DSB Field Trip: PA Fighting Championship
Friday Night Fights took on a new meaning as martial arts specialist and former professional wrestler, Steve Blackman, brought MMA (mixed martial arts) to Central PA in the highly anticipated PA Fighting Championship held this past Friday night at the Zembo Shrine Auditorium in Harrisburg.
While MMA has been around for centuries, only recently has there been a boom in popularity in the western hemisphere. It is now one of the fastest growing sports in America due to its rise in prominence when Dana White and the UFC began marketing to mainstream sports fans on television channels like Spike and Versus.
Daddy’s Sugar Ball decided to make this event a field trip and was well represented as Bearcat, Max Power, and PJ made the trek for the full slate of fights. We wanted to present two perspectives on the night: one by a seasoned MMA expert and one by a newbie losing his MMA virginity.
PJ (Expert)
I am the resident MMA fiend of DSB and I was not sure what to expect from a local/regional event in Harrisburg. I have to say that I was surprised on many levels. The venue was perfect for this type of event. The Zembo Shrine Auditorium was the perfect size and offered great seating from everywhere in the room. The ring girls from another DSB favorite, Savannah’s on Hanna, were gorgeous and beer was available at the fight (very important for us). The raucous crowd was into the action, and the skill level of the fighters was well above my presumptions.
There was a nice fight card with varying weight classes and the administration kept the bouts moving so that there was very little wasted time in between the fights. The amateur fights started the night and did not disappoint with a lot of action. We saw tap outs from choke holds, TKO’s by strikes, and even one amateur go to sleep from a rear naked choke. The pro card did not disappoint either. The striking was limited as most of the fighters seemed to have a background in wrestling/grappling but they were technically sound as there were triangle submission attempts, arm bars, knee bar attempts, north-south choke holds, and some ground and pound with some nice elbow strikes.
Fighters were brought in from all over the country to compete as California, the Carolinas, New York, Wisconsin, and of course PA were represented. The main event featured a local named Dustin Pague fighting Anthony Leone from New York. This was a fantastic fight that started with a flourish of jabs and crosses and quickly went to the ground. Leone took Pague down and seemed to control the round pretty easily. It was also apparent that Leone didn’t want to mix things up with Pague standing. The second round started fast as well but Pague seemed to control Leone for most of the round both standing and on the mat. That changed with about 45 seconds left in the round as Leone escaped Pague and took control of his back and locked in a choke hold and with 2 seconds left in the round Pague went to sleep and the fight was stopped by the ref.
Steve Blackman put on a great event and I hope to see more of this in Central PA as mixed martial arts madness continues to grow.
Max Power (Newbie)
I had no idea what to expect from my first experience at an event like this one as we left happy hour downtown to pile into Bearcat’s car for the short ride to the Zembo Shrine Auditorium. Somehow I had skipped that particular rite of passage into adulthood and made it through my formative years without attending a WWF event or boxing card. And like most other sports fans, MMA has only recently become something I am familiar with based on their "Ultimate Fighter" reality series.
As we pulled up to the venue and saw the overflowing parking lots and swarms of people in Tapout gear descending on the venue, I realized that I had grossly underestimated the appeal and drawing power of MMA in the midstate area. We bought general admission tickets at the door, purchased our two beer maximum per person, and made our way to the first available seats we could find.
I know this will sound clichéd and unoriginal, but I was really struck by the similarity to the Roman coliseums that featured gladiators fighting in front of crowds calling for bloodlust. That primal urge to see men square off against one another in a setting like this is in our DNA. I am both a vegetarian and a pacifist and even I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t excited when a fighter got physically choked out until he lay motionless in the center of the octagon.
During the course of the evening and to make things more interesting, Bearcat and I started wagering on the outcome of the fights. Mind you…neither of us had any idea what we were doing and we may as well have been wagering on cockroach races or cow pie bingo. We selected fighters based on where they were from (the kid from my hometown lost when his fight was prematurely stopped on a referee’s decision), what religion they were (Bearcat got all of his holy roller Catholic brethren), and what their entrance music was (Rage Against the Machine’s "Guerrilla Radio" against a country version of "Cat’s in the Cradle"…um, I think I’ll take the fighter walking out to Rage). In the end, Bearcat would have made his Pittsburgh Pirates proud as he lost at an alarming high rate (something like 7 out of 9 fights) and the cost of my dinner was suddenly covered by my winnings.
As the night wound down and one last fight remained, the opening strains of Europe’s "The Final Countdown" blared into the crowd as both fighters made their final preparations backstage for maybe the biggest night of their lives. Local boy Dustin Pague was fighting in front of a vocal and partisan home crowd against Anthony Leone who was defending his undefeated record. Up until this matchup, none of the other professional fights had lasted past the first round - - which provided for exciting action, but prevented appearances by the lovely ring card girls from Savannah’s. Leone took advantage early and easily controlled the first round, but Pague answered in the second with a knee that buckled his opponent and allowed Pague to dominate the round on the mat….at least until Leone escaped and went on the offensive. With the echoes of the timekeeper still pounding the table to signify ten seconds left in the round, Pague succumbed to a choke hold and the referee made it official.
Although disappointed in the final outcome, I think we all agreed that it was a great night and one that we can’t wait to do again.
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
While MMA has been around for centuries, only recently has there been a boom in popularity in the western hemisphere. It is now one of the fastest growing sports in America due to its rise in prominence when Dana White and the UFC began marketing to mainstream sports fans on television channels like Spike and Versus.
