. Again, I was going against another good wrestler. My training camp for this fight was one of the worst I had ever had. With work and family, I was struggling to find the time to train. I told my training partners that I was only training for a one round fight, and if it went any longer than that, I could be in trouble. I came out with a lazy jab expecting the shot. He just stood there and looked at me. So much for the “game plan.” As I moved in we both threw right hooks and we both landed them. His caught me right on the cheekbone on some scar tissue. Busted me wide open! Then he threw about 30 punches in such a flurry that I had no idea what would be next. My only hope…..to go for the takedown. I kind of shot in on a single, trying to avoid the onslaught leather he was throwing from every direction he could. I turned it into a double leg and ended up on top. By now blood was everywhere. I have never let my emotions play out in a fight, but I was pissed! I did not want this to end because of a cut. I had no idea where it was, but it was bleeding bad. As I worked a few strikes, then tried to mount, he shot back up and was in on a leg. The blood was so bad I could only see a red haze. The ref stopped to fight to have the doctor take a look. Lucky for me the cut was below my eye and I was cleared to continue. We resumed with him in on the shot. I threw a knee and he grabbed it and down we went. The blood made it impossible to hold him down. He ended up in full mount and I tried to roll and get out the back door. He snagged an arm bar and I fought it off to take his back and sink in the choke to finish the fight. All of this in two and a half minutes! This was a fast paced crazy fight, and a good learning experience for me. I looked pretty cool though for thanksgiving dinner with 8 stitches hanging off my cheek!

After that fight I took some time off. Teresa and I were expecting our third child, and I knew training would not be an option. In fact, I was talking about getting out of the sport for good. I was having trouble finding time with two kids, let alone three. The summer slipped by fast, changing diapers, taking a vacation, and starting an addition on our house to accommodate the new family member. I still attended the MCC fights, cheering on my former teammates and training buds. The first MCC event at Vets would draw me back in. The larger cage was one of the main reasons. I jumped back in the gym, heavier than I had been in years. This is when I was introduced to Nick at Spartan Strength. He worked us to the bone! It was a new conditioning program that I had never experienced before and I loved it. I was taking his class three days a week, and going to Roundkick. I felt great and was ready to step in the cage. The next opponent would be Chad Vance. Grigsby fought him the night of my last fight as a title defense. I thought it would be a great match up for me, and for the fans to watch. About 2 weeks out from the fight, I had a bad staff infection show up on the back of my left leg behind my knee. If you have ever had this, you know it is nasty and painful. I had to postpone the fight for another event. I didn’t want to be the guy who bailed on a fight, but it happened.

Next week I will throw up some video on my training and continue on with the next fight. For all the fans, stop by www.insanityfightwear.com and pick up one of my shirts!!!! Until next week……………..
Jesse Lund
“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.” – Muhammad Ali

Elvis Mutapcic

What’s up everyone!  It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve written my last blog; here’s what’s been happening in my life since then.  As most of you know, last weekend I was in Los Angeles supporting my teammate Josh Neer in UFC 104, and trying out for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. 

I’d like to take a minute to talk about Josh’s fight, Saturday night, and say that I was very proud of the effort he put into the fight.  Even though the turn out wasn’t what we all wanted it to be, he gave it his all in the cage just like he does every day in practice.

On Monday I tried out for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.  My teammate and I checked into the Hotel that the tryouts were being held Sunday night, so we would be one of the first fighters there to check-in for the tryouts Monday morning.  We got down to the lobby at 7:00AM so that we could get in line and wait for the registration to begin at 8:00AM; I was the 57th Middle Weight to tryout.  Tryouts took a very long time. The Light Heavyweight fighters tried out first, then the Middleweight fighters tried out, each tryout group consisting of 40 fighters at a time.  My flight was supposed to leave the LAX Airport at 2:30PM; my tryout didn’t start until approx. 3:30PM (Yes, I missed my flight!!).  As we walked into the room that the actual tryouts were held Dana White, Joe Silva, the TapOut creators and the SpikeTV producers were all sitting at a very long table.  Once we all got into the room and situated Dana White explained how the tryouts were work:

      First Round – 2 minutes of Grappling 

      Second Round – Hitting Pads

      Third Round – Interview

There would be eliminations after each round.

