Saturday night brought the return of the up and coming promotion Prime FS to the southern county of St. Louis, MO. In the main event Jason Newman out works a gritty Thomas Nguyen to capture the 155 Muay Thai championship crown. In the co main event Rodney Cotten in impressive fashion scored a submission over Fred Freeman.

The night was filled with finishes and some weird and unexpected happenings but none of that overshadowed why we were there. The Prime FS and Academy of Courage blessed the crowd with a beautiful feat showcasing JP Gillespie and Alex Russo. For Gillespie he was able to grapple with Matt Murphy which lead to him receiving his orange belt and being challenged to a fight. Russo and his coach Kain Royer showed off his hands and takedowns in a truly rewarding moment for all involved. Aside from a little bit of controversy and issues outside of the cage it was another admirable night for Prime FS.

In the main event Jason Newman fended off a myriad of spinning back fists and pressure from the hungry Thomas Nguyen. Nguyen stayed in the face of Jason for all three rounds but once Jason got down the timing of the attacks he took him to task. Even still there were some clear moments for Thomas who was able to find Jason when least expected. Newman composed himself nicely and countered with a vicious assault of his own that kept the young fighter guessing in each round. By the time the battle was over Newman did just enough to earn the split victory over Nguyen.

Fred Freeman out of MCS seemed to be in total control early in the co main event of Prime FS. Out of no where Rodney Cotton dropped Freeman which took the battle to the ground and ultimately set up the submission on Freeman at the very last second. Robbie Dunham then made quick work of Ben McCabe submitting him by an armbar in a matter of 15 seconds and Devon Dillard was also successful in his defeat over David Maness Jr.

The heavyweight fight between Matt Masterson and Chris Gideon was a heated exchange on the feet that Matt wanted no part of. With a distinct advantage in size he took the fight to the ground and was able to finish Chris in the second round.

One of the weirder fights of the night was between crowd favorite Ace Anderson and Matt Hulsey. It started off on a bad note when Hulsey somehow forgot his cup. Once he was set and the fight started he laid hands on Ace almost dropping him more than once. Anderson took the fight to the ground but was put in submission trouble in the first round including an illegal kick on the ground to Matt. The second round was similar but Ace responded faster and got Matt to the ground once again and almost pulled off a key lock submission. Going into the third round it seemed as if the score would have been tied and neither fighter did anything in the third to win the fight. Still the refs scored the fight for Anderson but would have to change the scoring results as they were clearly off after being announced.

Da’ Rell Fulgham and Mimi Kutzin both looked impressive in their wins and Zoey Hahn won the women’s youth after some butterflies almost didn’t allow the fight to happen.

The crowd was definitely alive on Saturday night and new announcer Pamela Rossi did her best to try and keep the momentum on tact. Though she needs to work on her projection and timing you could see the potential and effort there mixed with a willingness to learn. There has been many heated words exchanged between camps and attendees of the event but hopefully this article will remind all what the true focal point of the night was a celebration of courage and determination for a cause of awareness that can never be denied. Much praise should be given to Prime FS and all those involved for looking at the bigger picture while still providing an entertaining night of combat sports.