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Here's a write-up from Josh Helm, the guy who runs Tap or Sleep Midwest:
Owen (brother of top female fighter Tonya Evinger) hasn't trained or faught in over a year and I got a call from joe at First Blood MMA requesting Owen to fight one of their best, Chris Andrade, at their big show at Lake of the Ozarks Missouri. I admit I was skeptical because Owen wasn't ready to compete and Andrade is a heck of a pro fighter. I did know that Owen's heart and natural ability should be able to carry him to a win though. So I worked out a deal that took 2 days with Joe and we got the fight put together. Owen even had to re-up his blood tests, physical, and re-register due to being out of the sport for over a year. He also didn't have time to go to the gym and freshen up or to cut his weight, yet he still managed to put on a great showing and come out with the win. Owen did mention he was rocked the worse he has ever been during this fight. This moves Owen to a record of 4 wins and 0 losses as a pro!

Some of you may know that Hanover-based MMA clothing company Tap or Sleep has a midwest-based arm, called - ya'll ready for this? - Tap or Sleep Midwest. Josh Helm runs the show at TOS Midwest and he recently sent me an email about some of the goings-on there:

Tap or sleep picks up another midwest phenom and a familier fan favorite re-enters the cage this weekend.

Tap or Sleep midwest has picked up Jose Vega AKA "dat vega kid." Jose trains out of First Blood MMA, in Sedalia, Missouri where he is also the trainer for some of the top up-and-comers in the midwest. Jose has had an outstanding career and is considered one of the best 135-lb. fighters in the midwest.

Jose had a 15-2 amateur record, holding 6 titles, and has a 6-1 pro record and placed 3 times and the Missouri state championships. (He is ranked on fight matrix.com.) At the IFC sturgis Pro Mma tournament he won beating Danny Timms from Missouri, a kid named Eric Buck from Greg Jackson's camp and another kid from New Mexico. Jose is also good friends with the current WEC champ Jamie Varner.

I was on Team Tap or Sleep's facebook page today and saw this photo:

Playboy model Amanda English, whose TOS photos I posted a while back. Now who wouldn't want to see her as a ring girl at the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge? C'mon, Mark, make it happen!

MATZKE VS THOMPSON / TAP OR SLEEP VS TAP OR SLEEP from tap or sleep midwest on Vimeo.

Two tough heavyweights, Doug "The Viking" Thompson and Tony "The Spartan" Matzke have sparked debate and amazement with their fights in the midwest. The great thing - beyond the entertaining fights - is that both fighters are sponsored by Tap or Sleep, a clothing company that orginated in Hanover with Jerod Phillips and expanded to the midwest. Here's a great write-up by Josh Helm, boss at Tap or Sleep midwest:

The war of '09

Viking VS Spartan
tap or sleep VS tap or sleep
The Center VS TEAM k2l
BATTLE ii

THE WAR BEGAN FEBRUARY 09 IN GRAIN VALLEY MISSOURI WHEN THE VIKING (DOUG THOMPSON) AND THE SPARTAN (TONY MATZKE) WENT TO BATTLE. The heavyweight warriors banged it out the whole three rounds, reminiscent of "Don Fry vs. Yoshihiro Takayama".

The Battle went to the judges with the decision being a draw.
March 09 the Viking wins a different battle and receives a title (True Fight Fan heavyweight championship). With both of their records 2-0-1 they shall meet again for the title. May 09 the second battle commences.

Uh ... this guy Nate does. He's got the hat and the shirt, so that's cool by me. And he talks about swine flu, so it's relevant. Although he doesn't talk MMA, it's a funny video - he should definitely do some stand-up comedy. Check out his YouTube channel for more. Disclaimer: this guy swears a lot, so if your kids are around, you might want to get 'em out of the room.

