Lineup set for Caged Madness 48 with 4 pro bouts

Caged Madness 48 marks the promotion’s return to its home base at the Tadmor Shrine in Akron, Ohio, and the lineup for the fight card has been finalized.

Matchmaker Scott Corbin posted the bout order on his Facebook page yesterday, and Josh Rohler (2-1) will get top billing for his bout against TJ Pettigrew (3-1).

Evolve MMA’s Rohler comes in looking for his third straight win, as he has picked up back-to-back first round submissions after losing his pro debut. At Caged Madness 42, he submitted Mike Cardona with a rear naked choke, and then finished Mike Williams with a submission due to strikes in his last outing at RFO: Big Guns 20 last October.

Pettigrew makes the trek from Indiana on a three-fight winning streak. After dropping his pro debut in 2014, he’s followed up with three straight wins, including two submissions.

Three other bouts round out the professional offering: Dustin Kempf (7-8) vs. Ethan Goss (2-3), Eddy Faison (0-0) vs. Edward Castillo (1-3), and Shawn Rall (0-0) vs. Aaron Reinhard (0-2).

Kempf is a one-time Bellator MMA veteran who has had an up and down pro career dating back to 2007. In his last outing, he snapped a four-fight losing streak when he submitted Michael Shields in the first round at Caged Madness 38 in 2015. Now he’ll return after more than a year and a half looking to even his pro record.

Goss will make the drive from Pennsylvania also looking to move his pro record to .500. He had a two-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing when he dropped a decision to Jordan Morales at WCC 17 last summer.

In the third pro bout, Eddy Faison will make his pro debut against Edward Castillo in a super heavyweight contest.

After 13 amateur bouts and a 7-6 record, Faison makes the jump to the pro ranks for the first time. He closed out his amateur career with back-to-back wins, topping James Neff and Casey Ogan in 2016.

Castillo will compete for the first time in more than a year. In his last outing, the Illinois native lost via TKO at a UCL event.

After starting his amateur career with four losses in his first five bouts, Rall went on a tear after joining coach John Cook at Evolve. He went on to post a 5-1 record in his final six amateur bouts, including winning three straight to close out his amateur career.

Rall excels on the mat, as four of his six amateur wins came via submission. His omoplata win over Nick Spinks at Caged Madness 42 a year ago even earned him the 2016 BluegrassMMA Amateur Submission of the Year award. Now he’ll make his pro debut here.

Reinhard will make the trek from Michigan looking to pick up his first victory as a pro. After losing via TKO in the first round in his pro debut in 2014, he took more than two years off before his second pro bout. That was also a loss, as he fell via TKO last September in his home state.

One amateur title will be up for grabs on the night, as Chaka Worthy (5-0) takes on Cory Breckner (5-0) for the bantamweight crown. Both fighters have yet to lose, with Worthy having produced four wins via (T)KO, and Breckner with two via (T)KO and one via submission.

Check out the full lineup for Caged Madness 48 below.

Caged Madness 48 card

Pro Bouts:
Josh Rohler vs. TJ Pettigrew
Dustin Kempf vs. Ethan Goss
Eddy Faison vs. Edward Castillo
Shawn Rall vs. Aaron Reinhard

Amateur Bouts:
Cory Breckner vs. Chaka Worthy – Bantamweight Title
Josh Schlenker vs. Lionel Woods
Mike Seibert vs. Joe Wheeler
Terry Neff vs. James Martin
Sam White vs. Jerad Patterson
Robert Endly vs. Justin Patterson
Joshua Barbee vs. Tyree Johnson
Darnell Truett vs. Jamie Parrish
Joe Carpenter vs. Austin Hopkins
Josh Faison vs. Donnie Scott
Elijah Duckworth vs. Luca Mast
Tim Clark vs. Terry Demore

*subject to change