Combat at the Capitale - 4.4.14

NEW YORK

The kickboxing scene in New York City runs deep through the fabric of combat sports entertainment - so deep in fact, that there can be two events going on within 25 blocks of each other on a single night, and there will be enough fighters and spectators to make both events viable. Such was the case on Friday night, with Friday Night Fights going down at a venue near Wall Street, and Lou Neglia's Combat at the Capitale taking place at the Capitale, a nightclub in Chinatown.

While ardent Muay Thai fans tend to gravitate towards the FNF product, those who appreciate MMA lean to what CatC offers - which isn't surprising, given that Neglia is the man behind the long-running Ring of Combat organization, and ROC and CatC often cross-pollinate each other. Case in point: the MMA fighters on the card, which included ROC champ Julio Arce, ROC and Bellator veteran Carlos Brooks, ROC amateur champ Mike Fischetti, and ROC amateur fighter John Bowman.

Is This Man The Next Big Prospect out of Team Serra/Longo?

NEW YORK

I'm still finishing the write-up for Friday night's Combat at the Capitale kickboxing event in Manhattan (short report: it was good), but there was one thing noteworthy out of the affair that deserves its own post. In the co-main event, a Team Serra/Longo fighter took on an experienced kickboxer in Nike Tsigaris, and he did a clear and convincing job of kicking Tsigaris' ass.

That fighter was John Bowman, and according to trainer Ray Longo, who I spoke with afterwards, Bowman is a former Division I wrestler who they've been trying unsuccessfully to get an MMA bout for (according to mixedmartialarts.com he's only had two amateur MMA fights thus far).

Combat at the Capitale: Mike Fischetti vs. Jeff Brown

via IFTTT

Combat at the Capitale: Dom Bingo vs. Billy Rose

via IFTTT

Combat at the Capitale: Remi Singha vs. Nazim Sadykhov

via IFTTT

Combat at the Capitale: The Rules Meeting

via IFTTT

The UFC, the Culinary Union and the Battle for New York

NEW YORK

Eric D’Arce climbs into the cage with his daughter before the show. When the preschooler throws punches, the ex-Marine goes down, smiling, laughing. Two and a half hours later Eric is breaking the arm of a kid named Nathanial in that very spot. But the celebratory cries of victory are muted, confined to only Eric’s nearest and dearest. In the dimly-lit recreation center, the crowd of a few hundred is conflicted, and waffles between excitement and stunned silence. It’s easy to cheer for a knockout. Not so easy for an arm snapped like a tree branch.

This is mixed martial arts, a.k.a. cagefighting, and this combative sport colored in shades of Clockwork Orange-esque ultra-violence could be Saturday night entertainment almost anywhere in the world. But it’s not just anywhere, it’s Corona, a neighborhood in Queens, in a state as conflicted about the sport as the crowd is about cheering when Eric bends Nathanial’s arm in ways God never intended it to go.


“Is MMA legal or not? Should it be? Why not? What’s holding it back?” Those are the big-picture questions, much harder for New York as a whole to answer than the question the Corona crowd is faced with, and at least their question is answered when a doctor rushes into the cage and stabilizes Nathanial’s arm, and Eric signals through the fence that he wants a little more love for getting the win.

TUF Nations Finale Primer: Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang

UFC

It was difficult to keep up the ever-growing number of regular seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, but when the UFC began doing international versions of the reality TV show, the task of following along became impossible.

So. TUF Nations. It pitted a team from Australia against a team from Canada, it's been airing on FOX Sports 1, the season is almost over, and the finale is on April 16. In terms of star power, the event is headlined by a match-up between Michael Bisping and Tim Kennedy. To whet your appetite, the UFC has released Bisping's bout against Denis Kang, which took place at UFC 105.

Watch and enjoy.

How About Some Kickboxing Tonight?

NEW YORK

The line-up for tonight's Bellator 115 took a massive hit at the weigh-ins yesterday, so the main card features a heavyweight title fight between Vitaly Minakov and Cheick Kongo, and then a bunch of bouts with fighters you've never heard of. If that's something that seriously affects your desire to tune in, don't fret. There are other combat sports options.

New York City is hosting two kickboxing events this evening - Lou Neglia's Combat at the Capitale, and Justin Blair's Friday Night Fights. I'll be ringside for the Capitale show, so expect live coverage here courtesy of the autoposts from my Instagram account.

Throwback Thursday: Laura D'Auguste vs. Shannon Logan in New Jersey's First-Ever Female MMA Fight

NEW JERSEY

Want to see the first-ever sanctioned female MMA fight in New Jersey? Well, then look no further, 'cause here it is: Laura D'Auguste of Team Tiger Schulmann versus Shannon Logan on Team Renzo Gracie, which took place at Reality Fighting 2 back in 2002.

I don't think this video captures how crazy the crowd got over see these two women scrap. They went absolutely went nuts.

