For the second consecutive year, the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma opened its doors to the community Friday for a night of mixed martial arts.
MCAS Yuma brought MMA fighters, mostly from the Phoenix and Tucson areas, for the Fight Night event. Fans cheered eight MMA matches.
The event opened with a Brazilian jiu jitsu match between Billy "Major Pain" McNair, who has been stationed at MCAS Yuma and was representing the Yuma Top Team MMA gym, and Ben Fessler. That match ended in a draw.
A special guest for the evening was former UFC champion Benson Henderson, who announced he will continue his fighting career in the Global Fight League in May.
"I thought this was a great event tonight," Henderson told KAWC. "Hats off to all the fighters. They all put it all out there."
Fans oohed and aahed during matches, with one of the biggest reactions of the night when Steven Gurrola of Phoenix defeated Niko Kittrell in a heavyweight bout.
"This was my second year at this event. I couldn't pass up this opportunity for the troops, for their service," Gurrola said. "(The crowd tonight was) unmatched. I got the crowd hyped up."
MMA has a growing community in the Yuma area. Fighters from Yuma and Somerton including Kelvin Gastelum have gone on to the UFC. There's the Yuma Top Team gym in the Foothills. The Yuma Fight League has fights every few months at the Paradise Casino Event Center. And UFC fights are always a popular night out at Yuma sports bars.
That excitement for MMA brought out fans to MCAS Yuma including Michael Southward of Yuma.
"I really appreciate all the hard work that went into tonight's event," Southward said. "The Marines got a phenomenal show... they did a great job. I loved it."
Results
BJJ matchup- Ben Fessler vs. Billy "Major Pain" McNair ended in a draw.
MMA matchups
Austin Pascucci def. Paul Flores
Chase Nunan def. Nate Garcia
Stephen Esparza-Owens def. Isaiah Figueroa
Steven Gurrola def. Niko Kittrell
Junior Camarillo def. Marco Salcido
Samuel Ortiz def. Austin Collins
Aldo Sanchez def. Danny Fessler for the bantamweight title
Matthew Sabelhaus def. Antonio Gomez for the featherweight title
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Stay tuned to KAWC for more photos and coverage from the MMA Fight Night at MCAS Yuma. Scroll down for more coverage of the MMA community in Yuma.
