Driller Promotions MMA: Billy Christianson Knocks out Ben Neumann in Minnesota

Driller Promotions made its way to Burnsville, Minn., at the Primetime Sports Bar & Grill for an intense night of live fights featuring an important main event between Billy “The Kidd” Christianson and Ben “The Baker” Neumann.

The fight card was action-packed from top to bottom and the fans in attendance definitely got their money’s worth as every bout on the card came to a finish.

The best way to avoid a bad decision is to keep the fight out of the judges’ hands, right? These fighters seemed to take that to heart as they really came out with a level of fury that is rarely seen on the local levels.

Kudos to the Sterling Entertainment Group and Driller Promotions for putting on a great night of very evenly matched fights.

Special thanks to Sandy Hackenmueller of Fight to Finish Photography for all the great shots!

AMATEUR: Eulisses “The Dream” Sanchez (0-1) vs Michael Stadler (0-0)—190 LBS

Round 1

Eulisses Sanchez caught Michael Stadler with a left hand early which seemed to catch him off guard as he was just seconds into his first MMA fight. Stadler did respond instinctively with a right of his own, but it was flailing, and Sanchez used the opportunity to get an easy takedown.

Sanchez tried to get his back, but Stadler flipped over and Sanchez ended up in side control against the fence.

Using some fairly fluid transitions, Sanchez moved to mount. It looked as if it was about to be over, but Stadler quickly escaped, putting Sanchez back into side control. That was a good enough position for Sanchez, though, as he immediately began raining down bombs.

Stadler covered up to avoid taking damage, but that allowed Sanchez took his back where he delivered a few big hammerfists to the side of the face before taking his back.

Sanchez put in the hooks and threw a few more devastating punches to the side of Stadler’s head before the referee called a stop to the bout.

Official decision: Eulisses Sanchez by TKO (referee stoppage due to strikes) at 1:45 in the first round

AMATEUR: Zaur Jalil (1-1) vs Kevin Vang (3-0)—135 LBS

Zaur Jalil entered the cage with a wrap around his right ankle and tape around his big toe on the same foot.

Round 1

Kevin Vang came out swinging, throwing some big bombs early, but nothing connected. Jalil stopped the barrage by clinching, however, Vang used his momentum against him and got a nice takedown.

The fight got back to the feet where Vang continued to be the aggressor, pushing Jalil against the fence before getting a nice double-leg takedown, this time into side control.

Jalil showed some nice defense off his back, but struggled to do much off of his back other than just avoid taking damage.

Vang eventually decided to let him up and swung right away, but Jalil countered and pushed him against the fence as the round came to an end.

Bleacher Report unofficial round score: 10-9 Vang

Round 2

Vang came out a little more conservative this round and connected, instead opting to utilize a few leg kicks early. He eventually pushed Jalil against the cage again, but Jalil countered with a beautiful headlock judo throw, ending up in side control in the process.

Jalil used the position to lock up a brutal looking Americana with his legs, causing Vang to tap out almost immediately.

Official decision: Zaur Jalil by submission (Americana) at 1:29 in the second round

The foot didn’t seem to bother Jalil in the cage, so perhaps the wrapping he had on it was just something that made him more comfortable in the cage.

AMATEUR: Sam Khom (0-1) vs Ehsan Karam (0-0)—145 LBS

Round 1

A body kick by Karam started the fight off, but Khom answered with some punches.

Karam kept dropping his hands early, but Khom didn’t capitalize. Although his intensity was apparent, Karam never let him connect cleanly and just kept popping in and tagging him with kicks and body shots after blocking the majority of Khom’s punches.

Khom shot for a double-leg against the fence, but Karam tripped him and ended up in mount. Desperate not to take damage from the mount, Khom flipped over and gave up his back, which Karam instantly took advantage of, slapping on a rear naked choke and earning the submission victory seconds later.

Official decision: Ehsan Karam by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:03 in the first round.

Karam was VERY calm throughout the fight despite it being his MMA debut.

In the post-fight interview, he told the crowd that he isn’t looking for any specific opponent, but is rather going to let his manager, Jeremy Bjornberg, make those decisions.

“Jeremy’s going to set them up and I’m going to do my best to knock ‘em down,” Karam said. 

AMATEUR: Kelly Ehrhorn (0-2) Grand Rapids vs Randy Lene (3-2) Monticello—140 LBS

Round 1

Randy Lene looked intense in his corner even before the fight. He came right out and took the center of the cage and started throwing his left jab. Ehrhorn battled back, but Lene tagged him a few times.

Ehrhorn went for a takedown, but was unable to achieve it due to Lene grabbing the fence on his way down.

After seeing this, the referee immediately stopped the fight and took a point from Lene.  

Lene seemed a bit more hesitant after the point was taken away, but continued to throw that left jab right into Ehrhorn’s grill.

Ehrhorn avoided it for awhile, but eventually stepped into the left hand and got rocked. He tried to recover, but Lene smashed him with a huge overhand right that knocked him clean out.