As Dana White called Elvis and attempted to pronounce my last name I walked toward the judges table.  Dana asked me a few questions about myself and my career then I headed toward the mat as he called out my opponent.  After Dana was finished talking to my opponent we got ready to grapple.  We had 2 minutes to go all out and show the judges what we were made of.  I didn’t want to waste any time so I pulled guard right away.  With as many fighters as there were that showed up to try out I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to impress the judges in 2 minutes; I gave it my all but in the end I was cut.

After my teammate and I finished the tryouts we headed to the LAX Airport to try and find a flight home.  After many conversations with my family back home and problems trying to find a flight we finally booked a flight which left the LAX Airport at 9:00PM on Monday and landed in Des Moines at 2:00PM on Tuesday.
Thursday I went to Iowa City to weigh in for my fight for RCC.  Leading up to this fight I had two opponents back out so I ended up fighting a “young up and comer.”  He is a very tough, explosive and wild fighter; Andy Branson calls him “floppy.” I was the first professional fight of the night; following some very impressive amateur fights.  As I was walking into the cage the only thing on my mind was that I wanted the fight to last long enough to put on a good show.  When the referee called us to the middle of the cage to go over the rules, my opponent got real close and personal.  As the fight began he threw a few kicks that didn’t land solid.  About 30 seconds into the round he took me down and I was given an opportunity to finish the fight with a triangle.  He tapped 43 seconds into the first round.  
Next week’s blog I will talk in detail about my fight against Andy Branson during the MCC 21: Mickle vs. Marriott. 

Thanks for all the support!

Elvis “The King” Mutapcic

Jesse Lund

The countdown has now started. It has become crunch time and stepping my training up to the next level is now priority number one.

The second fight of my current win streak proved to be one of the toughest fights of my career. It was against Justin Guthrie, who had been fighting at 185 and stepped up to 205 to challenge me. I had watched him in the past really enjoyed watching him fight. He is a very strong and determined fighter. The first round he pretty much dominated me. I was taken down early in the fight, battled off some good ground n pound from him and threw a few submission attempts at him that all failed. At the end of the round I managed to gain control as the bell rang. I remember asking, Chuck Grigsby, if I won the round and he of course said, “ya you got em,” but i knew I lost it. The second round we decided to stand and bang with me getting the best of him. I landed everything that I threw at him and could not figure out why he was still standing! My legs were burning, my hands would not stay up, and I ended up back on the canvas with him on top. After eating some more punches I regained control and finished the fight with some brutal ground n pound of my own. The doctor actually stopped the fight due to the cuts and bleeding. I have never been so happy to know the fight was over. My body was shutting down and I didn’t have a third round in me. I learned the hard way about not having cardio for a fight, it would never happen again.

The next fight was a quick sub, against a kid who was clearly not ready for this level of the game. After really working my cardio I would pair up against Heath Johnson. This would be another good battle. I had also seen a few of his fights and knew he was no pushover. His wrestling was top notch and I knew I would spend time fighting off my back again. As it played out, I threw a punch and he shot in. I tried to defend it, and ended up on my back. He pinned me against the cage and worked his ground n pound. I managed to control him pretty good, taking little damage. One punch really got me good and I realized I needed to be careful. I threw high guard on him and he reacted like he did not like it. I started to work a sub but the first round came to an end. I knew I was behind on the card, but felt really good. Round two he shot again and I defended it, ending up on top in a half assed arm bar that failed. It gave him my back and he went for a rear naked choke. With only one hook in, it gave me the opportunity to spin out and end up planting a choke of my own that finished the fight. I felt like I could have gone five rounds that night.

Training the last couple of weeks is starting to pay off. I have a long ways to go, but I will be in top form for the title fight. I may even let you have a “sneak peak” at what I go through!!!   Until then, I’ll keep training, you keep watching, keep cheering, as I strive to put on one of the best shows yet.
 
Jesse Lund           
 
“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.” – Muhammad Ali

Miguel Rios

Fall Seven Times, Stand up Eight

 By Randy Thomas

On April 2, 1986, long before he became “El Rey,” Miguel Rios Jr. was born in New York City.  Proud of his strong Puerto Rican heritage, he lived in his home land briefly before his family made the journey across the United States and settled in Ankeny, Iowa.  An athletic kid, Rios competed in baseball, basketball, and track.  But in 2006 his dream became a reality when Rios received a phone call from fellow MCC veteran Billy “The Kid” Armstrong, and he was presented an opportunity to compete in the first ever MCC Trials.
 
