Josh (The Hammer) Burns laid the wood on former professional hockey player Jeff Kugel in the first round of their MMA pro heavyweight clash at the Palace on Friday night.
Burns, 32, of Dexter finished off Roseville's Kugel, 31 -- who played for the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL in the late '90s before being banned for life for fighting -- with a hammer punch to the side of Kugel's head.
With Kugel unable to defend himself as he lay on his stomach on the canvas, the referee stopped the bout at 2:52, handing the fight to Burns on a TKO.
Kugel, 6-feet-7 and 263 pounds, pinned Burns, 6 feet, 250, against the cage early in the round, kneeing Burns to the thighs and stomach. He opened a cut on Burn's right cheek with an elbow, which seemed to fire up Burns.
After locking legs, the fighters crashed to the ground, with Burns the first to gain the advantage, hammering Kugel to the head.
"The elbow woke me up," admitted Burns, who had legendary UFC fighter Mark (The Hammer) Coleman in his corner. "It made me a little more motivated. I just gave him a good hammer punch to the side of his head and then he ducked his head down and was done."
Burns, who improved to 6-1, said he was waiting for the bigger Kugel to make his move in the opening seconds.
"He likes to bull-rush people," said Burns. "Once he got hold of me, I realized it was harder to get away from him than I expected. He got in a couple of good knees and got me with the elbow. I don't want to sound overconfident, but I believe I have powerful hands, and I knew if I touched him, he'd know he was in a different league."
Kugel entered Friday's fight with an easy first-round win over Eric (Butterbean) Esch last year. The former left wing and team enforcer was confident he could box Burns and keep him at bay.
He made the mistake of grappling early with Burns, a former Ohio State wrestler, and paid the price.
"I should have boxed -- it's my own fault," said Kugel, who also played with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. "He's a grappler, and I cut a lot of weight before the fight. I'm very disappointed. It's pretty easy to know who to lay the blame on for this one."
Kugel, 1-1, will get back in the gym, he said.
"We'll go back to the drawing board," Kugel said, "The next fight will be different."
Burns hopes to appear on a Strike Force card March 5, or fight at the end of March in Mexico.
"I wasn't happy with the start of the fight," Burns said. "But once he caught me with the elbow, I was ready. I'm pleased with how I ended it."
Contact MIKE BRUDENELL: 313-222-2115 or mbrudenell@freepress.com.
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