Gina Carano, Cris Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, blah, blah, blah. Before those ladies ever appeared on the scene, there were girls out there pioneering a slice of the MMA world that was so small it was almost trivial. But fuck if it was trivial, 'cause to watch a female MMA bout that pitted two skilled competitors against each other somehow, someway made for ultra-exciting stuff. Back in the day - the "day" being around 2002 - there were ass-kickers who went by such names as Roxanne Modafferi, Amanda Buckner, Tara LaRosa... and of course, there was Laura D'Auguste.
Repping Team Tiger Schulmann, D'Auguste was a single mom and full-time cardiac nurse who simply could not be beat when it came to throwing down in the ring. From Renzo Gracie purple belt Shannon Logan to Del Greer to Buckner and Modafferi, all the way on up to a SmackGirl tournament in Japan and Megumi Yabushita, D'Auguste was hailed as the best in an era when the best didn't get to fight on a Showtime broadcast.
I was too much of a gentleman to ever ask D'Auguste her age, but I know age played a factor in her retirement, as did her marrying her jiu-jitsu instructor and settling into the role of wife. At the time, BodogFIGHT was angling to have LaRosa face D'Auguste for the organization's championship belt. But an injury in training put her on crutches, and after that, it was rare to see D'Auguste around. She retired on top, though. And I'm pretty sure she retired happy.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Dramatis Personae: Deividas Taurosevicius
As "little guys" go, I can't think of anyone as tough as Deividas Taurosevicius (or "DT", as I prefer to call him). I was there for his first MMA bout, when he was just an ex-rugby player fresh off the boat from Lithuania, repping some karate school as he took on Yamasaki's Muay Thai instructor Mike Acosta at the very first Sportfighting event. The dude ate everything Acosta threw at him, including a hellacious spinning backfist, and though DT's effort was a losing one, he just would not quit. Some intense jiu-jitsu study after that and the man was suddenly a beast.
The only other loss DT had in the Northeast circuit was against Frankie Edgar, which put him as one of the top three lightweights in the area (Edgar and Jim Miller made up the rest of the trio). Then he was kicking ass in the IFL, and after that, the WEC. His losses came at the hands of Ryan Schultz, LC Davis and Wilson Reis (in Bellator), and it was always via decision - sometimes even just a razor-close one.
His English, while not always the best, has vastly improved over the years. But he's always been the nicest, friendliest of dudes, and he's lost none of that toughness. Case in point: his ROC 38 bout against Edson Barboza's training partner, Marlon Moraes.
Moraes came out and was outstriking DT on the feet something fierce (of course, what would you expect from the guy who has to spar with Barboza?). DT struggled to get things to the ground, but the Brazilian was instantly on his back, working for a choke. Then, the most amazing thing happened, as DT escaped, trapped Moraes' arm in a head/arm choke, squeezed, and tapped the fucker out. It was such a rapid and stunning turn of events that Dave Tirelli, who was judging, turned to me and we both exclaimed "Wow!" The bout was all of two and a half minutes.
DT runs a school out on Long Island, so when he's ready to hang up the gloves and retire his ROC featherweight championship belt, he's got something to keep him busy. But when he does finally call it quits, I doubt the scene will ever see any else tougher. If I had never seen the cuts and abrasions he's suffered in his fights up close with my own eyes, I'd swear the man was bullet-proof. Although I doubt even shooting him would stop him.
The only other loss DT had in the Northeast circuit was against Frankie Edgar, which put him as one of the top three lightweights in the area (Edgar and Jim Miller made up the rest of the trio). Then he was kicking ass in the IFL, and after that, the WEC. His losses came at the hands of Ryan Schultz, LC Davis and Wilson Reis (in Bellator), and it was always via decision - sometimes even just a razor-close one.
His English, while not always the best, has vastly improved over the years. But he's always been the nicest, friendliest of dudes, and he's lost none of that toughness. Case in point: his ROC 38 bout against Edson Barboza's training partner, Marlon Moraes.
