In today’s economy it’s hard to find a genuinely good deal which is why this week Five Ounces of Pain is bringing readers TWO for the price of ONE where preview/predictions are concerned!!! In the lines ahead I’ll be breaking down notable match-ups from tonight’s Strikeforce Challengers and Moosin MMA events. Both cards are peppered with veterans such as Matt Lindland, Tim Sylvia, Pat Healy, and Yves Edwards, while Strikeforce also looks to shine on spotlight on rising star Tyron Woodley and Moosin brings together two of Mixed Martial Arts’ top females in the form of Tara Larosa’s scheduled scrap with Roxanne Modafferi.

Before I get into the actual “pick em” part of this article let me preclude the breakdown of bouts by saying one of the things about Mixed Martial Arts I’ve always loved is its unpredictable nature. I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction with a little insight/opinion included in the deal, but readers would be wise to avoid laying down money on my attempts to glimpse into the future. Beyond that, please don’t hesitate to share your own thoughts on any or all of the scheduled fights in the “Comments” section below, and let’s get this show on the road…

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS

Pat Healy vs. Bryan Travers

Healy may only be 22-15 as a professional Mixed Martial Artist but a closer examination reveals much more than can be derived from looking at his record on the surface. The fan-favorite and nine-year veteran of the sport has been in the ring with a number of notable opponents to say the least. He’s lost to the likes of Jay Hieron, Denis Kang, and Chris Lytle while claiming victory over Paul Daley, Dan Hardy, and Carlos Condit. Travers’ name doesn’t carry nearly the weight as any of those listed, but he’s won six consecutive fights and only felt the sting of defeat once in fourteen total bouts. However, four of his last five wins came via unanimous decision (with a kimura being #5), so I get the impression he relies on takedowns and size to hold competition down and attack from the top. Unfortunately for him, Healy is too good a grappler to be ensnared by such a trap. I expect “Bam Bam” to out-wrestle Travers and eventually find a submission to lock in.

Winner – Pat Healy via Submission Round 2

Roger Bowling vs. Bobby Voelker

Voelker has 4X the in-ring experience as Bowling, has been out-pointed more times in his 28-fight career than finished, and has thirteen TKOs to his credit. As such, he should enter the bout with a good deal of confidence in his ability exchange on his feet or when it comes to testing his cardio over fifteen full minutes. However, Bowling is undefeated and has beaten all seven of his opponents thus far in almost a Shane Carwin-like fashion. Six have fallen to strikes, while the other was submitted, and a high-percentage of the wins came in the first-round including a nine-second knockout! In the end I think his explosiveness will ultimately prevail. Voelker has been knocked out twice in his career (though granted the last time was a little more than two years ago), and he’s been out of action for six months after racking up a seven-bout-per-year average in the four years prior. The layoff and sliver-of-a-question about his chin are the factors pushing me towards Bowling, but I definitely expect this to be a very competitive fight and a great start for fans being introduced to both athletes for the first time.

Winner – Roger Bowling via TKO Round 2

Tyron Woodley vs. Nathan Coy

Coy is an above-average grappler with decent hands but lacks Woodley’s strength and athleticism. It’s important to note the three-fight win streak he’s on involves competition with a combined record equating to a single win over .500 and was preceded by back-to-back losses. On the other hand, “T-Wood” is undefeated through six fights and finished five of his opponents in the first round with the sixth only making it through about three-quarters of the second stanza. He’s definitely emerged as one of Strikeforce’s rising stars and could find himself on the cusp of a welterweight title shot with another impressive victory. Coy could weather the storm long enough to lose via decision but it won’t be an easy feat to accomplish. Woodley can be smothering, staying active enough to advance position while maintaining the focus needed to latch onto submissions when presented with the opportunity to do so. As such, I’m confident Woodley will be able to successfully defend Coy’s takedown attempts while dragging him to the mat on multiple occasions where he’ll eventually get his back and choke him out.

Winner – Tyron Woodley via Submission Round 2

Matt Lindland vs. Kevin Casey

There are few things in MMA that frighten me. Among them are life-threatening harm befalling an athlete, the public’s perception of MMA returning to that of “human cockfighting”, and Butterbean’s wardrobe being somehow mixed up with Shonie Carter’s. While none of those three things are at serious risk of occurring at the “Challengers” event, another equally insidious situation I fear involves reality television’s Spencer Pratt worming his way into MMA’s spotlight by riding the coattails of friend/associate Kevin Casey, and because of that shudder-inducing scenario I will be rooting for Lindland to emerge victorious in this bout with every fiber of my being.

