Two New Champs are Crowned, Teager Retains Belt

With another successful event in the books, MCC reflects on “Triple Crown” and gears up for the next event.

In the first of three title bouts, top contenders Paul “The Gingabread Man” Bird and Josh “Bam Bam” Henry battled four rounds for the vacant Featherweight title. In what proved to be the most exciting fight of the evening, every minute of each round was action packed, extremely close on the judge’s scorecards, and displayed the evolution that both fighters have gone through to become two of the top mixed martial artists in the game today. It was mid-way through the fourth round when Henry was able to catch bird in a fight ending submission to walk away the victor. An extremely ecstatic Henry attributed the rigorous training schedule he endured throughout his eight week camp and credited his respect for Bird’s abilities pushed him to compete at a higher level. Even in defeat, Bird displayed tremendous skills, and we are excited to have him back in the MCC cage very soon.

The co-main event of the evening pitted number one contender, Andy “Danger Zone” Branson against late replacement, Ryan Bixler. The bout almost got an early start during the fighter face off at the weigh in as words were exchanged and tempers flared. Once fight time came, Bixler wasted no time in coming straight at Branson, landing a superman punch to knock the undefeated fighter straight to the mat. However, when the fight hit the ground, Branson displayed the discipline and technique that has kept his record blemish free. Branson patiently avoided strikes until he was able to secure the left arm of Bixler. Not willing to let go, Branson cranked on the joint until he was able to get a tap at the two minute mark of the very first round. Although there was no love lost in this bout, Branson had his hand raised and the new champion hardware placed around his waste. “Danger Zone” has proved, once again, that he belongs with the elite in the Welterweight division.

Bryce Teager has been somewhat inactive since winning the MCC Lightweight Championship in 2008. In his first title defense, however, he showed no signs of ring rust at MCC 27 when he faced on of the most dangerous striker in the Midwest. When Teager’s original opponent, former MCC champion and WEC veteran, Chris “Mad Dog” Mickle was unable to compete due to a previous fight, Corey “Tha Projekt” Simpson gladly accepted the bout on just three weeks notice. Simpson had just come off a devastating victory at MCC 26, and was in shape and ready for the bout with the champion. The title bout came down to who could impose their will; grappler or striker. When the opening bell rang, Simpson looked for the big punch that he’s known for. Teager, however, had a different game plan. He waited patiently for the opportunity to execute a double leg takedown. Although Simpson was able to defend it for a while, he was soon put on his back as the champion transitioned from side control to mount, eventually taking the back of Simpson and working in the rear naked choke. Teager successfully defended his belt.

Fight fans can expect the next event to, once again, deliver the action and excitement that only MCC can. As executives are planning a return in June, the fight card is already shaping up to be on of the best in MCC history. Be sure to check out www.MidwestCageChampionship.com for the latest news, fighter interviews, blogs, and event information.

