The Last Round

If you are a professional fighter you need a certain level of self-belief and confidence. But often confidence comes across as arrogance. So when we start talking about a fighter named Sean "lucky" McPadden it draws my curiosity, is he confident or arrogant?

Sean McPadden dose a great job talking himself up, and it has rubbed some people the wrong way. I have heard people refer to him as cocky, arrogant, brash, and boastful. But Sean doesn't see himself the way others do. Sean believes that his confidence comes from a self-belief in his skills, his abilities, and all of the hard work put in day in and day out.

Sean once said in an interview "the more I train the luckier I get". When you see his fights and you look at his record you can clearly see his training has made him pretty lucky.

Most Americans believe that they understand psychology and can determine what mental state a person is in by the things that they say. I believe that belief comes from american movies and TV shows. But the reality of the situation is most people don't understand psychology. Even psychologists have to talk and speak with a person a numerous amount of times before they can even determine their mental state or understand their mental complexities.

When I first heard of Sean McPadden I believed him to be a cocky, arrogant young man. But once I started looking into his career and watching his interviews, I understood I was completely right.

This young man has an amazing sense of self belief that I've seen unmatched by even the highest level of athletes. His self-belief causes of others you think negatively about him because they can't understand how or why he Is that way. One thing that Sean said that stood out to me the most was when he was speaking about his 2 year layoff in between his last fight in his most recent title win.

"I didn't spend 2 years off, I spent 2 years studding. Studding myself and mastering my crafts. Fixing the small holes I did have"

After seeing his performance going up a weight class and challenging a very experienced professional fighter for a title I saw that everything he said was true. Sean is set to fight for another title against another very experienced fighter. So when Sean says that his confidence comes from his work ethic I don't think it should be questioned anymore.

After an undefeted amateur career that saw him claim two titles Coty suffered a setback in his professional debut back at lfa 120 in one of the most exciting fights of the night that night.

Tonight he was looking to get his pro career back on track with a win at CES and he did just that. The bell rang and there was somewhat of a feeling-out process, both men exchanging leg kicks until Cody suffered an unfortunate low blow to the cup area. That saw the referee break the action for a short time.

When the action continued again that's all there was ACTION. Both men continued to throw combinations both were able to get the other to miss quite often. While some punches and heavy leg kicks got through it wasn't until Coty landed his trademark overhand right that seemed to wobble his opponent a significant strike was landed.Cody went in for the kill, then decided to back off while his opponent was still dazed. Probably to avoid a potential adrenaline dump or to keep himself from running out of gas.

Coty started attacking from the distance and while he was Landing his leg kicks his opponent through a Haymaker head kick that landed flush on the chin of Coty and seemed it to have him out on his feet. But being the experienced fighter that he is Coty was able to clench with his opponent and secure a takedown. After regaining his wits coty allowed his opponent to stand back up. Where he started Landing his right hand along with other big shots until he was able to get a slam takedown, take his opponents back and finish the fight by tko in the very first round.

The entire crowd was behind him after this win and we can't wait to see what's next for him in the pro career of Coty "The Crippler" Milhausen

This bout was highly-anticipated and lived up to the hype. Damion Hill did an amazing job promoting this fight and getting what he calls "an emotional investment" from all of Danny's fans. The amount of Trash Talk Damion did leading up to this fight was something Danny has never seen or dealt with before.

It's easy to say after the fight that Damion may have got inside of Danny's head but I don't think that was the case. I don't believe any of Damion's words affected Danny until the fight started.

Damion made a lot of bold claims about what he was going to do the Danny once they stepped Inside the ring, HE DID EVERYTHING HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO DO!

The 30 year old 4-14 boxer claimed he would out box the younger faster 6-1-1 prospect. But no one expected him to actually do it. Throughout the 6 round beating Damion layed down on Danny, Damion continued to switch stances while throwing multiple combination and controlling Danny with his jab from a distance. You could clearly see the body shots Damion was landing started wearing Danny out. I believe that's when Danny started to realize Damion is doing everything he said he was going to do.

