Tachi Palace Fights 15 Live at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore California.

Full Card:

• Angel DeAnda def. Anthony Ruiz via TKO (Punches) – Round 3, 3:39
• Rolando Velasco def. Carson Beebe via Unanimous Decision
• Anthony Avila def. Darren Crisp Jr via Guillotine Choke – Round 1,
• Poppies Martinez def. Fernando Bernstein via Unanimous Decision
• Andre Fili def. Enoch Wilson via Unanimous Decision
• Art Arciniega def. Alexander Crispim via Unanimous Decision
• Freddie Aquitana def. Javy Ayala via Split Decision
• Alex Perez def. Carlos DeSoto via TKO (Punches) – Round 1, 1:52
• Dominic Clark def. Andy Miranda via TKO (Punches) – Round 1, 1:50

Dan Gilbert, Chase Beebe, Clay Guida

It’s 5:45 on a cold January night and the parking lot at Gilbert Grappling is desolate and poorly lit. The highway next door hums with life and pollution, but the gym itself is dark, and the winter weather almost appears to creep into the building’s aluminum siding.

The industrial park the gym is in can seem eerie on a night like tonight, but luckily, a pair of headlights cuts the darkness and soon the doors of the gym are unlocked and the lights are flipped on.

The place is well worn on the inside, and its decorations are sparse and consist mostly of gloves, kettlebells and a tattered tractor tire. Its most obvious traits are the stark red and black mats that seem to cover every surface and the large MMA cage that squats in a corner.

The air has a sweaty tang that wouldn’t be out of place in a hockey equipment bag or on a pair of football shoulder pads. It’s not overwhelming in an unpleasant way, but instead gives off the sense of hard work.

The space isn’t big, but in the span of fifteen minutes the gym is already active with fighters and students. Guys run around the mats and stretch, while others lace up wrestling shoes. A small table by the cage acts as a communal locker, holding earrings, water bottles and tape.

Combinations start to sing and fighters begin to smack pads and gloves as coaches and trainers begin to instruct.

The gym might not look like much, but professional fighter Adam Ward credits it for changing his life. “I came here five years ago with no MMA experience, and now I’ve gone places and done things I’d never have done,” said Ward.

“It’s the best in the Midwest, hands down.”

Gilbert Grappling (G2) is the product of two brothers, Dan and Joey Gilbert, and is considered by some to be one of the best MMA training grounds in Illinois.

“They have the best wrestling and best sparring,” says Jake Murphy as he rewraps a hand. “They have a lot of really high-level guys here. Lots of tough kids.”

The gym has a reputation for elite level wrestling, and fighters flock to the gym to be trained under the tutelage of both the Gilbert brothers.

“Our reputation is our wrestling. People might come here because their biggest weakness might be getting laid on by a wrestler. So we’ve been getting a lot more guys that have a stand-up background,” says Dan Gilbert.

G2 is also known for their intense practices. A monitor in the gym is setup to countdown a round, and the clock continuously loops in five minutes intervals. A buzzer will sound at the one minute mark to let fighters know they only have a minute left to work their asses off, and even with the loud music banging off the walls, everyone hears that buzzer. After one five minute loop guys are catching their breath, after two or three everyone is drenched in sweat.

“We’re from the Southside so it’s kind of the working class kind of thing: anything you want you have to earn,” says Dan. “So we expect people to put the hard work in. We train hard. We probably train harder than a lot of other gyms. We train hard to be tougher than the other guy.”

Before the gym opened Dan and Joey were both championship wrestlers, and their respective careers include accolades and honors like: All-American, state champion and the Greco-Roman National Champion. But wrestling can only take athletes so far, and both brothers soon found a passion for a young and upcoming sport.

“We’ve always been around wrestling or coaching wrestling,” says Gilbert. “It was kind of a natural progression (into MMA).”

The brothers both immersed themselves in MMA, but they found difficulties in finding places that would train them, and they found hurdles and prejudices because they were wrestlers.

“The Brazilians didn’t really want to share their secrets. If you weren’t a jiu-jitsu guy then they didn’t want to train you,” said Dan.

So the Gilberts found themselves training and teaching in a shuffling deck of locations. It was a difficult time and they both became frustrated that they couldn’t find a consistent place to train and teach. MMA wasn’t nearly the sport it is now, and the brother’s were having a tough time finding gyms and businesses that would accept a non-traditional martial art.

