Fists & Feet Fly at Lenoir's "Fights in the Foothills"

It was an exciting evening of cage-rattling action Saturday night at Lenoir’s Mulberry Street Recreation Center as Mayhem Cage Fights presented the “Fights in the Foothills” mixed martial arts event.

A near-capacity crowd filled the complex as fighters from across North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina competed in 11 MMA contests. Contestants were awarded points according to performance that are compiled throughout the year as part of the Mid-Atlantic Mixed Martial Arts Championship, with title belts to be awarded later in the year.

Fighters trained in disciplines including karate, jiu-jitsu, boxing, grappling, kickboxing, and wrestling were showcased on the card. Matches were scheduled for 3 three-minute rounds. Despite only one match lasting into the third round, jarring punches and kicks were abundant throughout the night.

The evening kicked off with a mixed martial arts exhibition from 11-year old MMA Hall of Famer Alexandra Pyles, a young lady who holds 12 MMA championships and three world records and will be featured this season on the NBC television show “America’s Got Talent”.
Following the exhibition the evening’s fights kicked off with a first round, tap out victory by Joshua Curtis over Allan Mendez in the bantamweight division. Curtis “Bam Bam” Brinkley was victorious in the light heavyweight division over Najee Mohammad by second round technical knockout (TKO).

Matt Morgan defeated Phil Estes by tap out due to a triangle choke in a middleweight fight, followed by Bill Childs defeating Brennan Mays by first round TKO. In one of the night’s most exciting bouts, Travis Wilson and Ed Jackson squared off in a light heavyweight showdown. Jackson emerged victorious in the third round, grounding his opponent and winning in the third round by TKO.

After a 15-minute intermission and a second exhibition by Alexandra Pyles, the fight action resumed with a first round tap out victory by Joe Carroll over Brandel Clary at the lightweight division.

In the only super heavyweight fight of the evening, Tunene Jackson defeated Mike Imes in 18 seconds when a solid punch by Jackson wobbled Imes, leading to a TKO finish. The punch was one of the most effectively landed fists of the entire night, as on-site medical staff later determined a broken jaw resulted from the blow.

Sheyenne Housand defeated Ron Lindig in the night’s eighth bout by way of guillotine choke at 2:36 of the first round. Johnny Buck won a lightweight battle by first round submission, while in the night’s most technically contested fight, Johnson City’s Troy Dollar survived a number of submission attempts to eventually defeat Hickory’s Scott Monish, Jr. with a triangle choke for a second round win.

Saturday night’s main event of the evening was a welterweight matchup between Michael Peurifoy and MMA veteran Allen “The Hedgehog” Greenway. Greenway showed his experience in the early going, using his “educated feet” to inflict pain on the shin and thigh of his opponent. The perseverance of low kicks took its toll quickly on Peurifoy as he began to limp noticeably inside the cage. After a series of kicks to the same left leg, Peurifoy was deemed by the official as unable to continue the fight, giving the TKO victory to “The Hedgehog”.

Mayhem Cage Fights promoter James Hines was pleased with the turnout as well as the effort of the fighters throughout the evening. “The response from the folks was very positive. We believe that we can build a solid sporting event in the area, even three times per year in Lenoir possibly,” Hines said. “People came from a 60 mile radius to Lenoir's event from places like Charlotte, Shelby, Galax, VA, Johnson City, TN, Asheville, NC, and all points in between to see the event.”

Mayhem Cage Fights already has a busy schedule of events in the coming months around the region. MMA will be in Mebane, NC on July 19th, Concord, NC on July 26th, Asheville Civic Center on August 16th, and Greenville, NC on October 4th. Mayhem hopes to return to Lenoir or possibly the High Country later this fall.

“We would love to present Mayhem in Avery County, at the High School or another location at some point in time,” Hines added. “The fighters were all looking forward to the next event, coming to the fight coordinator at the end of the evening saying “put me on the card for July 19th”. It's in their blood. Some were winners, some were losers, but all were ready to fight again.”