Damion out boxed the boxer and walked away with the victory. A rematch is highly unlikely has Damion claims to be done with the sport of boxing. It will be interesting to see how or if Danny comes back after this loss and what is next for Damion Hill. One thing is for sure all of Minnesota's watching.

Danny Huffman is a 7-1 up and coming boxer out of Dluth Minnesota (Jungle boy) who is set to face rival Damian Hill (4-14) in a six round co-main event slot April 23rd at Canterbury Park in Shakopee Minnesota. It's one of the most anticipated fights on the card.

Which brings up one question I'm dying to ask. Why is this fight happening??? Aside from a Jake Paul promotion I didn't think i would actually see this one.

From my understanding 1 commission already declined to allow this fight to happen because they feared for Damian's safety. Once you look at the fight on paper it makes even less sense for Danny to be fighting a guy with such a horrible record. Damian talked a lot of trash to Danny before and even after the fight was turned down by the commission. That would probably make most of us angry, especially a professional boxer. Who puts their manhood to the test every time they step into the ring. But as a true professional I would expect Danny to keep a level head about the situation but he didn't.

Instead Danny and his team begged promoters to get the fight under a different governing body. The promoters accepted there offer and so did Damian, giving Damian exactly what he wanted and also proving how mentally weak Danny Huffman is.

Danny is risking everything he's built so far April 23rd when he steps into the ring with Damian Hill. Winning this fight will ultimately do nothing except add a padded win to his already impressive record. But losing on the other hand does exactly the opposite. A win for Damian will propel him to the top of the division and restart his boxing career. This would be a very bad loss for anyone to have on their record. We are still very early in the career of Danny Huffman and I'm curious to see if he will be this vulnerable to trash talk in the future.

Will he seek revenge every time someone hurts his feelings with their talks trash, or can he block out the people that are beneath him and focus on furthering his career. I can't say I'm not going to be watching this one but I hope the next time I watch Danny Huffman fight it's against a formidable opponent.

When things are a perfect match you refer to them as going together like peanut butter and jelly, or salt and pepper. That's the exact thought most people have when they hear the name Damian Hill and Valhalla Combat Sports.

Damion Hill has been at Valhalla Combat Sports since he was 17 years old. A total of 13 years and 68 professional fights. But it seems that that glorious relationship has come to an end James Clark the owner of Valhalla Combat Sports told Damian he was no longer welcome at Valhalla. James Clark is claiming Damian Hill left valhalla but Damian revealed the text message that proves James Clark kicked him out.

When I heard that this relationship had ended I wondered what the cause may have been so I started reaching out to the members of Valhalla. When I first got a response I didn't believe it. I'm thinking to myself how could a relationship this strong be broken over something as little as this.

Damian Hill has read and Believes In The Art of War almost like a Bible. In the Art of War they state that the art of deception is the key to the Art of War. Damian said as a joke to James Clark's son "it would be funny if you and your dad had a beef going on at the time of one of your biggest fights, everyone would think you're distracted and not training"

That simple suggestion/ joke from Damian Hill made James Clark mad enough to erase 13 years of history. Ive reached out to Damian Hill and he had this to say.

" I'm not going to sit here and badmouth the man he was like a father to me I love him more than I love my own mother. My mom has done worse things to me then James clark so I still don't hold him on the same level or POS as my mom but it reminds me of what Jorge masvidal said leading up to his fight with Colby Covington, he said: if he's going to act this way or be this Petty we were never friends to begin with and this relationship was a lie"

James Clark did not give a statement.

Damian Hill has been a major part Valhalla Combat Sports and stood by James Clark's side for 13 years. I would love to see him turn this negative into a positive by finding a new team and becoming better than he ever has been.

Damian ended the interview by stating this

" I'm sick of you and other people that know about this falling out suggesting that I want revenge on him or on the gym, I don't! Somebody even said success is the best revenge. That's something I understand, but if I want to be successful It has nothing to do with wanting to succeed out of Revenge or to make someone mad I want to succeed because I want to be successful, even if I was to go out and have a successful performance my next fight I've been with Valhalla for 13 years everything I'm going to do in that fight I learned there. In my eyes winning with what they showed me wouldn't be Revenge anyway"

Damian Hill is still slated to fight Danny Huffman April 23rd as the co-main event at Canterbury Park be sure to reach out to this man for tickets.

