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Some out of town fights go bad.
By Josh Helm
So, we went to Columbia Missouri last weekend for the big main event of Mitch Harris vs Ben Askren. It was a real crazy weekend, crazy enough for me to write about. It’s kind of long but I think worth it. The BeginningTo start the whole trip, Friday morning my back up phone quit sending texts which I am using because my other phone quit all together. So I borrow my mom’s back up phone which she said quit working either because the battery is bad or it just needed a newer sim card. Anyway I decide I’m just going to go buy a sim card and a battery because her back up phone was pretty new and I thought I would just keep it. So I do that but first I move all my phone number to her phone so I can use my new sim card. I get in the truck and leave thinking I am running late any way and the phone shuts off every tip I shut the flip part. That pisses me off so in the midst of running late, so I thought, and the phone messing up I go to dump my cup of 7up out the window and it all blows back in on me. This normally wouldn’t have been a big deal because I normally only drink water, come to think of it I don’t know where the 7up came from. So then I say screw the phone because I have to haul balls to Lexington (20 min. away) to pick up a new tap or sleep banner so our guys in St. will have one. At this point I still wasn’t sure how I was going to get it to them before I left town. Dominic and I were planning to leave town around 4 and Mitch was leaving by 3 to make weigh ins. At this point it is 215. So, I go to Lexington and she hadn’t had time to start on the banner yet which takes an hour to print. So, I decide to leave, pick Dominic up and swing back through on our way to Columbia which is 15 minutes out of the way. So I get home and start trying to figure out the phone situation while waiting on Dominic. Now I know some of you are thinking screw the phone, but that is the most important thing to have for me especially when I am out of town, and even more important at the fights. So I decide I am going to have to switch back to my back up phone and deal with not having text messaging, which is my main communication tool. Somehow in the process I delete the whole second half of my phonebook. Then Shelly in Lexington calls and says her computer crashed! All this before we leave. On the Road againSo Dom and I are almost to Columbia and we find out Mitch hasn’t arrived yet. All we know about weigh ins is that they are at the American Top Team Gym ATT. So, we are driving down the highway and pass a SUV that is pulled over and happen to see a building that says ATA Black Belt Academy so we get off at that exit and go to it. The parking lot is empty and we assume everyone has already left so we call Mitch and he said it’s not at the first exit and we asked where he was. Well he was the one pulled over. So Mitch is dehydrated and pulled over but can’t have a sip of water until he gets weighed in and the officer decided to chit chat about the fights. Finally we find the gym and Mitch beats us there by about 10 minutes somehow. We decide we are going to go eat so Mitch can reenergize and he wanted to go to golden corral.
The Hotel Tango
After we eat we decide to go to the hotel (Super 8). We find it, unload everything (luggage, laptops, scale) and all the other stuff Mitch brought (poker case, Xbox, guitar hero stuff, movies, cooler, and plenty of other stuff). I have never seen anyone bring so much stuff for a 2 night trip. Anyway our keys that the promoter gave us didn’t work on the main door so we went to the front desk and waited another 20 minutes. The lady at the desk says we have the wrong Super 8 and we are 3 exits away so we load back up and head there. We arrive and ask the front desk if we are reserved for Friday and Saturday night because Mitch needs to rest all day indoors Saturday. The lady said yes we were to check out Sunday at 11am. Dominic wants me and him to go at on the town after we tuck Mitch in. LOL I thought it was a better idea to get some drinking supplies and Mitch wanted to play poker. So we relax and play some poker, of course I took everyone’s money. Then Mitch and Dom go to bed. For some reason Mitch’s wife, Zack a buddy of ours and I decide we should go swimming in the nice pool and hot tub they have. Come to find out the pool closed at 10pm, it is midnight at this time and somehow I talk our midnight shift buddy to let us in anyway. We end up swimming and finishing off our supplies and I head to Dom and I’s room at 530am. Then I remember I need to get my camera going which was another fiasco like the phone situation. By the time I could concentrate enough to get that done Dominic wakes up and he and Mitch decide they are going to IHOP for breakfast. I stayed in bed and they wake me up when they return at around 10am. Mitch is about to take a nap and says he wants to go to the movie theater to relax. So I get ready and head to his room to check in at 11:15. Mitch gets a call from the front desk saying we should have checked out by 11am. Well I don’t know if this was a plot to attempt to mess with his head or not but the one paying for the rooms was his opponent and he is also the co-promoter. I’m not going to accuse him of it but that is how this business works, not using this for an excuse for the fights outcome. Anyway we go to the front desk and I call Dominic. Dominic says he will handle it and calls the promoter. He says it was a miss communication on their part and says they will figure something out. The lady at the front desk says they are fully booked so we go ahead and start packing back up. The promoter calls and says we have joining rooms at the econo lodge waiting on us. We then head there and unload. Luckily we went to the right one because there is 2 econo lodges in Columbia. This place was pretty run down, the rooms smelled of mildew and there were balconies with no way to get to them without climbing out a window. We settle in and Mitch still wants to see a movie so we head out of course we had to stop and eat first. This made it like the 5th meal Dominic and Mitch had since we were in Columbia by the way. While sitting at Subway we see a window across the road on a business that is have an out of business sale and on the window it reads “WE QUIT!!” We decide that was perfect Kodak moment considering our weekend thus far so we head there for a picture. Anyway we relax with a movie (crank 2) and we all laughed the whole way through it. I’m pretty sure Mitch laughed his way out of the seat a couple times. I suggest seeing it. During the movie our MMA Center counterparts show up because one of our amateurs, Mike Haun, is going to fight. After the movie Dominic and myself escort them to the gym for weigh ins and Mitch heads back to the hotel for another nap.
