Shamrock FC: Throwdown - Preview

Twenty-one year old Joaquin Buckley makes a strong claim for the title of "next big thing." On July 25th, he will get a chance to solidify such claims when he returns for his fourth professional fight.

Training out of Finney's MMA, Buckley chalked up his first three professional wins before he was legally allowed to enter the casino. Buckley takes on the always game Stacy Bacon. With a few opponents dropping out, Bacon has agreed to take the fight on less than a week's notice.

"My short term goal is to keep winning these local fights." Buckley said. "Get my name out there and get my exposure to my local fans. My long term goal is to be on the big shows, UFC or Bellator, who ever calls me first and wants to give me the big contract."

Brian Schell returns to action after a two year layoff. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt is always fun to watch and has some memorable bouts with Bo Kunz, Chris Heatherly, and Kain Royer in the past. Schell won his first two pro fights before a submission loss to Brian Grinell put him on the shelf for a bit. Schell is back on Saturday taking on Jordan Mitchell.

Scott Ettling and Matt Murphy will tangle at bantamweight. Murphy will be moving up to 135 from flyweight. Ettling defeated AJ Siscoe in his last trip to the Shamrock FC cage.

Fight Hard champ Michelle Pearce is back in action, Pearce faces Tiffany Leichliter. Pearce was the 2014 STL MMA Amateur of the Year in addition to the Unified Midwest Women's flyweight champ and trains out of the Academy of Courage. Pearce will be making her professional debut, and has been nursing a banged up hand, an injury suffered in her title fight with Ronni Lawerence in October.

Rounding out the pro portion of the card is Lance DeClue taking on Carl Rodgers, and Dillon Tolbert facing Nick McClean. DeClue will look to get back in the win column after dropping to 1-1 last June with a loss to Shane Shomidie.

On the undercard, scrappy wrestler Kris Craig will take on Erik Newman in an amateur fight that could easily steal the show. Sam Tamayo out of CMMA has looked impressive in his two fights and will face Shapen Jordan.

Joaquin Buckley vs Stacy Bacon
Brian Schell vs Jordan Mitchell
Lance Declue vs Carl Rodgers
Scott Ettling vs Matt Murphy
Dillon Tolbert vs Nick Mcclean
Michelle Pearce vs Tiffany Leichliter

Kris Craig vs Eric Newman
Sam Tamayo vs Laree Hutchinson
Justin Lankford vs Zach Burcham
Nikk Willyard vs Danny Quaite
Evan Elders vs Jamese Taylor
Cody Nuacke vs Jake Willyard
Jerry Bellew vs Jonathon Vest

Shamrock FC: Throwdown
Saturday, July 25th
Lumiere Casino, St. Louis, MO