Moraes came out and was outstriking DT on the feet something fierce (of course, what would you expect from the guy who has to spar with Barboza?). DT struggled to get things to the ground, but the Brazilian was instantly on his back, working for a choke. Then, the most amazing thing happened, as DT escaped, trapped Moraes' arm in a head/arm choke, squeezed, and tapped the fucker out. It was such a rapid and stunning turn of events that Dave Tirelli, who was judging, turned to me and we both exclaimed "Wow!" The bout was all of two and a half minutes.
DT runs a school out on Long Island, so when he's ready to hang up the gloves and retire his ROC featherweight championship belt, he's got something to keep him busy. But when he does finally call it quits, I doubt the scene will ever see any else tougher. If I had never seen the cuts and abrasions he's suffered in his fights up close with my own eyes, I'd swear the man was bullet-proof. Although I doubt even shooting him would stop him.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
"Haywire" Review at MMAConvert
I attended an advance screening of Gina Carano's new flick, "Haywire". The review is here: http://www.mmaconvert.com/2012/01/10/review-%e2%80%9chaywire%e2%80%9d-starring-gina-carano/.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Dramatis Personae: Lou Neglia
If you view the Northeast as a microcosm of the MMA world, then Ring of Combat and promoter Lou Neglia are akin to the UFC and Dana White. You simply cannot be a homegrown aspiring pro fighter around these parts without harboring designs on making your mark in ROC (or the Cage Fury Fighting Championship, but that's for another post), and given that dozens and dozens of UFC veterans can credit ROC as the stepping stone that helped them reach the Octagon, well, that makes Neglia the man who laid those stones down to create that path.
It's not hard to find old pics of Neglia from his championship-kickboxer days, but most of us know him as a promoter. Ring of Combat, which began in 2002 and is now up to its thirty-eighth pro installment, is perhaps his greatest achievement in the realm of MMA; however, there are amateur MMA events in there, too, plus a long-running NYC-based kickboxing show called Combat at the Capitale and a seemingly endless number of one-off events (Battle on Broadway featured kickboxing and MMA bouts in a hotel ballroom in Times Square almost a decade ago, while there was a recent kickboxing extravaganza out in Brighton Beach). Before that, there were fourteen Vengeance at the Vanderbilt installments on Long Island, which saw the likes of Matt Serra and Pete Sell getting their MMA on... heck, the first sanctioned MMA bout in New Jersey took place on one of Neglia's show in Atlantic City. "Longevity" may be an abstract concept to some promoters, but to Neglia, that word is like a genetic sequence coded into his DNA.
It takes a very shrewd business men to survive for any length of time in this sport, but Neglia has managed to temper that necessary shrewdness with traits like kindness, compassion and a genuine friendliness. If you're a reporter, he'll accomodate you; if you're a promising young upstart, he'll make sure you're tested (remember: padded records don't get you into the UFC, hard fights do); and if you're a grizzled veteran, he'll find a spot for you on the next card.
There's a few reasons why ROC has thrived for so long. But without question, the biggest one is Neglia.
It's not hard to find old pics of Neglia from his championship-kickboxer days, but most of us know him as a promoter. Ring of Combat, which began in 2002 and is now up to its thirty-eighth pro installment, is perhaps his greatest achievement in the realm of MMA; however, there are amateur MMA events in there, too, plus a long-running NYC-based kickboxing show called Combat at the Capitale and a seemingly endless number of one-off events (Battle on Broadway featured kickboxing and MMA bouts in a hotel ballroom in Times Square almost a decade ago, while there was a recent kickboxing extravaganza out in Brighton Beach). Before that, there were fourteen Vengeance at the Vanderbilt installments on Long Island, which saw the likes of Matt Serra and Pete Sell getting their MMA on... heck, the first sanctioned MMA bout in New Jersey took place on one of Neglia's show in Atlantic City. "Longevity" may be an abstract concept to some promoters, but to Neglia, that word is like a genetic sequence coded into his DNA.
It takes a very shrewd business men to survive for any length of time in this sport, but Neglia has managed to temper that necessary shrewdness with traits like kindness, compassion and a genuine friendliness. If you're a reporter, he'll accomodate you; if you're a promising young upstart, he'll make sure you're tested (remember: padded records don't get you into the UFC, hard fights do); and if you're a grizzled veteran, he'll find a spot for you on the next card.
