Crappy Matrix Fights 6 Pics

Matrix Fights 6 Postscript

I made the trek down to Philadelphia yesterday to Matrix Fights 6 with the promise of meaningful, high-level MMA action on my mind.  Six amateur bouts and five pro later, and I came away satisfied.  There were submissions and knockouts, grueling battles and thrillers - everything you'd want in a fight show.  And it was entertaining.  Of the three MMA events I've seen in Philly thus far, I would rank last night's Matrix Fights installment as the best of the lot.  Some thoughts on the bouts:

• The commission in Pennsylvania allows for hybrid amateur/pro cards, so the first six fights were the greenhorns and rookies.  Bek Baktybek, besides wielding the coolest name ever, had machine gun-like jiu-jitsu that he used to put Maurice Fleming on the defensive from the start.  Eventually, Baktybek snagged the technical submission with an armbar that Fleming stubbornly wouldn't tap to but had the ref wisely stepping in. 
• Alec Hooben pretty much prison-raped Ariel Clinton, TKOing him with punches at the 55-second mark of the first round. 
• Cheston Bulgin and Ocie Blackman both grinded out decisions against Rob Fitzgerald and Ryan Beck, respectively. 
• Anthony Pipola eked out a split decision over Mike Roberts by virtue of the most dogged wrestling on the planet, which he used to dump Roberts on his head repeatedly.  No matter how grim it got, Pipola usually managed to turn the tables, and even landed an Anderson Silva-ish knee to Roberts chest while Roberts was sitting against the cage at one point.  (Read more on Pipola's day at the races in a future article.)
• Cassie Crissano duked it out with Jamie Driver on the feet, outscoring her handily despite taking an accidental groin shot that required some recovery time (yes, females can get hurt in the soft parts, too).
• In pro action, Mike Mucitelli took Eddie Hardison to school on the ground, nailing the rear naked choke right before two minutes had expired.
• Ace amateur Julio Arce took the professional MMA plunge and outclassed Ken Nagle with some ultra-sharp standup.  Arce found his range with his jab in no time, and soon after was sending a stunned Nagle to the canvas with the kind of one-two that would make a lot of pro boxers weep with joy.
• Ben Reitter had zero problems chewing Tyson Triplett Sr. up and spitting him out, and it was all because of Reitter's no-nonsense grappling and positional dominance.  Forearm smashes were the finishing technique.
• Bellator vet Wilson Reis was dominant in his jiu-jitsu-heavy performance against Cody Stevens, but Stevens deserves mucho credito (is that even a word?) for having an insane guard and making Reis work for that unanimous decision. 
• It may have been the co-main event, but the best fight of the night was far and away what transpired between unstoppable up-and-comer Munah Holland and the salty veteran Carina Damm.  For almost all of Round 1 the TSMMA stud(ette) was on the defensive, with Holland having to deal with things like ground and pound, heelhooks, and a rear naked choke attempt that Damm went for while affixed to her back.  But Round 2 was all about Holland employing far superior boxing and beating the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt silly with her fists.  The end came in dramatic fashion - via KO - halfway into the frame, and with this win over such a quality opponent, Holland is officially the "next big thing" to keep an eye on in the world of female mixed martial arts.

Observations from My Couch: UFC on Fuel TV 4

• If there was a level lower than a Facebook fight - like maybe a bout shown on Myspace or Friendster - I'd suggest that's where Marcelo Guimaraes and Dan Stittgen be relegated to for future UFC events.
• Man, how heartbreaking for Rafael Natal to deliver such a thorough ass-kicking, only to get creamed in the final eight seconds of the second round.
• Chris Cariaso and Josh Ferguson both looked like good, solid competitors - which bodes well for the flyweight division.  I don't think there's any 125-pounder out there who can move the needle in terms of pay-per-view love, but these throwaway Fuel TV cards and FX outings should be packed to the gills with these little guys.
• Don't change, Bruce Leroy.  We love you just the way you are.
• You never know what you're going to get with Anthony Njokuani.  It's either going to be something mildly exciting or just a big pile of suck.
• Congrats on the win, TJ Dillashaw.  Now fight someone real.
• Never call him "Francis".  If you call him "Francis", Carmont will gut you.
• Thank goodness he found victory at welterweight, because a cut to lightweight would've been masochistic for Aaron Simpson.
• I've seen Joey Beltran before.  That scarecrow in the cage was not Joey Beltran.
• What's most impressive about Chris Weidman, and what makes the comparison with Jon Jones so very apt, is how fast he learns and evolves as a fighter.  THAT'S the future right there.

