ROC 23 Bouts to Watch

Ring of Combat 23 is this Friday night at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City. Woot! Anyway, the 14-bout card features some seriously intriguing match-ups so MMA Journalist has a compiled a list because... because... well, because that's what I do.

• Jay Isip vs. Jeff Lintz - What more can I say about Isip except that he's exciting as hell? Hopefully he'll dish out more ass-kicking than he'll receive, but either way there should be some sparks.
• Al Iaquinta vs. Mervin Rodriguez - Iaquinta's pro debut has been a long time coming, as he was a killer as an amateur. Keep an eye on this guy. He could be the future of the sport around these parts.
• Greg Soto vs. Shawn Forman - Soto was another killer amateur, and his transition to pro was pretty seamless. Though a wrestler and jiu-jitsu dude, he ended up winning a Battle Cage Xtreme belt via knockout, so he's more than capable of banging.
• Aaron Meisner vs. Constantinos Phillippou - Not only are these guys two awesome strikers, but they're two awesome Muay Thai strikers who function best in the clinch. Anyone sitting too close to the cage is getting splattered with blood in this one. Count on it.
• Sergio Vinagre vs. Matt Makowski - Vinagre is a solid jiu-jitsu guy and Makowski is an ace striker with a great sprawl. Both are coming off of bad losses (Vinagre was on the other end of that Soto knockout and Makowski got handled by Erik Apple at a ShoXC on Showtime) so this should be a good gauge as to who's bounced back the most.
• Brendan Barrett vs. Ricardo Romero - Two of the best light-heavyweights in the Northeast. What's not to like about this bout?