Lights Out at the Dome Packs a Punch

Mixed Martial Arts is something that is new to the Havre sport's scene, but after the spectacle Saturday night inside the Havre Ice Dome, it might quickly become more popular.

Lights Out at the Dome, as it was billed by 221 Industries and Fusion Fight League, certainly didn't disappoint, as the fans who packed the Havre Ice Dome, saw seven fights, including a number of local participants in action.

The main attraction was the last bout of the night, featuring Havre's own Myles Mazurkiewicz, a former state champion wrestler for the Blue Ponies, taking on Gage Saunders of Great Falls.

From the opening bell, it was clear to see that Mazurkiewicz, who was going up in weight class, was going to have difficulties with Saunders, who used his size and length to his advantage. After the two exchanged blows early, Saunders had the former UGF All-American pinned down and was landing punch after punch, before Mazurkiewicz was saved by the bell.

But in the second round, Mazurkiewicz would find no such luck. Saunders took a few shots early in the round, especially a blow to the face that knocked him backward. However, he recovered quickly and eventually forced Mazurkiewicz to submit.

"I try not to dwell too much on my losses," Mazurkiewicz said. "I try to be humble in defeat and humble in victory. He's a tough guy, and I didn't perform as well as I was expecting. But it's not the end of the road for me, I think I need to go back and not break some rules that you shouldn't break if you want to be a competitive fighter. I pushed the line going up in weight class and those are the kinds of things I need to evaluate and not do."

Yet, even though Mazurkiewicz didn't deliver the victory he was hoping to provide, he was still proud of the show put on and excited by all those who came out.

"I thought it was great, the atmosphere in Havre really is second to none" Mazurkiewicz said. "It was fun to fight in front of the hometown fans. They really come out and support people in Havre and that was really great to see."

The other big match Saturday was the co-Main Event, which featured Marshall Sutherland of Great Falls defending his 170-pound amateur MMA title against Shane Fichter of Billings. The bout was scheduled to go five rounds, but after a back-and-forth battle, Fichter won via submission in the fourth, causing the title to change hands.

Another match that featured a pair of soon-to-be professionals duking it out, was Brock Picard from Great falls taking on Harry Threestars of Poplar. The two ended up fighting to a stalemate at 185 pounds and when it was all said and done, Picard got the win thanks to a decision.

"There were some really good fighters there," Mazurkiewicz said. "They had some really quality guys and that was exciting to see."

While the first fight of the night featured a local amatuer, it turned out to be one the most exciting matches and yielded one of the most unlikely results. Darren Keith, who was making his MMA debut, pulled off an upset, defeating Glen Cislo of Great Falls in the second round. Keith forced Cislo, who had a 1-2 record coming in, to submit.

However, Keith wasn't the only local fighter to find glory Saturday night, as Ray Morkeberg, who had a 1-2 record entering the night, knocked off Josh Schreiner in a knock-down, drag-out affair.

The two fighters waged an intense battle, causing each other to bleed after trading numerous blows to the face and body in the opening round. But in the third, just as a decision seemed near, Morkeberg got Schreiner to tap out, giving him the win.

The other two bouts were won by Eric Sturchio, who got the win after forcing his opponent, Alex Anderson, to submit in round one, while Richard Kohlman also earned a victory after the referee stopped his fight with Cody Bautista in the first round.