Just over a month out from their return to Mansfield, RFO has already started lining up bouts for Big Guns 17.
And after a successful debut in Summit County, the organization isn’t taking any steps back, as the three pro bouts announced for October 17 already have fans salivating.
At lightweight, John Gunther (1-0) takes on Chris Tucker (1-2), featherweights RJ Buck (1-1) and Mike Williams (2-4) will square off, and unbeaten bantamweights will throw down when Josh Longood (2-0) faces Kendale Young (1-0).
Gunther, who held the RFO middleweight title from an amateur, returns to the RFO cage after a dominant two-fight stint under the NAAFS banner. Now a member of the Strong Style Fight Team, Gunther is competing as a lightweight and made his pro debut in March with a one-sided victory over Xavier Nash. He has won four in a row dating to his amateur days.
Tucker has had an up and down early pro career, as he sandwiched a win over Caleb Fickert with losses to Dave Vandevelde and Dave Lastafka under the NAAFS banner. This will be the RFO debut for the Cincinnati native.
Another Strong Style product is set to make his pro debut, as Buck heads to Mansfield for the first time to take on the hometown favorite Williams. Buck went on a four-fight tear to close out his amateur career, but he’s yet to gain solid footing as a pro, earning a narrow decision over Mike Putnam in his first fight before being submitted by Eric Bledsoe in his most recent outing last October.
Williams has had a rough go of things this year, as he was stopped by Bledsoe via first round TKO in March before being submitted by Zach Cook in the first round earlier this month. He’ll look to get back to winning form when he faces Buck.
The ormer RFO featherweight champion Longood will look to stay unbeaten as the Mansfield native competes for the RFO for the third time in as many pro bouts. After an impressive amateur career, “The Honeybadger” has racked up submission wins over Lloyd Thornton and Jeff Mack to kick off his pro career.
The Kentucky native Young looks to play spoiler while also following up on a first round knockout victory over Nicholas Rodriguez in his pro debut a year ago.
Stay tuned to BluegrassMMA.com for more information on RFO: Big Guns 17.
RFO: Big Guns 17 card
John Gunther vs. Chris Tucker
Mike Williams vs. RJ Buck
Josh Longood vs. Kendale Young
Photo courtesy RFO/Mike Wrobel/Shoot It MMA