Poplar Bluff Mixed Martial Artist Goes Pro - SEMO TIMES

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Experts: 

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Vol. 3 Issue 37 

FREE 

Poplar Bluff 

Mixed Martial 

Artist Goes Pro 

August 19, 2011

page 2 

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE 

www.semotImes.com

Current Events Section www.semotimes.com 

semo 

tImes 

8.19.11 

Volume 3 Issue 37 

2725 N. Westwood 

Suite 17 

Poplar Bluff, MO 

573-785-2200 

Scott R. Faughn, 

publisher 

scottfaughn@ 

semotimes.com 

Tim Krakowiak, 

managing editor 

tim@semotimes.com 

Liz Ellis, reporter 

lizellis@semotimes.com 

Chris Lowry 

creative director 

chris@semotimes.com 

It was a good week for the Poplar 

Bluff City Council, who each received 

iPads to replace their lengthy agenda 

packets during council meetings. Local 

Twitter icon @cjb2m5 pointed out how entertaining 

it is watching the council try to use 

them now. 

It was a bad week for Three Rivers 

College, which apparently still has 

an estranged Foundation. During the 

board meeting Wednesday, the executive 

director vented her frustrations about a lack 

of communication with college officials as well 

as her disapproval of recent decision making. 

It was a good week for the media, 

which played a role in helping 

the Missouri State Highway 

Patrol arrest felony suspect Cletis 

Powell Jr. of Neeyville, who was allegedly 

involved in a tragic hit and run that 

led to the death of a Poplar Bluff teenager. 

Our prayers go out to the Metzing family. 

It was a bad week for journalism. 

What began as an editorial advocating 

the free market in the daily Wednesday, 

actually concluded that private landowners 

attempting to make a deal with a corporation 

should be hanged. Either that or the R-1 

school board “oughta be strung up” for doing 

what they were elected to do. We’ve been trying 

to keep it professional about the Poplar Bluff 

Regional Medical Center location debacle, since 

frankly it’s no one’s business but HMAs, but we 

might have just been forced to break out our editorial 

Superman cape in next week’s edition. 

the social network 

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Inside this 

edition 

The Week in Review - 3 

The Social Network - 3 

Cover Story - 4 

News Briefs - 5 

Expert - 6 

Op/Ed - 6 

Subfeature - 10 

Social Calendar - 11 

Hooked on Science - 14 

+bluffee Event Calendar - 15 

Take the Times with You - 16 

Cover art: Scott Faughn 

Cover design: Scott Faughn 

& 

Brandy 

Sappington 

how to join our 

social network: 

The Week in Review 

# 2 Have you ever held a job at one of our 

manufacturing plants in Poplar Bluff Industrial Park? 

Carla 

Drysdale 

1. Become a friend of SEMO Times on Facebook 

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www.semotImes.com page 3

News Section www.semotimes.com 

Poplar Bluff Mixed Martial Artist Goes Pro 

Brandon Sisco will surrender his 

dozen amateur wins inside the cage for 

a chance to test his mixed martial arts 

skills against an elite level of competition 

in the ever-growing combat sport. 

The 22-year-old Poplar Bluffian, a 

kickboxing specialist, is slated to make 

his full-contact debut in the professional 

MMA circuit Oct. 1 in Sauget, Ill., 

under the St. Louis-based promotion, 

Devastation Fight Club. 

“As much as I’ve worked, it all [gets 

chalked up] to experience, because my 

record is gone now, and I go back to 

0-0,” explained Sisco, who holds four 

championship belts. “Being an amateur 

page 4 

Tim Krakowiak 

Managing Editor 

fighter, you’re basically getting beat up 

for free—I mean, even when you’re 

winning, you’re sore the next day.” 

Sisco signed a single bout contract 

in the 170-pound division, leaving his 

future options open, he said, in hopes 

of one day making it to the Ultimate 

Fighting Championship, the top MMA 

organization in the world. 

As of Tuesday, Sisco’s opponent was 

unannounced, but he said he is essentially 

mentally preparing to face the 

current reigning welterweight UFC 

champ, Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, arguably 

the best pound-for-pound fighter 

in the world. 

‘A DAY IN tHe LIFe’ 

Having practiced MMA since he was 

16 years 

old, Sisco 

wakes up 

at 5 a.m. to 

lift weights, 

works from 

8 a.m.- 

5 p.m. at 

Maverick 

Glass, 

exercises 

his cardio 

and finally 

trains with 

area MMA 

enthusiasts 

by 7 p.m. 

