ROC 24 Bouts to Watch

This Friday is another installment of promoter Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat (ROC 24, to be exact), and as regional MMA shows go, this one is looking pretty killer. Here are a few match-ups to keep an eye on:

• Dom Stanco vs. Charles Oliveira de Silva - As previously mentioned on this blog, Stanco is a big puncher from Bellmore Kickboxing and Oliveira de Silva is a Gold Team Fighters jiu-jitsu/Muay Thai specialist. This bout can go one of two ways: Stanco will either knock Oliveira de Silva out or Oliveira de Silva will submit him, and because Stanco has been doing this a while and trains with some solid jiu-jitsu guys himself, I'm leaning toward the former happening before the latter.
• Ricardo Romero vs. James McSweeney - Romero is one of the best in the Northeast at light-heavyweight and heavyweight, whereas McSweeney has been in the cage with the likes of Mustapha Al Turk and Neil Grove. This should be a slight step up in competition for Romero, and a decent test for his wrestling and ground-and-pound skills.
• Dante Rivera vs. Lamont Lister - Two game and experienced dudes going at it. This one should be a crowd-pleaser.
• Will Martinez vs. Al Iaquinta - Iaquinta may have beaten Martinez when they were amateurs, but since then Martinez has been at Fight Factory working out with folks like Eddie Alvarez and Steve Haigh. Will he be able to derail the Iaquinta train?
• "Crazy" Chris Schlesinger vs. Shawn Forman - Schlesinger's got skills and fights at a frantic pace, while Forman is a young up-and-comer with an extensive amateur record before turning pro. No one will be laying and praying in this bout.
• Louis Gaudinot vs. Chris Aquino - TSMMA rep Gaudinto nearly decapitated some wrestler with a spinning backfist at a recent Asylum Fight League event, so he will always have my attention. Watch out for his striking.

Team Serra/Longo, version 2.0

Dissect any fight team and lay out the parts and you'll see it's akin to a family, with the trainers as parents and the fighters of varying experience levels the siblings. The Northeast's Team Serra/Longo - helmed by jiu-jitsu magicians Matt and Nick Serra and striking guru Ray Longo - is no exception, and it's not hard to discern that veterans Pete Sell, Luke Cummo and James Gabert are the "older brothers". But who are the younger brothers? MMA Journalist has picked out four notable up-and-comers from this New York-based group. Keep an eye out for them, as they comprise Team Serra/Longo, version 2.0.

1. Constantinos Phillippou, light-heavyweight/middleweight - Take Luke Cummo, shave his head and add a ton more muscle. That's "Costas", who's proven to be a deadly striker and very capable grappler in the 11 or so months he's been fighting. His only loss was a close split decision to Ring of Combat star Ricardo Romero, and at ROC 24 he'll be taking on UFC vet Sean Salmon.
2. Al Iaquinta, lightweight - Solid wrestling mixed with submissions, plus a ton of experience as an undefeated amateur - that's the best way to describe Iaquinta, who made his pro debut at ROC 23 and dominated before nailing the Anaconda choke for the tap out. He's fighting again at ROC 24, in a rematch against Will Martinez (who Iaquinta defeated via decision at an amateur show in Delaware).
3. Chris Weidman, middleweight - He's only fought once, but he looked pretty damn impressive. At ROC 23, Weidman steamrolled over Rubens Lopes, tossing the Brazilian to the ground and submitting him with a kimura in a minute and a half. This Serra/Longo rep will be taking on Mike Stewart at ROC 24.
4. Anthony Abatelli, welterweight - An experienced amateur (although not nearly as experienced as Iaquinta), Abatelli is a wrestler and ground-and-pounder, and in his first pro fight he took out the veteran Garrett Carmody via decision.

ROC 23 Bouts to Watch

Ring of Combat 23 is this Friday night at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City. Woot! Anyway, the 14-bout card features some seriously intriguing match-ups so MMA Journalist has a compiled a list because... because... well, because that's what I do.

• Jay Isip vs. Jeff Lintz - What more can I say about Isip except that he's exciting as hell? Hopefully he'll dish out more ass-kicking than he'll receive, but either way there should be some sparks.
• Al Iaquinta vs. Mervin Rodriguez - Iaquinta's pro debut has been a long time coming, as he was a killer as an amateur. Keep an eye on this guy. He could be the future of the sport around these parts.
• Greg Soto vs. Shawn Forman - Soto was another killer amateur, and his transition to pro was pretty seamless. Though a wrestler and jiu-jitsu dude, he ended up winning a Battle Cage Xtreme belt via knockout, so he's more than capable of banging.
• Aaron Meisner vs. Constantinos Phillippou - Not only are these guys two awesome strikers, but they're two awesome Muay Thai strikers who function best in the clinch. Anyone sitting too close to the cage is getting splattered with blood in this one. Count on it.
• Sergio Vinagre vs. Matt Makowski - Vinagre is a solid jiu-jitsu guy and Makowski is an ace striker with a great sprawl. Both are coming off of bad losses (Vinagre was on the other end of that Soto knockout and Makowski got handled by Erik Apple at a ShoXC on Showtime) so this should be a good gauge as to who's bounced back the most.
• Brendan Barrett vs. Ricardo Romero - Two of the best light-heavyweights in the Northeast. What's not to like about this bout?

Al Iaquinta to Finally Turn Pro?

According to Ring of Combat's website, it looks as if longtime amateur competitor and unbridled fight stud Al Iaquinta has finally decided to turn pro and compete at ROC 23 on February 20th. Can it be? Will one of the toughest ammy's around - who parlayed serious wrestling skills and kickboxing chops into an extensive and flawless "MMA Little League" record - finally be taking the plunge? If so, me likey. For accomplished amateurs should, in theory, make for very capable pro fighters, and Iaquinta's resume and experience should have him making waves in the lightweight division in no time.