BUTTERBEAN, UFC STARS TO COMPETE AT “CAPITOL PUNISHMENT’,THE COLUMBUS DEBUT OF FIGHTFEST

Courtesy of Fightfest:



Eric “Butterbean” Esch will fight in the main event of Fightfest’s first trip to Columbus on Sept. 29 at Battelle Hall. Fightfest, a full-contact cage-fighting promotion, has already presented shows in Youngstown, Cleveland, Canton, Indiana and Texas. Columbus has already established itself as a hotbed of mixed martial arts with a huge crowd for the UFC pay-per-view in March. Now, Fightfest will expand its empire to the center of the Buckeye State at its “Capitol Punishment” event.Butterbean (10-4-1) is the No. 10-ranked superheavyweight in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA).

The Alabama native will take on Daryl Wise (4-0), who trains at Higher Power MMA in Lancaster.Adam DiSabato (3-1), an All-American wrestler at The Ohio State University, will also compete. DiSabato, a two-time Pan Am Games gold medalist, will battle Phillip Tomblin (8-3), who also trains at Higher Power.

UFC veteran Josh Shockman (10-1) of Nashville will slug it out with Columbus heavyweight Jason Riley (6-0).Another UFC veteran, heavyweight Wes Sims (18-10-1), will represent Columbus’ Hammer House gym when he goes up against Michigan’s Wally Kienbaum.Sean Salmon (11-4) is yet another UFC veteran who will fight at Capitol Punishment.

Salmon is a state champion wrestler from Worthington Kilbourne High School. He went on to become an NCAA qualifier at Ohio State. Salmon has had Billy Vaughan (3-1) is a two-time All-American wrestler from Columbus de Sales High School. He will battle in the 145-pound division against Leon Tyree. A host of other Columbus fighters will compete on the show, including Dave Lama, Andrew McCoy, Andy Volenick, Randy Barnett, Josh Miller, Esteban Lutz, Matt Russell and Nico Nocero. Fightfest airs three times a week on Direct TV, Dish Network and SportsTime Ohio. Tickets for “Capitol Punishment” are on sale now at ticketmaster.com and the Battelle Hall box office.