Friday, September 3, 2010

Everything You Wanted To Know About Zach Makovsky But Were Afraid To Ask

Yeah, so, Bellator last night, Joe Warren getting his ass kicked before knocking Season 1 champ Joe Soto the hell out.  Wahoo.  Anyway, the Season 3 bantamweight tournament is in full effect, and prior to the aforementioned featherweight thriller was Philly-based fighter Zach Makovsky, in all his whirling-dervish grappling glory.  Of all the 135-pounders taking the field, Makovsky’s got edge in technique, skill and experience, and the smart money has him going all the way.  So who is this cat now in the semifinals?  Well, get ready for some knowledge, brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MMA Journalist (who’s been cageside for eight of Makovsky’s 11 fights).

  • Makovsky trains out of Philadelphia’s Fight Factory, and like teammate Eddie Alvarez, he blends solid wrestling into a polished overall game.  However, whereas Alvarez has got heavy hands, Makovsky’s got amazingly fluid transitions on the ground.  He is the master of scrambling, and invariably ends up on top and one move away from a submission every time.
  • Four jiu-jitsu black belts.  That’s how many Makovsky has fought, and he defeated three of them.
  • His only losses were to Wilson Reis at a ShoXC event and to Toshiaki Kitada at DEEP in Japan.  Both were by submission, and Reis went on to become EliteXC’s 140-pound champ.
  • The only championship belt Makovsky has won thus far was for the Combat in the Cage promotion.  His opponent was Emerson Souza, and he out-boxed and out-wrestled the Brazilian to snag the unanimous decision.
  • Makovsky likes long walks on the beach, apple pie with homemade whipped cream, and is deathly afraid of clowns.
  • Okay, I made that last part up.  He loves clowns.