Olsen puts Bjerke to sleep in 19 seconds
By GREG SCHINDLER
The Daily Inter Lake
Kalispell's Brandon Olsen didn't have long to prepare for his fight with Dominic Bjerke at Butte Civic Center on Saturday, and he didn't waste any time winning it.
Olsen, 31, stopped Bjerke with a guillotine choke just 19 seconds into the first round to win a professional mixed martial arts bout at Fight Force's "The Butte Brawl 2."
Olsen took the fight last Thursday before heading to Butte on Friday for the weigh-in. The bout was at the 170-pound weight class and Olsen weighed 168 while Bjerke tipped the scales at 158.
Bjerke is from Austin, Minn., and is primarily a ground-and-pound grappler, but that's all Olsen and his trainer and coach, Ultimate Submission Academy owner Kevin Moore, knew about him before the event.
Olsen agreed to fight in Butte about three weeks ago, but his original opponent backed out due to a broken hand and two replacement opponents canceled in the following two weeks. One fighter had a bad cut while the other fighter's manager didn't want him to fight because he was already training for a bout in August.
Olsen's last fight was June 15 when he lost to Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Hermes Franca in San Bernadino, Calif.
"I was ready to fight anybody," Olsen said. "It's a confidence booster for sure. I'm kind of sorry it went so quick, but you can't pick and choose when you're fighting."
Olsen's professional record improved to 11-6 while Bjerke fell to 10-7.
Olsen is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has a collegiate wrestling background and world-class ground attack, but he's been working strictly on his standing attack this summer with help from Moore's friend and former mixed martial arts and kickboxing star Alfie Alcaraz.
Olsen attacked Bjerke with a high kick to start the fight, but Bjerke ducked under Olsen's leg and charged at him. Olsen stopped Bjerke's take-down attempt, struck him with a knee and landed a left hook before locking him into a guillotine choke.
"When I had the choke I knew he was gonna go to sleep," Olsen said.
Putting an opponent to sleep quickly is normally a fighter's dream, but Olsen was disappointed he didn't get a longer battle. He even considered letting Bjerke out of his choke so he could go back to work on his feet, but Olsen knew it would be unwise to prolong the fight and risk being beaten or injured.
Though the fight was brief, Moore saw encouraging signs in Olsen's performance and demeanor.
"I saw him extremely confident in his stand up," Moore said. "A little confidence booster doesn't hurt anybody. This wasn't a gimmie fight."
Olsen's next fight is Sept. 16 against Denver's Alvin Robinson at a Fight Force event in Helena. Robinson is a black belt in Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
"He's awesome on the ground," Olsen said. "He's used to fighting on his back."
Olsen watched Saturday as Robinson beat Marshall Martin of Fargo, N.D., with a side choke in a 155-pound fight.
"His stand up looks good," Olsen said. "He threw good kicks, high and low."
According to Olsen, Robinson prefers to strike from a distance rather than engulf his opponents and incur damage. That might work to Olsen's advantage as he swarms opponents as quickly as possible.
UFC Light Heavyweight champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell was Alcaraz' roommate and wrestling teammate at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. He's coming to Kalispell about a week before Olsen's fight with Robinson so he can train with Olsen and vacation in the Flathead Valley.
In amateur action Saturday, Kalispell's Dan di Stefano beat Butte's Dan Charon with a text-book arm bar early in the first round.
Di Stefano has a kickboxing background and he's dangerous on his feet, but he wasn't afraid to go to the ground with Charon, and he knew what to do once he got there.
"I just kind of go with the flow," di Stefano said. "The arm bar is definitely my favorite move on the ground."
Di Stefano is Olsen's sparring partner. He improved to 2-0 by beating Charon.
"Working with Brandon is really a privilege because he's such a phenomenal grappler," di Stefano said.
Di Stefano says no fighter scares him on the ground since he's used to sparring with Olsen. Olsen has also benefited from di Stefano.
"I really don't have that many people who are able to spar with me," Olsen said. "He's the best stand-up partner I've got for sparring. He's my best kickboxing sparring partner I've got."
Di Stefano's next fight will either be next month in Missoula or on the undercard of Olsen vs. Robinson in Helena.