Sunday, December 4, 2011
MUSU Liveblog
ManupStandup bare-knuckle kung fu tournament, why can't I quit you? Yes, folks, MMA Journalist is back at the secret location in Queens for the MUSU underground event - an event featuring a bunch of dudes who rep styles like Wing Chun, Urban Ba Gua, San Bao and Hun Gar, and then they throw those styles out the window and just start wailing on each other when it's time to fight. Lightweight champ Willy Cavali is here, sadly sans wicker hat, and middlweight champ Darryel Johnson is here, supposedly set to fight whoever wins a mini-tournament. There's so much chi flying around, I think I was just simultaneously afflicted with liver cancer and cured of it. So yeah, pray for me.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed
Monday, November 28, 2011
Bellator 59 Postscript
I love it when Bellator rolls into Atlantic City, because it always means slots on the undercard – and often the main card – get filled with local talent. Case in point: Bellator 59 on Saturday night, which saw Kurt Pellegrino and Phillipe Nover on the MTV2 broadcast while cats like Doug Gordon, Jesus Martinez and Chris Wing fought on the prelims. Some thoughts:
-Kurt Pellegrino got screwed big time on the referee stoppage against Patricky Freire. Freire was a bad matchup for him, and when Pellegrino went down he was definitely going to be struggling to avoid damage. But! The ref never gave him a chance to work himself out of the situation. Screw that.
-Nover got screwed even worse than Pellegrino via a split decision that he should’ve gone his way. Marcin Held was creative and entertaining with his rolling kneebar attempts and heelhooks, but Nover escaped and countered and pounded on him, bouncing the Polish fighter’s head against the canvas again and again. There’s no question Nover should’ve won that.
-Karl Amoussou just out-gunned Jesus Martinez on the feet, plain and simple. I like Martinez, too. But he and the Frenchman stood in front of each other and fired away, and it was Martinez that went down.
-LeVon Maynard never let Chris Wing set himself and never let Wing uncork his dangerous hook. I was actually shocked at how much Maynard stifled him.
-Lucas Pimenta is an absolute beast. He crushed Doug Gordon just like he crushed Bryan Danner. He deserves to be tested with one of the area’s tougher welterweights now.
-Bryan Van Artsdalen is one of the most exciting fighters around these parts that can’t defend subs.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
From the Department of Helping One of Our Own
"Daniel James Miller, son of UFC middleweight fighter Dan Miller and wife Kristin, was born with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease. AMA Fight Club welcomes you to attend a Super Seminar to support Daniel in his treatments for autosomal recessive polycystic kidndey disease.
Join AMA Fight Club to aid Daniel in his fight for life.
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2011
Location: AMA Fight Club - 831 Route 10 East Whippany, NJ
Schedule of seminars and events:
9:45AM – 10:00AM Welcome and Introduction With AMA owner/trainer and UFC corner man Mike Constantino
10:00AM – 12:00PM No-Gi MMA/BJJ/Wrestling training with UFC Lightweight Jim Miller and other UFC fighters
2 hour No-Gi seminar cost $100.00
12:00PM – 1:00PM Professional MMA fighter meet and greet lunch included with seminar registration with lunch provided by the Miller Brothers family. Cameras and Videos encouraged
1:00PM – 3:00PM Muay Thai Kickboxing With Muay Thai Champion and AMA head Muay Thai instructor Kaensak Sor Ploenjit
2 hour Muay Thai seminar cost $100.00
Entire day pass combo including both seminars with meet and greet lunch: cost $175.00
Seminars are open to men, women and children ages 12 and up.
Raffles and prizes to benefit Daniel’s treatment including pro UFC fighter gear, UFC fighter Jim Miller actual debut fight shorts, shirts, gloves, gym memberships and so much more."
Join AMA Fight Club to aid Daniel in his fight for life.
