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.

Prelimary ROC 23 Card Released

There's a preliminary ROC 23 card floating around, and though the February 20th event is a bit of a ways off, what I've seen thus far looks pretty good. Studs like Chris Liguori, Matt Makowski and Greg Soto are slated to compete, crowd-pleaser Chris Schlesinger is taking on an over-matched Ryan McCarthy (I believe this will be Schlesinger's first time at lightweight), and Jay Isip will return to square off against Team Serra/Longo fighter Nabih. However, the money shots are going to the heavyweight battle between BCX champ Joe Abouata and up-and-comer Bret Kohan and the striking cataclysm-waiting-to-happen between Aaron Meisner and Constantinos Phillippou. Meisner and Phillippou... wow. Both men are superior Muay Thai guys with ultra-dangerous clinches and an arsenal of weapons. A lot can happen between now and February 20th, but if just one match-up on the card stays together by the time ROC 23 rolls around, I pray it's that one. Meisner vs. Phillippou will be well worth the price of admission.

Preliminary February 6th WCA Card Released

The preliminary card for the World Cagefighting Alliance's February 6th inaugural event at Boardwalk Hall has been released, and MMA Journalist feels very optimistic about what's been put on paper. Instead of spending the entire budget on talent that won't sell tickets, matchmaker Gary Marino has wisely put together a roster of local draws - a fact that bodes well for any New Jersey promotion interested in staying in business longer than a show or two. Here's the card, subject to change of course:

1. Tom Gallicchio vs. Rich Ashkar - a welterweight bout that was supposed to be a title fight at the last ROC.
2. Matt Lee vs. TBA - Lee is a tough-as-nails lightweight and took Eddie Alvarez the distance at a BodogFIGHT.
3. Al Buck vs. Jose Rodriguez - a welterweight battle between two huge ticket sellers.
4. Doug Gordon vs. Mike Medrano - two very strong welterweights with promising futures.
5. Chris Schlesinger vs. Andrew Calandrelli - a lightweight scrap featuring excellent grapplers.
6. Mahnseah Boley vs. Pat Collins - a heavyweight Bombsquad vs. AMA FC/Team Renzo bout.
7. Kevin Roddy vs. TBA - Roddy is exciting and one of the best featherweights in the Garden State.
8. Ryan Smith vs. Anthony D'Angelo - welterweight D'Angelo is a dangerous fighter, and has been a force at New Jersey shows for years.
9. Lester Caslow vs. Pat White - featherweight Caslow is a very talented up-and-comer.
10. Brian DeMuro vs. Eric Henry - Team Balance vs. Bombsquad at welterweight.
11. Steve DeAngelis vs. Doug Solnier - DeAngelis is a top-ranked featherweight and BCX champ.
12. Anthony Leone vs. Joey Camacho - Camacho is another tough featherweight.
13. Daniel Tavares vs. Brian Danner - two relative newcomers.