Fortunately, the objective part of me also thinks “The Law” has a better of chance of winning the fight than being “laid down” by Casey. The 40-year old may have lost three of his last four fights but consider the competition he was facing in each – Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (BJJ wizard and arguably a “Top 10″ middleweight), Vitor Belfort (likely next in line for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship and coming off a first-round TKO of Rich Franklin), and Fedor Emelianenko (if you really need me to put something in THESE particular brackets you’re watching the wrong sport). Casey, on the other hand, doesn’t have anywhere close to Lindland’s experience and is only 3-1 as a professional fighter. He is one of “Punk” Minowa’s seven TKO wins in the Japanese star’s 83-fight career. He primarily relies on grappling to beat opponents, so it would seem he shouldn’t have much to offer against a silver-medalist Olympian like Lindland who is also well-versed in submissions. Outside of a perfectly-placed strike landing I don’t see many ways Casey can walk away from his “main event” at-bat without striking out.

Winner – Matt Lindland via Decision

MOOSIN MMA

Tara LaRosa vs. Roxanne Modafferi

As I said in this week’s “Grappling with Issues”, I’m actually looking forward to this particular contest more than the one headlining the card and featuring 4X the weight. Modafferi and LaRosa are both quality female Mixed Martial Artists with the latter deserving consideration as her gender’s best pound-for-pound competitor. LaRosa has won fifteen fights in a row and only lost once in a total of nineteen bouts over an eight-year career. She’s a respectable grappler who has finished her last eight opponents and will enter the ring as the clear favorite to win. However, Ms. Modafferi can’t be counted out as evident by her 7-1 record over the past three-plus years. Her only loss in that span was the result of a fight she took on short notice against Marloes Coenen, and though she lacks LaRosa’s power Roxanne has an incredible amount of heart and is both patient and intellectual in her approach. The stylistic pairing is nice, and I think fans are in for a treat given a sense of familiarity derived from a previous match-up likely clearing the path for more engagement than feeling out. I believe LaRosa’s stand-up should win her most if not all of the exchanges that occur and will ultimately be the difference maker in this bout given that both ladies are solid on the mat.

Winner – Tara LaRosa via Decision

Yves Edwards vs. Mike Campbell

Campbell doesn’t appear to be much of a threat to Edwards, as four of his six wins have come by way of TKO yet only equate to about a quarter of the veteran’s victories using the same method. Additionally, Yves has only been rendered unable to compete via strikes twice in a career with more than fifty fights under his belt. The “Thugjitsu” specialist has finished three straight opponents, including back-to-back first-round TKOs against two men Campbell is a few notches below on the talent scale (Kyle Jensen and Derrick Noble), and he has a lot more to work with on the ground than his adversary does. This bout is basically Moosin’s way of showcasing a fan favorite like Edwards against an underdog who happens to be from the area the event is taking place in, not an attempt at serving parity up to viewers.

Winner – Yves Edwards via TKO Round 1

Travis Lutter vs. Rafael Natal

This may be hard to believe, but tonight only marks Lutter’s third fight since losing to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in February 2007. Natal is a Gracie-affiliated grappler so his approach to beating the Ultimate Fighter Season 4 champion should be fairly predictable. However, with Lutter also being a high-level jiujitsu practitioner a lot of Natal’s attacks will be negated, and I’m far from confident in either man’s ability to knock the other out. The push of styles, in addition to Lutter’s inactivity, makes me worry that this bout could turn out to be a relatively boring fifteen-minute stalemate. It would be perfectly at home in an ADCC tournament but may not be the type of match-up standard MMA fans want to see.

Winner – Travis Lutter via Decision

Travis Wiuff vs. Josh Barnes

This fight is custom made for Wiuff to win. Barnes, a late replacement for original opponent Mu Bae Choi, is 5-4 as a professional and owes 3/4 of his defeats to being TKO’d. On the other hand, this bout marks Wiuff’s 75th as a professional Mixed Martial Artist with nearly a 6:1 ratio of wins/losses and stats far eclipsing Barnes’. I expect both men to throw leather right off the bat and see whose chin gives first. However, unlike Barnes, if Wiuff doesn’t like what he sees he has the option to take things to the ground and work submissions. His experience and overall abundance of skills should be too much for Barnes to overcome. Outside of the old “puncher’s chance” seeping its way into the fight this victory should be the most guaranteed one in the entire lot.

Winner – Travis Wiuff via TKO Round 1

Tim Sylvia vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski

I like to think of this bout as Moosin’s way of showing some love to fans of Japanese MMA who don’t necessarily want to stay up until 6:00 AM to watch a “freak show” fight take place. After all, at a total weight of nearly 600 pounds, would Sylvia vs. Pudzianowski not be perfectly at home with iconic ring announcer Lenne Hardt screaming out their respective names during the opening ceremonies of an event?

