This will be a place for me to post about my love for all things MMA and combat sports.
I am in the process of developing The DaMMAge Report - a new approach to the MMA news show. A show for die-hard MMA fans from an authentic perspective. Stay Tuned for more details.
Rocktagon MMA Worldwide brought the latest installment of people doing battle in the Rocktagon went down at The Agora in Cleveland, Ohio last night with an exciting fight card for Rocktagon XXVI: Veni, Vidi, Vici.
The main event put Kettering, Ohio native, Tyler "Superman" Combs against Micah "Maverick" Miller. Miller is the brother of TUF5 and UFC veteran, Cole Miller, and has fought in several promotions like the XFC, DREAM, and the WEC. Combs has fought for several local/regional promotions since turning pro, and his fight previous to this event was when he faced Andrew Osborne at Complete Devastation 6 in Clearfield, Pennsylvania back on September 15, 2012.
Also on the fight card was Complete Devastation 5 veteran, Darryl "The Magic Man" Madison who faced Micah "Mayhem" Bender. The main event of the Amateur portion of the fight card put Daniel "The Assassin" Coffman against James "The Hybrid" Pfeiffer. Also in action was Coffman's brother, Jonathan "Leviathan" Coffman - who helped start the action off with the first fight of the night against Chris Fortune. The co-main event of the night was "Animal" Andrew Cseh Vs. Jordan Espinosa.Two fights from the fight card didn't happen were Lauren Stoffel Vs. Janel Krafft and Winston Witherow Vs. Ray “Crazy” Hollis
The event was held at the famous Agora Theatre and Ballroom (commonly known as "The Agora") which has been the venue for some famous bands as well as local favorites over the years. Many bands such as Grand Funk Railroad, ZZ Top, Ratt, Glass Harp, and The Raspberries have played at the Agora.
The band American Wi-Fi played the intermission between the amateur and professional portions of the fight card.
Rocktagon MMA broadcasts events via GFL.TV on the internet and on television via Comcast's Sportsnet. During the GFL live feed I was watching it was announced that Rocktagon MMA signed a deal with Canada's "The Fight Network" to get the Rocktagon MMA events aired on that network, possibly on a weekly basis. I have Dish Network and part of my programming package is the "Pursuit Channel" (channel 240 on Dish Network) and on Monday nights they air 2 hours of programming from The Fight Network. The shows "Best of DEEP" (a Japanese MMA promotion) and "Texas Fight Night" (showing fights throughout Texas, but mostly from the Corpus Christi area) are HUGELY successful - and I have my DVR set so that I don't miss a single episode! Hopefully they will add the Rocktagon MMA fights to this line-up so that I can see previous fights/events on my TV every Monday night!
Rocktagon XXVI: Veni, Vidi, Vici Cleveland, Ohio at The Agora 05/04/13
Main Event: Micah Miller defeats Tyler Combs by TKO (knee) at 0:43 of the 3rd Round Co-Main Event:
Andrew Cseh defeats Jordan Espinosa by RNC at 3:49 of the 1st Round Micah Bender defeats Darryl Madison by RNC at 1:49 in the 1st Round Amateur Fight Card Main Event: James Pfeiffer defeats Daniel Coffman by Unanimous Decision Brandon Vasquez defeats Steve Chapple by Unanimous Decision Uriah Karkow defeats Matt Zindren by Armbar at 2:22 of the 2nd Round Tobiaus Taylor defeats Orundi Colvin by Knock Out at 2:03 of the 2nd Round Nicholas Rodriguez defeats Billy Freedson by Triangle at 2:12 of the 2nd Round Tim Taumoepeau defeats John MacGregor by Unanimous Decision Jonathan Coffman defeats Chris Fortune by Armbar at 1:21 of the 1st Round
Main event winner: Micah "Maverick" Miller
Co-main event winner: "Animal" Andrew Cseh
Micah "Mayhem" Bender after the win
Amateur Main Event winner: James "The Hybrid" Pfeiffer
Brandon "Killa B" Vasquez after the win
Tobiaus "Freight Train" Taylor wins by KO
Tim Taumoepeau wins his MMA debut at the Rocktagon
American Wi-Fi playing the intermission
American Wi-Fi playing the intermission
I want to thank everyone at Rocktagon MMA for putting on another awesome event. Also a big thanks to the people at GoFightLive for making the event available via internet live feed. And I can't forget Skippy Cohen and Carl Mortensen at MMAmadhouse.com for allowing me to report these results on Twitter & Facebook as a member of TEAMmadhouse!
I found the Gracie Academy shirt at GracieAcademy.com after seeing Joe Rogan wearing a similar one at a UFC weigh-in. The design was cool, but I immediately liked the vintage "Academia Gracie De Jiu-Jitsu Brasil" design better.
