Ohio Combat League 3

Ohio Combat League Set For Weekend Of Action

Ohio Combat League Set For Weekend Of Action

Ohio Combat League returns for their third-ever event live from Columbus, Ohio.

Oct 4, 2019 by Michael Fiedel
Ohio Combat League Set For Weekend Of Action

Ohio Combat League returns for their third-ever event live from Columbus, Ohio. The 13-fight event is set to feature some of Ohio’s top amateur talent which includes two amateur title fights and three professional MMA bouts. 

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Up first, two top amateur bantamweights will square off for the OCL title, as Tuff-N-Uff veteran Ethan Goodwin (4-2) faces Ohio’s Skyler “The Bulldog” Bray (5-2). 

Goodwin will come into the bout as a two-year amateur, debuting back in March of 2018. Following a loss in his first fight, Goodwin rattled off three straight victories, notching a knockout and a submission, to boot. 

A unanimous decision loss in May snapped Goodwin’s streak, but the 5’10” bantamweight rebounded with a first-round knockout win just a month later, in June. 

Goodwin, though still very young in his career, has shown a proclivity for finishing the fight. Of his five wins, three have come by way of stoppage. The American has kept a furious pace through 2019, fighting four times already this year.

Standing in Goodwin’s way is Skyler Bray, a 21-year-old Ohioan intent on capturing OCL gold. 

Bray debuted in 2017, scoring three straight wins - and three straight finishes - to kick off his amateur career. Following his hot start, however, Bray has cooled off slightly. Bray has alternated wins and losses in his last four fights across as many promotions.

The bantamweight has fought at both flyweight and featherweight in the past.

In his most recent fight, a May bout on the inaugural OCL event, Bray got back into the win column with a first-round knockout of his own, punching his ticket to a title fight with Goodwin. 

In the second title fight of the night, undefeated lightweights will throw down as Tapology’s top-ranked Southeastern prospect, Ashton Kirby (7-0), faces 20-year-old Josiah Harrell (5-0-1).

Kirby, who is ranked first by Tapology among Southeastern, Missippian, and Arkansian prospects, amassed his unblemished record across three promotions. Kirby has shown off an impressive set of grappling chops, scoring six of his seven wins by way of submission. 

The rear-naked choke is a favorite of Kirby’s, and the lightweight has snatched it up four times in his career. Additionally, Kirby has notched an armbar and a triangle in two of his last three bouts. 

Kirby will make his promotional debut in OCL in a big way, challenging for a title in his first effort against Harrell.

Josiah Harrell, 20, is likewise undefeated. Following a draw in his amateur debut, Harrell has been perfect during his time in Iron Tiger and BCM Promotions.

Like Kirby, Harrell has proven himself as a finisher. Of his five wins, four have come by way of finish. Harrell has scored two knockouts and two submissions, with a kimura and a rear-naked choke to his name.

In the final amateur fight of the card, Kirby and Harrell will clash for the Ohio Combat League amateur lightweight title. 

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The main event of OCL 3 is a professional lightweight bout between two Rust Belt competitors coming off of wins. Ohio’s Jacob “The Machine” Miller (4-1) will look to make it two straight against Michigan’s Jared Chauvin (3-0).

Miller, 26, turned pro in 2017 on the strength of a four-fight winning streak, which was part of an 8-3 amateur career that began in 2013. As a pro, Miller has competed in Iron Tiger, Alliance MMA, and Caged Thunder.

The Ohioan kicked off his career with three straight wins, suffering his lone professional defeat in November 2018 in his penultimate fight to date. Miller rebounded nicely with a first-round armbar finish in March, his second career submission win.

Miller is a tried-and-true finisher, with all of his pro victories decided by way of stoppage evenly split by knockout and submission.

Jared Chauvin, however, will look to prevent Miller from scoring a second straight win while looking to do so himself. 

Chauvin, 34, turned pro in 2018 after a 4-2 amateur career. A professional boxer, Chauvin has fought four times in the squared circle to the tune of a 1-3 record. While his boxing record is unimpressive, the boxer has found success in MMA today. 

In three pro MMA fights, Chauvin has won three times. Fighting under the CLIP banner, Chauvin has notched one knockout and two decision victories. In his OCL debut, Chauvin will look to stay perfect and continue his winning ways in what could be considered his biggest MMA fight on record.