Tacoma, WA – In a night full of fast paced action at Halquist Productions’ CageSport XXVI, heavyweight champion, Anthony Hamilton, stayed the course ending his fight with Matt Kovacs midway through the first round via TKO.  The stoppage followed the pattern of a night that consisted of six first round TKO’s and only one fight going the distance. Hamilton retained his CageSport heavyweight title while further establishing himself as a top heavyweight in the Northwest.

CageSport XXVI featured ten professional MMA bouts that left fans with nothing, but an adrenaline rush and anticipation for CageSport XXVII, set for Saturday, October 5th at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA. Tickets for the next CageSport are available and can be purchased at the Emerald Queen Casino box office and through Ticketmaster.  

Much like Hamilton’s last three fights, he wasted no time in pressing the fight as right when the bell sounded he squared up with Kovacs and took him to the ground. It didn’t take long to realize who was leaving the cage victorious as Hamilton immediately took back control and threw a relentless ground n pound attack that Kovacs couldn’t keep up with. At 2:14 into the fight, the referee had seen enough and stepped in to stop the fight giving Hamilton his first successful CageSport title defense while improving his record to 10-2.  

In the semi-main event, Spokane’s Josh Rettinghouse advanced his professional record to 9-2 with a convincing victory over Jeff Hatton. The scrappy bantamweights were the only fighters who took their bout the full distance leaving the decision in the judge’s hands. After three rounds, all three judges unanimously scored the fight 30-27 for Rettinghouse.  

Exciting undercard news happened as Harrison Bevens (6-1) and Justin Harrington (5-0) both left the Emerald Queen Casino victorious and more importantly, with new contracts. After the semi-main event concluded, it was announced that Bevens and Harrington would meet in the main event of CageSport XXVII in October with the vacant CageSport lightweight title on the line.

  Bevens may have had the knockout of the year at CageSport XXVI when he dropped Dave Shepherd cold with a vicious three punch combo that went completely unblocked leaving the packed showroom on their toes and in awe.

 

CageSport XXVI Results:

Hector Lopez def. Chris Wheaton             2:56 RD3               Submission(Triangle Choke)

Josh Solis def. Lonya Champion                 1:56 RD1               TKO(punches)

Gary Winslow def. Montrez Tinson          3:21 RD1`             TKO(punches)

Jeff Sweeney def. Jacob Solis                     0:30 RD1               TKO(punches)

Eduardo Torres def. Alex Eastman           3:22 RD1               Submission(Rear Naked Choke)

Ian Williams def. Zach Conn                         4:16 RD3               TKO(punches)

Harrison Bevens def. Dave Shepherd     0:16 RD3               KO(punch)

Justin Harrington def. Levi Peaslee          1:36 RD1               Submission (Arm Triangle Choke)

Josh Rettinghouse def. Jeff Hatton          UD                          (30-27)(30-27)(30-27)

Anthony Hamilton def. Matt Kovacs        2:14 RD1               TKO(punches)

 

Halquist Productions continues to be the leading fight promoter in the Northwest, promoting CageSport MMA and Battle at the Boat boxing. CageSport has helped paved the way for fighters such as: Brian Caraway, Miesha Tate, Michael Chiesa and Sam Sicilia who are all currently signed on with the UFC. For more information about CageSport XXVI and all other Halquist Production events, please visit www.halquistproductions.com and the official Facebook and Twitter Pages of Halquist Productions, CageSport MMA, and Battle at the Boat.