Throwback Thursday: Jose Rodriguez vs. Jorge Santiago

NEW JERSEY

The trip down memory lane continues with another bout from Reality Fighting 2 - this one featuring future UFC, Strikeforce and Sengoku competitor taking on local badass Jose Rodriguez.

Worth noting: the eight-sided ring Reality Fighting employed. Why? Why would they do that?

Throwback Thursday: Elvis Garcia vs. Brad Daddis

NEW JERSEY

You know a fight is super old school when one of the competitors does a headbutt and legitimately doesn't know they're against the rules. Such is the case with this throwback video from Reality Fighting 2 (might as well keep with today's theme, right?), which features Tiger Schulmann fighter Elvis Garcia taking on Brad Daddis.

God, we were so young and innocent back in 2002, weren't we?

Watch Me on the East Coast MMA Radio Show

NEW YORK

Big thanks to Tom Kilkenny, who had me on as a guest on his EastCoast MMA Internet radio show on Tuesday night. I got to rap about about New York MMA and reminisce a bit with fellow guests Jerry Mendez and Chike Obi.

Check it out.

A Strong Dose of Reality: Looking Back at Reality Fighting 2

NEW JERSEY

Sometimes it is only through the lens of history that we see the true importance of a particular day. Who knew how momentous it was when Jonas Salk checked his mailbox and found an acceptance letter from the N.Y.U. School of Medicine waiting there? Could anyone have guessed that being told he’d failed to make his high school’s varsity team was a significant point in time for a sophomore named Michael Jordan? And what of the day Steve Jobs decided to drop out of college? Could anyone have seen these events as they had happened and known what they meant for polio, basketball and computing? No, often it takes a long look in the rearview mirror to truly grasp the value a certain bend in the road had and its impact on the journey.

Such is the case with Reality Fighting 2, an MMA event held in Wildwood, N.J. on November 2, 2002.

Another Great Fight From Saturday's Dead Serious MMA

NEW JERSEY

In a perfect world, every fight in the cage involves fighters wanting it badly and giving it their all. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, so there are times when what transpires after the referee says "Go!" is the furthest thing from exciting. And hey, that's all the more reason to recognize Saturday night's Dead Serious MMA match-up between Ryan Rizco and Shane Leather for what it was: two guys beating the hell out of each other in a great, close fight.

Here then, for your viewing enjoyment, are all three rounds of their battle. Be on the lookout for these fighters in the future - if they continue to put forth similar efforts, they're going to make a lot of fans.

See New Jersey Fighter Andy Main Get His Black Belt

NEW JERSEY

A fighter getting his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is like an angel getting his wings, and after eight years of training - plus fighting in Ring of Combat, Pancrase and on TUF 12 - you can bet New Jersey-based fighter Andy Main damn sure deserved his wings.

After the jump, you can watch Andy promoted to black belt. And if you want to see him in the cage, where he usually mixes fantastic jiu-jitsu with heavy hands, you can do so at the April 19 CFFC event in Morristown, N.J.

Flashback: Aggressive Combat Championship - 9.29.12

NEW YORK

They hadn't yet committed to amateur MMA events within city limits, but in 2012 the Aggressive Combat Championship was most certainly churning out fight shows - shows that featured a mix of kickboxing, boxing, grappling and combat jiu-jitsu bouts. Here's a look back at one they did in Queens, at a venue so wonderfully close to my house that when it was over, I was able to stop by my favorite Vietnamese restaurant while walking home.

UFC Fight Night: Nogueria vs. Nelson Primer - Ryan LaFlare

UFC

Odds are if there's a UFC going down on the other side of Earth, Long Island native Ryan LaFlare might be fighting in it. And hey, on April 11 there's a UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, so guess who's on the card? UCL veteran and former ROC champ LaFlare once again gets to fly far from home for a chance to step into the Octagon, and his opponent is inexplicably John Howard, who himself lives in Boston but for some reason this bout that would have great appeal in the Northeast must happen in the Middle East.

Dead Serious MMA - 3.29.14

NEW JERSEY

Saturday night saw some quality amateur MMA go down in North Jersey, courtesy of promoter Frankie Perez's Dead Serious MMA and 24 fighters who pretty much left it all in the cage. With three championship belts on the line, sanctioning by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, and Frankie Perez Jr. playing the role of DJ (the same Frankie Perez Jr. who will be scrapping for a belt at the next Ring of Combat), it was a high-stakes, well-run, family affair. Highlights of the night included:

In Case You Missed It... Eddie Bravo vs. Royler Gracie II

AWESOME

An event featuring just grappling isn't for everyone, but to those who've spent a significant time on the mat, a rematch between 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder Eddie Bravo and the legendary Royler Gracie is probably one of the most compelling pairings in submission wrestling world today. And yes, they had their rematch yesterday, and yes, it was 20 minutes of coolness.