Monday, October 24, 2011
An Interview with the Fight Nerd
It's kind of weird being on the other end of the interview (usually I conduct them), but hey, it's a living. http://www.thefightnerd.com/jim-genia-on-ny-underground-mma-scene/.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Another RAW COMBAT Review
Another RAW COMBAT review, this one on Patch.com: http://manassaspark.patch.com/articles/living-in-the-dark-shadows-of-the-ufc.
Mike Straka Reviews RAW COMBAT
Mike Straka reviewed RAW COMBAT over at the TapOut blog. Go here -http://tapout.blog.seenon.com/2011/10/22/raw-combat-book-review/ - to read it.
CFFC Postscript
Another great installment of Cage Fury Fighting Championship, and another big shakeup in the Northeast rankings. Man, going in to CFFC's bantamweight championship bout between top dog Sean Santella and young upstart Aljamain Sterling, I never thought Sterling would be so dominant. But geez, he was dominant. Some thoughts on the bouts:
-For almost the entire five-round fight, Sterling was in control and damaging "Shorty-Rock". He had an answer for every takedown attempt, an answer for almost every scramble and transition, and his reach and confidence on the feet meant Santella was in trouble wherever the action went. Santella had to fight out of numerous rear naked chokes, an inverted triangle (!), and bad positions galore. Round 3 saw Santella come damn close with a triangle, but Sterling simply lifted him up and held him against the cage (think Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton I), and Santella eventually came tumbling down. I hate the comparison, but watching Sterling was like watching Jon Jones, albeit with a ton more groundfighting.
-Apparently Joey Gambino hits hard. Eddie Fyvie did his best to withstand the kicks and the punches, but Gambino had too much "umph" and "pizazz", and eventually Gambino overwhelmed him. With the win Gambino is now the organization's featherweight champ. I'd like to see how he does against some other top 145-pounder, though. Maybe someone like Jeff Lentz, who can hit hard right back?
-Mike Wade versus Mike Winters was all wrestling, and it was a game of inches. Unfortunately, they were unexciting inches.
-Rob Fabrizi is a nice little brawler. Fun to watch. Opponent Peter Aguinaldo was more technical in terms of kickboxing, but Fabrizi drew him into a dogfight and won out.
-Bruno Tostes is clearly aces on the ground, but he took a beating at the hands (and feet) of Andre Shuler while trying to get it there. Pitting Tostes against Fabrizi could be both entertaining and ugly.
-Brad Desir was so smooth in securing his armbar against Shane Mallory, you had to wonder if Mallory had known armbars can come from the guard. He definitely did know, though, 'cause his camp is AMA Fight Club - which I guess means that Desir is that good.
-Ryan Peterson completely handled Pat White. Same thing with Buster Crandall and his win over Billy Dee Williams. But yikes did Lucas Pimenta slaughter Bryan Danner. Danner got hit so hard with a knee and a flurry of fists, he went into convulsions. And Epi Diaz just kept blasting the taller and lankier Aaron Hicks in the face until something broke (that something was Hicks' face).
-For almost the entire five-round fight, Sterling was in control and damaging "Shorty-Rock". He had an answer for every takedown attempt, an answer for almost every scramble and transition, and his reach and confidence on the feet meant Santella was in trouble wherever the action went. Santella had to fight out of numerous rear naked chokes, an inverted triangle (!), and bad positions galore. Round 3 saw Santella come damn close with a triangle, but Sterling simply lifted him up and held him against the cage (think Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton I), and Santella eventually came tumbling down. I hate the comparison, but watching Sterling was like watching Jon Jones, albeit with a ton more groundfighting.
-Apparently Joey Gambino hits hard. Eddie Fyvie did his best to withstand the kicks and the punches, but Gambino had too much "umph" and "pizazz", and eventually Gambino overwhelmed him. With the win Gambino is now the organization's featherweight champ. I'd like to see how he does against some other top 145-pounder, though. Maybe someone like Jeff Lentz, who can hit hard right back?
-Mike Wade versus Mike Winters was all wrestling, and it was a game of inches. Unfortunately, they were unexciting inches.