There's a few reasons why ROC has thrived for so long. But without question, the biggest one is Neglia.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Dramatis Personae: Rage Rivas
How do I know the Underground Combat League has evolved into a well-oiled machine? Because promoter Peter Storm has got someone working alongside him to help make sure things run smoothly, and dammit if the events do run smoothly. His name is Rage Rivas (real name: Jason), and you can often find him at UCL events weighing in the fighters, orchestrating who's on deck and who should be in the ring, announcing the match-ups and afterwards, informing the crowd which one is the winner, sometimes even refereeing - whatever needs to get done, gets done. Rage does it all. The UFC may have Burt Watson acting as the behind-the-scenes glue that keeps things together, but Mr. Watson ain't got nothing on Rage.
When not toiling behind the scenes at UCL's, he's still working. He's helped form two fight teams, one that trains at a boxing gym in Brooklyn and one that trains (or trained - I'm not sure if they still do) at Hunter College. I think he even manages some fighters. If there's such a thing as an "underground fight scene renaissance man", Rage is it.
When not toiling behind the scenes at UCL's, he's still working. He's helped form two fight teams, one that trains at a boxing gym in Brooklyn and one that trains (or trained - I'm not sure if they still do) at Hunter College. I think he even manages some fighters. If there's such a thing as an "underground fight scene renaissance man", Rage is it.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Good Origins Article Over at BloodyElbow
BloodyElbow has got a pretty good article up re: the origins of Luta Livre in Brazil. Check it out here - http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/1/1/2663021/mma-origins-vale-tudo-and-the-original-mma-rivalry. I have a theory that a modern form of Luta Livre will develop here in the States, especially given that MMA's popularity has been steadily increasing while training in it has remained relatively expensive (i.e., the sum of the cost of quality jiu-jitsu instruction, striking instruction, etc.). Of course, it's going to take a few years before we'll know if my theory ever became a reality...
Friday, December 30, 2011
MMA Journalist's "Best of 2011" List - Accept No Substitute
Pete Lampasona over at TheFightNerd has put together a pretty decent list of grand and exciting things that went down in the Northeast scene in 2011 (read it here: http://www.thefightnerd.com/2011-north-eastern-regional-mma-awards/). But it ain't MMA Journalist's official "best of" list, which is recognized as law in four different states and gospel in various religions and cults throughout the world. So! Best of 2011!
-Best Transition to Pro by an Amateur: Jimbo Hoffman - Hoffman capped off 2010 (and a long and fruitful amateur career) with a win via guillotine over the always tough Kenny Rivera, and then two months later stepped into ROC's cage to make his pro debut. Whereas it took Hoffman and minute and five seconds to put Rivera to sleep, his ROC fight against Yaser Shaukat was all of 47 seconds. He followed that win up with another submission victory in June. If Hoffman keeps it up, he's going to be fighting for a featherweight belt soon.
-Best Meteoric Rise to the Top and Shoe-In for When the UFC Comes to Town: Tom DeBlass - While you and I were doing mundane things like working in offices and watching The Ultimate Fighter, Ricardo Almeida-trained black belt DeBlass was racking up wins via quick sub, knockout and hard-fought decision against UFC veterans, local trashtalkers, and ex-powerlifters. Now DeBlass is a ROC light-heavyweight champ, a huge ticket seller and draw, and a total shoe-in for some Octagon action if and when the UFC comes to town. I feel inadequate now - how about you?
-Best Meteoric Rise to the Top and Shoe-In for When the UFC Comes to Town, Part 2: Aljamain Sterling - Five pro fights in 2011, and all of them won in convincing fashion. Yup, that's Sterling, who rocketed up the ranks of the "little guys" to become the Supreme Ruler of Munchkin Land. If the UFC comes to town (like, in June, for instance), homeboy is their local bantamweight badass for sure.
-Best Knack for Inducing Convulsions in an Opponent: Lucas Pimenta - Gold Team Fighters rep Pimenta started off the year a bit "meh", but in his last two trips to into combat, once at Cage Fury Fighting Championship and once at a Bellator undercard, he hit his foes so hard they had seizures. That's, uh, some pretty damn hard hitting, no? Watch out for this guy. No, seriously, watch out. He will freakin' kill you if he punches you.