MCC 26 Results

Steve Greene v Luis Saldana- Saldana by Ref stoppage

Don Dresher v Trvis Branson- Branson by Keylock

Chuck Cook v Chris Avery- Avery by RNC

Tony Crowder v Laramie Shaffer- Shaffer by Ref stoppage due to Strikes

Nick Walker v Jake Burriola- Burriola by Ref stoppage due to Strikes

Johnny Case v Mike Miller- Case by RNC

Tom Ahrens v Daraughn Canada- Ahrens by RNC

Ben Crowder v Pablo Lara- Crowder by Dr. stoppage

Rod Montoya v Ted Worthington- Worthington by Triangle

Mike Van Meer v Dean Bradley- Bradley by Split Decision

Featherweight Championship
Paul Bird v Josh Henry- Henry by Triangle

Welterweight Championship
Ryan Bixler v Andy Branson- Branson by Arm bar

Lightweight Championship
Corey Simpson v Bryce Teager- Teager by Arm bar

This week of training went really well for me.  I had a lot of good guys to roll and spar with and I was on my days off, so I got into the gym quite a bit.  I am starting to taper off just a bit so I can peak for my fight.  My body felt pretty beat up at the beginning of the week and towards the end it was still beat up, but starting to feel a little fresher.  Most guys at this time are feeling like absolute dog crap because they eat like Kobayashi (hotdog eating champ) for a few weeks after a fight and then are struggling to cut weight the last couple of weeks.  I really never go more than 15 lbs over my weight class and right now I am weighing about 166.   I haven’t even had to restrict my calories at all yet either.  I feel like as a fighter you should never be hungry unless you are a day or two out.  When you are hungry your body goes into starvation mode and tries to conserve energy (metabolism slows).  Your body may also have to feed on muscle for energy and you will end up looking like TUF vet Corey Hill.  That doesn’t mean you eat as much as you want and whatever you want, but too many guys will starve themselves too far away from fight time.  I even see guys cutting water weight a week out.  Why would you want to be dehydrated for a full week when you could just cut the water the day of weigh-ins?  You won’t see me putting on plastics, trying to sweat buckets unless it is right before the weigh-ins.  The new UFC champ Frankie Edgar walks around just a few pounds over his weight class, so I think that speaks enough for why guys should stay close to their weight class.  Enough with that I will stop ranting about weight cutting now.  However, if you plan on competing against me in the future I hope you don’t listen to me…I really just made all of that up.  You should get in the sauna now and start cutting as much weight as humanly possible.  
 
It has been a long time since I fought for the MCC and I am really excited to fight for one of the best promotions in the Midwest again.  The fans put off a lot of energy and it is always very professional.  The MCC does look out for the fighters too and makes sure that the event is safe, but not so many rules that it isn’t exciting for the fans.  I am going to make the most out of fighting for the MCC too because this could be the last time I fight for a while, win or lose against Cory Simpson.  I have three awesome kids and a wife that need more of my time at home.  I also have a demanding job that I would like to put more of my focus into.  Shit, I could get badly hurt or die at my job if I am not competent enough.  I am just too damn competitive and when I have a fight coming up it consumes me and I lose focus on what really matters.  As I said before, this sport is more of a hobby to me, and even though I take it very seriously when I am getting ready for a fight, it is not my whole life.  My kids are growing up way too damn fast for me to be spending a bunch of time away from them.  So my advice to anybody out there that thinks they want to be a professional fighter is to know coming in that it is going to take a lot of your time and effort if you want to be the best.  A lot of people out there think you can just go into the ring with a couple weeks of prep time and start throwing punches to their opponents grill and get the win.  You can’t go in there as just a street fighter and be successful anymore.  It is like a second job for a lot of us and a full time job for the even more serious guys.  It takes a ton of time to learn all the components of MMA…. Wrestling, kickboxing, BJJ, strength and conditioning, nutrition…etc.  It has to be one of the most time consuming sports just because of all the different things you have to learn.  I don’t want to “Brett Farve” it and say I am retiring, but I am going to wait until my kids get a little older before I step into the cage again.  So expect that I come out strong because I don’t want to go out with a loss.  Whatever the outcome I want it to be fight of the night and want to give the fans their money’s worth.  There are so many great fighters in the MCC that me stepping out for awhile won’t even matter.  There will still be great fights and the sport will keep growing and eventually will be the most popular sport in the world (As long as we as fighters keep fighting to win and don’t fight to not to lose…like Anderson Silva).  So if you are reading this Cory Simpson…I hope your training is going well and I hope you are ready to give the fans what they want to see on April 16th because I don’t want my last fight to be a boring one.  Good luck to you and we will see you in a few days. 

Hey All,

This week was a little tougher to get into the gym regularly.  I was on shift this week, so I worked 24 hours every other day.  Obviously, on the days I worked I didn’t get to Mid America, but I did work hard on my conditioning during my work days.  I would run to work in the morning since it is getting nicer and then do some more round specific, shorter duration metabolic conditioning during our workout time at the fire station. 
 
