Fight Pastor welcomes Josh Boyd

September 2, 2010 by [Kermit]

 

I grew up in Portage, Indiana.  My family attended the local Assembly of God church.  When I was in middle school my family began attending the Church of God across town.  I was very involved in our youth ministry and soon felt called to ministry.  My senior year of high school I applied and was accepted to Taylor University in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  This is also the year I discovered MMA.  The next fall I began my studies in youth ministry and psychology.  The next summer I married my high school sweetheart.

The following fall we started working full-time as youth pastor at a small inner-city church Assemblies of God church and served there for almost 3 years.   I began hosting UFC parties in married student housing with any VHS I could track down!  We had a baby and moved to Terre Haute, Indiana to work at another A/G church as an assistant pastor. 

 We served there for three and a half years.  2 babies richer we moved to Kokomo, Indiana to work at another A/G church.   We worked with kids, youth and young adults.  For almost one year I was the only pastor on staff and had a tremendous increase in pastoral responsibilities.  We also started a young adult/college age ministry.  Naturally, the guys began having UFC parties.  Eventually we had to borrow a choir riser from the church to help accommodate the seating required!

 After 5 years at that church and 10+ years in traditional, full-time ministry, we knew it was time for us to be a part of something very different!  We knew it was going to be non-traditional, relationship based and missionary in nature.  We reconnected with some friends who were heading to Vegas to do a church plant.  It seemed exactly like the project we were called to do.  So, we did 40 days of fasting and prayer… packed up and moved to fabulous Las Vegas, NV to plant a church and be a part of a revolution! 

 We rounded up some friends and family to move out and join us. It was a bumpy start!  The organization that we were working with folded and the friends we were working with decided to pastor an existing A/G church here in Vegas.  We helped them out for about 6 months, but just knew that we were supposed to be doing something “different”.  

Well, we have been out here for 3 years now… we have formed RED ROCK HOUSE CHURCH and have a great core group.  We meet on Saturday nights, share a meal, worship, pray, share, study, etc.  We also host a UFC pay-per-view party each month which averages 40+ and has had over 60!  We use this event to meet new people and develop meaningful relationships.  I have had the opportunity to attend 2 UFC events, 1 WEC event, 1 TUF-N-UFF event, 5 or 6 weigh-ins, and the UFC fan expo.  Things are going very well!

The reason I am interested in FIGHT PASTOR is simple.  I am a pastor at heart and I am a huge MMA fan!  I never imagined these 2 things could be married!   Also, I live in Vegas.  I can’t imagine a better place in the entire world for this type of ministry.

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Bloody Battle in Boston

August 29, 2010 by [Kermit]

Boston is a fun place to hold a sporting event like the UFC, unless you are not from the New England area. Any fighter from within 100 miles of Beantown was cheered for like Tom Brady saving a school bus full of orphans from driving over a cliff.

Joe Lauzon took on Gabe Ruediger, who the crowd reacted to as if he had just taken the frozen head of Ted Williams and kicked it into a bowl of “claaaaam chowdah.” Joe worked Gabe over and had little trouble running through a workshop before submitting him in the first round with an armbar.

When Nate Diaz isn’t jumping people with his brother, he trains to fight legitimately. The fight against Marcus Davis was different from his fight against Jason Miller mostly because Marcus was looking at him knowing he was going to get in a fight. Nate had a 6 inch reach advantage which he used to keep Davis away. Diaz opened up 3 cuts on Marcus’ face, one on the eyelid which looked like someone kicked a hole in the carcass of a rotten pig. By the end of the fight, Marcus Davis looked like the Terminator after he had cut half his face off. Marcus showed a lot of heart in this fight, he kept fighting through. Not wanting to tap out in front of his home crowd, Marcus did not tap to Diaz’s choke hold and fell asleep. I lost a lot of respect for Nate Diaz in the first few seconds of this fight. He threw up his hands and kept taunting Davis, I was hoping Davis would connect a bowel loosening right hook to Diaz’s jaw.