The Ignite boxing card going down April 23rd at Canterbury Park is filled with some of the most talented boxers in the state of Minnesota. One of the matchups I'm most excited to see is a fight that seems to be flying under the radar for most fight fans.

The fight I'm talking about is Robby Loyde versus Sam Hernandez.

Robbie made his professional debut December 4th 2021 and put everyone on notice. After dominating his opponent for the entirety of the opening round he was able to knock him out with just one second left. Finishing the Fight 2:59 in the very first round. But as Newton's law of physics tells us "every action has an equal and opposite reaction". The same was true for Robbie Loyde's future opponents, as it seems no one wants to fight him after that amazing performance.

No one except for Sam Hernandez! Sam is a well-known mixed martial artist throughout all of Minnesota. While most of his fights have taken place inside the cage Sam is no stranger to just standing in front of his opponent and exchanging fists. Sam Hernandez also coming off of a very impressive first-round knockout finish.

These two men are riding a huge wave of momentum going into this fight and neither one of them has ever let the crowd down. That's why this fight is my pick for fight of the night! There's absolutely no way these Fighters don't perform to the highest level.

Robbie Lloyd is a fighter who sets the pace and dictates everything that goes on in the ring. Sam Hernandez is a fighter that rises to the occasion and matches the pace of every opponent put in front of him. When this fight starts I will not be looking away, and I will not be blinking. I Don't Want to Miss a moment of this action filled fight and neither should the fans make sure you're there to watch this one live so be sure to reach out to Robbie or Sam or go to Nitro tickets.com.

Colton Warner quickly proved himself a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division of professional boxing, as he sits with a record of 3-1 with his lone loss coming by way of disqualification in a fight he was dominating back in October of 2021

Colton Warner impressed a lot of people with his last victory at Grand Casino Hinckley feb 18th myself being at the top of the list. If you missed it you missed a beautiful performance from Mr. Warner.

Colton came out in the first round dancing and working a beautiful lead Jab, you could tell he was trying to set up something up but didn't exactly know what it was until it happened!

Colton threw a beautiful right hand that sent his opponent to the canvas. At that moment the entire crowd knew the fight was over and the reff was only counting as a formality.

After that impressive win by knockout in under 2 minutes it's not a surprise Colton has been given his first Main Event slot for Ignite boxing on April 23rd at Canterbury Park. Colton should be sitting at 4-0 with 3 knockouts and the boxing fans know it. I expect the croud to be hyped up for this one, With as much talent on the card April 23rd and Colton still being the main event says a lot about his last performance and the things expected from this man in the future. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet be sure to reach out to him or go to Nitro tickets.com

***LIONHEART TAKING OUT THE TRASH***

Boxing is increasingly becoming more and more popular in the state of Minnesota with plenty of Highly skilled fighters making names for themselves, Tony Woods, Colton Warner, and Cruse Stewart just to name a few. But I don't think any of them are as popular as Danny Huffman is right now. Danny is 7-1-1 as a professional boxer with his only loss coming via decision which he later avenged in a completely one-sided fight with Nicholas Compton.

Danny is currently coming off of another dominant performance at Grand Casino Hinckley February 18th. Danny was originally slated to fight Damion Hill but multiple sources have confirmed the tribal boxing commission wouldn't sanction the bout. Damion Hill hasn't won a fight since 2014 with a record of 4-15 it makes sense that they wouldn't allow this fight to happen for Damion Hills safety.

But now the fight is set for April 23rd under a different sanctioning body the "Minnesota State athletic Commission". When Damion was originally scheduled to fight Danny at Grand Casino Hinckley February 18th he immediately began a trash-talking tirade which included memes and spliced video Edits in an attempt to insult Danny. After a dominant performance at Grand Casino Hinckley I was expecting big things for Danny in the future but it's clear he wants to punish the man that has no business talking about him. A man who called him names like coward, and P**** also many other expletives but has yet to accomplish even a minuscule amount of what Danny was able to do inside the ring.