-Best Clear and Convincing Win in a Rematch: Al Iaquinta vs. Gabriel Miglioli II - At ROC 36 lightweight stud Iaquinta and Brazilian dynamo Miglioli went to war, and the close decision that went to Iaquinta left a bad taste in the mouths of some. Their immediate rematch, however, eradicated all doubts. At ROC 37, it took Iaquinta just 26 seconds to plant a kick to Miglioli's face with surgical precision and TKO the stunned fighter with punches. After that, the only bad taste in anyone's mouth was Iaquinta's foot, which left Miglioli begging his corner for some mouthwash.
-Best "Oh My God, He's Dead" Moment: Chris Liguori vs. John Salgado II - I'm not quite sure why Liguori and Salgado rematched at ROC 37, as Liguori had beaten him convincingly before, but instead of a decision win, this time around Liguori blasted Salgado in the chops so hard Salgado spun around and dropped to the canvas like a mannequin thrown from a third-story window. Of course I knew Salgado wasn't dead, but I was still left wondering if he had a last will and testament in place.
-Best Underground Fighter Ready to Transition to the Sanctioned Scene: Jonathan Rodriquez - Sometimes the UCL will give us fighters who are talented and ready, sometimes it will give us fighters who need a bit more seasoning before making the leap into sanctioned fighting (where the competition can sometimes be steeper). With his seemingly unstoppable triangle choke, Rodriquez is the former. If you're old school like me, you might remember when Jutaro Nakao was tapping EVERYBODY with triangles - Rodriguez reminds me of that.
-Best League Clinging to the Ideal that Kung Fu is All You Need: Manup Standup - Way out in Jamaica, Queens, there's an underground full-contact kung fu tournament where the competitors can summon lightning bolts and fireballs, and the injured are treated with judicious applications of chi. Or so they think. Regardless, it's awesome.
-Best Post-Fight Victory Celebration: James Funaro - Funaro made his pro debut at CFFC 7, and after smoothly guillotine-ing opponent Billy Dee Williams in a little over a minute, he jumped to his feet, pointed at his twin brother on the other side of the cage, and screamed "Fuck you, Joe!" No one is quite sure why, so let's just chalk that one off to sibling rivalry. Or something.
-Best Recovery from an Accidental Eye-Gouge: Igor Gracie - What happens when you poke a Gracie in the eye? Well, if it's Igor, he waves off the doctor, and promptly gets his CFFC 9 opponent Quinton McCottrell down and subs the crap out of him. Literally, there was no crap left in McCottrell after that.
-Best Future Champ: Artur Rofi - Romulo Bittencourt-trained Rofi has staked out CFFC as his territory, and thus far, everyone who's faced him has had been brutally subbed or brutally KO'd - or both. Until someone figures out how to douse the flames of his burning, aggressive jiu-jitsu, Rofi is going to keep racking up wins, and if he keeps it up, a championship belt around his waist is inevitable.
-Best Transition to Pro by an Amateur: Jimbo Hoffman - Hoffman capped off 2010 (and a long and fruitful amateur career) with a win via guillotine over the always tough Kenny Rivera, and then two months later stepped into ROC's cage to make his pro debut. Whereas it took Hoffman and minute and five seconds to put Rivera to sleep, his ROC fight against Yaser Shaukat was all of 47 seconds. He followed that win up with another submission victory in June. If Hoffman keeps it up, he's going to be fighting for a featherweight belt soon.
-Best Meteoric Rise to the Top and Shoe-In for When the UFC Comes to Town: Tom DeBlass - While you and I were doing mundane things like working in offices and watching The Ultimate Fighter, Ricardo Almeida-trained black belt DeBlass was racking up wins via quick sub, knockout and hard-fought decision against UFC veterans, local trashtalkers, and ex-powerlifters. Now DeBlass is a ROC light-heavyweight champ, a huge ticket seller and draw, and a total shoe-in for some Octagon action if and when the UFC comes to town. I feel inadequate now - how about you?
