There were approximately 3,000 people in attendance at the Sears Centre, according to Adrenaline MMA President Monte Cox. Among those in attendance were MMA notables: Tim Sylvia, Ben Rothwell, Andrei Arlovski, and Jens Pulver. With big-name MMA stars in the house, television crew-members and cameras abound, and the arena setting of the Sears Centre, the local MMA community was primed and ready to see their own take the cage.

The main event included hometown favorite and local police officer Mike Russow taking on another hometown boy Jason Guida. Guida had not fought since March of 2007, and that could not have been more apparent. Though he received respect from all parties present, including opponent Russow, he did not last long in the cage. The Chicago policeman locked in a neck crank submission against the cage within two minutes of the first round. For the local fans, what ended up being the main event was probably more exciting, as the two fighters had the crowd polarized with each side chanting the name of their favorite fighter.

Though IFL standouts Rory Markham and Bart Palaszewski did not make amazing showings, they both proved to be too much for their respective opponents Jay Ellis and Jeff Cox.

Markham weathered a massive flying knee in the opening seconds in the first round, as Ellis overshot Markham altogether and jumped over him. From there, Markham dropped heavy punches to the face of Ellis, but quickly got swept to his back. The IFL middleweight star managed to secure a triangle choke which forced Ellis to tap out within the first minute of round one. At first glance, this might have appeared to be a solid win by Markham, but it is sobering to know that he outweighed his opponent by more than twenty pounds.

Lightweight Bart Palaszewski managed to survive a first round pummeling from seemingly outmatched opponent Jeff Cox, as Cox was able to take Palaszewski down almost at will. Each time he was taken down, “Bartimus” was able to slow the ground game down enough to warrant a referee stand up. The two circled each other and traded punches for most of the second round until Palaszewski landed a flush right high-kick to the face of Cox and scored a flash knockout that electrified his hometown crowd.

Despite many boos from the crowd, Joe Jordan put up a very impressive display of speed and boxing skill against opponent Ryan Williams in his Adrenaline debut. I could not catch up with Ryan Williams after the show, but he seemed to be extremely nervous in his television debut. Jordan was comfortable leaving his hands at his side, bobbing and weaving all punches, and peppering Williams with effective jabs and out-boxing him. To see Ryan Williams’s face after the fight illustrated perfectly the impressive boxing Joe Jordan really displayed.

Clay French’s performance against Jameel Massouh was nothing short of dominating. To please some readers, I will go as far to say, “Clay French is a beast.” He showed total superiority in each facet of the fight as he out-boxed Massouh in round one, scored a massive double-leg takedown in round two, and ultimately rear naked choked his opponent later in the round. Not too much else to note about French other than you should watch for him to go onto bigger things.

One very notable performance from the untelevised card was that of FloMMA fighter Louis Taylor. Taylor weathered an intense grappling attack from opponent Adam Maciejewski, as well as showed great striking ability paired with a rock-hard chin. He kept an intense pace for the entirety of the fight, and ultimately won a 29-28 unanimous decision.

Overall, the 2,500 to 3,000-person crowd might seem like a minor failure at first glance. However, the fact that Monte Cox has been running Extreme Challenge shows in hotel conference rooms for the past few years to showcase his managed talent proves Adrenaline MMA to be a great step up for his chosen fighters. In addition to those who fought on Saturday night, Cox has signed Tim Sylvia, Ben Rothwell, and Eddie Alvarez to provide some sure excitement in future Adrenaline productions. Though the promotion may not be up to the desired Strikeforce caliber anytime soon, look for some entertaining moments from Adrenaline MMA in the future.

Main Card:

• Mike Russow def. Jason Guida via submission (neck crank) at 2:13 of Round 1
• Terry Martin def. Daiju Takase, DQ (groin strikes) at 3:35 of Round 2
• Forrest Petz def. Brian Gassaway via unanimous decision (29-28)
• Bart Palaszewski def. Jeff Cox via KO (head kick) at 3:07 of Round 2
• Rory Markham def. Jay Ellis via submission (triangle) at 0:57 of Round 1
• Clay French def. Jameel Massouh via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:18 of Round 2
• Joe Jordan def. Ryan Williams via unanimous decision (29-28)

Veterans Aaron Rosa, Joe Pearson, and Hector Urbina were also all victorious on the evening’s undercard.

The main event is Mike Russow vs. Jason Guida.

To win two tickets to the Adrenaline MMA event be the FIRST person post the correct answers to the following four questions.  Contest is now over, winners have been contacted.

1. Jason Guida is the OLDER or YOUNGER brother to WHICH lightweight UFC fighter? (Two part question)

2. WHAT is the name of the camp Jason Guida trains with his brother out of ?

3. Mike Russow submitted Roman Zentsov on 12/31/07 – WHAT type of submission did he use?

4. Mike Russow is a Chicago: FIREFIGHTER or POLICEMAN or ACCOUNTANT?

All answers MUST be posted in the Comment String of THIS CONTEST POST.

DISCLAIMER: Only enter if you can attend this event in Chicago, IL. Winner will contacted via email (be sure to use a legit email address) and must send their US mailing address to Sam Caplan by midnight tonight (6/11). We will be overnight-ing the tickets to the winners.

