Trials Of A Gladiator XII
_Trials of a Gladiator XII – November 12th 2011
BY~Alaynna Roby
BY~Alaynna Roby
Last night at the Moline Community Center in Moline, IL, Chris Maltsburger put on the 12th Trials of
a Gladiator. Overall, it was an exciting event and pretty good turnout. The night consisted of 7 fights and
none of them went the distance.
First fight of the night was Marshall Torsch vs. Cameron Reyman. Torsch stood 6’3” and weighed
in at 170 lbs., while Reyman was an inch taller. Torsch made his debut and really put on a show. First
round, Torsch came out aggressive and clipped Reyman early in the round causing a bloody nose. Reyman
had some good shots as well, but didn’t do much damage. Second round, Torsch came out with some hard
kicks. The fight was taken to the ground and there was good wrestling technique. Half-way through the
round, Torsch KO’d Reyman with a solid shot, making it his first MMA victory. Torsch won the KO of the
night award.
Second fight of the night was between Kevin Burke and Tory Mills. Going into the fight, both
fighters weighed in at 125 lbs. In the first round, Mills started off with some wild punches. Burke seemed
to have good ground and pound when he took Mills to the ground. Burke won the fight via stoppage due
to strikes.
Third fight was Chris Collins vs. Dillion Woods at the 135 division. Woods seemed to be the fan
favourite because of how amped up he was. First round, Woods immediately came out aggressive with a
flying kick, but Collins dodged it. Woods showed his quickness with stand up, and seemed to be too fast to
control. The fight was taken to the ground and Collins got caught in a rear naked choke, forcing him to tap.
The whole fight lasted 59 seconds, and Woods was given the Submission of the night award.
The fourth fight of the night was Jamie Westfall vs. John Soliz. Westfall weighed in at 190 lbs. and
had a record of 13 wins and 8 losses. Soliz, who trains at the Mileticch camp, was 5 lbs. heavier and stood
6’1” with a perfect record of 4-0. First round, Soliz threw some hard body shots to Westfall and gained
control of the fight. The fight was ended when Westfall tapped.
The fifth fight was between Sean Johnson and Mike Duckett. Johnson stood 5’8” and was 155 lbs.
Duckett weighed in 10 lbs. heavier and had a record of 1-0. The first round began, and Duckett threw some
wild, but hard, face and body shots to Johnson and seemed to hurt him early. There was some cage
clinching, which eventually brought the fight to the ground. Duckett was declared the victor after he was in
full mount over Johnson and wailed on him until the ref interfered.
The co-main event of the evening was Ryan Gustavis vs. Travis Childs. Gustavis stood 6’3”, 255 lbs.
Childs on the other hand, stood 5’9” and weighed 225 lbs. As round 1 began, Gustavis was throwing solid
shots and connecting. Childs worked a lot of his wrestling, and the fight went back and forth with who
controlled who. Gustavis showed how far he’s progressed with excellent ground game; being completely
relaxed when Childs was trying to work some moves on him. Round 2 started and half of the time it was
clinching. Childs seemed tired and was probably breaking ribs with his hard shots. He seemed more
aggressive with his wrestling and showed some awesome GNP. As round 2 ended, Childs went to his corner
and was totally gassed when he fell to the mat, declining to go another round.
The main event was for the 125 lb. amateur title between Kody Burke, (Kevin’s twin brother), and
Eric Ford, the champ. It was a highly anticipated fight with the whole crowd standing. In the first round,
Burke takes it to the ground early, but Ford reversed it and dominated the rest of the round. Ford and
Burke were rolling around scrapping, and Ford was using his GNP game. When the round ended, Burke was
worn out and spinning, looking as if he was KO’d. His corner had to hold him up, causing controversy with
the crowd. The second round was practically the same, with Ford having control of the fight and full mount
the whole time. Again, after the round ended, Burke looked as if he couldn’t stand on his own again. The
crowd was getting more rowdy at that point. Round 3 began and there was more stand up game than
there were in the first 2 rounds. When taken to the ground, Burke seemed more aggressive, and he and
Ford were doing a lot of reversals. At one point, Ford got up, allowing Burke to stand toe to toe with him.
Burke lied on his back, forcing the ref to help pull him up. Again, the fight was brought to the ground when
Ford got the opportunity to put Burke in a submission and made him tap. Burke denied tapping, when he
clearly did tap. This had the crowd going nuts and some fights almost broke out. When it came time for the
decision, Burke again, lied on the mat in front of the cage door, refusing to stand. Ford remained the
champion and he won the Fight of the night award.
a Gladiator. Overall, it was an exciting event and pretty good turnout. The night consisted of 7 fights and
none of them went the distance.
