Semifinalists fight for shot at title

Yesterday was like a holiday for most of the GalaxyMMA fighters.

Weeks of cutting weight came to an end when all but one of the 36 fighters scheduled for tonight’s GalaxyMMA: Bad Blood event at the Blaisdell Arena made weight. Not only did it make their fights official, but it meant time to splurge on any food they desired.

Jose Salgado is definitely one of those fighters. A former linebacker at the University of Redlands, Salgado, whose playing weight was 210 pounds, had to cut to 155 for the semifinals of the lightweight grand prix tournament that headlines the show.

His motivation to cut that weight reaches far beyond everyone else. Unlike the other three men still fighting in the tournament, Salgado has yet to compete in a GalaxyMMA ring.

At the weigh-ins for Galaxy’s debut show in May, Salgado could only watch helplessly as his first-round opponent, Kyle Kaahanui, came in 8 pounds overweight. As a result, Salgado was given a free pass to the semifinals, but was left without a fight after an exhausting two months of training.

"It was a little frustrating on my end because I had to cut down and diet and do the little things," said Salgado, who trains with UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson in Las Vegas. "That’s one good thing about fighting Harris (Sarmiento), at least I know he’ll be at 155 pounds and I’ll get to fight this time."

All four fighters made weight, setting the stage for tonight’s event featuring 18 fights beginning at 7 p.m. Whoever prevails between Salgado and Sarmiento will take on the winner between Kris Kyle and Steve Gable at the next event for GalaxyMMA’s lightweight championship.

At the prefight news conference, Salgado was the only tournament fighter present and got to touch, just for a second, the brand-new sparkling belt.

"It’s definitely real," Salgado said. "I played sports growing up, so whether it’s a trophy or a ring or a belt, there’s plenty of motivation to get any type of hardware."

The majority of the card pits local fighters against mainland talent, giving the state a chance to see how it measures up against a wide variety of fighters.

The co-feature bout pits former Hawaii resident Tyson Nam (8-3), who trains out of Team Quest in Oregon, against World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Ian McCall (7-2), who returns after a 19-month layoff.

Nam is coming off a split-decision loss to Keola Silva in May, and is rewarded with a tough fight against McCall. McCall’s last bout was a decision loss to Dominick Cruz on a WEC card that included Benson Henderson, Urijah Faber, Jens Pulver, Jamie Varner and Jose Aldo.

McCall fractured his shin in the fight, but still went the distance and is looking to make a comeback to eventually get back to that level.

"I had some personal issues and went like six months without training at all, but (fighting) is what I want to do and I’m excited to be back," he said. "It’s not like I’m going in there fighting a nobody. Tyson’s an explosive striker and it should make for a good fight."

Both fighters made their pro debuts at the Blaisdell Arena. Nam knocked out Ryan Lee in an Icon Sport event in 2006 and McCall submitted Jerry Samson at a Warriors Quest show in 2002.