The announcement was originally made during this week’s airing of “Inside MMA” on HDNet.

The two sides recently worked out a three-fight agreement that will apparently commence in time for Adrenaline MMA’s first-ever card on June 14 at the Sears Center in Chicago, IL. The event will be headlined by a heavyweight bout featuring former UFC heavyweight title contender Jeff Monson and Chicago-area police officer Mike Russow.

Bouts featuring Terry Martin vs. Daiju Takase, Bart Palaszewski vs. Jeff Cox, Anthony Lapsley vs. Mark Miller, Rob Kimmons vs. Hector Urbina, and Rory Markham vs. Tiawan Howard are scheduled as well.

MMA Payout also indicates that the promotion’s second show will take place on September 6 and emanate from Moline, IL. Both Ben Rothwell and Tim Sylvia are tentatively scheduled for the card, in separate bouts.

The complete card for Adrenaline MMA’s first-ever show on June 14 at the Sears Center in Chicago, IL is nearly set. According to the fight promotion’s web site, the first card is shaping up like this:

Main Card:

• Jeff Monson (23-7) vs. Mike Russow (9-1)
• Daiju Takase (7-11) vs. Terry Martin (16-4)
• Alberto Crane (8-2) vs. Clay French (14-2)
• Tony Fryklund (14-9) vs. Brian Gassaway (25-17-1)
• Jeff Cox (9-6) vs. Bart Palaszewski (28-11)
• Taiwan Howard (6-1) vs. Rory Markham (14-4)
• James Giboo (11-2) vs. Mark Miller (9-3)
• Herc Hayes (7-5) vs. Kerry Schall (22-9)
• Rob Kimmons (15-3) vs. Hector Urbina (11-3)
• Aaron Rosa (10-2) vs. Ron Fields (18-24-1)

Preliminary Card:

• Dom O’Grady (4-0) vs. Mike Stumpf (8-1)
• Joe Jordan (40-11) vs. Ryan Williams (6-1)
• Christian Reynosa (6-2) vs. Josh Hosman (7-3-1)

According to a press release from the promotion, Miller and Palaszewski are on the card with the consent of the IFL. No mention of Markham, which could mean he’s now a free agent.Adrenaline also got permission from EliteXC to use Rosa and Urbina.

It’s interesting to note that Cox and Crane are on the card, as I doubt the UFC would give their consent for them to fight on a Monte Cox show. It’s possible they are fighting outside of their UFC contracts, but more than likely they were cut. Also, depending to who you talk to, Martin may or may not have been released by the UFC. There are those claiming he received a waiver to compete outside of his contract.

Howard is also a fighter to watch. I saw him at the IFL Draft tryouts in New York last year and he looked good. Initially, he was left off the final list but when they needed an extra fighter, he jumped up on the canvas and without hesitation volunteered to fight again. He looked much better in the second fight and ended up advancing. His brother, Torrance Taylor, might be an even better prospect. Taylor was pulling off some moves that you’d normally see from Cung Le. I haven’t heard much about Taylor lately, though.

Overall, this should be a very successful regional card. Monte Cox knows how to promote grass roots, regional MMA and Russow is apparently a big ticket seller in the Chicago area. I was told that half the police force may come out just to see him fight.

Already known was a matchup between Jeff Monson and Mike Russo but agent/promoter Monte Cox has informed MMARated.com that EliteXC fighter, Aaron Rosa, will be fighting on the card as well as IFL fighter, Bart Palaszewski. The Illinois-native Palaszewski will be facing former UFC fighter, Jeff Cox.

Also, former UFC fighter Terry Martin will face Daiju Takase in a middleweight battle.

Along with those two fights, the rest of the fight card looks like this according to MMA Rated’s post:

• Jeff Monson vs. Mike Russow

• Tony Fryklund vs. Brian Gassaway

• Terry Martin vs. Daiju Takase

• Rory Markham vs. TBD

• Aaron Rosa vs. TBD

• Bart Palaszewski vs. Jeff Cox

Just announced on tonight’s Inside MMA, mixed martial arts super agent Monte Cox is starting a new fight promotion called Adrenaline MMA (formerly known as M-1 Global) and has signed top 10 heavyweights Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell. “The Maine-iac” said his split from the UFC was amicable and said his deal with the new Adrenaline MMA promotion is non-exclusive. He will not fulfill the last fight on his contract with the UFC and has been released from his contract altogether.

At age 32, he hopes to fight several times a year, in Adrenaline MMA and in other promotions. He stated he’d like to fight in Japan and (of course) said Fedor is #1 one on his list.

Monte Cox stated Adrenaline MMA’s first show will be June 14th in Chicago.

UPDATE: MMA Weekly is reporting that not only have Ben Rothwell and Tim Sylvia signed on for the new Adrenaline MMA promotion, but that they’ve also signed current EliteXC and DREAM fighter Eddie Alvarez. Also according to the report, a fight between American Top Team’s Jeff Monson and PRIDE veteran Mike Russow has already been signed for the inaugural show.