Rumble at the Roseland ends in exciting fashion

Kevin Fox stood over the crumpled body of Damien Martindale and swiped his thumb across his throat in celebration.

In the much-hyped “Battle of the Champions,” Fox successfully defended his light heavyweight championship Saturday in the main event of the Full Contact Fighting Federation’s Rumble at the Roseland 54, catching heavyweight champion Martindale with a devastating straight-right in the second round that instantly folded his opponent’s body up against the cage.

Martindale, a natural heavyweight, cut weight from 235 lbs to 205 lbs to face Fox for his light-heavyweight belt.

“I feel great,” Fox said later that night. “It’s a fight I’ve been waiting for a long time, [and] he said I’ve been dodging him…Also, there was motivation because he came down to my weight class.”

Added Fox about his post-fight antics: “My emotions got to me. I don’t usually come out cocky like that, but I guess he gave me a little extra fuel for the fire.”

“There’s no bad blood, not on my part,” Martindale said. “He didn’t want to shake at the beginning, but I understand, that’s a fighter’s preference. I respect him.”

After a close first round, Fox was able to keep the fight standing in the second, landing some big shots, including a cracking kick across Martindale’s mid-section, which eventually led to the end of the fight.

“He’s the type of fighter that likes to secure position before he throws a lot of strikes,” Fox said. “So I knew if I could fight the take down, then it would stay standing, in my realm.”

In a featured undercard bout, upcoming female prospect Emily Whitmire faced off against Portland State student Robin Woods. 

A competitive rugby player who is currently studying for her Master’s degree in Urban Studies, Woods made her mixed martial arts debut Saturday night against the more experienced Whitmire. 

“I was really nervous I was going to get psyched out, so my main focus was keeping calm,” Woods said. “I get really bad stage fright sometimes, but it wasn’t as bad I thought it was going to be.” 

“It was similar to rugby in a lot of ways,” Woods added. “Rugby can be a very intense sport.” 

Woods controlled most of the fight, using her size advantage to keep Whitmire up against the cage or pinned on the ground. Although Woods didn’t land many big shots, her ability to dominate the action earned her a three round split decision victory. 

“It was a lot fun,” Woods said. “But it was frustrating because there was a lot of stuff I knew I could have done better and hope to do better in the future.” 

Despite the loss, Whitmire was able to secure threatening submission attempts multiple times off her back, nearly ending the fight twice in the second round.

“I wasn’t getting anywhere up against the cage, so I felt like I kind of gave her the takedown sometimes, so then I could look for submissions,” Whitmire said.

“I was surprised at first when one of the judges scored for me,” Whitmire remarked. “But when I think back, on the ground I was going for submissions and she was just holding her place.” 

Still, Whitmire understands that the life of an amateur cage-fighter isn’t always an easy road, and she knows that you have to put your work in.

“It always sucks [to lose], but I’m only an amateur,” Whitmire said. “So I’d rather lose now than later as a pro. It’s all a learning process. Every time you get in there you learn something about yourself.” 

After her successful debut, Woods talked about the negative stereotype often associated with her new sport.

“The only reason I fight is because I love the people I train with; they’re great people. [Fighters] are definitely not bloodthirsty or savage people—I don’t feel it’s that way at all,” Woods said. “You’re always going to find a few bad apples in every sport; I mean, there are rugby players I’d really like to smack.” 

However, Woods won’t have much time to celebrate her win, as she’ll have to quickly shift from hitting opponents back to hitting

the books.

“School has definitely suffered from my training routine,” Woods joked. “So I need to get caught up this week.”

She recommends that her fellow Portland State students get out and watch a mixed martial arts event to experience the excitement, or if they’re bold enough, even try it out for themselves.

“Just getting out there, meeting different people and staying physically active is good,” Woods said. “I’m a mind, body, spirit type of person. I think its good to have a balance of all facets in your life and broaden your horizons.”?