More Fighting in Central Park

NEW YORK

This is New York City, so it's no thing to walk through Central Park and see some dudes fighting. What would be odd and out of the ordinary is to see fights in Central Park that aren't to the death, but that's a story for another day.

Here's Wing Chun Man Shawn Obasi taking on MUSU's Will Cavali. Enjoy.

Flashback: The Underground Combat League - 12.11.11

NEW YORK

From 2003 to 2012, the only consistent option for watching MMA fights up close and personal in New York City was the Underground Combat League. At the UCL, aspiring fighters took on fakes and wannabes, thugs squared up against martial artists, and about an equal number of the truly talented battled it out with stone-cold psychopaths and villains. The rules were nebulous. Safety precautions were nonexistent. And to know of an upcoming event was to be part of an extremely selective circle of people.

Yeah, it was awesome.

Oh, This? It's Just Some Sunday Sparring in Central Park

NEW YORK

For some, Sunday means a Bloody Mary or Mimosa with brunch, grocery shopping and vegging out in front of the TV. But for others, it means some Wing Chun vs. Tae Kwon Do sparring in Central Park.

Observations From My Couch: UFC Fight Night "Shogun vs. Henderson 2"

UFC

• Hans Stringer, Kenny Robertson, Michel Prazeres... remember the good old days when you'd watch a UFC and recognize the fighters in the cage?
• Is it me or has the badass, ultra-dangerous Scott Jorgensen fallen off the face of the Earth and now we have this version that kind of sucks?
• Steven Siler got hosed pretty bad with that stoppage. Like, super-duper bad.

This is What Happens When Patricky Pitbull Fights the Best

BELLATOR

Patricky Pitbull is making his way through yet another lightweight tournament, and he literally punched his ticket to the semifinals on Friday night by knocking Dave Rickels out in sudden and violent fashion. Okay, cool, Pitbull is tough. Now let's not forget what happens when he faces the absolute upper echelon of fighters in the organization's 155-pound weight class...

Sunday Link Dump - 3.23.14

NEW YORK

There's some pretty crucial stuff going down with the Zuffa vs. New York lawsuit lately. The discovery phase is in full swing, witnesses are giving depositions, duels with swords and pistols every other day - it's exciting!

Anyway, today's link dump is a mixed bag of stuff that's very relevant to Northeast MMA. Read it and learn something.

• Nevada is still looking for a replacement for Keith Kizer on the athletic commission, and New Jersey's commissioner, Aaron Davis, made the short list of candidates. Well, scratch his name off. He's staying right here.
• Marcus Surin is Victory Combat Sports' welterweight champ. Here's a little something about him.
• Take a walk down memory lane and recall the momentous occasion when New York State finally admitted that amateur MMA is legal.

New York State Senate Bill Tackles Amateur MMA... Sort Of

NEW YORK

Amateur MMA competitions are turning into big business in New York State, with 2013 seeing close to 50 such events happening compared to 24 the year before (and seven the year before that). However, thanks to how the combative sports law is written, amateur MMA - while legal - is completely unregulated by the State. If State Senator Timothy Kennedy (63rd District) has his way, that won't be for long.

The bill Senator Kennedy has introduced is S06795, and it proposes the regulation of amateur martial arts (not just MMA). Here are the salient points of the proposed legislation:

Flashback: Chris Weidman Day

NEW YORK

What do you get if you win the UFC middleweight belt in dramatic fashion? If you're Long Island native Chris Weidman, you get a day named after you by local politicians. Here's a look back at Chris Weidman Day, which was made official on July 17, 2013. Note Weidman's teammate Al Iaquinta, who's stuck wearing a suit and tie.

Flashback: Bellator 95

BELLATOR

It's always a joy when Bellator comes to Atlantic City - if for no other reason than it gives a bunch of local fighters an opportunity to fight on television. Anyway, here's a flashback to their April 4, 2013 show, which took place at the Revel Casino.

Did Invicta FC Have a Four-Woman Tournament That We Didn't Know About?

AWESOME


This tournament has it all: Wanderlei Silva-like striking, great guard work, a knockout, someone shouting "Worldstar! Worldstar!" What more can you ask for?

The Manup Standup vs. UFC Saga Continues

UFC

When last we left Novell Bell, The Black Taoist and Manup Standup, home to our favorite kung fu fighters, were embroiled in a trademark dispute with the UFC over the use of the shape of the octagon in Novell's logo. Videos were posted, impassioned pleas for justice were made - the whole shebang.

