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

Quick MMA Results from the Show:

Irish Todd def. Thiago Chavez – Guillotine Choke.

Israel Martinez def. Kevin Wall – Front Kick KO.

Jonathan Rodriguez def. Nico Agusto – Rear Naked Choke.

Mark Agnew def. Desmond Nelson – Rear Naked Choke.

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.

New York Underground Combat League

In another action-packed unsanctioned MMA event, Peter Storm hosted the Underground Combat League – New York’s only NHB show.  This time out we saw the return of hard-hitting Kenny Rivera who stormed back onto the scene and took Chad Hernandez into deep waters earning the split decision victory and becoming the UCL’s only reigning champion.  The 155 pound belt was awarded to Rivera after a back and forth battle which saw Hernandez get cut up and battle back to dominate the third and final round.  Both fighters had a terriffic fight and undoubtedly gained some valuable experience along the way.  Scroll down for more photos and results from the top-secret event.

Melvin the Wolf def. Ty Nazaria via tapout due to strikes from the mount

Nico Agosto def. Dennis Murray via rear naked choke tapout submission

Rashad Clarke def. Thiago Chavez via TKO referee stoppage

Ken Wilson def. Justin Soto via TKO due to a knee injury

Richie Torres def. Will Cavali via Decision (kickboxing match)

Kenny Rivera def. Chad Hernandez via split decision

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.

Tara LaRosa Addresses the Crowd at NY's first MMA Rally

The Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York organized by MMA instructor Stephen Koepfer held its first public rally in lower Manhattan across the street from New York City’s city hall. The rally popped off on On February 8th, 2011 as a crowd of MMA loyalists gathered in front of Sheldon Silver’s district office at 250 Broadway in downtown Manhattan.  Frank Shamrock and Tara LaRosa were among the well-known MMA fighters who showed up in support of the cause.