I did a Sean Sherk inspired workout yesterday with 5 exercises done at one minute a piece with 60 seconds of recovery between rounds for a total of 5 rounds.  I wear a polar watch and my average heart rate during that workout was 162.  It kicked my butt.  The workout absolutely sucks while your doing it, but the confidence it gives you to be able to go 25 minutes at a good pace is well worth it.  Then when I got off at 7am, I would run back home and do my “shift” change with my wife who would go off to work while I got to hang out with my three kids. 
 
My wife, Christy, gets off from work around 5:00pm and then we do another “shift” change so I can get to Mid America to train.  I typically do a couple of classes such as our MMA class, BJJ or Advance Kickboxing class at that time and then go back home, shower, eat, and start that process all over again.  I don’t know how my wife puts up with it sometimes, but she knows how much I like to compete, so she supports me.  I also think she likes to watch me get punched in the face during my fights, so maybe that is part of the reason she lets me leave her to go train on my off days. 
 
This week I found out that I would be competing against a new opponent due to a Chris Mickle injury.  MCC officials let me know that I would be defending the belt against hard hitting Cory Simpson.  While I thought fighting Chris would make for an exciting fight for the crowd, I think this matchup will be just as exciting.  For some reason, I had it in my head that me and Mickle would beat each other up for 25 minutes straight, but this matchup with Cory I don’t see going the distance.  I believe somebody is getting KO’ed in this one.  Obviously I hope it isn’t me, but I am not one of those guys that will guarantee a KO victory.  This is MMA and anything can happen in this sport, that is why it is so damn exciting.  I just know that I am preparing to the best of my ability and I am trying to place the odds in my favor each time I train, so I can be the guy with the belt around his waist at the end of the night.  I respect Cory and wish him the best, but I am working way to hard not to leave with a win. 

See you all next week!

MCC Lightweight Champ,

Bryce Teager

Simpson Replaces Mickle for Title Bout with Teager
 
With literally two weeks until fight night, the seemingly perfectly matched card at MCC 26: “Triple Crown” was shaping up smoothly.  All of the fighter’s training was going well, there have been no injuries to report, and there has been plenty of buzz in the air.  Then suddenly, disaster struck…
 
MCC matchmaker explained, “Basically, Chris Mickle, who was scheduled for a title fight with current Lightweight Champion, Bryce Teager, had taken another high profile fight against UFC veteran Ryan Roberts.  Their fight took place last night.  He planned both fights too close together, got knocked out last night, and received a mandatory 60-day suspension.  It takes him completely out of the Teager bout.”
 
This is a promotions worst nightmare.  Title fights are five rounds- not three.  The physical and mental training is stepped up to a whole different level.  The competition is stiffer, and the stakes are higher.  Finding a replacement has proven to be extremely challenging.
 
Not this time!
 
Stepping up on short notice was none other than popular Des Moines based brawler, Cory “Tha Projekt” Simpson.  MCC officials called Simpson early in the morning upon learning of Mickle’s situation.
 
“We called Cory’s management, and five minutes later the fight was a go.  Simpson was very excited for the opportunity and given his performance just three weeks ago at MCC 25, we believe he is ready, in great shape, and mentally focused for a high caliber fight like this will be.  Simpson and Teager match up very well, and we can assure you that MCC fight fans will be very please with this bout.”
 
Tickets for MCC 26, “Triple Crown” are available on-line at www.MidwestCageChampionship.com, by phone at 515-229-8566 or at all Dahl’s ticket outlets.  For more information about MCC, including fighter blogs, interviews and videos, log onto the web site.

Hey All, sorry my blog has taken a while for me to get up this week. I’ll jump right in on my schedule and you’ll see how busy my life is.

A typical day for me at the Papillion Fire department looks like this; I wake up at around 5:30am, eat a small breakfast and then head off to work.  I get there a little early so I can start my day with a little conditioning to get my heart rate up and help me wake up.  Our shift starts at 7am, so we make sure that all of our gear and equipment is in working order before shift change.  The next few hours we are doing vehicle and equipment maintenance, training in either fire or EMS related skills, keeping the station clean and answering any fire or EMS calls.  We typically get an hour to use for maintaining physical fitness, so I take advantage of that time and do my metabolic conditioning and strength/power training at that time.  We also have a heavy bag in our gym, so I will usually do some rounds on it as well.  After training we will all eat together and then the rest of the 24 hour shift we will be answering calls until shift change at 7:00 am.  A full eight hours of sleep is for rare on our work days.   

