On Saturday, August 22, 2009 at the Mardi Gras Ballroom inside the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, TUFF-N-UFF Amateur Fighting Championships took center stage in the middle of the fight capital of the world. The event would again feature amateur fighters from the top gyms in Las Vegas and southern California. The card was stacked as usual and the fans would once again get more than their money’s worth with hours of MMA action in 17 amateur bouts.

The main event of the evening was an exciting one. One week before seeing his UFC Hall of Fame father Randy “The Natural” Couture returns to the Octagon to face a fellow legend in Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Ryan Couture (Xtreme Couture) had a main event of his own to worry about. His opponent Jimmy Spicuzza (Excel Defense) would pack a huge section of the audience with screaming fans adorned in red Jimmy Spicuzza t-shirts, as they hoped to see him him continue his unbeaten run through the amateur ranks. The fight started with both men opting to stand in the middle of the ring to trade strikes. Couture appeared to have the straighter, more technical punches, while Spicuzza seemed to be winging in more strikes with greater velocity. This appeared to suit Spicuzza nicely, as he appeared to be looking to engage in a full-blown firefight. Couture obliged and paid for it, as he was dropped, after being rocked pretty hard in the exchange. As the Spicuzza fans cheered wildly, Couture hung in, showing the grit and mental toughness that helped make his father a legend. Couture would show good poise under fire by clinching briefly and pulling guard. From his back he turned into a high guard and it was only a matter of time before he went for the armbar, that he was methodically setting up. Finally, he pulled the trigger and flipped his left leg over Spicuzza’s head, which immediately induced the tap out, giving the younger Couture the comeback submission victory via Armbar.

Even though Couture vs. Spicuzza was billed as the main event, the fight with the most hype leading into it was the TUFF-N-UFF featherweight title bout between Chris Holdsworth (Cobra Kai) and Justin Linn (TapouT Research & Development). The reason for the hype came from the unfortunate lack of sportsmanship shown by the incredibly disrespectful Linn at the weigh-ins the night before. Intimidated by the fact that Holdsworth was just awarded his black belt in jiu-jitsu by Marc Laimon, just a mere 11 days before their bout, Linn tried to taunt Holdsworth at the weigh-ins Friday night. He wore a fake black belt that said “Cobra Kai Karate Fighters Suck”, began cursing, and then tried to head-butt Holdsworth during the stare down. Now as bizarre as his antics may seem, it’s even more crazy considering anyone who has seriously trained jiu-jitsu understands the old adage about “never disrespecting a jiu-jitsu black belt” is about as rudimentary to the protocol of a jiu-jitsu class, as trimming your fingernails, washing your gi, and not training with a skin infection. Apparently, Linn was absent on the day “dojo common sense” was discussed.

Holdsworth a.k.a. "Young H-worth", who is only 21-years-old, took that added motivation and used it to give Linn a crash course in “Jiu-Jitsu Etiquette 101” to make up for all those classes he had obviously missed. There was no touch of gloves or show of respect at the start of the fight. There were no smiles or show boating. It was all business and apparently, Holdsworth was flying first class and Linn was booked in coach. The bell sounded, signaling the beginning of class. Holdsworth shot a double-leg, pushed Linn to the ropes, and landed the takedown. From there, it was a smooth transition, where Holdsworth passed Linn’s guard and went directly into a full mount. As Linn sensed danger and began to buck, Holdsworth grapevined his legs and applied hip pressure. It was like watching a moth twitch frantically, as the spider calmly weaved his webs and immobilized his prey. After establishing mount and exposing appendages, which he happily took in his first two fights (both of which ended via Armbar), Holdsworth opted to use the next two minutes in the round to drop some leather, after his coach Marc Laimon instructed him to “make it rain”. After softening up Linn with some steady punches, Holdsworth sensed the 3-minute round was coming to a close and mounted a Triangle Choke. From there, Holdsworth rolled and turned it into a very deep choke with an extreme angle, that left no space at all. It didn’t even leave Linn the option to tap out. After a brief tensing of muscles, the referee pulled Holdsworth off of his sleeping opponent. The submission victory made Holdsworth the newly minted TUFF-N-UFF featherweight champion, 11 days after earning his black belt in jiu-jitsu. That is one busy and productive month for any 21-year-old guy living in Las Vegas.

Earlier in the night, Holdsworth’s teammate at Cobra Kai Jerry “J-Shap” Shapiro competed in the TUFF-N-UFF four-man bantamweight tournament, along with Corey Jeffers (Xtreme Couture), Maurice Senters (Striking Unlimited), and Andrew Lunt (10th Planet). Shapiro faced Jeffers, while Senters faced Lunt. The winners would be invited back to compete in the finals of this tournament on September 18th. Shapiro, who made a successful amateur MMA debut in May, duplicated that success with a one-sided beatdown of Jeffers. He used superior grappling to put Jeffers on his back, where he punished him for the entire first round. Finally, in the second stanza he sealed the deal with an Armbar from the top position. Meanwhile, Senters and Lunt met in the other semi-final match. Lunt had some decent Guillotine Choke attempts, but Senters used dominant wrestling and ground and pound to win a Unanimous Decision. Shapiro and Senters are now set to meet in September to determine the winner of this tournament.

The evening's most interesting storyline (pun intended) among all of Saturday night’s fights, would come in a middleweight bout between best-selling author Matthew Polly and Air Force serviceman David Cexton. Polly is the 38-year-old author of “American Shaolin”, which is his memoir that he published in 2007 about how he spent two years at the Shaolin Temple in China, the home of Zen Buddhism and Kung Fu, and became the first American accepted as a Shaolin disciple. The in-ring live fight experience was to punctuate the 6-month process that Polly had undertook training at Xtreme Couture, as part of his latest project “Full Contact Writer”, which will be published in a year. The 24-year-old Cexton of Nellis Air Force Base and Polly traded blows for most of the first round to the crowd’s approval. Polly appeared content standing, probably due to the extensive Kung Fu training that the Shaolin monks put him through. In the second round, Polly began to get the better of the exchanges and Cexton looked visibly shook as the round came to a close. Cexton was unable to answer the bell for round three and Polly was declared the winner via TKO. He pumped his arm in the air and celebrated with his cornermen Randy Couture, Robert Drysdale, and Joey Varner, which highlighted Polly’s first MMA experience with a fitting “storybook” ending.



TUFF-N-UFF Amateur FC (August 22, 2009)

Match Winner Loser Method Round Time

1 Casey Miliken over