Official result: Randy Lene by knockout (punch) at 1:57 in the first round.

A groggy Ehrhorn had to be helped out of the cage, but did stop to thank his opponent for the fight on his way out.

AMATEUR: Joel Wales (2-3) vs Jacob Ostrowski (2-1)—130 LBS

Round 1

Joel Wales got things started early by landing a few nice shots right out of the gate. Ostrowski didn’t seem to be comfortable with the intensity of Wales’ striking and got tagged a few times while backing up.

Wales finally tripped Ostrowski to the ground and ended up in side control. He tried to hold that position, but Ostrowski quickly got it to half-guard where he was much safer.

Ostrowski still seemed a bit uncomfortable on his back, though, as Wales smashed him with some big body shots. This continued through the end of the round as Ostrowski really didn’t do much other than defend off of his back while taking painful-looking body punches all along the way.

Bleacher Report unofficial score: 10-9 Wales

Round 2

Ostrowski had a cut on the bridge of his nose to start the second round.

Both fighters seemed a bit calmer going into the second round and were somewhat hesitant to engage for a few seconds.

Finally, Wales attempted a spinning body kick and, but got caught and Ostrowski pulled guard on him, immediately applying a deep guillotine choke which caused the tap-out just seconds later.

Official result: Jacob Ostrowski by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:52 in the second round.

The result of this one had to be disappointing for Wales who thoroughly dominated the first round. Had he not made a mistake, he might have been able to control this fight and walk out with a win.

AMATEUR: Tom Krenzel (2-2) North St Paul vs Thomas Lytle (0-1) Minneapolis 205 L

Round 1

A quick pace started the fight with Thomas Lytle attempting a body kick.  Tom Krenzel saw it coming, though, and used it to catch him and take him down.

Krenzel postured up and began trying to throw punches, leaving the opportunity for Lytle to make use of his long limbs to throw up a triangle choke. Krenzel scrambled, trying to punch his way out of it, but it was not to be, and he was forced to tap quickly.

Krenzel left the cage in frustration before the official decision.

Official result: Tom Lytle by submission (triangle choke) 0:28 in the first round.

John Castaneda Receives His Driller Promotions Amateur Lightweight Title

Next on the agenda was the crowning of a new champion as Driller promotions 155-pounder amateur John Castaneda was given the physical title that he had won back on Jan. 6, 2012.

Castaneda defeated then-champion Marcel Anderson in a highly entertaining bout, which saw him earn a TKO victory midway through the third round.

Some humor arose after the fight when Castaneda announced to the fans in attendance that his opponent had forgotten the actual title at home.

Castaneda was given a new belt and it is now officially announced that he will be fighting another high quality opponent in Mitch Field on Mar. 3 at the Hyatt in Minneapolis.

AMATEUR: Nick Reece (1-0) vs Corwin Nichols (1-0)—170 LBS

An amped-up Corwin Nichols entered the cage and ran all the way around it, getting just inches from Nick Reece’s face as he stood in his own corner.

Round 1

No glove touch to start the fight, but both fighters started off strong, connecting with punches. After getting hit a couple times, Nichols quickly shot in and pushed Reece against the cage where he simultaneously achieved a takedown right into his opponent’s half guard.

Reece displayed some nice defense off his back, but Nichols smothered him for quite awhile, landing a few shots, but mostly just making sure that he controlled the opening part of the round.

The grip Reece had made mounting any real offense pretty difficult, but Nichols finally broke free and rained down some big shots, much to the approval of his friends and family in attendance. A few of the punches landed, but the flurry allowed Reece to get to his feet.

From there, Nichols unleashed a fiery series of punches, but Reece countered with a double-leg takedown in the process and ends up in Nichols’ guard.

Seconds later, it was Nichols who escaped free and got to his feet.

With just seconds remaining in the round, Nichols shot in one more time and smashed Reece against the fence again before round was over.

Bleacher Report unofficial score: 10-9 Nichols

Round 2

Nichols started the second round by going for a head kick but missed. Reece shot in and went for a takedown off of the miss, but Nichols sprawled and ended up taking his back against the cage.

Moments later, Nichols began looking for a rear-naked choke, and Reece was in big trouble. The grip got tighter and tighter, and he was finally forced to tap.

Official result: Corwin Nichols by submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:53 in the second round.

Aaron Maldonado (5-2) vs Kenneth Glenn (2-0)—145 LBS

Round 1

A feeling out process started the fight off sort of slow, but Glenn eventually worked Maldonado against the fence and quickly achieved a takedown from there.

Working out of Maldonado’s half-guard, Glenn used his size and strength advantage to get some ground-and-pound in before Maldonado scrambled back to his feet.

Shortly thereafter, it was Glenn who did pretty much the same thing as before, achieving another double-leg takedown against the cage.

Maldonado tried to throw up his legs for a triangle, but Glenn took the opening to achieve side control and then almost instantly moved to the mount.

