If ever I had the urge to pack a fat bong with herb and smoke up, without question the first person I'd pass it to after puffing large would be K-Rod. Known as "Kevin Roddy" to those who keep official records or write stuffy articles on Northeast MMA shows, K-Rod has been a fixture in the local circuit since about 2005 - and with his jiu-jitsu (courtesy of Kurt Pellegrino) and tight guard game, he was, for a spell, one the top five lightweights in the area (his contemporaries were Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller and Deividas Taurosevicius, which says a lot about his skills).
Covered in tattoos, skinny as fuck but game as hell, and one of the coolest dudes you will ever meet, K-Rod still gets into the cage every now and then. This year he was on a Strikeforce undercard, last year he lost a decision to Dennis Bermudez (yes, the TUF 15 runner-up) at an M-1 Global show, and a couple years back he fought on an Indian reservation in Upstate New York in a venue that was a cigarette factory by day (according to him, the joint reeked of tobacco so bad, he just wanted to get paid and get out). He was even the Battle Cage Xtreme champ back when BCX was cranking out shows.
Nowadays, because of his propensity for hunting for subs from the bottom, K-Rod is losing decisions more than he's catching opponents in armbars and triangles. But that's okay. He's there to fight, and if he's at an event and not there to fight, it means he's there to have a good time. And really, there's nothing wrong with that, either.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Dramatis Personae: Muslim Adam
I've met a lot of people cover the sport over the years, so many of them cool and interesting and the kind of characters you'd likely be talking about twenty years after you last saw them. Hey, why not start profiling them here! (Note: that was me talking to myself.) Okay, I will! First up: Muslim Adam.
Muslim Adam is a denizen of the Underground Combat League. Sure, he's a fighter, a street scrapper with some decent standup skill that's enabled him to knock opponents out with precision high-kicks to the neck or just stand and bang. I'd say he's won about as many as he's lost, although two losses stick out... Once, he fought UCL promoter Peter Storm, and spent the entire first round within Storm's guard, trying to get some ground and pound going. But when the bell rang signaling the break in between rounds, Muslim Adam stood up and said that was it. He was very apologetic, turning to the crowd with his palms up, shaking his head while telling them that his knee was hurt, that a few days before the event he got into it with a police officer and the cop whacked him in the leg with a baton (hence the injury). Everyone was cool with Muslim Adam's explanation, and the audience applauded him for his effort.
That fight right there paints half a picture of Muslim Adam. The other half of the pic comes from his recent loss to Gracie Barra rep Chike Obi. Obi got him down and was unloading on him with punches, and while he was getting hit, Muslim Adam was yelping "Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!"
Muslim Adam, with his shaved head, Taliban beard and kind, respectful demeanor outside of the ring, is white. Like, "if he grew his hair out and wore a suit, he could work on Wall Street" white.
Muslim Adam is a denizen of the Underground Combat League. Sure, he's a fighter, a street scrapper with some decent standup skill that's enabled him to knock opponents out with precision high-kicks to the neck or just stand and bang. I'd say he's won about as many as he's lost, although two losses stick out... Once, he fought UCL promoter Peter Storm, and spent the entire first round within Storm's guard, trying to get some ground and pound going. But when the bell rang signaling the break in between rounds, Muslim Adam stood up and said that was it. He was very apologetic, turning to the crowd with his palms up, shaking his head while telling them that his knee was hurt, that a few days before the event he got into it with a police officer and the cop whacked him in the leg with a baton (hence the injury). Everyone was cool with Muslim Adam's explanation, and the audience applauded him for his effort.
That fight right there paints half a picture of Muslim Adam. The other half of the pic comes from his recent loss to Gracie Barra rep Chike Obi. Obi got him down and was unloading on him with punches, and while he was getting hit, Muslim Adam was yelping "Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!"
Muslim Adam, with his shaved head, Taliban beard and kind, respectful demeanor outside of the ring, is white. Like, "if he grew his hair out and wore a suit, he could work on Wall Street" white.
Brazilian MMA Link
Here's a link to a Brazilian MMA site - http://www.lutamma.com/. I don't read Portuguese, but hey, why not post a link, right?
Great Muay Thai Article
There's a great Muay Thai article over at The Classical - link here: http://theclassical.org/articles/fighting-otherwise-part-1. The author (now, tragically deceased) went to Thailand and documented his experiences there. I loves me a good travelogue...
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
New York MMA Expo Postscript
This past weekend was the third annual MMA Expo at the Javits Center in Manhattan, and I ran panel discussions on the underground fight scene both days and sat on the panel discussion about the legalization of MMA in New York. Good times were had by all. On Saturday I had as guest panelists Big Dan Miragliotta (who used to run the old BAMA Fight Night events - New Jersey's original unsanctioned event), photog Anil Melwani, and underground fighters Israel Martinez, Jonathan Rodriguez and Kenny Rivera. On Sunday, the "underground" panel had fighters Harley Flanagan, Joe Funaro and Eric Blasich. (The "legalization" panel on Sunday was run by Justin Klein and had Nick Lembo, Dr. Sherry Wulkan and myself.)
