Jeff turns in solid MMA debut

PORTERVILLE -- Jacob Jeff's mixed martial arts debut didn't last too long. The Lemoore fighter took just one minute, 51 seconds to dispense of Auggie Garcia (0-5) by technical knockout due to strikes on Sunday at Eagle Mountain Casino.

"It kind of felt weird out there. Not really so much like a dream, but I felt some butterflies and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff," said Jeff, who has been a long-time MMA trainer for Lemoore based Team Ochoa.

"[Garcia] hit me and my first reaction was to hit him back," said Jeff of the Gladiator Challenge victory. "I swung and missed, but saw an opening for his leg and I grabbed it."

And Jeff easily controlled the fight from that point on, taking Garcia to the mat where he worked out of a guillotine submission attempt and then opened up with heavy leather on his opponent and eventually made him tap out.

"I could tell he didn't have it on the ground," Jeff said. "I was controlling him pretty easy from inside guard. It felt really good to win and have all those people cheering for me."

Jeff initially was not going to compete in mixed martial arts, but was encouraged by his wife Patty to test his skills after years of training.

"This was just a one time thing. I don't plan on fighting again unless my coach Medo [Morales] thinks that I really should," Jeff said. "If my wife wants me to fight, I guess that's something that we will have to talk about, too."

In other action, Lemoore's Sergio Quinones fell to 2-3 after being submitted by Oakdale's Bill Theofonopolous (3-0) and Huron's Sergio Cortez (4-4) was submitted by Oakdale's Justin Smitley (5-2) in the Gladiator Challenge 145-pound title fight.

(July 28, 2008)