Training this week went really well.  I typically don’t get to train a lot with my crazy schedule, so it was good to get a hard week of training in.  We have a black belt in from Brazil right now, Leonardo Pecanha, who has been working with us.  This guy is amazing with some of the submissions that he can pull off.  It is good to have a guy to train with that can threaten you in every position because it keeps you focused and on your game.  In addition to Leo, we have about 6-7 guys training for fights right now too, so everybody is working hard and we are all pushing each other to the next level. 

It was my son’s birthday on Saturday, so I didn’t watch UFC 111. He only turns two once, so I thought that was more important to spend time with him than to watch GSP shut the cocky Britt up and watch Joe Rogan, and his black button up, talk about how the ref should never stand a fight up.

I did get to watch most of the fights the next day on the net though.  I did feel bad for Jake Ellenberger, who was training very hard for his fight with Ben Saunders.  Ben ended up taking the fight with Fitch when Alves couldn’t compete, which ended up leaving Jake with no opponent.   

My wife is an Organ Transplant Coordinator at the Nebraska Medical Center and works from 8-5 Monday through Friday.  While she is at work I am Mr. Dad and get to hang out with my kids all day.  Its great that it is finally spring and we get to play outside and get out of the house.  My daughter Zoe is definitely a tomboy and loves it when I find a bug, worm, or frog for her to play with.  My son loves to throw toys at my dome when I am not looking, so I always have to be on my toes when he is around.  I give him the benefit of the doubt and think he is just trying to help me train for my fight.  My youngest, Maddie, likes to eat, poop, and sleep.  

I rarely have any free time, but when a miracle happens and all three of my kids are sleeping at the same time there is no way I can pass that opportunity to nap right along with them.  Sleeping is probably one of my favorite things to do at this point in my life. 

My weight is actually pretty good right now.  I am bouncing around from 166-170.  I am usually pretty good about my diet, so I never blow up too fat between fights.  I absolutely hate getting in the sauna, so that is one of the reasons for my motivation to eat healthy.  I also feel a lot better and my training is a lot more productive when I eat well.  Right now I am following a modified paleo diet.  I stay away from processed foods, but eat a lot of whole foods like meat, fruit, veggies, nuts (insert joke here), and good fats like omega 3’s and monounsaturated fats.  I don’t take a whole lot of supplements because I am cheap and feel like I get most of the nutrients I need from eating clean diet.  

Well, I’m going continue on in my busy schedule, and I’ll see all at the weigh-ins on the 15th at Twisted Parrot, and the fights on the 16th at Hy Vee Hall in Downtown Des Moines.

Take care!

The MCC Lightweight Champion,
Bryce Teager

Hello all! Over these last week weeks leading up to my title defense against Chris Mickle, on April 16, I’m going to blog about my past, present, and future.

I grew up in South Sioux City, Nebraska.  I have always been intrigued with combat sports.  While all my friends liked to watch the typical sports, I liked to watch boxing.  We had a local boxing gym in my town and I bugged my mother repeatedly until she took me up there one day to get a lesson on the heavy bag.  The owner of the gym said I was too young for the gym, but the one day he showed me how to throw a few combinations and keep my hands up, I was hooked from that point on.  I remember watching UFC 1 for the first time and the butterflies I got in my stomach each time the bell rang.  I remember feeling like my heart was going to beat out of my chest and couldn’t believe those guys were doing what they were doing.  I didn’t realize at the time that I would eventually be one of those guys, but I knew that I loved what I was experiencing.  
 
