Nearly 4,000 see Y.C.’s Dundas defeat Acevedo, other locals not so lucky.

Mixed martial arts in Marysville? The largest crowd of the summer at Appeal-Democrat Park proved it may be here to stay.

The fans seemed to like the idea of putting a caged ring inside the local baseball stadium. So did hometown fighter Kyle Dundas, whose rousing win at Battle at the Ballpark II gave them a reason to go nuts.

“I’m ecstatic,” he said between signing autographs for kids. “I’m loving life.”

For a Yuba City man who trains out of a garage in an industrial park, had a 2-4 record entering Saturday night and called his shot against Juan Acevedo a “make or break” match to whether he continued chasing his dream of MMA stardom, Dundas delivered on the largest stage of his life.

In front of 3,907 fans, he beat a fighter from one of the top MMA gyms on the West Coast. The 24-year-old featherweight (145 pounds) thrived in the first round, battled through the second and endured a tumultuous third en route to winning a 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 split decision over Acevedo, who thought he won the fight.

Right before the decision was announced, he raised his fist in victory. But it was Dundas’ hand which was thrust skyward by the referee. It sent him jumping for joy and gave the crowd who chanted “Kyle, Kyle” in unison one more chance to cheer for his effort.

Dundas came out aggressive in the first two rounds and showed his takedown and standup ability was on par with Acevedo’s. He was dominant in the first round and traded positions with his opponent in the second, before coming up with a crucial reversal right before the horn. The third was rough for Dundas, who will admitted he lost that round.

“I was in a rough spot and I had to push, push, push,” he said.

Acevedo trains with Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male in Sacramento. It’s a facility filled with top notch equipment, coaches and fighters that have contracts with some of the sports’ biggest promotions. Dundas represents Future Fight Sports, which is next to a body shop by Highway 20, and now has a marquee win to its name.

Dundas fared better than fellow Future Fight Sports fighter Kory Morford (185 pounds), who submitted in the second round of his fight against Mikhail Venikov. Ivan Pack of Olivehurst lost a 30-27 decision that will be remembered more for what happened in the first 20 seconds than the rest of the match. Pack was taken down by opponent Chris Bostick, who threw the 260-pounder against the cage and broke it, causing the second delay of the evening for such issues.

When the fight resumed, Pack was dominated by the San Francisco-based Bostick, who maintained control on top. Results for Yuba City fighter Nick Shadwick’s (170 pounds) match against Anthony Alves were not available before press time.

On July 3, 3,801 fans attended the Marysville Gold Sox’ fireworks night, making it the largest crowd in team history. Unlike that event, the Battle at the Ballpark II did not have free tickets distributed around the Mid-Valley.

Before Dundas’ fight, the first five bouts of the evening came to quick endings. San Jose’s Eric Faria (165) won the night’s opening fight with a second round TKO. Sacramento’s Rick Inzunza (140) won by submission in the first round as did Davis’ Mario Soto (150). Stockton’s Richard Rigmaden, who came out with just one man in his corner instead of an entourage, proved he didn’t need a big team. He won with a knockout, using a powerful right hand to drop San Jose’s Sammy Brocamante 41 seconds into the first round.

By Ryan Klocke/Appeal-Democrat