“When we started no one knew what the sport was, and we had to convince people that what we were doing was legitimate,” said Dan

Their frustration reached a breaking point when they found themselves training out of Joey’s garage for his upcoming UFC 31 fight against B.J. Penn, and they decided to take matters into their own hands and open their own place. G2 was open in 2000 and since that time the gym has grown and expanded, and now Gilbert Grappling is currently in its 4th and biggest location.

The gym started out with a hand full of fighters, but now they have a solid roster of both amateurs and seasoned professionals.

Their approach to training is the same hands-on approach they learned from their wrestling coaches growing up: a coach teaches by wrestling with you, and not by just yelling critiques. The Gilberts think this is key to training fighters to be ready for the cage.

“When we spar, we spar 100%. When we grapple it’s 100%. Some people might disagree with that, but we feel that what you put in your training is what you’re going to get out of the competition,” says Dan. “So instead of learning it in the cage and getting taken down, you’re going to learn it in practice.”

The hands-on approach is popular and the gym now has a reputation for producing hard-nosed fighters. Their stable continues to grow and already includes UFC veteran Clay Guida and up and coming professional fighters like Carson and Chase Beebe, Adam Ward, and Kevin Knabjan.

“No one is going to give you anything, especially in this sport. You got go out there and you got to be ready,” says Dan. “You got to be ready to fight.”

Carson Beebe at XFO 42

Carson Beebe has his back to the wall. The wall is matted in red, which is a good thing because his partner looks to be using most of his strength to press him into it. The music is loud and all around the gym people are wrestling. Arms and legs slam into the floor and the muffled echoes from the mats blends into the music.

Slowly Carson wall-walks from a sitting position to his feet, and then a buzzer sounds to end the pseudo round.

Beebe is drenched in sweat, and he takes a minute to quickly rest before he resumes his training again.

Carson Beebe is an MMA fighter, and he’s only starting off his night of training at Gilbert Grappling.

This would be a hard practice for Beebe, if he was in the meat of his training for a fight, the tough training sessions of wrestling and hard sparring, but it’s not. It’s just a normal night.

So before Carson got too caught up in his training, we spent some time with him to talk about his wrestling history, his passion for MMA, and Michael Jackson.

So you started wrestling when you were four?

Yeah, I started off when I was four-years-old. I kind of grew up in a wrestling family. I have five brothers and they all wrestle, so it’s kind of a way of life for us.

As a little kid what did you want to do when you grew up? It seems like wrestling was already big part of your life.

Like I said man, wrestling was a way of life for us. It was part of our family culture, and it was the only thing I really knew. Wrestling pretty much consumed my life all the way up until I went to college, so my focus was always on wrestling, wrestling, wrestling.

I wanted to go to college and wrestle, become an All-American, a national champ and things like that. But when MMA started blowing up, I started getting into that, and I decided I wanted to be a fighter. It kind of progressed naturally off my wrestling.

When did that progression happen?

It started when my older brother Chase started fighting. When I was a sophomore he started his career. So I went to all his fights and I trained with him, and I kind of fell in love with the sport. I started going to jiu jitsu practice after wrestling practice.

So you switched over to MMA, it seems like your brother was a big influence on that decision, are you two close? What’s your relationship like?

Definitely. My brother and me are real close. Chase is my best mentor, (he’s) everything you think a big brother should be. He’s someone who’s already gone through the ranks, all the way to the top. He’s been a two-time world champion. He knows what it takes to succeed in this sport, and I’ve learned a lot by just watching him. He’s helped guide me through my career; he’s been a big brother, a mentor, a coach, he’s been everything to me.

Do you ever train with him, or do you try to keep that separate?

We train. We beat the crap out of each other pretty good. We throw bombs, and whenever we go at each other the intensity is stepped up an extra notch. There’s more on the line when I go against my brother. You know he’s still trying to prove that he’s still my big brother, and I’m just trying to catch him any chance I can. Try to show that I’m nipping at his heals.

It’s a constant battle, back and forth, but we’re just trying to help each other out and try to help each other get better. So the better he gets, the better I get.

What do your parents think about the two of you fighting?

They’re not the biggest fans of us fighting. I think they would like us to choose a different career, but at the same time they’re supportive. They understand that we’re just a product of our upbringing. They trained us to be warriors and that’s what we are.

Now that you’re a pro, how’s your training changed from where you first started off?