The shirt arrived quickly from Torrance, California and I immediately liked the look of it. It is 100% cotton printed in Canada. (the graphics look "pre-distressed" and that's cool)
I like the soft cotton shirt they chose, and it seems sturdy for being a medium thickness t-shirt.
(From the page regarding this shirt)
"Academia Gracie de Jiu-Jitsu" is the literal Portuguese translation
for "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy." This vintage t-shirt pays homage to the
original Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro. With a super cool 1950's
style silk screen design on the front and the classic AG "Academia
Gracie" logo on the back, people will think you were a student of the
original Gracie Academy under Grand Masters Carlos and Helio Gracie!
We've partnered with the premiere MMA lifestyle apparel company, Roots of Fight, to produce a limited number of vintage Gracie Brand garments. All the
garments are custom built (not off the shelf), vintage dyed, and
garment washed. The art is hand drawn and printed using specialty ink
for the softest touch. Each garment is carefully constructed to fit
exactly as if it were produced during the peak of the Gracie dynasty in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While wearing this vintage gear, don't be
surprised if someone asks you if you trained at the original Gracie
Academy with Carlos and Helio!
Garment Details: 100% super soft cotton, lightweight slim fit, custom built, vintage dyed, specialty ink for soft touch.
Available Sizes: M, L, XL, XXL
Ralek's Size: Ralek is 6'2" 190lbs and is wearing a Large.
Color: Black
The shirt is $35.00 plus a $4.17 shipping/handling charge... and that is the only thing I see wrong with this shirt, or any product from this store. I recommend buying these products, and I plan on buying more when I can save up for some other shirts I like from this website.
I rate this shirt a solid "A" and I give it an overall rating of "9 out of 10" - I deducted a point because I actually paid for this shirt & I feel it could have been sold at a price closer to $20.00 and not $35.00
The link for RootsOfFight on Facebook can be found here.
If you are a company that sells merchandise that is MMA related (clothing, accessories, equipment, supplements, etc) and you would like for me to review your product. Feel free to contact me through my Facebook page - ZenRhino's Facebook profile.
USFFC 11: Redemption (US Freedom Fighters Championship)
Saturday, March 30, 2013
From the Swamp Fox
Marion, North Carolina
Thanks to Ryan "Mouth of the South" for the Live Feed commentary Thanks to John Moorehouse for the official results info
Hannah "Shockwave" Cifers defeats Delaney Owen by Unanimous Decision Winning the USFFC Straw-weight Title (ammy)
Michael Torres defeats Marcus Levester by Unanimous Decision Winning the USFFC Bantamweight Title (ammy)
Walker Vivian defeats Brandon Bowes by Unanimous Decision
Ali Elreda defeats Dustin Messer by Submission (Armbar) at 2:42 of Round 1
Chase Gamble defeats Jordan Humphries by TKO at 1:17 of Round 2
Nathan Callahan Bronson Kaahui by Submission (Triangle)at 2:49 of Round 1
Brandon Barrett defeats Adam Gregory by Submission (Head & Arm Choke) at :41 of Round 2
Samuel Behr defeats Josh Westmoreland by Unanimous Decision
Aaron Brooks defeats Jeremy Doyle by Submission (RNC) at 2:27 of Round 1
Patrick Ward defeats Pedro Obrer by Unanimous Decision
CJ Vanover defeats Ashten Koontz by Submission (RNC) at 1:13 of Round 1
See full recap at: http://mma-insider.com/News/tabid/78/MMAi/824/USFFC_11_Live_Report.aspx
Fighters
give up alot to be a fighter. Even at the ammy level these people
sacrifice alot to do what they love. I know people who drive about an
hour (or more) both ways several times a week just to train & this
is a pain in the wallet with gas prices these days. At the
local/regional level fighters need to have a "day job" to help pay the
bills, support their families & make ends meet. Chasing the dream
puts this job or jobs at risk & getting hurt can mean not only
missing a fight, but missing out on work & not getting to pay some
bills.
So you have to think about things like paying
rent/mortgage and utilities plus putting food on the table with the cost
of gas & gym membership(s) when you think of the costs of what
training to fight means to the fighter... but that's not all.
You need to factor in things like the costs of getting supplements &
other nutritional needs, the costs of equipment & other accessories
(like shorts, athletic support/cup, gloves, wraps, tape, etc) in with
things like the costs of travelling to fight (gas to/from, hotel. food,
etc) or compete in submissions/grappling competitions and the cost of
compensating the people who support your efforts like cornermen &
coaches/instructors... and you can see how this ends up being quite a
large number - and that is just for ONE FIGHT! Imagine having to repeat
this process over & over to cover the total for an entire year!