-Best Meteoric Rise to the Top and Shoe-In for When the UFC Comes to Town, Part 2: Aljamain Sterling - Five pro fights in 2011, and all of them won in convincing fashion. Yup, that's Sterling, who rocketed up the ranks of the "little guys" to become the Supreme Ruler of Munchkin Land. If the UFC comes to town (like, in June, for instance), homeboy is their local bantamweight badass for sure.
-Best Knack for Inducing Convulsions in an Opponent: Lucas Pimenta - Gold Team Fighters rep Pimenta started off the year a bit "meh", but in his last two trips to into combat, once at Cage Fury Fighting Championship and once at a Bellator undercard, he hit his foes so hard they had seizures. That's, uh, some pretty damn hard hitting, no? Watch out for this guy. No, seriously, watch out. He will freakin' kill you if he punches you.
-Best Clear and Convincing Win in a Rematch: Al Iaquinta vs. Gabriel Miglioli II - At ROC 36 lightweight stud Iaquinta and Brazilian dynamo Miglioli went to war, and the close decision that went to Iaquinta left a bad taste in the mouths of some. Their immediate rematch, however, eradicated all doubts. At ROC 37, it took Iaquinta just 26 seconds to plant a kick to Miglioli's face with surgical precision and TKO the stunned fighter with punches. After that, the only bad taste in anyone's mouth was Iaquinta's foot, which left Miglioli begging his corner for some mouthwash.
-Best "Oh My God, He's Dead" Moment: Chris Liguori vs. John Salgado II - I'm not quite sure why Liguori and Salgado rematched at ROC 37, as Liguori had beaten him convincingly before, but instead of a decision win, this time around Liguori blasted Salgado in the chops so hard Salgado spun around and dropped to the canvas like a mannequin thrown from a third-story window. Of course I knew Salgado wasn't dead, but I was still left wondering if he had a last will and testament in place.
-Best Underground Fighter Ready to Transition to the Sanctioned Scene: Jonathan Rodriquez - Sometimes the UCL will give us fighters who are talented and ready, sometimes it will give us fighters who need a bit more seasoning before making the leap into sanctioned fighting (where the competition can sometimes be steeper). With his seemingly unstoppable triangle choke, Rodriquez is the former. If you're old school like me, you might remember when Jutaro Nakao was tapping EVERYBODY with triangles - Rodriguez reminds me of that.
-Best League Clinging to the Ideal that Kung Fu is All You Need: Manup Standup - Way out in Jamaica, Queens, there's an underground full-contact kung fu tournament where the competitors can summon lightning bolts and fireballs, and the injured are treated with judicious applications of chi. Or so they think. Regardless, it's awesome.
-Best Post-Fight Victory Celebration: James Funaro - Funaro made his pro debut at CFFC 7, and after smoothly guillotine-ing opponent Billy Dee Williams in a little over a minute, he jumped to his feet, pointed at his twin brother on the other side of the cage, and screamed "Fuck you, Joe!" No one is quite sure why, so let's just chalk that one off to sibling rivalry. Or something.
-Best Recovery from an Accidental Eye-Gouge: Igor Gracie - What happens when you poke a Gracie in the eye? Well, if it's Igor, he waves off the doctor, and promptly gets his CFFC 9 opponent Quinton McCottrell down and subs the crap out of him. Literally, there was no crap left in McCottrell after that.
-Best Future Champ: Artur Rofi - Romulo Bittencourt-trained Rofi has staked out CFFC as his territory, and thus far, everyone who's faced him has had been brutally subbed or brutally KO'd - or both. Until someone figures out how to douse the flames of his burning, aggressive jiu-jitsu, Rofi is going to keep racking up wins, and if he keeps it up, a championship belt around his waist is inevitable.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Dramatis Personae: Carlos Moreno
I really wanted Carlos Moreno to be in RAW COMBAT but the timing wasn't right. You see, when I was doing interviews with local Northeast fighters, fighters who helped make the scene what it is today, "The Tyrant" was a guest of the state, and incommunicado (to me, at least). But damn, when it comes to raw talent, intensity and ferocity, few have been able to match Moreno in the cage - which makes his friendliness and likeability outside of the cage such a stark contrast.
