Pros steal the show at eight-fight event.

Byline: Chris Hansen The Register-Guard

Darrin Starks had a more pressing concern than the swollen lump above the bridge of his nose held together by a vertical row of stitches courtesy of a well-placed knee by his opponent.

"Do I still get a free T-shirt?" he asked promoter Justin Kaneali`i.

Of course he did, because even the losers walked away with a little something from Saturday's Rise Fighting Championships mixed martial arts show at the Lane County Events Center at the fairgrounds.

Though the crowd was slightly less than the 1,000 he had anticipated, and the card itself went from 10 matches to eight after two fighters failed to make weight and another backed out with an injury, Kaneali`i was pleased with RFC's second Eugene show of the year and third overall for the two-year-old promotion.

"Tickets sales weren't so good, but I could've expected that because the college isn't in," said Kaneali`i, the president of fighter and talent development for RFC. "But the fights were decent."

Especially the two main-event fights featuring professional fighters.

In the first, Andy Lukesh defeated Dave Moreno to win the 145-pound title belt, the first championship offered by the RFC. In the second, Enoch Wilson defeated Harris Sarmiento in a three-round thriller.

Both contests were in stark contrast to the six amateur fights on Saturday, in both tempo and talent.

"That's the difference between pros and amateurs," Kaneali`i said. "You can totally tell."

In the title fight, Lukesh thwarted off a relentless attack in the opening minute as Moreno charged at the bell instead of meeting Lukesh in the center of the ring.

"He had some energy," said Lukesh (3-1), a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. "He was ready to fight. I was surprised."

But Lukesh was eventually able to slow him down, and when Moreno went for a takedown, Lukesh caught him under the neck, applied a guillotine chokehold and forced Moreno to tap out midway through the first round.

"Most guys I train with don't even give me their neck like that because they know I'll take it," said Lukesh, a 27-year-old union carpenter from Portland who wrestled collegiately at Pacific University in Forest Grove. "I was surprised when I had a clean shot at his neck. I just locked it up."

In attendance was Brad Darcy, executive director of the Oregon State Athletic Commission, which, effective June 25, is in charge of regulating MMA events in the state.

"We're at a point now where we have clear statutory authority over the whole sport," Darcy said. "We're going to protect it's viability long-term and make sure the whole spectrum of the sport that's out there complies with some baseline standards."

The regulations that promoters must now comply with were being championed on Saturday by the fighters.

"It's a great sport and there's no shame in it," Lukesh said. "They had to do that to make it legitimate."

Not that RFC needed any legislative encouragement.

"They put on a very professional show and I would like to see them do well," Lukesh said. "They take care of the fighters. Some of the other shows just focus on making money. These guys put on a high-quality show."

Now they have their first champion, who not only got a belt but a free T-shirt as well.