Hoosier Park Racing and Casino offered a new form of entertainment Saturday, August 8 with “War in the Yard,” a full-contact mixed martial arts (MMA) event
. Ten fights were contested with a three-round format, offering the large outdoor crowd a mixture of matches, including several local fighters.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the MMA event, from the attendance to the fighters and the production,” said Jim Brown, General Manager of Gaming. “The entire event was a tremendous success, and we are glad to offer our guests a different form of entertainment at our facility.”
Presented by Iron-Bear Fight Productions and the Bull-Dog Fight Series, the evening started off with a light heavy weight division, pitting Lorenzo Hood from Oahu, Hawaii against David Morris of Defiance, Ohio. Hood threw the first punch of the night, dropping Morris to the ground. Hood flipped him over, and applied a kick to the face, which ended the fight as a no contest due to accidental foul in less than 30 seconds.
“Everyone knows I use Muay Thai, and I thought I had a double underhook,” said Hood. “I didn’t think he had a knee down, but he did. I’m sorry that happened, but I hope you (the fans) get to see me again so I can show you what I’m all about.”
The second round of the night brought out hometown favourite Troy “Cheeseburger” King of Anderson, Indiana, who went up against Chris Price of Beech Grove, Indiana. The two fighters wasted little time engaging in combat, immediately connecting with a couple of punches from both men. Less than one minute into the fight, King was knocked to the ground underneath Price. Several attempts to get control of the match failed for King, and the fight was called by referee John Manley at two minutes, seven seconds, awarding the fight to Price by triangle hold.
Two fights featuring ladies were also contested on the card. Suzy Smith of Antwerp, Ohio was placed across the ring from Buffi Hayes of Madisonville, Kentucky. Dressed in camouflage and white, Smith went after Hayes early and dominated the fight, winning in one minute, seven seconds in the first round. The fight was called by the referee for stoppage due to strikes.
“This is what I train to do every day,” said Smith. “This sport is tough for women to get out here in the cage, and we don’t get a lot of respect. We work 10 times as hard, so I’m proud of Buffi for getting out here tonight.”
“War in the Yard” continued throughout the evening until after 11 p.m., leading up to the main bout between Jason Gilliam of Muncie, Indiana. and John Meyer of Piqua, Ohio. Meyer was able to overcome Gilliam in the first round, four minutes and 41 seconds into the fight by triangle hold.
“Jason (Gilliam) is a real tough dude, and I’m proud of myself to be able to beat him,” said Meyer. “Thanks for cheering for me. I come over to Indiana a lot and I appreciate the support.”
Gilliam, who had an impressive record of 24 wins and two losses coming into the match, made several attempts to reverse the pressure from Meyer, but in the end, he could not get the job done.
“My weakness got exposed tonight,” said Gilliam. “I’m going to have to hit the Jitsu hard.”
(Hoosier Park)