Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Ring of Combat 48 Card Shaping Up Nicely

NEW JERSEY


Ring of Combat 48 isn't until May 16, so a million things can happen between now and then that could change the card, but there is a preliminary version up, and it looks awesome.

The first thing that sticks out in terms of tantalizing match-ups is the pairing of Chris Wade and Frankie Perez. Wade is the current 155-pound champ, Perez is undefeated, and together they make for a bout that's going to have their respective extremely-sizable cheering sections going wild.

Also on the card are Brendan Barrett, Julio Arce, Andre Harrison and James Jenkins, each of whom are member of ROC's elite. Add to that mix red-hot up-and-comers Leo Muniz and Stephen Regman, and former NYFE champ Felipe Carlos, and you've got recipe for top regional cagefighting.

Here's what the card looks like in its entirety:

  • Brendan Barrett vs. Justin Woods
  • Chris Wade vs. Frankie Perez
  • Matt Rizzo vs. Jimmy Grant
  • Julio Arce vs. Justin Dalton
  • Andre Harrison vs. Neil Johnson
  • James Jenkins vs. Michael Pope
  • Mike Andrillo vs. Mike Elshamy
  • Amir Khan Visalimov vs. Pat DeFranco
  • Felipe Carlos vs. Aaron Freedman
  • Stephen Regman vs. Andre Shuler
  • Steve Tyrrellvs vs. Randy Brown
  • Gregor Gillespie vs. Brandon Priest
  • Max Bohanan vs. Dan Corchado
  • Leo Muniz vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Blake King vs. Jose Villanueva
Like I said, take this lineup with a huge grain of salt since the event is months away, but at this stage, it's must-see mixed martial arts.

4 comments:

Mike Morris said...

That card looks sick! Muniz is definitely one to watch. Perez is one of my favorite fighters to watch right now. I am a little surprised about the heavyweight title fight though, Woods only has 3 professional fights (to Barrett's 15) I know ROC has a thin heavyweight division, but really? Woods' first fight in the promotion is a title fight against someone with literally 5 times the professional experience? What are your thoughts?

Jim Genia said...

I have no problem with the Woods match-up - he's got four pro fights and five amateur fights, he's undefeated in all of them, and most of his wins are KOs or TKOs. He could be a tough fight for Brendan.

No love for James Jenkins? I have him and Julio Arce as the next fighters to get the call to the big leagues.

Mike Morris said...

I think Arce is very talented. I'd be surprised if he didn't get the call if his wins, he's riding one hell of a streak. Jenkins is a good fighter as well. I was shocked when he lost to serment, but hey anything can happen. I think there's a good chance he'll catch Hobbs in a rnc or guillotine. I don't necessarily believe that will be the fight that gets him a call to the show. But I define think it's a strong probabilty after a few more wins.

I've seen some of Wood's fights, out of the 5 amateur fights, 3 of them never fought again. He's only gone the distance once - on paper he looks great, and I'm not discounting that he's got power, you don't win almost all of us fights in the 1st rnd without it. I was just surprised that it's who the ROC decided to give him the nod right out of the gate. I would have expected Barrett to face someone that would help propel him to the next level, I don't see a victory over woods doing that. (although losing to woods could prove catastrophic)

Also, what do you think about Andre Harrison? His last few fights have looks really good

Jim Genia said...

I think Barrett is in a weird place. He's a top regional guy, but he's been in the game a long time and has a lot of hard miles on him. Because of that, it's probably hard to find guys willing to risk getting their asses kicked versus guys who pose legitimate threats.

Andre has been looking great. In my opinion, he's in line behind Arce and Jenkins in terms of getting called up to the big show.