KO's & Comebacks

Montanans love a good fight, and that's exactly what was delivered at the Fusion Fight League event at the Four Seasons Arena on Saturday, September 21. Fighters from across the United States came together and gave it their all in an 8-fight card that had fans on the edge of their seats. The main event was a highly anticipated bout between Spokane, Washington's Daeri Alderman and Shea "Man of Steel" O'Neill from Butte, Montana, making his return to MMA after an 8-year layoff.

Notably, co-main event fighter Ezra Elliot trained with and walked out alongside Tim Welch and Sean "Suga" O'Malley, a Montana native from Helena and former UFC Bantamweight champion.

The first winner of the night was Tannin Baumann from Missoula, who secured a tap-out victory in round 1. This was followed by another round 1 win for Tim Curry from Great Falls. Fight number 3 ended with a guillotine choke from Garret Buckalew. In the fourth bout, JoJo Griffin sealed his victory after an accidental knee to the head of Brayden Lenz.

After a brief intermission, Cody Porter came back from a rough first round to claim the middleweight championship title. Ricky Hines defeated Joe Wilkins by TKO, taking home the heavyweight championship belt. Ezra Elliot, training under former champ Sean O'Malley, won his match against Stefanos Argyrou.

The main event featured Spokane's Daeri Alderman against a very confident Shea "Man of Steel" O'Neill from Butte, returning to the cage after an 8-year layoff. The fighters exchanged kicks early on, leading to Alderman taking O'Neill to the ground. O'Neill calmly reversed the position, placing himself on top and landing several strikes on Alderman. Dominating on the ground, O'Neill continued his attack, securing a round 1 tap-out with a rear naked choke, taking home the Featherweight championship title and belt.

When asked how he felt coming back from his layoff, Shea O'Neill said:

"Felt good, man. I do this every day, and all props to Daeri, but I've got tougher guys in the room pushing me every single day. This was a walk in the park compared to normal days."

Fusion Fight League never fails to deliver a great show, and they continue to do great things for both the Cascade County community and the MMA scene, not only attracting new fans but also inspiring more fighters to step into the cage.