Mafileo vs. Schaffroth
“U-F-C,” chanted the crowd after Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Kent Mafileo knocked out Rudy Schaffroth in the first round to defend his title Saturday night at Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls.
Mafileo improved his professional record to 5-0-0 at Fierce Fighting Championship XXVI.
“I’ll take whatever I can get,” Mafileo said in response to the question of where he plans to go next. He added that he loves FFC and that he’s thankful for the opportunities that the organization has given him.
Chism-Brungard vs. Cortez
Idaho Falls native Luis Cortez had the support of the crowd in the night’s other title fight. Decked out in a poncho with the Mexican flag as he walked into the octagon, Cortez meant business. But so did his competitor, Cameron Chism-Brungard.
It took 14 seconds for Chism-Brungard to win by TKO, improving his professional record to 4-5-0.
Woodland vs. Spencer
Fighting out of Rexburg, Spencer “The Rhino” Woodland made his second FFC appearance this year.
It took 26 seconds and a Peruvian Necktie for his opponent, Travis Spencer, to tap out. That’s almost three times as long as it took him to knock out his last opponent, Carson Newman.
“He cracked me with a good one. It didn’t hurt me — it felt more like a push, Woodland said after Saturday’s fight. “We’ve trained that before. Just wanted to get up, wrestle up and fight my fight — and that’s exactly what we did.”
Fighting out of PAC Jiu-Jitsu and having fought over 30 jiu-jitsu matches, groundwork is Woodland’s forte.
“I wanted to expose the weakness of him on the ground,” Woodland said. “I knew he didn’t have any ground game for me, so I just wanted to expose that. I did, and it paid off really well.”
Woodland added that he had to get Spencer back for the early blow, so he gave him a couple of knees to the chest before getting him to the ground.
“I called out the champ — I’m definitely gonna make a title run,” Woodland said. “I’m gonna get that belt and bring it back to East Idaho. If we get that, dreams come true.”
His dream is to fight in the UFC.
Nakanelua vs. Saunders
Pololu Nakanelua approached the octagon sporting a mahiloe — a Hawaiian warrior helmet — and the Royal Flag of King Kalākaua.
Nakanelua, the number-one-ranked professional catchweight fighter in Hawaii, threw a pair of flying knees to the face of his opponent, Sammy Saunders, in the span of about five seconds. Saunders survived all three five-minute rounds, but Nakanelua won by unanimous decision.
Vedro vs. Johnson
18-year-old Dominic Vedro turned heads in his amateur debut, knocking out his opponent, Jerret Johnson, with 1:01 left in the first round.
Vedro came out of the gate swinging, giving his opponent no chance to pause and collect himself after the several blows he suffered early.
“I’ve been dreaming of that moment since I was, like, 12 years old,” Vedro said after the fight. “So, to finally get in there in front of all those people and pull off the win first round, that was awesome.”
Vedro dedicated the fight to his uncle, Kevin Louis Shepherd Jr., who passed away in 2009 while serving in the U.S. military.
“He fought real hard for people he cared about and I just wanted to do the same tonight,” Vedro said.
Vedro aspires to greatness.
“I’m going all the way to the top, UFC champion, best of all time,” Vedro said. “That’s the goal and I think I could do it. As humbly as I could say it, I think I could be the best because I work real hard.”
Shrock vs. Scheidt
Melody Shrock and Erin Scheidt both came into their match with 2-0-0 records. Shrock left the match undefeated with a belt around her waist.
The fight lasted until the end of Round One, but a final, buzzer-beating blow by Shrock caused the referee and medical staff to call an end to the fight before the start of Round Two.
Fierce Fighting Championship
Fierce Fighting Championship continues Saturday, July 8 at Carbon Event Center in Price, Utah.
The main event is Andrew Mikkelsen vs. Chris Choo. The two fought in May 2021 in Mikkelsen’s professional debut. Mikkelsen won the bout with 2:24 left in the first round, handing Choo his only professional loss.
Since that fight, Mikkelsen has climbed to a 6-1-0 record, while Choo sits at 4-1-0.
Tickets are available on the Fierce Fighting Championship website.
