Canton, OhioYoung Fighters Shine in CantonKing of the Cage returned to the Midwest for the first time since fielding a star-studded card just outside of Detroit in November 2000 with a show that thrilled the buckeye state crowd. With only one fight making to the second round, the fans were pleased with nonstop action and excitement.This reporter was impressed with the knowledgeable and expansive crowd. The last event I reported from in Canton had a crowd that barley topped 500 fans, which belittled the fighters every time they were in the guard or fighting cautiously. The Canton Memorial Civic Center was bursting with near capacity crowd, roaring during submission attempts and sweeps; there was only a hint of uneducated remarks.Without a major name on the card or any sign of a respectable main event, KOTC "Rampage" displayed local talent and excited the fans with brawls, knockouts, and submissions.While running his record to a perfect 10-0, Forrest Petz proved himself to be ready for a step up in level of competition. The Cleveland-based fighter knocked out Mike O'Donnell around the three-minute mark of round one.Early in the contest O'Donnell looked to pressure the stand up action until he felt the stone hands of his opponent. Petz, who trains with Daniel Bobish, connected with a solid left hook dropping O'Donnell. O'Donnell regained his footing, only to be knocked down three more times. Each time he was knocked to the floor, Petz would step back and wave the butt-scooter up to his feet.Growing ever confident, Petz opened up his punches even more and landed a nice combo finishing the fight with a solid right hook that sent his opponent face down to the mat.Eddie Sanchez got back on the winning path after suffering losses to John Renken and Keith Wisniewski. Sanchez, who trains out of the Gomez academy in Detroit, battled Jeremiah Pocock in a middleweight contest.In the only bout of the evening that made it to the second round, both fighters exchanged position on the mat throughout the first stanza, with Sanchez getting the upper hand when he landed several elbows from the half guard.Both fighters seemed to be gassed going into the respite, but as the action resumed Pocock looked to press the fight with some heavy strikes. To defend from the shots, Sanchez began to work from the clinch. Pocock stumbled to the mat where the Michigan fighter took his back and sunk in the rear-naked choke.In super-heavyweight action, Tony Sylvester and Brian Peoples, who both look-a-like Scott Ferozzo clones, wowed the crowd. Unlike most super heavyweights, these two combatants showed great skill. Peoples landed very crisp leg kicks to open the contest.After a brief stint on the ground, the fighters went toe to toe, landing smooth, crisp shots. This slugfest did not look like a Tough Man contest, rather a skilled boxing match. Sylvester caught Peoples with a left jab that staggered him. As he was reeling, Sylvester followed it up with a flurry. Peoples was unable to answer and referee Herb Dean was forced to halt the action.Jason Dent looked very smooth in his victory over Matt Brady, while improving his record to 8-1. Dent, who stayed calm as Brady took him down early, weathered a ground-and-pound attack. Dent trapped the arm from guard and finished the fight bellying down for the armbar tap.Josh Hendricks, who weighed in at 235, took control of his much heavier opponent, Jonathan Westfall, who tipped the scale at 305. Hendricks shot in on a single-leg takedown and quickly took the back of Westfall, but he was unable to get in his hooks. After mounting his opponent, Hendricks trapped the left arm and worked on a key lock. The tap came around the two-minute mark.In a lightweight contest, Josh Sounder made short work of hometown fighter Brad Mohler. Sounder, who trains with Jorge Gurgel, quickly took down his adversary to side control. After working to mount, Sounder secured an armbar and forced a tap early into round one, running his record to 7-2.Dorian Price earned his second MMA victory when he submitted Drew Longshore 1:30 into the first round. Price, who out muscled his gaunt 6-foot-4 160 pound opponent, locked up a triangle choke and secured the tap after transitioning from an armbar from mount.Fred Parrish won his MMA debut by choking Jamie Tony unconscious late in the first round. Parrish, who was cut early in the fight, endured the blood and worked for a guillotine. Tony defended well for a while, but had no more fence to climb to alleviate the pressure. Tony's body went limp as referee Dean separated the combatants and tended to the unconscious fighter.In welterweight action, Jeff Cox stayed undefeated, improving his record to 4-0. Cox overpowered Mike Russo throughout the short bout. Cox muscled a takedown and then used some vicious ground and pound. When the fighters worked their way back to their feet, Cox landed a big right hand, inciting a ref stoppage.Aitor Canup quickly dispatched Jason Keaton with a rear-naked choke moments into round one. Once the action hit the mat, Keaton seemed out of his element, tapping without much resistance.Written by: John Hanlon (Found on Maxfighting.com)Official Fight Results - GriffonRawl Fighters in Bold1 Fred Parrish over Jamie Toney - Submission (Guillotine Choke) 12 Jeff Cox over Mike Russo - KO (Punch) 13 Josh Hendricks over Jonathan Westfall - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 14 Dorian Price over Drew Longshore - Submission (Triangle Choke) 1 5 Forrest Petz over Mike O'Donnell - TKO 16 Jason Dent over Matt Brady - Submission (Armbar) 1 7 Eddie Sanchez over Jeremiah Pocock - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 28 Josh Souder over Brad Mohler - Submission (Armbar) 19 Tony Sylvester over Brian Peoples - Submission 1 10 Aitor Canup over Jason Keaton - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1
