Cooper, Smith to clash in light heavyweight thriller at PFC
Posted on | July 6, 2007 | No Comments
LEMOORE — Adam Smith knows very little about his opponent for his pro mixed martial arts debut at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino on July 19th.
The Venice Beach fighter barely knew his name.
When asked what Smith knew about Las Vegas’ Dewey Cooper, Smith said “Who? My opponent? I think it’s his pro debut, too. I know nothing about him and it doesn’t matter.”
That seems to be much of the case for the casual combat sport fan.
Who is Dewey Cooper?
“You’re not validated as a fighter unless you do MMA now days,” said Cooper, who has complied a kickboxing record of 44-9-3 and a pro boxing record of 15-0-2.
“I’ve been a martial artist all my life and I’m sick of hearing about how you have to do MMA,” Cooper added. “I’m going to prove my talent.”
For hardcore fans it quite possibly could be the most anticipated fight at the Palace Fighting Championship’s “Step Up” event. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. with fights starting at 6:30 p.m.
“Dewey’s stand up is probably as good as any light heavyweight in MMA today… period. I don’t care who anyone mentions; they would not have a distinct advantage over Dewey in a stand-up fight. Obviously, he needs to have the ground game to compliment his stand up,” Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino Entertainment Director Christian Printup said.
“What’s great about Dewey is he acknowledges the areas of his game he needs to work on. Is he going to pull guard and look for a submission? No. Why would he? He can KO people with either fist or leg. With solid takedown defense and his willingness to learn and evolve as a martial artist, I believe the sky is the limit for Dewey in MMA.”
Smith is a former pro boxer and compiled a 6-19-1 record. The 28-year-old has one amateur MMA fight under his belt, stopping his opponent in less than 45 seconds.
“I’ve been training for this fight for two months now,” Smith said. “My first fight I ended in under 45 seconds and this one won’t last 30. I’m a stand-up fighter and train in Muay Thai, but my ground game is improving. I’ve really been working on my jiu-jitsu.
“I’m skilled and my cardio is phenomenal. It’s going to be a short fight and end with a quick submission or knockout where I give the fans exactly what they want to see.”
Cooper has been hard at work honing his ground skills with Ricardo Cavalcanti and his standup with boxing coach Kevin Barry, who has trained such boxing standouts as David Tua, Maselino Masoe and Robbie Peden, and Muay Thai under Nick Blomgren, who is known as One Kick Nick and has trained such standouts as Ray Sefo, Alfie Alcarez, Chuck Liddell and Phil Baroni.
“I think this is a tremendous challenge for Dewey,” Barry said. “I think it’s the ultimate challenge. It’s not the sort of challenge you take under when you’re in your 30’s. But he’s a phenomenal athlete and a great kick boxer and boxer. His kicks are unreal. I think his main goal early on is to prevent the takedown.”
Cooper might not have to do that with Smith, who like Cooper is looking for a knockout.
“I love these 4-ounce gloves. I’m not going to make this a street fight, though. I’m going to demonstrate my skills. I’m prepared to go all three rounds if need be. You’re going to see me throwing a lot of techniques at him,” Copper said.
“All I know is he better have his hands up and be ready. My kicks are as strong as ever and I’m going to be throwing a lot of combinations. You won’t see me throwing one punch at a time.”
Cooper has a big fan following in the Central Valley, training such Palace boxing favorites as Las Vegas’ Jessica Rackozy and Fresno’s Frank Mondejar.
“Dewey has an advantage over the average light heavyweight because he is such a complete stand up fighter. He’s 15-0 in professional boxing and sports a very impressive record in kickboxing. Everyone talks about how would a boxer do in an MMA fight? Forget Ray Mercer. Ray is years past his prime. Dewey is the most accomplished boxer to enter the world of MMA. He’s not Tommy Morrison, with special rules or whatever. He’s facing a very tough and strong guy in Adam Smith, who I’ve seen fight multiple times. Smith is no slouch. If he gets Dewey on his back, who knows what can happen.”
PFC 3 “Step up” is completely sold out and is the third consecutive sellout and the fastest sellout in Central Valley MMA history.
The card features a pair of championship exciting bouts. Sacramento’s Dave Espinosa (3-0) takes on Porterville’s Shawn Klarzcyk (5-1) for the vacant bantamweight championship and Oroville’s Shawn Bias (10-4) challenges Minnesota’s Aaron Maldonado (4-0) for the vacant featherweight crown.
In the main event, Lemoore’s Chris Botelho (4-2) takes on Bakersfield’s Josh McCartney (1-1) in a welterweight eliminator.
In other bouts:
— Fresno’s Casey Olson (4-1) takes on Stockton’s Brandon Jinnies (2-5) in a lightweight bout.
— Lemoore’s Kenny Ento (6-2) fights Palika Drummondo (2-3) at middleweight.
— Calousa’s Ruben Villareal (11-13-3) takes on Tulare’s Rafael Del Real (4-5) in a heavyweight bout.
— In a welterweight fight, Lemoore’s Mickey Martinez (2-0-1) battles Bakersfield’s Robert Breslin (3-6-1).
— Sacramento’s Mark Munoz (0-0) makes his light heavyweight debut against Elk Grove’s Donny Easterling (0-2).
— In a featherweight bout, Fresno’s Ralph Lopez (2-0) meets Sacramento’s Louie Moreno (1-2).
— Lemoore’s Elvis Franco makes his pro featherweight debut against Anahiem’s Scott Brommage (0-2).
— Visalia’s Mike Cook (3-1) tangles with Bakersfield’s Paul Mince (4-3) in a heavyweight bout.
— Coalinga’s Mario Rivera (3-4) meets Bakersfield’s Joe Chaidez (2-0) in the welterweight division.
— Sacramento’s Jeremy Freitag (4-5) returns to action at the Palace against Philadelphia’s Lamont Lister (3-2) in a light heavyweight showdown.
— Las Vegas’ Angelo Antuna (4-0) challenges Palmdale’s Seth Dikun in a featherweight fight.
— In a bantamweight eliminator, Jason Georgianna (3-0) takes on Visalia’s Brandon Miller (2-0).
Weigh-ins are slated for Wednesday, July 18th at 4 p.m. at The Den Sports bar located on the third floor of the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino. Fight fans are encouraged to come see their favorite fighters.
For more breaking PFC news log on to www.palacefightingchampionship.com.