If you take Moreno and his record at face value, you'll only get half the story. A glance at his stats and one can see he was a product of "Big" Dan Miragliotta's BAMA Fight Nights, and all of his wins have come from hitting his opponents so hard they either went to sleep or wished they were asleep, and that he was a Ring of Combat and Battle Cage Xtreme heavyweight champ. However, the tale not told by mere stats is a tale only told by the details, details seen when you're a fixture at shows. There was the time he duked it out with UFC vet Kevin Jordan, and when he got dropped by a knee, his mom was frantic as she rushed the cage. There was also the time teammate Tom Gallicchio showed up for a fight with the words "Free Carlos" written on his back, an open plea to the world about Moreno's legal plight. And there was the time when Moreno took a fight on an EliteXC undercard against Carlton Haselrig, which, due to the short notice (really, only a few days), meant the Latino version of "Tank Abbott" had enough gas for one round of fending off Haselrig's wrestling before he was forced to call it quits.
But those losses, and time spent away from the scene, don't mean much in the grand scheme of things, especially when you're a heavyweight with the ability to break someone's orbital bone with a jab, or when you can overwhelm nearly everyone with sledgehammer fists, and provide a fight card with one heck of an exclaimation point.
Moreno is out now and keen on getting back into the cage, and that's pretty freakin' cool to hear. He was, without question, the Northeast scene's first true heavyweight knockout artist. And it doesn't matter whether there's still TNT left in his fists or not, because ultimately, the scene is far more interesting with him around.
If you take Moreno and his record at face value, you'll only get half the story. A glance at his stats and one can see he was a product of "Big" Dan Miragliotta's BAMA Fight Nights, and all of his wins have come from hitting his opponents so hard they either went to sleep or wished they were asleep, and that he was a Ring of Combat and Battle Cage Xtreme heavyweight champ. However, the tale not told by mere stats is a tale only told by the details, details seen when you're a fixture at shows. There was the time he duked it out with UFC vet Kevin Jordan, and when he got dropped by a knee, his mom was frantic as she rushed the cage. There was also the time teammate Tom Gallicchio showed up for a fight with the words "Free Carlos" written on his back, an open plea to the world about Moreno's legal plight. And there was the time when Moreno took a fight on an EliteXC undercard against Carlton Haselrig, which, due to the short notice (really, only a few days), meant the Latino version of "Tank Abbott" had enough gas for one round of fending off Haselrig's wrestling before he was forced to call it quits.
But those losses, and time spent away from the scene, don't mean much in the grand scheme of things, especially when you're a heavyweight with the ability to break someone's orbital bone with a jab, or when you can overwhelm nearly everyone with sledgehammer fists, and provide a fight card with one heck of an exclaimation point.
Moreno is out now and keen on getting back into the cage, and that's pretty freakin' cool to hear. He was, without question, the Northeast scene's first true heavyweight knockout artist. And it doesn't matter whether there's still TNT left in his fists or not, because ultimately, the scene is far more interesting with him around.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Dramatis Personae: K-Rod
If ever I had the urge to pack a fat bong with herb and smoke up, without question the first person I'd pass it to after puffing large would be K-Rod. Known as "Kevin Roddy" to those who keep official records or write stuffy articles on Northeast MMA shows, K-Rod has been a fixture in the local circuit since about 2005 - and with his jiu-jitsu (courtesy of Kurt Pellegrino) and tight guard game, he was, for a spell, one the top five lightweights in the area (his contemporaries were Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller and Deividas Taurosevicius, which says a lot about his skills).
Covered in tattoos, skinny as fuck but game as hell, and one of the coolest dudes you will ever meet, K-Rod still gets into the cage every now and then. This year he was on a Strikeforce undercard, last year he lost a decision to Dennis Bermudez (yes, the TUF 15 runner-up) at an M-1 Global show, and a couple years back he fought on an Indian reservation in Upstate New York in a venue that was a cigarette factory by day (according to him, the joint reeked of tobacco so bad, he just wanted to get paid and get out). He was even the Battle Cage Xtreme champ back when BCX was cranking out shows.