In this case of Far East meets East Coast it seems like Sylvia should be an obvious favorite to win based on his experience and training background, but “The Maine-iac” has made it difficult to put any real vote of confidence in him due to his recent run of sloppy physical conditioning and nine-second knockout loss to Ray Mercer last June. Pudzniaowski is obviously powerful enough to crumple Tim-meh with a few well-placed strikes, and it would be very interesting to see what might happen if the Polish strong-man was able to take Sylvia down and found a way to work some ground-and-pound. However, I think his overly-muscular frame will actually be his demise, as it prevents him from having the fluidity of motion necessary for even above-average level striking. His bulk also requires a great of oxygen to power so the longer Sylvia can extend things the better chance he has of picking Pudzniaowski apart. I hope/think the former UFC Heavyweight Champion will be able to work his jab to keep his shorter, stockier opponent at bay and maybe test his takedown/submission defense if an opening presents itself. As long as Sylvia enters the bout with basic strategy and sticks to it he should find himself on a winning streak for the first time since November 2006.

Winner – Tim Sylvia via TKO Round 3

Click here to view the embedded video.

On Saturday night Strikeforce held it’s “Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery” event which aired on Showtime. While the UFC counter-programmed with a two-and-a-half hour special, “UFC’s Ultimate Fights,” on Spike TV.

The numbers became available Tuesday with Spike coming out on top with 894,000 viewers, while Showtime only managed 308,000 viewers.

It’s important to note that Spike TV reaches 98.6 million homes while Showtime reaches 12 million homes.

The numbers for Showtime were much lower than January’s “Strikeforce: Miami’s” numbers, a 40% drop compared to the 517,000 viewers who watched title bout winners Nick Diaz and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos at the event. December’s “Strikeforce: Evolution” event drew 341,000 viewers, just a drop of 9.68% in total numbers.

“Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery” took place at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The event aired live on the East Coast and via three-hour delay on the West Coast at 10 p.m.

HT: MMAjunkie.com

Marcelo Garcia is a world-renown teacher and competitor of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In addition to his current titles, he has won the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championships at all belt levels (blue, purple, brown and black), and the Submissions Grappling World Championships (ADCC) three times in a row (2003, 2005, and 2007), in which he was voted the most technical competitor in 2003 and 2007, and participant in the best match of 2005.

East Coast Martial Arts
5398 Fulton Dr
Canton, OH 44718
MAP

More information on the official site.

The "Irish Hand Grenade" got his wish to fight in Beantown.

Not long after Marcus Davis told MMAjunkie.com Radio that UFC officials were trying to get him a spot on the UFC 118 fight card, Nate Diaz has answered the call to fight him at the East Coast event.

Sources close to the promotion today told MMAjunkie.com that the two have verbally agreed to the fight with bout agreements expected to be signed shortly.

BOSTON, Mass. (May 6, 2010) – Pat Curran, the 22-year-old descendant of MMA royalty pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in recent memory Thursday night with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over former UFC standout and Bellator Lightweight Tournament favorite Roger Huerta at Bellator 17 in Boston.

Curran’s stunning victory, which quickly set the MMA world abuzz, served to highlight Bellator’s first-of-its-kind tournament-style format, which has also given rise to several other decided underdogs since its inception last year.

“It was a tremendous night for Pat and a tremendous testament to our tournament format,” Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said afterward. “This was proof of our concept and exactly what I hoped this organization could provide to fighters. I wanted great fighters to have the opportunity to fight other great fighters where nothing but their performance would dictate their future … an organization where it made no difference if a fighter was world-famous or simply had world class ability. Pat Curran took huge advantage of this opportunity tonight and deserves everything he’s receiving.”

The first nationally-televised MMA event in Boston history also witnessed a spectacular “Super Fight” victory by reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez while reigning “Submission of the Year” title holder Toby Imada punched his ticket to this year’s finals.

But the night undoubtedly belonged to Curran who improved his pro record to 11-3 and took a huge step out of the shadow of his cousin and longtime trainer, MMA legend Jeff “The Big Frog” Curran.

Curran and Huerta traded blows for 15 minutes in a stirring tactical standup fight that brought a raucous crowd at the 85-year-old Wang Theatre to its feet. As the decision was announced, Huerta hung his head in disbelief, saying afterward that “it was just one of those nights.”

“I take my hat off to Pat Curran,” said Huerta, who fell to 21-4. “I started out pretty flat and he capitalized. Ultimately, it’s my fault for leaving it up to the judges. It’s really tough for me to swallow, but now I just need to regroup and look to the future.”

Curran, for his part, credited his coaching and thanked Rebney for the opportunity to fight in the tournament and make a name for himself.

“It was an honor to fight Roger,” an emotional and visibly exhausted Curran told Bellator ring announcer Jimmy Smith immediately after the fight. “I just tried to keep my hands clean and went for the straight right … I was trying to counter and land my shots. I’m looking forward to getting back to the gym as soon as possible and getting to work on my ground game and preparing for Toby Imada.”

While Imada’s victory was somewhat lost in the excitement of the Curran upset, the 25-13 MMA veteran native earned his way to the lightweight tournament finals in impressive fashion as well, absorbing a flurry of first round strikes from former all-American college wrestler Carey Vanier (8-3) before eventually regaining control and finishing him via armbar at 3:33 in Round 2.