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2011
Location: AMA Fight Club - 831 Route 10 East Whippany, NJ
Schedule of seminars and events:
9:45AM – 10:00AM Welcome and Introduction With AMA owner/trainer and UFC corner man Mike Constantino
10:00AM – 12:00PM No-Gi MMA/BJJ/Wrestling training with UFC Lightweight Jim Miller and other UFC fighters
2 hour No-Gi seminar cost $100.00
12:00PM – 1:00PM Professional MMA fighter meet and greet lunch included with seminar registration with lunch provided by the Miller Brothers family. Cameras and Videos encouraged
1:00PM – 3:00PM Muay Thai Kickboxing With Muay Thai Champion and AMA head Muay Thai instructor Kaensak Sor Ploenjit
2 hour Muay Thai seminar cost $100.00
Entire day pass combo including both seminars with meet and greet lunch: cost $175.00
Seminars are open to men, women and children ages 12 and up.
Raffles and prizes to benefit Daniel’s treatment including pro UFC fighter gear, UFC fighter Jim Miller actual debut fight shorts, shirts, gloves, gym memberships and so much more."
Saturday, November 19, 2011
ROC 38 Postscript
Another great installment. Despite Jimmie Rivera and Uriah Hall getting scratched from the card, there was still a lot of star power going into the event, and though the home team took some lumps, there was more than enough action to get your heart racing.
-Tom DeBlass once again proved why he’s the hottest prospect coming out of the Northeast circuit. Other than Hulk-like strength, Davit Tkeshelashvili had nothing for him – and that’s not a swipe at the Russian, that’s a compliment to DeBlass. The Ricardo Almeida-trained fighter out-boxed and out-grappled his foe, and it was never boring.
-Pete “Drago” Sell simply got out-struck by Nordine Taleb, and while the fight was unfolding, I couldn’t help but think that the Drago that fought Scott Smith would’ve totally kicked Taleb’s ass. I guess we could blame Father Time, because Drago certainly has more fight left in him. It just sucks seeing a Northeast legend go down like that.
-Performances like what Deividas Taurosevicius put forth are the reason I get out of bed in the morning. Marlon Moraes, who’s a training partner to Edson Barboza and who seemed every bit as deadly, was utterly kicking DT’s ass on the feet, and when it went to the ground, he was kicking our favorite Lithuanian’s ass down there as well. But! Somehow, DT’s escape from back-mount involved trapping Moraes’ arm, and he flawlessly slid into a head/arm choke that shocked everyone in the Tropicana – Moraes included. When DT got the tap, I was sitting next to judge Dave Tirelli, and Tirelli and I looked at each other and simultaneously exclaimed “Holy shit!” That’s what heroes are made of right there.
-Going into the Al Iaquinta/Pat Audinwood bout, I had Iaquinta with the edge in kickboxing and wrestling, a thought that, though Audinwood has a dangerous guard, the Team Serra/Longo standout would be too savvy to get caught with anything. Therefore, I wasn't surprised when Iaquinta tested the Bombsquad rep's chin, was somewhat surprised when Audinwood tested Iaquinta's chin right back, and was even more surprised when Audinwood started seriously threatening with sub from the bottom. And in the end, Iaquinta eventually got caught. Really, this should only be a speedbump in Iaquinta's career, because at the end of the day, no one else around these parts can beat him. It's just that, damn, I guess Audinwood is that good (and yes, I'd seen Audinwood fight many times).
-Drew Puzon vs. Aung La Nsang was a close, close fight, and I actually had Nsang taking the decision two rounds to one. He was far more dangerous on the feet, and his sweeps really put Puzon on the defensive. Oh well. No shame in losing to Puzon, who’s an old schooler that seems to have gotten better with age.
-Brett Linebarger never impressed me in the past, but last night, against Fikret Darzanoff, he looked like a well-rounded badass. Darzanoff was beaten everywhere the fight went.
-Props to Jarred Mercado for getting Jay Isip to the canvas and holding him there. But no way was Mercado ever going to hurt that perfectly-coiffed blond head of hair. No way.