“Then 

it’s go 

home, be 

daddy, do 

yard work,” 

Sisco said, 

laughing. 

“That’s a day in the life.” 

The young man had his second 

daughter Millie Grace earlier this 

month with his wife, Jessica Haley, 

who together are also raising two-yearold, 

Emme Sue. 

Owner of Mav- 

erick Glass, Casey 

Beis, said he supports 

Sisco’s desire 

to make MMA a 

full-time job. The 

former factory 

worker will now get 

paid to fight, more 

with each victory, 

but is responsible 

for soliciting his 

own sponsorships. 

“In my opinion, locally, Brandon has 

the best shot, due to his age and skill 

level, to make it a career, and I’m not 

just saying that,” Beis stated. “He’s got 

loads of talent, is a heck of a guy—hus- 


Submitted Photo 

Brandon Sisco of Poplar Bluff, who recently signed a contract to become 

a professional fighter, displays his championship belt during an amateur 

MMA bout he won at the Black River Coliseum. 

band, father—and just an honest, hard 

worker, who really takes this to heart, 

and with it comes a lot of pride.” 

Perhaps most notably, Sisco coheadlined 

the Cage Fighter Championship 

event at the Black River Coliseum 

in 2009, defeating United States Army 

veteran Calvin 

“Hambone” 

Cunningham 

out of North 

Carolina, who 

entered the 

octagon with 

an amateur record 

of 14-3. 

After Sisco 

won the four 

round war 

via technical 

knockout, special guest UFC hall of 

famer Matt Hughes, who dominated 

the welterweight division through the 

early 2000s, strapped the winning belt 

around Sisco’s waist. “I was standing 

“In my opinion, locally, 

Brandon has the best shot, 

due to his age and skill 

level, to make [MMA] a 

career.” 

-Casey Beis, 

Maverick Glass 

www.semotImes.com


next to Hughes 

during the fight 

and he asked, 

‘Who’s this kid? 

He’s got some 

skills. Is he a pro 

yet?” Beis recalled. 

Sisco leads 

his own fighting 

camp, Sisco 

Fighting Systems, 

with his 

older brother 

P.J., training a 

handful of amateur 

belt holders, 

mostly with undefeated 

records. 

Sisco also teaches 

MMA with training partner Jamze 

Hampleman of Poplar Bluff at the 

Ozark Fitness Cage Lions Submission 

Academy, which will add a youth Jiu- 

Jitsu class next month. 

“I think Brandon’s athletic ability 

and talent will take him as far as he’s 

willing to push himself,” said Hampleman, 

“and I’m excited to see where it 

leads.” 

Like many local MMA practitioners, 

Sisco was a student under Randy Johnson 

of Fairdealing. Johnson first took 

karate as an elective at Three Rivers 

College, and went on to earn his black 

belt directly from American action 

movie star Chuck Norris over three decades 

ago. 

While Johnson mastered his standup, 

he felt the discipline left something to 

be desired on a technical level when 

the contest would go to the ground, he 

said. 

In the early 1990s, he read an article 

in Black Belt Magazine through which 

the Gracie family of Brazil issued a 

challenge to put any style of martial 

arts against their version of submission 

centered Jiu-Jitsu in a hand-tohand 

tournament, hence the founding 

of UFC. 

“At the time, there wasn’t hardly any 

information out there, so I basically 

started ordering Gracie tapes and attending 

seminars around the country,” 

Submitted Photo 

Local mixed martial artist Brandon Sisco gets his hand raised by 

an official after a victory at the former Scooters II in Poplar Bluff. 

said Johnson, 55, now an assistant 

for Ozark Physical Therapy at Poplar 

Bluff Medical Partners. “I guess I was 

the first one from this area who learned 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and had an MMA 

team.” 

During a transitional period in jobs, 

Johnson was substitute teaching at 

Neelyville High School, where Sisco 

and P.J. attended. As an early teenager, 

Sisco got caught up with the wrong 

crowd and was looking for some direction, 

and also to learn self-defense, as 

he said he was “a scrawny kid.” 

Discussing martial arts was a way to 

hold the students’ attention, Johnson 

said. The Sisco brothers expressed a 

particular interest, so they began practicing 

on wrestling mats in Johnson’s 

basement. 

“I have had a lot of good students, 

but Brandon was probably one of the 

most natural fighters,” Johnson said. 

