By Michael Fiedel

Saturday, June 15, V3Fights will touch down at Minglewood Hall in Memphis, Tennessee, with a loaded card streaming exclusively on FloCombat. 

The 11-fight, multi-sport event will feature both amateur and professional bouts in both mixed martial arts and kickboxing. 

Watch V3Fights 75 LIVE on FloCombat

In the main event of the evening, Memphis native Jacob Noe (12-3, 1 NC MMA) will return to combat sports for the first time since 2013 in his professional kickboxing debut against Dameon Melton (4-20 MMA).

Noe, 38, is a longtime MMA veteran. The light heavyweight competed in Strikeforce and Bellator in his heyday, facing off against notable fighters like Ultimate Fighter, UFC, and Bellator veteran Seth Petruzelli; Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and UFC, Bellator, and ONE Championship veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral; and Strikeforce, Bellator, and RIZIN champion Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal.

A motorcycle accident forced Noe into early retirement, and the former high school football standout has not competed since his final MMA fight in 2013, a TKO loss to Lawal in the finals of Bellator’s 2013 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament.

Noe, who was told that his fighting days were over following the accident, is dead set on returning to combat sports with a bang. “It wasn’t until that I wasn’t able to compete that I knew I lost my passion. I’m a fighter! It’s where I thrive!” Noe told V3Fights. 

Rather than resuming his MMA career, Noe will face Melton in a kickboxing bout. Speaking with V3Fights, Noe explained his decision. 

"I’m done with MMA. I’m satisfied with my accomplishments and want to have a career in kickboxing,” he said. “It’s just something I want to try before I’m done. I should be successful considering my success in MMA was mostly striking, but I wanted to be a champion in a recognized venue. My goals are the same and I’ll do my best to accomplish them!” said Noe.

Watch V3Fights 75 LIVE on FloCombat

Standing across from Noe on Saturday will be Dameon Melton, a 24-fight MMA veteran who fights out of Tennessee as well.

While his record is far from pristine, the vast majority of Melton’s losses have come by way of submission, a threat that will not present itself during his kickboxing bout with Noe. Melton has also competed in several pro boxing bouts.

Melton has fought several notable MMA figures, including top LFA lightweight prospect Jaleel Willis (10-2) and former MMA fighter-turned foremost nutritionist Tyler Minton (7-1). 

Also returning to action on the V3Fights 75 card is Chris Brown (3-1), one of the promotion’s fastest-rising young prospects. Brown will face Derek Clardy (1-3) in a 165 pound catchweight bout.

Brown, who turned pro in 2017 after a 4-0 amateur career, is a product of the famed Jackson-Winklejohn MMA gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 30-year-old pro will have coach Winklejohn in his corner when he makes his second appearance in V3Fights. 

In Brown’s V3Fights debut, he suffered his lone defeat to longtime MMA veteran Thomas Gifford (17-8) in what can only be considered one of the best fights in promotional history. The three-round war won V3Fights’ “Fight of the Year” award and was the catalyst to boost Gifford to a UFC contract.

Brown rebounded with a unanimous decision victory in November at JacksonWink Fight Night 4, but he’ll look to earn his first V3Fights win against Clardy.

Clardy, also 30, turned pro in 2016 after a similarly impressive 6-1 amateur career that spanned the likes of Shamrock FC and RFA. 

The Missouri native dropped his first two professional bouts, one of which came by way of submission, before scoring his first pro win last summer with a first-round knockout under the Dynasty Combat Sports banner.

In his most recent bout, Clardy suffered a first-round knockout loss in MMAX FC, and has had four scheduled bouts arranged since fizzle out. Clardy will look to make the most of his V3Fights debut this Saturday. 

Watch V3Fights 75 LIVE on FloCombat