Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Great Moments in UCC History

This Thursday night (yes, Thursday night) the Urban Conflict Championship returns, gracing the Teaneck Armory Arena with, like, you know, fights and stuff.  Bellator vet Kenny Foster is throwing down with some Russian named Maratbek Kalabekov, Bellator vet Rene Nazare is taking on WEC vet Anthony Morrison, Brazilian striker Erick Tavares steps back into the cage after a four-year hiatus, and heavyweight stud JA Dudley will get in there and do his thang.  But being that this is the fifth installment of the UCC, and it's been a year since their last installment, I think a refresher course is in order re: why the UCC is awesome and fun and rules the North Jersey MMA scene with an iron fist and a just heart.  So!  Great moments in UCC history, in no particular order!
  • Dave Branch vs. John Troyer - Everyone knew Team Renzo standout Branch was on track for big things, and trouncing Troyer for two rounds at the inaugural UCC only cemented that knowledge in the minds of all.  After this bout, Branch went on to Bellator and then the UFC, so yeah, we're were right.
  • John Cholish vs. Hitalo Machado - Cholish was just like Branch in that everyone knew he was destined for the major leagues, and his picking apart of Machado at UCC 2 was just further proof that the man is a beast.  Since they were evenly matched jiu-jitsu brown belts on the ground, chopping leg-kicks were the order of the day, and Cholish served them up with a side of brutality and TKO.
  • This.  This kind of event coverage would make the readers of Sherdog and MMAFighting shit twice and die.  They'd probably dig it over at CagePotato, though.
  • Daniel Akinyemi vs. Rich Bianchi - UCC 3 had Akinyemi dusting off the four-ounce gloves and knocking his opponent silly - an indication of what's in store whenever he steps up to the plate.  Nowadays Akinyemi plies his trade in Ring of Combat, but it's still all bang-bang-you're-dead.
  • Aljamain Sterling vs. Sergio Da Silva - The current top bantamweight in the Northeast went pro at UCC 4, and began his six-fight win streak clobbering Da Silva in the same manner one would dispatch a bug or errant garden gnome.  Sterling is a CFFC champ now, but the UCC is where we were all put on notice.  Yup, yup.