Kenny Florian fought Gray Maynard, for 15 minutes. It was long, but Maynard showed his superior wrestling skills and scored the takedown. Florian almost has a submission but Maynard was able to slip out. Maynard won by decision.

Demian Maia fought Mario Miranda who is from the Seattle area. I used to train with Mario so it was tough to watch someone you know loose a fight. Maia was on Mario like bed bugs on a hotel mattress. Miranda slipped out of some amazing submission attempts, but in the end the fight went to Maia via decision.

With all the trash talk from James Toney, I was hoping he would at least land a punch before being taken down by Randy Couture. Randy threw a barrage of elbows and hammer fists in to Toney, who decided it would be a good idea to post up on his elbow and lean against the fence. One could almost feel bad for the former boxing champ; he looked like a kid who just found out the awful truth about Santa Claus. I felt bad until the flashbacks of him holding a dress wearing Randy Couture doll, or all of the unintelligible interviews. Randy proved what Royce Gracie proved in UFC 1, a single discipline will not work in MMA, which is why it’s called mixed martial arts; it’s a mix of everything. I wish James the best of luck if he decides to continue with his MMA career, he will be a devastating striker.

It has been a long time since I have seen Bj Penn be the first to walk out to the octagon. He looked focused and calm where Frank Edgar was hoping around like a monkey on a 3 day sugar binge. Bj simply had no answer for Edgar’s speed. I have always been a fan of Bj Penn, he just looks like a guy I would have fun hanging out with. I imagine we would get in to all sorts of shenanigans on the island. Bj had a couple good takedowns at the beginning of the last 2 rounds, but he was unable to stop Edgar who retained his belt after 5 rounds.

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UFC 118 Predictions by The Fight Pastor

August 27, 2010 by [Fight Pastor]

These fight predictions are made from 10,000 feet in the air as I travel from New York back to Seattle. You have got to love in-flight internet. Now if they would only start having power sources at every seat I could enjoy my internet for the duration of the flight. Unfortunately my lame Sony Vaio battery only lasts for 2 hours. I am gonna get straight to the point before my battery runs out.

The UFC makes their Boston debut in historic fashion on Saturday. We get to see BJ Penn attempt to reclaim his lightweight belt and we get to watch the catchweight superfight between ex-UFC heavyweight champ Randy Couture and ex-heavyweight (boxing) champ James Toney. My fearless predictions:

Mike Pierce by 3 round decision over Amilcar Alves

Nick Osipczak by 3 round decision over Greg Soto

Dan Miller by 2nd round submission over John Salter

Nik Lentz by 3 round decision over Andre Winner

Joe Lauzon by 2nd round submission over Gabe Ruediger

Marcus Davis by 3 round decision over Nate Diaz

Gray Maynard by 3 round decision over Kenny Florian

Damian Maia by 3 round submission over Mario Miranda

Randy Couture by 2nd round TKO over James Toney

BJ Penn by 3rd round TKO over Frankie Edgar

There you have it. The Fight Pastor’s fearless predictions for UFC 118. I apologize for not showing the fight at Canyon Creek Church this weekend. Fight Pastor will be hosting our next viewing party for UFC 119 on September 25th (mark it on your calendar). Unfortunately due to my travel schedule we weren’t able to host a fight in August.

Let me know what you think of my predictions. The two fights I struggled the most to pick were the Davis vs Diaz fight and the Maia vs Miranda fight. I also think there is a slight (though unlikely) chance James Toney could connect and knock Randy Couture out in the first round. Besides that, I am pretty positive about my picks.

