Friday, May 20, 2011

IMG02320.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02318.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02316.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02315.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02313.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02312.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Liveblog: CFFC 8 Part 4

Daryl Harris of Elite Jiu-Jitsu and Nah-Shon Burrell of Fight Firm are set to clash. Burrell has the edge in striking and Harris has the edge in wrestling, but it's slight, and both are more than willing to throw crazy leather in a back-and-forth first round. Burrell, however, tends to only get sharper as fights go on, and it didn't take long for him to find his range and blast Harris with almost everything in his arsenal. The KO comes via knee, and Harris slumps to the ground at 1:32 of Round 2. A strong showing by Burrell - and Harris, too, who was making his pro debut. Now it's time for Jay Coleman of Team Almeida and Sam Jackson of Fight Firm. Coleman's got both DeBlass and UFC champ Frankie Edgar in his corner. Round 1 sees Coleman nail two strong takedown but get reversed, and the two throw hard on the feet. Lest we forget how powerful Coleman's punches are, he reminds us in Round 2, stunning Jackson with one square in the chops and dumping the jelly-legged fighter on the canvas. The follow-up storm of fists from the mount has the ref stopping it at 1:10 of the round. Last bout and it's Doug Gordon of Team Rush and Joey Rivera of Apex MMA for the 170-pound belt. The opening frame has Rivera dropping Gordon with a body-kick/hook combo, and Gordon reversing on the ground late and dispensing some knuckle love. Gordon in turn drops Rivera early in the second, but he lingers too long in danger, and Rivera slips on the triangle at 1:07. And that's all, folks.

IMG02310.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02309.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02308.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Liveblog: CFFC 8 Part 3

Amiri Shabazz of Shadowfist White Tiger and Leonardo da Costa of Team Renzo. Hmmm, let me see... a striker versus a jiu-jitsu guy... how will this one go? Yeah, it's takedown to guard pass to mount to back-mount to rear naked choke, and Shabazz taps at 3:49 of the first round. Kevin Horowitz of Team Mongrel and Ozzy Dugulubgov of Bull Shark are up, with Dugulubgov making his pro debut after a brief but impressive amateur career. Horowitz, on the other hand, is a very capable veteran, so this should be a good test. At first, Horowitz meets the Russian's raw aggression head on with wrestling and strikes. But in no time Dugulubgov is overwhelming him with fists that are too fast and moves that are too explosive. Horowitz can take punishment - no doubt about it. Unfortunately, the ref has seen enough when Dugulubgov drops Horowitz with a knee, and the bout is called at :43 of Round 2.

IMG02307.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02306.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02304.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

IMG02303.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Liveblog: CFFC 8 Part 2

First bout and it's Brian Kelleher of Bombsquad vs. Siyan Yousefi of MASE Academy. There's a joke there about pepper spray but I won't make it. In pretty straight-forward fashion, Kelleher takes Yousefi down, and catches Yousefi's neck during a scramble. The tap out via guillotine comes at 2:41 of Round 1. Next: Tom Mercellino of Team Stryker and Mtume Goodrum of Bullpen Vale Tudo. Despite scoring a takedown early on, Goodrum found himself reversed and taking punishment throughout the opening round. Round 2 is only a little better for him, as he trades top position for an ill-advised guillotine attempt, and Mercellino pounds on him. The grindfest continues in the third, and Mercellino cruises to a clear unanimous decision win.

Liveblog: CFFC 8

MMA Journalist is here at Resorts Casino for another installment of the Cage Fury Fighting Championship - where people get punched in the face and like it. There are seven bouts scheduled, and though veteran Doug Gordon is fighting for the title against Joey Rivera, a lot of eyes are on Jay Coleman, who is returning after a four-year layoff. Coleman made his MMA debut at the UCL in New York City (at the same underground event Frankie Edgar first fought in), and went on to bust heads in the New Jersey circuit. Personal problems derailed him, but he recently joined up with Ricardo Almeida's team and word is he's back on track. So yeah, woot.