Photo: SteelFist Fight Night
SteelFist Fight Night’s Main Event Features 64-32 Veteran – This Saturday
SteelFist Fight Night: Eternal – Salt Lake City, Utah. February 12
This Saturday at the Union Events Center in Salt Lake City, SteelFist Fight Night will be geared up to exhibit compelling matchups on their regional MMA stage.
SteelFist Fight Night: “Eternal” is the 82nd event brought to life by the promotion after their founding in 2011. Since then, they have been producing several events each year for the dense fight fan population in Utah.
While there are a handful of highly competitive matchups across the undercard, the most noteworthy aspect of this fight night is the main event heavyweight title bout. Both athletes are long past the prime age for competition, but that does not change their passion for the sport or hunger to contend.
Ben Moa (4-1)
In 2016, at the age of 33, Ben Moa made his amateur debut at SteelFist Fight Night 41 and succeeded convincingly with a first-round stoppage. In the following years, he racked up three additional amateur wins, followed by four straight TKO victories as a professional. Ben ran into trouble in 2018 at Bellator 205 when he faced the undefeated Steve Mowry (currently 10-0) and was submitted in round one. Since this first loss, Moa has not had a match, but is looking to secure the heavyweight title in this comeback fight.
Tony Lopez (64-32)
Even at 48 years old, Tony Lopez jumped at the opportunity to square off with Ben Moa after Jesse Salmon was forced to back out of the originally planned title bout. With a record of 64 wins and 32 losses, Lopez will plan to bring experience and knowledge to the cage to squash Moa’s championship plans. Getting started in the fight game in 2005, Tony has competed under promotional banners such as KOTC, Elite XC, and BKFC. It is clear that this man loves to fight, during the healthiest run of his career he won 16 straight bouts between late 2007 and early 2010. This frequency of matches continues to this day, in 2021 alone Tony had three boxing matches and two bare-knuckle fights.
Many would speculate that the younger man with only one loss on his record will walk away the champion. But Ben Moa has not had a match in some time, and inactivity can be crippling for a fighter. Due to Moa’s inactivity, Tony Lopez possesses an edge as he has been consistently competing at a pace that not many fighters would dream of keeping up with, especially ones that are pushing 50. With the heavyweight title on the line, and two fighters that still feel they have more left to prove, this bout will be an excellent way to conclude another memorable regional MMA event from SteelFist Fight Night.
SteelFist Fight Night: Deck The Halls (December 2021)
Keep an eye on the EVENTS section of MyMMANews.com for more updates from the world of regional MMA.