I continued to watch every UFC, sometimes multiple times.  I tried moves on my friends although I had no idea what I was doing since I had no coaches to really tell me how to perform these techniques.  I even remember grappling a few offensive and defensive linemen and occasionally submitting them with a sloppy armbar or choke when I played football at Wayne State.  Then I was dared to fight by a few of the guys I played ball with.  I fought in a small ammy show in my hometown.  The only real experience I had was watching the UFC and hitting the heavy bag at my place, but somehow I won by rear naked choke late in the second round.  I had to keep telling myself not to quit because I was dog tired.  I was in pretty good football shape, but I soon realized that conditioning for football and mma didn’t really correlate.  I remember having the biggest rush of adreneline right after he tapped and I got my first win.  My teammates thought it was pretty cool, but my coaches weren’t too happy when I came back to practice beat up and uglier than I was before.  However, I knew that I would compete again in MMA after my football career. 
 
After graduating from college I started working on my masters and UNO and was a GA strength and conditioning coach.  Me and another guy wanted to learn the finer details of MMA, so we asked one of the best guys in the midwest to help us out (Jason Brilz). He was a wrestling coach at UNO at the time and also fought professionally.  He helped us out from time to time and directed us to Mid America Martial Arts.  That is the place where I figured out I wasn’t as tough as I thought I was.  Little weakling guys with solid technique were beating me up.  I knew from then on that I wouldn’t just be able to rely on being an athlete but that I would actually have to learn technique.  I have been there for 4 years now, training with guys like Ryan Jensen, Jake  and Joe Ellenberger, Jason Brilz, and getting great coaching from guys like Aaron Cerrone and Ed Shobe.  Although I still have a ton to learn, I am definitely a different fighter from when I first started. 
 
I was excited to find out that I was going to be fighting Chris Mickle.  Beating a guy with a ton of experience and a lot of tough fights on his record will give me a little more respect.  My record really isn’t anything to brag about.  I actually hate telling people that I am 5-4 because I feel like I am better than that record shows.  I actually try to make it sound better by throwing in my ammy record in there too (2-0).  I lost my first 3 pro fights.  I lost to Jason High, Justin Wilcox, and John Halverson.  I thought I was ready to fight the big dogs right out to the gate, but I quickly realized that I had more to learn.  However, I feel like I fought each one of those guys tough and that did give me confidence knowing that I could hang with them even though I was really inexperienced.  Although that made my record unimpressive it did give me 8 rounds of experience with really tough guys and that helped me go on a 5 fight winning streak and eventually earn the MCC lightweight championship against a tough Paul Bird. 
 
I then landed a job as a firefighter, so I had to take about 18 months off to focus on my new career.  While taking that much time off wasn’t ideal for my MMA career I wouldn’t change it for anything.  It is the best job in the world and lets me spend a lot of quality time with my wife and three kids.  MMA is a hobby for me… Firefighting is my career and a way to support my family.  Having a job with 24 hour shifts and 3 kids does make it hard to train like a professional, but I do the best I can at balancing family, job, and training.  I just make sure the time I do get to train I make the most out of it and train really hard.  Fighting Chirs Mickle will be no walk in the park, so I am going to have to make sure that every minute I get to train, I make the most of it.  It is going to be a great fight, so hopefully all of you get a chance to watch Chris and I beat each other up for 25 minutes. 

Might as well plug myself too during this blog, so anybody that wants to sponsor me email me at bat1201@aol.com.  

Follow me over these last 3 weeks, as I explain all the in and outs of my training and day to day life. I hope to see you all at MCC 26 in Des Moines, April 16th
Bryce Teager

Kickin’ Ass, Puttin’ Out Flames, and Wearing Belts….Naked! 

By Randy Thomas
 
A couple years ago, a relative unknown stepped into the MCC cage to take on crowd favorite, Ronnie “The Warfrog” Britt.  Fifteen minutes later, fight fans knew Bryce Teager (7-4) was for real.  Handing Britt his first professional loss, Teager rocketed straight up the ladder to become one of the top contenders for the Lightweight Belt.  Next on his plate was Paul “The Gingabread Man” Bird whom Teager defeated in the very first round of their title bout.  And just as fast as he came in, he was gone….
 
