Event – Rally to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York.

Location – 250 Broadway, outside of the offices of the State Assembly.

Date – December 11, 2015.

Featured in the Images – David N. Weinraub (Lobbyist for the UFC http://www.brownweinraub.com/), Bruce Kivo (http://www.MMAConfidential.com), “Sambo” Stephen Koepfer (http://nymmanow.blogspot.com/ http://www.nycombatsambo.com/), Jim Genia (http://www.themmajournalist.com/), Manny Martinez (MILE Apparel Maximum Impact Little Effort), Anil Melwani (http://www.MMA.us), Michael Brancata (http://mmaworldexpo.com/), Phoenix Carnivale (Fight Commentator), Thiago Chavez (MMA Fighter http://mma.us/category/mma-fighter/thiago-chavez/).

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.

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)

Leo Muniz def. Noel Aviles via KO – Round 3

Promotion – Aggressive Combat Sports

Rules – No strikes to the head on the ground. No knees to the face. No elbows. Shinpads required. No twisting leg submissions. 3-Minute Rounds.

Status – Amateur MMA Competition.

Sanctioned by Organization Approved by NY Statute – No.

Sanctioning Body – USMTA (not approved by NY statute).

Location of Show – Bronx, NYC.

A “sanctioned” amature event took place Saturday January 26, 2013 in the Bronx, NY.  Promoter Eugene Perez along with his partners Tom Kilkenny and Joe Ciminna put on a mixed fighting show under the Aggressive Combat Sports banner showcasing 8 amature MMA bouts and 1 grappling match.  The MMA bouts used NJ amature rules which include, no knees to the face, no elbows, no strikes to the head while on the ground, and the use of shin pads.  Below are some pics from the event.  It’s been quite a few years since Lou Neglia last hosted a sanctioned MMA fight in NYC, making this comeback a long time in the works.

Quick Results:

Arthur Khamukov def. Jamie Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Tobart Pongia def. Greggy Styles via Points (Six-Minute Grappling Competition)
Oswald Perez def. Josh Armstrong via Armbar Submission – 0:57 of Round 1
Matt Poricelli def. Erik Makris via Armbar – 2:32 of Round 1
Mike Devila def. Patrick Kelly via Unanimous Decision
Raymond Ceballos def. Anthony Knox via Knockout – 2:11 of Round 1
Vic Landeta def. B.J. Curcio via Guillotine Choke – 0:23 of Round 2
Aaron Galan def. Florentino Laureano via Unanimous Decision
Leo Muniz def. Noel Aviles via KO – Round 3

Jim Genia Leads a Panel on NY Underground MMA

The Jacob Javits convention center in the far west side of midtown Manhattan hosted the World MMA Expo this past November 17-18, 2011.  The multi-faceted event was comprised of a jiu-jitsu tournament, mixed-fighting exhibition matches in a cage, autograph signings from famous MMA stars, panel discussions, and more.  NY MMA stars Kenny Rivera and Jonathan Rodriguez were both victorious in the cage.  Jonathan Rodriguez, currently on a winning streak of over ten wins, got through the wrestling and kickboxing rounds and secured his patented triangle choke midway into the final grappling round. Look out for these two.

March 6, 2012 - Community Rally for the Sanctioning of Professional MMA in NY

A loyal crowd of MMA faithfuls gathered in front of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NYC Office at 633 Third Avenue to rally for the legalization of professional mixed martial arts in New York.  As one of the last holdouts, New York is currently preventing valuable sports revenue from boosting its economic goals.  This backwards bureaucratic policy is bound to go down in flames in the near future, it’s a matter of 1-3 years at most.  Then MMA will be legal hundreds and possibly thousands of years to come.  I guess we’re witnessing history here.

To read more about the Coalition to Legalize MMA in New York, CLICK HERE

Unsanctioned Underground Fight Show Erupts During MMA Book Launch Event

Unsanctioned MMA fights in a cage in downtown Manhattan were the focal point of a book launch event this past Saturday hosted by authors Jim Genia (Raw Combat) and Matthew Polly (Tapped Out).  It nearly came to blows in the ring as Genia and Polly faced off, each clutching copies of their book in a pseudo-masterbatory staredown that seemed seconds from erupting into a frenzy of extreme violence.  Maybe the two authors were amped up on adreneline following a couple of spine-busting MMA fights or maybe they were just super pumped up amidst a fucking awesome media event.  Whatever the case may have been, these two large and imposing men, who as mma journalists clearly had something to prove, seemed willing to go to whatever lengths necessary to intimidate one another in the center of the ring.

Matthew Polly (6’11″/302lbs) came into the ring boasting a star-studded training team consisting of Phil Nurse and “New Zealand” John Danaher.  Jim Genia (6’10″/297lbs) was coming in with a decade-old blue belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a large pair of iron clad bauding balls.  Half the crowd wanted to see these two behemoths tear each other limb from limb and the other half seemed to be connected to the venue or publishing companies and were freaking out about liability issues should the two man-monsters end up brawling.  Unfortunately cooler heads prevailed and the fighting was left to the fighters.

Raw Combat by Jim Genia - A Must-Read MMA Book

Decades from now, long after MMA has been sanctioned and “legalized” in New York State, the tales and history of the mysterious and hidden world of Underground MMA would have long been forgotten … but for this book right here.  Having personally attended and photographed just about every NYUCL show since the beginning of the promotion (I was originally tipped off to its existance by Genia himself), I can say without hesitation that Jim Genia has masterfully illustrated the smokey and hard hitting nuances surrounding the gritty unforgiving world of Underground Mixed Martial Arts in New York City.

Genia takes you through the emotional and brain bruising journeys of some of the East Coast’s most and least promising MMA athletes, including Frankie Edgar, current LW Champion of the UFC who had his first fight in Peter Storm’s Underground Show.  Quick witted and deadly accutate this quintessential story of northeast MMA is a must-read for any fan of MMA and/or Human Cockfighting.

Order Raw Combat on Amazon – CLICK HERE