The Only Game in Town?

Are you a pro fighter in the New York/New Jersey area looking to get a fight or two in before the new year? Well, unless you make it on to Ring of Combat's November 21st card at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, you're out of luck. Battle Cage Xtreme, New Jersey's other regional show, doesn't return until maybe February of 2009, and promotions like Combat in the Cage and Reality Fighting - which were once staples of the Garden State circuit - are on permanent hiatus. Suddenly, ROC is the only game in town. Is this a sign of the economic downturn hitting East Coast MMA? Or is it just a confluence of scheduling snafus? Who knows. But one thing is sure: ROC's November line-up should be killer.

BCX 5 Notes

Battle Cage Xtreme had their fifth event on Saturday night, and with seven belts on the line, the event provided a healthy dose of ass-kickery. Some notes: -Joey Camacho absolutely crushed Micah Goss, proving yet again that he's more than capable of bringing the fury. A post-fight Goss looked like he'd been in a car wreck. -The unbreakable Don Wagner, old school warrior Joey Brown and last-minute replacement Andrew Montanez all fought their hearts out right up to the final bell, despite being on the losing end earlier on. You gotta love it. -Why can't Kevin Roddy ever get a split decision to go his way? He's so damn talented and skilled. Props to Dwayne Shelton for not getting caught by the K-Rod sub machine. -Jon Jones is good but he still needs to be tested. Someone like Brendan Barrett, Costa Phillippou or Ricardo Romero won't be overwhelmed by Jones' speed and athleticism. -Tim Troxell looked great (as usual) but Lester Caslow was pretty impressive for hanging in there, and he even had the Trox rocked at one point. On paper, I thought this would've been a mismatch, but Caslow proved he belonged. -Joe Abouata exposed Carlton Haselrig as a one-dimensional wrestler. Oh wait, we already knew that. Well, Abouata looked fantastic either way.