Madtown Throwdown kicked off 2013 with a stellar card featuring some of the top fighters Wisconsin has to offer and even on Saturday January 5th when the Green Bay Packers had a wild card playoff game, fans still came out to support the promotion and the competitors involved.

Both the main event and co-main event should have been enough to bring everyone out, in the co main event top lightweights in Wisconsin Rob Couilliard and Tyler Hellenbrand were slated to go to war and in the main event UFC veteran Eric Schaffer was set to take on John Poppie.

Fans lined up inside the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI to get a chance to see the high level of MMA that continues to come through the Madtown Throwdown promotion and once again they were not disappointed.

Schafer Scores Knockout Over Poppie

The main event of the evening we saw a light heavyweight match that featured UFC veteran Eric Schafer of Red Schafer MMA facing off against John Poppie of Iron Works Training Center. In the first both fighters exchange a bit before Poppie gets Schaffer down and works from his guard.

Schafer gets Poppie off and lands a huge up kick. Back up and Poppie had red pressed against the cage, they break free, and then right back to it. Poppie landing some pretty good punches and Schaffer responds with some of his own before Poppie again gets Schafer to the ground. They scramble and are again on their feet and again Poppie pushes Schafer's back to the cage but eats a left on his way in and Schafer lands a few knees back against the cage before the horn sounds.

In the second Schafer lands a leg kick and again Poppie pushes Schafer's back to the cage where they exchange knees to the body and punches. Poppie shoots for a takedown and Schaffer goes for a guillotine attempt that Poppie eventually slips free from but eats another up kick as he stands over Schafer.

Poppie gets on the ground with Schaffer and lands an illegal knee to the head. The referee stops the bout to deduct a point from Poppie. Back to the action and Schaffer lands a big right and presses Poppie against the cage and Schaffer puts on a knee clinic and starts letting his hands go. Schaffer lands an uppercut that drops Poppie, Schaffer dives in landing some more punches before the referee stops the fight declaring Eric Schafer the winner by knock out.

Hellenbrand Outpoints Couillard

In the co-main event of the evening the top two lightweights in Wisconsin went to war as Robert Couillard of Red Schaffer MMA took on Tyler Hellenbrand from The Chosen Few. Both fighters come out letting their hands go and Couillard presses Hellenbrand against the cage and lands some knees to the legs.

Hellenbrand slips free and gets a takedown, they quickly get back to their feet and Couillard eats a punch but follows it up with a head kick that lands. Hellenbrand gets a takedown and again Couillard scrambles free gets it back standing where he lands some punches on Hellenbrand.

Hellenbrand gets it back to the ground and gets Couillard's back but Couillard slips lose to pull guard before the horn. In the second Hellenbrand lands a leg kick and then they take turns pressing each other against the cage before Hellenbrand secures a takedown. Great scrambles on the ground and Couillard gets up but eats a punch on his way up.

Couillard lands some great punches and a flying knee. Couillard gets a takedown, they scramble and Hellenbrand is up but eats a nasty up kick from Couillard. Hellenbrand lands some solid punches before Couillard gets free. Back to the feet the two do some dirty boxing before the horn. In the third both fighters stand toe to toe and exchange both landing kicks to the body.

Hellenbrand again gets a takedown and Couillard locks up a triangle that looks to have Hellenbrand in trouble and amazingly Hellenbrand gets free. Hellenbrand lands some punches from inside Couillard's guard and Couillard throwing elbows from the bottom. Couillard again with a triangle attempt, Hellenbrand slips free but eats another up kick. Couillard is back to his feet and has Hellenbrand pressed against the cage but the horn sounds and we go to the judges' scorecards. Hellenbrand is declared the winner via Unanimous Decision.

Rhodes Retires Stitt

In the welterweight division Quartis Stitt faced Mike "Biggie" Rhodes from Roufusport. In the first both come out and Stitt strikes first with a leg kick and Rhodes responds with a push kick. Stitt gets Rhodes against the cage and Rhodes gets kneed to the groin.

After a short break its back to action and Stitt again has Rhodes against the cage and lands a few knees to the thigh of Rhodes. Rhodes spins Stitt against the cage and they exchange knees to the legs and body. Rhodes gets a takedown and lands a few elbows. Rhodes continues to try for some ground and pound and elbows but Stitt survives to the horn without taking much damage.

In the second again Stitt comes out and throws a leg kick and Rhodes and again responds with a push kick. Stitt gets a takedown but it's Rhodes who attempts a submission before getting back to his feet. Rhodes gets Stitt with his back to the cage and another shot to the groin by Stitt stops the action. After Rhodes recovers Stitt shoots for the takedown attempt and has Rhodes with his back against the cage yet again.

Rhodes attempts a Kimura before the two split and Rhodes lands some big punches that drop Stitt. Biggie working on the ground for Stitt's back and gets it, he goes for the rear naked choke attempt and lands some punches and elbows to Stitt's head. Stitt survives the round. Stitt cannot come out to the start of the third round and Rhodes wins via TKO.

