In the 15th fight of his career, light heavyweight Dan Spohn (10-4) is set to fight in Pennsylvania for the first time. The TUF 19 veteran is headed to the outskirts of Pittsburgh next month, as he is set to take on Lewis Rumsey (11-11) in the main event at Gladiators of the Cage 17 in Butler, PA.
Currently riding a two-fight winning streak, Spohn is 4-1 in his last five fights after bouncing back from a three-fight losing streak where he was cut from his Bellator contract. Spohn also competed on TUF 19, and he made waves by knocking his opponent out cold in just 10 seconds to make it into “the house.” He then made it to the semifinals before losing to Matt Van Buren. He made his offical Octagon debut at the TUF 19 Finale, but he came up short against fellow castmate Patrick Walsh and was released from his UFC contract. He is 2-0 since that loss though, including a third round TKO victory over Marcus Finch in March that put him back on the UFC radar. The Ronin Training Center fighter, who now resides in Columbus, recently announced that he signed with longtime MMA manager Monte Cox, so a trip back to the big show could be in the card for him with a win here.
Spohn faces Rumsey, a 22-fight veteran who is 2-1 in his last three fights. The Williamsport, PA native has earned five career victories via (T)KO and four via submission. He has competed for Bellator MMA, as well as notable regional organizatons like CFFC, CES MMA, and GOTC.
Other pro bouts feature Pittsburgh based featherweight Francis Healy (4-2) vs. Ohio’s Mike Velazquez (3-2), and Pittsburgh’s Mitchell Killeen (1-2) against New York’s Jake Anderson (0-3).
On the amateur side of things, a pair of titles will be up for grabs, as Steve Mowry (6-0) and Chris Araujo (5-2) square off for the heavyweight title, while Garrett Dush (4-4) and Corey Vail (4-0) will do battle for the welterweight title.
The organization announced the full card on their Facebook page, and in an interesting pairing, bantamweights Jason Alexander (4-0) and Dalton Brady (4-0) are scheduled to square off. That matchup is notable because the two fighters are actually set to square off for the bantamweight title at IT Fight Series 33 this weekend in Columbus.
GOTC MMA 17 takes place at the Family Sports Center in Butler, PA on June 6th. Previous events have streamed live via the organization’s official webiste, but streaming plans have not been officially announced for this event. Stay tuned to BluegrassMMA.com for more information as it becomes available.
Official GOTC MMA 17 fight card
Pro Bouts
Dan Spohn (10-4) vs. Lewis Rumsey (11-11)
Francis Healy (4-2) vs. Mike Velazquez (3-2)
Mitchell Killeen (1-2) vs. Jake Anderson (0-3)
Amateur Bouts
Steve Mowry (6-0) vs. Chris Araujo (5-2) – for heavyweight title
Garrett Dush (4-4) vs. Corey Vail (4-0) – for welterweight title
Zachery Schultz (4-2) vs. Cody Hier (3-1)
Jeremy Sakuta (1-4) vs. Derek Hays (3-9)
Robert Johnston (0-1) vs. Marc Sestok (1-0)
Brandon Watkins (0-1) vs. Nicholas Sneyd (0-0)
Damon Thiel (2-1) vs. Charles O’Brien (0-1)
Dalton Brady (4-0) vs. Jason Alexander (4-0)
Dietrick Lamade (0-1) vs. Nathaniel Medice (0-0)
Ryan Thorne (0-3) vs. Vince Meng (0-0)
Joshua Fremd (3-1) vs. Cody Kelley (3-1)