Congratulations to Mitchell and Curtis for both winning their fights!! and a HUGE thank you to all the volunteers!

UNDEFEATED AGAIN

Another perfect night for Underground at Hard Knocks 25
SEAN ROONEY
srooney@medicinehatnews.com

Team Underground's Curtis Belcourt and Mitch Carlson got plenty of cheers in front of a steady crowd at the Cypress Centre, Belcourt winning by submission and Carlson by unanimous decision.

"I feel it every time, as soon as I come out the crowd ignites," said Belcourt, who improved to 3-0 with a first-round rear choke on Lethbridge's Miguel Tock (0-1). "I just went with it, freewheeled a little bit and find out where he gives me an opening."

Belcourt avoided an early takedown attempt by Tock, then got behind him and locked his forearm around Tock's neck to force the tap-out. He celebrated with a trademark cartwheel, but afterwards there was nothing but respect between the combatants.

"Sure, you're fighting, but it's also an art. You have to respect your opponent," said Tock, who went up a weight class to fight at 155 pounds. "I just couldn't get him off of me, he was stronger than me, but I guess that's how it goes. No excuses, he was the better man tonight."

It was Belcourt's second rear choke win in a row, though at only 3-0 it's hard to say the move is his trademark yet. It will be if he keeps getting the opportunity to use it, though.
"You never think it's going to end that short, but it's been in my favour both times," said the 21-year-old. "If they give me their back like that I'm going to take any opening I can get."

Carlson had a much different fight than last time out, when he needed less than a minute to win by knockout at Hard Knocks 20. Instead of a quick reaction and punches, this time he and Calgary's Zach Snyder battled right to the final bell in one of the most entertaining fights of the night.

"My plan was to go in there and strike and see how it went," said Carlson, who got a unanimous decision but was on the defensive for most of the second round. "When we hit each other and he was down to keep doing it, I was like 'you know, I should try and take this guy down.'"

The turning point came with a minute remaining in the third round. Carlson caught Snyder's leg on a kick attempt and wrestled him to the ground, eventually taking a dominant position and control. He almost won with an arm bar submission in the final 20 seconds but Snyder defended well and nearly had a shot of his own at a knockout before the bell rang.

"For me, I was like 'thank God,'" said Carlson, who's now 2-3. "I felt like I controlled the first, got my ass kicked in the second ,then the third was close and that near submission in the end (was the difference)."