Sisco’s uncle, Luke Davidson of Doniphan, 

said he used to help babysit the 

Sisco brothers, and has memories of 

the boys putting on boxing gloves and 

tape recording themselves sparring in 

the yard. 

“He lives and breathes MMA—it’s 

something that’s inside of him,” Davidson 

said. “Even when he lost his 

> Continued on pg 11 

@ semotimes.com 

Patrol Apprehends Suspect 

In Fatal Hit and Run 

The Missouri State Highway Patrol 

arrested 35-year-old Cletis W. Powell 

Jr. of Neelyville at 11 p.m. Tuesday 

on felony charges for allegedly leaving 

the scene of a fatal motor vehicle 

crash. 

Three Rivers Enrollment Tops 4,000 

As the first week of the fall semester 

begins, early enrollment numbers are 

set to shatter records at Three Rivers 

College. 

On the first day of classes Monday, 

total enrollment stood at over 4,000, 

as much as an 11 percent increase over 

fall 2010. More precise numbers will 

be finalized at the end of the week, 

when the registration period closes. 

“Bach To The Future” Coming 

Back to Tinnin Fine Arts Center 

Classical music group “Bach to the 

Future” will return to Poplar Bluff 

next month, and tickets for the performance 

are on sale now. 

Bach to the Future will kick off the 

Patrons of the Arts 2011-2012 season 

with a concert at the Tinnin Fine Arts 

Center on the Three Rivers College 

campus, beginning at 7 p.m. Sept. 3. 

Tickets are $10, and can be purchased 

online at trcc.edu/tinnin. 

Rural Development and City of Fisk 

Partner for Needed Equipment 

FISK, Mo. – Earlier this month, 

Anita J. Dunning, Missouri state director 

for USDA Rural Development, 

presented Mayor Susan Williams with 

certificates of appreciation for the 

city’s partnership with Rural Development. 

Fisk was awarded three grants 

through USDA Rural Development to 

assist in obtaining a utility truck, tractor 

and a generator. 

To read the full story, 

visit the .com. 



Business Section www.semotimes.com 

Anyone can walk into a jewelry store 

and walk out with a set of diamond earrings, 

a cute little ruby-studded heart 

necklace, or even an engagement ring. 

We know that when we purchase from 

a store, that there will be several other 

people with the exact same item. 

However, what if you could design 

a piece of jewelry that you, and only 

you, had? 

That’s what Hilderbrand Diamond 

Company is all about. They specialize 

in unique, original and sometimes unusual 

jewelry, designed by the customer. 

Owners Tammy and Kevin Hilderbrand 

supply the expertise and skill, 

but customers supply the ideas. 

“Custom isn’t just putting a couple 

pieces together—it’s starting from 

scratch,” Kevin said. “A lot of places 

say ‘custom jewelry,’ but it’s not. You 

pick the ring, you pick the stone and 

they mount it. That’s not custom.” 

Kevin has been working with jewelry 

for about 12 years, and has designed 

dozens of different pieces. Some are 

simply new twists on old ideas while 

others are totally different from jewelry 

seen in any other store, such as 

page 6 

Liz Ellis 

Reporter 

Custom Jewelry 

their redneck collection and tire tread 

jewelry. 

“We prefer to do custom because it’s 

one-of-a-kind jewelry,” Tammy said. 

“It’s very 

emotionally 

powerful, 

and we like it 

from the creative 

side. We 

like design 

and we like 

designing.” 

The process 

is simple. 

Customers 

should come 

in with some 

sort of idea 

of what they 

want. The 

Hilderbrands 

will then discuss 

the idea 

with the customer 

and a first rendering of the piece 

is made. Then the customer can look at 

the image and make changes until they 

are satisfied. 

Once the piece looks exactly the 

way the customer wants, a wax mold 

is made to scale to see how the finished 

piece will look. After that, the ring is 

cast, and the gems are set into the metal. 

The entire process generally takes 

four-six weeks, depending on how 

many revisions the jewelry requires. 

Photo by Liz Ellis 

Kevin and Tammy Hilderbrand, owners of Hilderbrand Diamond Company, 

specalize in making custom and unique jewelry. 

“That’s the other thing about custom,” 

Tammy said. “You have the freedom 

to change your mind [and] you get 

to see it before we make it so that way 

you’re getting exactly what you want.” 

