Hometown Hope Meets Champ-Champ Ambition: Chupp and Hamby Collide in the SLUGFEST 10 Main Event

Tomorrow night, Tennessee SLUGFEST takes over the Milner Recreation Center in McMinnville with a main event built around two very different kinds of pressure.

For Joey Chupp, it is the pressure—and the opportunity—of fighting for a championship in front of his hometown crowd.

For Ryan “Heavy Hands” Hamby, it is the chance to make history just three weeks after capturing his first title.

Chupp (1–1) and Hamby (5–2) will meet at 195 pounds for the inaugural Tennessee SLUGFEST Super Middleweight Championship in the five-round main event of Tennessee SLUGFEST 10. The bout is proudly sponsored by ENDO Athletics.

One man is looking to complete a hometown comeback. The other is trying to leave McMinnville as a champion in two divisions.

Joey Chupp Returns With Something to prove

McMinnville’s Joey Chupp has not competed inside the SLUGFEST cage since March 28, but anyone who watched his debut night knows that his 1–1 record does not tell the entire story.

Chupp made his first appearance at Tennessee SLUGFEST 2 in Sparta as part of the heavyweight tournament. He opened the night against Clayton Barnhill and immediately showed the kind of composure and boxing ability that can make a fighter dangerous in the SLUGFEST format. Chupp stayed sharp, worked behind his hands and earned a unanimous-decision victory in his first fight.

That win moved him into the next round against Triston Gentry.

For nearly the entire fight, Chupp once again looked comfortable and technically sound. Then, only five seconds into the third and final round, everything changed. Gentry landed the knockout blow, ending Chupp’s tournament run in the blink of an eye.

It was the kind of loss that can hide how well a fighter performed before the finish. One sudden shot decided the result, but it did not erase the boxing skill Chupp displayed throughout the night.

Now, nearly six months later, Chupp returns in a new division and on the biggest stage of his young SLUGFEST career. His first appearance came in a 265-pound heavyweight tournament. His return comes at 195 pounds with championship gold on the line.

He will also have something he did not have in March: a McMinnville crowd behind him.

“Heavy Hands” Has Been Living Up to His Name

Standing across from Chupp will be one of the hottest fighters on the entire SLUGFEST roster.

Cookeville’s Ryan “Heavy Hands” Hamby enters the main event with a 5–2 record and four consecutive victories. After back-to-back decision losses early in his run, Hamby found another gear—and the results have changed the direction of his career.

The streak began at Tennessee SLUGFEST 4, where Hamby knocked out James Hopkins in only 27 seconds in a 195-pound fight. He followed that performance with a split-decision victory over Dallas Coker at SLUGFEST 6 and a unanimous-decision win over Matthew Stranghoner at SLUGFEST 7.

Then came Tennessee SLUGFEST 9.

In the main event on August 29, Hamby met Hopkins for a second time with the inaugural Middleweight Championship on the line. The rematch was expected to answer questions, settle unfinished business and test whether Hopkins could survive Hamby’s power after their first meeting.

Hamby needed only seven seconds to answer all of it.

One explosive finish made Ryan Hamby the first Tennessee SLUGFEST Middleweight Champion and delivered an unforgettable seven-second championship knockout.

There was no long celebration or extended break afterward. Exactly three weeks later, Hamby is moving back up to 195 pounds to fight for another inaugural championship.

If he defeats Chupp, “Heavy Hands” will become a champ-champ—the reigning Tennessee SLUGFEST Middleweight and Super Middleweight Champion.

Can Chupp Slow Down the Hamby Avalanche?

That is the central question hanging over this main event.

Hamby has shown that he can end a fight before it ever has a chance to develop. Three of his five SLUGFEST victories have come by knockout or technical knockout, including first-round stoppages in 12 seconds, 27 seconds and seven seconds. He also has two decision wins, proving that he can stay composed when an opponent survives the opening exchanges.

Chupp’s path to victory may depend on making Hamby work for every clean shot. His best moments in March came when he stayed patient, trusted his boxing and refused to turn the fight into uncontrolled chaos. In a championship bout scheduled for five one-minute rounds, that discipline could become even more important.

But championship rounds also create more opportunities for Hamby to land the kind of punch that changes everything.

Chupp knows that feeling better than most.

The hometown challenger has already experienced how quickly a fight can turn. Tomorrow night, he gets the chance to use that lesson against the most dangerous finisher in the division—and to do it with the inaugural Super Middleweight Championship waiting for the winner.

For Hamby, this is an opportunity to turn an unforgettable three-week run into SLUGFEST history.
For Chupp, it is a chance to prove that one sudden knockout in March was only the end of a fight, not the end of his story.

McMinnville’s hometown contender. Cookeville’s newly crowned champion. Five one-minute rounds for the first Super Middleweight title in Tennessee SLUGFEST history.

Tomorrow night, the cage door closes—and only one man leaves with the belt.

Event Details
Tennessee SLUGFEST 10
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Venue: Milner Recreation Center
Address: 500 Garfield Street, McMinnville, TN 37110
Doors Open: 4:00 PM Central
Preshow and Opening Fights: 5:00 PM Central
Main Event: Joey Chupp vs. Ryan “Heavy Hands” Hamby
Championship: Inaugural Tennessee SLUGFEST Super Middleweight Championship
Main Event Sponsor: ENDO Athletics

Tickets: https://www.slugfestfights.com/tennessee-slugfest-10-tickets.html
Live Pay-Per-View: https://combatsportsnow.com/tsf10




About Tennessee SLUGFEST
Tennessee SLUGFEST is a Tennessee-based combat sports promotion featuring fast-paced cage boxing, tournament brackets, local rivalries and action-packed fight nights across the region. Built to give everyday athletes and rising fighters a platform to compete, SLUGFEST combines grassroots combat sports with high-energy production, live fan experiences and pay-per-view broadcasts through CombatSportsNow.com.
Tennessee SLUGFEST is a Black Flag Sports & Entertainment brand.