Observations from My Couch: UFC 148 "Ultimate Barbecue at Anderson's House"

• Shane Roller sure did win that wrestling match with John Alessio, and Alessio sure did win that "Hitler Youth" haircut contest.
• Riki Fukuda busted out the groin strikes and eye gouges, and still he lost.  Take that, Krav Maga proponents!
• My man Shish-Khabib may have looked about as technical on the feet as an epileptic breakdancer, but he did do enough to win.  Or, at least, Gleison Tibau did absolutely nothing.  So, yeah.  You know.
• Melvin Guillard.  Man, you just never know what you're going to get with that guy.  Is he going to thrill you?  Is he going to stink up the joint?
• All praises due to Mike Easton for not wearing a Speedo.  Or maybe, all praises to Dennis Hallman for getting them banned...
• That had to have been the easiest paycheck Chad Mendes ever earned.  Next time Zuffa just throw money at him.
• The official reason for Dong Hyun Kim's tap out was "heartburn".  Dude needs a Zantac.
• Cung Le is still marginally fun to watch.  Just don't give him an opponent who can beat him.
• Tito Ortiz may have retired after that bout, but someone needs to tell Forrest Griffin that the clock is ticking on him, too.  He looked like an old man in there - and when he bolted from the cage, he was a crazy old man.
• With that complete ownage of Anderson Silva in the first round, Chael Sonnen proved yet again to be one of the division's best and most capable.  With that awful spinning backfist that led to Silva finishing him off in Round 2, Sonnen also proved to be RIDICULOUS.

Harley's War

Yeah, so, while Anderson Silva was shoulder-bumping Chael Sonnen in Las Vegas, this happened last night in New York City.  As the New York Post is reporting, there was an incident at the nightclub Webster Hall involving a knife, Cro-Mags founder Harley Flanagan, and some serious aggravated assault.  I don't know anything else about it, but I do know Harley, and have long considered him a friend and righteously-nice-as-hell dude.  Harley used to do commentating for some of Ed Hsu's old MMA shows, and he went on to fight in the UCL.  He even got his black belt in jiu-jitsu from Renzo Gracie last week.  I also know that there's been years and years of accumulated bad blood between him and some former bandmates, so there's that.  Anyway, as Gus Johnson would say, "These things happen in the hardcore music scene."  Or maybe he wouldn't.  I don't know.

Total Recall: The Tito Ortiz Edition

According to Tito Ortiz, his sojourn into the Octagon on Saturday night at UFC 148 will be his last, and from here on out he will be one retired-motherfucking-fighter (I'm paraphrasing, and for some reason I have Samuel Jackson on the brain).  The last six years have been rough for the aging fighter, with the sweet taste of victory coming only once in eight tries, so it's not like the time isn't right for Ortiz to hang up the gloves.  It most certainly is.  But the "Huntington Beach Badboy" turned "People's Champ" has been a part of the sport for over fifteen years (going back to his underground fights in California), and he was truly Zuffa's first superstar.  I think that merits a trip down memory lane, no?  The answer to that rhetorical question is "yes, yes it does", so here, for your enjoyment (or not - like I care), is some total recall of everything Tito Ortiz and me, because somehow, someway it's all about me, dammit.

