Park wins fight

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Clovis is now home to a Mixed Martial Arts champion.

Sheriff's deputy Harvey Park is that champ, winning the Legacy Fighting Alliance's formerly vacant Lightweight title Friday night with a technical knockout of Demarques Jackson at 4:58 of Round 1 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Park improved to 12-2 as a professional, with his 12th pro victory the sweetest, earning him a Lightweight championship belt for his achievement.

"I think five years ago I commented on LFA's Instagram, 'Let me get a shot,'" Park said in the cage after Friday's win. "It's five years of work to get here; I've been looking at this belt for a long time. It feels great."

It's the third-straight win for Park, a Melrose High graduate, Navy veteran and now Clovis resident nicknamed 'Fightbot'.

He and Jackson were grappling in the Sanford Pentagon cage, seemingly feeling each other out with punches and kicks, when momentum seemed to go Park's way. He landed a right cross on Jackson, as one of the announcers barked, "Stung him! Stung him! Stung him!"

Park then went at Jackson with a quick flurry of punches alongside the cage. Park grabbed hold of Jackson, and though Jackson tried to escape, Park wouldn't let him, and brought him to the cage floor before wailing on his head a bit.

Of Jackson at that point, one of the announcers commented, "He doesn't know where he's at right now. I'm telling you."

Jackson was soon flat on his back, with Park on top of him firing away, his "nasty elbows" - as one of the announcers put it - flying furiously and his punches getting in - as an announcer said - "major shots."

Finally, mercifully perhaps for Jackson, the ref forced his way between them and ended the fight just seconds before the bell might have saved him.

"That ... is ... all!" one of the announcers bellowed. "Harvey Park is your new LFA Lightweight champion!"

With that, the 33-year-old Park's night was through. With some nice hardware as his reward.