“He’s a tough dude and a great wrestler, but his arm was out and when I saw it, I grabbed it and held on,” Imada said after the fight. “It’s what I came here for … I’m looking forward to performing better in the finals this time around.”

Not to be outdone, Alvarez was equally impressive in his fight against UFC veteran Josh Neer, using a powerful standing rear naked choke to put Neer to sleep at 2:08 into Round 2. The win improved Alvarez’s impeccable overall record to 20-2 and added to the growing argument that he is the world’s top 155-pound fighter.

Afterward, Rebney made no secret of his opinion.

“I’m not much for pronouncements,” he said, “but in the lightweight division of MMA, you’ll be awfully hard-pressed to find someone who would be able to beat Eddie Alvarez.”

Alvarez, though, demurred, saying simply that he was “happy to be on the East Coast and happy to be a part of the first big MMA fight in Boston.”

“I think I executed well tonight,” he said.

In the night’s final televised fight, former two-time NCAA wrestling champion and Brock Lesnar training partner Cole Konrad outlasted New York native Pat Bennet (1-1), earning a unanimous decision victory to improve to a perfect 3-0 in his nascent MMA career.

“I learned a lot about myself and a lot about the fight game in general tonight,” Konrad said during the post-fight press conference. “There’s definitely a lot of areas I’m going to focus on developing, but a win is a win and I’m just happy to be a part of Bellator.”

Fans who missed Thursday night’s action can watch all the best moments this weekend during special highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2. Check your local listings for exact dates and times.

Bellator returns to action next week from the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, La., with two semifinal fights in the Season 2 Featherweight Tournament: former pro soccer player Georgi Karakhanyan versus fomer NCAA all-American wrestler Joe Warren and a match-up of two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, Wilson Reis and Patricio Pitbull. The evening also features another Bellator “Super Fight,” with reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard taking on Paulo Filho.

For more information, visit www.Bellator.com follow us on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BellatorMMA.

June 19th -Gi 2:20-4:30

June 20th-No-Gi 12:00-2:00

The cost is $150 for both days or $100 for one day. The seminar is pre-pay only. Also all in attendence recieve a free month of MG in action, Marcelo Garcia’s online instruction website.

East Coast Martial Arts
5398 Fulton Dr NW
Canton, OH 44708
MAP

More information on the official site.

Matrix Fights (www.MatrixFights.com) formally announced Monday that its second ever event is now scheduled for the legendary “The Arena” in Philadelphia, PA on Friday, June 11.

Coming off a sellout crowd in its debut event this past February, the promotion will look to continue to build on its reputation as one of the fastest growing promotions in the United States by featuring the East Coast return of UFC veteran Jay Silva as he takes on blue chip prospect Tim Williams in a middleweight contest.

Silva now resides in Huntington Beach, California but began his amateur mixed martial arts career in New Jersey. A bouncer at several popular New York City nightclubs, Silva accumulated a large fanbase and emerged as an underground legend.

The Brazilian-born fighter transitioned from being an underground legend to a mainstream figure after building a respectable 5-1 record as a pro and landing a multi-fight contract with the UFC in 2009. Despite having gone 0-2 during his brief stint with the UFC, Silva made a name for himself by going the distance with middleweight standouts Chris Leben and C.B. Dollaway.

“Silva’s evolution from an East Coast-based amateur to a UFC-caliber middleweight has been nothing short of remarkable,” said Matrix Fights President Jimmy Binns Jr. “Jay was already a beloved figure on the New Jersey MMA scene before going to the UFC. But he’s more popular than ever since making it to the big show. We’re happy that we’re going to give fans in the Tri-State area their first chance to see Jay since making it to the UFC.”

Silva, who is drawing interest from several major promotions, could be just one big win away from returning to the big show. Standing in his way is one of the fastest rising middleweight prospects in all of MMA, Tim Williams.

Despite elite-level jiu-jitsu credentials, Williams’ emergence as one of the top unsigned prospects in MMA had been considered improbable. Several years ago the Maryland native nearly lost his life in an auto accident that has left permanent scarring to portions of his face. Then, just last year, Williams was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and his promising career was thought to be at a premature end.

Through all of his life-threatening battles, Williams has persevered and has achieved excellence in the cage; first as an amateur compiling a perfect 6-0 record and now as a pro, having gone 3-0 with three first round submissions.

“I am not sure if you are going to find a more inspirational fighter in MMA than Timmy Williams,” remarked Matrix Fights promoter Phil Migliarese. “Because of the things Tim has experienced in his life outside of the cage, it has made him fearless inside of it. Usually, you don’t see a 3-0 prospect accepting a fight against someone as experienced and dangerous as Jay Silva. But anything that Tim might experience in the cage is secondary to what he has endured outside of it.”

These days fighters with less than five fights rarely show up on the radars of major national MMA organizations such as the UFC, Strikeforce, and the Bellator Fighting Championships. However, an upset victory for Williams could expedite his ascension through the ranks and land him on a big show sooner rather than later.

