WCA: Stakes is High

The World Cagefighting Alliance has just raised the stakes for their February 6th Atlantic City show. In addition to a sweet card of top local talent, the fledgling promotion has snagged two recently-crowned ROC champs in the form of Chris Liguori and Paul Bradley and paired them up with UFC vets Marcus Aurelio and Roan Carneiro, respectively. In terms of competition, this is a huge step up for Liguori and Bradley, as ATT lightweight Aurelio has defeated the likes of Takanori Gomi (!), leglock master Masakazu Imanari and Rich Clementi, while BTT welterweight Carneiro has defeated Matt Horwich, Clementi, and Tony DeSouza. MMA Journalist would like to take this moment to say, "Yikes! These are fantastic match-ups!"

Rest In Peace Justin Levens

Another MMA fighter has died, this one a West Coaster named Justin Levens who, according to preliminary reporters, may have been involved in a murder/suicide with his wife (who was found dead with him). Regardless of whether or not Levens' last act was the commission of a crime, the world now has one less UFC, WEC and IFL veteran to cheer for. And that's a shame. Rest in peace, Justin Levens.

Josh Candon to Fight Once More in New York Before Visiting Destruction Upon Colorado

Undefeated UCL welterweight Josh Candon, the former Marine Corp hand-to-hand combat instructor who was the centerpiece of a recent Fox 5 News segment on underground fighting, announced this past weekend that he will be returning to the ring in New York once more before moving to Colorado and terrorizing opponents there. After the Fox 5 News segment aired, Candon went on a competition hiatus due to resulting pressure from his corporate day job (the sensationalized segment had painted him as a bloodthirsty fighter - an image his employers didn't want to be associated with). However, with a move to the Centennial State on the horizon, the New Generation Karate rep with dangerous striking and smooth submissions now has free rein to clobber and destroy. Keep an eye out for him.

UFC's "Fight for the Troops" Raises $4 Million; Event Injuries Cost $5.2 Million

The UFC's "Fight for the Troops" event, which aired on SpikeTV on Wednesday night and featured one of the most violent cards in mixed martial arts history, raised $4 million for the "Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund". Unfortunately, thanks to injuries sustained by nearly every combatant on the card - Corey Hill's fractured leg, Yoshiyuki Yoshida's fractured skull, Jonathan Goulet's decapitated head and subsequent reattachment surgery - the price tag for the event exceeded the money raised by $1.2 million dollars, a tab that the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund had to pay. "Ain't that a kick in the pants," said spokesman retired Army Colonel Haverstrom "Machine Gun" Jessup. "I mean, it's a shame this Razak Al-Hassan kid needed a prosthetic arm and Brandon Wolff and Matt Wiman had to have face transplants, but really, we needed this money for the soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan." Lamented Colonel Jessup, "We're worse off now than we were before."

Prelimary ROC 23 Card Released

There's a preliminary ROC 23 card floating around, and though the February 20th event is a bit of a ways off, what I've seen thus far looks pretty good. Studs like Chris Liguori, Matt Makowski and Greg Soto are slated to compete, crowd-pleaser Chris Schlesinger is taking on an over-matched Ryan McCarthy (I believe this will be Schlesinger's first time at lightweight), and Jay Isip will return to square off against Team Serra/Longo fighter Nabih. However, the money shots are going to the heavyweight battle between BCX champ Joe Abouata and up-and-comer Bret Kohan and the striking cataclysm-waiting-to-happen between Aaron Meisner and Constantinos Phillippou. Meisner and Phillippou... wow. Both men are superior Muay Thai guys with ultra-dangerous clinches and an arsenal of weapons. A lot can happen between now and February 20th, but if just one match-up on the card stays together by the time ROC 23 rolls around, I pray it's that one. Meisner vs. Phillippou will be well worth the price of admission.

Who Should Phillipe Nover Fight Next?

