Friday, September 24, 2010

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Liveblog: ROC 31 Part 6

Title fight time, and it's MMA Institute's Jessie Riggleman vs. TSMMA's Louis Gaudinot (yes, he of the green hair) for the flyweight crown. True to form, Riggleman takes Gaudinot down and is on him like glue, dropping bombs wherever possible and doing his best to keep the TSMMA rep off his feet. But all it takes is one opening, and when Riggleman leaves his neck exposed Gaudinot jumps into a tight guillotine. Riggleman taps seconds later at 4:43 of Round 1, and Gaudinot is the new ROC flyweight champ. The vacant lightweight belt is on the line next, and Gold Team's Luiz Azeredo and K Dojo's Mikhaeil Malyutin are scrapping for it. Round 1 is an exercise on Azeredo's kickboxing superiority - until he slips on a banana peel (or something) and winds up on his back for a bit. Emboldened by this, Malyutin out-strikes Azerdo in the second round, and his insistence on scoring more frequently with his kicks and punches has Azeredo trying his luck on the ground. Malyutin more or less escapes it all, and takes the unanimous decision. Last bout and it's TSMMA's Uriah Hall against Serra/Longo Chris Weidman for the ROC middleweight title. This one is a shocker, as Weidman actually stalks the deadly Hall on the feet, and stuns the TSMMA rep with a punch that sends Hall to the canvas. Weidman keeps up with the fury, and ref Big Dan steps in at 3:06 of Round 1 for the TKO stoppage. And I'm out.

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Liveblog: ROC 31 Part 5

Two veterans take to the cage in the form of Doug Gordon of Team Rush and Rich Ashkar of Jersey Shore BJJ in a rematch of a bout they fought about 13 years ago. Ashkar won the last one with superior wrestling, and though Gordon avoids the takedown for about 2/3 of the first round, it soon becomes apparent Ashkar still has that edge. However, Gordon is still the superior boxer, and he bloodies Ashkar when they stand and engage in a shootout. The Jersey Shore BJJ fighter keeps up with the takedows, and when the bell sounds on the second round he's got a triangle cinched. They're both exhausted by Round 3, and though they both have their moments with reversals and sub attempts, when time runs out Ashkar takes the unanimous decision. Joe Aviles of Jungle Gym and AMA's Mike Medrano are up next. The vast majority of Round 1 is spent with these two picking their punches on the feet, with the only real scoring done by Medrano when he gets Aviles down and lands some leather. Round 2 looks to be more of the same - until Aviles leaps into the air and lands a flying knee. Medrano is out cold, and the time of the KO is :52.

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Liveblog: ROC 31 Part 4

It's time for Pellegrino MMA's George Sullivan and TaiKai's James Frier. Sullivan has always been a killer with his kicks and knees, and this bout just illustrates that, as he dodges Frier's attempts to make this into a ground war and instead knees the stuffing out of Frier. Literally. There's cotton and stuff everywhere, and the doctors have to gather it up and put it back into Frier's body. The official time of the TKO is 2:24 of Round 1. Next: Jacob Kirwan of Team Kirwan vs. Marcos Pereira of Premier Martial Arts (ie. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro's NYC school). As expected, Round 1 plays out like a jiu-jitsu clinic, with the Brazilian taking Kirwan down and working him over from top position for the duration. Kirwan gets a few good licks in for Round 2, though, keeping the ghost of Helio Gracie at bay with an effective guard and more confident striking. If Kirwan knew how to finish an arm-in guillotine he could very well have ended Round 3 early on. But he didn't, and once again the jiu-jitsu takes over. Pereira takes the unanimous decision.

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Liveblog: ROC 31 Part 3

Tom Velasquez of Team Endgame and Tom DeBlass of Ricardo Almeida's School for Gifted Youngsters square off to do battle. Sporting smoother takedowns and a jiu-jitsu master's top game, DeBlass owns Round 1 on the scorecards. But no judges are needed for Round 2, thanks to Velasquez wading in swinging fists and DeBlass catching him with some accurate counter-punching. Velasquez goes down, and the ensuing barrage has ref Big Dan stopping it at fifty seconds in. Carmine Zocchi-trained Villi Bello is up next and he's taking on Pellegrino MMA's Dave Church. Round 1 is an all-out war, and Bello's dynamic striking has Church going down hard twice in the early minutes. But Church is made of stone, because he pops right back up and keeps swinging, and though he loses the round for sure, he's still in it. Don't believe me? Then consider Round 2, when Church gets Bello down and just pounds on him. It goes to a third round, and once Church gets Bello down it's all about the Pellegrino MMA rep beating on him and sinking the rear naked choke at 2:34 of the round. Bello looked great, and this is the best Dave Church we've ever seen. RABJJ's Haz Ibrahim and Black and Blue's Steve Edwards are up to round out the prelims. As usual Ibrahim comes out like a raging bull and slams Edwards to the canvas. But Edwards weathers the storm from above, and after a failed takedown attempt by Ibrahim, Edwards works his way onto his opponent's back and sinks the rear naked choke. The tap out comes at 2:31 of Round 1. That's a good win for Edwards, as Ibrahim is a quality opponent.

