Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Rick “The Jet” Roufus Defeats Mike Buell in Oklahoma at C3 Fights


While Milwaukee fight fans were treated to Duke Roufus fighting last Saturday in Milwaukee, his older brother and former Milwaukee resident, Rick “The Jet” Roufus won a unanimous decision victory nearly a thousand miles to the southwest. The fight, which took place at the First Council Casino in Newark, Oklahoma marks “The Jet’s” second attempt in MMA. Roufus, now of Tempe, Arizona squared off against Phoenix, Arizona resident Mike Buell.

His opponent, Mike Buell is a journeyman fighter with over twelve years of experience in MMA fighting. He also runs a gym in Phoenix, Arizona called Buell Fighting Systems. In addition to MMA, he also has experience in boxing, kickboxing, shootfighting, and submission grappling. Mike Buell sports an MMA record of (8-7) but has not had a fight listed on Sherdog in five years. It is interesting to note that both fighters currently reside in the Phoenix area and there is a picture of Mike Buell cornering Rick Roufus in a K-1 kickboxing bout on the website of his gym.

Rick Roufus won the bout (30-27) on all three judges scorecards and improves his MMA record to (1-1) with his win over Mike Buell. Roufus fought his first MMA bout in February against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith. Smith defeated Roufus with a straight armlock in the first round at a Strikeforce show headlined by Bob Sapp. The C3 fight card on Saturday was headlined by former UFC and Pride veteran, Mark Kerr. Kerr won by keylock at 2:41 in round 1 against Chuck Huus. It was rumored that Kerr and Roufus were to fight in January but the event fell through.

Racism in MMA – King of the Cage & Melvin Costa

Roufus’ opponent, Mike Buell infamously made the news last month and was brought to my attention by Sam Caplan when he was reported as a white supremacist in an intelligence report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The article talked of the involvement of racists in MMA.

Sam Caplan of Five Ounces of Pain had interviewed Gary Shaw about another white supremacist by the name of Melvin Costa would had fought in the King of the Cage promotion numerous times in 2007 after being released from prison. Here is Gary Shaw’s response to Caplan when questioned in October. “I was unaware of the situation (but) I’m in the process of handling it now,” he said. “Hopefully, it will never happen again.” Less than two months later, King of the Cage again had white supremacist Melvin Costa in the cage to fight in a December show.

What’s Next For Roufus?

It is not known what lies in the future for Rick Roufus. Is he going to get some more experience in MMA before taking another crack at a big show like Strikeforce or a former champion like Maurice Smith? Will he make another run in kickboxing like his younger brother is doing? Wisconsin Combat Sports will keep you posted.

Full results from the C3 fights on Saturday:

C3: Battle On The Border
First Council Casino
Newkirk, Oklahoma
03/29/2008

Danny Tims defeats Jacob Austin by Submission (Armbar) - 1:52 RD 2
Justin Scadifi defeats Charles Jones by Unanimous Dec. (29-28,29-28,29-27) - 3:00 RD 3
Steve Schneider def. Brandon Hollingsworth by Split Dec. (29-28,28-29,29-28) - 3:00 RD 3
John Orr defeats Mark Holata by TKO (Ref Stoppage) - 1:48 RD 2
Shannon Ritch defeats Jasper Lockett by Submission (Triangle Choke) - 2:01 RD 1
Brandon Shelton defeats Brittish Pena by Submission (Armbar) - 1:26 RD 1
Rudy Bears defeats Nate James by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - 0:39 RD 1
Rick Roufus defeats Mike Buell by Unanimous Decision (30-27,30-27,30-27) - 3:00 RD 3
Mark Kerr defeats Chuck Huus by Submission (Keylock) - 2:41 RD 1

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 04-01-08.

No comments: