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July 19, 2011

MMA: Stith takes first MMA loss

DelPrado catches Jeff native with 2nd-round submission

By MATT KOESTERS Matt.Koesters@newsandtribune.com

INDIANAPOLIS —



For two rounds, Josh Stith hammered Brandon DelPrado with punches. Whether they were standing up or on the ground, it was Stith who dominated the fight. But at the end, it was DelPrado who raised his arm in victory.

DelPrado (3-0) caught Stith (2-1) in an armbar with less than 30 seconds to go in the second round of their fight at Total Warrior Challenge 9: Beserk at the Venue Conference Center in Indianapolis on Saturday. It was the Jeffersonville native’s first loss at any level of competition in mixed martial arts.

“It was snap or tap,” Stith said.

The Stith-DelPrado fight — originally slated to be the 11th on the card — was moved up to the fourth match of the night. Stith’s night could have ended early because DelPrado showed up four pounds overweight for their 170-pound bout, but Stith decided to move forward with the fight anyhow, as he had friends and family in the stands.

The first round was all Stith. The Jeff firefighter brought the Merrillsville man down and was able to pin his oppenents arms beneath his knees as he rained down punches, but DelPrado was able to escape the dangerous position. Standing up, Stith had other opportunities to go for the knockout with DelPrado pinned against the cage, but again DelPrado was able to survive.

“I did pretty good. I was beating him pretty bad in the stand-up,” Stith said. “I was connecting a lot with a lot of punches.”

The second round went similarly to the first. Stith landed several punches standing up, and when the fight went to the ground Stith took top position on DelPrado. But an error inside of DelPrado’s guard led to the armbar submission hold.

“I got a little overagressive trying to go for the knockout when I had him on the ground,” Stith said. “Then he spun and got me in an armbar and that was all she wrote.”

Stith isn’t discouraged by the loss.

“I don’t have a mark on me,” Stith said. “The kid was a lot tougher than I thought. Sometimes you just get caught in stuff and that’s the beauty of MMA. I love it because anything can happen.”

Now that Stith has taken his first loss, he plans to move down a weight class to 155 pounds.

Stith plans to wrestle in the World Police and Fire Games before returning to the world of MMA. He expects to have his first fight at 155 around September or October.

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