“Matt Makowski vs. LeVon Maynard was a tremendous main event for our first show,” began Binns. “However, I think being able to bring Jay and Tim together sends a message to our fans that we’re going to deliver a show that at worst is as good as the first and potentially even better. Both Jay and Tim will have a lot at stake on June 11 and the victor is going to walk away with more than just their win bonus.”

In addition to Silva vs. Williams, Matrix Fights II will also feature Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Tim Carpenter competing for the first-time ever in his native Philadelphia. Williams, who trains at Balance Studios and is one of the best unsigned light heavyweights in the world will put his unblemished 5-0 record on the line against New York native Guybson Sa. Sa has just one pro fight on his resume but it was a memorable victory. Facing the vastly more experienced Ryan Contaldi, who was 5-2 at the time, Sa defeated the more experienced fighter in less than two minutes after executing a triangle choke.

Matrix Fights II will feature five pro fights and seven amateur contests with additional bouts set to be announced in the coming weeks. For ticket on-sale information as well as updates to the fight card, please visit MatrixFights.com.

PRESS RELEASE:

Abu Dhabi PRO Jiu-Jitsu and ADCC Submission Fighting Held Together for the First Time

APRIL 14, 2010 – TORONTO – Mixed Martial Arts Expo, Inc., the company behind MMA Expo – The Original MMA Expo (since 2005) – announced today that its upcoming June 12-13 event in Toronto will play host to two of the most prestigious grappling tournaments in the world. This will mark the first time ever that the ADCC Submission Fighting and the Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu-Jitsu Series will be held on the same weekend at the same venue. The result is an outstanding opportunity for North American competitors interested in competing in both types of tournaments.

“Mixed Martial Arts Expo has a track record of delivering a unique combative sports weekend that fans and competitors really enjoy and we are delighted to play host to these two world-class events”, stated Gerald Chopik, President of MMA Expo. “When it comes to holding the best submission tournaments on the planet most will agree that over the past decade the two Abu Dhabi tournaments have set the standard that others aim to achieve in terms of organization and quality of competition. In the submission grappling world, a division-win at either of their World Championships is equivalent to taking home Olympic Gold.”

Canada is becoming well-known for a growing and highly-talented pool of submission grappling and Jiu Jitsu competitors. “We would have been proud to host either of the Abu Dhabi tournaments at MMA Expo. To have both of these major events on the show floor on the same weekend is very exciting for grappling competitors, and especially those that want to compete in both tournaments. This new series of Canadian Regional Championships for both Gi and No-Gi competitors gives fighters a real opportunity to compete on the world stage and we are proud that MMA Expo can play a role in helping this happen.”

Reached in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Marko Leisten, president of the ADCC Federation, was keen on having secured Mixed Martial Arts Expo as the venue to showcase the ADCC Submission Fighting tournament. “This is something that we have been trying to put together for some time and I am very happy that we have finally secured the opportunity to feature ADCC events together with MMA Expo. I am looking forward to coming to Canada with ADCC Head Referee, Peter Ivanov. We foresee a high-level tournament with competitors from Canada and the USA.”

The Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu Jitsu Canadian Open Championships on Saturday, June 12, is produced by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Professor Fabio Holanda of Montreal. Among the prizes is an all expense paid trip to compete at the Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu Jitsu World Cup in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2011. The ADCC Submission Fighting Championships on Sunday, June 13, is produced by ADCC North American East Coast Regional Tournament Director, Emilio Novoa.

Hamilton-based retailer and e-tailer, Fight Planet, is the official sponsor of both tournaments. “When it comes to knowing what’s happening in the submission grappling community across North America few people are more aware than Fight Planet owner Riccardo Ammendolia”, said Chopik. “Fight Planet has been a premiere exhibitor at MMA Expo since day one and Riccardo played a key role in bringing MMA Expo and the Abu Dhabi tournaments together. While many combative sport businesses have come and gone over the past five years it’s been exciting to watch Riccardo build Fight Planet to the point where it is now the Official Sponsor of these two prestigious events.”

Individuals interested in competing in either tournament at MMA Expo TORONTO June 12-13 will find more information at www.MixedMartialArtsExpo.com.

About The Abu Dhabi Championships

The Abu Dhabi Combat Club and the ADCC Submission Fighting Championships were the creation of a UAE national Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of then U.A.E. leader Sheik Zayed. ADCC Champions and top competitors are highly sought after by the leading MMA fight promotions like the UFC®, DREAM and Strikeforce. The expansion of Submission Fighting, led by the huge success of ADCC, has spawned amateur leagues around the world. With each year, the number of competitors in these and other similar events has grown tremendously. ADCC Championships is and has always been considered the pinnacle of the sport. The creation of one visionary, ADCC, now in its 9th edition in 2009 has become the beacon of a new generation and a new sport that is gaining world-wide popularity.

