The ladies stole the show Saturday night during King of the Cage’s “Offensive Strategy” at Northern Lights Casino in Walker.

That is, until the main event.

But there were myriad quality storylines in northern Minnesota on Saturday.

First up were the ladies, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

Alison Milliron and Judy Conaway led off the evening with a slugfest. It lasted just 1:21, but both fighters landed nasty punches, sending their opponents staggering backward.

In the end, Milliron was too strong for Conaway. Milliron finally landed a right hook to Conaway’s cheek that sent her into the cage. One final flurry forced the ref to stop the fight. But Milliron, her nosed bloodied, set the tone for the evening.

Later, newcomer Teslah Bastian, who fights out of Twin Ports MMA, got the crowd back on its feet with her first-round finish of Carolyn Biskup.

Biskup appeared to have the upper hand early, but Bastian eventually got the fight to the ground, landing four solid punches before Biskup offered her back. From there, it didn’t take long for Bastian to lock in the rear-naked choke.

After the victory, Bastian let out a series of primal screams in celebration.

Doyle’s back

Making his return to the cage Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd was Jeff Doyle, who trains with Shane DeZee at Gorilla Combat. Doyle had been away from the fight game for nearly six years before returning to training about nine months ago. He plays in a band and had been focusing on his music.

Doyle, who had a 7-1 record before leaving MMA in 2004, didn’t show any cage rust Saturday, overwhelming Dean Lamb in the first round. Doyle landed a combination on his feet that sent Lamb to the canvas. Doyle quickly followed and gained full mount, delivering plenty of punishment before finishing Lamb with an armbar at the 2:25 mark of the first round.

Doyle may be fighting again as early as this weekend, at Treasure Island Resort and Casino, though he said nobody confirmed that fight with him.

Ready, wrestle!

In just his second amateur fight, former Minnesota high school wrestling standout Sam Schad was stellar in his victory over Chris Davis.

Schad is a former Minnesota state wrestling champion. He had a 201-31 career record at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School and was a four-time state place-winner. The five-time state entrant had a 154-5 record in his final four seasons, losing just twice outside of the state tournament.

Davis started off Saturday’s fight with a bang, landing a flying knee early in the first round. But Schad didn’t seem bothered by the knee, which landed on the left side of his chin, and he quickly put Davis on the mat with a takedown. From there he worked his ground and pound but was unable to finish the fight in the first round.
Schad scored another takedown early in the second and gained full mount, finishing the fight less than a minute into the round.

The brothers Barberena

For the first time ever at a King of the Cage event, three brothers fought on the same card. Bryan, Kody and Kevin Barberena shared the spotlight Saturday, and the brothers came away with two wins in three fights.
Kevin won a unanimous decision over Joe Pawlenty, and Kody scored a first-round TKO win over Jon Wolbeck.

That just left Bryan Barberena, and although Bryan didn’t come away with a victory, he did engage in the fight of the night against Derek Smith.

Smith and Bryan Barberena met in the night’s main event. The back-and-forth war saw both fighters gain dominant position several times, often within the same round.

Just when it looked like Barberena might finish the fight on the ground, Smith would stand up or reverse positions.

Then Smith would seize control.

It was everything a main event should be.

Barberena seemed to get the better of the stand-up game, but Smith landed his shots, too.

In the end, Barberena likely was ahead on the scorecards. But Smith wasn’t done. More than halfway through the third round, Smith passed Barberena’s guard, delivered a series of punches and then locked in an armbar for the victory.

King of the Cage organizers already have begun planning their next Minnesota event, which will be held March 5 at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen.

MNMMANEWS Fight of the Night
Derek Smith vs. Bryan Barberena. This one was a no-brainer. Smith and Barberena thrilled fans with an all-out, back-and-forth, three-round war. There were times when it looked like both were in control, and I’m not so sure that Barberena wasn’t winning the fight up until Smith finished it late in the third. This fight alone was worth the price of admission.

MNMMANEWS Fighter of the Night
Sam Schad. This kid has loads of potential. With his wrestling background and mean streak, the sky is the limit. He dominated the much-taller Chris Davis with some serious ground and pound.

MNMMANEWS Submission of the Night
Jeff Doyle. Doyle’s armbar victory over Dean Lamb was splendid, mainly because Doyle has been away from the fight game for six years. He won his return in impressive fashion, finishing Lamb in the first round.

MNMMANEWS Knockout of the Night
Alison Milliron. She came straight forward and swung for the fences, earning a first-round TKO victory over Judy Conaway. Both fighters landed some solid punches and put on a good show, but in the end Milliron was able to finish a game Conaway.

KING OF THE CAGE “OFFENSIVE STRATEGY”
Amateurs
Alison Milliron def. Judy Conaway by TKO at 1:21 of first round.
Brandon Rossbach def. Jim Peterson by TKO at 1:41 of first round.
Kevin Barberena def. Joe Pawlenty by unanimous decision.
Teslah Bastian def. Carolyn Biskup by rear-naked choke at 2:27 of first round.
Carl Deaton def. Eli Finn by rear-naked choke at 2:40 of first round.
Sam Schad def. Chris Davis by TKO at :24 of second round.
Jared Averbeck def. Dan Church by rear-naked choke at 2:29 of second round.
Kody Barberena def. Jon Wolbeck by TKO at 1:39 of first round.
Pros
R.T. Hicks def. Kyle Fletcher by rear-naked choke at 2:13 of first round.
Jeff Doyle def. Dean Lamb by armbar at 2:25 of first round.
Reese Hernandez def. Jed Anderson by submission due to strikes at 1:43 of third round.
Derek Smith def. Bryan Barberena by armbar at 2:55 of third round.