Saturday night saw the dawn of a new era in local Mixed Martial Arts – or maybe a bad moon rising. Stand Up Fighters presented their premier fight card at the Placer County Fairgrounds Staurday and started the evening off with three Pankration bouts fought under the watchful eye of referee and co-promoter Dave “The Madman” Marinoble.

Pankration is an ancient form of martial art that prohibits strikes to the head and so is often competed in as a form of amateur MMA. Body blows and submission attempts were the order of the evening. The first fight lasted less than a minute as Michael McDonald secured a quick triangle choke on his opponent forcing the tap out.

Following the amateur fights the professionals made their way to the ring. Killa “B” Niimi, the lead grappling instructor at Marinoble’s martial arts and Placer County grapplers, made quick work of his opponent Cody Canterberry. Canterberry took the Charles Gracie black belt to the ground almost immediately, demonstrating either a lack of preparation or more nerve than brains. Niimi took his opponents back and sunk a deep rear naked choke. Canterbery struggled briefly and refused to tap or give up. Niimi finished the choke and left his opponent briefly unconscious.

While the Placer County Fairgrounds have played host to MMA events in the past, Saturday was the first time that women have competed professionally there. Nikohl Johnson made her professional debut against Chantelle Castellana. The crowd buzzed as ring announcer Angel Banuelos read each fighter’s credentials and revealed their shared grappling backgrounds. Johnson, a decorated amateur wrestler, and Castellana, a Judo player of some renown were sure to throw each other around the cage. The crowd was not disappointed. The women fought the full 3 rounds and brought the crowd to its feet for the first time. An emotional Johnson’s hand was raised for the first of what is sure to many MMA victories.

Fans had the opportunity to rub elbows with some of Northern California’ notable MMA stars Saturday as well. Four former Gladiator Challenge Heavyweight Champions were in attendance. Ruben “Warpath” Villareal kept himself clearly visible throughout the evening exhorting the participants to fulfill their potential while keeping the crowd entertained with a running commentary on the fights. Dave Huckaba and Bo “Redrum” Cantrell shook hands and signed autographs. Roseville Police Department’s own Rick Randolph was there as well to support his Marinoble’s Elite Fighter teammates.

The Co-Main Events for the evening were two fights to establish California State Chmpions for the International Sports Combat Federation. The first fight, a welterweight contest at 170 pounds came to an end before the bell beginning the second round. Eventual champion, John “Mutt” Corstorphine opened a deep gash in the cheek of his opponent Justin Holdaas at with vicious ground and pound elbows at the end of the first round, leading to Holdaas’ corner throwing in the towel.

Taking fight of the night honors the lightweight title was on the line in the final contest of the evening. A re-match of a fight last July saw Garrett Dugger from Sacramento, take on Nolan Sules fighting out of El Dorado Hills. Dugger rocked Sules early in the first round and was well on his way to a victory by strikes. Sules survived being rocked more than once made it to the bell to finish the first round.

The fighters that began the second round bore little resemblance to the warriors who had entered the cage moments before. Sules’ face was marked and bruised by Dugger’s strikes but he pressed forward. Dugger was noticeably winded by his efforts in the first round and though he was getting the better of the grappling exchanges his pace continued to slow over the course of the round.

Round three was more of the same with Sules moving forward only to be repulsed by by Dugger’s strikes and stuffed takedown attempts. When the bell rang to open the fourth frame the crowd buzzed with the impending end of the fight. Sules, in spite of coming up on the losing end of most of the striking and wrestling during the fight, looked by far the fresher of the two. Sules stalked his opponent until he caught him with a right hand that left Dugger stunned. Sules stepped forward and delivered a crushing overhand left and followed his opponent to the ground raining down punches until referee Josh Rosenthal brought an end to the action declaring Sules the winner by knockout in the fourth round.

Stand Up Fighter’s next event takes place on Saturday September 26 at the Abundant Life Fellowship at 706 Atlantic St. This will be a Pankration event where the participants will be law enforcement officers with an undercard of MMA competitors. Details can be found at standupfighters.com