When we return Mitch is napping in Dominic and I’s room and he gets a phone call from Phil (trainer and owner of the MMA Center). He is headed to St. Joe with our amateurs for their big title fights, which are the ones who needed the tap or sleep banner that didn’t get completed. He called to tell Mitch that his fight had been canceled, which was a joke and a good one at that because Mitch did a very quick sit-up yelling “WHAT?!!” Then Mitch starts to doze back off and Dominic notices our toilet won’t flush. We call the front desk and they want us to move rooms. So we get Mitch up and he moves to the new room. After his short rest he goes to his room only to find out there is no hot water. Mitch eventually figures out it’s the knob and everyone gets ready. The Event We arrive at the Expo Center, unload and head for the door noticing there is a US Marine Ball going on there. So we load back up and drive to the other side where we find fellow teams and head in. Inside MMA does their interview with Mitch which will air on HDNET and to the Doctor he goes for his checkup. The state commission asks Dominic and me for our corner man licenses and of course Dominic doesn’t have his on him. Luckily we know the head commissioner and he vouches for him. So the long wait for the main event begins. Our game plan was to keep the distance and beat him standing up. We knew Mitch was a much more well rounded than Askren so that was a good game plan. With Askren being in his home town and an Olympic wrestler from MU we knew the Boos would come. Of course they did which is something none of us are used to but we knew it wouldn’t affect Mitch’s head. The bell rings and Mitch quickly lands a hard overhand right Askren ties up with him and Mitch’s wrestling instincts kick in. He wraps Askren up and realizes that’s not what he should do and tries to push off. It’s too late the Olympic wrestler has Mitch in a body lock and takes Mitch down. Askren comes with a barrage of strikes and Mitch does a great job of making him miss then Mitch lands 2 solid punches to Askren and Askren move to side control. All Mitch was thinking was to get back to guard position. While doing so Askren sinks an arm triangle which is Mitch’s favorite move and uses it the same way Mitch does. He moves to mount and then to side control on the other side to cinch the choke up. Mitch has to tap out and the fight is over. Mitch was obviously upset but knows it was just a mistake to work on. We head back to locker room pack up, relax, and wait to get paid. We then went out on the town and I won’t write about that. HAHAbtw GOOD JOB WITH THE SHOW JAKE AND BEN
ST. Joseph MO.
Chec
Well although we had a rough night Saturday, Gary Tapusoa saved us big time. Gary was coming off his first career loss. His opponent Saturday was considered by everyone to be his best most experienced fighter yet. Matt Gragg from Lone Wolf MMA has been training for at least 3 years. In August 07 Matt won the ISCF 205lb Missouri State Title and he won the ISCF 185lb World Amateur Championship in May of 08. Matt also trained with tap or sleep fighter Josh Bernal when they both started and trained with Roy and Jenn Babcock up until their move to Greg Jackson's. Tapusoa vs Gragg was Saturday night's main event at Zero Tolerance in St. Joe Missouri for the Zero Tolerance 185lb Belt. Gary already owns the Zero Tolerance Heavyweight belt and after his 55sec. KO Saturday he now owns the 185lb belt. WAR TAPUSOA!
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