Lake County fighters duking it out up in Kalispell

(Eric Schwartz/Daily Inter Lake)

Professional fighter Will “Big Medicine” Hammond is both the promoter and main event draw for Ultimate Cage Wars, a mixed martial arts event scheduled for Saturday night at the Majestic Valley Arena.

In those capacities, he’s got more at stake than the 23 other fighters currently slated to hit the cage for a card filled with amateur and professional bouts.

“If we don’t draw 700 people I’m fighting for free,” Hammond said Thursday from his brother’s home in Polson. “If we get 1,200 [people] we’ll announce that night that we’re coming back in October.”

Hammond — along with local trainer Travis Davison, owner of Straight Blast Gym — hopes the night’s theme of Montana fighters taking on counterparts from Washington will help put people in the seats.

Eight of the 12 fights currently on the card feature the state versus state formula. Three of those fights will pit professionals against each other.

“Just to see what the tally is for Washington versus Montana guys will be interesting,” Davison said. “My hunch is that the Montana guys are going to do very well.”

Davison laments the idea that some from outside the state view Montana MMA fighters as “a bunch of untrained country boys.”

He said he’s bringing three quality, well-trained fighters to Saturday’s event, among them 31-year-old Zach Dickson, an undefeated professional who has won his past nine fights.

The Kalispell resident will tangle with Colville, Wash., fighter Roy Bradshaw at a weight of 145 pounds.

“Zach’s actually a pretty big draw in the valley,” Davison said. “And he’ll be going for his 10th win in a row.”

A bout between two newcomers has both Hammond and Davison excited. Columbia Falls product Jarrett Smith will take on 17-year-old Riley Hersey, a fighter trained in Seattle whose parents live in Kalispell.

It will be the first MMA fight for both of them.

“They’re just going to go at it,” Hammond said. “There is going to be some fireworks.”

Likewise, Davison expects the bout to feature unbridled adrenaline and a fast pace as the two will fight at 135 pounds.

The third fighter from Straight Blast Gym is Duran Flaget, who’ll take part in an amateur title bout.

Columbia Falls High School graduate Michael Hader, a standout in wrestling and football, will be fighting Yakima, Wash. resident Bradley Prather in a 155-pound amateur title fight.

Davison said the event is a great opportunity for Montana MMA fighters to face new opponents.

“You can see how the pool just gets limited because we’re not a big metropolitan area,” Davison said. “It’s nice when someone from out of state comes in with a fresh group of fighters.”

Hammond, a 40-year-old native of St. Ignatius, will take on Jared Torgeson in the heavyweight main event.

The last time Hammond brought a stable of fighters from his Seattle-based White Buffalo Warriors team was in 2006 for an event that drew between 1,700 and 1,800 people, he said.

“If we do anything even remotely like that this time we’ll key in and make this a regular thing,” Hammond said.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Saturday and the fights will get under way at 7:30.