MMA 
PureCombat is offering eight fighters an opportunity to make a big splash in mixed martial arts.
An eight-man 155-pound tournament will kick off at PureCombat “Home Turf” on July 25 at the Visalia Convention Center .
The winner of the tournament will be crowned PureCombat’s lightweight champion.
And each of the fighters in the tournament are already looking forward to the prospect of being called a champ.“Being a champion has been my goal since I started this thing,” said Visalia fighter Darren Crisp. “This is my backyard and this is a big opportunity to showcase my skills Under PureCombat.”
Crisp will open the tournament with a bout against undefeated fighter Joe Morales of Exeter.
Morales is 5-0 and has used his very strong wrestling background to beat each of his opponents. Crisp provides a contrast in styles. He is 7-4 and better known for his striking abilities.
“I’ve been looking forward to this fight since I got the contract,” Crisp said. “I know he’s going to come out and do his thing, but I’ve been preparing myself for every aspect of MMA.”
Morales, who trains out of the Samurai Dojo in Exeter , will be joined by teammate Marc De La Cruz in the tournament. De La Cruz was originally scheduled to fight Jason Drake, but he was forced to pull out with a rib injury. Instead PureCombat officials are scrambling to find De La Cruz a worthy opponent.
“You always want to know who your opponent is going to be,” De La Cruz said. “You want to prepare for a certain person, but you want to make sure and train hard no matter who you fight. The best way to look at it is to prepare for the toughest guy possible.”
Several of the fighters in the tournament are already familiar with each other.
Crisp has a victory over De La Cruz at a PureCombat show on March 7. The experience De La Cruz gained should be able to help Morales with his game plan against Crisp.
Morales also has a win against another tournament contestant. Morales defeated Lemoore’s Joey Cabezas (3-1) in a very tightly contested bout that resulted in split decision.
Cabezas will take on Bakersfield ’s Doug Hunt (4-3) in a first-round tournament bout.
In the other quarterfinal bout, a pair of Bakersfield fighters will challenge each other. Justing Cummings (2-1) will be opposed by Josh McCartney (1-2).
Cummings has won two straight bouts after opening his professional MMA career with a loss, and is fighting under the PureCombat banner for the first time.
“This is my first fight for PureCombat,” Cummings said. “The guys in the tournament seem tough. I hear the guy I’m going against is tough, but I think I have a good shot at winning as long as I do what I need to do.”
Cummings is very aware of what three straight wins and being crowned the PureCombat lightweight champion can do for his career.
“To win this tournament would be the best thing to happen to me and help get my name out there,” Cummings said. “It would be awesome to say I was the PureCombat lightweight champion because they’re a great organization here in the Valley.”
Things could get very interesting as the tournament progresses. There is a possibility of training partners meeting up against each other in the semifinals or finals.
Morales and De La Cruz each train with the Samurai Dojo, and Hunt and McCartney each train with the Underground Fight Club.
So what’s going to happen if teammates get matched up?
“We talked about the possibility of that happening,” said Scott Harper who owns the Samurai Dojo. “If they both make the finals, then they’re going to go out there and have some fun. They’re going to go out and beat the hell out of each other and then go have a beer afterward.”
While it is a possibility that De La Cruz and Morales could face each other, they haven’t really looked that far ahead yet.
“I’ve ran that possibility through my head,” De La Cruz said. “But we haven’t really talked about it much. Hopefully we do have to fight each other, but we’ll worry about that when the time comes. It’s difficult to think about that.” Whatever happens in the tournament, PureCombat has set up some very intriguing matchups that should keep fans interested the outcome.
In other bouts at PureCombat “Home Turf,” Anthony Ruiz (21-13) will headline the card opposite of Gan McGee (13-4) in a heavyweight bout.
In the co-main events, “Dangerous” Steve Ramirez (6-5) will take on Darvin Wattree (2-2) in a welterweight bout, and Jesse Bowen (5-3) will face Phil Perez (7-4) in a 135-pound match.
Also, Zoila Frausto (2-0) will fight Leann Jenkins (0-0) in a 125-pound women’s bout.
Mike Martinez (7-5) takes on Ron Keslar (5-1).
Tim Denham (0-0) will fight Anthony Vibal (155).
And Ron Carter makes his pro debut against Mike Guidry who is also making his debut in a super heavyweight bout.
Tickets are still available at the
Visalia Convention Center Box Office or
at
www.purecombatmma.com
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and fights start at 7 p.m