Nowadays, because of his propensity for hunting for subs from the bottom, K-Rod is losing decisions more than he's catching opponents in armbars and triangles. But that's okay. He's there to fight, and if he's at an event and not there to fight, it means he's there to have a good time. And really, there's nothing wrong with that, either.
Covered in tattoos, skinny as fuck but game as hell, and one of the coolest dudes you will ever meet, K-Rod still gets into the cage every now and then. This year he was on a Strikeforce undercard, last year he lost a decision to Dennis Bermudez (yes, the TUF 15 runner-up) at an M-1 Global show, and a couple years back he fought on an Indian reservation in Upstate New York in a venue that was a cigarette factory by day (according to him, the joint reeked of tobacco so bad, he just wanted to get paid and get out). He was even the Battle Cage Xtreme champ back when BCX was cranking out shows.
Nowadays, because of his propensity for hunting for subs from the bottom, K-Rod is losing decisions more than he's catching opponents in armbars and triangles. But that's okay. He's there to fight, and if he's at an event and not there to fight, it means he's there to have a good time. And really, there's nothing wrong with that, either.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Dramatis Personae: Muslim Adam
I've met a lot of people cover the sport over the years, so many of them cool and interesting and the kind of characters you'd likely be talking about twenty years after you last saw them. Hey, why not start profiling them here! (Note: that was me talking to myself.) Okay, I will! First up: Muslim Adam.
Muslim Adam is a denizen of the Underground Combat League. Sure, he's a fighter, a street scrapper with some decent standup skill that's enabled him to knock opponents out with precision high-kicks to the neck or just stand and bang. I'd say he's won about as many as he's lost, although two losses stick out... Once, he fought UCL promoter Peter Storm, and spent the entire first round within Storm's guard, trying to get some ground and pound going. But when the bell rang signaling the break in between rounds, Muslim Adam stood up and said that was it. He was very apologetic, turning to the crowd with his palms up, shaking his head while telling them that his knee was hurt, that a few days before the event he got into it with a police officer and the cop whacked him in the leg with a baton (hence the injury). Everyone was cool with Muslim Adam's explanation, and the audience applauded him for his effort.
That fight right there paints half a picture of Muslim Adam. The other half of the pic comes from his recent loss to Gracie Barra rep Chike Obi. Obi got him down and was unloading on him with punches, and while he was getting hit, Muslim Adam was yelping "Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!"
Muslim Adam, with his shaved head, Taliban beard and kind, respectful demeanor outside of the ring, is white. Like, "if he grew his hair out and wore a suit, he could work on Wall Street" white.
Muslim Adam is a denizen of the Underground Combat League. Sure, he's a fighter, a street scrapper with some decent standup skill that's enabled him to knock opponents out with precision high-kicks to the neck or just stand and bang. I'd say he's won about as many as he's lost, although two losses stick out... Once, he fought UCL promoter Peter Storm, and spent the entire first round within Storm's guard, trying to get some ground and pound going. But when the bell rang signaling the break in between rounds, Muslim Adam stood up and said that was it. He was very apologetic, turning to the crowd with his palms up, shaking his head while telling them that his knee was hurt, that a few days before the event he got into it with a police officer and the cop whacked him in the leg with a baton (hence the injury). Everyone was cool with Muslim Adam's explanation, and the audience applauded him for his effort.
That fight right there paints half a picture of Muslim Adam. The other half of the pic comes from his recent loss to Gracie Barra rep Chike Obi. Obi got him down and was unloading on him with punches, and while he was getting hit, Muslim Adam was yelping "Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!"
Muslim Adam, with his shaved head, Taliban beard and kind, respectful demeanor outside of the ring, is white. Like, "if he grew his hair out and wore a suit, he could work on Wall Street" white.
Brazilian MMA Link
Here's a link to a Brazilian MMA site - http://www.lutamma.com/. I don't read Portuguese, but hey, why not post a link, right?
Great Muay Thai Article
There's a great Muay Thai article over at The Classical - link here: http://theclassical.org/articles/fighting-otherwise-part-1. The author (now, tragically deceased) went to Thailand and documented his experiences there. I loves me a good travelogue...
Friday, December 23, 2011
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