NYFE 2 – The Ides Of March – March 15, 2014

Promotion – New York Fight Exchange.

Name of Event – NYFE 2 – The Ides Of March.

Rules – No Elbows or Knees to the Head. Otherwise Unified Rules. 3-Minute Rounds.

Status – Amateur MMA Competition.

Sanctioned by Organization Approved by NY Statute – Yes.

Sanctioning Body –  WKA.

Results – Jim Genia’s MMA Website.

Date of Show – March 15, 2014.

Location of Show – Amazura Concert Hall, Queens, NYC.

Highlights:

– Full moon on fight night.

– Fight between Nick Olson & Omowale Adewale ended when their shin bones clashed, broke through the skin & fatty tissue, and touched bone against bone.

– Jerome Mickle smashed his way to 10-0 after a dominant and impressive TKO victory, his first NYFE title defense.

– Rob Scotti (new NYFE Champ) heel hooked champion Felipe Carlos and told the ref he heard something pop, the ref stopped the fight claiming that Carlos screamed but most watching thought the stoppage was premature. This takes nothing away from Rob Scotti who did have a deep heel hook sunk in, much to his credit. The ring interviewer called the stoppage “unfortunate” after the fight. Scotti, however, did the right thing by informing the ref of a possible injury and the ref did end up stopping the fight. Even though Carlos appeared uninjured afterwards, it’s within reason for a ref to stop a fight if he/she believes a knee/joint/tendon injury has occurred during a deeply sunk & cranked heel hook, especially in an amateur show. It didn’t feel like the right call at the time, but thinking back it was probably the right call for the sake of fighter safety. The referee and Rob Scotti might very well have saved Carlos from a devastating and unnecessary knee injury. If only Palhares had manners like Rob Scotti he’d still be in the UFC.

– Alfred Jones in his post fight interview announced he would not fight again in the NYFE or any other amateur show, he’s going pro.

– Crowd Favorite Ken Sweeney’s opponent came in way over the weight limit causing the WKA to cancel the match and robbing the crowd of a father & son fight night. Ken Sweeney took center ring and lambasted Global Proving Ground & his scheduled opponent for missing weight and giving him a t-shirt with the words honor, respect, & Spirit written on it. Sweeney stomped on the shirt and it was thrown around the arena like a hot potato. Ken’s son Kenny won his debut fight earlier in the evening.

Promotion – New York Fight Exchange.

Rules – No Elbows or Knees to the Head. Otherwise Unified Rules. 3-Minute Rounds.

Status – Amateur MMA Competition.

Sanctioned by Organization Approved by NY Statute – Yes.

Sanctioning Body –  WKA.

Results – Jim Genia’s Blog: http://mmajournalist.blogspot.com/

Date of Show – October 4, 2013.

Location of Show – Queens, NYC.

Rules – Full Unified Rules of MMA or UFC 1 “Vale Tudo” Rules, depending on agreement of fighters. 3-Minute Rounds.

Status – Amateur MMA Competition.

Sanctioned by Organization Approved by NY Statute – No.

Sanctioning Body –  Unsanctioned (legal).

Location of Show – Bronx, NYC.

Why would somebody fight in an underground fight club for no money? While practicing and sparring at the gym, becoming better at one’s passion is an inherently worthy pursuit, some artists need to put their physical well-being in jeopardy and test their skills in front of a crowd for a few thrilling minutes.

Since New York is the only state to ban professional mixed-martial arts fights, and refuses to sanction or come up with standards for amateur fights, the only way a New York mixed-martial artist can showcase their talent in New York is to fight in an underground fighting show. Read More….

Rules – Full Unified Rules of MMA or UFC 1 “Vale Tudo” Rules, depending on agreement of fighters. 3-Minute Rounds.

Status – Amateur MMA Competition.

Sanctioned by Organization Approved by NY Statute – No.

Sanctioning Body – Unsanctioned (legal).

Location of Show – Bronx, NYC.

The Underground Combat League’s 10 Year Anniversary show was highlighted by Radical MMA standout Chad Hernandez choking out his opponent to win the UCL Lightweight Belt.  Undefeated UCL Posterboy Jerome Mickle won the fate tourniment by overwhelming Dawadah David with a takedown and some very hard ground-and-pound. Part 2 of the UCL’s 10 Year celebration coming up in April.

Quick Results:

Mike Brown def. Rashad Clarke – Verbal submission due to dislocated shoulder (Round 1)

Desmond Nelson def. Adriano Nunez (Kickboxing) – TKO

Chad Hernandez def. P. Rambrose – Tapout from Rear Naked Choke (Round 1)

Jerome Mickle def. Dawadah David – Tapout from strikes (Round 1)

In the final matchup of the Fate of Eight tournament, Peter Storm, UCL legend and promoter, faced off with rising MMA star Jonathan Rodriguez.  Rodriguez used Storm’s Judo coat to his advantage and maintained a tight clinch throughout most of the two rounds, firing off knees at close range.  Storm connected with a good right at one point but frustrated by the clinch, he launched a few headbutts to the face of Rodriguez halfway through the first round.

After a minute of discussion (prompted by confusion caused by Rodriguez’s cornerman forgetting to tell him that this was a NHB rules fight where headbuts are allowed), the fight resumed with Rodriguez turning the tables and hammering Storm with a barrage of brutal headbutts of his own.  The round ended in a scramble with Storm cranking a deep heelhook and Rodriguez seemingly being saved by the bell.  Storm asked if he had won and an amped up Rodriguez stood over him and let him know in no uncertain terms that he had not. (The next day Rodriguez reported on facebook that his ankle was the size of a baseball)

This match was fueled by bad blood and in the second round, a battered Storm was on the receiving end of too many nasty headbutts and eventually was TKO’d by a particularly gnarly one followed up by a short flurry of ground and pound.  If this was the NFL, Rodriguez’s corner would have been flagged for excessive celebration but cool heads eventually prevailed and Jonathan left the building with a very hard fought and well deserved victory – the Fate of Eight 185 lb champion.

Quick Results courtesy of mmajournalist.blogspot.com & Underground Combat League’s Facebook:

Jerome Mickle def. Jairo Israel via tko, Round 1

Daniel Ramos def. Justin Brown via rear naked choke, Round 1

Desmond Nelson def. Will Cavali via decision (kickboxing only)

David Dawadah def. Ruben Brazzelero via verbal submission, Round 1

Nico Augusto def. Matt Ward via rear naked choke, Round 2

Jonathan Rodriguez def. Peter Storm via TKO (headbutts and G&P), Round 2