I believe Danny is going to take this fight as a tune-up before he moves on to bigger and better things. But because of Damion's trash talk I can't say I'm not interested in this fight now that it's finally happening. The Last round is predicting Danny to dominate Damion for all six rounds.

This bout is scheduled for April 23rd at Canterbury Park for ignite promotion be sure to reach out to Danny Huffman for tickets.

Josh Clark quickly made a name for himself in the Minnesota combat sports world. First as an amateur boxer, next as a amateur MMA fighter, and now as a undefeated professional boxer. Josh Clark is a kid that could do anything with his life but chose to dedicate it to fighting.

Josh's dad served in the United States military as a Navy SEAL. He also grew up speaking Spanish and loved the South American culture. So after he was discharged from the military he decided to stay in Ecuador. Where he eventually met Josh's mom having 2 kids (Josh and Mary). Josh and his family didn't move to the United States until josh was about five years old. With his dad being an American citizen he already understood English but for the most part only spoke Spanish until moving to Minnesota.

Josh Clarks dad (James Clark) opened up his gym (CRYSTAL FIGHT CLUB) when Josh was just 8 years old. It's safe to say josh grew up in the gym, but says his father never pressured him into training.

"He never made me practice, but he would bring me to the gym everyday, one of my dad's Fighters asked me to drill some things with him, I liked it. So I kept on".

Soon after Josh started training he started competing in wrestling and jiu jitsu. After seeing Josh have some success in his competitions everyone at the gym could see Josh was ready for the next step. Which would be his first amateur boxing match.

Josh continued to compete in jiu jitsu tournaments and kick boxing matches along with completing is high school wrestling career at totino-grace. After turning 18 josh took his first MMA fight. Pulling off a successful victory, Josh had a tough decision on his hands. Either continue fighting and have that be the main focus or go to college. After a long discussion with his mother and father Josh decided to continue with his education and wrestling career at St John's University.

Everything seemed to be going perfect for Josh. But then the whole world stopped. Covid-19 had just swept through the world, canceling a full wrestling season and potentially the next season as well. Not only that but classes had stopped all together. For a long time it seemed like the world was never going to get back on track. All major sporting events and seasons were halted. But a glimpse of Hope emerged as MMA and boxing slowly started to put on shows again.

At that time Josh was itching to compete again whether it was a live professional fight or a staring contest he wanted in. So April 24th 2021 Josh made his professional boxing debut, and the rest they say is history. Less than one year after making his professional debut Josh is set for his fourth professional bout going down this Friday Feb 18th at Grand Casino Hinckley. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for this young man.

"if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime".

Its a quote I feel most Americans are familiar with. Without fully understanding the entirety of what that quote really means. People tend to forget or completely ignore the fact that, now that man is able to show others how to fish.

Usually a major goal for a lifelong martial artist is to one day own and operate their own gym or training facility. Which ultimately means they will have to leave the gym in which they learned everything from. I would hope that a coach would love the idea that one of his or her students learned so much from them that they feel they are able to teach others themselves. But sadly that's not always the case.


Lifelong coaches take training a fighter very seriously. Ultimately those coaches are showing all of the techniques, drills, combinations, set ups, and helping you to hone your skills as a fighter with the knowledge that took them a lifetime to acquire.

It's only when you look at it that way will you see how a coach can take it very personal that one of their students is now going to show everything they taught them to another group of people, and potentially having one of his students fight one of the students of his former student with the skills they taught them. I can understand how a coach will take that personally. But those coaches need to understand once you teach someone how to do something whatever you thought them is theirs now.

If you really think about it every martial art has a origin. Which ever martial arts you're thinking of it started in one place with one group, until visitors come and learn the art, then bring it back home. Or someone who knows the art already leaves there country and teaches it in there new home.

Because of that the arts were able to spread, grow, and evolve so much that almost every martial art has a world tournament. Allowing people from all walks of life the chance to compete in a sport tons of us love. So if a student decides to open up their own gym and spread the knowledge their coach gave them it is only helping the art grow.

Jimmy Padilla is currently 1-0 as a professional mixed martial artist. Even though he's just one fight into his professional career it was a long road getting there.

