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.

Dom Stanco to Perform Complex Dentistry on Brazilian Foe

Bellmore Kickboxing lightweight Dom Stanco will finally get his day in the sun, as the heavy-handed veteran has been tapped to take on Gold Team Fighters rep Charles Oliveira da Silva in ROC 24's marquee bout. At stake: the USKBA East Coast lightweight title, plus bragging rights if the Long Islander takes out the Brazilian (or vice versa). There isn't a lot of tape available on Oliveira da Silva, as he's one of many Brazilian expats who've recently surfaced in New Jersey to jump feet-first into the fight circuit, but what is known is that he's undefeated in six Sao Paulo MMA bouts and that he's a two-time jiu-jitsu champ. Yet no matter what skills he brings into the cage, Stanco will only need one punch to knock him the hell out. In terms of 155-pound talent, the East Coast has seen fantastic grapplers rise up and graduate to the major leagues (Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller); Stanco is the first one who could be considered a "big puncher". Expect Oliveira da Silva to have a drastically different dental layout when this one is over.