Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Battle at the Boardwalk: Amateur MMA Returns to New Jersey

*originally published in Feb '06 on fullcontactfighter.com*

(February 18th, Atlantic City, New Jersey) They came. They saw. And they signed up and kicked ass. Amateur mixed martial arts competition returned to New Jersey for day two of the Battle at the Boardwalk’s martial arts expo, and as a board-breaking contest was waged on one mat, and as modern samurai clashed with foam swords on another, 16 wet-behind-the-ears warriors stepped into the cage for a taste of real fighting. There were battles, submissions and slugfests, and thanks to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and the USKBA (who sanctioned and oversaw the event), all it took to compete was a $30 licensing fee and a signature. In a state that heretofore required all MMA competitors to shell out about $450 in medical testing, this was big news indeed. Highlights of the afternoon included:

New York San Da’s Greg LaChaga, who punished Kevin Lenau on the ground with crowd-pleasing knees and garnered the majority decision.

The wild haymaker-throwing party Richard Dunn (of the Aikido School of Self-Defense) had with Robert Cunane.

The non-stop stand-up war New York San Da’s Tim O’Connor waged with John Salgado.

Results:

Bantamweight

Tinh Tupy (Jersey Shore BJJ) vs. Andrew Antonik

Tup via armbar at 3:00 of Round One.

Lightweight

Kevin Lenau (Okinawan Kenpo Karate Academy) vs. Greg LaChaga (New York San Da)

LaChaga via majority decision.

Welterweight

Andrew Montanez (Team Shamrock) vs. Greg Soto (Jersey Shore BJJ)

Soto via unanimous decision.

Andrew Hume (World Karate) vs. Kyung Whan Kim

Hume via unanimous decision.

Middleweight

Heath Macaluso (Aikido School of Self-Defense) vs. Tony Diliberti (Goldeus Karate)

Macaluso via unanimous decision.

Tim O’Connor (New York San Da) vs. John Salgado (Tribeca Sports Center)

O’Connor via split decision.

Light-heavyweight

Joshua Cramoy (Lake Placid Martial Arts) vs. Derek Hopkins (Brooks County BJJ)

Hopkins via triangle choke at 1:15 of Round One.

Heath Macaluso (Aikido School of Self-Defense) vs. Derek Hopkins (Brooks County BJJ)

Hopkins via rear choke at 2:17 of Round One.

Richard Dunn (Aikido School of Self-Defense) vs. Robert Cunane (Modern Bujitsu)

Dunn via verbal submission at :29 of Round Two.

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