The East Coast's Big Ticket Sellers

Two promotions are coming to Atlantic City in the first quarter of 2009 to stake their claim in the Garden State's MMA fan-rich soil - the World Cagefighting Alliance (headed by Derek Panza, Keith Evans and Gary Marino), and a Monte Cox event (it could be an Extreme Challenge or it could be an Adrenaline show, we just don't know yet) that will be headlined by Eddie Alvarez. Both Marino and Cox should have a pretty decent handle on which fighters put asses in seats, but to help them out, MMA Journalist has put together the following list of the East Coast's big ticket sellers (a local big ticket seller is the cornerstone of the "Strikforce business model" these promotions aspire to):

1. Lyman Good, an exciting welterweight/middleweight and star player for the Tiger Schulmann Mixed Martial Arts clan.
2. Really, almost any other Team Tiger Schulmann fighter. TSMMA students turn out in droves to see their instructors fight.
3. Dom Stanco, a heavy-handed lightweight from Bellmore Kickboxing who always has a decent-sized cheering section.
4. Chris Schlesinger, a frenetic grappler from Bellmore Kickboxing. Schlesinger used to pack Reality Fighting shows with legions of fans.
5. Al Buck, a lightweight scrapper. Tons of fans.
6. Carlos Moreno, a heavyweight slugger who's been known to bring a crowd of supporters.
7. Chris Liguori, a top New Jersey lightweight and ROC champ.
8. Dante Rivera, a top New Jersey middleweight.
9. Doug Gordon, a well-rounded welterweight who always seems to have people going nuts for him in the bleachers.
10. Greg Soto, a welterweight grappler whose Combat in the Cage championship win nearly brought down the house.
11. Jon Murphy, a heavyweight EliteXC veteran. When he knocked out Sherman Pendergarst at Extreme Challenge 75, women were unabashedly throwing their panties into the cage.
12. Jose Rodriguez, a welterweight brawler and long-time New Jersey competitor.
13. Steve DeAngelis, a featherweight BCX champ. Big cheering section.
14. Kevin Roddy, a featherweight/lightweight grappling stud who is to the Jersey Shore what Barack Obama is to Illinois.
15. Justin Garcia, a welterweight/middleweight jiu-jitsu beast who, if you can lure him back into MMA competition, brings tons of rabid fans.

For his January 13th show at the Tropicana Casino & Resort, Cox already has the aforementioned Alvarez headliner and popular welterweight Tom Gallicchio taking on Phil Baroni (maybe). It will be interesting to see who else ends up on that card and who winds up on the February 6th WCA show.

Bouts to Watch at Ring of Combat 21

Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat 21 is almost upon us. The event, slated for September 12th in Atlantic City with a live broadcast on HDNet Fights, will feature welterweight and light-heavyweight championship contests, but there are definitely a few other bouts on the card worth a closer look. Who is destined to shake up the Northeast rankings? Who will emerge as the East Coast's next big star? What match-up is going to rock your world? Man, how should I know. Just keep an eye on these fighters and fights:

• At light-heavyweight, IFL vet Brendan Barrett will be taking on striker Constantinos Phillippou. Barrett's got an impressive resume and a wealth of skills in all areas, but Phillippou is part of Team Serra/Longo's next generation of badasses - and he came really close to earning a decision against 205-pound top dog Ricardo Romero in his MMA debut. Expect these two to trade some serious leather.
• At welterweight, BCX champ Greg Soto returns to action (he's been sidelined with a shoulder injury for a while) to face Doug Gordon. Soto is a wrestling machine, a capable jiu-jitsu guy, and a handful for anyone, whereas Gordon is strong as hell, not shy about dispensing a beating, and by far Soto's toughest test to date. This one is going to be all about who can stay on top and impose their game plan.
• At middleweight, Team Serra/Longo vet James Gabert returns to battle Team Tiger Schulmann brawler Nissim Levy. Both men are skilled on the ground, but if they were presented with a buffet that included big plates of armbars, leglocks and chokes, they'd choose healthy portions of "punches to the face" and go back for seconds and thirds.
• At welterweight, New Jersey MMA pioneer Jose Rodriguez will square off against ROC Tournament of Champions winner Marc Stevens. Rodriguez has heavy hands, Stevens has great wrestling, and by the end someone is going to wind up bleeding or unconscious. Maybe both.