Saturday, February 5, 2011
Liveblog: CFFC Part 2
First up is a bantamweight bout between Kurt Kalash and Tuan Pham. Pham is a hard-hitting striker through and through - he was once on a safari in Africa and when he was attacked by a rhino he knocked it out with a right hook. Let's see if he can employ that same mojo against Kalash. Round 1 sees the two feel each other out on the feet a bit, and then Pham scores a takedown and begins working Kalash over on the ground. The grapple-fest continues through the second round, with Kalash coming perilously close with a triangle and Pham giving him the business with scrambles and punches. Though Kalash is the one scoring the takedown in Round 3, it ends up being the Pham Show with Pham affixing himself to Kalash's back and staying their for the duration. He takes the unanimous decision when time runs out. Now it's time for the heavyweights, with Team KOA's Lewis Pascavage squaring off against Chris Sydnor. It takes about two seconds for Sydnor to feel his opponent's power and decide he wants to take him down, and what follows is some spirited back and forth that ends with Syndor on top and dropping bombs. Pascavage is KO'd at 2:12 of the first round. Next: Mike Rideout of Team SPMF and Team Bombsquad's Mike Winters. Winters makes it clear from the outset he's all about clinching and jiu-jitsuing the hell out of his foe, and if not for Rideout's sprawl-and-brawl game and his competence in the grappling department, Winters would be kicking ass and taking names. But he's not and Round 1 is pretty back and forth. Round 2, though, is all Winters, as he seems to have enough boundless pep to control and pound on Rideout mercilessly. Rideout rallies for the briefest of instants in the third, but when Winters gets him down he's too spent to defend the crucifix, and Winters unleashes a barrage of elbows for the TKO. The official time is 3:47 of Round 3.
Liveblog: CFFC Part 1
MMA Journalist is back in Atlantic City (actually, I never left), at the Resorts Casino for the return of the Cage Fury Fighting Championship. As some of you may remember from a few years ago, CFFC was the biggest New Jersey-based show around, and its swan song was a magnum opus that saw Kimbo dispatches Ray Mercer atop a card of ultra-talented yet ultra-overpaid locals. Well, it's a wiser, more frugal CFFC now, and matchmaker Arias Garcia has gathered together a roster that includes slugger Victor O'Donnell, wrestler Andrew Riddle and MMA workhorse John Doyle. So stay tuned for some live coverage from cageside. Or don't. See if I care.
ROC 34 Postscript
Another solid installment from promoter Lou Neglia. Highlights included Jimbo Hoffman's dominant performance in his pro debut, Jessica Eye's "Cyborg-esqe" striking, and watching two strikers in Ariel Sepulveda and Aung Nsang nail submissions over grappler opponents. Costa Philippou and Uriah Hall had so much respect for each other's ability - and rightly so - that whatever stand-up war we might have expected was muted by caution. And Philippou won based solely on his takedowns late in Rounds 1 and 2. That's it. I had to commentate alongside the Garv for the Pague/DeAngelis fight, hence no crappy pics of the bout, but it really is heartbreaking to see DeAngelis lose like that knowing he put so much effort into training. DeAngelis literally did everything right - he kicked, he moved around a lot, he mixed in takedowns, he threw punches from the inside, and he even broke his opponent's nose. Yet all it takes is one pinpoint-accurate right cross and you've got yourself a knockout. Hopefully, DeAngelis will be back.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Liveblog: ROC 34 Part 6
Steve DeAngelis and Dustin Pague are in the cage for their bantamweight title scrap. Round 1 is a lot of movement, a lot of punches thrown, and DeAngelis eating a knee but scoring a takedown and working his ground and pound. But Pague finds his range in Round 2, and he catches DeAngelis with a right hand. The official time of the KO is :25 of the round, and Pague is the new ROC 135-pound champ. Nova Uniao's Gabriel Migliolo and Tai Kai's Marques Daniels are up and competing for the ROC 155-pound strap. These guys really go at it, mixing wild striking with wild grappling, until Migliolo starts landing knees to Daniels' dome, wobbling the hell out of the Tai Kai fighter. Unfortunately, Miglioli lands one while Daniels has a knee on the mat, and the ensuing cut has the doctor waiving it off. Because it's a foul, Migliolo is disqualified, rendering Daniels the victor. Crappy ending to an exciting bout. Last bout and it's Clinch Academy's Jacob Kirwan and BJJ Shore Academy's Ryan Vaccaro for the featherweight title. The round opens and they immediately start grappling, and in a scramble Kirwan latches on with guillotine. Vaccaro taps at 1:26 of Round 1, making Kirwan the new champ. And that all, folks.
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