Billy Vaughan will return to the cage on Sept 19 for the NAAFS at the LC Pavilion. This will be Vaughan's first fight at the 135lb weight division and he will have his work cut out for him. His opponent will be tough Central Ohio fighter, Matt McCabe. This fight will be the first of a potential multi-fight deal between Vaughan and the NAAFS. Billy's last fight on April 3rd was a bitter loss to journeyman Dan Swift. In that bout, 'The Goat' dominated the first round, nearly ending the fight twice by stoppage, only to get caught in a tight choke early in the 2nd round. Matt McCabe, like Vaughan, is another young, hungry fighter who has all the tools to win the fight and make a run for the title in the NAAFS 135lb division.

 

The BuckeyeMMA staff wants to make your introduction to Mixed Martial Arts easier. Although the training sessions are often brutally hard, joining the gym shouldn't be.

 

In order to better suit our fighters and potential students, we'll create polls that ask for your feedback. The results of these polls will then be used to improve different aspects of our facility, our coaching methods, scheduling, etc.

 

So please, take the extra 10 seconds to fill out the poll on the left of the page. We want to produce the best competitors possible and YOUR INPUT can help us to streamline the whole process!

 

 

        

 

 

Eli 'Big Truck' Ayars will headline First Strike Combat at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion on Friday, August 28.

The Big Truck makes his return after taking nearly a year out of the cage and looks to put on an explosive performance!

 

Also fighting are BuckeyeMMA amateurs Matt Bruskotter, who looks to improve his undefeated record to 3-0. Matt Lanning returns after several previous fights have fallen through. Jon Washington hopes to bounce back from a controversial split decision loss only 1 month ago. Josh Miller is back as well and wants to show his fans an aggressive stand-up attack that he hasn't been able to showcase in the past. Last but not least, Chico Bays makes his amateur debut in front of his home town crowd.

 

 

 

 

 

Rodney Carter dropped a decision to Indiana fighter Byron Sutton last Friday at ICFA: Round 1. The loss is Carter's first after putting together a 3-fight win streak that included 1st round stoppages over Eric Slocum, Mark Enix, and Gary Young.

 

Carter, who agreed to fight at a weight class above his usual 170lbs, clearly gave up size to the larger Sutton. He survived an early onslaught of big throws and heavy punches, making it into the second round. Round 2 saw more of the same although Sutton was clearly fading as the fight went on. Unfortunately for Carter, the fantic pace and size difference wore on him as well. Carter rallied at the close of the Rd 2, scoring a takedown before moving into full mount. 

 

Rodney controlled all of round 3 after he completed an early takedown. Despite holding full mount and back mount for nearly 5 straight minutes, Carter didn't have the energy to finish. The judges scored the fight 2 rounds to 1 for Sutton.

 

 

Billy Vaughan and Joe Enright were supposed to headline the show but were left without fights when their out-of-state opponents showed up without the proper state-required medical documents.  The Ohio Athletic Commission requires all professional fighters to provide bloodwork that proves that they are negative for Hepatitis B, C, and HIV. 

 

Billy and Joe pleaded with OAC inspectors to allow the fight to continue with their informed consent, but the decision was made to cancel the main and co-main events. Vaughan and Enright addressed the crowd and made it clear that they did everything in their power to make the fight happen. Billy and Joe will look to return to the cage in late August or early September.