Kaul Clocks Hirsch

In the heavyweight division we saw some action as Matt Hirsch from Hell Fire Club took on Derrick Kaul from The Chosen Few. Both test the others chin with a punch before Kaul gets the takedown. Back to the feet Kaul lands some knees with Hirsch against the cage and gets another takedown.

Back up again and Kaul has Hirsch against the cage where again he lands some knees before getting another takedown. Kaul works on Hirsch's back and softens him up with some punches, Kaul continues to land punches. The referee steps I and stops the action declaring the winner Derrick Kaul via TKO.

Griffin Stops Anderson

In the lightweight division Jordan Griffin of Red Schaffer MMA took on Dennis Anderson of The Chosen Few. Anderson comes out in the first and lands some solid leg kicks and both fighters looked to showcase their stand up skills as Griffin lands some solid combos before Anderson secures a takedown.

They scramble and their back to their feet. Griffin manages to get Anderson's back and is able to suplex Anderson and gets on top landing some big ground and pound. The referee has seen enough and stops the fight declaring Griffin the winner via TKO.

Sickinger Subs Wikoff

In the first professional bout of the evening Matt Wikoff of Central Illinois Combat Club took on Morgan Sickinger from Unified Martial Arts. Both fighters come out felling each other out before Wikoff gets a takedown. They scramble for a while on the ground but eventually Sickinger gets out and up.

Back to their feet Sickinger lands a big kick to the body of Wikoff . Wikoff drops Sickinger with a left and lands a knee to the body. Sickinger is up and manages to get a takedown as they scramble, and Sickinger locks up an arm bar as Wikoff screams out in pain but is saved by the horn.

Early in the second Sickinger gets Wikoff against the cage and lands some knees. Wikoff gets the fight to the ground and gets Sickingers back and looks to sync in a rear naked choke but the slippery Sickinger gets free and moves to Wikoff's guard landing some ground and pound and elbows before getting full mount.

Sickinger goes for the arm bar again but Wikoff slips free and lands a few punches on the ground before the horn. In the third Sickinger looks to get a single leg takedown and eventually gets it. Sickinger lands some punches to the head and body of Wikoff before working to Wikoff's back and sinks in a rear naked choke that forces Wikoff to tap.

Kicking off the amateur portion of the card was a matchup at 155lbs that featured Sergio Esquivel taking on Kevin Vasquez from Roufusport. Early in the round both men showed some boxing skills before Vasquez is able to secure a takedown.

While scrabbling on the ground Vasquez eventually gets the back of Esquivel locking in a body triangle and looking to sink in a rear naked choke; however Esquivel was able to survive the round. The second round started the same with a few exchanges and Vasquez shooting for a takedown that he eventually gets and after some scrambling they are stood up and exchange a few knees before ending back on the ground at the end of the second.

In the third round it was more of the same a few exchanges before Vasquez gets another take down this time he is able to get the mount and work some ground and pound before the end of the round. The judges' scorecards had it for Vasquez via Unanimous decision.

In the next bout of the evening we saw some welterweight action which showcased Tim Hiley of Roufusport taking on Joel Alvarez of Fight Prime. Hiley comes out and lands a thunderous leg kick before Alvarez is able to get a takedown and after sometime on the ground they are back to their feet.

Hiley is now able to get a takedown and after some work on the ground Alvarez ends up in Hiley's guard before the end of the round. Early in the second Hiley came out showing superior striking over Alvarez. Alvarez shot for a takedown but Hiley sprawls and gets the better position and lands some solid punches before sinking in a triangle choke for the win.

In the welterweight division Dillion Shultz made his amateur debut against Christian Vasquez from Roufusport. Both fighters came out early in the first looking to showcase their standup game exchanging punches before Vasquez is able to get a takedown. Schultz is able to scramble but Vasquez gets full mount and lands some punches, Shultz again gets free and on his feet before Vasquez gets another takedown at the end of the round.

Early in the second Shultz jumps to Vasquez's back but slips off and eventually it is Vasquez that has Shultz's back. Vasquez is able to lock up a body triangle and sinks in a rear naked choke but doesn't have the time to finish before the horn. In the third both fighters start out exchanging and Shultz is able to land a head kick. Vasquez gets the clinch and works some knees before getting Shultz down and landing a few punches. Vasquez transitions to Shultz's back and locks up a rear naked choke that forces Shultz to tap.

In the flyweight division Andrew Bucy of Central Illinois Combat Club took on Bryan Marty of Fight Prime. Early in the first both fighters feel each other out before the fight goes to the ground. After some time on the ground the referee has seen enough and stands the back up. Both fighters continue to exchange punches and leg kicks but either land much of significance.

At the start of the second Bucy lands a leg kick and follows it up with a punch before Marty secures a takedown where he works some ground and pound, Marty transitions to Bucy's back and continues to land punches before the referee steps in to stop in declaring the winner Marty via TKO due to referee stoppage.