-Rob Fabrizi is a nice little brawler. Fun to watch. Opponent Peter Aguinaldo was more technical in terms of kickboxing, but Fabrizi drew him into a dogfight and won out.
-Bruno Tostes is clearly aces on the ground, but he took a beating at the hands (and feet) of Andre Shuler while trying to get it there. Pitting Tostes against Fabrizi could be both entertaining and ugly.
-Brad Desir was so smooth in securing his armbar against Shane Mallory, you had to wonder if Mallory had known armbars can come from the guard. He definitely did know, though, 'cause his camp is AMA Fight Club - which I guess means that Desir is that good.
-Ryan Peterson completely handled Pat White. Same thing with Buster Crandall and his win over Billy Dee Williams. But yikes did Lucas Pimenta slaughter Bryan Danner. Danner got hit so hard with a knee and a flurry of fists, he went into convulsions. And Epi Diaz just kept blasting the taller and lankier Aaron Hicks in the face until something broke (that something was Hicks' face).
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Postscript: Locked in the Cage
MMA Journalist trekked on down to Philly last night for Locked in the Cage, which was my first exposure to the promotion (and only my second visit to the City of Brotherly Love; my first was for a Bellator show). The event - guided by the expert hands of Fran Evans, Paul Miles and company - was smooth, and adding to the local show-feel (which I love) was the venue, a storied spot called the Asylum Arena where ECW used to do their pro wrestling shows. It was cool as fuck. Some thoughts on the card, which featured four amateur and four pro bouts:
-Nick Cottone, who's been scrapping in the cage since way before there was ever an Ultimate Fighter, looked to be his usual sharp self, mixing quick wrestling with, well, quick wrestling. But Billy Vaughan had his number, and after stunning him with an uppercut while Cottone shot in, he jumped into a mounted guillotine and that was all she wrote. Vaughan is now the bantamweight champ.
-Matt Nice just straight-up dominated Nicholas Bleser, and it was his ace jiu-jitsu and complete positional control that did it. Bleser was totally demoralized by the time Round 2 came around, and Nice just got on top and blasted away.
-Lamont Lister has had a long and fruitful career, but the strength of his chin has not kept up with the willingness of his heart. For about a minute and a half he fought to get and keep Brandon Saling down, but when Saling got up, BAM! He tagged Lister in the grill and put him to sleep.
-Harry Dickey had an impressive pro debut against Eddie Weiser, manhandling Weiser throughout the first, then damn near ripping off his arm in the second. Weiser left cage with his arm in a sling courtesy of Dickey's kimura. Yikes.
-In amateur action, Fight Factory's Matt Ibbotson had a nice, close back-and-forth with TSMMA's Nolan Wisser, and he came away with the tight split decision; Matt Rizzo out-wrestled a very dangerous John Michael Holland for the unanimous decision; Ken Richmond blended hard strikes with concise wrestling to decision Brandon Cromartie; and Javier Guzman put away a timid Michael Kropp.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Another RAW COMBAT Review
Anil Melwani, the "official" photographer of the NYC underground fight scene, read an advance copy of RAW COMBAT, and posted a review of it on his site (go here -http://www.mma.us/2011/10/20/raw-combat-a-book-about-real-underground-mma/). Definitely check it out, as Anil's got all the pics you could ever want of that whole illicit world, but here's what he had to say:
"Decades from now, long after MMA has been sanctioned and 'legalized' in New York State, the tales and history of the mysterious and hidden world of Underground MMA would have long been forgotten … but for this fucking book right here. Having personally attended and photographed just about every NYUCL show since the beginning of the promotion (I was originally tipped off to its existance by Genia himself), I can say without hesitation that Jim Genia has masterfully illustrated the smokey and hard hitting nuances surrounding the gritty unforgiving world of Underground Mixed Martial Arts in New York City.
Genia takes you through the emotional and brain bruising journeys of some of the East Coast’s most and least promising MMA athletes, including Frankie Edgar, current LW Champion of the UFC who had his first fight in Peter Storm’s Underground Show. Quick witted and deadly accutate this quintessential story of northeast MMA is a must-read for any fan of MMA and/or Human Cockfighting."
