If you are a member of the Fight Talk E-newsletter, then you've already seen clips of the action you might have missed at Rumble 49. The return of Shaun Mierjavadi to the cage was disappointing for his fans who had hoped to see Will Walden ‘put to the test' as more than a powerful striker. But though we know Willie has more than just heavy fists, Shaun never got the chance to muscle his opponent to the floor and show us some real heavyweight ground game. Will Walden ‘strikes' again; one hit, and Mierjavadi's wrestling was neutralized in 1:38, Round 1.

But the last fight of the evening is never the only best-thing at the Rumble. Right off the beginning, in bout #2, Shawn Smith rewarded his enthusiastic fans from St. Helens with a great rear-naked choke on his quick thinking opponent, Nathan Gunderson. Bout #5's Welterweight Championship drew a tight contest between Justin Ellis and Ryan Walker. Walker was a controlled opponent throwing good, driving combos in rapid succession, straight at Ellis. But Ellis repeatedly drove back with wide, wind milling swings that found their targets, breaking Walker's rhythm time and again. Ellis lost the split decision, but his stellar effort showed off his talent against an opponent accustomed to training with some of the best in the business. If you had not been engrossed in the fight you'd have seen Matt Lindland slide in through the fighter tunnel and put heads together with Team Quest's striking coach, Middleweight Boxing great, Clayton Hires, while they watched their fighter, Walker. Ellis didn't lose to just any fighter, he held his own with one of Team Quests up and comers. And in the Pacific Northwest, that means something.

Daniel Stewart, past FCFF Heavyweight Champion, followed in Lindland's wake wearing Team Quest gear. Flanked by Team Quest team member Josh Bennett, it is easy to infer that Stewart is finally getting the training and connections that can take his extraordinary talent to the next level. With Will Walden stepping up his game, and with Fabiano Scherer's Black Belt in Jiu Jitsu, the Pro-Am contingent at Team Quest is starting to display a fine heavyweight division. It was an interesting moment, too, when FCFF Alumni Nick Braker (West Coast) shook hands in a greeting with FCFF Alumni Josh Bennett. Their last FCFF appearance was a few years ago in The Slammer during a grueling battle that still can make some cringe in the re-telling. Both went Pro right after, and both have had career successes to make the FCFF proud. Bennett often corners Team Quest fighters in The Slammer, and Braker's West Coast team member Chris Calabrese tapped out Jorge Sandoval of Nicaragua in bout #7. Word is we'll see Nick Braker in the up coming Sportfight. Josh has been a staple in Sportfight, Strikeforce, and others- even making the top 25 cut for an Ultimate Fighter season (along with FCFF alumni DJ Linderman) but it's been a long time since we've been able to see Nick fight this close to home.

Alive MMA and Dog Pound have been making their names known recently, both fielding an aggressive challenge to the FCFF status quo. Jason Sharp's Alive MMA teammate David Lloyd didn't top Sharp's smooth, take-charge showing in his final amateur fight, at Rumble 48, however. Lloyd's match with Larry Munyon, Impact JJ, looked like it was grueling and that's how it felt to watch. Both fighters were locked in a death-grip almost the whole fight, pummeling each other and breaking apart only to get locked again. Munyon took the unanimous decision; probably for ‘relentless control'.

And Dog Pound's Denny Linton successfully defended his belt against Daniel Hickey (of Trunk Monkey fame). In a first round, raining down of fast blows, Linton had Hickey returning with mad scrambles, clever escapes and re-engagements that kept the pace in high gear. And, certainly, the crowd expected a heated battle but not the surprise of a ref stoppage at 2:25 in Round 1. It takes a lot to put the Trunk Monkey in the trunk, but Linton packed his luggage, put it in the boot, and then slammed the lid, too.

Other great fights were Chris Beacock from Armstrong and John Alden of TSN. Eric Wander's guys are intense and focused, and it showed in TSN's acquisition of the Featherweight belt. Alden kept his head, and his strategy, inside some tough tangles and clinches, ending Beacock with a Choke Out at 2:25 in Round 2.

Some real dust-ups rippled through arena, first when Adam Rhew lost a split decision to Jesse Peacock. A pacing Krista Schaeffer shouted penetrating instructions at Rhew from the Touch M Up crew pit in the fight tunnel, her signature mop rag trailing from her back pocket with her agitation. After the decision went against her fighter, she shrugged and smiled stoically, even when the crowd agreed with her enthusiasm for her fighter and booed the split decision against Rhew. It was a great fight.

A more serious moment ratcheted up when Dylan Maia (any relation to Demian?) came into the cage with much fanfare, only to get caught with a KO in 18 seconds by Hamza Salim of Battleground. Maia looked limp as he went down, and Kelly Whitlock called the fight. To Maia's credit, he was up almost instantly, but the ref had not allowed Salim to go after Maia on the way down. Contrary to the skill and enthusiasm we see in The Slammer every fight card, this is not the UFC; ref rules are very stringent. If Whitlock hadn't stepped in to block the follow-up blows who knows if Maia would've got up, maybe risking a medical hold on his next fight? But his corner was so mad that you could see Cage Master Mike go tense and move-in, then Dave Hagen subtly flagged Maia's man at the base of the cage steps. Finally the big guy on tunnel security stepped forward to make sure heads cooled down. Maia, himself, came back up later to watch the rest of the fights, pressing ice to the ugly knot under his left eye. He looked like he enjoyed the rest of the fights.

But the fight of the night still has to be the last one, between Walden and Mierjavadi. Matt Lindland came back up and came into the cage as Will's corner, and word has it that we'll see Will Walden at Sportfight. You never know where the next Rumble will take a fighter's career.

Featured Video

Caged on the Coast 3
McLeod vs. Whitmire