• Back in 1997 the UFC was banned from pay-per-view, so the only place to watch it in New York City was at a sports bar on the Upper West Side that had a satellite dish (I was in law school in Washington, DC, at the time, so I had to take the bus five hours each way for these somewhat quarterly events).  Picture this: multiple big-screen TVs, all of them showing the action being broadcast from wherever the Octagon was set up, and every chair, table and square foot of the place packed with Renzo Gracie students (plus a few students from other smaller schools), everyone the most ardent of MMA fans (it wasn't even called MMA back then), and everyone cheering.  That was the setting, and on one particular night in May, when UFC 13 was airing live, we all got to see the debut of a big, blond wrestler-type dude with bad attitude for miles.  Ortiz was an alternate in a four-man tournament, and the general rule was that alternates were supposed to be scrubs.  But when he stepped in to replace an injured Enson Inoue and take on Guy Mezger, the tournament favorite, Ortiz kicked some serious ass, losing via guillotine only after referee "Big" John McCarthy screwed him on a missed call.  All of us in that sports bar were Ortiz fans after that performance.
• The SEG-run UFC knew they had someone special, so Ortiz got another shot in the cage, and again those of us in that sports bar got to see the big, blond dude plow through Jerry Bohlander and then deliver a ten-minute drubbing to Mezger in a rematch.  His success, and post-fight antics and feud against the Lions Den camp, soon had him squaring off against the champ Frank Shamrock, and though Ortiz lost, it was an amazing fight (the rest of the card was meh).
• Ortiz beat Wanderlei Silva and earned himself the UFC's light-heavyweight belt, crushed Japan's Yuki Kondo, and when New Jersey started sanctioning MMA, the UFC came to Atlantic City and I got to watch in person the champ obliterate Evan Tanner with a slam.  A few months later the UFC touched down at the Meadowlands, so I got to see Ortiz squash an overmatched Elvis Sinosic (and back at the fight hotel, I bought a Punishment Athletics tank top from the man himself; my wife forbade me from wearing it).
• I was in the audience for UFC 33, which had an injured Ortiz defeating Vladimir Matyushenko in the final bout of an awful card, and I was cageside for the first Ken Shamrock fight - which was truly an experience, because up until then Zuffa hadn't put on an epic event, and this one was motherfucking epic.  As I was Full Contact Fighter's "man on the street" around this time, I saw Ortiz around at a bunch of other UFC events, and he went out of his way to be nice - both to me, and to any fan that wanted to shake his hand and take a picture.  Maybe there were fighters before him who got a taste of that kind of love, but I don't think so.  Ortiz was one of the first (Randy Couture was another, but his image was different; he was the nice guy "yin" to Ortiz's not-so-nice guy "yang").
• Ortiz fought Patrick Cote in Atlantic City back in 2004, and that was the last time I interacted with him (I think I may have interviewed him at the presser, or maybe I just shook his hand and congratulated him on his fight).  And I admit, watching him fight Forrest Griffin, Ken Shamrock a couple more times, and Chuck Liddell et al., never really moved the needle in terms of generating interest for me (he was an amazing coach on TUF, though).  But I was suddenly excited when he nearly caught Lyoto Machida in a triangle, and when he blitzed Ryan Bader, I was jump-off-my-couch-and-hoot thrilled. 

Alas, the end comes for all fighters eventually, it's that time for Ortiz.  However, the man has done more than most can ever dream of doing, and it was a spectacular run, so I won't be sad for him.  Years from now, when my grandkids gather around my rocking chair and ask for tales of the UFC, Ortiz's story will be one of the first told.

Crappy CFFC 15 Pics

CFFC 15 Postscript

Another fine installment from CFFC, with this one featuring just one decision out of eleven fights. Seriously, the judge sitting next to me was sweating it, worried that Nick Lembo wasn't go to pay him for nothing. That's a sure sign of action, folks. Some thoughts on the card:

