What can be said about the Valhalla shows that hasn’t been said before?  There are larger and flashier shows that have come through the area but none have been able to replicate the consistency of the Valhalla series.  There isn’t much glitz and glamour or celebrity appearances (though Bautista of WWE fame attended while in town training at Evolution MMA), but if you want to see some of the top fighters in the DC area, the Valhalla series delivers every time.

DCMMA was on hand for the 6th incarnation of Valhalla on Saturday, May 10th and like the previous 5, Valhalla came through with a competitive and exciting card featuring some of the top talent in the area.

The show started a little slow with a couple quick fights but quickly picked up culminating with 3 incredible fights to end the evening.  

The only problem with the event was a lack of communication with the crowd during the fights.  On a few occasions a fight was stood up or paused do to an illegal blow or cut however the crowd was not informed what was happening so many thought the fight was ended.  I don’t know the emcee personally, but I am pretty sure he knows more words then “Give it up for..”, “In the red corner”, “In the blue corner” and “T-shirts and DVDs are available in the back”.  Put the man to work.  Let me know what’s going on..

A couple quick thoughts on the fights.  While it wasn’t the most technical fight Johnathan Evens of Gladiators of Destruction and Shawn Daughenbaugh of Steve Blackman’s Fighting System may have put on the best show of the night.  Evens ended up winning by ref stoppage in the 3rd but both fighters showed a ton of heart and despite Daughenbaugh’s face showing the results of a few vicious shots. Neither fighter slowed down the entire fight and the crowd was definitely upset when the fight was stopped due to the accumulating damage Daughenbaugh was taking.  

The fight of the night though was Joey Ponce of Hybrid Academy and Sam Yousefi of Evolution MMA.  Ponce won the fight by Unanimous Decision however the fight was incredibly even matched.  While a lot of fights substitute excitement for skill, both fighters showed that drama in MMA can come from more then standing and trading looping punches.  In the end, the difference may have been Yousefi slipping toward the end of the 3rd round allowing Ponce to secure dominant position which he rode out till the end of the round.  All around it was a great fight with both fighters exhibiting crisp striking and a willingness to exchange.

Lastly, it should be noted that Taylor Dixon of Capital Jiu-Jitsu seems to have attained Chuck Norris and Bill Brasky status.  Dixon, who won the GCA East Coast Welterweight Championship with a 1st Round Submission in the Main Event, came out to deafening cheers which continued through out his demolition of Adam Terry of Bushido MMA.  Its amazing to see such an enthusiastic reaction to a local fighter and a pity that his nearly equally popular teammate Iman Achhal was unable to receive the same treatment as her scheduled opponent didn’t make the trip (her opponents seem to do this a lot).

Results:
Brian Grimes (Team United Karate) Def Michael Kirkham – Round 1 – TKO
Curtis Low (Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts)  Def Eric Bailey (Evolution MMA) – Round 2 – RNC
Nick Gentile (Steve Blackman’s Fighting System) Def Kendall Herring (MMA Insitute) Unanimous Decision
Tony Sirna (Kore Kombat/MMA Institute) Def Dave Castleman (Evolution MMA) –Round 1 – TKO
Zack Dunn (Gustavo Machado Jiu-Jitsu) Def Randal Gordan (Milton Fighting Academy) – Round 1 – RNC
Boris Rakita (Steve Blackman’s Fighting System) Def Joseph Selvig (USMC) – Round 2 – KO
Shelly Carson (The Cave) Def Paige Sweet (MMA Institute)  - Didn’t Answer Bell After Round 1
Joey Ponce (Hybrid Academy) Def Sam Yousefi (Evolution MMA) – Unanimous Decision
Johnathan Evans (Gladiators of Destruction) Def Shawn Daughenbaugh (Steve Blackman’s Fighting System) – 3rd Round – Ref Stoppage
Buddy Barre (DCA) Def Carl Cline (Kore Kombat/MMA Institute) – Round 2 – Illegal upkick forced fight to go to cards in Round 2 – Unanimous Decision
Taylor Dixon (Capital Jiu-Jitsu) Def Adam Terry (Bushido MMA) – Round 1 - Submission

*** Correction*** Dave Bautista was actually in town to train with Evolution MMA.