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Silva shuts Sonnen’s mouth

August 8, 2010 by [Kermit]

I realized tonight that I have no idea how to arrive anywhere fashionably late. I hate being late to an event more than I hate broccoli. I almost always get to places more than 2 hours early because I really have nothing else to do. I went to the fundraiser for Demico Rogers/UFC 117 viewing event tonight and I arrived in down town Seattle at 3 in the afternoon. The party started at 5:30. I went straight to the restaurant and walked around the building peering in the windows looking for someone I might know. I did not go inside to sit down because that would be creepy to go in to a restaurant alone, and sit there for 2 hours staring at people. I chose instead to stand under a tree across the street and watched the door and playing solitaire on my IPod. I imagine that I looked like I was waiting to find a beautiful lass to bash over the head with a club and drag her by her hair back to my parent’s basement. I finally mustered up the cajones to go inside where I took a seat in a dark corner drinking water and mumbling to my self with my cell phone up to my head like I was talking to someone, just so the waiters didn’t think I was some sort of weird-o.

The fights were finally on and I was able to put away my IPod so I could watch. I was very impressed with Roy Nelson, mostly because as someone who has been mistaken for Roy, I know that I might have a chance in the UFC. Mr. Nelson lost to Junior Dos Santos, but I saw that coming.

Matt Hughes choked out Ricardo Almeida in the first round. If you have seen Matt Hughes choke someone out once, you have seen it a thousand times.

Clay Guida showed a lot of heart in his victory over Rafael Dos Anjos. He took him down and won by a tap out. He is an exciting fighter to watch because he keeps such a high pace through out the entire fight.

Jon Fitch is a great fighter, but he is about as fun to watch as a Golden Girls marathon.

I was sure that Sonnen would not come close to taking Anderson Silva to the ground, When Chael got the takedown, and held him there my jaw dropped and my heart sank.  For 4 rounds Chael Sonnen was on Anderson Silva like oil on a pelican. To me, watching Sonnen sit on top of a seemingly defenseless Silva was like watching Superman getting kicked in the bathing suit area by Lex Luthor’s hair dresser. I jumped up and clapped wildly when Anderson grabbed the triangle choke for the win.

Chael Sonnen talked a lot of trash before the fight, but to his credit, he definitely brought the fight to Anderson Silva.

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UFC 117 Predictions by The Fight Pastor

August 2, 2010 by [Fight Pastor]

This Saturday Anderson Silva makes his long awaited return to the octagon and takes another shot at improving his tarnished public image. Chael Sonnen, his opponent, hasn’t helped with his constant trash talking and ridiculing of the Middleweight Champ. UFC 117 will be The Spider’s chance to silence Chael once and for all. Actually I don’t think it is possible to actually silence Chael but maybe Silva can force him to focus completely on his blossoming political career.

This stacked fight card takes place in Oakland, CA which was near the Fight Pastor’s stomping grounds for 6 years ago, Modesto, CA. I was excited to make the trip south to the Bay Area to watch the fights live but unfortunately I couldn’t find anyone else who wanted to go. My wife enjoys mocking me for my lack of ability to drive alone. Instead of watching the fights in person I will be watching them live with my family in the comfort of my theater room in my house. Life is tough.

I am currently 14-6 in my predictions for UFC events for the last half of 2010. UFC 117 will improve that record dramatically. So here are my prophetic predictions for Saturday’s AWESOME fight card. As always, short, sweet and deadly accurate.

Ben Saunders by decision over Dennis Hallman

Stefan Struve by submission in the 2nd round over Christian Morecraft

Johny Hendricks by decision over Charlie Brenneman

Todd Brown by decision over Tim Boetsch

Phil Davis by decision over Rodney Wallace

Rick Story by decision over Dustin Hazelett

Junior Dos Santos by knock out in the 2nd round over Roy “Big Country” Nelson

Ricardo Almeida by decision over Matt Hughes

Clay Guida by decision over Rafael dos Anjos

Jon Fitch by decision over Thiago Alves

And in the Main Event for the Middleweight Championship the winner is….

Anderson Silva by TKO in the 3rd round over Chael Sonnen

I hope you are as pumped for Saturday’s fights as I am! So lets start the trash talk. Am I a prophet or should I be stoned for my picks? Let me hear what you think. My pick for fight of the night is the Almeida vs Hughes fight. Junior Dos Santos will get knock out of the night. Anderson Silva will knock Chael Sonnen out and straight into a full-time political career.

Until Saturday…..

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