First fight of the night was Marshall Torsch vs. Cameron Reyman. Torsch stood 6’3” and weighed
in at 170 lbs., while Reyman was an inch taller. Torsch made his debut and really put on a show. First
round, Torsch came out aggressive and clipped Reyman early in the round causing a bloody nose. Reyman
had some good shots as well, but didn’t do much damage. Second round, Torsch came out with some hard
kicks. The fight was taken to the ground and there was good wrestling technique. Half-way through the
round, Torsch KO’d Reyman with a solid shot, making it his first MMA victory. Torsch won the KO of the
night award.
Second fight of the night was between Kevin Burke and Tory Mills. Going into the fight, both
fighters weighed in at 125 lbs. In the first round, Mills started off with some wild punches. Burke seemed
to have good ground and pound when he took Mills to the ground. Burke won the fight via stoppage due
to strikes.
Third fight was Chris Collins vs. Dillion Woods at the 135 division. Woods seemed to be the fan
favourite because of how amped up he was. First round, Woods immediately came out aggressive with a
flying kick, but Collins dodged it. Woods showed his quickness with stand up, and seemed to be too fast to
control. The fight was taken to the ground and Collins got caught in a rear naked choke, forcing him to tap.
The whole fight lasted 59 seconds, and Woods was given the Submission of the night award.
The fourth fight of the night was Jamie Westfall vs. John Soliz. Westfall weighed in at 190 lbs. and
had a record of 13 wins and 8 losses. Soliz, who trains at the Mileticch camp, was 5 lbs. heavier and stood
6’1” with a perfect record of 4-0. First round, Soliz threw some hard body shots to Westfall and gained
control of the fight. The fight was ended when Westfall tapped.
The fifth fight was between Sean Johnson and Mike Duckett. Johnson stood 5’8” and was 155 lbs.
Duckett weighed in 10 lbs. heavier and had a record of 1-0. The first round began, and Duckett threw some
wild, but hard, face and body shots to Johnson and seemed to hurt him early. There was some cage
clinching, which eventually brought the fight to the ground. Duckett was declared the victor after he was in
full mount over Johnson and wailed on him until the ref interfered.
The co-main event of the evening was Ryan Gustavis vs. Travis Childs. Gustavis stood 6’3”, 255 lbs.
Childs on the other hand, stood 5’9” and weighed 225 lbs. As round 1 began, Gustavis was throwing solid
shots and connecting. Childs worked a lot of his wrestling, and the fight went back and forth with who
controlled who. Gustavis showed how far he’s progressed with excellent ground game; being completely
relaxed when Childs was trying to work some moves on him. Round 2 started and half of the time it was
clinching. Childs seemed tired and was probably breaking ribs with his hard shots. He seemed more
aggressive with his wrestling and showed some awesome GNP. As round 2 ended, Childs went to his corner
and was totally gassed when he fell to the mat, declining to go another round.
The main event was for the 125 lb. amateur title between Kody Burke, (Kevin’s twin brother), and
Eric Ford, the champ. It was a highly anticipated fight with the whole crowd standing. In the first round,
Burke takes it to the ground early, but Ford reversed it and dominated the rest of the round. Ford and
Burke were rolling around scrapping, and Ford was using his GNP game. When the round ended, Burke was
worn out and spinning, looking as if he was KO’d. His corner had to hold him up, causing controversy with
the crowd. The second round was practically the same, with Ford having control of the fight and full mount
the whole time. Again, after the round ended, Burke looked as if he couldn’t stand on his own again. The
crowd was getting more rowdy at that point. Round 3 began and there was more stand up game than
there were in the first 2 rounds. When taken to the ground, Burke seemed more aggressive, and he and
Ford were doing a lot of reversals. At one point, Ford got up, allowing Burke to stand toe to toe with him.
Burke lied on his back, forcing the ref to help pull him up. Again, the fight was brought to the ground when
Ford got the opportunity to put Burke in a submission and made him tap. Burke denied tapping, when he
clearly did tap. This had the crowd going nuts and some fights almost broke out. When it came time for the
decision, Burke again, lied on the mat in front of the cage door, refusing to stand. Ford remained the
champion and he won the Fight of the night award.