All requests for more information about the tournaments themselves should be directed to:

- ADCC Submission Fighting (NoGi) – emilionovoa@aol.com; www.adccregionals.com

- Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu-Jitsu (Gi) – fabio_holanda@hotmail.com; www.fabioholanda.com

About MMA Expo

Mixed Martial Arts Expo ~ the original MMA Fan Expo launched in 2005 ~ is a unique, high-energy, interactive consumer show for people who love martial arts and the full contact sport of mixed martial arts, the fastest growing sport in the world. The unique interactive model includes martial arts tournaments and demonstrations, martial arts and business development seminars and a show floor filled with apparel, gear, fitness and nutrition-based exhibitors.

MMA Expo also gives combative sports fans and martial arts competitors the unique opportunity to meet personally with some of the top professional fighters and MMA celebrities in the sport for autographs and pictures. Approximately 10,000 fans, 300 exhibitors and 30 MMA celebrities have attended MMA Expo Toronto events to date.

For exhibitor and tournament sponsorship information contact: Gerald Chopik, President, MMA Expo ~ gchopik@MixedMartialArtsExpo.com

Philadelphia is a hotbed for Combat Sports. A long-time staple within the Philly sports scene has been pro wrestling. The meteoric rise of ECW caused the then-Viking Hall to be re-named "The ECEW Arena." Now known simply as "The Arena," a new combat sports tradition will take shape when Matrix Fights invades the historic venue.

As I’ve chronicled in my previous two columns, I have been able to cross over from the world of journalism into my ultimate aspiration of working in talent relations in mixed martial arts.

Since last April, I’ve been able to be involved in a number of shows as a matchmaker but my next show on Feb. 27 at The Arena (formerly known as the ECW Arena) will hold special meaning to me due to the fact that it is in my hometown of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is portrayed as a very tough city by the national media. Some of the bad rap Philly gets is warranted (there is no excused for when Eagles fans cheered when Michael Irvin got injured) and some of it is not warranted (yes, we booed Santa Claus at an Eagles game but he was a bootleg Santa not hired by the team and he was drunk off his ass).

So Philly is indeed an edgy town which is why this city has embraced combat sports with open arms over the years. It started (and continues) with boxing as some of the “sweet science’s” most prolific punchers such as Joe Frazier and Bernard Hopkins call Philly home (and I can’t forget my favorite boxer of all time, Meldrick Taylor).

Pro wrestling also has a rich history in Philly. While it was before my time, the Spectrum used to be packed in the 70s when the likes of Bruno Sammartino and “Superstar” Billy Graham came to town. Growing up, I was a huge pro wrestling fan and even at a young age I followed the NWA (the wrestling promotion, not the rap group — although I thought the rap group was pretty bad ass too) and was a huge fan of Ric Flair, the Road Warriors, and the Midnight Express.

The NWA eventually morphed into World Championship Wrestling and by that point I was old enough to attend events with my younger brother. While the WWF (now WWE) did their events at the more modern Spectrum, WCW was left to do their events at the old Philadelphia Civic Center, a dirty, borderline dilapidated venue that never was past its peak because I don’t think it had one to begin with.

Despite being young, my parents allowed my brother and I to attend these events at the rough and tumble Philly Civic Center because my uncle was the timekeeper for the shows (he even got to carry Ric Flair’s robe to the back once!). Looking back, the wrestling action was pretty weak and the WCW house shows really didn’t live up to what my brother and I watched each week on TV.

Despite all the crap WCW house shows my brother and I endured, I will always remember the one time Cactus Jack Manson (aka Mick Foley) made a surprise return to WCW and had an impromptu hardcore match with Sting. It was pretty cool because just a few weeks earlier I watched an amazing brawl between Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert at the Pennsylvania Hall (which was adjacent to the Civic Center) at a Tri-State Wrestling Alliance event (the forerunner to what would eventually become ECW). The feud between Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert is legendary in Philly and the attention they generated from their matches earned both second opportunities with WCW.

As I got older I still followed wrestling but simply had other priorities as a teenager than sitting through boring house shows at the rat-infested Civic Center. But my desire to go out and attend wrestling events was renewed in the mid-90s when Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman revolutionized the wrestling industry with a new brand of extreme wrestling. Truth be told, hardcore wrestling had been done for years in the South and also in Japan with FMW but Heyman was a creative genius and the extreme nature of the product extended beyond the ring, as many of the story lines were unique and compelling.

In a lot of ways, Heyman was pro wrestling’s version of Christopher Nolan (the director of the new Batman franchise). Instead of cartoonish and unrealistic story lines, Heyman and his team featured realism and adult-themed wrestling angles. I will always remember the angle they did between Sandman and Raven in which Sandman’s real-life divorce was exposed on camera and Sandman’s young son abandoned him to join Raven’s cult.

ECW most certainly revolutionized wrestling and took its act on the road but it originated in Philadelphia. To this day, I feel the edginess that the Philadelphia crowd brought to the early ECW events really added to the promotion’s brand and helped it grow in popularity. I was not a regular at live ECW events in Philly but I made it a point to attend several shows.

