April Penrod's “Season Beating II” : Female MMA Fighters to Keep an Eye On

Fight fans in Mont Vernon, Illinois will be eager to know that on Dec. 18 “Season Beating 2” will feature Mark Coleman and Wes Sims signing autographs and holding a wrestling and MMA seminar Dec. 17.

The promoter, April Penrod, made MMA history by running the first all-female card in Illinois this past Halloween Eve. With the rise this year in women’s MMA this is still a rare event.  To say the least it was a great show with all amateur fighters including an exhibition fight with April herself. 

April says she will definitely hold another all-woman show in June but for now she is planning her “Season Beating 2” event which will include winners from her All-Female Show; Jessica Philippus will face Leslie Lockwood and Heather Martin will face Amber Ayers.  

Expect an all-out brawl!

Results of Oct. 30 All-Female MMA event:

1.      Emily Reed (21 yrs, 119 lbs, 5’2”, Oxly, Mich.)  improves her record to 1-0 by beating Shylo Heck 0-1 (18 yrs, 130lbs, 5’6”, Mount Vernon, ILL.)  in the first round.  Emily beamed from ear to ear after this debut fight. I asked her about her experience, thinking she had at least a few months compared to Shylo, who had absolutely none. Emily said she had no training other than the last month and some wrestling with her dad at home.

When she heard that one of the girls at her new gym had just set up a fight for herself she said, "call that promoter back and tell her I want to fight too!"

2.      Lacie Jackson 3-2 ( 19 yrs, 146 lbs, 5’4” ) put a great effort up against Lori Dunivant 7-1-1 (31yrs,145 lbs, 5’8”, Graniteville Ill.), who won by unanimous decision after three rounds of non-stop stand up to the ground action. Lori went to the emergency room after this fight due to a potential broken arm that might have been received during the first round when Lacie attempted an arm bar.

3.      Jessica Philippus 3-1 (27yrs, 108 lbs, 5’2”, Marshall, Ill.) won by unanimous decision after fending off Brooke Fink’s 2-2 (27yrs, 105 lbs, 5’3”, Clinton, Ill.) death grip hold around her neck for three rounds. Jessica made several attempts to submit Brooke but she was simply too wiry.

4.      Brittany Morris 0-1 ( 21yrs, 163 lbs, 5’6”, Poplar Bluff, Mich.) didn’t see it coming from Crystal Bentley 1-0 (32yrs, 158 lbs, 5’8”, Sessor, Ill.) who pounced and attacked her, until referee Henry Griffin stopped the fight due to ground and pound in .48 seconds.

5.      Paula Lamke 0-1 ( 33yrs, 150 lbs, 5’7”, Mont Vernon, Ill.) lost in the first round to Maggie Chenault 1-0 (21yrs, 140 lbs, 5’5”, Robinson, Ill.) by landing a devastating right finishing the fight in the first round in .08 seconds! I wished this fight went longer. Even though the fight was over quickly these girls both looked like they could do damage.

6.      Laura Marcuse 1-1 ( 27yrs, 108 lbs, 5’5”, Kansas City, Mich.) faced Leslie Lockwood 2-2 ( 37yrs, 108 lbs, 5’6”, Mount Vernon, Ill.) who was ten years her senior. Both fighters came out looking like seasoned pros, but Leslie looked like she had years of stand-up experience as she stalked Laura and struck, hitting her with a solid right that ended the fight in .15 seconds of the first round, giving Leslie the win and a chance to fight Jessica Philippus in April’s December show.

7.      Gina Leathers made her MMA debut by  p.o.ing Heather “The Main Event” Martin 6-3 ( 27yrs, 165 lbs, 5’5”, Jackson, Tenn.) in the second round claiming Gina bit her calf. Heather came out in the third round and finished the fight with ground and pound for the win.

8.      April Penrod ( 176 lbs,5’7 1/2”, Mount Vernon, Ill.) finished Amber Ayers 1-0 ( 25yrs, 205 lbs, 5’10”, Clinton, Ill.) quickly in the first round of this exhibition fight with a powerful right.