Here's an email I received from Josh Helm of Tap or Sleep Midwest, the midwest arm of York County-based Tap or Sleep fightwear company:
"Well although we had a rough night Saturday, Gary Tapusoa saved us big time. Gary was coming off his first career loss. His opponent saturday was considered by everyone to be his tuffest most experienced fighter yet. Matt Gragg from Lone Wolf MMA has been training for at least 3 years. In August 07 Matt won the ISCF 205lb Missouri State Title and he won the ISCF 185lb World Amateur Championship in May of 08. Matt also trained with tap or sleep fighter Josh Bernal when they both started and trained with Roy and Jenn Babcock up until their move to Greg Jackson's. Tapusoa vs Gragg was Saturday night's main event at Zero Tolerance in St. Joe Missouri for the Zero Tolerance 185lb Belt. Gary already owns the Zero Tolerance Heavyweight belt and after his 55sec. KO Saturday he now owns the 185lb belt. WAR TAPUSOA!

I spoke with Jerod Phillips, owner of Hanover-based MMA clothing company Tap or Sleep fightwear last night. Things didn't go so well for TOS-sponsored fighters, he said.

Baltimore's James "Binky" Jones was knocked out in the second round in his fight against Frank "The Crank" Camacho at Ultimate Warrior Challenge.

Josh "Taz" Ferguson, representing Team Cruz in Kentucky, and sponsored by local MMA clothing companies Tattoo Fightwear and Tap or Sleep, succumbed to a Mike Easton guillotine in the first round at the UWC bantamweight championship fight.

And it looks like TOS-sponsored fighter Mitchell Harris lost to Ben Askren in Missouri Saturday night:

York County-based MMA clothing company Tap or Sleep - which has spread to Tap or Sleep Midwest - has several fighters doing their thing tonight.

First, there's TOS fighter Mitch "The Iron Lion" Harris taking on former Olympic wrestler Ben Askren at Headhunter Productions: Patriot Act II tonight at the Holiday Inn Expo Center in Columbia, Missourt. To see the fight live and free, tune in to purefight.org.

In case ya didn't know, York-based MMA clothing company Tap or Sleep has expanded to the Midwest. Not to long ago, two Tap or Sleep-sponsored heavyweights, Tony Matzke and Doug Thompson, went pillar-to-post for three rounds, ending in a draw. On May 1, the two will go at it again at the Whiskey Tango in Grain Valley, Missouri, for Thompson's True Fight Fan heavyweight title.

Get this - Playboy model Amanda English does.

Thank you, Josh Helm from Tap or Sleep Mid-West, you, sir, are a god.
More photos after the jump.

Midwest destroyer Gary Tapusoa, that's who, wearing the new Carnage t-shirt.

Tap or Sleep model Tiffany, showing off the new camo long sleeve.

To order these any other great products - with a $4 flat shipping rate - log on to taporsleep.com

The Tap or Sleep Midwest crew, that's who. From an email from Jerod Phillips: "Here is a picture of all the guys fighting next weekend, and Josh Helm our midwest blood life. These guys will be fighting at the Titan Fighting Championships in Kansas City. The main event will feature Brad Imes. From left to right - Casey Smith, Afa Tapusoa, Mitch Harris and Josh Helm, and Dominic Brown in front."

Best of luck, guys, from MMA Explosion. Here's the event poster:

Live on Friday, Feb. 13, Sherdog.com will stream the Wargods/Ken Shamrock Productions event, Valentine's Eve Massacre. Check back here for further details - I couldn't find a strat time for the event.

Two Tap or Sleep-sponsored fighters, Tonya Evinger and Jenn Babcock, are on the card

Fight Card:
Ken Shamrock vs. Ross Clifton
David "Tank" Abbott vs. Mike Bourke
Josh Haynes vs. Rafael Real
Kyacey Uscola vs. BJ Lacy
Mike Moreno vs. Gary Padilla
Buddy Roberts vs. Wesley "Cabbage" Correira
Isaac de Jesus vs. Ashe Bowman
Rick Reeves vs. Nathan James
Jennifer Tate vs. Jen Babcock
Zoila Frausto vs. Karina Hallinan
Darrin Freeman vs. TBA
Tonya Evinger vs. Jessica Bednark

York-based MMA clothing company,Tap or Sleep, has a new model. Her name is Tiffany, and you can check her out on myspace here. Here's some pics from Tiff's latest shoot. Lookin' smokin' hot, girl.

