Lights Out at the Dome returns

A year ago, Havre and the surrounding area was treated to a different kind of sporting event, as mixed martial arts made it to the Hi-Line in the form of Lights Out at the Dome.

Now, local MMA fans can get their fix again because Saturday night the Havre Ice Dome will host Lights Out at the Dome II, which will be sponsored again by the Northern Alumni Foundation and by Fusion Fight League. The 10-bout event will get underway at 7 p.m.

In the first go around, Lights Out at the Dome featured former Havre wrestler Myles Mazurkiewicz and this time around, the main event will also include a fighter with ties to the Havre wrestling community, as Hunter Azure, a former wrestler for Poplar and Montana State University-Northern, will take on Jay “Stickman” Sandvig (5-4) in the only professional bout of the night. Azure, who was a four-time state champion at the Class B-C level, comes in with a 1-0 record. Each fighter weighs in at 145 pounds.

The first match of the night will see a couple of 155-pounders go at it, as Darren Keith (3-5), who scored an upset victory at last year’s event, will take on Glen Cislo (2-3). That bout will be followed by Dallin Young (1-0) taking on Codie Nalder (1-5), in a contest of 135-pounders.

The third match on the undercard will include two 160-pound fighters as Braeden Tovey (1-0) will face off against Connor Rideout (0-2). That will be followed by a fight in the 185-pound weight class, as Caleb Mertz and Hunter Pasternack, both 0-1, will look for their first MMA victory.

One of the more experienced fighters on the card will be seen during the fifth bout, as Xander Beston, who has 15 matches under his belt with a 7-8 overall record, will take on Erik Sturchio (5-3). Beston and Sturchio will both be fighting at a 155 pounds.

Next up will be James Dennis (3-3) who will square off against Michael Adams, who has a career record of 0-1. Both participants will be between 170 and 185 pounds at fight time.

Beyond that, there are three other matches that will take place before the main event, and the sixth bout will pit Lauren Beshears (0-1) against Zaneta Sutherland, a 140-pound fighter making his MMA debut. At 125 pounds, Timmy Garcia will take on Chris Wagner. Garcia has a 2-0 record. Wagner will enter 1-0.

And in the final match before the main event, two more 140-pounders will battle each other, as Andrew Long, who has a career record of 4-2, will face off against Cody Bautista, who is 2-2.

Of course, the main attraction will be Azure and Sandvig. Following an impressive career on the mat for the Lights, Azure has been trying to work his way up in the world of MMA and fought his first professional match back in April, defeating David Maggio in 2:17 via a TKO. That match was part of FitCon 3. Sandvig, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since January, when he lost a decision to Paul Hunhoff in Billings. Prior to that, Sandvig hadn’t competed in an MMA match since 2015. His last professional victory came in 2014. He has dropped his last three matches.

The main event will be preceded by nine undercard bouts. The action will begin at 7 p.m., inside the Havre Ice Dome. The doors will open at 6 p.m.