I've dealt with sponsors a little. I won't say it was/is on the level
of someone fighting in the UFC... but I think I have learned enough to
understand the basics of how companies deal with fighters... and I also
see how some companies abuse this opportunity to their advantage &
not really helping the fighter they "sponsor".
I can understand
why a company might not want to offer cash as part of a sponsorship for
an amateur fighter, since they aren't a proven commodity & rarely
get on TV to offer a company sponsoring them much exposure beyond social
media updates... but for a company to NOT have cash be part of the
sponsorship package of a professional fighter is a company who is NOT
really sponsoring a fighter, but one who is using a fighter to get their
name out without giving a fair amount back.
I'm not going to
say names... companies who act wrongly know who they are & it
doesn't take much for people to see who is doing it right & who
isn't - regardless of what the companies say on their websites & in
their social media updates/releases.
Recently I was asked what I
thought a fair amount would be if a company wanted to be an exclusive
sponsor of a known fighter (meaning they are or have been fighting at
the highest levels of MMA in the UFC or other promotions of equal or
similar rating of importance) who would be fighting on a televised event
for a national promotion.
Again, I won't say who the fighter
is, or the company that was trying to sponsor them... but just talking
in general terms of a fighter LIKE THAT and a company LIKE THAT - I said
I would think that the sponsorship amount SHOULD be in the neighborhood
of $20,000 - $25,000 when I factored in all of the things I mentioned
above... BUT that I could understand a company trying to get a steal of a
deal by offering somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 - $15,000.
Take into consideration this would be the only company sponsoring this
fighter, because they wanted to have exclusive rights to the fighter. I
came to what i thought would be a reasonable number considering it would
be for about 6 weeks of this fighter's career & covering the costs
he/she might have to cover over that time to properly prepare for their
opponent so they could win - which should be the goal of the sponsoring
company so the public associates them with the winner of the fight... or
so you would think.
But this company wasn't offering anything
close to that, even the lowest figure I mentioned as an estimate... I
was totally shocked to hear that it was a mid-level THREE DIGIT number
they were offering to pay to be the only name associated with a known
fighter for a televised fight, not even a FOUR DIGIT figure, and I was
thinking how does the person who offered that from this company sleep at
night?
I see companies plastering their name all over the
place, getting associated with entire events on the local/regional
level... and having a huge list of fighters they sponsor... but if all
they are doing is sending a few shirts now & then or kicking in a
few bucks once in awhile... how is that really sponsoring a fighter who
is putting out money from their own pocket just to be able to fight? How
is that fair considering what the sponsoring company gets in return?
How is that supporting the industry?
In my opinion, the answer to all of those questions is "IT'S NOT!"
We've seen recent news stories where fighters in national promotions
fighting in televised events weren't paid by their sponsors for
agreements they had already made with the fighters... it's clear to me
that some companies feel they can just screw people over 7 use them to
get their company name into the public eye & feel that it's ok to do
whatever - rather than being fair & square with the people they
choose to sponsor & giving them a fair compensation in exchange for
the fighter getting the company's name/product out to their fanbase
& viewers of the fight/event/sport.
Not every sponsor is
like this... I have seen some go the extra mile to help out their
fighters when needed. But more than enough take the easy way out &
shortchange their fighters & that is just WRONG in my opinion!
These people bust their asses to live the dream... it's not right for
someone to take advantage of fighters in need and abusing the system in
place just so they can make a buck.
Fighters deserve better
from sponsors who benefit from them putting blood, sweat & tears
into everything they do as they try to live their dream of being a
professional MMA fighter.
Hopefully the companies not treating
their fighters right will act more like the ones who are doing right by
their fighters. I don't expect them to all of a sudden just change
their ways & get less when they are getting more... but I can hope
they see that there is a right way to do things & that by doing what
the companies who go the extra mile to support/sponsor their fighters
do they will end up making more in the big picture.
The
negative publicity from being shown as a company who doesn't pay their
fighters when an agreement is in place... or shortchanging their
fighters by only kicking in a few shirts or so would be worse than not
making as huge of a profit by screwing over the fighter by not fairly
compensating them throughout the course of the sponsorship.
Today, March 4, 2013 Albert Cameron & Drew Shannon (co-hosts of the MMA RunDown) released a video on YouTube announcing the comeback of the MMA RunDown and the beginning of a "sister program" called Cage Nation TV.
For a fan of the local MMA scene like myself this was amazing news! I went to ABC23 WATM Sundays at noon to get my weekly fix of all things MMA from Albert & Drew - and it was a sad moment when Albert made the announcement on his MMA Blog that the show had finished its run on TV.
Many people I know were also upset & sad by this, and because the hosts didn't get a chance to address the show ending (to the viewers and each other) a video was filmed just before Complete Devastation 8 was about to begin addressing that issue of the hosts not getting to say goodbye to the loyal viewers of the show.
