By ABIGAIL SNOW
Moapa Valley Progress
An enthusiastic crowd gathered on Saturday night at the CasaBlanca Resort in Mesquite to watch the 11th Mayhem in Mesquite mixed martial arts amateur fighting competition.
Mesquite Gaming and Barry Meyer’s World-Famous ‘Tuff-N-Uff’ The Future Stars of MMA hosted the event with a card including fighters from gyms in surrounding areas of Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California.
Chief Executive Officer of Tuff-N-Uff Productions, Jeff Meyer, explained that the goal is to provide a safe, organized, and fun event for amateur MMA athletes to hone their skills before turning professional.
Tuff-N-Uff was formed in 1994 by Jeff’s brother, Barry Meyer, who passed away on October 15, 2013. Barry started Tuff-N-Uff because he realized the need for an outlet for amateur athletes to compete and he wanted the athletes to be safe, Jeff Meyer explained. Many of the Tuff-N-Uff fighters have moved on into professional MMA Careers after their training, Jeff said.
“There are many fighters in the UFC like Bellator, etc. who started in Tuff-N-Uff,” said Jeff Meyers. “Over 40 professionals have started their MMA career with Tuff-N-Uff, and the biggest name to date is Ronda Rousey. She fought for Tuff-N-Uff twice as an amateur, and her training partner fought at Mayhem in Mesquite in years past.”
At the event, a large fighting cage was set up in the CasaBlanca Event Tent surrounded by bleachers and chairs full of spectators. Security personnel, paramedics, a physician, and other ground personnel were on hand to ensure safety.
The fighting was intense with a responsive crowd through the night. The main fighting event was between Hunter Vargas and Ryan Connelly, in which Connelly won the title.
“I think the co-main and main event fighters will be professional fighters soon,” mentioned Meyers. “Ryan Connely vs Hunter Vargas was the main event. It was an epic battle.”
The Co-Main event was also a great fight with two talented fighters: Crystal Vanessa Dimopolous vs Andrea Amaro.
MMA events have been promoted at CasaBlanca since their first Mayhem in Mesquite on August 8, 2012. The organization plans to host three events a year in Mesquite moving forward. The next Mayhem in Mesquite this year will be on September 9.
“I would like to thank the Casablanca Resort and Casino, the residents of Mesquite and fans that came all the way from Las Vegas and St. George to join us,” said Meyer.
More information is available at tuffnuff.com, or on the group’s Facebook page.
The fight results were as follows:
Bout 1 (130 lbs.): Jaylon Bates from Dunham Jiu Jitsu, Las Vegas, NV. defeated Daniel Guzman from Team Wildman, Brighton, CO.
Bout 2 (135 lbs.): Joseph Chavez from 9th Isle BJJ, Las Vegas, NV. defeated Kaige Caswell from Independent, Las Vegas, NV.
Bout 3 (145 lbs.): Dominique Edwards from Syndicate MMA, Las Vegas, NV. defeated Michael Beals from Team Wildman, Brighton, CO.
Bout 4 (145 lbs.): Morgun Colledge from Fusion MMA, St George, UT. defeated David Loureiro from Results Martial Arts, Las Vegas, NV.
Bout 5 (120 lbs.): Ambrose Vigil from JacksonWink, Albuquerque, NM. defeated Oscar Herrera from Team Wildman, Brighton, CO.
Bout 6 (145 lbs.): Cody Hamm from School of Hard Knocks, Las Vegas, NV. defeated Drew Oatgen from Syndicate MMA, Las Vegas, NV.
Bout 7 (115 lbs.): Crystal Vanessa Demopolous from GFTeam, Cleveland, OH. Defeated Andrea Amarao from Bushido MMA, El Paso, TX.
Bout 8 (170 lbs.): Ryan Connelly from 4oz Fight Club, Houston, TX. defeated Hunter Vargas from Power MMA & Fitness, Phoenix, AZ.
