XKO 7- A Fighter’s Perspective
by Steven Peterson, 145lb. Fight to Win champion
XKO 7 was by far their best show yet. They started the off with an awesome block party and a live band, which followed with a bikini contest, and an all around night of great fights. The Gym was packed to full capacity, with people wall to wall. Every seat in the venue provided a great vantage point to the action taking place at the Gym. Overall the show was extremely well put- together, a lot of fun to attend, and well worth the money.
One fight that especially stood out in my head was between Seth Feist and Alex Russ in the bantamweight division. In his pro debut Alex Russ came out extremely pumped and ready to battle. He brought his best game forward and destroyed his opponent getting a TKO early in the first round. Even after the fight he stayed as intense as if he hadn’t even fought yet. Alex Russ is definitely one to keep an eye out on in his future fights.
The fight following was between Roy Spoon and Jamie Steichen at 160 pounds. Jamie seemed to be dominating this fight with his takedowns and control on the ground. Midway through the second round Roy had Jamie stuck in his guard and Jamie was unable to pass. Roy began working punches and elbows from his back. At this point Jamie continued to try to maintain his position, but repeated blows to the head eventually took a toll on him, and he fell over incapacitated as the round came to an end. If Roy is able to continue striking this effectively from his back this will cause future opponents will fear Roy’s guard.
Another extremely entertaining fight featured Chris Marquez and Quaint Kempf in the featherweight division. To the uneducated eye, this fight seemed like it would have been a mismatch. Quaint seemed much larger and stronger than Chris, and almost everybody in The Gym was cheering for him. Quaint dominated with takedowns and ground and pound, and Chris seemed to be overpowered. Chris continued to work his submission game and almost finished a few times. Early in the Third round Chris landed a sick head kick that that very well could have ended the fight but Quaint kept his composure, and got the takedown, he continued dominating with his ground and pound until the clock expired. Quaint Kempf won the fight by unanimous decision.
These fighters train extremely hard and deserve much recognition. The promoters work hard to put on awesome shows so that these fighters get the recognition they deserve. XKO takes care of their fighters, resulting in the fact that their next show always outdoes the last. I would definitely recommend attending their next show if you are looking to have a good time and watch some amazing fights.