I was lucky enough to be asked to film this moment in local MMA history, and believe me when I say that it was hard for me to remain professional & keep my composure as I was hearing what Drew & Albert were saying. I was thinking this was just a simple goodbye video... imagine my surprise & excitement as I was listening in real time that the show was coming back on YouTube AND an additional show on MMA was going to begin that supplements the great programming we have come to expect from the MMA RunDown.
The video announces the links to the Cage Nation TV pages and here they are:
Complete Devastation 8 Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pa.
03/02/13
Pro Fights:
Main Event: Brett "Showtime" Shoenfelt over William Ward by TKO 1:48 of Round 1
Jeff Holmes over Brad "Machine Gun" Mountain by RNC 1:22 of Round 1 Jason Willett over Tyler "Country Boy" Updike by Guillotine 1:22 of Round 1 Charlie "The Madman" Gathers over Donte Adams by RNC 2:52 of Round 1
Ammy Fights:
Title Fight: Featherweight Rich Cantolina over Zachery Shultz by Unanimous Decision
Doug Haupt over Jason Royer by Stoppage (Guillotine) :25 of Round 1 Kyle Dunmeyer over Chaz Dowdell by Key-lock 1:15 of Round 1 Jacob Kozorosky over Matthew Maney by Unanimous Decision Ethan Goss over Daniel O'Neill by Unanimous Decision
Another awesome night of fights at the Blair County Convention Center as Complete Devastation 8 came to Altoona, Pa. Even with a few fights not getting to happen - most notably a Heavyweight fight featuring Complete Devastation veteran Clark Young) - the fights that did survive were exciting. It was a night of 1st round finishes & unanimous decisions. The crowd was animated and very involved. Even with what seemed to be added seats to the venue from previous events, it appeared to be a sold out crowd - even possibly standing room only.
The night started off with local fighter Brett "Showtime" Shoenfelt entering the cage with some people associated with the Hollidaysburg High School Wrestling boosters and pro hobby stock car racer Curtis Guyer. Shoenfelt made a donation to the wrestling boosters and talked about his support of their program & efforts to take wrestlers to the state championships. Brett also talked about how he sponsors the efforts of Guyer as he competes in pro hobby stock car racing.
The fights began with the amateur fights. Etan Goss facing Daniel O'Neill. It was an action packed three round fight, but it was clear to those in attendance, and by the judges score cards that Goss was the winner.
Next up was Jacob Kozorosky against Matthew Maney. Kozorosky was victorious in a dominating win at Complete Devastation, and Maney was supposed to also fight on that card but had to pull out of that fight. Kozorosky again was very dominant in the win over Maney for another win at a Complete Devastation event.
Kyle "Strong" Dunmeyer squared off against Chaz "The Gladiator" Dowdell. Dunmeyer is a veteran of 3 previous Complete Devastation events, and came into this fight undefeated at 3 - 0. Even though Dowdell had a significant height advantage over Dunmeyer, Kyle pulled off a "key-lock" armbar for the first round submission.
The next fight was between Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Jason Royer and Doug Haupt. Royer usually fights at Lightweight (155lbs) but took this fight against Haupt at Welterweight (170lbs) and was giving up over a dozen pounds coming in to this fight. Haupt had fought a team-mate of Royer's (Ryan Glunt) and had lost to him. In Jason's previous fight at Complete Devastation 5 he was dominating the first round against Jesse Busfield when the doctor stopped the fight in between rounds because Royer had a cut over his eye that was effecting his vision. It was a disappointing loss for him considering he was winning the fight up to that point. Haupt & Royer started off with a furious page & ended up with a takedown and Royer being on top of Haupt - and that's where Royer had another dose of bad luck. Haupt had a guillotine on Royer from the bottom and the ref was trying to determine whether Royer was ok or not. It appeared that Royer had "spiked" his head when he slammed Haupt down to the mat. After a few attempts of trying to communicate with Royer to see if he was ok to continue or succumbing to the guillotine, the ref stopped the fight to the dismay of Royer at only 25 seconds into the fight. Royer said he was fine and didn't realize the ref was talking to him with the questioning, but the decision had been made and the fight was over. The crowd erupted in disapproval and shouts of "REMATCH NOW!" rang out because the official decision hadn't been announced to explained what had happened. Hopefully Royer's next fight ends without any controversy.
(It should be said that referee Bill Bookwalter has had fight experience and is a very qualified referee. He was doing what he felt was in the best interest of the fighter, and while it have been disappointing for Royer, hsi fans & the Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA Fight Team... it was the right call at the time.)
