Caged at the Coast provides quality night of MMA

In a thrilling evening of amateur MMA action, 170-pound champion Justin Mark put his title on the line against 20-year old talent Tyler Hayes, and Corey Wyatt battled John Bartlett for the vacant 185-pound belt at the FCFF’s Caged at the Coast this past Saturday on March 26. Chinook Winds Casino hosted the 15-fight event, which offered evenly matched and intense bouts of strategic and skillful mixed martial arts competition.

The opening bout got the crowd’s adrenaline pumping early, as 28-year-old James Morley entered the cage looking for his first win against 18-year-old Anthony Attebury, who was making his debut in a 160-pound fight. Both fighters pushed the pace, but it was Attebury who controlled most of the opening round action, scoring the first takedown and nearly ending the fight with a submission. In the second round, Morley turned the tide, coming out with a flurry of punches and eventually scoring a takedown late. The third round was back-and-forth again, full of takedowns, reversals and submission attempts by both fighters, but in the end, it was Attebury who would earn a close split decision from the judges. 

In another undercard bout, up-and-coming MMA star Robin Woods fought Deirdra Gravina in the 135-pound female weight class. Coming off a decision victory in her cage debut against top amateur prospect Emily Whitmire, Woods wanted to put on a more decisive showing this time around, and that’s just what she did, overwhelming Gravina quickly and earning an impressive TKO 45 seconds into the first round. 

“I’m excited,” Woods said with a smile after the fight. “I was content with my last fight, but it was disappointing because it was a split decision, this time I went in and I wanted to finish it.”

The 28-year-old Woods has only been training MMA for about a year and a half, and brings a competitive rugby background with her into the cage.  Wood’s size, strength and explosive athleticism give her a decisive physical advantage against most opponents that stand across from her. 

“My training for the last month and a half was really focused on skill set, because the last time I just went in there and rugby mauled her,” Woods said. “So I [wanted] to show that I do have a little bit of [ju-jitsu], that I do know submissions, and that I can do boxing, so I was really happy.”

Balancing classes and training for a fight can be a difficult task, but Woods is dedicated to making the most of her opportunities. She hopes to take her first pro fight sometime later this year, and if things keep going her way she could be signed by the UFC, who will soon be putting on female fights down the road.

“Last time I talked to you I was trying to play catch-up,” Woods admitted. “The last fight I stressed out so much, but after it was over I realized I didn’t need to stress out to that extent. I was able to focus on my school and I think I got all As and Bs, so I’m happy with that, considering all the other stuff I have going on.” 

In the first of two three-round championship fights, John Bartlett won a unanimous decision over Corey Wyatt to capture the vacant FCFF 185-pound belt. Bartlett used his wrestling background to keep the match on the mat, and came close to ending the fight with multiple guillotine chokes, but Wyatt was able to escape each time and deliver plenty of his own offense. Still, Bartlett was able to control most of the action and remained in dominant position more often than not. After the fight, both fighters didn’t hesitate to show mutual respect.

“Props to him for not tapping,” Bartlett said. “I thought the [chokes] were really tight, but he refused to tap and pushed me off. Those are my bread and butter, but he had good guillotine defense. I look to finish fights there, but couldn’t finish it, so that’s a credit to him.” 

“He had a couple of those good guillotines,” Wyatt admitted, “But we’ve been doing training where I gas out and once I’m out of breath I have to swim underneath the water and push a 45-pound plate across the bottom while I’m holding my breath for like 100 feet. So getting caught in those guillotines, I just held my breath like I was swimming underwater.”

In the night’s main event, 145-pound FCFF champion Justin Mark gutted-out an exciting and relentlessly contested three-round battle against upcoming talent Tyler Hayes. Hayes nearly finished Mark on a couple occasions, landing some dangerous shots and holding his own on the ground. The veteran experience of Mark came through in the end, as he persevered to nearly pull off a triangle-choke in the closing moments of the second round and ultimately hit the bigger shots, including various punches, kicks and knee strikes.

“After a tough fight like that, I want another one,” Mark said. “I haven’t had a tough fight and that was the only fight I’ve had go to decision. Now I know why I like finishing in the first round, because decisions suck. But my goal was to get a tough fight and see if I could get beat up and face adversity and still get back to it.”

“I love MMA, I love fighting,” Hayes said after the fight, sporting a number of fresh stitches on the bottom of his chin. “I didn’t get discouraged by this loss at all—I’d get back in the ring right now if I could.”

The FCFF’s next event will be the Rumble at the Roseland, hosted at Portland’s Roseland Theater on Saturday, April 23. ?