NEW JERSEY
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(Photo courtesy of Keith Kelleher) |
I did not get to watch Ring of Combat 53 from cageside, but a
GoFightLive broadcast works just as well. My thoughts on the event:
- I don't know if it was the stars aligning just right, or if everyone fought their asses off because Dana White was present, but damn were there a lot of finishes.
- Gregy Styles of Animals MMA has firmly established himself as the best talent to ever come out of Yonker. He crushed it as an amateur, and in his pro debut at ROC 53, his 22-second win by KO was just was the doctor ordered.
- It's funny seeing guys like Lester Caslow and Kenny Foster compete against each other after so many years in the game. This one was a rematch, and Caslow got some sweet redemption with a guillotine that Foster somehow slept on.
- Frank Buenafuente definitely took a year or two off of David Moore's life.
- Sean Santella worked his magic when it mattered most, so good for him. You can totally see coach Brian McLaughlin's smooth transition game when "Shorty Roc" is doing his thing.
- Mike Elshamy was schooling Eric Roncoroni pretty badly with his wrestling, but when Roncoroni fouled him with a downward elbow, the restart was all Roncoroni needed to open up that bout-ending cut. Talk about a raw deal for Elshamy. Sorry, bro.
- Max Bohanon was his usual Tasmanian Devil self, yet no one knew Jose Mariscal was made of iron. Mariscal took everything, escaped everything, and made him pay. Going into this event, I had pegged Bohanon as the fighter who'd impress White the most; Mariscal sure spoiled that party.
- Major kudos to Brian Kelleher for this late career resurgence, which has seen him dethrone champ Julio Arce and now wreck someone with a spinning backfist. If anyone deserves to be in the UFC, it's him.
- Brad Desir continues to rise to the occasion. He survived some serious trouble at the hands of Eddie Lenoci - who, as one of Matt Serra's guys, is probably going to get a bit of air time on White's reality show (which means Desir is going to get some on-camera exposure for beating him).
- Randy Brown is awesome. That is all.
2 comments:
I'm slow to your recap but nice breakdown Jim. While I understand on the east coast Jose "Chepe" Mariscal was not known, we were pretty confident here in Chicago that Chepe would take out Max, and anyone else put in front of him. Some of Chepe's accomplishments:
18-1 amateur record (only loss a sd in his first fight vs a 12-2 opponent)
Golden gloves Champ
Silver gloves Champ
Irish gloves (3rd)
37-2 in ammy kickboxing
3rd in the world in Kickboxing, 2014 World Combat Games in St Petersburg, Russia
2013 kickboxing Pan Am Champ in Brazil
2012 NJCAA Wrestling National Qualifier
Black Belt in Judo
2014 IMMAF World Amateur Champ
9x NAGA champ
Amongst other awards.. Chepe's been training since he was six. He is the most well-rounded 155 prospect in the world, and he's got cardio for days. He will be fighting Gregor for the 155 belt on 3/4, it should be an exciting fight...
hmmmmmm.....
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