Main event scratched, still plenty of action in Hurricane at Crown Fighting Championship 12

Written by Jeff Richards
February 27, 2024

HURRICANE — Local mixed-martial arts fighters went 2-3 during Saturday night’s “Crown Fighting Championship 12” event in Hurricane.

Brandon Honsvick of Hurricane battles Maika Samson of Hawaii in a professional bout, Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 24, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

In the evening’s final fight, Brandon Honsvick of Hurricane, who trains at Empire MMA in Cedar City, lost his professional bantamweight bout to Maika Samson of Hawaii. The fight ended when Samson put a submission hold on Honsvick 51 seconds into the second round.

Among the evening’s 11 scheduled fights, the only one that was scratched was the final one listed on the card, a professional light heavyweight bout between Jesse Salmon of St. George and Chris Thompson of Las Vegas. Right before that fight was about to happen, Thompson reportedly injured himself during warmups. As the announcer brought Salmon into the cage and explained the reason for the cancellation, it was noted that Salmon’s next fight will be for a title belt.

One of the most intense fights of the evening was a pro bout between Zack Partridge of Layton and Roger Atchley of Las Vegas. After three hard-fought five-minute rounds, Atchley was named the winner by judges’ decision. Partridge took a hard kick to the groin early in the second round but managed to recover well enough to continue, after a brief stoppage and a referee’s warning to Atchley.

Toa Meredith of Fusion MMA in St. George prepares for his amateur fight, Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 24, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The first eight bouts on the card featured amateur fighters at various weights. The only bout to pit local Southern Utahns against each other was the second one of the night, featuring Riley Helt of Fusion MMA and Jiu Jitsu in St. George and Fernando Rabago out of KALA Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Cedar City.

In that bout, which was Helt’s debut, he defeated Rabago with a submission hold (rear naked chokehold) late in the second round (5:41 elapsed).

Also from Fusion MMA in St. George was Toa Meredith, who defeated Benjamin Evans of Payson by TKO (punches) late in the second round.

A third competitor from Fusion MMA in St. George was Jack Smart, who sustained an injury to his left arm during a takedown by opponent Kaleb Jordan in the first round. Although it wasn’t immediately clear whether Smart’s arm was dislocated or broken, he was treated by multiple medical personnel inside the cage before being taken from the arena on a stretcher and transported via ambulance to the hospital.

“It was a great night of fights,” event promoter Aaron Reis said afterward. “Besides the two injuries, which happens in combat sports, all was good.”

Zack Partridge of Layton and Roger Atchley of Las Vegas battle one another in a professional bout, Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 24, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The event took place in front of a sellout, standing room only crowd inside the Grafton Building at the Washington County Legacy Park fairgrounds.

Following are short recaps of the evening’s other amateur fights:

  • Andres Camacho of Hawaii defeated Javier Reyes of Las Vegas by judges’ decision.
  • Dante Morales of Provo defeated John Stephenson of Pocatello, Idaho by a submission hold on the arm 1:47 into the first round.
  • Ka’eo Burley of Hawaii defeated Maurice Hardy of Las Vegas by second-round TKO (punches).
  • Michael Pfeiffer of Salt Lake City defeated Izaya Jackson of Las Vegas by submission hold just past the midway point of the second round.
  • And in the closest fight of the evening, Mykah Kuratani of Hawaii battled Joshua Treasure of Las Vegas for three grueling rounds, after which the judges returned a split decision in favor of Kuratani.

To see the complete results page on Tapology, click here.

According to Reis, the next Crown Fighting Championship event scheduled for the Hurricane venue will be on Aug. 24.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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