“I was lucky enough to land a career as a firefighter in Papillion, NE.  The first year is your probation year, so it is not advised to participate in any activity that might get you injured.  I wasn’t willing to give up a great job and lose the ability to support my family, so I decided to take some time off and focus on my new career.   I still made sure I stayed in shape and rolled lightly from time to time, but it definitely wasn’t the ideal situation for my MMA career. “  
 
A collegiate football player for Wayne State, Teager grew up in South Sioux City, Nebraska.  He did not have a background in martial arts or boxing.  In fact, mixed martial arts was never even in the future for him.  It wasn’t until he was dared, by a few teammates, to step in the ring at an amateur fight night.  He won his first fight by submission.  Although his coaches were not too pleased, he knew he would return to the ring when the season ended.
 
After graduating, he was able to put his Exercise Science degree to use when he landed a job as the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.  It was there he met UFC hopeful, Jason Brilz.  Brilz was the wrestling coach from UNO and invited Teager to come in the room and grapple. 
 
“Brilz used to absolutely tool us.  I decided I needed to get better so hooked up with the guys at MidAmerica Martial Arts.  There was several guys there who would eventually make it to the UFC.  It was just what I was looking for.”
 
Teager has never had an easy fight.  He’s never said no to a challenge or asked for a lesser opponent.  With three of his losses coming from an Affliction/Dream veteran, a Strikeforce contender, and a 2 time UFC fighter, he learned a lot.
 
“I took those fights with very little experience.  I still don’t have a ton of experience, but I am a lot better fighter now.  After getting beat down in those fights I went on a five fight win streak, and I plan building my record back up to show that I am a better fighter than the record currently shows.”
 
One of his former opponents, John “Hurricane” Halverson, agrees with that statement.
 
“I fought Bryce as part of a three fight deal to get me back into the UFC after my first loss with the promotion.  Although he did not have a great record at the time, I had saw both his prior fights (with Wilcox and High).  He was one of the toughest people around at 155 lbs.  I remember in both of those fights, he kept coming and coming.  There was no quit in him.  Both losses were by razor close decisions that could have went either way.  I was pretty nervous, but I knew we’d have a good fight and he would push me.  He did.”
 
At MCC 26: “Triple Crown”, Teager returns to defend his belt in the main event.  His opponent is equally tough, equally gritty, and the has the same “never say die” attitude.  He will face off against former featherweight title holder and WEC veteran, Chris “Mad Dog” Mickle.
 
“The Mad Dog is an exciting fighter.  I know he will go 100% bell to bell.  He has really great BJJ skills, great conditioning and has a solid chin and is very experienced as well.  Overall Chris is a well rounded fighter.  However, he does have a few holes in his game and hopefully I can exploit them.   If I had to make a call right now, I can see the fight going like this:  He will punch my face…I will punch his face…repeat for 25 minutes.   But, when the smoke clears, I think it will be the fight of the night with my hand raised.”
 
Teager’s competitive nature and willingness to compete with the best has brought him this far.  He does, however, keep a modest outlook on the future of his mixed martial arts career.  He see’s the sport more of a hobby.  It’s not going to make or break him, and he will not let it define his success as a fighter.  Success to him is giving 100% and preparing the best he can.  If he makes it to the big show- great.  But, if not, at the end of the day, he’s still a firefighter, saving people’s lives.  He has the support of his wife (who he says enjoys watching him get socked in the face), and he’s a role model to his three children, Zoe (4 years), Brock (2 years), and Maddie (12 weeks).  He doesn’t have much free time, but he has a great life.
 
With a few more weeks to push his body to the limit, Bryce Teager is looking forward to a war.  He’s excited to defend his belt, but he wants it known, he’s not ready to give it up easily.
 
“I have a lot of respect for Chris, but the belt looks way too good on me (especially when I wear it around the house naked occasionally), so on April 16th the belt is coming back to Papillion, NE.   I wish Chris good luck during his preparation and during the fight and hopefully we can both go back to our families healthy and maybe have a beer after the fight.   Thanks to MCC and all the fans.  See you in a few weeks!”
 