-Ryan Vaccaro did his thing against Mike Prokop, which is wrestle and jiu-jitsu the New Yorker to the bitter end. Props also to Frankie Perez, who finished Allen Cozze with ease; Tom English, who controlled Anthony Facchini on the ground; and Pat DeFranco, who did the same to Rob Gittens, only with more violence. For someone who hails from a boxing school (Ardon’s Sweet Science), Alex Davydov certainly looked knowledgeable in the grappling department, even though he was eventually out-wrestled by Andre Harrison. And the highlight of the undercard was totally Chris Wade’s beatdown of Vinicius Agudo. Agudo looked like some kind of jiu-jitsu stud with the way he transitioned into sub attempts, but Long Island MMA rep Wade was ready for him, and with superior wrestling and ground and pound, he beat the bejeezus out of the Team Link rep.
-Tom DeBlass once again proved why he’s the hottest prospect coming out of the Northeast circuit. Other than Hulk-like strength, Davit Tkeshelashvili had nothing for him – and that’s not a swipe at the Russian, that’s a compliment to DeBlass. The Ricardo Almeida-trained fighter out-boxed and out-grappled his foe, and it was never boring.
-Pete “Drago” Sell simply got out-struck by Nordine Taleb, and while the fight was unfolding, I couldn’t help but think that the Drago that fought Scott Smith would’ve totally kicked Taleb’s ass. I guess we could blame Father Time, because Drago certainly has more fight left in him. It just sucks seeing a Northeast legend go down like that.
-Performances like what Deividas Taurosevicius put forth are the reason I get out of bed in the morning. Marlon Moraes, who’s a training partner to Edson Barboza and who seemed every bit as deadly, was utterly kicking DT’s ass on the feet, and when it went to the ground, he was kicking our favorite Lithuanian’s ass down there as well. But! Somehow, DT’s escape from back-mount involved trapping Moraes’ arm, and he flawlessly slid into a head/arm choke that shocked everyone in the Tropicana – Moraes included. When DT got the tap, I was sitting next to judge Dave Tirelli, and Tirelli and I looked at each other and simultaneously exclaimed “Holy shit!” That’s what heroes are made of right there.
-Going into the Al Iaquinta/Pat Audinwood bout, I had Iaquinta with the edge in kickboxing and wrestling, a thought that, though Audinwood has a dangerous guard, the Team Serra/Longo standout would be too savvy to get caught with anything. Therefore, I wasn't surprised when Iaquinta tested the Bombsquad rep's chin, was somewhat surprised when Audinwood tested Iaquinta's chin right back, and was even more surprised when Audinwood started seriously threatening with sub from the bottom. And in the end, Iaquinta eventually got caught. Really, this should only be a speedbump in Iaquinta's career, because at the end of the day, no one else around these parts can beat him. It's just that, damn, I guess Audinwood is that good (and yes, I'd seen Audinwood fight many times).
-Drew Puzon vs. Aung La Nsang was a close, close fight, and I actually had Nsang taking the decision two rounds to one. He was far more dangerous on the feet, and his sweeps really put Puzon on the defensive. Oh well. No shame in losing to Puzon, who’s an old schooler that seems to have gotten better with age.
-Brett Linebarger never impressed me in the past, but last night, against Fikret Darzanoff, he looked like a well-rounded badass. Darzanoff was beaten everywhere the fight went.
-Props to Jarred Mercado for getting Jay Isip to the canvas and holding him there. But no way was Mercado ever going to hurt that perfectly-coiffed blond head of hair. No way.
-Ryan Vaccaro did his thing against Mike Prokop, which is wrestle and jiu-jitsu the New Yorker to the bitter end. Props also to Frankie Perez, who finished Allen Cozze with ease; Tom English, who controlled Anthony Facchini on the ground; and Pat DeFranco, who did the same to Rob Gittens, only with more violence. For someone who hails from a boxing school (Ardon’s Sweet Science), Alex Davydov certainly looked knowledgeable in the grappling department, even though he was eventually out-wrestled by Andre Harrison. And the highlight of the undercard was totally Chris Wade’s beatdown of Vinicius Agudo. Agudo looked like some kind of jiu-jitsu stud with the way he transitioned into sub attempts, but Long Island MMA rep Wade was ready for him, and with superior wrestling and ground and pound, he beat the bejeezus out of the Team Link rep.
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