- Steve DeAngelis vs. Nick Pace, ROC 30 on June 11th – A 135-pound pairing for the promotion’s bantamweight belt, this one pits a Pellegrino MMA star against one of Team Tiger Schulmann’s best in bout that could be a stepping stone for entrance into the WEC or Strikeforce. DeAngelis was a couple wins away from fighting in DREAM last year when he lost to Jeff Lentz at 145 pounds, and Pace absolutely shined at Bellator, so a convincing win here for either man would both make them the king of the Northeast’s bantamweight mountain and open the door to bigger things.
- Tom Gallicchio vs. Jorge Patino, UCC 2 on May 14th – Despite a few bumps in the road, Gallicchio has long been one of New Jersey’s best welterweights, and in this scrap we’ll see just how his ace ground and pound and dogged mode of attack stack up against a true Brazilian vale tudo legend.
- Jessie Riggleman vs. Louis Gaudinot, ROC 30 on June 11th – MMA Institute’s Riggleman looked fantastic out-grappling Tuan Pham at ROC 29, and he’s strong in an area where Gaudinot is not: wrestling. However, you can count on Gaudinot to have worked diligently on that aspect of his game since his loss to Nick Cottone at ROC 25, and the green-haired TSMMA is more than capable of ending things with lightning-like strikes. This bout is for the flyweight belt, so it’s for all the marbles.
- Jose Rodriguez vs. TBA, Great Adventure MMA show on June 19th – Never mind who his opponent may or may not be, the big thing here is that Rodriguez is back. Who is Rodriguez? He’s a New Jersey MMA pioneer, a veteran of nearly every fight show to have ever touched down in the Garden State (including the seminal BAMA Fight Night events), and he’s one mean mofo when the cage door shuts. The dude is practically a pugilistic institution.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Upcoming Northeast Bouts To Watch Out For
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Observations from My Couch: Strikeforce's "So Long CBS, It Was Nice Knowing You"
- Three title fights featuring top-level guys and the worst possible scenario came to fruition: all three bouts went the distance. Jesus, what a crapfest. I love MMA, but I watched almost the whole thing on fast forward (thanks DVR!).
- Someone give Gegard Mousasi a pregnancy test. After all that humping on the ground, he might be having King Mo’s baby in nine months.
- Good lord did Shinya Aoki suck. I don’t know what was more disgraceful: the fact that he had no striking skill or wrestling, or the fact that he was the number two lightweight in the world going into that bout.
- Dan Henderson looked great for one round, then he looked spent. Jake Shields may have beaten him, but I think Father Time should get the win.
- Am I the only person out there who thinks Jason “Mayhem” Miller isn’t completely at fault for that post-show brawl? The dude was only trying to create hype for a future fight, and after 15 painful rounds of fanbase-killing non-action, hype is what Strikeforce needs more than anything.
- So long future CBS broadcasts. We hardly knew ya!
ROC 29 Postscript
Talking to the doctor post-show and it seems Gian Villante fractured his humerus - which is the bone above the elbow - and not his forearm as I'd originally thought. The doctor said they could hear the snap from their seats cageside. Yikes. Congrats to Demetrius Richards for trekking out from Nebraska and pulling off the upset. It's a damn shame he got booed the way he did. Other stars of the night: Jessie Riggleman, who put away a tough Tuan Pham and looks like he may give Louis Gaudinot some trouble when they meet for the belt; Jimmie Rivera, who absolutely owned Carlos Oliveira; and David McMahon, who was getting clobbered by Jose Viera Jr. but turned it around with his cardio and a rear naked choke. ROC 29 was definitely one of the good ones.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Liveblog: ROC Part 6
It's time for George Sullivan of Pellegrino MMA to take on Rising Dragon MMA's Tiawan Howard. Uh oh. The ring announcer has just revealed that Howard is self-trained. Get ready for a fatality. Round 1 is pretty competitive on the feet, but once it gets to the mat it's all Sullivan, who almost gets the bent armlock at the bell. Sullivan continues where he left off in Round 2, getting Howard down, tying him up in a triangle, mounting him, and punching until ref Big Dan steps in at 2:31 of the round. Dominant showing by Sullivan. Tuan Pham of Fight Firm and Jessie Riggleman of MMAI Fight Team step up to the plate with the winner guaranteed a shot at the ROC flyweight belt down the line. Apparently Riggleman got the memo that Pham is a big puncher, as he does his best to keep this a wrestling match. Inexplicably, Pham obliges him, and despite some back and forth the Philly fighter finds himself caught in a guillotine and is put to sleep at 3:17 of Round 2. Last bout and it's Bellmore Kickboxing star Gian Villante vs. Demetrius Richards of Elite Performance for the ROC light-heavyweight title. Richards was flown in from Nebraska for this fight - I guess they haven't heard of Villante yet in Nebraska. Well, Villante is considered a superhero around these parts... a fact that means nothing to Richards, who eats a few low-kicks but uses a Whizzer to break Villante's forearm (a mishap that occurs when Villante posts his hand). The official time of the TKO win is 3:27 of the first round. Richards is the new ROC 205-pound champ. And that's all, folks.
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