On Friday, September 18, 2009 at the Mardi Gras Ballroom inside the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, TUFF-N-UFF Amateur Fighting Championships started off a great weekend in combat sports, which included UFC 103 and Mayweather vs. Márquez. TUFF-N-UFF would once again feature amateur fighters from the top gyms in Las Vegas and southern California, as well as parts of Oregon and Washington state. The card was stacked with non-stop action and the fans would once again get more than their money's worth with hours of MMA action in 14 amateur bouts, which included two title fights.

The undercard was highlighted with some promising newcomers from Cobra Kai, Team Wand, Xtreme Couture, Warrior Training Center, Filipino MMA, and Victory Athletics. The card also featured two female bouts with a pair of women from Washington state earning decision victories. Sarah D'Alelio from BJJ of Olympia located in the state capital of Washington earned a Split Decision over Emma Bush of C3. In the second female fight of the night, Stephanie Webber of Dennis Hallman's Victory Athletics school, which is also located in Olympia, Washington, defeated Patricia Vidonic of Team Vidonic located in Medford, Oregon.

The highlight of the undercard came in a featherweight contest between Jermaine Thompson of Cobra Kai and James Kytosaho of Team Wand. The leaders of both schools, Marc Laimon (Cobra Kai) and Wanderlei Silva (Team Wand) accompanied their young fighters to the ring. What was expected to be Laimon's jiu-jitsu technique vs. Wanderlei's blitzing Muay Thai ended a lot like the UFC 2 bout between Remco Pardoel and Orlando Weit. At the sound of the bell, Thompson rushed across the ring, threw a quick combo, and hit a double leg takedown. After landing in the top side control position, Thompson unleashed a dizzying array of strikes on the ground a la Pardoel, until the referee called a stop to the fight, giving Thompson the victory via TKO.

The first title fight of the evening featured the newly-crowned TUFF-N-UFF featherweight champion Chris "Young H-worth" Holdsworth of Marc Laimon's famed Cobra Kai Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada. Holdsworth had just won the TUFF-N-UFF featherweight title less than four weeks earlier with a beautiful Triangle Choke that put his opponent Justin Linn to sleep. Just 11 days prior to that win, Holdsworth had earned his black belt in jiu-jitsu from Marc Laimon. The word had it leading up to the fight, that Holdsworth became aware of his scheduled first title defense by surfing the web and reading about it. The 21-year-old who pretty much lives in the gym and competes regularly, readily accepted the challenge as he loves to stay active.

His opponent would be Cameron Ramirez of the Warrior Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ironically, Ramirez was sporting a "Cobra Kai" tattoo going into this title fight against Holdsworth, who is one of Cobra Kai's instructors. Whatever the reason was for the tattoo, Holdsworth did not see it as a reason to hold back fire and quickly dropped Ramirez with a big right hand that sent him crashing to the canvas. This would interestingly be the third opponent in a row that Holdsworth attacked in this manner, which is impressive for a jiu-jitsu black belt. After Ramirez was dropped and the fight hit the mat, Holdsworth found himself in a very comfortable element. He had submitted his first three opponents in TUFF-N-UFF on the ground within the first round, which is only 3 minutes long. This time, however, Holdsworth would secure the mounted position and made it rain with leather as he pounded Ramirez with punches from the mount, until the referee called a stop to the onslaught. The victory ran Holdsworth's amateur MMA record up to a perfect 4-0 and marked his first title defense.

Later in the night, Holdsworth's teammate at Cobra Kai, Jerry "J-Shap" Shapiro would step into the ring to battle for a TUFF-N-UFF title of his own in the bantamweight division. His opponent would be a very strong and athletic Maurice Senters of Ken Hahn's Striking Unlimited school in Las Vegas, Nevada. This bout would be the main event of the evening and actually marked the conclusion of the 4-Man bantamweight tournament, which began less than four weeks earlier on August 22nd. In August, Shapiro submitted his first round opponent Corey Jeffers with an Armbar, while Senters used dominant wrestling and ground and pound to earn a Unanimous Decision over Andrew Lunt. This would mark the tone of the finale. Shapiro, who is a purple belt in jiu-jitsu, would look to counter Senter's wrestling and ground and pound. When the fight started, the two 135-pounders touched gloves and pawed at each other in the center of the ring. As Senters circled and looked to close the gap on Shapiro, Shapiro quickly tucked Senter's head under his armpit and slid into a deep twisting Guillotine Choke. He used the identical angle for the choke that Nate Diaz used to submit Melvin Guillard in the UFC main event two nights before. The technique was flawless and coaxed a tap out from Senters, giving the 22-year-old Shapiro the TUFF-N-UFF bantamweight title.


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TUFF-N-UFF – Future Stars of MMA (September 18, 2009)

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Match Winner Loser Method Round Time

1 Casey Milliken over Rob Isenor Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1
2 Corey Jeffers over Robert Lopez Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1
3 Brandon Sheard over Brett Miller TKO (Punches) Round 1
4 Sarah D'Alelio over Emma Bush Decision (Split), Round 3
5 Jesse Bowler over Andrew Strebel Submission (Guillotine Choke) Round 1
6 Jason Walraven over Patrick Begin Decision (Unanimous) Round 3
7 Sonie Megia over Eric Bosley TKO (Knee to the Body) Round 3
8 Jermaine Thompson over James Kytosaho TKO (Strikes) Round 1
9 Gor Mnatsakanyan over Victor Henry Decision (Unanimous) Round 3
10 Rob Anderson over Eric Center Decision (Unanimous) Round 3
11 Chris Holdsworth over Cameron Ramirez TKO (Punches) Round 1
12 Stephanie Webber over Patricia Vidonic Decision (Unanimous) Round 3
13 Zach Conely over Matt Lagou Decision (Unanimous) Round 3
14 Jerry Shapiro over Maurice Centers Submission (Guillotine Choke) Round 1