Memorable Moments in Northeast Female MMA History

In honor of Saturday's highly-anticipated Gina Carano/Cris "Cyborg" Santos epic - the biggest fight in female MMA history - MMA Journalist has compiled this handy-dandy collection of the biggest moments in Northeast female MMA. Curiously, the Northeast has at times been a comparative hotbed for fighting femmes, with top talent like Amanda Buckner, Laura D'Auguste, Tara LaRosa and Roxanne Modaferri (before she moved to Japan) calling this part of the world home. Anyway, the list:

• Laura D'Auguste vs. Shannon Logan, Reality Fighting 2, 11/02/02 - The first female MMA fight in the Northeast saw a Tiger Schulmann Karate rep in D'Auguste take on a Team Renzo blue belt in Logan, and it was like watching Chute Boxer Pele Landi Jons against Jorge Patino in Brazil circa 1996 (i.e., D'Auguste beat on Logan mercilessly). The crowd inside the Wildwood Convention Center went absolutely nuts - the first inclination that skilled women were viable competitors and just as exciting as men.
• Laura D'Auguste vs. Del Greer, Reality Fighting 3, 2/8/03 - The audience was much bigger for this one, and when D'Auguste managed to defeat the larger Greer despite a weight disadvantage, the whole place erupted. This was the first time a female bout was the main event, and no one left the Bayonne High School gymnasium disappointed.
• Shelby Walker vs. Angela Wilson, Ring of Fury 3, 5/3/03 - A Boston nightclub played host to Ring of Fury 3, and when the referee said "go!" Wilson charged right into Walker's fist. Walker got off another punch and that was all she wrote. At five seconds, it remains the fastest KO in women's MMA history.
• Laura D'Auguste vs. Roxanne Modafferi, Ring of Combat 8, 3/19/05 - When Jennifer Howe was considered the best female fighter in the world, Modafferi kicked her ass, then kicked her ass again in the rematch. And though a loss on a Smackgirl card in Japan marred her record, "Roxy" was considered the new chick to beat at the time. So in the dank depths of the Asbury Park Convention Hall that's just what D'Auguste did. After ROC 8, D'Auguste went on to win a Smackgirl tournament in Japan - a win which had nearly everyone in the industry pegging her as the top female fighter in the sport.
• Tara LaRosa vs. Roxanne Modafferi, MFC: "Boardwalk Blitz", 3/4/06 - Matchmaker Miguel Iturrate knew full well the appeal of women fighting, so he wasted little time in putting such bouts on his Mixed Fighting Championship cards. At this one, LaRosa - considered to be top contender - took on Modaferri in a grueling three-rounder.
• Amanda Buckner vs. Shayna Baszler, MFC: "USA vs. Russia", 6/3/06 - Another Miguel Iturrate special. When Buckner and Baszler threw down at Boardwalk Hall, they really threw down, and pics of the donnybrook made the cover of the New York Times the next day.
• Tara LaRosa vs. Kelly Kobold, BodogFIGHT: "Alvarez vs. Lee", 7/14/07 - BodogFIGHT wanted to crown a 135-pound female champ, and after pitting some of the best against each other for their weekly TV show, it was clear LaRosa was one half of the equation. Unfortunately, D'Auguste (now a full-fledged jiu-jitsu student) injured her ankle in training, so undefeated Midwesterner Kobold stepped in. LaRosa won via fourth-round armbar, and since then she's been the queen of the 135 pounders. D'Auguste, meanwhile, got married and retired from fighting.
• Tara LaRosa vs. Alexis Davis and Sally Krumdiak, Extreme Challenge's "War at the Shore" and "Mayhem at the Marina", 1/23/09 and 3/28/09 - While Carano was making waves on national TV, LaRosa returned to action to prove yet again that she's the best by taking on all comers and dominating. She remains one of the best and most accomplished unsung heroes in MMA.

