UFC Vet Forrest Petz Picks Up Win At Bobish’s Ultimate Cage Battles

Forrest Petz

Press Release courtesy of Ultimate Cage Battles

A packed sold out crowd of more than 1,600 fans braved a cold night on January 15 in Northeast Ohio to support one of its own. Dan Bobish, a mixed martial arts pioneer and one of the first fighters from Ohio, was promoting instead of fighting on this night, but the support for “The Bull” was still evident. “Dan Bobish’s Ultimate Cage Battles: Pride & Glory” took place at Ohio Nets Sports Complex in Parma, OH.

Seven-time UFC veteran and hometown favorite Forrest “The Meat Cleaver” Petz (22-9) survived a tough foe in Herbert “Whisper” Goodman (16-10) to take the night’s main event via decision, but it was two other Clevelanders who stole the show. Brian “The Predator” Rogers (6-2) earned his fifth consecutive first-round knockout when he defeated West Virginian Robert Conner (9-4) with a devastating knee and supplementing punches before the referee jumped in to stop it.

“My fans need to stock up on their frequent flier miles,” Rogers said after his fight. “Because I won’t be able to fight around here much longer.”

Veteran kickboxer Tiawan Howard (8-6) snapped a three fight losing streak as he survived against tough wrestler Eric Moon (4-4) of James Lee’s MASH Fight Team to earn a comeback submission in the second round. Tough heavyweights Jason “The Juggernaut” Riley (9-5) and Bobby Brents (7-1) slugged it out in the night’s co-main event, but it was actually Brents who earned a submission after taking Riley to the mat.

Petz and Goodman, who were both coming off of losses coming into the fight, put on an entertaining back-and-forth battle that many figured would be tough to judge. Goodman attempted to maintain his distance to throw strikes, but Petz was effective with technical striking in close and was able to stuff many of the former NFL star’s takedowns. When Goodman did land two takedowns, Petz swept and ended up on top at the end of the fight. All three judges gave the fight to Petz.

Rogers was one of the biggest stars of the night, having sold many tickets and with more than 200 family and friends in attendance to support him. Another former football player, Rogers stuffed one takedown from the ultra-strong Conner but was ultimately taken to the mat. As per his regular routine, Rogers was able to get back on his feet almost immediately and began picking the M-1 Selection veteran apart. A big right hand almost finished the fight, but Rogers let Conner back to his feet and landed a devastating knee that crippled his opponent. A few shots on the ground put the cherry on the top, and Rogers ended the night with his fifth consecutive first round knockout, although this one took him a little longer than the previous four.

Howard’s striking was stymied throughout much of the first round, as Moon remained tough and landed a takedown to counter nearly every shot that the veteran threw. The first round clearly went to Moon, but Howard remained tough and ultimately landed a solid head kick that stumbled Moon. Moon shot in once again for the takedown, but Howard caught an arm and finished the fight with a kimura.

Full Results Pro Card:

Forrest Petz def. Whisper Goodman by unanimous decision
Bobby Brents def. Jason Riley by submission (key lock) at 1:37, R2
Brian Rogers def. Robert Conner by TKO at 3:07, R1
Tiawan Howard def. Eric Moon by submission (kimura) at 3:38, R2

Amateur Card:
Cody Garbrandt def. Billy Freedson by TKO R1
Jeremiah Yeager def. Jake Huffman by submission R3
Rich Randolph def. Dallas Dishman by submission R1
Justin Cooper def. Shane Rivera by TKO R2
Joe Callari def. Marcus Esler by split decision
Christian Anderson def. Eric Ferguson by submission R3
Bobby Gilmore def. Nick Schenk by submission R2
Brandon Seylor def. Josh Berkley by submission R1