Just learning and growing. There’s so much to this sport. It’s not just one sport, it’s a mixture of all these different forms of martial arts that are blended down into one, so it’s a learning process. You learn a lot about yourself. When I started, I didn’t know who I was or what would make me great, and the best way to learn that is to get in the cage and find out.

You had two loses to start the year, but you were able to bounce back and you’ve had wins in your last three fights. How were you able to persevere and comeback?

You get motivated differently from a win and loss. I won my first six professional fights and then I had my first loss, and then I went to The Ultimate Fighter and lost again. It was my first taste of the other side, and it motivated me more. I was never discouraged. I learn more from my losses, and I had to figure out what I was doing wrong.

So you get back in the gym, and frankly you get a little pissed off, and it lit a fire under my butt, and you get better because of it.

Do you have a preferred fighting style?

My nickname is the “little juggernaut,” and I try to live up to my nickname. Always coming forward. When I’m in the cage I just want to fight. When that bell rings I don’t really believe in the feeling-out process. I like to get my hands on the guy, and I like to fight. Just constant pressure and constant punishment the whole time.

So “little juggernaut’s” intro music is Michael Jackson?

I walk out to Michael Jackson because, in my opinion, he is the greatest performer ever. He performed out of his mind every single time. If I can get in the zone like he did, I can be the greatest just like MJ.

When you graduate do you still want to fight or are you going to be moving in a different direction?

Well I’ll have more time to fight. We’ll see where god takes me. If my MMA career takes off, and I can make a living from fighting then that’s what I’ll do. You just have to set yourself up for success, and wherever god leads me, that’s where I’ll go.

***

Carson trains out of Gilbert Grappling in Country Club Hills.

Winter seemed to hit another gear this weekend, but it didn’t matter because we were keeping warm ringside. XFO 42 put on an entertaining mix of amateur and pro fights, and we were there to cover them all. Here’s a recap of the amateur bouts and some analysis of the pro bouts:

Amateur Bouts:

Stefan VonAulock def. Jake Klipp (TKO – Ref. Stoppage 1:13 Rd. 2)

Josh Estrada def. Mike O’Connor (Unanimous decision)

Alonzo Fuller def. Tommy Hawley (Unanimous decision)

Zak Ottow def. Oliver Vazquez (Unanimous decision)

Patrick O’Connor def. Eddie Escobar (Tap – Triangle choke 1:30 rd. 1)

XFO Flyweight Amateur Title

Andre Feliciano def. David Williams (Unanimous decision)

XFO Featherweight Amateur Title

Cory Galloway def. Pedro Velasco (Tap – Armbar 1:11 of rd. 2)

XFO Bantamweight Amateur Title

Richard Dey def. Vince Romandine (KO 3:54 rd. 1)

Fight of the Night Amateur: Cory Galloway def. Pedro Velasco

Pro Bouts:

Robert Couillard vs. Anthony Goodwin

Couillard has the height and reach advantage, but Goodwin starts the fight strong with a takedown. Couillard is able to use the cage and wall-walk the fight back to his feet. The fighters circle and Goodwin lands a big kick, but Couillard finishes the fight with a devastating knee to Goodwin’s body. (KO 3:22 rd. 1)

Johnny Coleman vs. Chris Haney

Coleman has a big takedown, but Haney is able to flip to full guard before going North South. Chris drops his weight on Coleman before landing some blows to the sides of Coleman’s head. The blows are too much for Coleman and he taps. (Tap – strikes 2:25 rd. 1)

Guillermo Serment vs. Vince Ramos

Vince Ramos fighting with Guillermo Serment.

Every fight has started with a takedown and this one is no exception with Ramos taking down Serment. Guillermo is able to stand, but he still has his back against the cage. The fighters would trade takedowns throughout the first round, and Vince was looking for an armbar near the end of the round.

Early in the second round Serment is able to defend a takedown and counters with body strikes to Ramos. At one point Serment goes for a Peruvian necktie, but has to settle for landing elbows instead.

In the third round Ramos looks to pull off a D’arce choke, but fails. Serment is able to perform a rear mount, and begins to tag Ramos with elbows and big blows. (Serment def. Ramos. Unanimous decision)

Ed Blake vs. Matt Tobie

Big shots to start the fight. Fighters clinch near the cage, and Blake knees Tobie’s body. Takedown, Tobie lands on top. Half guard. Laying on him. Fighters switch positions and Blake tries for a guillotine. Fighters get to their feet, trade inside leg kicks. Tobie has another high clinch and lands a big knee. Blake seems to be gassed near the end of the round but executes another takedown on Tobie.