Rios remembers that night.  “I had just got out of class at DMACC when I got the call. Billy told me about a four man tournament in MCC.  The show was September, 1 and he called me August 28!  I went over to his house that night and went over some basic moves. Between Monday and Friday, I had to cut about 25lbs to make the 170 lb weight limit.”  He continued, “Fight night came quick!  Going into the venue I wasn’t nervous one bit. I was actually very excited for my first fight. I won my first fight pretty quick, but I had one more to go.  And by the final fight, I was way nervous.  I didn’t think I had a chance against my opponent who had been actively training at Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy (DMMMA).   Somehow though, I won!  I remember getting off of him after he tapped out and thinking…did that just happen?”
 
From that very moment Miguel “El Rey” Rios Jr. was hooked.  He wanted to compete with the best, so he knew he had to train with the best.  Rios dove in head first and sought out Anthony Porcelli who owns and coaches at DMMMA.  He was learning to become a mixed martial artist.  Although it was hard juggling college, a job, and training, Rios pushed through as best as he could.  He was spending most of his time doing one of those three things.  But, before he knew it, he was only getting three hours of sleep every night, sometimes less- hardly enough for a student, let alone a fighter.  Soon, the pressure to excel was too much, and Rios was forced to make a decision.
 
“I was out of my element for the first couple months at DMMMA. It was so hard with everything I had going on and trying to learn the ins and out of mixed martial arts. I had a hard time doing it and eventually I had to drop training and fighting all together.  I ended up having a nervous breakdown and turned to some bad alternatives to try and make it all better.  It was the most terrifying time in my life.  I had to drop out of MCC.  I cut mixed martial arts out of my life for almost two years. I had to walk away in order to get better.  It was so hard but I always knew I would get back into it.”
 
It wasn’t until August 2008 that Rios returned to the gym and the sport he loved.  There was one problem; he came back weighing close to 220 lbs- 50 lbs too heavy for the welterweight class he competed in.  Shortly after his return to the sport he was contacted by MCC and offered a second chance.  Rios stated, “I quickly lost 30 lbs. by training six days a week, lifting weighs, wrestling, boxing and re-dedication myself to MMA.”  By November, he was in top shape when he faced Mike Miller.   His come back fight was a sucess.  Rios submitted Miller with a triangle in the very first round.  El Rey was back!
 
What does the future hold for the versatile competitor?
 
“Right now I’m just focused on my next fight in November.  I’m making my professional debut against Thomas Naumann and I’ll be looking to finish the fight.  I don’t care whether it’s ten seconds or three rounds, I will be looking to finish the fight.  That’s what I do- fight to finish.”
 
Despite his rigorous six day fight training schedule, Rios manages to hold down a full time job as an Automotive Technician at a major dealership.  On the weekends he is a counselor for at-risk youths.  He’s still as busy as ever, but he’s found the key to balance his life.  Rios stays grounded with the help from his fiance, Tiffany, who he credits for being there for everything from preparing his meals to helping him promote his fights.
 
Rios has a lot to be thankful for and the humble mixed martial artist is quick to give credit where credit is due.  “I would like to thank all my training partners and Anthony Porcelli at DMMMA. It’s amazing how much talent the guys have there and they have showed me everything I know. I would like to thank my best friend Chris Fitch for giving me the drive to fight since we were little kids and always believing in me. Finally I’d like to thank my fiance, Tiffany she is the main reason I can work and fight. She is my life and makes it go very smooth.”
 
Miguel Rios Jr. will face Thomas Naumann at MCC 23 “Thanksgiving Throwdown”, Wednesday, November 25 at Vets Auditorium.  Tickets are available on-line at MidwestCageChampionship.com.  For more information call 515-229-8566 or log on the the Midwest Cage Championship web site.
 
 
FIGHTER STATS
 
Name: Miguel “El Rey” Rios Jr.
Born: New York City, NY
Resides: Ankeny, IA
Age: 23
Style: Jiu Jitsu, Striker
Gym: Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy
Amateur Record: 8-0-0
Professional Record: 0-0-0
Accomplishments: 2009 NAGA Midwest no-gi champion, MCC Trials Welterweight Champion