Battles Unseen

Yesterday I interviewed top-level East Coast lightweight Brian McLaughlin. The scope of the interview far exceeds the constraints of this blog (i.e., it was a long interview that will find a home in next month's Full Contact Fighter magazine), suffice to say that it was all about his one-on-one session with New York State Assemblyman Bob Reilly. The same Assemblyman Reilly who's done his damnedest to keep MMA out of New York? The same Assemblyman Reilly who believes the sport promotes violence, and who believes this form of barbarism is tantamount to the decline of Western civilization? Yeah, that guy. And yesterday, McLaughlin drove up to Albany and met with Reilly, and the ROC 155-pound Beasts of the Northeast tournament winner went toe-to-toe with him and explained the ins and outs of this sport we love. How did it go? According to McLaughlin, maybe - maybe - things moved half a step forward. But regardless, McLaughlin was there, acting as a representative for those of us dying to get MMA into New York State, and from the sounds of it McLaughlin did an outstanding job. There are battles we get to see, on pay-per-view and SpikeTV and CBS and NBC, and there are battles unseen - which are sometimes more important in the grand scheme of things. Myself, I'm glad McLaughlin was there yesterday fighting this one.

Quinton Jackson: "God Wants Me to Get Beat Up Again - So That's What I'm Gonna Do"

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, former light-heavyweight champ and full-time vision-seeing lunatic, is slated to face off against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in Las Vegas - only a few short months after the colorful but troubled star went off the deep end and led police on a high-speed chase. This will be the third clash between Jackson and Silva, with their two prior encounters (in Pride) resulting in Jackson stunned and mumbling about being Joan of Arc and not wanting any more tamales. Why would the popular fighter agree to take on Silva once more? Said Jackson, "God wants me to get beat up again - so that's what I'm gonna do." UFC 92 will also feature 205-pound champ Forrest Griffin defending his belt against Rashad Evans.

NYC Submission Shootout

Mark February 8th on your calendars, as that's the date of Jerry Mendez and Rene Driefuss' "NYC Submission Shootout" at the Fighthouse in Midtown Manhattan, a round-robin no-gi grappling tournament. The event will be sanctioned by USA Judo, thereby making it 100-percent legal and not a deathmatch kumite. For more info, shoot Jerry an email at nysubmissionshootout@ymail.com, and expect MMA Journalist to liveblog from matside.

The Truth About Underground Shows

MMA Journalist certainly enjoys quite a bit of latitude in reporting on the underground shows that take place in New York State, but as this site is truly about the news and reporting on all angles of it, now would be a good time to point out some negatives attached to competing. Yesterday, respected coach Ray Longo issued a statement saying that student Arjang Jameh was banned from his school - a direct result of Jameh's decision to compete in an unsanctioned MMA event. And earlier this year, Nick Lembo of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board decreed that anyone who fights in an unregulated event cannot compete as an amateur in New Jersey. Harsh? Maybe, but both Longo and Lembo have valid reasons, not the least of which is fighter safety. Was there an EMT at the last UCL? Yes, however, I can't say if there was one at those underground events near Albany and on Long Island, and either way, were accurate records kept of who was injured and who would need a suspension (for a KO, as an example)? As the law currently stands, amateur MMA is legal but completely unregulated in New York, and fighters such as the Funaro brothers, Josh Candon, Mike Milian, and Kirland Campbell are gaining valuable experience for future MMA battles - like Frankie Edgar and Bryan Vetell did before them. But there are consequences, and people interested in competing in these events must ask themselves: is it worth it?

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.