The main event will see 559 Fights Welterweight champion (3-1) Roman Guillen out of Madera defend his title for the first time versus number one contender (3-1) Jared "Man Bun" Sutherland. The co main event has two of Fresno's mixing it up as (3-2-0-1) Gino Gonzales out of Dethrone MMA takes on (1-0) Tracey Hunter out of Headhunter and New Wave MMA.
In one of the feature fights of the night, 559 Fights welcomes back Tulare's JJ Madrid as he takes on Fresno's Joshua "The Come Up Kid" Simpson in the bantamweight division.
Madrid was around for the early days of amateur MMA, even before there were 559 Fights. Madrid competed in the 2nd event 559 Fights hosted back in 2012 at the Hanford Fairgrounds where he picked up his first win. Madrid went on to go 3-3 with the promotion, last competing at 559 Fights 41 in late 2015. It has been over seven years since JJ Madrid has stepped into the cage to compete. I caught up with JJ prior to his return at 559 Fights 98 Saturday night in Visalia.
Madrid was born and raised in Tulare, Ca I started by asking how life has been treating him? He replied,
"I’ve been pretty good. Life has its ups and downs but I’m above ground so I’m happy."
I asked JJ where he has been, since we hadn't seen him compete for a while now. He let us know that just because he hasn't competed, didn't mean he wasn't perfecting his craft.
"I wasn’t fighting but I’ve always been behind the scenes, helping fighters get ready for fights. Studying and improving on my own skills."
said Madrid. I asked him since he's been away, has the game changed in his opinion? Madrid answered,
"Like I said, I never really left. The game hasn’t changed just the people for the most part. Anyone worthwhile is still coaching, fighting, or reporting these days."
Madrid has trained with some familiar names in the Central Valley. Some still remember his Kings Knights days in Tulare where he represented the team well. Madrid now trains with Darren "DC" Crisp's Crisp Kickboxing & Muay Thai in Visalia. I asked him to talk us through his journey that landed him with "DC"? Madrid replied,
"I started out at School of Martial Arts, then merged with Kings Knights, I bounced around a few places for a while and ended up with Marty at Outlaw MMA, since Outlaw closed up I made the transition to DC and haven’t looked back since. I’ve seen the best the valley has to offer and DC is that man."
Madrid takes on someone I consider in the "new era" of 559 Fights competitors. The game has definitely changed when it comes to the youngsters starting at an early age and maturing earlier in the sport. Fresno's Joshua "The Come Up Kid" Simpson is one of those guys. Despite falling short back to back, Simpson is looking to get back on track. "The Come Up Kid" recently sat down with our own MLH and let the fans know that he has done nothing but learn from his mistakes, and looks to show the work he has put in to correct them.
(check out the full MLH Interview with Joshua Simpson here www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIlvmkTh0nM)
I asked Madrid what he knew about his opponent? he responded with,
"I know enough about my upcoming opponent. Only thing I have to say is that he’s 3-2 not 3-3."
I asked JJ what he was referring to when talking about Simpson's amateur MMA record being 3-3 and not 3-2 in his opinion? He responded,
"Simpson got kicked in the face as a grounded opponent at 559 Fights 93"
Madrid was speaking about the fight between 90 Finance star Biniyam Shibre and Joshua Simpson that ended with a bit of controversy. Many believe Simpson's hand was on the ground when the head kick landed that ended that fight. So in Madrid's opinion it didn't count.
I asked Madrid if there was anyone he wanted to shout out, or thank? I also asked him what we can expect when he returns to the cage? He finished with,
"I just wanna thank the real people who supported me unconditionally. You can expect some premium high octane violence. Don’t blink. If this kid is with it, then someone’s going night night because I ain’t a pushover."
559 Fights 98 Card:
559 Fights Welterweight Championship (3-1) Roman Guillen vs (3-1) Jared Sutherland
(3-2) Gino Gonzales vs (1-0) Tarcey Hunter
(1-0) Abraham Del Toro vs (1-1) Salfulla Dashlakaev
(3-3) Joshua Simpson vs (3-5) JJ Madrid
(1-1) Paul Furr vs (1-0) Richard Holguin
(1-0) Gabriel Reyes vs (1-0) Jose Riojas
(2-0) Raul Valdovinos vs (1-0) Ashton Stanley
(0-0) Marcus Ramirez vs (0-0) Isaiah Morales
(1-1) Richard Sandoval vs (0-1) Samuel Mora
(0-0) Ronnie Reyes vs (0-0) Hector Barbosa
(0-0) Angel Figueroa vs (0-0) David Gadzhlev
(0-0) Jonathan Diaz vs (0-0) Thomas Luna-Cortes
(0-1) Aaron Gonzalez vs (0-1) Matthew Hernandez
visit 559 Fights at www.559fights.com on Facebook@ www.facebook.com/559Fights and On IG@ www.instagram.com/559fights
Check back with www.valleyfightnews.com for the latest valley fight news and more!
Also add us on social media on IG at www.instagram.com/_valleyfightnews.com_ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/valleyfightnews
Check back with www.valleyfightnews.com for all your latest news and coverage
Also add Valley Fight News.com on social media on IG at www.instagram.com/_valleyfightnews.com_ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/valleyfightnews
By: Daniel "Trip" Quintana www.noweakshitever.com
No comments:
Post a Comment