Jerod Phillips, along with Tap or Sleep midwest's Josh Helm, have improved the Tap or Sleep Web site. It now features new fighter bios and a forum. As for the clothing, here's what the site says:

"The online store is currently being filled with products! We are going to do some testing on the online store before it goes live! If you would like to order products, at the moment, send an email to taporsleepmidwest@yahoo.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it. Check back a little later for the online store!"

Tap or Sleep Midwest's newest sensation, by Josh Helm:

Gary Tapusoa who trains at "The Martial Arts Center" Blue Springs MO., is the newest projectile tap or sleep is shooting from their fully loaded arsenal. Gary, a rugby player turned mma title holder hasn't been fighting long. When he joined tap or sleep midwest he was 5-0.

Now at 7-0 with a belt, Gary has been dominating at 2 different weight classes. He started at heavyweight, then went to 205 and now will be fighting Feb. 6th for the 185 TFF title. The Samoan Bad Ass will help propel tap or sleep midwest even further as tap or sleep hopes to propel Gary.

Thanks from TOS midwest to Phil Jones @ True Fight Fan www.truefightfan.com and The Martial Arts Center www.mmacenterkc.com and Brian Davidson from K2L www.teamk2l.com kids to leaders.

Also from Josh: Tap or Sleep Midwest gives back:

We are having a benefit for a 5 year old boy who has been fighting for his life with a golf-ball size cancerous tumor on his brain. They have had alot of procedures done in KC but he needs to go to a clinic in Arizona. The family can't afford it so we are trying to help. The benefit will on April 12th at whiskey tango and will be presented by Tap or Sleep and From Thy Ashes rock band

Here's an email I received from Jerod Phillips, written by his business partner, Josh Helm:

Tap or Sleep's first midwest expedition was with Tap or Sleep fighter Tonya Evinger and her younger twin brothers Owen (3-0 Pro) Chris (6-1 Am). They were all scheduled to fight at the June 6, 2008 True Fight Fan event at Whiskey Tango's in Grain Valley Missouri.

Jerod Phillips (Tap or Sleep owner) flew out from PA to support and slept on Josh Helm's couch while in town. Josh Helm started Team Evinger which transformed Tonya's sponsors into Team Evinger sponsors. So, Tap or Sleep sponsored all three Evingers.
June 6th.

Tonya and Owen dominated the night with support of coach Ken Shamrock and the huge fan base Team Evinger brings with them. Chris' opponent didn't get his blood tests in time after flying in from California.

The first fighter to compete as a Tap or Sleep fighter in the midwest and wasn't a Team Evinger member was Josh Bernal (4-0), an ex-Missouri Western football player. On June 28, Josh won with a reverse triangle in the first round. Josh got to 6-0 before taking his first loss to IFL star LC Davis who is now signed with Affliction. The next Tap or Sleep fighter to compete was Chris Evinger. Chris (6-1 AM) was the AM. State Title Holder at 170 this was Chris' pro debut and he won in 52 second on july 11th.

A couple weeks later Tap or Sleep Midwest was formed by Josh Helm. With Tonya living in Nevada, Tap or Sleep Midwest technically only had 3 fighters - Owen and Chris Evinger with Josh Bernal.

Helm had been around the midwest fight game long enough to know which fighters to support. For the Sept. 5th True Fight Fan show, Tap or Sleep Midwest had new blood competing: fan favorite "KC Bad Boy" Dominic Brown and Casey Smith, who was another Odessa wrestler like Team Evinger. Escorted out by the Tap or Sleep Midwest banner, Dominic and Casey scored victories in the first round. This was the first time Tap or Sleep was really being admired by midwest fans. Since then Tap or Sleep Midwest has dominated, adding at least one fighter every month to the stable.

Tap or Sleep Midwest now has 4 sets of brothers, the Evingers, the Bernals Josh and younger brother Bubba, the Tapusoas Gary and Afa and the Sveums Travis and younger brother Jeff. Joining them is Brown, Smith, Brian Davidson, Tony Matzke, Bo Cash, Mitch Harris, Matt Cox, and Monte Garrett. Every day Tap or Sleep Midwest grows, gaining more and more fans.