ECW’s home base was formerly a Bingo Hall that had been re-named Viking Hall. However, the promotion became so iconic in Philadelphia that the venue was re-branded as the “ECW Arena” and despite less than stellar sight lines, the venue was portrayed as a “Wrigley Field” of wrestling because of its intimate feel.

There are still a lot of pro boxing and wrestling shows (such as Ring of Honor, CZW, and Chikara Pro) here in Philly but I really feel the combat sports torch has been passed to mixed martial arts. Even before The Ultimate Fighter hit the air there were several jiu-jitsu and MMA schools in Philly along with various Judo, Sambo, and Muay Thai “combat clubs” (usually a basement or garage where a bunch of people trained).

While MMA was legalized in PA just last year, many top schools in the region had emerged since the turn of the century. Schools such as Daddis Fight Camps, the Fight Factory, and Balance Studios have been existence for quite some time in various forms for the past 8-9 years. Thanks to TUF, their student levels have gone through the roof with schools such as Daddis and Balance opening multiple locations to accommodate their rapid growth.

As big as boxing and pro wrestling has been in Philadelphia, it is my sincere belief that as time goes on, MMA will be bigger in this town than both combat sports combined. It may sound like hyperbole on my part but unless you live in the area you truly do not have an understanding just how many people train BJJ, Muay Thai, or MMA in or around the city of Philadelphia. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at a bar or restaurant talking to people and when I tell them what I do for a living I hear “Oh, I have a brother who does that.”

All of the preamble I have laid out here is to try and convey just how much of a dream it has been of mine to be directly involved with a major MMA show here in this city. For Matrix, it will be our first show but we’re coming out of the gate with a bang.

The cool part about the card that we’ve put together is that in many respects I have some sort of direct connection to the fighters and fight gyms that will be involved with the show. For example, the show’s main event will feature welterweights Matt Makowski and LeVon Maynard. If you’re a longtime reader of this site, those names should be very familiar to you.

After leaving traditional martial arts in favor of taking up MMA, Daddis Fight Camps was the first school I trained at. I not only trained there, I even participated in several smokers — fighting within Philadelphia city limits long before MMA had been legalized. One of the top prospects at the school was a kid named Matt Makowski, who I believe was still just a teenager (either 18 or 19) at the time. Matt was working his way up the amateur ranks, participating in a lot of Muay Thai fights as well as amateur MMA bouts in New Jersey. It was obvious to anyone who saw him that he was destined to be a pro fighter.

Despite just being 21, Matt made his pro debut at a ShoXC event in Atlantic City several years back and would go on to fight for EliteXC three times, compiling a record of 2-1 with his most notable win coming over UFC veteran Nick Serra. The Makowski fight vs. Serra took place on the undercard of the first-ever MMA event televised on live, primetime network television and I had the honor of working on the CBS crew for the show. Even though Matt’s fight didn’t air on CBS, it did air live on ProElite.com. The bout has become infamous because Nick Serra was disqualified for repeatedly pulling guard/butt scooting. Nick’s erratic behavior was unfortunate because it really obscured the fact that the reason why he resorted to such tactics was because Matt had nearly leg kicked him into oblivion.

Fast forward to present day and both my wife and 10-year old son train at Daddis. Brad Daddis, my original MMA instructor has really supported Matrix and we will have at least three Daddis fighters featured on Feb. 27. We could possibly have a fourth Daddis fighter on the show if someone steps up and agrees to fight Brylan Van Artsdalen in Brylan’s pro debut. So if you fight at 145 lbs. and live in the area and want to get in on this card, e-mail me at SCaplan8@gmail.com. And while I am at it, we also need a amateur 145 lbs. fighter to step up and fight Ben Tichy.

Finding opponents for Brylan and Ben has been one of the only sources of stress involved with helping put the show together. Having trained, I know what it is like to prepare for a fight. But having competed only in smokers, I always knew I would have an opponent (even though I never knew who it was until just hours before fighting). For Brylan and Ben, I know they have been training hard despite the fact that multiple opponents have pulled out. They pushed themselves to the limit, altered their diet, and made many other sacrifices in preparation for their respective fights. There’s nothing than I want more right now than to make sure they have a fight come Feb. 27, so help spread the word!

With that brief interlude out of the way, let’s get back to the main event.

Matt’s opponent, LeVon, is a fighter I was first introduced to when I covered the IFL draft tryouts in New York several years back. When I arrived, I was surprised by the level of East Coast talent that had shown up in hopes of breaking into the IFL. Such names in attendance included Shane Ott, Jim Bova, Diego Jimenez, Matt Lee, Al Iaquinta, Danillo Villefort, Torrance Taylor, Tiawan Howard, and Matt Brown. Despite the familiar faces I had seen on local shows, there was a civilian contractor from the Air Force out of Virginia who I had never heard of before that was tearing up the tryouts. It was none other than LeVon.