Maldonado flipped over, and Glenn took his back. It looked like this might be the beginning of the end, but Maldonado escaped and at least forced Glenn back into side control where he wasn’t in quite so much danger.

Glenn’s strength seemed very difficult for Maldonado to overcome as he was tossed back to the mat just about every time he tried to stand up.

Finally, Maldonado got to his feet, but Glenn began tagging him with huge punches against the cage. Maldonado tried his best to cover up, but after countless shots to the body and head, the referee finally called a stop to the fight.

Official decision: Kenneth Glenn by TKO (punches) at 4:31 in the first round.

Maldonado’s corner was upset at the stoppage. Their fighter didn’t go to the ground, though he was taking quite a beating.

One could argue that he was covering up, but he was taking a ton of damage and really didn’t seem to be trying to improve his position at all. The damage was only going to get worse.

A cut under Maldonado’s eye compared to the almost completely unscathed face on Glenn tells the story of how this fight went. 

Kurtis Ehrhorn (4-2) vs Lloyd McKinney (4-2)—130 LBS

The co-main event of the evening featured two of the top up-and-coming lower-weight fighters in the Midwest as Northern Minnesota’s Kurtis Ehrhorn battled Wisconsin’s Lloyd McKinney.

The high-paced battle took place at a catch-weight bout of 130 pounds.  

Round 1

Despite talking at the weigh-ins about how he was interested in standing up in the fight, Ehrhorn shot in immediately and took McKinney to the ground with some ease.

Always looking to finish his opponent, McKinney worked for a kimura off his back almost immediately. The hold looked terrible, but Ehrhorn refused to tap despite his arm being bent almost completely upside down.

Just like he has been trained, Ehrhorn rolled forward and escaped the hold. McKinney went for an armbar from that position and then transitioned it to another kimura as fans in attendance began looking away.

It appeared as if McKinney was going to snap his arm, but Ehrhorn flipped forward again and stood right up.

“You’re not breaking sh--!” Ehrhorn yelled at his opponent who laid on the ground.

Ehrhorn lost his mouth guard in the struggle and the referee stopped the fight to let him put it back in.

The two fighters stood toe-to-toe again and began exchanging, but Ehrhorn lost his mouth guard again!

This caused the referee to take a point as he had warned Ehrhorn that he had to keep it in just seconds before.

The action continued with a huge slam from Ehrhorn who now knew that he had to win the round decisively in order to make it an even 9-9 on the judges’ scorecards.

McKinney was on his back again, but Ehrhorn was unable to pass the guard. He did land some nice punches from the top, but McKinney began looking for a kimura yet again. He nearly got the sub, but Ehrhorn got out again and stood up as the round came to an end.

Bleacher Report unofficial score: 10-8 McKinney

Round 2

Ehrhorn appeared to be very energized in the second round, throwing numerous kicks and superman punches to start things off.

McKinney avoided most of the strikes and jumped on an opportunity as Ehrhorn had spit out his mouth guard yet again in the scuffle.

After seeing this again, the referee opted to stop the fight and end it in a disqualification.

Official decision: Lloyd McKinney by disqualification (opponent removal of mouth piece)

“Protect yourself at all times. If you don’t have your mouthguard fitted, you probably should’ve figured that out before you got here,” McKinney said in a post-fight interview.

It appeared that Ehrhorn might have been gagging on the mouthguard as it was not well-fit for him.

Billy “The Kidd” Christianson (5-1) vs Ben “The Baker” Neumann (4-0)—155 LBS

Fans were pumped for this fight with both men having a tremendous group of supporters in attendance to cheer them on in what was the biggest fight of each of their careers thus far.

Many fans chanted “BILLY!” while the larger group applaud the hometown favorite, Ben Neumann. Some were even wearing chef hats to support “The Baker.”

Round 1

The right leg kick, left hook combination from Neumann set the pace early, with him utilizing his large reach advantage to keep Christianson on the outside. After a few of them, Christianson finally telegraphed one and shot in to get a nice takedown.

Neumann immediately used his length to grab a heel hook that looked like it was very close to being sunk in. The two fighters battled it out in this position for quite some time, but Christianson eventually escaped and ended up on top in Neumann’s guard.

Neumann did not look comfortable defending Christianson’s power off his back and got rocked a few times as he tried to cover up.

Like a shark that smelled blood, Christianson attacked with fury, landing a devastating combination on the ground that knocked Neumann clean out. The referee pulled him off and the fight was over just like that.

Official decision: Billy Christianson by knockout (punches) at 1:59 in the first round.

“Ben’s a great guy, great fighter,” said a very humble Christianson who had just knocked out the hometown favorite. “I’m glad I got to meet him and fight him.”

The knockout was Christianson’s fourth straight victory by way of knockout, and he may be on the brink of a breakthrough fight in the very near future.

For more MMA news, fighter interviews and opinions, follow Nick Caron: @NicholasCaron