Tara LaRosa to Not Face Meisha Tate at ShoMMA Event

Sources within the Strikeforce organization have revealed that Miesha Tate will not be facing Tara LaRosa at the ShoMMA: "Strikeforce Challengers" event on May 15th. Instead, Tate will be facing Sarah Kaufman, an undefeated 8-0 competitor who replaces original opponent Kim Couture (Couture withdrew for "personal reasons") and who is definitely not the top-ranked 135-pound female fighter LaRosa. "I am very excited not to be fighting the best female fighter in the world," said Tate on the match-up. "Yeah, me too," added Kaufman, who, like Tate, can breathe a sigh of relief now that her first bout on the inaugural Strikeforce Challengers event won't end in a definite humiliating loss. Said Tate and Kaufman in unison, "Imagine getting tapped out on live TV?" And then they giggled.

Extreme Challenge: "Mayhem at the Marina" Lineup

Tomorrow night is Extreme Challenge: "Mayhem at the Marina", which takes place at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City. MMA Journalist will be there liveblogging the action, and the lineup currently looks like this:

• Tara LaRosa (Fight Factory) vs. Sally Krumdiack (Charlie's Combat Club)
• Maciej Linke (Gold Team Fighters) vs. Jeff Lentz (Rhino Fight Team)
• Tim Bradley (Wolf Pack) vs. Steve DeAngelis (Team Pellegrino/Bombsquad)
• Rich Edwards (Gold Team Fighters) vs. Dave Church (Team Pellegrino)
• Matt Kocher (Lionheart MMA) vs. Troy Maxwell (Extreme Performance)
• Jay Silva (Team Rampage) vs. Mike Johnson (Fight Factory)
• Daniel Straus (Vision MMA) vs. Lester Caslow (Team Pellegrino)
• Pat White (Evolution Fight Team) vs. Mervin Rodriguez (Rhino Fight Team)
• Kevin Roddy (Team Pellegrino) vs. Biff Walizer (Lionheart MMA)

Keep an eye out for LaRosa, DeAngelis, Caslow and Roddy.

Tara LaRosa Deserves a Superfight

Mention women's MMA to anyone and they'll immediately think of Gina Carano, then salivate over Carano's inevitable superfight against Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. Sadly, though widely considered the best in the world at 135 pounds (Carano fights at 180 pounds), Tara LaRosa's been in the game longer and accomplished more, yet commands only a fraction of the attention. What LaRosa needs is a superfight. Sure, she's headlining this weekend's Extreme Challenge: "Mayhem at the Marina", but it's a foregone conclusion that she'll put Sally Krumdiak away with a submission before time runs out. LaRosa should be facing the best, facing someone who'll make for a "Oh wow!" kind of match-up. That person might actually be located right here in the Northeast. Her name is Vanessa Porto. A Brazilian and member of Gold Team Fighters (which is based in Newark, New Jersey), Porto has wins over Hitomi Akano and Tonya Evinger, and she's got aggressiveness and experience against top-level fighters - two things that could make for a competitive and compelling fight against the Fight Factory femme. Think Carano vs. Cyborg will be exciting? LaRosa vs. Porto could put you into cardiac arrest. This is a superfight worthy of the best 135-pound female fighter in the world.

New Jersey State Athletic Control Board to License Outlaw?

On March 28th Monte Cox's Extreme Challenge: "Mayhem at the Marina" comes to Trump Marina in Atlantic City, and while the event is headlined by top female fighter Tara LaRosa taking on up-and-comer Sally Krumdiak, one bout on the main card is raising eyebrows: Steve DeAngelis vs. Billy the Kidd. DeAngelis is one of the best 145-pounders the Garden State has to offer - capable of taking on nearly anyone and definitely destined for the WEC or Japan - but Billy the Kidd... Billy the Kidd is a well-known outlaw. Will the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board license a man wanted in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas for murder, cattle rustling, theft and cheating at poker? No one doubts DeAngelis' ability to handle whatever his opponent throws at him, but all it takes is one bullet from a .45 single-action six-shooter to end things unfairly. Also, should the commission allow this match-up, they'd essentially be condoning the fact that Billy the Kidd was a founding member of the vigilante group "The Regulators", and that during the course of his career he murdered lawmen and civilians alike. For the sake of fighter safety and especially common decency, let's hope the NJSACB does the right thing.