When it came to the grappling portion of the tryouts, LeVon was tapping his opponent out right and left so I immediately branded him as a BJJ guy. That was until they sparred Muay Thai, at which point LeVon worked his opponent so hard that the two-minute sparring session was cut short. He advanced to the finals, which actually turned out to be a full-scale MMA bout — which was surreal because MMA was and still is illegal in New York. LeVon wowed the IFL judges (which included Bas Rutten) with the effort and qualified for the IFL draft.

I was so impressed with LeVon and how he came out of nowhere that he was the feature subject of the CBSSports.com story I wrote covering my experience at the tryout. LeVon never ended up competing for the IFL but did get the call to step in as a last-minute replacement to fight Rory Markham at the 2007 IFL Grand Prix Finals at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. LeVon accepted the bout and was ready to compete but the gaming commission determined that LeVon didn’t have enough experience to fight Markham. The spot went to Brett Cooper, who had turned heads at the IFL tryouts in Los Angeles.

LeVon’s frustration of not being allowed to accept his call to a major show was compounded by the fact that Cooper pulled off an upset against Markham, TKO’ing him in the second round. LeVon is a very professional and polite guy but he is also very confident in his abilities and I believe to this day he feels like that was his upset to pull off and that it was taken away from him.

I am expecting fireworks between Matt and LeVon. Both are still young and will be competing at the highest levels of MMA (UFC, Strikeforce, and or Bellator) in short order. Both are taking a major risk in fighting each other but the reality is that whoever wins this fight will be in line for a bigger and better opportunity because it will be a win that matters.

Stylistically, Matt and LeVon match up very well. Both are true mixed martial artists with good grappling skills and even better striking skills. The unique thing about this fight is that Matt and LeVon fought several years ago in an amateur Muay Thai match at the WKA championships. Matt won the fight but the rematch will be contested under MMA rules.

For me, Matt vs. LeVon is a dream matchup, as it is a fight that I’ve wanted to see for years. When I first decided my ultimate goal was to work in talent relations, I decided to volunteer for a regional promotion called Combat in the Cage so I could gain more experience. I often suggested to the promoter that he should try and make a match between LeVon and Matt. He always liked the matchup but since he was managing Matt at the time, he wanted safer fights for him.

Years later and the two are finally going to get to fight in the main event of the first-ever show I am matchmaking in my own hometown. When I first proposed the fight, I think there might have been some skepticism on the part of both camps. Knowing that I used to train at Daddis, I think some people might have felt I was setting LeVon up. On the flip side, since I have written at length about LeVon and since 5 Oz. has even sponsored him in the past, I think there was also some questions from the other side.

The reality is that I have no ulterior motive. I have no idea who is going to win the fight — which is why I wanted to put it together in the first place. My only motive here is to make sure my bosses (Jimmy Binns Jr. and Phil and Ricardo Migliarese) get a high-caliber main event that allows them to grow their fight promotion. The goal here is to give the fans paying hard earned money a fight that they will talk about for years, much in the same way local Philly wrestling and boxing fans still talk about legendary clashes that they saw at the Blue Horizon, Spectrum, Philadelphia Civic Center, or the ECW Arena.

There is so much more to talk about but this column is already too long and the average reader has already stopped reading. But I am excited that we have Matt vs. LeVon in our main event and that we were fortunate enough to land Cole Konrad’s second-ever MMA fight, as he is set to take on fellow heavyweight prospect Joel Wyatt.

While there aren’t many tickets left, you still can buy them online at MatrixFights.com or via some of the major schools that are supporting us such as Daddis, Semper-Fi MMA (which will be represented by its head instructor, former Marine Julio Rosario), and Balance Studios. If you know a fighter fighting on the show who has tickets, please try to buy it from them, as they will get a percentage of the ticket sale.

In closing, I really want to thank Jimmy and the Migliarese brothers. Matrix is their promotion but they’ve allowed me to be a big part of it and have shown a lot of confidence in me. To be able to matchmake a show in my own hometown in one of the most famous combat sports venues in the United States is simply an amazing opportunity. From a sentimental standpoint it’s such an important milestone that my son and wife are not only going to be there but my father and brother will be as well even though they aren’t MMA fans.

I really hope to see you on Feb. 27 when Matrix helps further a brand new combat sports tradition in Philadelphia. If you aren’t able to make it, don’t worry about it as Matrix is only going to get bigger and better and there will be plenty more shows for you to attend.

Enjoy the fights.

USAPL Virginia powerlifting fixture Will Morris has died at the age of 65. Morris was to turn 66 today.

Federation President Larry Maile: "It is with a profound sense of sadness that I have to report the passing of Will Morris. Will was a landmark in Virginia powerlifting and with John Shifflet, promoted meets at every level from local to national. He was a perenial member of the Master's powerlifting team and a fixture in Virginia (and the East Coast) powerlifting.