Now This Is A Victory Dance

NEW YORK

ICYMI, Here's Me on Gross Point Blank

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In case you missed it, I was on my old chum Josh Gross' Gross Point Blank podcast this week talking MMA at Madison Square Garden and the New York scene in general. Listen to it here.

Five Fights To Be Thankful For This Year

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The strong scent of roasting turkey wafting through the air, the sounds of family bickering over things irrelevant and silly, unattended kids eating paint chips in the corner - it must be Thanksgiving! So what are you thankful for this year?

Fans of fighting in the New York/New Jersey area have plenty of things on that list, especially since there have been a ton of decent scraps in 2014. Here, then, is a list of five fights I'm thankful I got to see in person.

Official New York City Fighter Rankings - November '14 Edition

NEW YORK

There's just one more MMA major event scheduled for New York City before 2014 comes to a close (Aggressive Combat Championship on December 13), but it looks like all of the top amateur fighters in the area are done for the year - which means it's time for one last edition of the Official New York City Fighter Rankings!

Some Really Cool Victory VII Photos

NEW YORK

Although she had never shot a fight show before, I think Leeza L. did a fine job capturing some really cool moments at Friday's Victory VII show at Madison Square Garden. Of course, it helped that she was right there on the ring apron and had zero concerns about getting splattered with blood...

Anyway, here are a handful of her pics. Enjoy.

Victory VII: Kicking All Kinds of Ass at MSG

NEW YORK

Victory Combat Sports brought it very special brand of action to Madison Square Garden on Friday night, cramming nearly 4,000 people into the Theater for a mixed Muay Thai/amateur MMA card that ended up kicking all kinds of ass.

Though the kickboxing matches provided much excitement - thanks to such rising stars as Chris Kwiatkowski, NJ Mac, Codie Payne and a spirited battle between Jason Van Oijen and Paul Banaslak - it was the historic, first-ever MMA bouts at the venue that were the focal point of the evening. And man, did those fights deliver.

Victory at MSG: Anthony Giacchina vs. Chad Hernandez

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Victory at MSG: Aaron Sifflet vs. Yuting Hong

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Victory at MSG: Kat Morales vs. Victoria Makarova

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Victory at MSG: Chike Obi vs. Ariel Abreu

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Victory at MSG: Jason Van Oijen vs. Paul Banasiak

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Victory at MSG: Stephen Pritchett vs. Riko Rivera

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Victory at MSG: Adam Pakiela vs. Hassan Hope

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Victory at MSG: Ibrahim Farag vs. Chris Borders

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Victory at MSG: Thomas Doyle vs. Mike Kelly

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Victory at MSG

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Victory at MSG Primer: Chad Hernandez

NEW YORK

You know what's awesome about this Victory at Madison Square Garden show, aside from the fact that it's at Madison Square Garden? The fact that it has top fighters from all the New York City organizations on the card. There are badasses from Aggressive Combat Championship, Golden MMA Championships, and Victory itself slated to fight on Friday night. There's even probably one of the best fighters to come out of the UCL ready to throw down.

I'm talking about Chad Hernandez.

Victory at MSG Primer: The Great Chike Obi

NEW YORK

We're a week away from Victory VII and the first-ever MMA bouts at Madison Square Garden, so it's time for some preview content to get us primed and ready. Today's installment revolves around Brooklyn warrior Chike Obi.

Here's a Little Something Discovery Channel Did on Manup Standup

NEW YORK

As the author of a book on the underground fight scene in New York City, I have for years been the person TV producers call when they want to film something gritty and fight-related here. So of course when Discovery Channel reached out to me about doing something on unsanctioned fights, I hooked them up with Novell Bell and his Manup Standup organization.

Al Iaquinta In a Kickboxing Bout, Circa 2008

NEW YORK

Al Iaquinta may have shocked the world when he put away Ross Pearson in the Octagon this past weekend, but the TKO only confirmed what we here in the Northeast already knew: Al is, and always has been, a badass. For some further perspective on the Long Islander's combative sports chops, here's a video of a kickboxing bout he did back in 2008. Enjoy!

ICYMI: MMA Platinum Gloves 7 In Its Entirety

NEW YORK

After seven installments, it's pretty safe to say that MMA Platinum Gloves has become the preeminent Long Island-based fight promotion - a notion that doesn't change the fact that the events take place on Long Island and you need a car to get to them. But lo! Here's a video of their last show! Check it out and see what your Long Island Railroad-riding ass missed!

Oh Hells Yeah

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AKBF Fight League Poster

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Victory at MSG Hype Reel

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It's short and sweet, and worth a look.

The 2014 Election and How It Affects MMA in New York

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There was an election in New York yesterday, which means that the potential for shakeups in government and the shifting of political winds in regards to MMA was at its highest. So now that the votes have been tallied and the dust has settled, who's in and who's out? Here's a scorecard for you:

This Is The Price of Competing In Unregulated New York

NEW YORK

Bobby Aylward fought at the Upstate New York promotion Kaged Kombat last month, and though he won, he damaged his hand to the point where it required surgery. Unfortunately for him, the promoter did not have insurance - by law, none was required - so pictured above is just one of the medical bills Bobby is going to have to eat.

As per his Facebook:

Things of Note That Happened Over the Weekend: 11.3.14 Edition

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

A lot of things worth noting happened over the weekend. And here they are!

• Lyman Good fought Jonavin Webb for the Cage Fury Fighting Championship welterweight title at CFFC 43 in Atlantic City, and by all accounts, Good was slaughtering him. But an accidental foul (eye poke) had Webb saying he couldn't continue before the third round was up, so the bout was ruled a "no contest". THAT SUCKS.