Hurricane MMA fights: Honsvick beats Painter by TKO, Crawford loses lightweight title bout

Written by Jeff Richards
March 27, 2023

HURRICANE — A sellout crowd on Saturday night watched one local professional mixed-martial arts fighter win and two others lose during the Crown Fighting Championships in Hurricane.

Pro MMA fighters Jared Painter and Brandon Honsvick during the first round of their bout, Crown Fighting Championship, Hurricane, Utah, March 25, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News
Pro MMA fighters Brandon Honsvick (left) and Jared Painter during the first round of their bout, Crown Fighting Championship, Hurricane, Utah, March 25, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

In the penultimate fight of the evening, Brandon Honsvick of Empire MMA in Hurricane defeated fellow Southern Utahn Jared Painter, who trains at Fusion MMA and Jiu Jitsu of St. George.

Less than two minutes into the first round, Honsvick took Painter down to the mat and appeared to start applying a submission hold when he noticed something was wrong.

“It looks like he blew out the tendons in his ankle,” Honsvick told St. George News afterward. “I felt him tap and scream out, so that’s why I told the referee to stop the fight.”

Painter received immediate medical attention and was later taken out of the cage on a stretcher.

“It’s definitely not how I wanted it to end,” Honsvick added. “I wish Jared a speedy recovery and have nothing but love and respect for him. I am so thankful to share the cage with him, and it was such an honor to fight him.”

That fight was then followed by the evening’s main event, which featured Dustin “DJ” Crawford of Raven MMA in Hurricane against Nainoa Dung of Makaha, Hawaii.

The 38-year-old Crawford had entered Saturday’s title fight riding a three-bout winning streak, including a third-round TKO over Honsvick last June. 

Nainoa Dung of Hawaii pummels Dustin Crawford in the first round of their lightweight title bout in the Crown Fighting Championship, Hurricane, Utah, March 25, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

But the hard-hitting 24-year-old Dung quickly got the jump on Crawford, eventually working him to the mat in a “ground and pound,” unleashing a flurry of head punches that prompted the referee to stop the fight midway through the first round.

“He was tough, and hit like a truck,” Crawford told St. George News after the fight. “I got rocked in the beginning and couldn’t recover.”

The TKO loss, which dropped Crawford’s professional record to 4-3, officially marks the end of his fighting career, he confirmed to St. George News on Sunday.

“I will no longer fight,” he said. “I am officially retired.”

“I’m glad to be done, though, because I want to focus on my family and my health,” Crawford said. “As well as helping to inspire change in this world.”

Crawford, who carried the message of recovery from addiction, said he hopes to inspire others through his YouTube channel, which started out primarily focused on video gaming but has since turned more toward sharing funny and inspirational short videos. 

“I want to be that spark that ignites change, inspires others to do good deeds and try to change this world,” he added. 

Trainer Raven Cain said he was proud of Crawford, along with Anderson and Valdez, the other two fighters who represented Raven MMA.

“All of them are warriors with true fighting spirit,” he said. “My thanks goes out to all who support us and our mission of helping people reach their true potential.”

Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Honsvick, whose professional record improved to 2-4 with the TKO win over Painter, was also asked if he plans to keep fighting.

“This is definitely not the end for me,” Honsvick said. “I want to keep going in the near future and maybe do some jiu jitsu tournaments so I can finally get to my purple belt.”

Nainoa Dung (left) expresses his appreciation after his TKO defeat of Dustin Crawford for the Crown Fighting Championship lightweight title, Hurricane, Utah, March 25, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Honsvick also expressed his appreciation for his trainer Steve Eargle and the rest of the staff at Empire MMA, and to his family, friends and fans.

“That crowd was so amazing,” Honsvick said. “To hear that place erupt for me and (Painter) was one of the greatest feelings ever. I am so thankful for everyone who showed up for me and against me.”

Honsvick, who uses the nickname “Downs Warrior” in honor of his young daughter with Down Syndrome, also said he’s donating his cut of the ticket sales received from the fight to the special needs program at Three Falls Elementary School in Hurricane.

Tristan McDonald of Fusion MMA (top) battles opponent Amos Valdez during Crown Fighting Championship MMA event, Hurricane, Utah, March 25, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Saturday night’s event, which was staged in front of a packed, standing-room-only crowd inside the Grafton building at Washington County Legacy Park at the fairgrounds in Hurricane, featured a total of 11 fights: three amateur kickboxing bouts, then six amateur MMA fights, followed by the two professional MMA fights already mentioned. 

The nine amateur fights on Saturday night’s card went as follows:

In the first of the three kickboxing events, Austin Anderson of St. George’s Fusion MMA defeated Jacob Thurston of Logan (Cache Valley MMA) by judges’ decision. Then, in another kickboxing match, the only female fight of the night, Cache Valley MMA’s Karly Longson defeated Navvi Neilson of Fusion MMA of St. George by decision. In the third and final kickboxing bout, Carlos Salazar of Fusion MMA defeated Cache Valley’s Eusebio Salas by first-round TKO.

The first MMA fight of the night featured St. George’s RJ Wilgar of Fusion MMA winning by first-round TKO over Erick Walk of Norse MMA of Evanston, Wyoming.

Jase Anderson (in white trunks) is taken down by Mickey Bolden during Crown Fighting Championship MMA event, Hurricane, Utah, March 25, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Next, Mickey Bolden of Freestyle MMA of Las Vegas won by decision over Jase Anderson of Raven MMA of Hurricane, after three hard-fought rounds.

Another Vegas fighter, Kyle Jimenez, then defeated Fernando Perez of Cedar City’s Empire MMA, by judges’ decision. 

The next fight featured two local fighters, with Fusion’s Tristan McDonald winning by first-round TKO over Raven MMA’s Amos Valdez. 

The next match pitted two Las Vegas fighters against each other, with Andre Martin prevailing over Louie Bravo by judges’ decision. That was followed by a bout featuring two more out-of-state fighters, as Caden Cox, of Scottsdale, Arizona, defeated Hawaii’s Mykah Kuratani, also by decision.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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