Last Saturday I made a mad dash to Kennewick, WA to shoot the UFO Rumble at the Races event. After a 5 hour drive, I arrived to find out there were some "technical difficulties", but all would pan out just fine thanks to some favors being called in (for a last minute light & sound system from Idaho Falls, a last minute cage from Seattle, in addition to all the locals who came through last minute for various other forms of assistance). The fight card had been reduced, which is fairly common last minute, leaving a few fighters without opponents (like Kristin "Barbie" Molina who ended up being a commentator). "Big" John McCarthy didn't make it, and as far as I know Jens Pulver didn't commentate from a secret location either.
What did happen however, was 16 fighters got in the cage for 8 matches and gave the small crowd everything they had. There were knockouts, submissions, and disqualifications on this night, with what I believe to be the best performance of the night coming from the Treasure Valley's own Casey Johnson who fights out of Driven TC. His strikes were crisp and accurate, with practically laser-guided precision, and he decimated his opponent. Jeremy Horn, who fought in the main event, was caught early with a slick punch from Warren, but recovered as he hit the mat, and went on to put on a clinic of how to strip the desire to continue from someone on the ground. Yes, Mr. Warren retired in the ring immediately following this fight. There is a reason Jeremy has over 80 wins, and only a handful of losses... he is a BEAST!
All in all, it was a great experience, with some solid action and some new friends despite all the hiccups and meager crowd. The venue was great, and I hope the Tri-Cities try to put on more MMA events. And without further adieu, be sure to click on the gallery link at the left side of this page to see images from Rumble at the Races!