The second round starts off just as quick as the first. Blake is able to land a huge strike, and Matt goes down. Blake tries for another guillotine. Tobie able to escape and lands a nice right. Blake takedown. Half guard. Side control. Matt flips and goes for a rear naked choke. Blake trades position. Side control. Blake lays his weight on Tobie before trying for an armbar. Both fighters on their feet again and Tobie lands an uppercut.

The first two rounds were Blake’s but Tobie dominated the last round. Don’t need to bother with the play-by-play, Tobie landed over 25 shots and Blake didn’t land a thing. Tobie couldn’t land a KO though. (Blake def. Tobie. Majority decision.)

Brandon Wood vs. Joey Diehl

Both fighters are teenage virgin quick. Both looking to land combinations but Diehl is able to land a huge strike. Wood is down. Diehl finishes the fight with a flurry of blows. (Diehl def. Wood. TKO 0:47 rd 1)

Clay Guida supports Adam Ward.

Danny Rodriguez vs. Adam Ward

Ward starts the fight with a body kick and a takedown. Rodriguez back on his feet and lands a right. Ward lands a big strike, and Rodriguez goes down. Ward lets him back up but drops him just as fast with a HUGE right hook. KO. (Ward def. Rodriguez. KO 2:00 rd 1)

Darren Jacoby vs. Kent Rexford

Jacoby begins with a jab, tries for a roundhouse. Rexford lands a right and a big body kick. Both clinch and Rexford is able to land some knees. Jacoby starts to work the inside leg kick and lands a big body kick. (Jacoby def. Rexford. KO 4:13 rd. 1)

Lloyd Carter vs. Carson Beebe

Fast start. Beebe with a takedown. Half guard. Side control. Beebe throws a huge elbow. Beebe with a body triangle, throws strikes to Carter’s head. Beebe able to get a rear mount, and lands another huge elbow to end the round.

Beebe starts the second round where he left off in the first, takes Carter down with a mammoth suplex. Beebe gets a rear mount. Fighters up again before Beebe scores another takedown. Beebe in side control, lands a few big knees to end the round.

The fighters clinch to start the final round. Lloyd lands a nice knee, but Beebe takes Carter down again. Beebe goes for the crucifix. Fighters get to their feet and Beebe executes another suplex. (Beebe def. Carter. Unanimous decision.)

Brandon Adamson vs. Kevin Knabjian

Adamson lands an uppercut to start, but the fight gets taken to the ground. Knabjian half guard. Lands huge elbows. Flips to a rear mount and begins to rain down strikes to Adamson’s head. Knabjian dominants. (Knabjian def. Adamson. Tap – Kimura. 1:44 rd. 1)

Co-Main Event:

Jake Grigson vs. Danny Aquirre

Danny Aquirre getting ready to enter the cage.

Danny uses those long legs to land a big kick to start the fight. Grigson counters with a takedown but both fighters are quickly able to get to their feet. Aquirre able to land a big right to the body, and the fight goes back to the mat. Aquirre goes for a body triangle but fails to execute. Grigson ends the round with a takedown of Aquirre.

Both fighters begin the second round by trading blows. Danny gets Grigson to the mat and begins using short elbows. He continues throwing elbows before he executes an armbar. (Aquirre def. Grigson. Tap – armbar. 2:19 rd. 2)

Main event:

Miodrag Petkovich vs. Mike Marrello

Marrello starts with a takedown attempt, fails. Both fighters in the clinch, both connecting with knees. Ref. breaks the fighters after both fail to make a move on the cage. Petkovich lands an inside leg kick, and both fighters continue to trade blows. Marrello ends the round with a straight jab.

Marrello controls the fight early in the second round, but Petkovich is still able to land a combination and hurts Marrello. Petkovich lands a big left hook while Marrello continues to work leg kicks.

The final round saw both fighters trading shots. Marrello continued to work the leg kicks, but Petkovich kept coming back and landed some nice strikes on Marrello. (Petkovich def. Marrello. Unanimous decision.)

Mike Marrello digs lion tattoos.

Fight of the Night Pro: Ed Blake vs. Vince Ramos

Submission: Danny Aquirre (armbar)

KO: Adam Ward

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