• The first couple times he fought, Yusuf Yoldas got handled. But something clicked with the dude, and now he fights like an old school Chute Boxe rep. Yoldas completely tore up Darius Heylinger on the feet - so much so that Heylinger was like a deer caught in the headlights - and when Heylinger sought refuge on the ground with a takedown in Round 3, Yoldas easily submitted him with a triangle. This was a beating, pure and simple, and Yoldas now has me intrigued.
• Ugh, I hate seeing one of the nicest guys in the sport go out on his shield, but that's what happened with Fight Factory rep and BAMA Fight Night veteran Judah Ciervo. Ciervo had Chuck Liddell-level takedown offense, which really seemed to stymie wrestler Lenny Baker. However, Baker began winging left hands, and Ciervo didn't seem to have the reflexes he used to to be able to dodge them. The end result was Ciervo KO'd pretty hard against the cage late in the first.
• Mike Murray is another veteran who's been at the game for a long while, and though he scored the win via submission last night against flyweight Darren Mima, I couldn't help but think how the version of Murray I saw wreck Glenn Ortiz way back on one of the early ROCs would've put Mima away faster. This one was pretty much a boxing match, with both men delivering punishment and Mima edging ahead slightly with a higher success rate. A knockdown in the opening seconds of Round 2 had Mima following the TSMMA fighter down into his guard and instantly getting caught in an armbar (Mima disputed the tap, but it was plain as day on the replay). It was a good win, but the Murray of old would've killed him on the feet.
• Shedrick Goodridge got a raw deal in his bout against Rex Harris. In a fight that was all about who could impose their will via wrestling and ground and pound, Harris grabbed the fence (which elicited a warning), grabbed Goodridge's gloves (another warning), kneed Goodridge in the face when Goodridge was down (the ref missed it), and battered Goodridge in the back of the head with punches (he was warned for that too). Then came the bell signaling the end of Round 1, and Goodridge was too wobbly and messed up for the doctors' liking. Harris got the TKO when the bout was waved off, but Goodridge deserves a hug or a cookie or something for that sad turn of events.
• Local favorite Rob Fabrizi and Jeremy Uy came out, drew their six-shooters, and blazed away. Eventually, a left sent Uy to the canvas, and Fabrizi rode off into the sunset on his pony named "Linguini".
• Manny Walo came out looking to stifle Brad Desir, and by pressing him up against the fence for much of the fight, and by dropping bombs whenever Desir failed a takedown and wound up horizontal, Walo did just that. I wasn't exactly an impressive performance - Desir came to bang and Walo came to cuddle - but it was enough for Walo to get the decision, and hand Desir his first loss as a pro.
• Mike Stewart ran through Erick Tavares like he was nothing. The official time of the KO was :42 of Round 1, and though I have no doubt about Stewart being a tough, high-ranking Northeast light-heavyweight, I wonder if Father Time has caught up to Tavares.
• Danny Holmes is surprisingly technical on the ground (looking at him, you immediately think "brawler"). That said, in the never-ending scramble that comprised their fight, it was Anton Berzin who eventually came out on top, and he caught Holmes in an armbar midway through the first round.
• Tim Williams ate the veteran Lewis Rumsey for dinner. Rumsey managed a few escapes - slick, awe-inspiring ones that had him getting out of arm-triangles and whatnot - but Williams did not stop, and found the rear naked choke a little over three minutes into the first. Good stuff.

Tonight's Aggressive Combat Championship Event to Feature Two UCLers

The Aggressive Combat Championship has a show going down tonight in Fishkill, which is allegedly somewhere north of New York City in the forest or mountains or something, and on the card are UCL stalwarts Jonathan Rodriguez and Israel Martinez.  They're slated to compete in combat jiu-jitsu matches, and having been to an ACC event and seen a combat jiu-jitsu match up close, I still don't know what that entails (something about wearing a gi top, only hitting the body, every other round takes place underwater - think "Calvinball" but with fighting).  Regardless, watch out Fishkill.  These guys are killers.

Literally.  Killers.  They're fugitives wanted for murder.  Do not try to apprehend them yourself.

The Cage Fury Fighting Championship 15 Preview You Won't See Anywhere Else

Tonight, CFFC 15 graces the hallowed halls of the Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, and yes, yes, I'll be there.  Some things to note before I ramble on about some of the awesome fighters on the card: with the crumbling of the UCC earlier in the week, CFFC managed to scoop up two of the stricken event's match-ups (Erick Tavares vs. Mike Stewart and Yusuf Yoldas vs. Darius Heylinger).  Also, Chris Wing was supposed to fight, but he fell ill cutting weight and ended up in the hospital.  MMA Journalist wishes the young stud a speedy recovery.  Okay, all that aside, here's why CFFC is brimming with awesome:

• Tim Williams - Williams is the best light-heavyweight the organization has on its roster, and with his undefeated record and high-level, well-rounded skill set, it's not hard to see why.  I've seen him use his jiu-jitsu to cut through dudes like a hot knife through butter, and I've seen him stand toe-to-toe with some very dangerous strikers.  Williams is the man.
• Brad Desir - BEAST.  That's the best way to describe Desir, who reps New York Combat Sambo and who, in his last outing, survived a Renzo Gracie black belt's best to come back and earn the TKO.  I don't know how many more wins this guy needs to earn a shot at the belt, but he's gotta be close. 
• Erick Tavares - Tavares is the epitome of "old school Brazilian striker". He hasn't fought in years, but back in the day, the only people that would beat him were the ones that took him down quickly.
• Mike Stewart - A tough dude who's been around a while, Stewart is another one who's got skill in all ranges.  He got KO'd by UFC fighter Tom DeBlass last year, but don't let that fool you into thinking he can't hit - he can, and he hits hard.  He and Tavares should have a solid scrap.
• Judah Ciervo - Perhaps the nicest guy you'll ever meet, Ciervo reps Fight Factory and has been around forever.  Really, forever.  Remember BAMA Fight Night?  He used to fight there.  Know how many BAMA Fight Night veterans are still active?  Negative 12.  Fuck yeah, you go, Judah.  Kick some ass.