Tickets for MCC 26: “Triple Crown” are available on-line at www.MidwestCageChampionship.com, by phone at 515-229-8566, or at all Dahl’s ticket outlets.  For more news, fighter blogs and interviews, check out the web site.

With Big Shoes to Fill, MCC Returns Next Month
 
 
Fast on the heels of the most exciting, action packed event to date, Midwest Cage Championship returns to Hy Vee Hall on Friday, April 16 for MCC 26: “Triple Crown”.  The night will feature three five-round title fights and nine additional bouts highlighting some of the top up and coming mixed martial artists.
 
Andy “Danger Zone” Branson vs. Chad “The Grinder” Reiner
 
Undefeated welterweight prospect, Andy “Danger Zone” Branson has been tearing through the competition on his was to the big show.  Standing in his way will be two-time UFC veteran Chad “The Grinder” Reiner, a submission specialist hailing from Omaha, Nebraska.  Reiner, a former member of the United States Marine Corp is as tough as they come and will prove to be a challenge for Branson.
 
Branson stated, “Ultimately, my goal is to make it to the UFC.  Reiner has been there twice.  To prove that I belong there, I have to beat him- and beat him convincingly.  I have already started my training camp, and I will look to make this my most impressive performance to date.”
 
Paul “The Gingabread Man” Bird vs. Josh “Bam Bam” Henry
 
Two of the top contenders in the featherweight division will go head to head for the 145 lb. crown, which was recently vacated by Eric Marriott following an agreement with the ESPN-based promotion, Bellator.
 
No stranger to tough fights, TUF/Ultimate Fighter reality show alum, Paul Bird looks to climb up the ladder on his quest back to the bright lights and pay per view cameras.  With a recent win over WEC and Pride veteran, Joe Pearson, Bird looks to impress.  However, the baby faced brawler, better known as “Bam Bam” is ready for the challenge.
 
Henry commented, “Paul Bird is a great fighter.  I have a lot of respect for him, and I think it’s going to be an exciting fight.  I can see us going toe to toe throughout the whole fight.  The fans will get their money’s worth on this fight alone.”
 
His opponent agreed.  And, this could prove to be one of the best battles of 2010.
 
Bryce Teager vs. Chris “Mad Dog” Mickle
 
Reigning Lightweight Champion, who has been on a one-year hiatus from the promotion, has been chomping at the bit to step back into the cage.  And, who better than to welcome him back is none other than Chris “Mad Dog” Mickle.  One of the most experienced fighters in the game, Mickle has tested his skill in both the lightweight and featherweight divisions.  He’s held the MCC Featherweight belt, and he’s fought the best 145 lb. fighter in the world, Jose Aldo, in the UFC’s sister promotion, WEC.
 
“Almost every time I fight in MCC, I put on the fight of the night.  This will not be any different.  I know what Bryce brings to the table, and I know what I’m bringing to the table.  But, what I plan on taking home is his belt.”
 
 
Tickets for MCC 26: “Triple Crown” are available on-line at www.MidwestCageChampionship.com, by phone at 515-229-8566, Wells Fargo Arena Box Office, or at all Dahl’s Grocery ticket outlets.  For more information, fighter interviews, video’s and blogs, check out the web site.

Friday, April 16th, 2010 @ HyVee Hall

Featherweight Division
Steve Greene	VS	Luis Saldana
Catchweight 195
Don Dresher	VS	Travis Branson
Featherweight Division
Chuck Cook	VS	Chris Avery
Bantamweight Division
Tony Crowder	VS	Laramie Shaffer
Lightweight Division
Nick Walker	VS	Jake Burriola
Lightweight Division
Johnny Case	VS	Mike Miller
Featherweight Division
Tom Ahrens	VS	Daraughn Canada
Middleweight Division
Ben Crowder	VS	Pablo Lara
Welterweight Division
Rod Montoya	VS	Ted Worthington
Light Heavyweight Division
Mike Van Meer	VS	Dean Bradley
Featherweight Championship
Paul Bird	VS	Josh Henry
Welterweight Championship
Ryan Bixler	VS	Andy Branson
Lightweight Championship
Corey Simpson	VS	Bryce Teager