Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Aggressive Shoot Championship A Success

*originally published in the Nov '05 issue of Full Contact Fighter*

The date: October 30th. The venue: an undisclosed location in New York City. The show: the Aggressive Shoot Championship. The rules: akin to the Pancrase matches of old, with kicks and open-handed strikes permitted on the feet, submissions and rope escapes allowed on the ground. The ASC (a cousin of the NYC Underground Combat League NHB show) offered budding MMA warriors the chance to test the waters without the risk of taking too much punishment, and with seven bouts featuring fighters from some of the more prominent local schools, as well as a packed house of cheering fans, it unfolded into a well-executed, well-received event.

Headlining the night were championship match-ups in the middleweight and welterweight divisions. Vying for the title at 185 pounds: Carmine Zocchi of Thaisport and Abraham Garcia of Kaizen Karate-Do. Zocchi – a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Marcelo Mello – wasted little time in taking things to the ground, where he established control early and slapped on the triangle choke from the mount. Garcia was forced to tap at 1:43, while Zocchi got to add another championship belt to his collection (he won the BAMA Shootfighting championship in his last venture into the ring).

Battling at welterweight, 160-pound Rob Guarino (of Rhino Fight Team) and 168-pound Team Endgame rep Tom Velasquez fought a back-and-forth war that had the crowd on its feet. Nailing a heelhook that forced his opponent to utilize a rope escape (which translates into a penalty and a restart for the escapee), Guarino seemed to be well on the way toward victory. But Velasquez turned up the heat in the second round when he promptly got the takedown, then mount, then swung into an armbar. At :42 of Round Two, Velasquez secured the win and the title.

Elsewhere on the card, Team Renzo 205-pounder Matt Soares squared off against Team Rhino 205-pounder Carlos Rodriguez. Jumping to guard on the more experienced fighter, Soares wasted no time in his submission hunt, and soon found the kimura at 1:20 of the first round. In a clash of heavyweights, Team Endgame’s 275-pound JA Dudley stepped into the ring a rookie and came away with a win against 235-pound Hook-n-Shoot veteran and Team Rhino rep Dale Carson Jr. Utilizing his weight advantage to the fullest, Dudley grounded out a split decision after two rounds. In a welterweight bout, 159-pound Team Lionkill grappler and Combat-Do Challenge veteran Job Toby took on the 165-pound Carmine Zocchi-trained Andrew Montanez. Sinking in a tight guillotine, Toby put Montanez to sleep at :48 of the first round after Montanez repeatedly shot in for the takedown. Squaring off against the 160-pound Zack Divine of Team Rhino, Richie Torres (Kaizen Karate-Do/155 pounds) found himself trading strikes with an opponent who had a much greater reach. An ankle injury prevented Torres from answering the bell for the second round, giving Divine the win. And in a grappling-only match, Team Lionkill’s 199-pound Nolan Dutcher controlled but was unable to submit the South Bronx Fight Team 225-pound Kaream Ellington. Dutcher came away with the split decision after two rounds.

It was a solid night of action. With apparent interest in ‘Shootfighting’-style combat so fervent, expect many more of these events in the Big Apple. The next one is slated for January.

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