The last of the amateur fights was a title match to fill the spot for the Featherweight (145lb) championship left vacant when Charlie Gathers turned pro at Complete Devastation 7 last November. Originally, Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Cody "Lenny" Karlheim was set to face off with undefeated Zachery Shultz, but when Karlheim injured his ACL/MCL ligaments of his right knee a replacement had to be found on relative short notice. Pittsburgh-based fighter Rich Cantolina stepped up on short notice to take the fight. Cantolina has fought for a title previously with other promotions 3 times without coming out the champion, and was looking to finally get a belt around his waist. Shultz came in to this title fight at 3 - 0 to Cantolina's 8 - 6 record. Cantolina was teeing off on Shultz, but Zachery showed tons of heart and withstood the many strikes which landed to his head. At one point in the 1st round Cantolina rocked Shultz and seemed very close to ending the fight, when the ref had to stop the action to make him aware that in the follow-up strikes to that initial big blow Shultz had become a "downed opponent" and under Pennsylvania amateur rules you can't strike to the head when fighters are either downed or on the mat. No point was deducted due to the accidental nature of the strikes, but the time it took for the ref to address the situation with both fighters allowed Shultz to recover enough to escape the round intact. Rounds 2 and three were similar to the first, and the result was a unanimous decision to Cantolina who became the Complete Devastation Featherweight (ammy) champion.
After a brief intermission the pro fight portion of the fight card commenced. Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Charlie "The Madman" Gathers was looking to get back to his winning ways after a bumpy start to his professional career. After leaving the amateur ranks with a record of 6 - 1 (and being the Complete Devastation Featherweight Champion who successfully defended his title) Gathers came in to this fight being 0 - 2 as a pro, having lost two tough fights to strong wrestlers Tyler Saltsman & Charles Kessinger both by submission. Gathers was matched up against King of the Cage veteran fighter Donte Adams, fighting out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The fight began with Gathers charging Adams, and that almost cost him when Adams landed a amazing head kick that rocked Gathers. Adams tried to capitalize on this but Gathers recovered almost immediately after the action went to the mat, and after some scrambling the fight ended at 2:52 of the first round with local favorite Gathers pulling off the victory, winning by Rear Naked Choke.
Next up was Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Tyler "Country Boy" Updike versus Jason Willett. Both fighters had either been amateur champions or fought for amateur titles, and their pro records coming in to this fight was Willett at 1 - 0 and Updike at 0 - 1. The fight began with Updike taking control, but in a scramble somehow Willett managed to sink in a guillotine and the fight ended with Willett winning at 1:22 of the first round.
In the co-main event was Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Brad "Machine Gun" Mountain facing Jeff Holmes. The fighters came into this fight with almost identical records of 1 - 3 as a pro, but Holmes also had a no-contest to his record, making him 1 - 3 - 1. Mountain had moved from the Central Pennsylvania area to train & fight in North and South Carolinas before returning to this area and re-joining his Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA Fight Team brothers. Mountain has also trained with current UFC fighter Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch. Holmes hadn't fought in almost a year, and both fighters were looking to get back to their winning ways. This fight was an almost replica of the previous fight between Updike & Willett. Mountain was taking control until in a scramble Holmes sunk in a rear naked choke to win over Mountain at 1:22 of the 1st round.
After the co-main event the winner in a raffle was chosen, and an autographed banner of Brett Shoenfelt was awarded to one lucky winner.
The final fight of the night was the main event between Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA fighter Brett "Showtime" Shoenfelt and Williams Ward. "Showtime" has trained out in Arizona with current UFC fighters Ryan Bader & C.B. Dollaway before coming back to Central Pennsylvania and training with the Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA Fight Team. Ward had made his Complete Devastation debut at CDMMA 6 back in September 2012 and defeated Shoenfelt's team-mate, Ryan Glunt. Shoenfelt started off his pro career at 1 - 3, but since then he has been on a 3 fight win streak. His previous fight was in January at VFL 40 in Altoona, where he fought on the same fight card as former UFC star & local favorite, Charlie Brenneman. The connection between Brenneman & Shoenfelt goes deeper than just fighting on the same fight card, Brenneman was a teacher at Hollidaysburg High School (his Alma Mater, and where he began his wrestling career) where Shoenfelt was a student and high school wrestler before Brenneman left teaching to begin his career as an MMA fighter.
Ward is a King of the Cage veteran, and his coach at the H8 Squad is a King of the Cage champion. None of his previous pro fights have made it out of the 1st round, and with the way Shoenfelt has been ending fights quickly this shaped up to be an exciting, but short fight. The fight lived up to that billing and after a flurry of action with Shoenfelt pummeling Ward, Brett managed to overwhelm Ward to win by TKO at 1:48 of the 1st round.