Well, the saga continues. Now Novell is trying to rustle up some cash to pay for a trademark attorney to represent him. Which is smart, because a lawyer is the only thing that can really halt the UFC's efforts to remove the trademark on Novell's Urban Bagua logo (videos won't do much in terms of forcing Zuffa's attorney's to change course).

UFC Fight Night 38 Primer: Dan Henderson's KO of Fedor

UFC

UFC Fight Night 38: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 is on Sunday, so to get you excited for Dan Henderson's return to the cage for this rematch, here's a video clip of his epic destruction of the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce.

If you'll recall, Fedor was one of the most feared fighters on the planet for a very long time - and with good reason, as he was absolutely killing everyone he faced. But by July, 2011, the Russian's aura of invincibility had faded (he's just gotten old, which happens), so when he faced "Hendo", he was a shadow of his former self.

Oh well. Such is life in the fight game.

Throwback Thursday: Frankie Edgar vs. Eric Uresk

NEW YORK

Picture if you will an underground fight show in a rundown boxing gym in the South Bronx, the venue packed with fans screaming like banshees while two very tough dudes battle it out in the ring. What I'm describing could be any number of underground fights, but in this instance, the scene is July 10, 2007, at the very Underground Combat League where Frankie Edgar made his MMA debut against Eric Uresk.

All you need to know when you watch the video after the jump is that Frankie was the underdog going into this fight and that headbutts were legal. Enjoy.

Best. UFC Poster. Ever.

UFC

Really, isn't it cool?

Flashback: Bellator 74

BELLATOR

Bellator has been a great platform for local fighters to make a name for themselves. Case in point: Lyman Good, who was their inaugural welterweight champ. Here's a flashback to Bellator 74, when Good returned after a layoff to beat a Brit judoka named Jim Wallhead.

More NYFE 2 Vids and Pics

NEW YORK

The NYFE 2: "Ides of March" show on Saturday kicked ass and got a bit of well-deserved press. However, I'm not done writing about it - or at least, I'm not done posting video and pics.

Already, one NYFE alum is moving on to the bigger leagues. I'm talking about Felipe Carlos, of course, who's slated to fight at the next Ring of Combat pro show in New Jersey in May.

Big Dan Miragliotta is Building an Ark - Should We Worry?

NEW JERSEY

I don't know about you, but when someone starts building an ark, I have the urge to check up on the weather forecast.

Such is the case with "Big" Dan Miragliotta, who can often be seen refereeing bouts in the UFC, Bellator and in smaller shows around the country, but who lately has been building something wooden and capable of holding two of every animal.

After the jump, check out the pics of his handiwork (and yes, I'm pretty sure that's Russell Crowe with him in some of the photos).

Ring of Combat 48 Card Shaping Up Nicely

NEW JERSEY

Ring of Combat 48 isn't until May 16, so a million things can happen between now and then that could change the card, but there is a preliminary version up, and it looks awesome.

The first thing that sticks out in terms of tantalizing match-ups is the pairing of Chris Wade and Frankie Perez. Wade is the current 155-pound champ, Perez is undefeated, and together they make for a bout that's going to have their respective extremely-sizable cheering sections going wild.

Flashback: Cage Fury Fighting Championship 16

NEW JERSEY

I'm not going to lie - I've covered so many shows in my 13 years of reporting on the sport that sometimes I have to get creative just to stay interested. Yes, sitting cageside is always awesome, but do a million stories from that vantage point and you become stale and complacent. Which is why this flashback to Cage Fury Fighting Championship 16, which took place in Atlantic City on August 25, 2012, is a good one. For this CFFC, I followed around a NJSACB inspector. The perspective was enlightening.

Long Island-Based UFC Fighter Database is Noble But Sad

UFC

Generally, when you look for a fighter database to use as a reference tool, you want something with depth, i.e., a lot of fighter entries. That's why mixedmartialarts.com and Sherdog have good ones, and even Wikipedia is servicable. But Newsday put together a database of all Long Island-based fighters who've made it to the UFC, and while the cause behind it is noble - celebrating the hometown heroes who made it to the big leagues - there's something fundamentally sad about the whole thing.

There are only 13 entries.

Sure, our sport is just 20 years old, and the pool of talent as a whole is still relatively small. But 13.... damn.

Anyway, check it out. It worth looking at to remind you who those lone 13 guys are.