Daddy’s Sugar Ball decided to make this event a field trip and was well represented as Bearcat, Max Power, and PJ made the trek for the full slate of fights. We wanted to present two perspectives on the night: one by a seasoned MMA expert and one by a newbie losing his MMA virginity.
PJ (Expert)I am the resident MMA fiend of DSB and I was not sure what to expect from a local/regional event in Harrisburg. I have to say that I was surprised on many levels. The venue was perfect for this type of event. The Zembo Shrine Auditorium was the perfect size and offered great seating from everywhere in the room. The ring girls from another DSB favorite, Savannah’s on Hanna, were gorgeous and beer was available at the fight (very important for us). The raucous crowd was into the action, and the skill level of the fighters was well above my presumptions.
There was a nice fight card with varying weight classes and the administration kept the bouts moving so that there was very little wasted time in between the fights. The amateur fights started the night and did not disappoint with a lot of action. We saw tap outs from choke holds, TKO’s by strikes, and even one amateur go to sleep from a rear naked choke. The pro card did not disappoint either. The striking was limited as most of the fighters seemed to have a background in wrestling/grappling but they were technically sound as there were triangle submission attempts, arm bars, knee bar attempts, north-south choke holds, and some ground and pound with some nice elbow strikes.
Fighters were brought in from all over the country to compete as California, the Carolinas, New York, Wisconsin, and of course PA were represented. The main event featured a local named Dustin Pague fighting Anthony Leone from New York. This was a fantastic fight that started with a flourish of jabs and crosses and quickly went to the ground. Leone took Pague down and seemed to control the round pretty easily. It was also apparent that Leone didn’t want to mix things up with Pague standing. The second round started fast as well but Pague seemed to control Leone for most of the round both standing and on the mat. That changed with about 45 seconds left in the round as Leone escaped Pague and took control of his back and locked in a choke hold and with 2 seconds left in the round Pague went to sleep and the fight was stopped by the ref.
Steve Blackman put on a great event and I hope to see more of this in Central PA as mixed martial arts madness continues to grow.
Max Power (Newbie)I had no idea what to expect from my first experience at an event like this one as we left happy hour downtown to pile into Bearcat’s car for the short ride to the Zembo Shrine Auditorium. Somehow I had skipped that particular rite of passage into adulthood and made it through my formative years without attending a WWF event or boxing card. And like most other sports fans, MMA has only recently become something I am familiar with based on their "Ultimate Fighter" reality series.
As we pulled up to the venue and saw the overflowing parking lots and swarms of people in Tapout gear descending on the venue, I realized that I had grossly underestimated the appeal and drawing power of MMA in the midstate area. We bought general admission tickets at the door, purchased our two beer maximum per person, and made our way to the first available seats we could find.
I know this will sound clichéd and unoriginal, but I was really struck by the similarity to the Roman coliseums that featured gladiators fighting in front of crowds calling for bloodlust. That primal urge to see men square off against one another in a setting like this is in our DNA. I am both a vegetarian and a pacifist and even I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t excited when a fighter got physically choked out until he lay motionless in the center of the octagon.
During the course of the evening and to make things more interesting, Bearcat and I started wagering on the outcome of the fights. Mind you…neither of us had any idea what we were doing and we may as well have been wagering on cockroach races or cow pie bingo. We selected fighters based on where they were from (the kid from my hometown lost when his fight was prematurely stopped on a referee’s decision), what religion they were (Bearcat got all of his holy roller Catholic brethren), and what their entrance music was (Rage Against the Machine’s "Guerrilla Radio" against a country version of "Cat’s in the Cradle"…um, I think I’ll take the fighter walking out to Rage). In the end, Bearcat would have made his Pittsburgh Pirates proud as he lost at an alarming high rate (something like 7 out of 9 fights) and the cost of my dinner was suddenly covered by my winnings.
As the night wound down and one last fight remained, the opening strains of Europe’s "The Final Countdown" blared into the crowd as both fighters made their final preparations backstage for maybe the biggest night of their lives. Local boy Dustin Pague was fighting in front of a vocal and partisan home crowd against Anthony Leone who was defending his undefeated record. Up until this matchup, none of the other professional fights had lasted past the first round - - which provided for exciting action, but prevented appearances by the lovely ring card girls from Savannah’s. Leone took advantage early and easily controlled the first round, but Pague answered in the second with a knee that buckled his opponent and allowed Pague to dominate the round on the mat….at least until Leone escaped and went on the offensive. With the echoes of the timekeeper still pounding the table to signify ten seconds left in the round, Pague succumbed to a choke hold and the referee made it official.
Although disappointed in the final outcome, I think we all agreed that it was a great night and one that we can’t wait to do again.
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Posted by PJ at 11/10/2009 4:30 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Dustin Pague PA Fighting Championship Anthony Leone Blackman MMA Zembo Shrine Auditorium Steve Blackman MMA
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Dustin Pague PA Fighting Championship Anthony Leone Blackman MMA Zembo Shrine Auditorium Steve Blackman MMA
Just so the record is clear... this holy roller was the one screaming: Punch him in the face! Rip his fucking head off! and Don't tap out you...What the fuck! You tapped like a little girl!
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Sure, that's because all you got to do is confess this to the Priest, drop some bucks in the offering(give me your money!) plate and you can start your sinning with a clean slate.
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