The last week in July brought record-breaking high temperatures to the Washington, DC area, and on July 30, 2011, the heat was just as intense inside the Dulles Sportsplex (Sterling, VA) as fight fans gathered for Operation Octagon XV. The fight card promised an intense evening with 16 amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) fights, 6 of which were title fights. Over 20 teams from four states and the District came prepared to claim the octagon as theirs, including “first timers” such as Beta Academy.
The main and co-main event featured fighters from Vanguard Gym of Manassas, VA. Vanguard has a reputation for dominating Operation Octagon, as their fighters won 4 of 4 back in March, including the main event Lightweight Title fight where Mike “Popezilla” Pope (Vanguard Gym) successfully defended his title. For Operation Octagon XV, Pope was on the card to defend his title again as his teammate Duy “Deep Water” Le took center stage in the main event Featherweight Title fight.
[For fight pictures by Woodburn Photography/MMA Fight Pics, click here.]