Thursday, June 26, 2008

Fraternal Twins to Rematch at ROC 20

Fraternal twins Tom Gallicchio and Doug Gordon, who were seperated at birth and raised by different families, are set to clash at Friday's Ring of Combat 20 at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City. The bout, which pairs up two aggressive and experienced fighters for the USKBA welterweight title, is a rematch of their Cage Fury Fighting Championship 4 bout last year - a bout Gordon won via third round guillotine after a hard-fought battle. Most siblings refuse to fight each other. Why such a strong effort from these two? "Siblings are often very competitive," says psychologist Avry Ibrahim. "Whether they are competing for a parent's love, the last piece of chicken at the dinner table, or a mixed martial arts championship belt, brothers can - and will - push themselves harder to win. It's human nature." When Gallicchio and Gordon meet at ROC 20, fans can definitely expect more of the same this time around.

EliteXC Treads Dangerously Close to Credibility with July 26th Match-Ups

EliteXC's second primetime CBS extravaganza will tread dangerously close to the realm of credibility with the announced match-ups for their July 26th show. The number two MMA organization in the US revealed in a press release that, in addition to the Robbie Lawler/Scott Smith rematch for the middleweight belt, welterweight star Jake Shields will take on BodogFIGHT champ Nick Thompson for top 170-pound honors while Antonio Silva will scrap for the heavyweight belt (against Pride veteran Sergei Kharitonov, according to Sherdog.com). Whether this sudden and shocking change in direction by EliteXC matchmakers is indicative of a shift from the organization's Kimbo-centric "freak show" business model to one of legitimacy is unknown, but Gary Shaw offspring Jared gave the following statement on his Myspace page: "Lolz!!1 I rulz! Eat dat Dana u bald bich!!@"