The Top Bantamweights/Featherweights in the Northeast

Fighters that compete at 145 and/or 135 pounds are sparse around these parts, but as the sport has grown more popular, so too has the ranks of these bantamweights and featherweights. There are by no means a lot of the "little guys", and not enough to pick five in each weight class, so here are the best at both weights. -Wilson Reis- A jiu-jitsu warrior transplanted from Brazil to US soil, Reis is an aggressive grappler and rising star in ShoXC. Expect him to wind up facing a top fighter in the WEC sooner rather than later. -Zack Makovsky- Utilizing solid wrestling and strong striking, Makovsky has dismantled two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts and earned a Combat in the Cage belt in the process. Reis submitted him at the last ShoXC, but it's doubtful any other fighter in the Northeast could repeat that feat. -Steve DeAngelis- Scrappy. Well-rounded. Frankie Edgar protege. BCX champ. DeAngelis is all of these things, and he's putting his belt on the line at the next BCX event against another tough fighter in Blair Tugman. -Tihn Tupy- A frenetic and fast-paced fighter, Tupy took out two solid opponents in 2007, and his exciting grappling style will serve him well when he graduates to the national stage.

The Top Heavyweights in the Northeast

The gap between the "good" heavyweights and the "okay" heavyweights is pretty vast. That said, among the good ones, nobody is undefeated, and each one could beat the other on any given day. -John Murphy- A boxer-turned-mixed martial artist, Murphy is a knockout artist and huge crowd-pleaser. His only loss came at the hands of UFC fighter Houston Alexander, and this Combat in the Cage champ and Extreme Challenge and ShoXC veteran has rebounded nicely. -Shane Ott- A teammate of Murphy, Ott is an enormous ground-and-pound and kimura machine. He's suffered a couple losses in the IFL, but those were against the league's best guys. -Carlos Moreno- Imagine Tank Abbott, only Latino. That's Moreno, who, with his sprawl and KO power, has established himself as a fan-favorite in New Jersey. Don't let the former ROC champ's two recent losses fool you, though: the man is a killer. -Bryan Vetell- Vetell is a Greco-Roman wrestling specialist and absolute behemoth, and like Ott, his losses have come from the top guys in the IFL. Honorable mention: Braden Bice, who usually manages to outlast his opponents and get the win.

The Top Light-Heavyweights in the Northeast

The 205-pound weight class is mostly full of tough, brawler-types who could defeat each other on any given day. The lone exceptions to that rule, however, are IFL stars Andre Gusmao and Jamal Patterson. -Andre Gusmao- A capoeira stylist with some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu thanks to Renzo Gracie, Gusmao is an explosive striker and one-man wrecking crew. Want to see a sweet KO? Gusmao is your man. -Jamal Patterson- Patterson is an elite jiu-jitsu practitioner, and has shown off some solid submission chops by submitting four out of five opponents within the first round. He took a beating against Reese Andy, but seemed to emerge from that bout stronger than before. -Ricardo Romero- Heavy hands and wrestling. That's what enabled Romero to win the ROC "Beasts of the Northeast" tournament, and that's what's going to keep him on the winning track. -John Doyle- Cut from the same cloth as Romero, Doyle is a former Combat in the Cage champ and Beasts of the Northeast runner-up (he lost to Romero by TKO). Doyle just lost last weekend at the ShoXC event in Miami, but he's no less of a badass for it. -Brendan Barrett- Great on the ground and even better on the feet, Barrett is good for a three-round battle or a quick KO, and his only losses have come at the hands of Doyle and UFC fighter Tim Boetsch. Honorable mention: Philadelphia submission specialist Tim Carpenter.

The Top Middleweights in the Northeast

Only one of the Northeast's top middleweights is undefeated, and he's not so much a true middleweight as he is a fighter who competes at a catch-weight of 175 pounds (the cutoff for welterweight is 170). Yes, I'm talking about ROC and IFL veteran Lyman Good. -Lyman Good- Great on the feet and awesome on the ground, Good is Team Tiger Schulmann's most promising MMA prospect right now, and if he keeps steamrolling over opponents, will likely be the first from his camp to make it on to a UFC pay-per-view. -Mike Massenzio- The winner of the ROC "Beasts of the Northeast" tournament, Massenzio has evolved from a high-level wrestler trying his hand at MMA into a well-rounded mixed martial artist. He's also beaten three top 185 pounders in Dante Rivera, Lance Everson and Dan Miller. -Dante Rivera- As Ricardo Almeida's star pupil, Rivera's got some big expectations to live up to, but with solid submissions and ever-improving striking, this IFL veteran has done so nicely. Rumor has it Rivera is on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter", so he might be out of the local mix soon. -Lance Everson- Everson is a scrappy veteran, and with his boxing, wrestling and submission skills, made it to the final round of the Beasts of the Northeast tournament. He's always dangerous. Always. -Dan Miller- The brother of Jim Miller, Dan is also a wrestler and badass jiu-jitsu guy, and he's risen to the top by employing his almost flawless ground game to submit the hell out of people. Honorable mention: Muay Thai specialist and TUF 7 competitor Aaron Meisner, boxer/wrestler Alexis Aquino, and "Tournament of Champions" winner Marc Stevens.

