Weisgram suffers first loss at King of the Cage

WORLEY — Sandpoint Mixed Martial Arts fighter Tanner Weisgram stepped into the cage against one of the top Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the Northwest on Friday during the King of the Cage, Free Fall 2 fights at the Coeur d’Alene Casino.

Weisgram (4-1) suffered the first defeat of his career to Andrew Ramm (9-0-1) from Hybrid MMA in Bremerton, Washington, lasting all three rounds and losing by unanimous decision against the best opponent he’s faced to date.

“There is always an experience in going the distance,” said Weisgram, who also trains with Trevor Prangley’s AKA in Coeur d’Alene, after the fight. “People don’t realize how tiring it is to go nine minutes straight.”

Ramm tried numerous times to submit Weisgram, who fought his way out of several near chokes in the first two rounds. At the start of the third, Weisgram landed a big left hand, snapping Ramm’s head back, then landed another powerful right hand before running out of gas after Ramm took him to the mat again.

“In the third round I came out with a couple of good shots, then said ‘holy crap, I’m tired,’” described Weisgram. “Overall I was happy. A fight is a fight, you keep your head up and keep your heart strong.”

North Idaho Jiu-Jitsu’s Curtis Mickelson, who was in the corner during the fight, said Weisgram did well to go the distance.

“For being at the level of Jiu-Jitsu he was at, he did well,” said Mickelson. “The guy he was fighting is a very decorated Jiu-Jitsu fighter in the Northwest.”

In the main event, it was a crisp, clean, workmanlike effort for Coeur d’Alene Mixed Martial Arts fighter Trevor Prangley, who used an Americana choke, similar to a Kimora, to stop Justin Davis at 2:54 of the first round of the 205 pound non-title fight.

Prangley (28-9-1), the reigning King of the Cage light-heavyweight champion, slammed Davis (13-11) to the mat early in the fight, before throwing some power-packed elbows leading up to the submission, much to the delight of the standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,700.

“He was blocking punches, I saw the opportunity, and I took it,” said Prangley of the choke, praising Davis for taking the fight on a week’s notice. “I want to thank Justin for coming over on short notice after my opponent (Brandon Anderson) decided to fake an injury a week ago.”

After the fight, which capped a solid night of MMA action, Prangley announced to the crowd that he would be defending his title on June 13 at the Coeur d’Alene Casino. Prangley won the title in a controversial fight against Tony Lopez in December, after being kneed in the head while on the ground, and is eager for another shot at Lopez to legitimize the title.

“Basically, I want to set the record straight. I asked King of the Cage to put that fight together,” said Prangley of the rematch, admitting there is some bad blood after the first meeting. “I’m going to do my best to end his career. I don’t want to be that guy, but the way he (Lopez) handled the fight, I have very little respect for him.”

Prangley trains on occasion with Black Bear MMA in Sandpoint.

Also in action Friday was Priest River’s Daniel “Agent Orange” Swain (8-2), who trains with AKA in Coeur d’Alene, came out throwing blows early and often against Michael Craig, scoring a TKO at 2:10 in the first round when the referee stopped the frenetic fight.

Among the big names in attendance were Herb Dean, considered by most the preeminent MMA referee in the sport, and Big D, an MMA stalwart who has taken on the likes of Kimbo Slice.