Yeah, Brooklyn mauler and TUF 8 star Phillipe Nover lost at the finale and Efrain Escudero is "The Ultimate Fighter". Big whoop. But much-ballyhooed six-figure contract notwithstanding, Nover is a still a "name", and a tough and dangerous competitor that the UFC will put back into the Octagon as soon as possible. So who should the man dubbed the next Anderson Silva and GSP fight next? The easy answer is fellow TUF alum Junie Browning (to drag out whatever TUF 8 story lines they can). Yet if matchmaker Joe Silva stays true to form, which dictates that the traditional post-TUF opponent is someone who plays towards that TUFer's strengths, then Nover will get someone he can punch in the face. In this instance, that could be:

1. Rich Clementi
2. David Baron
3. Rob Emerson
4. Spencer Fisher
5. Melvin Guillard
6. Roger Huerta
7. Aaron Riley
8. Jeremy Stephens
9. Sam Stout

This list is by no means all there is to choose from, but these are all people under contract with the UFC, and I could see each and every one of them trying to throw a strike before realizing taking Nover down and laying on him is the way to go. Who will Joe Silva pick? Time will tell.

Underground Combat League Postscript

Alejandro Richardson won by armbar, Kevin Wall won by rear naked choke, Arjang Jameh won by unanimous decision and Joe Funaro, brother of James, had an absolute war with Kirkland Campbell that ended in a draw. The night was short but sweet.

Liveblog: Underground Combat League Part 4

Arjang Jameh vs. Luis Carreno is a Tae Kwon Do against Tonglimoodo bout, which means a lot of flashy kicking by Jameh and a close heelhook attempt by Carreno. Jameh takes the unanimous decision. It's main event time, with Joe Funaro taking on Kirkland Cambell. At the last UCL James Funaro, Joe's twin brother, knocked Campbell out with a kick, so it looks like Joe is out to do the same. Campbell is a ground and pound machine, though, and while he's taking a hell of a lot of punishment, he's dishing it out too. It goes the distance and ends up a draw - good fight. And that's it.

Liveblog: Underground Combat League Part 3

I kid you not, they have just pulled down the frontgate and shut the curtains of the venue. We are deep undercover here, folks. First up is a grappling match between Manny Martinez of Sadistic Athletics and Alejandro Richardson of the Warriors. Sadly, Swan and Cleone are not here to support their teammate, but despite a 50-pound weight disadvantage Richardson manages to nail the armbar late. Next up: Xavier Morales vs. Kevin Wall, which pits a 260-pound jiu-jitsu guy against a 210-pound Warriors rep in NHB. This one is a slugfest that Wall wins with a rear naked choke in the first round.

Liveblog: Underground Combat League Part 2

The title of this edition is "Declassified" - not very apropos, as this one is way more classified than usual (in other words, sorry to everyone who wanted me to let them know about this one ahead of time, as the promoter wanted this one as secret as possible). Anyway, representatives from Fighthouse, Ray Longo's, Vamos BJJ and I think the Russian mafia are in attendance.

Liveblog: Underground Combat League Part 1

MMA Journalist is here at an undisclosed location in New York City for the latest installment of the Underground Combat League, NYC's only MMA show. Tonight the UCL goes back to its roots with an event inside a dojo (with all the bouts happening on a mat and not in a ring - a la the "Gracie in Action" tapes). The card looks to have the usual mix of style vs. style match-ups, and the main event may or may not feature two homeless men sparring with a broken bottle and a rusty lead pipe.

Observations from My Couch: TUF 8 Finale

• Is it me or did Dave Kaplan look like the late Evan Tanner's miniature clone?
• Admittedly, Junie Browning did show a lot of skill and talent. As long as he's not acting like a douchebag, he's actually kind of likable.
• Wilson Gouveia TKO'd the heck out of Jason MacDonald - a feat made less impressive by the fact that Gouveia failed to make weight. That five-pound weight difference really is an unfair advantage. I mean, anyone can knock anyone out when they weigh five pounds more.
• Anthony Johnson's knockout of Kevin Burns was indeed sweet justice, but when he knelt over the fallen Burns and carved out his eyeball with a pocket knife... I'm sorry,but that was excessive.
• I was deathly afraid that Ryan "The Human Blanket" Bader was going to show up. I was pleased that it was Ryan "The Punch People in the Head So Hard They Do Cartwheels" Bader that we all got to see.
• Efrain Escudero fought a smart fight against Phillipe Nover. Nover will be back. No doubt about it.

Asylum Fight League Postscript

Good show. Louis Gaudinot looked fantastic nailing that spinning backfist KO, Adam Rosello and Kevin Horowitz waged an absolute war, and Edwin Uzquaino and George Siderius fought a very technical grappling chess match.