All Champs, Big and Small: MUSU’s Will Cavali

Welcome, dear reader, to the first installment in a series called “All Champs, Big and Small”.  Yes, I will be profiling fighters who’ve won a belt, and no, the “big and small” part has nothing to do with their size on the scale.  You see, while all you fuckers have been standing transfixed by the gleam on Junior dos Santos’ UFC belt and the sheen on Gilbert Melendez’s Strikeforce strap, my eyes have wandered to those less seen.  Because when it comes down to it, if you take away the fame and the fortune, how different is it be the king of the Octagon and the king of an unsanctioned, underground event?  Royalty is royalty no matter where you go.  So here’s Will Cavali, who reigned undefeated in New York City’s Manup Standup (MUSU) promotion – an organization best described by the following words: full-contact kung fu, no pads but gloves, kumite, illicit, secret location, and Big Trouble in Little China.

The details on Cavali are that he’s a 23-year-old messenger who calls the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn home, and he walks around at the same weight he fights at – a svelte 140 pounds.  He looks like he’s carved out of wood.  When he fights, it’s a blur of agility and high-kicks and flourishes with his hands that seem straight out of Five Deadly Venoms.

“I was doing martial arts a while,” says Cavali, “and I always fought out in the street.  But I figured I was getting tired of that and I didn’t want to get arrested.  My teacher knew someone who told him about a martial arts tournament coming up, so I went in saying, ‘Let me see how good I can do.’  I didn’t expect to win.  At all.  If you look at the videos and interviews, I didn’t expect to win.  But I went in there and I just tried my best, and I came out on top.”

At the last MUSU installment, which was held in March at a location in Jamaica, Queens, Cavali squared off against an Underground Combat League veteran in Chris Lorenzo.  It was a rematch, and after a TKO via body-blow felled his opponent, Cavali abdicated the throne.  He retired from MUSU with an unblemished 10-0 record.

“I retired from Manup Standup because I felt like I really didn’t have anything else to prove,” he says.  “For me, the last fight that I had with Chris was like an alpha-and-omega match.  The whole championship thing started for me when I fought Chris, and it ended when I fought him again.”

Twice Cavali has ventured into the territory of the UCL, testing the waters with a pair of kickboxing-only matches, and though he lost via decision in both outings, his performances were impressive enough to garner more than a few invitations to train with established MMA teams.  He remains true to his kung fu school, though, where they practice grappling as well.  “Most people say that kung fu can’t be transitioned into MMA,” he says.  “That’s something I want to disprove.”

How soon until his first true MMA bout?  And will it be in a sanctioned bout in New Jersey or an unsanctioned affair closer to home?

“Right now I still training for it,” says Cavali.  “Before, I just jumped into it.  Now I’m actually preparing for it.  So I guess I’ll start out with underground events first.  When I’m more experienced, I’ll go and do those sanctioned events.  I don’t want to jump into something like going to Jersey without really knowing the vibe of it.  I want to make sure I’m fully prepared.”

When asked about his long-term goals in regards to fighting and competing, he doesn’t hesitate to answer.  “My ultimate goal is to just build a career doing something I love doing.  I don’t consider this work.  I love to do it.  I’ve always fought.”

Bonus Question: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? 
“The craziest thing I ever done was in high school,” says Cavali.  “I had a threesome in the janitors’ closet with these two girls from the other side of Brooklyn.  That was it.  That was the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”

Watch for Cavali to fight in the UCL in the fall.