I was big on audience interaction, so to encourage the asking of questions I gave out a copy of RAW COMBAT to anyone who raised their hand and asked something. Of course everyone loved Big Dan - as a UFC ref he's pretty much a celebrity - and lots of people seemed into the discussion. There were only a couple crazies (crazies are to be expected, especially when martial arts is involved), although on the second day some guy stood up and spoke incoherently for like two minutes. I gave him a book to shut him up.
So like a said, good times. Good times.
I was big on audience interaction, so to encourage the asking of questions I gave out a copy of RAW COMBAT to anyone who raised their hand and asked something. Of course everyone loved Big Dan - as a UFC ref he's pretty much a celebrity - and lots of people seemed into the discussion. There were only a couple crazies (crazies are to be expected, especially when martial arts is involved), although on the second day some guy stood up and spoke incoherently for like two minutes. I gave him a book to shut him up.
So like a said, good times. Good times.
Turkey Showing Some Love
Here's Hurriyet, the largest newspaper in Turkey, showing RAW COMBAT some love. I think. I don't read Turkish so they could be hatin'. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/19489738.asp
Sunday, December 11, 2011
UCL Postscript
Another Sunday in New York City, another installment of the only unsanctioned, illicit and totally freakin' cool fight show around. From an undisclosed location in the Five Boroughs, the Underground Combat League provided us with a round-robin grappling tournament plus a six-fight MMA card. Veteran New Jersey pro fighter Josh Key was there to take part in the grappling portion, and there were a lot of new faces mixed in with the familiar ones. Some thoughts:
-Promoter Peter Storm dusted off the blue judo gi to take on kung fu exponent Blackie Chan. It took some work, as Blackie is no slouch when it comes to hitting and moving out of the way, but eventually Storm got him down and kimura'd him.
-Rene Driefuss-trained jiu-jitsu beast Chad H. put in another dominant performance, this time against the rookie Miguel Dozler. Dozler was game, but Chad controlled position from the outset, and eventually worked into the rear naked choke that left Dozler with no option other than tapping out.
-Doug "Lionheart" Ahammer and Tommy Diaz went to war in a back-and-forth battle that saw them scrapping on the feet and the ground. Diaz seemed to have more in his gas tank, however, and that enabled him to secure the decision when time ran out.
-Mike Brenkert of Fusion MMA looked smooth tapping out Antonio with an armbar. The bout was contested under New Jersey amateur rules, which meant no hitting the head on the ground and whatnot. Still, it was entertaining, and Brenkert's clearly got technique.
-Junior Lubin and "Smash" Evans went at it hard, with Lubin getting some licks in early but Smash punishing him later on. Lubin can take a punch and Smash can certainly deliver one. The end came when the New Generation Karate rep could no longer overcome Smash's sprawl, which resulted in the Advanced Fighting Systems fighter pounding out the win via TKO. Solid showing by both men, though. Very solid showing.
-It took some hard work, but the veteran UCLer Kirkland Campbell managed to grind out a much-needed win - this time against the Gracie Barra-trained Chike Obi. Just like in the "old days", Campbell repeatedly put his foe on his back and racked up points with fists and forearm smashes. He took the decision when time ran out.
As UCL's go, this one was pretty damn good - and made better by the grappling tournament, which attracted the new faces. Also, kudos to Captain Zorikh, who cast his hat into the ring for the grappling portion and gave everyone hell.
-Promoter Peter Storm dusted off the blue judo gi to take on kung fu exponent Blackie Chan. It took some work, as Blackie is no slouch when it comes to hitting and moving out of the way, but eventually Storm got him down and kimura'd him.
-Rene Driefuss-trained jiu-jitsu beast Chad H. put in another dominant performance, this time against the rookie Miguel Dozler. Dozler was game, but Chad controlled position from the outset, and eventually worked into the rear naked choke that left Dozler with no option other than tapping out.
-Doug "Lionheart" Ahammer and Tommy Diaz went to war in a back-and-forth battle that saw them scrapping on the feet and the ground. Diaz seemed to have more in his gas tank, however, and that enabled him to secure the decision when time ran out.
-Mike Brenkert of Fusion MMA looked smooth tapping out Antonio with an armbar. The bout was contested under New Jersey amateur rules, which meant no hitting the head on the ground and whatnot. Still, it was entertaining, and Brenkert's clearly got technique.
-Junior Lubin and "Smash" Evans went at it hard, with Lubin getting some licks in early but Smash punishing him later on. Lubin can take a punch and Smash can certainly deliver one. The end came when the New Generation Karate rep could no longer overcome Smash's sprawl, which resulted in the Advanced Fighting Systems fighter pounding out the win via TKO. Solid showing by both men, though. Very solid showing.
-It took some hard work, but the veteran UCLer Kirkland Campbell managed to grind out a much-needed win - this time against the Gracie Barra-trained Chike Obi. Just like in the "old days", Campbell repeatedly put his foe on his back and racked up points with fists and forearm smashes. He took the decision when time ran out.
As UCL's go, this one was pretty damn good - and made better by the grappling tournament, which attracted the new faces. Also, kudos to Captain Zorikh, who cast his hat into the ring for the grappling portion and gave everyone hell.
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