The Names on the Marquee

It’s been a long 76 days since STFC put on a show and their latest installment promises to be one of their best events yet. The card is headlined by one of the pillars of RGV MMA, Danny “Dangerous” Salinas taking on Booker Arthur who is fighting out of Rusk, Texas. Salinas will be making his return to the cage after a one year hiatus away from the sport but his return bout isn’t going to be an easy one. Although Arthur is sporting a 3-4 record in his professional career, the Rusk native has never been finished before in his career as all his losses have come by way of decision. Speaking to that point, Salinas has a 64% completion rate with only 18% of his victories decided by the judges. It’s going to be a spectacle to see a fighter who is known to finish against a fighter who has never been finished. The one advantage Salinas has on Arthur, besides cage experience, is that he is coached by Luis Vega. Arthur took on Vega this past February in Harlingen where he lost by split decision.

 

 

In the co-main event of the night, Victor Martinez (2-2) will finally get a chance to display his evolving skills when he steps in the cage against the up and coming vicious striker, Mike Bustos (2-0). If you recall from STFC’s last card, Martinez was scheduled to take on Joe Rod but the fight was scratched from the event due to Joe Rod suffering an injury. For this event, Martinez was originally scheduled to take on Adrian Torres from Gracie Barra Mcallen but Torres was replaced by Delis Borges last week only to be replaced by Mike Bustos due to Jorge Cortez being scratched from the Bustos/Cortez scrap. I guess all things happen for a reason and truth be told, I’m ecstatic that not only both fighters are able to get a fight but that they are fighting each other. Both fighters come from great camps- Martinez from Team Ferreira BJJ and Bustos from Gracie Barra Mcallen which are arguably the best camps in the valley right now. Bustos has never tasted defeat in his amateur or pro career while Victor Martinez is riding a two win streak. This welterweight clash of two of the biggest MMA prospects will not disappoint anyone in attendance.

 

Supporting Cast

The fun doesn’t start at the main attractions because STFC has lined up some of the best valley prospects to showcase their skills and abilites. Schedule to open the card is Gracie Barra Mcallen Program Director Josh Sharpless taking on the debuting Elias Urbina. Both fighters will be seeking their 1st victory.

Fighting in the 2nd slot of the card the featherweights will take center take with Eduardo Bustillos (2-0) taking on the debuting Raul Ramos(Not the STFC promoter – I asked)  This will be the 3rd time Bustillos enters the STFC cage and if history is any indicator and if he wins, Bustillos will get a victory by submission.

In the 3rd fight of the night, one of the valleys best high school wrestlers, Gilbert Urbina, will be taking on one of the valley’s best MMA prospects, Salvador Gonzalez. The Weslaco East senior has amassed over 100 wins in his high school career and is looking to get his first professional win. Gonzalez, a military veteran, on the other hand has had a very successful run in the amateurs going undefeated and winning a title in his weight division for the Texas Rage in the Cage promotion. Both fighters will be making their pro debut in this fight.

Coming in at clean up, Mcallen native Stephen Perez(2-1) will be taking on Mike Lyte (1-4) from Austin, Texas in a 145lb showdown. Perez was last seen in a cage back in 2011 while Lyte is coming off a loss against Victor Martinez.

The last fight that the fans will be treated to before the two feature fights will  be Leroy Martinez taking on Ruben Martinez in a battle of 135ers.

 

Weigh-ins

 

 

Tickets 

As always, tickets can be purchased at the Mcallen Convention Center and on Ticketmaster.

Ticket prices range from $25 to $75 but if you buy them from Ticketmaster be prepared to spend an extra $8-10 per ticket for convenience fees.

 

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