Thursday, June 14, 2012

Why You Should Care About ROC 41 - Reason #3

Ever since Tom DeBlass made the leap to major league ball, the Northeast's light-heavyweight division has been without a king.  But lo, here comes top contenders Ed "Truck" Gordon and Carlos Brooks, who will battle for the crown in what should be a fight to behold.  If you're keeping track, Ed Gordon vs. Carlos Brooks is reason number three why you should care about ROC 41 tomorrow night.
  • Gordon, who hails from the Serra/Longo Team and played football for Fordham University before switching to MMA, is undefeated in three amateur fights and four pro bouts.  His fighting style: something I like to call the "agitated bull".  In his last outing, he handily KO'd the veteran Ryan Contaldi, and prior to that he pretty much snorted, charged and gored everyone in his path.  He's been gradually coming down to the 205-pound weight class from heavyweight, so watch for him to be a ton of raw aggression and muscle.
  • TSMMA's Brooks is lean and lanky, and when it comes to throwing strikes - be it punches or kicks - he's like a surgeon with his precision.  His last time at bat saw him snuff out Danny Babcock in a mere 51 seconds, and the lone loss on his record came via guillotine at the hands of Alexandre Moreno, who is a veritable submission machine.  Also, Brooks was in line to challenge DeBlass for the belt, but was sidelined when training partner Uriah Hall messed him up with a knee to the grill while sparring.  Like Gordon, Brooks has earned this shot at the belt.
  • What's in store for fans watching?  My crystal ball (which, admittedly, sucks) says that Gordon might still be brimming with confidence for his stellar stand-up performance against Contaldi, and if so, will try to test Brooks on the feet.  That's Brooks' world, though, so if Gordon doesn't get put away, the Serra/Longo rep is going to take things to the ground and attempt to play Whack-a-Mole from on top.  My crystal ball also says Matt Serra is going to throw a plate of linguine marinara into the cage and someone in a fuzzy tiger is going to run screaming through the crowd, so again, take everything it says with a huge grain of salt.
  • Where the hell did I get this thing?  I hope I saved the receipt...