Four local fighters, including 170-pounder Jared Hess, will
enter the octagon on Jan. 8 to take part in Fightin’ on the
Faultline, an event promoters say is the first-ever mixed martial
arts event to come to Hollister.
HOLLISTER
Four local fighters, including 170-pounder Jared Hess, will enter the octagon on Jan. 8 to take part in Fightin’ on the Faultline, an event promoters say is the first-ever mixed martial arts event to come to Hollister.
The championship MMA series will feature 14 bouts, including a main event between Hollister’s Hess and Sergio Machado.
“This is the first time coming to Hollister, and the first of many more if things go well,” said Danny Kelly of Main Street Kickboxing, who is co-promoting the event with Mike MacNeill of Central Coast Throwdown, which has put on several MMA events in Salinas in recent months.
Hollister’s entrance into the MMA scene will be held at the Veterans Memorial Building, located at 649 San Benito Street, and will include bouts among locals Justin Bronson, Jacob Lomanto, Cris Barber and Hess, who will look to improve upon his 5-1 record with a win over Machado (1-1).
Kelly said the main event bout is expected to be a title fight come Jan. 8.
Working with a jiu-jitsu background, Hess came to Hollister from Salinas to work solely on his striking, and has since developed into one of Kelly’s most well-rounded fighters.
“He came over to work on his stand-up and he made the decision to stay,” Kelly said.
Hess, 23, won his first four fights before falling to Bill Cooper by submission in the welterweight class at the California State Championships on Dec. 4, according to the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO).
Meanwhile, CAMO lists Machado, 32, with a 1-1 career record.
“This is gonna be a tough fight,” Kelly said of the 170-pound main event.
The Hess-Machado finale is expected to come after 13 undercard bouts, including a cruiserweight fight between Los Altos’ Mike Morales (1-0) and Salinas’ Justin Bronson (3-1), who both trains and teaches at Main Street, and is also a former Division I wrestler at the University of Minnesota.
Other local fighters who will square off include Jacob Lomanto (0-0) of Hollister, who will fight Josh Johnson (0-1) of Paso Robles, as well as Hollister’s Cris Barber (4-0), who will do battle with Eric Prado (4-1) of Santa Maria.
Meanwhile, two local up-and-comers, brothers Ozzie and Isaiah Moreno, will kickoff the night with a special MMA demonstration.
“They’re way beyond their years,” Kelly said of the two 120-pounders.
Doors open to the event at 5 p.m., with the fights set to begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40, and can be purchased at Main Street Kickboxing in Hollister or at Big Joe’s BBQ in Salinas. For more information, log on to: www.ccthrowdown.com
Fightin’ on the Faultine
170 — Jared Hess (5-1, Hollister) v. Sergio Machado (1-1, N/A)
CRS — Justin Bronson (3-1, Salinas) v. Mike Morales (1-0, Los Altos)
165 — Jacob Lomanto (0-0, Hollister) v. Josh Johnson (0-1, Paso Robles)
185 — Thomas Ballard (1-0, Cottonwood) v. Jonathan Chaplin (4-2, East Palo Alto)
160 — Natasha Fhinney (N/A) v. Ericka Newsome (1-0, Pasadena)
CRS — Fabian Lopez (0-2, Soledad) v. Isaac Castaneda (0-2, Santa Clara)
205 — Jered Lowe (0-0, Camp Pendleton) v. Doyle Childs (1-0, San Jose)
135 — Gregg Baker (3-1, Arroyo Grande) v. Diamond Templeton (2-3, Hanford)
170 — Cris Barber (4-0, Hollister) v. Eric Prado (4-1, Santa Maria), 170 pounds
170 — Trevor Porter (N/A) v. Joe Gonzales (N/A), 170 pounds
145 — Joe Heaton (0-0, Santa Margarita) v. John Donaldson (0-0, Livermore), 145 pounds
145 — Richard Parra (3-1, Oceano) v. Benjamin Amezquita (1-1, Gilroy)
205 — Bercharis McGill (0-0, Vista) v. Bernard Collins (0-1, Marysville)
Hvwt. — Jeremy Petruncio (0-0, Twentynine Palms) v. Justin Willis (1-1, San Jose)
All fights are subject to change