After Brett won the fight, someone in the crowd of Shoenfelt supporters raised a sign that said "Brenneman Fears Shoenfelt", and when Announcer Drew Shannon asked Brett what he thought of that sign, Shoenfelt said he wants to fight Brenneman to prove that he is a UFC calibre fighter who deserves his shot at the "Big Show" that is the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
It was an amazing night of fights, and makes me want the next event to happen very soon! The Complete Devastation MMA events have increasingly entertained me as well as everyone in attendance I'm sure. The promotion puts on quality fights that are always exciting as they bring the best MMA action to the region!
I would like to thank everyone involved with making this event such a success. The people at GoTime Promotions & Nova6 Studios for an excellent show, to Ryan Glunt for putting together an incredible fight card, to all of the fighters/managers/coaches/cornermen to the members of the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission for making Complete Devastation 8 another night of memorable fights.
I would also like to thank the people who attended the fights for supporting local MMA. Also a very big thanks to the Blair County Convention Center and the staff for providing an amazing venue for an awesome night of MMA action. Complete Devastation 8 was a total success in my opinion, and I look forward to the next event from this promotion that brings the very best in MMA to the Central Pennsylvania region!
The state of Pennsylvania has had some really terrible rules for
Amateur Mixed Martial Arts since the state legalized the sport a few
years ago. The amateurs are not allowed to punch to the head while on
the ground; the part of the sport referred to as ground and pound. That
is like playing football and not allowing the forward pass.
These awful rules have been causing
most of the amateurs in this area to fight in Ohio because they do not
have such a ridiculous rule. It has severely kept MMA from growing in
our state and in Western Pennsylvania in particular. Many of
Pittsburgh’s gym owner, trainers, fighters, and local politicians (most
notably Representative Daryl Metcalf from Cranberry, Representative Eli
Evankovich from the 54 legislative district, and Mr. Robert Johnson from
Governor Corbett’s Office) have all come together in conjunction with
great cooperation with State Athletic Commissioner Executive Director
Greg Sirb and proposed and passed a rules change to allow ground and
pound for the amateur fighters in Pennsylvania. This rules
change will allow our fighters to fight here in western Pennsylvania in
front of their hometown crowds as many of them prepare to make the
transition into professional fighting and chase their goals of being a
champion. The rules change is now in the final stage of
approval. A state agency called the (IRRC) Independent Regulatory Review
Commission will be voting on final approval of the rules changes in a
few weeks. PLEASE – PLEASE – PLEASE Take the time to help the
fighters and the sport of MMA and send a short email to the IRRC showing
your support for the rules change. Your email may be what makes the
difference. Just take a few seconds to send a message similar to this: ____________________________________________________ Dear IRRC:
I am an avid supporter of mma and I urge you to pass the proposed rules
change. It will not only be safer to allow our young fighters to fight
locally instead of everyone having to make the long drive to Ohio, it
will allow all the revenue that Ohio is currently generating by having
more mma events than any other state to stay in our state where the jobs
and revenue are badly needed Thank you for your consideration. (Sign your name and address and whether you are a fan, fighter, trainer etc…) SEND THE EMAIL TO: sschalles@irrc.state.pa.us _____________________________________________________ We really need your help here, so please take two minutes and send this
email. It will really help.
I am totally for this...
NOW if they would just eliminate that ridiculous age limitation in
favor of a system where a certified medical professional can certify a
fighter (regardless of age) who wishes to fight and is capable of
competing be allowed to fight in the cage.
Once again, coming to the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pa. on March 2nd is the eighth installment of Complete Devastation MMA, the best & most exciting MMA event in Central Pennsylvania, brought to you by GoTime Promotions. I have attended all but the very first Complete Devastation event, and the fights get better with each successive event. Believe me when I say you do NOT want to miss out on this one! Tickets can be purchased online at the official website.
Brett "Showtime" Shoenfelt is in the main event facing William Ward. Shoenfelt is on a 3 fight win-streak, and the buzz going around is that you could be seeing him fight for larger promotions very soon. Brett has been working to help the Hollidaysburg High School wrestling team by offering to donate money for every ticket he sells for the event.
In a title fight to fill the spot left vacant when former Featherweight (ammy) Champion Charlie Gathers turned pro will be Rich Cantolina facing Zachery Shultz. Originally Cody "Lenny" Karlheim was scheduled to face Shultz, but when he got injured training for the fight Cantolina stepped up on relative short notice to take on Shultz for the belt.
Other Dignan/Brumbaugh fighters scheduled to do battle in the cage on this fight card are Brad "Machine Gun" Mountain, Tyler Updike, Jason Royer, Shawn McMahon, and "The Madman" Charlie Gathers.
