Stephens now 4-0 as MMA professional

Backed by a large and rowdy following, Walker County’s Ian Stephens moved to 4-0 in his pro mixed martial arts career with a second-round win over veteran fighter Ronnie “Bam Bam” Rogers on Aug. 18 at Camp Jordan Arena in East Ridge. Stephens had been scheduled to fight Wes Sullivan, only to see Sullivan withdraw. Rogers entered the 175-pound co-main event with a 12-9 overall profession record. After a short feeling- out process, Stephens took Rogers to the mat and began working him over with head and body shots, eventually working his way to a standing guillotine. Rogers tried to push off from the cage with his feet, but Stephens took him right back down with a suplex that has garnered him some pretty big Internet buzz from online fans. Rogers would survive the first round, and tried a spinning backfist to open Round 2, but it had no effect and another takedown quickly put Rogers on his back again. After a flurry of shots to the ribcage, Stephens tried for an armlock, but failed to cinch it up. Undaunted, Stephens repositioned himself and got to Rogers’ back for a rear naked choke, eventually forcing Rogers to tap out at the 4:05 mark of the round. An undercard bout featuring another Walker County fighter also had the crowd fired up as Nicky Peppers (1-0) stepped back into the cage for the first time since 2009 to face Daltonarea fighter Dustin Dyer (5-1) in a 230-pound bout. Dyer, a title holder in two different promotions, was thought to be a favorite coming in. However, Peppers — who along with Stephens trains at Blalock’s IMB in Chattanooga — stunned Dyer by charging in quickly and landing several big uppercuts to the body, sending Dyer to the mat. Peppers pounced and relentlessly landed several more huge blows before the referee stopped the action just 63 seconds into the fight, declaring Peppers the winner by TKO.