House of Cards

This was supposed to be a busy week for Northeast mixed martial arts.  Thursday night would feature the Urban Conflict Championship, which was returning after a year-long hiatus with a card chock full of Bellator and WEC vets, while Saturday night would have another installment of the Cage Fury Fighting Championship in Atlantic City.  But something went wrong in the time between the fighters signing their contracts and getting their necessary paperwork into the athletic commission, and now the UCC has been cancelled.  They say it’s not easy being a fighter, what with the rigors of training and competing and having someone punch you in the face.  The hardships fighters go through, however, are only part of the story.  As Chris Sblendorio – the man behind the UCC – can attest to, promoting a successful event is akin to erecting a house of cards. 

More after the jump...

Great Moments in UCC History

This Thursday night (yes, Thursday night) the Urban Conflict Championship returns, gracing the Teaneck Armory Arena with, like, you know, fights and stuff.  Bellator vet Kenny Foster is throwing down with some Russian named Maratbek Kalabekov, Bellator vet Rene Nazare is taking on WEC vet Anthony Morrison, Brazilian striker Erick Tavares steps back into the cage after a four-year hiatus, and heavyweight stud JA Dudley will get in there and do his thang.  But being that this is the fifth installment of the UCC, and it's been a year since their last installment, I think a refresher course is in order re: why the UCC is awesome and fun and rules the North Jersey MMA scene with an iron fist and a just heart.  So!  Great moments in UCC history, in no particular order!

• Dave Branch vs. John Troyer - Everyone knew Team Renzo standout Branch was on track for big things, and trouncing Troyer for two rounds at the inaugural UCC only cemented that knowledge in the minds of all.  After this bout, Branch went on to Bellator and then the UFC, so yeah, we're were right.
• John Cholish vs. Hitalo Machado - Cholish was just like Branch in that everyone knew he was destined for the major leagues, and his picking apart of Machado at UCC 2 was just further proof that the man is a beast.  Since they were evenly matched jiu-jitsu brown belts on the ground, chopping leg-kicks were the order of the day, and Cholish served them up with a side of brutality and TKO.
• This.  This kind of event coverage would make the readers of Sherdog and MMAFighting shit twice and die.  They'd probably dig it over at CagePotato, though.
• Daniel Akinyemi vs. Rich Bianchi - UCC 3 had Akinyemi dusting off the four-ounce gloves and knocking his opponent silly - an indication of what's in store whenever he steps up to the plate.  Nowadays Akinyemi plies his trade in Ring of Combat, but it's still all bang-bang-you're-dead.
• Aljamain Sterling vs. Sergio Da Silva - The current top bantamweight in the Northeast went pro at UCC 4, and began his six-fight win streak clobbering Da Silva in the same manner one would dispatch a bug or errant garden gnome.  Sterling is a CFFC champ now, but the UCC is where we were all put on notice.  Yup, yup.

Of Soccer Kicks and Men

Yeah, so, Roger Huerta.  Soccer-kicked into oblivion at ONE FC this past weekend, as if he no longer needed that head or something.  Outrage!  Bemusement!  Aggregation!  I don't have much by way of opinion to add to the subject, except to point out that it was just as brutal when Renato "Babalu" Sobral did it to Brad Kohler in the WEF back in the day, and it was no less unkind whenever it happened in PRIDE.  But I will tell you the story about the only time I've ever seen a soccer kick go down in person - which, believe it or not, didn't occur in a UCL bout, but at a sanctioned show in New Jersey.

Extreme Challenge 78 was the event, which was an Ed Hsu-run show under Monte Cox's promotional banner.  The venue was the storied Convention Hall in Asbury Park, and though the main event had Tim Boetsch crushing sambo specialist Oleg Savitsky, the most memorable scrap was between local fighter Lewis Pascavage and Brazilian transplant Carlos Eduardo.  Eduardo was "fresh off the boat", you see, and his grasp of the Unified Rules circa 2007 was tenous at best, so when he and Pascavage clinched up against the cage and Eduardo managed to pull the American's legs out from under him, why not punt the dude square in the chops? 

Fifty-eight seconds was the official time of the disqualification, and I swear I thought referee Big Dan was going to summarily execute Eduardo for the transgression.  Nick Lembo issued a year-long suspension to Eduardo on the spot, despite Eduardo's coach saying something along the lines of "He's used to vale tudo rules in Brazil.  Cut him some slack, eh?"  As for Pascavage, he was down for a while (and rightfully so).  It's one thing to agree to a bout in Singapore where soccer kicks are legal; it's another thing entirely if you're fighting in New Jersey and you have no reason to expect you'd be eating foot.