Complete Devastation veteran Clark Young (#2, #3, #4) is set to face Chris Pierce in a Heavyweight (ammy) fight that is sure to be exciting & please the crowd. Young is undefeated in his Complete Devastation appearances, and 3 - 1 overall.
I look forward to seeing cageside commentator Albert Cameron and announcer Drew Shannon do the play-by-play and for the Nova 6 Studios crew (in conjunction with the GoTime Productions crew) to have an awesome lights and audio/video set-up to help make the event look and feel like larger promotions such as XFC, Bellator & even the UFC.
Every Complete Devastation MMA event that I have attended has been PACKED with fans yelling for their favorite fighters on these STACKED fight cards. Tickets start at just $25 and I can tell you that there really is no bad seat in the house at the Blair County Convention Center. The past 2 events at the Convention Center have been pretty much Standing Room Only because of excellent ticket sales - this event could become sold out... so be smart & GET YOUR TICKET(S) NOW!
Several Complete Devastation alums have gone on to fight for the larger promotions on nationally televised events... do yourself a favor and get your ticket NOW for this event. You can thank me later! (and if you do attend the event, feel free to come over and say "Hi")
On March 2nd witness COMPLETE DEVASTATION! It's GO TIME!!!
Charlie Brenneman has had an interesting journey. Born in the small Central Pennsylvania town of Hollidaysburg, he began wrestling at the age of 8 years old. Because of wrestling, Brenneman was able to travel, and his success on a high school level resulted with him attending Division 1 Lock Haven University. In 2004 Charlie was a top 12 finisher at Nationals. After college, Brenneman began teaching Spanish at the school he attended, Hollidaysburg High School. From this Charlie got the nickname "The Spaniard". In 2005 Charlie had the opportunity to audition for a new sports themed reality show on Spike called "Pros Vs. Joes". The audition tape he submitted was accepted and Charlie was a contestant on the first season of the show. He travelled to Los Angeles, and competed against such former professional athletes as Hershel Walker, Kevin Greene, Bill Goldberg, Clyde Drexler, John Rocker, Dominique Wilkins among others. After winning his first show, he went on to the finals and took home the grand prize along with his brother, Ben.
Following the success he had on Pros Vs. Joes, Charlie found Mixed Martial Arts after his need to compete left him feeling like something was missing. In November of 2006 he had his first MMA fight, defeating Kellen Hughes by Unanimous Decision at "Next Level Fighting 7". Between November 2006 and June 2007 Charlie had 5 amateur fights and remained undefeated before turning pro in July of 2007 when he defeated Marcello Olivera at "Extreme Challenge 81". Over the next 14 months Brenneman remained undefeated in 4 more fights before eventually being defeated by future UFC veteran John Howard in a title fight at "Ring of Combat 21" in September of 2008. After this loss, Charlie went back to his winning ways, and amassed 6 more victories for local/regional promotions such as "Iron Will Fighting Championship" (a now defunct promotion formerly operating out of Johnstown, Pa) and "Valley Fight League" out of Virginia that holds events in the Altoona area. In July of 2009 Charlie fought in the first VFL event in Altoona, also know as "Broad Avenue Brawlers 1", where he defeated Mitch Whitesel by Unamious Decision. This win earned him a shot at the VFL Welterweight title, and on October 11th 2009 Brenneman defeated Philip Wyman by TKO in the first round to become the VFL 170 lb champion.
Charlie defended his title for VFL one time before being signed in early 2010 with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the premier promotion world-wide for Mixed Martial Arts. Charlie started training at AMA Fight Club (American Martial Arts) in New Jersey, training side-by-side with noted UFC fighters as Jim & Dan Miller, Jamie Varner, Andy Main and women's MMA fighter Amanda Nunes. Between March of 2010 and September of 2012 Charlie fought 8 times for the UFC and his record was 4 - 4. Brenneman began his UFC career win a win over Jason High at "UFC Fight Night: Florian Vs. Gomi". His next fight was a loss by KO to the current UFC #1 contender at 170 lbs, Johny Hendricks at "UFC 117: Silva Vs. Sonnen" just 5 months later. Hendricks is a powerhouse that has been on a 5 fight win streak (3 of them by KO or TKO) as he staked his claim for a title shot against long-time UFC Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
In June of 2011 Brenneman was scheduled to fight on the Preliminary fight card at a UFC event in Pittsburgh, but when his opponent had to pull out due to illness it seemed like his opportunity to fight in front of a "home crowd" of Pennsylvanians wouldn't happen. He reported to Pittsburgh to weigh-in so that he could receive his base pay for that fight as stipulated in his contract if he made weight, and at that time Charlie was informed of another option that could result in him being able to fight after-all. When headliner Nate Marquardt was disqualified from fighting due to levels of testosterone being higher than allowable by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission Brenneman was offered a spot in the co-main event facing the other competitor of the former main event fight, Rick Story. Another fight match-up was elevated to the main event & Brenneman Vs. Story became the co-main event. Rick Story was a higher ranked fighter than Brenneman had previously faced, and when he won by Unanimous Decision UFC President Dana White praised Brenneman in stepping up to fight Rick Story on such short notice and for his upset win.
