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Blows were traded, blood was spilt, and years of training were put to the test as fighters put their bodies on the line inside a steel cage, Saturday night.
Inyaface Fight Productions held its 18th Caged Warrior Championships at the Evergreen Cajun Center, July 14.
“Took my first cage fight at the Tarpon Rodeo, got a win, and I was hooked,” said Brennan Sevin, as he cut away his hand wraps after winning the main event. “The adrenaline rush, you can’t compare it to anything, and here I am.”
Sevin had just won a three 3-minute round, slug fest against Josh Davila that went to a split decision: the judges scored it 29-28 Davila, 30-27 Sevin, and 30-27 Sevin.
Most of their match was maintained in the stand up. Sevin employed a wider range of striking techniques often flowing from punches and kicks to elbows and knees seamlessly as the range of combat demanded.
This never stopped Davila. He held his own in the exchanges and landed solid leg kicks throughout the match. When the two would traverse into grappling against the fence, Davila would shine – even managing to take Sevin’s back twice.
Sevin successfully defended these exchanges and would circle back to the center of the ring.
“You saw how many shots that dude took!?” Sevin said to a friend in amazement after the fight.
The climactic final round saw the fight end on an explosive exchange of violence. During the last-minute Davila plowed Sevin into the fence and went for his legs. Sevin braced out and dropped an elbow strike onto Davila’s exposed head.
Davila’s cauliflowered ear popped like a water balloon and for the rest of the fight caused the fighters’ bodies to look like crimson Rorschach tests.
Blood was in the water and the crowd rose to deafening levels. The two, feeding off the excitement, fell out into the center of the ring throwing fast, heavy hands.
“I got a little too excited when I had him hurt, and I need to sit back and pick my shots more,” said Sevin. “The crowd was so frickin’ loud, it was hard to keep control.”
When the horn blew, signaling the end of the fight, the two immediately embraced. For nine minutes the two destroyed one another’s bodies, but in the process also built something: respect, said Sevin.
This was displayed as the two kept posing together, smiling, for excited attendees.
At 33, Sevin has been fighting for 11 years. He began learning combat under Justin Verdin, the founder of Inyaface Fight Productions. He said he has 19 fights under his belt: 9-1 as an amateur, and 8-1 as a pro.
He also said he held the 155 RMMA lightweight world title as an amateur and pro. Sevin even made an appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter: Tough 22.” It was his last fight, just before this match.
Sevin is hoping for 2 more matches before the end of the year. He also wanted to thank his sponsors. He said he couldn’t take his training as seriously as he does without his sponsors: Wilson’s Oysters, Da Podoc, Cologne Seafood, and Rotating Equipment Specialist.
“I owe them a lot, because without them, I can’t train as hard as I do.”
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Outside of the main event, other awards were given. “Strike of the Night” went to Rance Ward, “Submission of the Night” was given to Josh Billiot who won his match with a D’arce choke, and “Fight of the Night” went to Justin Arbuckle and Steve Ortiz for their fight which ended when Arbuckle landed a knee to Ortiz’s head.
Each fighter recognized received a medal. Arbuckle and Ortiz both earned their gyms $200 for their performance.
The Amateur Title Fight between Johnny Smith and Brayden Oakes had a particularly powerful ending. Oakes held Smith in a “Bunny Choke.” Smith transitioned out of it into full-guard. Oakes began to position his legs around Smith’s head.
Smith stood, picking Oakes’ entire body off the floor, and slammed Oakes to the ground. Smith then quickly got full mount on Oakes and rained punches until the referee called a stop.
The event was held by Justin Verdin. At 35, Verdin is a man of many hats, not only is he the owner of Inyaface Fight Productions, he is a promoter, matchmaker, and coach.
Once a fighter himself, Verdin was boxing at a very young age and began TaeKwonDo when he was 8. Verdin said Jean Claude Van Dam and Bruce Lee’s movies were influential on his pursuits.
“Back in the day it was so unorganized and that was before, and then there was Pride,” Verdin said. “Nothing was really organized, and I said, ‘you know what, I wanna do this.’”
After high school he began fighting in the “Toughman competitions,” in 2003. These were MMA fights before they became organized. Verdin explained: “It’s an event where anyone can go fight. You just sign up and you go fight.”
In the same year, Verdin began promoting fights. He said he had a partner at the time and bought him out 4 years later.
“I did this because I loved it so much and I care about fighters more than anything,” said Verdin. “It’s not even about the money, it’s about the love of it.”
Since its humble roots, behind the Brick House Bar, Verdin’s fight shows have had many names, and while Caged Warrior Championships is the newest iteration of the ever-growing show, the Evergreen Cajun Center is a favorite venue.
“We came a long way man. I started out in a backyard. Started out in the back of a bar room – with the Brick House. Started out doing events there, then moved up to a little bit bigger venue, grew out of that one, and I grew out of this one, but I love doing events here.”
