By Larry Snyder

Canonsburg, Pa. – Returning to the Printscape Arena at Southpointe, Ryan Middleton and his 247 Fighting Championships promotion present on Saturday, July 27, another opportunity for young area athletes to build their Mixed Martial Arts careers through quality competition on the Brawl in the Burgh fight card.

It is the second event Middleton, along with matchmaker Liam Morris and director of operations Jim Mooney, put on this year; the first was Steeltown Throwdown on Saturday, April 6, at Printscape Arena. I spoke with Middleton about his first outing as a promoter and this is what he told me, “As far as Steeltown Throwdown goes, I think that gave us a great start. We now fully understand what we are getting ourselves into and got our feet wet with Steeltown Throwdown. We planted our roots and let everyone know that we are here and we are focused on MMA in Pittsburgh.”

He added, “I think those were the building blocks for many great things to come. We are excited to expand on what we did while adding a slew of new things. Brawl in the Burgh will be something special.”

Khama Worthy, one of the area’s favorite MMA warriors, returns to the spotlight of the main event and puts his 247 FC Lightweight crown on the line against Adam Ward from Chicago, Illinois. The 32-year-old Worthy, who is the owner and lead instructor at the Academy: Pittsburgh MMA and Fitness Center, claimed the title by unanimous decision over Joey Munoz (12-6-0) at Steeltown Throwdown. He collected nine of his 13 career victories by stoppage and four by sweeping the judges’ scorecards.

Worthy talked with Connor Deitrich at mmasucka.com about 247 FC owner Ryan Middleton’s efforts, “I think Ryan has a good idea of how he wants to run the promotion, just making it a good promotion. We have a lot of good fighters here in Pittsburgh, and its good to give them somewhere to start off with. And I think he’s doing a really good job with that.”

Ward, 33, wants to pick up his 19th career triumph and terminate his two-match losing streak. His last bout was a loss by unanimous decision (29-28) Saturday, May 11, to Khuukhenkhuu Amartuvshin (10-4-0) at Bellator 221 in Illinois. He brings six wins by submission to the Steel City, five by unanimous decision, and trains at the G2 Training Center/Gilbert Grappling.

Per the adroit cage observers at Tapology.com, Worthy is rated No. 1 among active Pennsylvania Pro Lightweights while Ward is seventh among active Indiana Pro Lightweights.

From Twitter – 247 Fighting Championships – (June 15, 2019)  Khama Interview…

Jonas Rubiano of Pittsburgh looks for his second consecutive pro victory when he takes on Daniel Maldonado from Queens, New York in the co-main event of the evening. The 34-year-old Rubiano tallied a knockout at 3:05 of the first-round Saturday, July 14, 2018, against Christopher McKinney (1-2-0) of West Virginia at Rivers Rumble 9 at Rivers Casino.

Rubiano, who was 4-2 as an amateur, told me at the 247 FC media day, “I go and do my thing. I believe in my coaches preparing to win my match.” He trains at Stout Pittsburgh, and he also teaches Muay Thai to children at the Stout location in Cranberry Township.

Maldonado lost his pro debut by unanimous decision to Tim Flores (1-0-0) Saturday, April 20, at Premier FC in Springfield, Massachusetts. He assembled a record of 4-4 as an amateur and trains at IT Jiu-Jitsu. He mentioned on his Facebook page, “This will be my 2nd straight pro fight where I’ll be co main eventing once again. I will be going against a scrappy opponent and I’ll be looking to dominate like I used to in impressive fashion.”

From Twitter – 247 Fighting Championships – Jonas Rubiano Returns To The Cage…

Coming back on the amateur side is 27-year-old Pat Carrasquillo who won his first competition at Steeldown Throwdown with a unanimous decision over Robert Licht (0-1-0) and followed it up with a first-round knockout in May against Seven Kleckler (3-7-0).

This time he faces Ellwood City’s Quincy McCombs who trains at the Mat Factory Wrestling Club. After posting three consecutive wins, the 25-year-old sustained a first-round loss in April to Darren Williams (4-0-0) at Yankee Lake Brawlroom 52 in Brookfield, Ohio.

Middleton commented on this bout on the 247 FC blog on the promotions web site, “Both of these young men are young lions… a ton of talent, active and hungry. They are salivating for this fight because they both just love this sport and want to learn and grow so much.”

Ticket Info: You can check out the up and coming fighters in MMA yourself by obtaining your choice seats online here. Doors open for the fans at 6:00 p.m. with the first bell at 7:00 p.m. Every match and participant is subject to possible change.

Next Up: Middleton and the 247 Fighting Championship staff disclosed on Social Media recently Brawl in the Burgh II is Saturday, Nov. 16, at Printscape Arena at Southpointe.

From Twitter – 247 Fighting Championships – (07/19/2019) Steeltown Throwdown Highlights…