For customers who don’t have a 

solid idea of what they want, Tammy 

suggests going through magazines and 


tearing out any jewelry pictures that 

appeal to you and starting a file. That 

way you will have something to draw 

from, and they will have an idea of 

your tastes. 

“As long as we know where 

you’re going, we can come up with 

a design that you will like,” Tammy 

said. 

A lot of customers, Tammy 

continued, start by looking at the 

ring collections that the store has 

in stock and building from there, 

using the elements they like and 

omitting or changing others as 

many times as necessary to get it 

to look like the customer imagines. 

“If you can think it up, we can 

do it,” Kevin said. “There are no 

limitations.” 

The best part about the process 

is that you don’t have to spend millions 

of dollars to have a unique 

ring. 

The biggest expenses of a ring, 

the Hilderbrands agreed, are the gold 

and the diamonds, both of which the 

jeweler has control over. The ring can 

be made lighter or with less gold and 

the quality of the diamonds can be lessened 

to fit a particular budget. 

> Continued on pg 11 

www.semotImes.com

Columns & Opinions Section www.semotimes.com 

Brighton Jay 

SEMO Times 

columnist 

My family hails from the backwoods 

of Southeast Missouri – it is a beautiful 

place to grow up. It is also a place 

where plenty of things go “bump” in 

the night. We have superstitions and 

ghost stories abound, both the stuff of 

legends and personal accounts of supernatural 

encounters. As a child who 

believed wholeheartedly in the “spirit 

world,” I found such tales to be both 

fascinating and frightening. 

In my adult years, I’ve developed a 

healthy sense of skepticism; however, 

I’ve found these stories still entertaining. 

Who doesn’t like a good campfire 

story about seeing a shadow in the window 

or hearing a disembodied voice in 

the middle of the night? 

An Explanation for the Unexplained 

I’ve discovered something interesting 

in my years of casually reading 

about the paranormal, watching “ghost 

investigation” television shows and 

having a few startling experiences of 

my own. Verifiable proof that the paranormal 

even exists, much less interacts 

with us in a recognizable way, has never 

crossed my path. I certainly do not 

fault people for investigating the unexplained, 

but often, the accounts are 

considerably more farfetched than any 

simple explanation would be. 

For example, which of these seems 

more reasonable? The wind combined 

with various sounds in a very old 

building creates a noise which our ears 

interpret as a voice (especially when 

we are expecting/trying to hear one), 

or the dead inhabitant of said building 

has risen from the ether to single you 

out and pass on a garbled and barely 

recognizable message? Does it seem 

rational that a trick of light and shadow 

made your brain think you saw a 

ghostly person (much like some people 

have seen Jesus on a grilled cheese), or 

that a murdered child drifted back from 

the grave to shake the drapes in your 

home? 

I’ve seen such claims be logically 

explained by some of my favorite investigators, 

such as the illustrious Joe 

Nickell, who has investigated paranormal 

claims for over three decades 

– and never have I seen a paranormal 

occurrence proven to be paranormal. 

Rather, each paranormal event which 

has been confirmed to have a verifiable 

cause has been found to have a natural 

origin, an environmental cause, or is 

simply a hoax. 

As we enter the fall season and enjoy 

the ghouls and goblins that populate the 

landscape this time of year, remember 

to take these stories with a grain of salt, 

because the simplest, most reasonable 

explanation is usually the right one. 

For more information on paranormal 

investigations, Read Joe Nickell’s articles 

on the Center for Skeptical Inquiry’s 

website at www.csicop.org/author/ 

joenickell, or see him live at this year’s 

Skepticon event in Springfield, Mo. You 

can contact Brighton Jay at brightonjay@gmail.com. 




5k Event Sept. 3 to Benefit Scholarship 

page 10 

Liz Ellis 

Reporter 

The first Run for Rich 5k run/walk 

event will be held Sept. 3 at Bacon 

Park. Participants could race, jog or 

walk the course and people of all ages 

are welcome. Prizes will be given for 

the race by age category as well as an 

overall prize for men and women. 

The 5k will begin at 8 a.m. with 

check-in at 7. Anyone who has not 

registered by Friday may do so the day 

of the race. The fee is $20, and all of 

the money will go toward the Richard 

Thomas Memorial Scholarship at 

Three Rivers College. 

The run/walk will begin at Bacon 

Park, following the newly paved trail 

to Hendrickson Park. Participants will 

go through the park and make a right 

on Gray Street, a right on Main Street, 

a right on Hickory Street, then turn on 

Pershing to end up back 

at the park. The event 

is expected to last until 

around 10:30 a.m. 

