New York Update: There's Good News and There's Bad News

The New York State Senate is expected to vote on - and pass - their half of the MMA bill today.  Sadly, the Assembly continues to refuse to address the issue, and the clock on this legislative session is ticking in regards to their half of the bill. 

That's the bad news.  The good news re: New York is that Friday Night Fights - Justin Blair's long-running Manhattan-based kickboxing show - will be hosting an event on June 10th and two UFC veterans will be making their kickboxing debut.  The Octagon alumni are Phillipe Nover and Brodie Farber.  No, they won't be fighting each other, but they will be stepping into the ring and resisting to urge to take people down.  The website for Friday Night Fights is www.fridaynightfights.com (crazy, huh?), so go there for more info.

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Liveblog: CFFC 8 Part 4

Daryl Harris of Elite Jiu-Jitsu and Nah-Shon Burrell of Fight Firm are set to clash. Burrell has the edge in striking and Harris has the edge in wrestling, but it's slight, and both are more than willing to throw crazy leather in a back-and-forth first round. Burrell, however, tends to only get sharper as fights go on, and it didn't take long for him to find his range and blast Harris with almost everything in his arsenal. The KO comes via knee, and Harris slumps to the ground at 1:32 of Round 2. A strong showing by Burrell - and Harris, too, who was making his pro debut. Now it's time for Jay Coleman of Team Almeida and Sam Jackson of Fight Firm. Coleman's got both DeBlass and UFC champ Frankie Edgar in his corner. Round 1 sees Coleman nail two strong takedown but get reversed, and the two throw hard on the feet. Lest we forget how powerful Coleman's punches are, he reminds us in Round 2, stunning Jackson with one square in the chops and dumping the jelly-legged fighter on the canvas. The follow-up storm of fists from the mount has the ref stopping it at 1:10 of the round. Last bout and it's Doug Gordon of Team Rush and Joey Rivera of Apex MMA for the 170-pound belt. The opening frame has Rivera dropping Gordon with a body-kick/hook combo, and Gordon reversing on the ground late and dispensing some knuckle love. Gordon in turn drops Rivera early in the second, but he lingers too long in danger, and Rivera slips on the triangle at 1:07. And that's all, folks.

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Liveblog: CFFC 8 Part 3

Amiri Shabazz of Shadowfist White Tiger and Leonardo da Costa of Team Renzo. Hmmm, let me see... a striker versus a jiu-jitsu guy... how will this one go? Yeah, it's takedown to guard pass to mount to back-mount to rear naked choke, and Shabazz taps at 3:49 of the first round. Kevin Horowitz of Team Mongrel and Ozzy Dugulubgov of Bull Shark are up, with Dugulubgov making his pro debut after a brief but impressive amateur career. Horowitz, on the other hand, is a very capable veteran, so this should be a good test. At first, Horowitz meets the Russian's raw aggression head on with wrestling and strikes. But in no time Dugulubgov is overwhelming him with fists that are too fast and moves that are too explosive. Horowitz can take punishment - no doubt about it. Unfortunately, the ref has seen enough when Dugulubgov drops Horowitz with a knee, and the bout is called at :43 of Round 2.

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Liveblog: CFFC 8 Part 2

First bout and it's Brian Kelleher of Bombsquad vs. Siyan Yousefi of MASE Academy. There's a joke there about pepper spray but I won't make it. In pretty straight-forward fashion, Kelleher takes Yousefi down, and catches Yousefi's neck during a scramble. The tap out via guillotine comes at 2:41 of Round 1. Next: Tom Mercellino of Team Stryker and Mtume Goodrum of Bullpen Vale Tudo. Despite scoring a takedown early on, Goodrum found himself reversed and taking punishment throughout the opening round. Round 2 is only a little better for him, as he trades top position for an ill-advised guillotine attempt, and Mercellino pounds on him. The grindfest continues in the third, and Mercellino cruises to a clear unanimous decision win.

Liveblog: CFFC 8

MMA Journalist is here at Resorts Casino for another installment of the Cage Fury Fighting Championship - where people get punched in the face and like it. There are seven bouts scheduled, and though veteran Doug Gordon is fighting for the title against Joey Rivera, a lot of eyes are on Jay Coleman, who is returning after a four-year layoff. Coleman made his MMA debut at the UCL in New York City (at the same underground event Frankie Edgar first fought in), and went on to bust heads in the New Jersey circuit. Personal problems derailed him, but he recently joined up with Ricardo Almeida's team and word is he's back on track. So yeah, woot.

Bouts to Watch Out for This Weekend

Despite there being no UFC or Strikeforce offerings this weekend to be consumed by the masses, there are still quite a few bouts the seasoned MMA connoisseur should watch out for.  And as a seasoned purveyor of fight info that exists on the edges of relevancy, MMA Journalist has made this nice list to help you keep track.  You can thank me later.

• Tom Gallicchio vs. Chris Curtis, Xtreme Caged Combat – On Friday, M-1 Global “Selections” tournament winner Gallicchio treks on over to Philly for XCC’s latest.  His opponent is some experienced dude from Ohio, but like a true playa, Gallicchio’s been around the world and should have no trouble choking him out.  So stop hatin’.
• Jay Coleman vs. Sam Jackson, CFFC 8 – Coleman was a very promising ass kicker a few years ago, but fell off the radar when personal problems arose.  Now he’s back and taking on a veteran fighter in Sam Jackson at CFFC 8 on Friday night, so the question is: does Coleman still have it?
• Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Kevin Horowitz, CFFC 8 – An intriguing match-up if there ever was one, Dugulubgov will be turning pro against a guy who can fight anywhere (although the one knock against Horowitz is his consistency).  Dugulubgov looked very impressive in his brief amateur career, though, so the big question mark here is if he can be the next Al Iaquinta/Chris Wing/Liam Kerrigan/Nick Pace/etc.
• Patricio Freire vs. Daniel Straus, Bellator 45 – Tune into MTV2 for the Bellator season finale, and watch to see if lighter Freire brother can manage to do what his big brother could not (which is win).  Straus is no Mike Chandler, so I think he can manage the “W” here.
• Christian M’Pumbu vs. Richard Hale, Bellator 45 – This bout could be awesome, or it could be a big pile of suck that clutters your television screen and keeps you from doing something worthwhile with your time (like finishing that novel or impregnating your wife).  Both fighters are competent on the feet and on the ground, but they’re not amazing, so if they refuse to engage we’ll get a lot of dancing.  Here’s hoping they engage.

You Know Amanda Nunes and Jamie Varner Mean Business...

…When they join AMA Fight Club in New Jersey.  With about twenty UFC fighters sparring there nightly, Mike Constantino is running one of the toughest, top-level gyms out there, and as the old adage goes, "steel sharpens steel" - which means Nunes and Varner are going to get pretty damn sharp soon.  Here's a quote from AMA FC's press release: "AMA is very proud to announce that we have added Strikeforce fighter and #4 ranked fighter Amanda Nunes to our team!  Amanda has a pro MMA record of 6-1 including six straight victories all by knockout!"  As for Varner: "AMA would also like to welcome former WEC champion Jamie Varner.  Jamie will be training at AMA over the next several months.  We are happy to have Jamie here at AMA and we look forward to working with him!"