So, to paraphrase "The West Wing": Soccer kicks.  Boy, I don't know.

Blast from the Past: Kaream Ellington Edition

Here's Kaream Ellington, who was featured in RAW COMBAT, taking on Japanese fighter Kenichi Yamamoto at an old MFC in Atlantic City.  (Credit goes to Sambo Steve for digging this up.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRR5FrcbzIk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Observations from My Couch: Bellator 71/UFC on FX 4 Mash-Up

• Brett Rogers beat on Kevin Asplund so bad, you'd think they were married!
• Out of the light-heavyweight tournament quarterfinal winners Attila the Vegh, Tim Carpenter and Emanual Newton, Attila the Vegh seems like the only one worth a damn.
• That said, Travis Wiuff is going to kill them all, then feast upon the bones of Bellator's 205-pound champ - WHO HE ALREADY BEAT.
• Dan Miller getting a well-deserved win in typical Dan Miller fashion is one of those feel-good things that make your night.
• Matt Brown = killer.  Luis Ramos = murder victim.
• Nick Catone was winning until he slowed down in the final round and Chris Camozzi was able to open him up with that cut.  Oh well.  C'est la vie.
• I am shocked - SHOCKED - that Steven Siler was able to handle Joey Gambino like that.  There were flashes of Gambino's insane ability and talent, though.  Hopefully he'll get another chance in the Octagon to show his stuff.
• I'm just going to pretend that Rick Story and Brock Jardine never fought, that the fight never happened and that for those painful fifteen minutes I was doing something constructive with my time like knitting a sweater.
• Ramsey Nijem is still weird and off-putting.
• Hatsu Hioki laid a gigantic egg in the Octagon.
• First Jamie Varner, now Cub Swanson... was there some sort of magic spell or curse that was making these WEC vets suck, and now it's worn off?
• The improbably run of Brian Ebersole continues.  Hooray.
• You know, if Spencer Fisher learns some wrestling defense, he could really make a name for himself in this sport.
• At first I was like, "Yeah, do it, Clay Guida, do your thing!"  Then I was like, "Uh, WTF."  Then, when Gray Maynard went all Diaz Brother on him, I was like, "Oh.  Snap.  That's a guy I can get behind."

Crappy ROC 41 Pics

ROC 41 Postscript

As usual, Ring of Combat gave us the goods, with the "goods" consisting of some entertaining, quality fights, some thrills, and a few surprising upsets.  Here's the skinny on the bouts:

• RABJJ rising star Frankie Perez completely handled Ben Syers.  And I mean completely.  I think Syers' best moment was his walkout to the cage.  After that, it was all about Perez tying him into knots on the ground and pounding him out.
• Anthony Facchini did pretty much the same thing to Kevin Molina.  I think Molina was supposed to be some sort of dangerous kickboxer, but Facchini gave him no opportunity to show it.  He just took him down and raped him.
• For as long as Andre Harrison vs. Bill Metts lasted it was fun, as both men threw punches at each other's faces with complete disregard for defense.  Eventually it was Harrison that scored the deciding blow, and he used the opening to snag the rear naked choke on the ground.
• Brit transplant Liam McGeary and Ironbound MMAer Walter Howard had an awesome stand-up scrap that was pretty much nonstop throughout Round 1.  But Howard has zero left in his gas tank for Round 2, so McGeary had the ideal window to put Howard away (which he did).  This one was a crowd-pleaser.
• Villi Bello almost - ALMOST - became the first fighter to ever win via inverted triangle in Ring of Combat, but somehow Chris Wade gutted it out for the minute it was on and escaped.  This one was contested pretty much in the clinch against the cage and on the ground, with Bello spending a little too much time on the bottom for the judges' tastes, hence the decision for Wade.  Good fight, though.
• Brian VanHoven had the ability to take Lester Caslow down and hold him there, but what he lacked was the wherewithall to know that Caslow had the ability to slip on a guillotine and tap him the fuck out.  Oops!  Good win for Caslow.
• And from out of nowhere comes a Russian badass.  That's the story of Tom English's fight against Soslan Abanokov.  Using solid jiu-jitsu, English had Abanokov in trouble early and often, but whenever a rear naked choke attempt seemed to spell his doom, the Russian would do something like escape, get behind English, suplex him, and scurry into a rear naked choke attempt himself (all in the span of a few seconds).  Abanokov took the majority decision in a close, close fight that was cool to behold.
• Ed Gordon did his thing against Carlos Brooks, more or less avoiding Brooks' dangerous striking by getting the lankier fighter down and grinding on him.  Brooks did get some licks in - at one point he landed a spinning kick right into Gordon's face - but the Serra/Longo fighter just shook it all off and kept scoring.  Gordon is now the ROC 205-pound champ.
• In his first fight back since almost making it into the TUF House, Jimmie Rivera did what he needed to do against Justin Hickey to earn the win.  But what he did, which was repeatedly take Hickey down and beat on him (which garnered him the clear-cut unanimous decision), wasn't what he was capable of.  More than a few times they stood and traded, and Rivera's punches were so much faster and more accurate that he dropped Hickey repeatedly.  And yet despite being the better striker, Rivera didn't go for the knockout for some reason.  Oh well.  Like I said, he still got the win, and now he's got a shiny, new ROC bantamweight belt.
• In a complete and total shocker, Guillermo Serment flew in from Chicago, stood with local rising star James Jenkins, landed a stunner of a cross that seemed to break Jenkins' nose (and possibly his orbital), and then jumped into a guillotine that forced Jenkins to tap - all in the span of just over a minute.  No one expected this.  After all, Jenkins has been virtually unstoppable since turning pro, and proven to be tough as nails and not someone to be trifled with when it comes to the stand-up game.  The Serra/Longo fighter was visibly distraught with the outcome, which is understandable, but he'll be back, as he's got too much talent and potential.  As for Serment, well, he's ROC's new featherweight champ.  Paging Jeff Lentz... Mr. Lentz, please report to the cage.
• Uriah Hall took care of business against Republic of Georgia fighter Nodar Kudukhashvili, but it wasn't easy.  Like the other Eastern Bloc dudes we've seen who've spent time in the Georgian special forces and who have names that are impossible to spell and pronounce, Kudukhashvili was made of iron, and he gave Hall hell on the ground whenever he secured top position.  Hall edged him out, though, picking and choosing his shots on the feet and getting takedown after takedown.  For his efforts, Hall is now the ROC middleweight champ, and the man to beat.

Why You Should Care About ROC 41 - Reason #3

Ever since Tom DeBlass made the leap to major league ball, the Northeast's light-heavyweight division has been without a king.  But lo, here comes top contenders Ed "Truck" Gordon and Carlos Brooks, who will battle for the crown in what should be a fight to behold.  If you're keeping track, Ed Gordon vs. Carlos Brooks is reason number three why you should care about ROC 41 tomorrow night.

• Gordon, who hails from the Serra/Longo Team and played football for Fordham University before switching to MMA, is undefeated in three amateur fights and four pro bouts.  His fighting style: something I like to call the "agitated bull".  In his last outing, he handily KO'd the veteran Ryan Contaldi, and prior to that he pretty much snorted, charged and gored everyone in his path.  He's been gradually coming down to the 205-pound weight class from heavyweight, so watch for him to be a ton of raw aggression and muscle.
• TSMMA's Brooks is lean and lanky, and when it comes to throwing strikes - be it punches or kicks - he's like a surgeon with his precision.  His last time at bat saw him snuff out Danny Babcock in a mere 51 seconds, and the lone loss on his record came via guillotine at the hands of Alexandre Moreno, who is a veritable submission machine.  Also, Brooks was in line to challenge DeBlass for the belt, but was sidelined when training partner Uriah Hall messed him up with a knee to the grill while sparring.  Like Gordon, Brooks has earned this shot at the belt.
• What's in store for fans watching?  My crystal ball (which, admittedly, sucks) says that Gordon might still be brimming with confidence for his stellar stand-up performance against Contaldi, and if so, will try to test Brooks on the feet.  That's Brooks' world, though, so if Gordon doesn't get put away, the Serra/Longo rep is going to take things to the ground and attempt to play Whack-a-Mole from on top.  My crystal ball also says Matt Serra is going to throw a plate of linguine marinara into the cage and someone in a fuzzy tiger is going to run screaming through the crowd, so again, take everything it says with a huge grain of salt.
• Where the hell did I get this thing?  I hope I saved the receipt...

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