"Decades from now, long after MMA has been sanctioned and 'legalized' in New York State, the tales and history of the mysterious and hidden world of Underground MMA would have long been forgotten … but for this fucking book right here. Having personally attended and photographed just about every NYUCL show since the beginning of the promotion (I was originally tipped off to its existance by Genia himself), I can say without hesitation that Jim Genia has masterfully illustrated the smokey and hard hitting nuances surrounding the gritty unforgiving world of Underground Mixed Martial Arts in New York City.
Genia takes you through the emotional and brain bruising journeys of some of the East Coast’s most and least promising MMA athletes, including Frankie Edgar, current LW Champion of the UFC who had his first fight in Peter Storm’s Underground Show. Quick witted and deadly accutate this quintessential story of northeast MMA is a must-read for any fan of MMA and/or Human Cockfighting."
Weekend Schedule
There's a lot of MMA on tap this weekend if you live in the Northeast and aren't afraid to trek to Philly and Atlantic City. Case in point: me. I am totally cool with taking the train wherever the rails lead to, if, at the end of the line, there's MMA there. For instance...
-Locked in the Cage on Friday night in the City of Brotherly Love, which, with the likes of Nick Cottone and Lamont Lister on the roster and Paul Miles spinning the matchmaking turntables, is worth checking out.
-The MMA & Sports Expo at the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City on Friday and Saturday. It's an expo so there's vendors and tons of stuff to do and check out - can you dig it?
-The Cage Fury Fighting Championship on Saturday night at the Resorts Casino. Eddie Fyvie and Sean Santella are featured in the marquee bouts, so that's going to be a big plate of awesome.
-The Take On Muay Thai Show at Bally's in Atlantic City, also on Saturday night. Normally a top-notch New York-based promotion, Take On takes the show on the road for a kickboxing extravaganza.
So yeah, good weekend ahead. Stock up on Clif Bars and make a trip of it.
-Locked in the Cage on Friday night in the City of Brotherly Love, which, with the likes of Nick Cottone and Lamont Lister on the roster and Paul Miles spinning the matchmaking turntables, is worth checking out.
-The MMA & Sports Expo at the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City on Friday and Saturday. It's an expo so there's vendors and tons of stuff to do and check out - can you dig it?
-The Cage Fury Fighting Championship on Saturday night at the Resorts Casino. Eddie Fyvie and Sean Santella are featured in the marquee bouts, so that's going to be a big plate of awesome.
-The Take On Muay Thai Show at Bally's in Atlantic City, also on Saturday night. Normally a top-notch New York-based promotion, Take On takes the show on the road for a kickboxing extravaganza.
So yeah, good weekend ahead. Stock up on Clif Bars and make a trip of it.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Seems David Mamet is All For Legalizing MMA in New York - I Think
Today's New York Post has an op-ed by David Mamet in which he decries the criminalization of MMA in New York and calls for its sanctioning. I think. Like all Mamet works (his plays - I did not see "Redbelt"), there's big, fancy words and stuff that make my say "whuh?". Anyway, check it out here.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Fight Nerd Reviews RAW COMBAT
Matt Kaplowitz, a.k.a. "The Fight Nerd", read an advance copy of RAW COMBAT and just posted a glowing review on his site. Go here to check it out. Some choice tidbits:
- "The author writes in a bare-knuckled, no-holds-barred style that perfectly matches the raw world of underground MMA. Jim makes the experience as intimate as spending time with the actual fighters in person, inside and outside the cage or ring (and sometimes gym mats)."
- "Imagine reading Hunter S. Thompson writing about MMA, subtract the insane amount of drugs he did but leave in the clever wordplay, and there is the experience you will be reading for the next 200 pages."
- "I have read plenty of books on MMA; biographies, travel stories, encyclopedias and instructional books to name a few varieties. None of them compare to Jim Genia's 'Raw Combat: The Underground World of Mixed Martial Arts'."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)