Random News & Notes

• Tim Sylvia will be facing Ray Mercer in a boxing match at Adrenaline's May 30th Atlantic City show. Did you honestly think the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board would sanction the two for an MMA bout?
• Tara LaRosa announced today that she'll be fighting at Extreme Challenge's March 28th show at Trump Marina in Atlantic City. No opponent has been named, but it's assumed it will be a female.
• Check out http://www.mmamemories.com/history/flashback-to-ufc-38-the-promotions-first-uk-show/ . The author really sounds like he knows his stuff. Do you think he was actually there?

The Best Female Fighter in the World Capable of Making Weight Returns

The best female fighter in the world capable of making a contracted weight, a.k.a. Tara LaRosa, returns to action on January 23rd at Extreme Challenge: "War at the Shore". Her opponent will be Alexis Davis, an overmatched chick from Who Cares, Idaho. Known for a well-rounded skill set and having extensive experience, LaRosa was BodogFIGHT's 135-pound champ when that organization crapped the bed, and although she hasn't fought in over a year, LaRosa is still widely believed to be at the top of the food chain in women's MMA (despite possessing a fraction of the notoriety held by the zoftig and rubenesque Gina Carano). Expect the Fight Factory warrior to trounce Davis, sending her back to her job as a hostess at Denny's in defeat.

Prediction for Extreme Challenge's "War at the Shore": It Could Be Awesome... or It Could Suck

Extreme Challenge's "War at the Shore" event, slated for January 23rd at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, is just a little more than two weeks away, and based on what we know of the card - and what we don't know - MMA Journalist is predicting that the event could be very awesome. Or it could suck. It's still unknown if headliner Eddie Alvarez will be able to compete (thanks to Shinya Aoki's heelhook last week in Japan), and while the card is full of local stars and attractions, like Wilson Reis, Charlie Brenneman, Tuan Pham, Jesus Martinez and Zack Makovsky, they're facing unknowns from distant locales such as Ohio and Texas. Which begs the question: how many people are going to buy tickets to see a local guy fight someone no one knows anything about? Last but not least is Tara LaRosa, who is supposed to be on the card, but is still facing the illustrious "TBD". MMA Journalist will be there to liveblog regardless, but I sincerely hope this event works out. Extreme Challenge is too solid a brand for the promotion to come back to New Jersey and have a stinker.

A Piece of MMA History: Laura D'Auguste

If the sport was in its infancy in 2002, then the concept of women competing in MMA was barely clearing the birth canal. But Laura D'Auguste was ahead of her time, and in events like New Jersey's Ring of Combat and Reality Fighting and Japan's Smackgirl, she was racking up wins against top lady warriors such as Amanda Buckner, Roxanne Modefferi and Megumi Yabushita, putting the world on notice that a bout featuring two females waging war was every bit as exciting as seeing a clash between two men. What made D'Auguste special? The truth is, D'Auguste could really grapple - so much so that she'd compete in men's divisions at NAGA tournaments. Her skills on the mat (honed to a razor's edge at Tiger Schulmann fight team sessions) translated into an undefeated MMA record and a berth at the prestigious 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships, and by July of that year she was widely seen as the best 135-pound female fighter on the planet. Sadly, it's been a two years since D'Auguste last saw action. A split from Team Tiger Schulmann prompted her to join Romulo Bittencourt's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in Newark, while an injury had her bow out of a potential BodogFIGHT match-up against Tara LaRosa. Add to that a new marriage, and the full-time cardiovascular nurse no longer seemed to hold MMA competition as a priority. Which is a shame, because thanks to her, the East Coast was at one time the center of the female mixed martial arts universe.

The American Fight League is a Lie

It's time to face the truth, folks: the American Fight League, which made headlines a few months back for signing top female fighter Tara LaRosa, Bobby Lashley of the WWE, Elvis and a unicorn, is a lie. A big, fat lie. Their promised pay-per-view event has yet to materialize, and today it's being reported that the rematch between LaRosa and Roxanne Modaferri, which was slated for the November 8th Ironheart Crown show and to be paid for by the AFL (think: the lone Affliction bout on the last EliteXC card), is now kaput due to lack of funding. Listen, I enjoy a good pipe dream as much as the next guy, but when you promise fighters - and fans - the world, you should at least give them a continent or decent-sized island. The AFL, however, has given us nothing. Nothing! At least YAMMA Pit Fighting had a show and some T-shirts.