The Top Welterweights in the Northeast

In no particular order, the best 170-pounders in the NY/NJ area are: -Eddie Alvarez- A former MFC star and BodogFIGHT champ, and now a jewel in the EliteXC/ShoXC crown, Alvarez is a slugger who's one hell of a crowd-pleaser. He's allegedly moving down to lightweight, but all of his bouts have been at welterweight, hence his spot here. -Delson Heleno- Heleno's an IFL star and an ace grappler, and is what you get when you give a Brazilian special forces jungle assassin a work VISA. -Charlie Brenneman- Don't like getting ground-and-pounded into oblivion? Then don't get in the ring with Brenneman, who used his unstoppable takedowns and fists to win the ROC "Beasts of the Northeast" tournament. -Greg Soto- A wrestler-turned-jiu-jitsu man, Soto rose up the ranks like a rocket, but has been sidelined with injuries since KO'ing Sergio Vinagre at a BCX show. Hopefully, he'll return 100% and kick more butt. -Tom Gallicchio- Scrappy. That's the word that best describes Gallicchio, who's parleyed his wrestling background into an MMA game that's seen him batter oponents before submitting them. Honorable mention: the always-dangerous Doug Gordon, Beasts of the Northeast runner-up Mark Berraciol, ROC "Tournament of Champions" finalist Phillipe Nover, and promising up-and-comer Matt Makowski.

The Top Lightweights in the Northeast

It's time once again for MMA Journalist's list of top fighters in the Northeast, and this post will focus on the lightweights. This list was compiled with the help of a giant supercomputer, a Ouija board and some 20-sided dice, and it's based on 2007 performances only. Also, fighters who've made it to the UFC are excluded. In no particular order, the best 155-pounders in NY/NJ are: -Jim Miller- A badass grappler and all-around scrapper, Miller's racked up wins everywhere. His only loss is to superstar Frankie Edgar. -Deividas Taurosevicius- Tough as nails and skilled as hell on the ground, this IFL fighter has beaten nearly everyone he's faced. Taurosevicius and Miller are far and away the best in their weight class, but they've never fought each other and probably never will, as they share the same Renzo Gracie jiu-jitsu lineage. -Brian McLaughlin- The winner of ROC's "Beasts of the Northeast" tournament, McLaughlin is a submission wizard with a deadly guard. -Kevin Roddy- Another submission stud with a deadly guard, Roddy is a BCX champ who's unafraid to throw leather. -James "Binky" Jones- Binky is a fantastic grappler, and he utilized those grappling skills to win the ROC "Tournament of Champions". He's had some losses since then, but you run that risk when you jump to the next level in competition. Honorable mention: Combat in the Cage champ Jim Bova, Beasts of the Northeast runner-up Dave Sachs, and the well-rounded Eddie Fyvie.

Kimbo Slice Hype Approaching Critical Mass; Internet Meltdown Imminent

Saturday's EliteXC event marked another successful outing for the promotion thanks to Kimbo Slice's marquee bout against aged veteran Tank Abbott - a bout which has generated so much hype that bloggers and webreporters alike have come dangerously close to overloading the Internet. With an estimated 2.1 million pre-show essays posted on various websites, and an estimated 6.4 billion webreports subsequent to the Kimbo/Tank fight, the former bare-knuckle boxer's hype is approaching critical mass. "A meltdown is imminent if this doesn't subside soon," said Eugene Booker, who helps maintain the Internet. "After Kimbo's 2004 fight against Sean Gannon, three of the six big, black boxes that house the Internet started smoking. Since this Saturday, all the black boxes are smoking. One even caught fire, but I poured a Mountain Dew on it and put it out." Added Booker: "If this Kimbo hype goes on for much longer, we're definitely going to lose the Internet."

The Truth Comes Out: Mark Cuban is the Other Woman

Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights filed suit against Zuffa in a Texas court this week, a move that reveals Cuban as the "other woman" in the bitter divorce between Zuffa and Randy Couture. Okay, not really. There's no evidence to suggest HDNet Fights has tried to bed Couture while the legendary champ is under contractual lockdown with his UFC masters. But the suit, which asks the court to render a declaratory judgment on the merits of the promotional contract between Zuffa and Couture (the suit Zuffa filed against Couture only focuses on the employment contract and avoids the promotional contract issue), is a pretty good indicator of where Cuban is coming from and what he's trying to do. How so? Well, clue number one is Cuban's standing for the lawsuit (i.e., his right to sue), while clue number two comes from his comments in interviews regarding the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act and whether its protections for boxers should apply to mixed martial artists. Cuban is a promoter who wants fighters, and he wants to test the chains binding some of the sport's top talent. MMA Journalist would have to read a copy of the Cuban's complaint to give a more detailed assessment, but from a distance, this is one is a no-brainer: Cuban wants to reshape the UFC-dominated market, and he's not afraid to use the courts to do it.

Kimbo/Tank Duel Set for Dawn on Saturday; Pistols Optional

Gentlemens Kimbo Slice and David "Tank" Abbott have finally agreed upon their terms and are now set to duel at dawn this coming Saturday, with pistols at 20 paces a possibility but fisticuffs the most likely method. The duel is a result of Mister Tank's confronting of Mister Slice following Mister Slice's victory at CFFC 5 last year. At that time, Mister Tank removed his gloves and threw them down, demanding satisfaction from some perceived offense, though it is unclear just what that offense was. It is expected that Mister Slice will be seconded by Sir Bas Rutten. The field of honor will be the Bank United Center in Miami, Florida, though curious bystanders may tune in to the broadcast on Showtime's EliteXC programme.

Observations from My Couch: WEC 32

-Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir is a knowledgeable and articulate commentator and an asset to the production. However, when he interviews these bantamweights who are a fraction of his size, I often wonder how many of them he would have to eat before feeling full. -Miguel Torres wrecked Chase Beebe with such technical prowess, for minute there I thought I was watching a jiu-jitsu instructional. -Jamie Varner kicked some serious ass in an exciting bout, and the newly-crowned WEC Lightweight Champ is now the number-one 155-pounder not good enough to fight in the UFC. -Carlos Condit successfully defended his welterweight title against Carlo Prater. Meh.