Fuhrman scores first-round TKO in amateur MMA debut

Aug. 18—SPOKANE — Dominic Fuhrman, 18, was victorious in his amateur MMA debut Saturday at the Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Spokane, earning a first round technical knockout. The local Ephrata native was ecstatic after his first fight. "I put on a good show," Fuhrman said. "I wasn't boring, so I feel amazing. It was a great first debut win, and I'm excited for the future." Not only was Fuhrman competing in his first ever fight, but he also had the opportunity to open the show. After animated MMA fans packed the Pend Orielle Pavillion, Fuhrman walked to the octagon with Brandi and Jacob Guertin from Freewind Martial Arts in his corner. His opponent Jason Thompson entered, and once the two were formally introduced to the crowd, the fight was on. Fuhrman immediately went for a double leg takedown, utilizing his wrestling background to his advantage. "I saw him throw a punch, and I just went for a shot, went back to my roots for wrestling and it just went from there," Fuhrman said. However, Thompson nearly caught him in a standing guillotine chokehold. Fuhrman responded quickly and countered by lifting Thompson over his shoulders and slamming him to the mat. "The submission wasn't tight," Fuhrman said. "I kind of just went with it. I got a nice mat return off of it, which really solidified the fight right there. I feel like that hurt him a little bit." The slam was strong enough to break from Thompson's grasp and Fuhrman went on the attack. With his opponent pinned on his side, Fuhrman started throwing hammer fist after hammer fist, while Thompson scrambled for an escape. Moments later, the two rose to their feet and Fuhrman drove his opponent up against the cage. After throwing a barrage of upper cuts, he took Thompson to the mat once again with another double leg. From there, Fuhrman mounted his opponent and continued the onslaught of hammer fists, while Thompson did his best to escape. However, it became apparent he could no longer defend himself, and the referee intervened to stop the fight — giving Fuhrman the TKO victory about 45 seconds into the first round. "That's exactly what I was hoping for," Fuhrman said. "It played out exactly as I was intending it to, so I'm happy with how I fought." After the fight, Fuhrman and Thompson met up to show each other respect. "It was just amazing," he said. "We were just congratulating each other. I was very thankful for this experience. I'm just grateful because it was an amazing fight. He was a very nice person to meet." Fuhrman is a former Tiger, where he played soccer and joined the wrestling team in his junior year at Ephrata High School. He is now heading into his second year as a member of the Big Bend Community College men's wrestling team. He took a chance in June to pursue an interest he's had for some time. "It's always been something I've been interested in because I do wrestling," Fuhrman said. "It's pretty sick, I've always been interested in it. Thought I'd give it a shot, and I'm excited to be here." Fuhrman spent the last two months training with Jacob at Freewind. Though his wrestling was expected to benefit him, he needed to develop his striking, he said. "We've been doing a lot of grappling," he said. "I've been working on my striking the most because I'm unfamiliar with it, and we practice from 7-9 p.m. But it's been pretty fun. I've been having a good time with it." Ahead of his fight, Fuhrman compared the similarities and differences of preparing for his fight and a typical wrestling match. "It's similar, but it's kind of different at the same time too because it's a giant cage that I'm walking into compared to like a mat where there's a couple other people wrestling usually at tournaments and whatnot, but it's pretty similar. But it feels a lot more nerve-wracking, I'd say," he said. Now with his first fight under his belt, Fuhrman said he plans to put it on hold while he finishes out his wrestling journey at BBCC. "I'm going to focus on wrestling until it ends," he said. "I'll probably fight (again) hopefully around April or May."