Battle Rock Muay Thai: Dorna Naseri vs. Giulia D'Ambrosio

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Battle Rock Muay Thai: Rules Meeting

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Observations From My Couch: Bellator 118

BELLATOR

• It's amazing that this far into his career Kevin Roddy has finally figured out how to mesh endless striking with endless cardio and rely very little on his jiu-jitsu. 
• Lester Caslow and Darrion Caldwell both looked fantastic and deadly with their subs. Who do we have to talk to about getting them to fight each other?
• I remember when Ryan Contaldi was a considered a tough up-and-comer in the Northeast like it was yesterday. But it wasn't yesterday, it was 2010.

NYFE Champ Jerome Mickle to Face Hugh McKenna in June

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Bellator 118 Primer: Former Teen Sensation Lester Caslow

BELLATOR

There was a time when Lester Caslow would step into the cage and teenage girls would swoon. But time has passed and we're all older now, and I'm pretty sure the swooning is done by full-grown adult females. Anyway, like his pal Kevin Roddy, Caslow has been in the game for years - seven to be exact - and he's long been a staple of the Northeast circuit.

At tonight's Bellator 118, Caslow gets to bang it out with Jay Haas in a rematch (Caslow submitted him in their first clash), so here's some insight into what you can expect.

BattleRock Muay Thai Show Poster

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Bellator 118 Primer: The Great Kevin Roddy

BELLATOR

Bellator 118 is tonight at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., and though I won't be going to the event, I certainly will be watching it. After all, the card is jam-packed with a ton of local fighters - not the least of which is Kevin Roddy.

"K-Rod" has a career that spans 30 fights over the course of the last nine years, and aside from the UFC, he's pretty much fought in every organization that's come to the Northeast, including Strikeforce and M-1 Global. He's also the coolest, nicest dude you could ever meet, and in terms of skills... well, watch the following videos.

Throwback Thursday: Shelby Walker's Five-Second KO of Angela Wilson

AWESOME

Above is the only pic I managed to take of Shelby Walker's fight against Angela Wilson at Ring of Fury 3 (back on May 3, 2003). Why is that the only pic? Because "Shelbygirl" knocked Wilson out in five seconds, and there was literally no time to do anything other than say "Holy crap!"

Throwback Thursday: Denis Kang vs. Keith Rockel at Ring of Fury 3

AWESOME

In 2003, the options for taking in some live MMA were pretty thin compared to how they are now - so thin, in fact, that I would often drive up to Massachusetts just to have a show to cover. Thankfully, Massachusetts had a quality organization called Ring of Fury churning out good fights, and though ROF only managed a few installments, some of those bouts were pretty memorable.

Here's the headlining bout of their third show, which featured local favorite Keith Rockel taking on young Canadian up-and-comer Denis Kang. And yes, the venue was a nightclub, which was a pretty new and edgy concept for a fight venue at the time.

Yesterday's Press Conference in Albany Generates Some Media Attention

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Things may be moving a bit slow for MMA in the legislative process, but yesterday's press conference in Albany was at least successful in generating some much needed media attention. Instead of focusing on economic benefits, organizers went the "MMA is empowering for females" route by having young ladies talk about what training in the sport has done for them. In turn, the speakers did their part in extolling the sport's virtues.

From the Capitol Confidential blog:

There's an MMA Show on Long Island This Weekend

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From Today's MMA in New York Albany Presser

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Our speakers did a fantastic job today! They represent New Yorkers and their need for #MMA legalization! pic.twitter.com/kDWGV9EHYt
— MMA4NY (@MMA4NY) April 30, 2014

Fighters Source: The "X" Factor in the New York Amateur MMA Scene

NEW YORK

Last year Fighters Source made a splash in New York City by setting up shop at the Hammerstein Ballroom and packing the place with fans for their "Kings of New York" show. But amateur MMA is a "local" business endeavor (meaning local fighters drive ticket sales), and since the scene here is thick with New York-based promoters sporting ties to gyms here, the Florida-based organization hasn't been back.

Which isn't to say Fighters Source has been dormant. They haven't. In fact, they've been building momentum as a national amateur MMA group that orchestrates events throughout the country, events that pit local teams against "away" teams. For example, on Saturday night in Cortland, Fighters Source paired with Upstate New York promotion Gladius Fights for show that saw a clash between the "Syracuse Gladius" against the "Nashville Renegades".

New York MMA Legislative Status Report: "Meh"

NEW YORK

Not a lot has been going on with the legislative side of the MMA in New York movement lately. There are still a bunch of bills on the backburner, and though none of them have seen any action since the session began, there's still some time before the session ends on June 19 for something to get done.

There is, however, a press conference being held in today in Albany, and at it three female students and one female kickboxing instructor will talk about how MMA is empowering to women. There's no star power attached to the event (i.e., no Zuffa brass or well-known fighters scheduled to appear), but it's being held in the Legislative Office Building, so reporters will at least show up out of habit.

And that's it. That's all that's been going on. Given the progress and level of discussion generated on the issue, I'd rate this year's chances of the pro MMA ban being lifted in Albany a "meh."

UFC Fight Night 40 Primer: Erik Koch in Action

UFC

Up next for fans of UFC action is UFC Fight Night 40 on May 10, which is headlined by a slugfest between Matt Brown and Erick Silva. But Erik Koch is taking on Darren Cruickshank further down on the card, and because the UFC wants you to be excited for that fight too, they posted Koch's brief battle with Raphael Assuncao. Watch and enjoy.

Flashback: The TUF 2 Tryouts

UFC

The tryouts for season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter went down in Las Vegas, N.V. yesterday, and Bleacher Report ace scribe Jeremy Botter was on hand to witness what has over the course of almost ten years become an event in and of itself. Read his report here, and tell me if you don't get the impression that the tryout process is a well-oiled machine. It is, isn't it?

But the tryouts didn't start out that way. For the first season of TUF, the UFC simply called up a bunch of promising fighters and said, "Hey, want to do a reality show?" Only when that initial season proved to be a runaway success did the word "tryouts" enter into the equation.

Aggressive Combat Championship 6: The Next Big NYC MMA Show on Tap

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The next big MMA show in New York City will be Aggressive Combat Championship 6, which is slated for May 10 at York College in Queens. A preliminary version of the card can be found here, and after the jump you can check out an ACC highlight video.

If you're reluctant to take the "E" train to the last stop and stroll through Jamaica, Queens, to get to the venue, then fear not, because I'll be on scene providing my usual coverage.

NYFE 3 Poster

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Flashback: Night of Macacao - 2.7.09

NEW JERSEY

Picture if you will a one-shot MMA event catering solely to the somewhat substantial Brazilian population of Newark, N.J. Every bout on the card pits a Brazilian against an American, culminating in a match-up featuring the eponymous "Macacao" (a.k.a., vale tudo legend Jorge Patino), and all this occurs before a partisan crowd that could very easily verge on riot should one of their brethren lose in the cage.

Yeah, "Night of Macacao" was pretty awesome. Here are the pics from it:

What's the Opposite of Having a Lot of Heart?

NOT AWESOME



I don't know the backstory to this so I don't know why the fight played out the way it did, but damn did that fighter show a lot of heart.

A LOT OF HEART.