Saturday, December 13, 2008

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 9

There's a heavyweight belt up for grabs in the Allen Wright vs. Lewis Rumsey, which sees Wright more or less dominate position en route to the unanimous decision. The final bout of the night is Jeff Lentz vs. James Camilleri - also a title fight. These guys are waging war on the ground with Lentz taking the belt with an armbar from the guard. That's it, folks.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 8

George Siderius vs. Edwin Uzquaino up now. This one is the first real grappling chess match of the night, with both men having their moments with sub attempts and reversals and Siderius almost nailing a Twister (!). When time ran out the unanimous decision was awarded to Uzquaino, but this one was closer than the scorecards implied. Louis Gaudinot and Bill Magliane are up now. Gaudinot sports bright green hair - perhaps to draw upon the strength of the French Bohemian spirit. It works. The two engage in an extremely fast-paced battle that Gaudinot ends with a spinning backfist KO. Wowsers.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 7

Now it's time for Julio Arce vs. Trevor Peterson. Arce seems to have a clear advantage in submission skills, as he needs only 51 seconds to tap Peterson with a triangle and take his lunch money. Mark Speece and Pat Enright are now in the cage. Speece is visibly older and meaner - I think I recognize his face from the FBI's most wanted list. However, that doesn't deter Enright from taking him down and submitting him with a straight anklelock.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 6

Frank Marshall vs. Max Bereznyak is a classic "man with an easy to pronounce name vs. man with a hard to pronounce name" match-up, with the two scrapping hard and Bereznyak struggling to keep the pace in the latter part of the fight. By Round 3 it turned into Marshall pounding on an exhausted opponent to secure the unanimous decision.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 5

John Holland vs. Chris Paulo is up now, with Holland exceedingly well-rounded but Paulo such a strong wrestler that he's able to get away with having less-than-adequate striking. When time runs out the unanimous decision is given to Paulo. Next up is Adam Rosello vs. Kevin Horowitz, kid brother of Beastie Boy Adam Horowitz. Okay, not really. Rosello seems to have the edge in striking and submissions and Horowitz the edge in wrestling - which translates into three rounds of beatings and a split decision for Horowitz. This was a good fight that could've gone either way.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 4

Mike Taibl vs. Jason Lee is up next. Taibl has a 6-2 record in death matches, but this is amateur MMA - a different animal entirely. Anyway, Taibl has a definite edge in wrestling, but Lee keeps punching him in the grill and putting him on Queer Street.The ref doesn't like that and waives the fight off after two rounds, giving Lee the win.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 3

Ryan Smith vs. Ali Loukzada is up first. Smith is technically superior with his striking, but Loukzada keeps wobbling him with wild punches and a lead hook that just screams, "Blah! I'm crazy! I belong in an asylum!" It goes the distance though, and Smith gets the unanimous decision. Next is Nick Torres vs. Pete Burdge, with Burdge hailing from Kurt Pellegrino's school and having no less than ten women screaming for him. I think that female cheering section thing is a requirement for fighters who want to represent Team Pellegrino. Anyway, like the first bout, this one is a slugfest, with Burdge feeding Torres right hands like an old man feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons. Burdge took the unanimous decision when time ran out.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 2

The first fight should get underway any minute now. In attendence are the Garv, NJSACB consigliere Nick Lembo, and pro fighters Tom Velasquez, Eddy Rolon, Kurt Pellegrino, Nissim Levy and Jose Sulsona. An interesting aside about the promotion's name - the first few shows were actually held in an asylum and the competitors were certified lunatics.

Liveblog: Asylum Fight League Part 1

MMA Journalist is here at the Raritan Center in Edison, New Jersey, cageside for the Asylum Fight League amateur show. These events are always entertaining because you tend to see a lot of schools that have no experience in MMA testing the waters for the first time - often with comical results. An example of tonight's MMA noobs (as per the bout sheet): Team Tiger Schulmann, Team Endgame, Rhino Fight Team and Team Kurt Pellegrino. I don't know where these fight camps came from, but they're definitely going to get slaughtered by the real MMA powerhouses on the card (such as Joe's Academy of Tai Chi, the Kata Pit and Team Gentle Flower Aikido).