After some disappointing losses and some wins where Brenneman was over critical of his inability to "finish fights" in convincing manner to please the decision-makers of the UFC, Charlie was released from the UFC. This would naturally lead to some introspective thinking and a re-evaluation of his career. The UFC is considered to be the pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts competition, and to be cut from the roster reasonably could result in a person questioning many aspects of life.But, Charlie doesn't seem like most people when it comes to this. According to his website at http://www.charlie-brenneman.com in the "BIO" section we learn this about "The Spaniard":
"Charlie is the product of a great family, to whom he owes all of his successes. They have been with him through the dreams that became reality, but more importantly, the dreams that never came to be. Charlie truly believes adversity is a blessing in disguise; defeat teaches you more than any victory.
Charlie is an idealist. Mixed Martial Arts is a way for him to live the kind of life that he wants to live. His goal is to one day own a gym, which encompasses both wrestling and MMA. In the perfect world, MMA and wrestling will give him the opportunity to affect kids in a positive way and help them reach their maximum potential in life."
Charlie made the decision to drop from the 170 lb division (Welterweight) to the 155 lb division (Lightweight) and began training for his first post-UFC fight. Brenneman returned to the promotion where he reigned as Welterweight champion, and on January 19th 2013 Charlie fought at "VFL 40: Broad Avenue Brawlers 6" and defeated Eric Irvin in the 2nd round by Submission (Rear Naked Choke). With his first fight at Lightweight Brenneman seems to be on his road to redemption and a possible return to the UFC. When asked, Charlie said that he takes "one fight at a time" and that he is hoping to fight again in March or April.
While it is clear that Charlie's main weapon in his arsenal is his wrestling, he has been developing other aspects of his game to become a more well-rounded mixed martial artist. His submission victory over Irvin at
VFL 40 shows how he is evolving as a fighter. While the fight did have him going to the wrestling take-down when Irvin began landing some punches, it was refreshing to see that Brenneman finished the fight with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills rather than his wrestling. When Charlie is on, he's as talented as current Bellator 170 lb champion Ben Askren, he has that much potential & room for improvement. At times when he has put too much emphasis on his wrestling, the results have been less than Brenneman would hope to have. After seeing the video from his VFL 40 performance "The Spaniard" could just be on that road to redemption. I hope he is, and I wish him well in his attempt to get back to the UFC.
Charlie also developed a fitness program with late friend and coach Don Messing called "Spaniard Fit". The DVD plus other "Spaniard Nation" items can be purchased online at http://spaniard-nation.goodsie.com/
Recently I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions, and I grateful that Charlie took time out of his busy schedule to be interviewed. Here's 10 Questions With Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman.
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I fight at lightweight. My record is 16-5, and I had eight fights in the UFC.
2. How did you get started in MMA?
I started fighting a few years into my teaching career. I had gotten a teaching job, which I liked very much, but I still wanted to compete. Once I competed on Pros vs Joes, my itch to compete was very strong.
3. How did you make the jump from teaching High School into combat sports & MMA?
I did it gradually. When I left teaching, I got my Master's Degree, and once that was completed, I began fighting full time.
4. What do you feel your strengths are as a fighter? What aspects of your training do you feel you need to work on to become a more complete fighter?
Wrestling is by far my greatest attribute. I am consistently working on every aspect of the game.
5. How has training with the Miller Brothers and everyone at AMA in New Jersey helped you develop as a fighter?
Training in NJ has been great. AMA Fight Club, Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, Frankie Edgar and Chris Liguori - all of these guys have helped me tremendously.
6. Tell us about the Spaniard Fit program?
I developed it w/ my late friend and coach Don Messing. We were having these great workouts, and decided that we would like to share these workouts w/ everyone, so we put them on a DVD, Spaniard Fit. It's a great workout.
7. Who are some of your role models?
My parents and family. I don't really have any athletic role models. Everything I strive for is a result of the way I was raised.
8. Which of your previous fights do you feel is your favorite? (Is there any fighter you would like to fight again?)
My Rick Story fight was my favorite.
9. Now that you won your fight at VFL 40, what's next for you in and what are your continued goals in MMA?
One fight at a time. I am hoping to fight sometime in March or April.
10. Is there anyone you'd like to thank?
My entire team, Team Spaniard. I couldn't do this alone. And of course all of my sponsors, who can be seen at http://www.Charlie-Brenneman.com