Jimmy Padilla grew up a few different places between Minnesota, Texas, New Mexico, and Arkansas. But is originally from Albert Lea Minnesota. "I was born in Albert Lea MN my mom and dad were migrant workers who seasonally moved back and forth from Owatonna MN to plainview TX". Jimmy mentioned.

Moving around all the time isn't easy for any kid growing up. Oftentimes those kids fall in with the wrong crowd, start getting into trouble either inside or outside of school and eventually with the law. Jimmy was no exception. Fortunately Jimmy was eventually able to direct his energy into a gym in his neighborhood where he was able to train with former and active Vale tudo Fighters at age 14. Just 4 years later he would make his amateur MMA debut.

Then didn't fight again for nearly 6 years.

The gym he was training at had to suddenly close due to some "Unforeseen circumstances" and to avoid falling back in with the same crowd Jimmy decided to move back to Owatonna. (He had no family living there at the time) After finding work and a place to stay Jimmy was next in search of a mixed martial arts gym where he could continue his Journey as a fighter.

"It was hard having no help, on top of that most people around me didn’t wanna help. Just expected me to give up on my dream to just work in a sh*tty little town basically I was surrounded by the wrong people". ~Jimmy Padilla

Eventually he would find the mixed martial arts gym he was looking for at American Top team in Savage Minnesota. Where he was able to get back into shape mixing it up with some of the top talent in Minnesota also taking a few kick boxing matches leading up to his first-round submission win at LFA 50 back in 2018. It seemed like Jimmy was on top of the world. Then the world shut down!

When Covid hit it took the World by storm. Unfortunately Jimmy like most Americans, was hit extremely hard. Eventually having to live out of his car. Current UFC fighter Brandon Jenkins who also trained at American top team Savage was begging Jimmy to come stay with him and not sleep in his car during the Minnesota winter was hitting -36 degree temperature before wind chill. But Jimmy's Pride kept him from taking Brandon's offer.

Eventually summer came but things weren't looking any better for Jimmy. Between threats on his life, his girlfriend breaking up with him, and being homeless Jimmy was more depressed than he had ever been his entire life. That's when he decided to leave everything and go to Colorado. In hopes of finding himself and that's when his mentality changed. As he was on the verge of su***de he decided that before he would take his own life, he would take a professional MMA fight. If he won he wouldn't do it, but if he lost you wouldn't be reading this article you would be reading an obituary.

After getting his first professional win he finally decided to take Brandon Jenkins up on his offer moved to Las Vegas with him and is currently training at Syndicate MMA. With a newfound motivation not just in fighting but in life I believe we are all rooting for Jimmy Padilla. As he is set to step in the cage for a second time as a professional. This March for caged aggression.

There couldn't have been a better way to start off the year if you're a fight fan in the state of Minnesota. If you are fortunate enough to make it to or catch the live stream of the A Town Throwdown 17 event in Austin Minnesota January 15th brought to you by ignite you know exactly what I'm talking about. The card was headlined by longtime veteran Derek Smith (Cellar) and former UFC fighter Zak Ottow. (pura vida)

The first fight of the night (Joe Sattler vs Colin Rubie) set the tone for the entire fight card. It had everything you would hope to see in a fight. Big punches, powerful leg kicks, and some good old-fashioned ground and pound. It was definitely my pick for fight of the night as Joe Sattler came out Victorious with a unanimous decision victory.

The second fight of the night (Dominic St. George vs Damian Mares) wasn't much different except it didn't last as long. The fight looked all but over has Damien locked in a rear-naked choke that would have put any other man to sleep. Somehow Dominic fought his way out of it and was able to put his opponent away with a very powerful liver shot halfway through the second round.

As we move our way up the card another fight that stood out was the seventh fight of the night between (Dontrell Johnson vs Vicente Flores jr.)
This fight was expected to be a three-round war but ended up ending just 1 minute and 35 seconds into the very first round. With Dontrell walking away with the victory via rear naked choke.

(Abbas Abasov vs Thomas Vievering) was a fight that lived up to all of the hype surrounding it. It was your classic Striker vs Grappler matchup, that saw Thomas throwing crisp and powerful kicks, while Abbas waited for his opportunity to catch a kick and go for a slam. I almost didn't know what was happening as these two were scrambling. You would never guess that this fight ended just 1 minute and 41 seconds into the very first round as Abbas Abasov was able to sink in the guillotine choke for the victory.

