VALOR Fights 26 Official Results

Official results from VALOR Fights 26: All-Pro Tri-Cities live September 12th from Blountville, Tennessee. Big thanks to Bluegrass MMA and Full Frontal MMA for their coverage of the event live. Quick Results at bottom of page.

New Looks Dominate, Submits Walden in Main Event Superfight

In one of the most talked about and anticipated main events in the history of VALOR Fights, Greeneville's popular "Showtime" Steven New faced Tri-City MMA legend Dustin "Diablo" Walden in the VALOR 26 headlining bout. Walden came out early looking to strike, but after slipping to the ground after his first kick of the fight, New attacked and quickly took the fight to the ground. New landed some nasty elbows opening up a cut over the eye of Walden. New mount, the back, and landed many big shots to close out the round. In round two, New again took Walden to the ground and this time, it was too much for Walden as New locked in a beautiful Triangle-Armbar submission to win the fight. New moves to an impressve 5-1 in his pro career and has big things on the horizon, but likely will not return to the cage until early-2016. As for Walden, he said post-fight, "Never say never, but this will likely be the last time I enter this cage as a competitor." Walden has been putting on a show for the local fans for years, and while we all hope he gives us one final battle, if this is it, no doubt Walden will go down in history as the George Washington of East Tennessee MMA.

Pearce, Stamey, Wheeler All Impress in Marquee Matchups

The top of this card was stacked with talent including local favorites Jonathan Pearce, Randy Stamey, and Chattanooga's Sid Wheeler. All three looked outstanding in their performances picking up three big wins. Pearce made his 140 LBS debut as he took on Roufusport's Chris Wright Jr in the night's featured bout. Pearce looked outstanding once the fight went to the ground as he survived some submission attempts and ended the fight with a barrage of hard punches forcing the referee to step in to stop the fight. Pearce was scheduled to headline VALOR 27 in Knoxville, but his opponent was forced out due to injury. Stryker's Randy Stamey met Knoxville's Josh Cate in a highly anticipated matchup in a striker vs grappler matchup and on this occasion, the stiker went home with a win. Wheeler and Baccus likely put on the night's Fight of the Night with a three round battle where Wheeler showed his true talent and toughness defeating the much larger Matthew Baccus. Wheeler used outstanding striking and threw in a nasty back suplex in the first round to awe the fans and won a unaimous decision. Wheeler will now headline VALOR 28 in Chattanooga on October 31st against Julio Gallegos for the VALOR Pro Middleweight Championship.

Olson, Retic Pick Up Upset Finishes

In the night's Co-Main Event, Tri-City favorite Dustin "All-Day" Long faced Roufusport's Cameron Olson as Olson looked to upset the hometown crowed. He did just that as he used his solid wrestling base to takedown Long multiple times in the first two rounds and ended Long's night with a 2nd Round Arm-Triangle Choke. Not to be outdone earlier in the night, Anthony Retic came into town to face another out-of-towner as he faced the heavy favorite and much talked about Ian Lawler out of Kentucky. Retic looked huge at 145 LBS compared to Lawler and showed impressive striking using his range very well. Lawler rushed in looking to close the distance, but that would be a mistake as Retic landed a nasty uppercut that knocked Lawler out cold in the night's KO of the Night.

Ward, Haag, Brown, and Ewers All Earn First Pro Wins

To kickoff the night of fights, four men picked up their first wins as professional fighters. In the night's first fight, William Ewers took on Tri-Cities' own Steve Thomas and finished him quick with a TKO in under 20 seconds. Bushido's Judd Brown has started his career off against three of the best fighters in the region leading to an 0-2, 1 NC start to his pro career. Things got on the right track though at VALOR 26 as he finished Thomas Baber with a 1st Round TKO. Next up, two of VALOR Fights' top prospects showed why both are signed to exclusive deals in their pro debuts. Morristown's Steven Haag showed his nasty ground game with a rare Omoplata submission finish against Nick Collins in the night's Submission of the Night. Former APEX Flyweight Champion Devin Ward out of Bushido also picked up his first pro win with a 1st Round Submission over Brandon Grimmett. All four men picked up first round finishes in a combined 7 minutes; talk about a fast start!

VALOR Fights 26 Quick Results

Steven New def. Dustin Walden via Submission (triangle-armbar) - Round 2, 2:22
Cameron Olson def. Dustin Long via Submission (arm-triangle) - Round 2, 1:02
Jonathan Pearce def. Chris Wright Jr via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:26
Sid Wheeler def. Matt Baccus via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-28)
Randy Stamey def. Josh Cate via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:45
Anthony Retic def. Ian Lawler via KO (uppercut) - Round, 1:03
Devin Ward def. Brandon Grimmett via Submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:31
Steven Haag def. Nick Collins via Submission (omoplata) - Round 1, 4:02
Judd Brown def. Thomas Baber via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:26
Thomas Ewers def. Steve Thomas via TKO (punches) - Round 1, :13