Halquist Productions’ CageSport MMA will be returning once again to the Emerald Queen Casino on Saturday, Dec. 7 for another round of professional MMA. Headlining CageSport XXVIII is Burien's Brent “Mankill” Knopp, who will attempt to defend his middleweight title against StrikeForce veteran, Cory Devela.
Tickets for CageSport XXVIII are available and can be purchased at the Emerald Queen Casino box office or through Ticketmaster. Prices start at $35. Fans are encouraged to buy tickets early as CageSport MMA has become the hottest ticket in Northwest combative sports.
Middleweight champion, Knopp (4-0), has run through the Northwest middleweight class, keeping his record perfect while finishing all of his opponents before the third round. He acquired the title back in February with a first round TKO victory over Darrio Mobley in what was a rematch between the two where Knopp defeated Mobley via second round TKO in their first meeting.
Training out of AMC Pankration in Kirkland, Knopp is surrounded by some of the best in the sport of MMA. Founder and head trainer of the gym, Matt Hume has gained a reputation around the world as one of the premier coaches in the sport. He has or currently trains numerous UFC fighters including flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson. Hume’s guidance will be crucial to Knopp as he will undoubtedly be facing the toughest opponent of his career at CageSport XXVIII.
Cory Devela (9-5), living in Puyallup and training out of Dennis Hallman’s Victory Athletics gym in Lakewood, returned to the cage in August after a three year layoff and dominated. In the semi-main event of CageSport XXVII, Devela took on Byron Sutton (7-4) in a scheduled three round contest, but only three minutes to take home the victory with a TKO finish. Immediately after the fight, promoter, Brian Halquist, stepped into the cage with Knopp and asked Devela if he was interested in challenging Knopp for the title in which he said yes. Contracts were signed and the fight was on.
In the featured bout of the evening, Issaquah’s Amy Cadwell will take her undefeated record into the cage against California’s Maria Andraverde (1-2) in a three round women’s fight. Cadwell is coming off an impressive win at CageSport XXVII where she was able to secure a rear naked choke late into the third round over Hadley Griffith. The preliminary undercard can be seen on the CageSport MMA Facebook page under the event: CageSport XXVIII: Knopp vs. Devela.
Doors for CageSport XXVIII open at 6 p.m. with the first fight scheduled for 7 p.m. CageSport MMA continues to be the longest running all professional mixed martial arts card in the Northwest, having had fighters such as: Miesha Tate, Bryan Caraway, Sam Sicilia, and Michael Chiesa all fighting on past CageSport shows. For more information about CageSport XXVIII and all other Halquist Production events, please visit www.halquistproductions.com and the official Facebook and Twitter pages of CageSport MMA and Battle at the Boat boxing.