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Liveblog: ROC 31 Part 2

First bout of the evening and it's Chris Wing of Wing's MMA and Yusef Yoldas of Eagle Martial Arts. Wing had an impressive pro debut at the last ROC, so we'll see if he can build on that momentum. And... Wing scores another KO, this time with a left hand that drops Yoldas like a sack of potatoes. Very nicely done. Next is Evan Chmielski of Miletich Fighting Systems against Team Serra/Longo's Ryan Castillo. The story of Round 1 is Castillo threatening with a standing guillotine and utilizing a leglock attempt to gain top position, and Chmielski scoring with some ground and pound. Round 2 plays out in similar fashion, only this time Castillo threatens from the bottom with triangles. As each fighter has won a round, a third round is needed (ROC prelims are two rounds unless it's a draw), and the Serra/Longo rep makes the most of it by scoring more on the feet and cranking an arm-in guillotine at the bell. The split decision goes to Chmielski though, no doubt based on his ability to take Castillo at will. Light-heavyweights Scott Fairlamb of AMA and Mike Andrillo of Bellmore Kickboxing enter the cage, and Andrillo looks like he fought Conan the Barbarian when Conan was first starting out. The opening frame is all about Andrillo working hard to get it to the ground to drop some fistic loving and Fairlamb opening up a cut above his eye with, I don't know, something. Maybe raw meaness. Things go much better for Andrillo in the second round, as he gets Fairlamb down, snakes his arms around the AMA rep's neck, and sinks a bout-ending guillotine. The official time of the tap out is 1:33.

Liveblog: ROC 31 Part 1

MMA Journalist is cageside for ROC 31 at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, bringing the latest in broken bones and blood splatter patterns as dictated by some of the Northeast's best fighters. There are 13 bouts scheduled, and three belts on the line, so hold on to your Kangol caps 'cause we're going see some action.

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September 2010 Women's Independent World MMA Rankings

The September 2010 Women's Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites, as well as http://www.independentworldmmarankings.com/.

The members of the voting panel for the Women's Independent World MMA Rankings are, in alphabetical order: Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter and MMA Journalist Blog); Yael Grauer (MMA HQ); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); and Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion).

Note: Jamie Seaton is temporarily ineligible to be ranked, due to
the fact that she has not fought in over 12 full months.


September 2010 Women's Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on September 21, 2010

Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (10-1)
2. Marloes Coenen (17-4)
3. Yuko "Hiroko" Yamanaka (10-1-1)
4. Cindy Dandois (4-0)
5. Shana Olsen (4-0)
6. Amanda Nunes (5-1)
7. Hitomi Akano (16-8)
8. Ediane Gomes (5-1)
9. Yoko Takahashi (14-11-3)
10. Kaitlin Young (4-4)

Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Sarah Kaufman (12-0)
2. Roxanne Modafferi (15-6)
3. Tara LaRosa (18-2)
4. Miesha Tate (11-2)
5. Hitomi Akano (16-8)
6. Shayna Baszler (12-6)
7. Takayo Hashi (12-2)
8. Jennifer Tate (6-1)
9. Julie Kedzie (14-8)
10. Vanessa Porto (10-4)

Flyweight Rankings (116 to 125 lbs.)
1. Tara LaRosa (18-2)
2. Rosi Sexton (10-2)
3. Aisling Daly (9-1)
4. Zoila Frausto (8-1)
5. Rin Nakai (7-0)
6. Sally Krumdiack (8-3)
7. Megumi Fujii (21-0)
8. Jeri Sitzes (3-1)
9. Monica Lovato (5-2)
10. Carina Damm (15-4)

Junior Flyweight Rankings (106 to 115 lbs.)
1. Megumi Fujii (21-0)
2. Lisa Ward (14-5)
3. Yuka Tsuji (22-2)
4. Mei "V Hajime" Yamaguchi (6-2)
5. Jessica Aguilar (9-3)
6. Zoila Frausto (8-1)
7. Kyoko Takabayashi (11-4)
8. Jessica Pene (7-1)
9. Angela Magana (8-4)
10. Emi Fujino (8-4)

The Women's Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated and published on a monthly basis, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.

The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody's vote counting more than anybody else's vote, and no computerized voting.

The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters' actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they've actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win hypothetical match-ups.

Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.

Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.

Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that she is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until her first fight in the new weight class has taken place.

Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.

Special thanks to Eric Kamander, Joshua Stein and Yael Grauer for their invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett Bailey for designing our logo.