A few of the sponsors 

of the race will have 

booths set up, and there 

will be water available 

for the participants. In 

addition, those who register 

by in advance will 

receive a T-shirt upon 

checking in. 

“It will be [an] every 

year [event],” said Trisha 

Whitehead, one of the 

organizers. “We eventually 

hope that it will be 

one of Poplar Bluff’s big 

events.” 

The scholarship, 

Whitehead said, is in remembrance 

of her broth- 

Richard thomas 

er, Richard Thomas, who died last year 

close to Memorial Day. 

“He really inspired people, and this 

event is about him and keeping his 

memory and his name alive. That’s really 

important to me and to my family.” 

Because this is the trial year of the 

event, it is not going to be very extravagant, 

but Whitehead and her mother, 

Janet Thomas, said they are pleased 

so far with the interest generated from 

word of mouth. 

“I have a feeling it’s going to be a 

lot bigger than what we are expecting,” 


Thomas said. “… We have a big 

variety [of participants]. We have 

some that are older, some that are 

younger and some that are in between.” 

The Richard Thomas Memorial 

Scholarship will be for nontraditional 

students at Three Rivers, and 

will be an annual scholarship funded 

by the race and donations. 

“The school is helping us set 

up some of the guidelines, but we 

wanted it to be a nontraditional student 

because it’s harder for them to 

get scholarships,” Whitehead said. 

“And Richard would have been a 

nontraditional student.” 

The majority of proceeds will go 

toward T-shirts, and any leftovers 

will be going directly to the scholarship, 

Whitehead said. Most of the 

prizes were donated by sponsors 

and community members. 

“I want to start this fund off well. I 

want it to be good right off the bat,” 

Whitehead said. 

Liz Ellis can be reached by emailing 

lizellis@semotimes.com or by calling 

573-785-2200. 

www.semotImes.com


> Jewelry, from pg 6 > MMA Pro, from pg 5 

“That’s another part of custom that we like,” Tammy 

said. “You can give somebody the kind of ring 

they want for the price they can afford.” 

The Hilderbrands are proud of their jewelry and 

will stand behind their pieces and fix any problems 

the customer has with their purchase. 

In addition to custom jewelry, Hilderbrand Diamond 

Company has some pieces in stock which can 

be purchased on the spot. However, the majority of 

their sales are custom pieces. 

“That’s our niche. We do custom and no one else 

does. It’s what we love,” Tammy said. 

Liz Ellis can be reached by emailing lizellis@semotimes.com 

first couple fights, he knew where he messed up and 

always gained from it.” 

Sisco added: “I don’t even like losing checkers.” 

One of his main inspirations, he noted, is his father 

Danny, who is blind, but still manages to train MMA 

with his sons. 

“It is scary being trapped in a cage with someone 

who’s trying to take your head off, but once you get 

your hand raised and realize it’s something you’re 

good at, there’s nothing that compares,” Sisco said. 

“I’m not quitting until I get up there, and I believe 

I’m going to be up there with the best.” 

Tim Krakowiak can be reached by emailing tim@ 

semotimes.com, or follow him on Twitter @TimKrakowiak. 




page 12 


www.semotImes.com

Activity Section www.semotimes.com 

Nick Norman & Lewis 

Brice Concert 

8 p.m. Aug. 19 

Whiskey Down 


Parenting Seminar 

9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Aug. 20 

Agree Fellowship Church 


Youth on Fire Service 

6-9 p.m. Aug. 20 

United Full Gospel Church 

Bernie 

11th Annual Trunk Show 

8 a.m. Aug. 22 

Dr. Troy Bell’s Family 

Eyecare, Poplar Bluff 

Starting a Small 

Business Workshop 

6-9 p.m. Aug. 24 

Ripley County Area 

Chamber of Commerce 

Doniphan 

NRA Banquet 

5 p.m. Aug. 27 

Black River Coliseum 


Fitness Challenge 

with Caleb Conover 

5:30 p.m. Sept. 1 

Ozark Fitness 


Comedian/Impersonator 

Dennis Swanberg Live 

7 p.m. Sept. 2 

Rodgers Theatre 


Madisyn in Concert 


Melody Theatre 

Leachville, Ark. 

Bach to the Future 


Tinnin Fine Arts Center 


To submit an event go to www.semotimes.com 

and click on the +Bluffee tab 



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