As we approach the main event we first had 3 amateur title fights that gave us everything we expected and more! The first title fight of the night was the big boys for the ignite inaugural heavyweight championship belt. That featured (Lawrence Phillips vs Justin Stewart). These are two big boys that love to throw big punches and as to be expected this fight did not last long. Both men were able to land powerful strikes but Lawrence Phillips punch had just a little bit more on it as he was able to walk away with a TKO Victory in just 20 seconds.

The next title fight of the evening was for the women's bantam weight belt between (Cheyanne Bowers vs Paeton Olejniczak) Not much happened in the first round of the fight which is to be expected when the competitors are planning on going five rounds. Man oh man was the second round way different. Cheyanne was able to land a big right hand which I feel changed the course of the fight. She was able to open up with more punches eventually getting a takedown, take her opponent's back get both hooks in, rain down some vicious ground-and-pound and eventually sink in the rear naked choke finish the fight at 1 minute 28 seconds into the second round.

No fight had more ups and downs than the next title fight between (Thomas Herrera vs David Vinje) The first round saw David come out like a bat out of hell, who had one thing on his mind "VIOLENCE!" He was able to rock Thomas with a big right hand which led him to controlling the entire round. He was able to land or big strikes that dropped Thomas. But Thomas was able to keep his composure and did a great job of not leaving his head in one place allowing his opponent to ground and pound him. As Thomas tried to grab a hold and start wrestling, David was able to circle around keeping his hips in a position that's allowed him to keep top control until the end of the round.

The second round Thomas Herrera knew exactly what he had to do, and that was Secure a takedown. I believe Thomas noticed David was a bit fatigued after going for the finish in the first round. That's when Thomas put everything he had behind his blast double slamming David to the cage floor. Soon after that Thomas was able to secure mounted position and finish the fight 1 minute and 15 seconds into the second round with vicious ground-and-pound making him the winner by TKO.

The main event of the evening went down between the only two professionals fighting on the card. Zak Ottow faced Derek Smith. Derek came out strong looking to keep the fight out of Zaks range as he used very nice leg and head kicks to keep him at Bay. But eventually zak was able to grab a hold and work a little bit from the clinch before jumping into a very powerful extremely nasty guillotine that saw him walk away with the victory 2 minutes and 59 seconds into the very first round.

It's almost impossible to be a fighter in the Midwest and not have heard of trash talk with Damion and TJ. But just in case you've been living under a rock let me fill you in. Trash talk with Damion and TJ started as a way to help the local amateurs and pro Fighters promote themselves and sell tickets.

" the truth is half of the fighters participating on a fight card are going to lose. Of the people that go on to win only some of them will make it past the regional circuit, then most of the people that make it past the regional circuit don't make it much further than that.

These guys go out and fight their hearts out in hopes of becoming rich what famous and most will end up broke with head trauma, the least we can do is give them a little bit of recognition even if it's at the smallest venue as an amateur and the recognition is coming from two pothead who love MMA you're getting some form of recognition". ~Damion Hill

Many people I've spoken with feel that Trash talk with Damion and TJ is good for local MMA and that these two do a really great job of helping the fighters promote themselves. But not as if they haven't had their fair share of controversy. Damion Hill has been kicked off of Facebook multiple times, and besides the show Trash Talk Damion and TJ are more known for their pot smoking and beer drinking.

When you look pass the pot, the memes and the controversy you understand the page is called trash talk and it might be for a reason. No matter what their page is called you can truely see how deeply these two care about the local fight scene and the up-and-coming fighters.

"I run trash talk and edit all of the interviews for free. We received merchandise for our sponsorship deals so no one is paying me to do the interviews that go on the YouTube page. On top of that The promoters don't pay me to be at the fights doing post fight interviews, I'm coming out of pocket every time you see me at a local show, so excuse me if I want to smoke a blunt and drink a beer while I'm doing something no one else is willing to do" ~Damion Hill