Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
ROC 36 Brings the Whammy
Lest we forget how awesome Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat can be, the promotion goes ahead and reminds us by putting together what looks to be an amazing and epic card for their June 17 show. Granted, the event is almost two months away and the number of fights scheduled (19) exceeds the maximum allowed by federal law and zoning ordinance, but still, if we end up with even some of the following announced match-ups… wow.
- Pete Sell vs. Kris McCray – It’s been a while since we’ve seen “Drago” in action, but if he’s still got that same willingness to throw down as before, then he and TUF runner-up McCray are sure to have a pretty decent scrap.
- Al Iaquinta vs. Mikhail Malyutin – M-1 refugee Malyutin has been tearing it up here in the Northeast lately – if, by “tearing it up”, you mean counter-fighting like crazy and stealing decisions. But if anyone can save us, it’s Iaquinta, who punches big, wrestles big, and likely won’t let Malyutin off the hook for his passive (but strangely effective) game.
- Claudio Ledesma vs. Dustin Pague – Pague KO’d Steve DeAngelis to take the ROC 135-pound belt, while Ledesma has been kicking tail and taking names like… like… someone who kicks tail and takes names a lot. I like this bout because it can end in a variety of ways, and all of them are ugly.
- Mervin Rodriguez vs. Jason McLean – If you give him a chance to, McLean will wrestle you and grind you to death. Lately, Rodriguez hasn’t been allowing anyone to do that to him, so what we’ll probably get in this pairing is two guys thumping each other in new and creative ways until time runs out.
- Munah Holland vs. Ashley Nee – It’s good for a region to have at least one badass female fighter, and since Laura D’Auguste retired a few years ago to pursue her black belt in housewifery, Holland – who decisioned Kim Couture last year – is next in line. Both she and Nee are coming off losses, but that should just make these ladies hungry. Very, very hungry.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
CFFC 8 To Feature the Return of Jay Coleman
After four years away from competition, Jay Coleman will return at the next installment of the Cage Fury Fighting Championship in May. Remember him? The guy with heavy hands and an uncanny sense of timing that enabled him to knock wrestlers silly? In his pro debut back at a Reality Fighting in 2005, he put his hands on Mike Massenzio and Massenzio forever lost the ability to juggle, and a year later Coleman KO'd Dominic Dellagatta so bad at a Ring of Combat, the accomplished wrestler never competed in MMA again. Of course, Coleman did have a weakness for submissions, as evidenced by his losses to Dan Miller and Phillipe Nover, but when he was focused, he was a beast (just ask BJJ black belt Leo Dalla, who fell to Coleman in the New Jersey native's third pro bout). So what can we expect from Coleman in 2011? Hey man, how should I know? It's just good to see a familiar - and very talented - fighter return to action.
Monday, April 25, 2011
My Latest at MMAConvert, Re: Judging and Jeff Blatnick
My view from cageside at Friday's UCC - "Judging Up Close: The Jeff Blatnick Experiment" - http://bit.ly/dQoamj.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Liveblog: UCC 4 Part 5
The heavyweights are on deck again, and it's Rolles Gracie vs. Braden Bice. This one is predictably quick, as Gracie misses with a kick but reverses Bice on the ground and slaps on the head/arm choke. The tap comes at 1:05 of Round 1. Last bout and it's TUF vet Andy Main and Gold Team rep Felipe Arantes for the 145 belt. This match-up is awesome on so many levels, and all those levels involve violence and carnage. Employing his unique brand of face-punching and a decent reach advantage, Main mixes it up nicely with the Brazilian. But things go south quickly when Arantes accidentally kicks Main in the chops when the American is on all fours. The doctor waives the bout off after examining Main, rendering the bout a "no contest" at 4:38 or Round 1. And we're done.
Liveblog: UCC 4 Part 4
AMA FC stud bantamweight Sean Santella squares up against jiu-jitsu man Sedico Honorio for the UCC belt. It becomes readily apparent early on why they're fighting a championship belt, as these guys are skilled and dangerous at all ranges - with their kicks, with their counters,and with their frenetic ground games. Santella takes Round 1, but the pendulum swings the other way in Round 2, with Honorio landing more and effectively. The final frame is all Honorio, as the fading Santella can't seem to keep up with his foe's output. The judges disagree, though, and give the split decision to Santella.
Liveblog: UCC 4 Part 3
It's time for Pellegrino MMA stalwart Kevin Roddy and ATT's Chris Foster to do the dance. And by dance, I mean beat on each other for our perverse enjoyment. It's always a game of inches when Roddy fights - one inch one way and he's catching you in a sub. One inch another way and you're out-pointing him to get the decision. The latter is the case this time, as Foster manages to dodge an armbar and avoid Roddy's ground manhandling and rack up points one jab at a time. Foster takes the unanimous decision when time runs out. Glen Sandull of AMA FC and Mike Stewart of Bombsquad enter the cage for a heavyweight contest. The two go at it with some extended collar-tie love and dirty boxing. It's even in Round 1, but Stewart makes his presence felt in the second with repeated kicks to the leg. Things play out in almost identical fashion in the last round. That is, until Stewart's left finds Sandull's chin. The KO comes at 4:49.
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