CAGE FIGHTING FC “CARNAGE” REVIEW From: Old School
Promoter Mike Pulvere and the staff at Cage Titans put on “Carnage” MMA event at Lombardos in Randolph, MA on Friday, November 9, 2010. The fight Card featured eleven amateur bouts (three x three minute rounds), three Pro fights (3×5), and one Pro title fight (5×5). The title fight featured the re-match between Billy Jones out of team KAOS and Lee Metcalf out of the SSSF. The first fight ended in a controversial win for Metcalf, but left neither fighters nor fans happy. This has been billed as a grudge match but, trust me on this, both Billy and Lee are too professional and have too much respect for one another to carry any grudge.
The 1200 seat venue appeared to be sold out plus a few extras!! The staff treated us great, although our seats were not ringside, therefore, we (the press) often missed critical
points here and there due to the abundant crowd running up to the cage side. But overall, this was a well done promotion.
A Thursday evening, last minute, surgical procedure on my left buttocks nearly kept me house-bound, but I snuck out to cover this event anyways because:
1. I wouldn’t miss this for all the crooked politicians in Washington.
2. My wife was working and couldn’t stop me!
3. Oxycodone 5 mg really works.
4. The last time my mother said I was grounded I was too young to fight about it!!!
Well, maybe this all falls into the “More Info Than You Need to Know” category, so it’s right on to the fights. This fight card is stacked and I have a feeling that it’ll keep me on the edge of my seat all night… or maybe that’s just the surgical incision I’m feeling…On to the fights!!!
Fight # 1
140 lb. Amateur (3×3)
Tom Benjamin (2-2; kaos) vs. Moises Rodriguez (0-0; United)
Tom walks out to “Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Jr. Nice touch!!
Round 1: Tom starts the action with an overhand right into a clinch, where Moises scores a take-down into side control. Moises is scoring with a little ground & pound. Moises lifts Tom for a HUGE slam with a few punches to follow as the ref steps in to stop the fight. Tom Benjamin is OUT!!!
Winner by K.O. Moises Rodriguez; Round One
Tom Benjamin rises and walks out of the cage on his own.
Fight # 2
155 Amateurs (3×3)
Jonathan Hammond (0-1; Independent) vs. (Bill Kelly (0-0; SSSF)
Round 1: The fighters clinch it up and grapple briefly in the stand-up. Bill gets a take- down and goes to top of rear control, but the fight shifts so he is working from the bottom with rear control. Bill then locks in an arm triangle for at least 30 seconds, but Jonathan won’t let it tighten. Bill switches to an arm bar, but Jonathan pulls out. Jonathan winds up on top in guard, but Bill is able to work for a rear naked choke attempt as the round ends.
Old School score: Bill Kelly 10-9
Round 2: A striking battle starts in the center of the cage and then the fighters clinch. Bill works for a takedown and finds himself in top control. Bill unloads with some big G&P to end the fight as the ref has to step in!
Winner by T.K.O. Bill Kelley @ 1:08 Round One
This was a good methodical win for Bill Kelley.
Fight # 3
165 lb. Amateurs (3×3)
Keegan Hornstra (2-4; Kaos) vs. Dan Lopez (2-1; Sports Specific)
Keegan travels some 3 ½ hours, from north/central Maine down to the southern part of the state, several times a week just to have a school to train at. This is just one of the many stories that you may or may not hear about that happens every day in the MMA world. Good luck tonight, Keegan!!!
Round 1: As the fighters circle, Dan begins landing leg kicks. Dan continues to land kicks as well as punches. The two clinch and Keegan grabs a guillotine and jumps to pull guard. The guillotine is in good, but eventually Dan pulls out of it and maintains top control, adding some G&P to end the round.
Old School score: Dan Lopez 10-9
Round 2: Keegan looks tired as the second round begins. Keegan is winning the striking battle, but decides to grab another guillotine and jump guard, but this doesn’t work, as Dan pulls out and is in top of guard. Keegan sweeps to top, and the kid who looked so tired at the start of this round is finding his second wind. Keegan works to side control and appears to be working an arm triangle when Dan Lopez goes to sleep without a bed time story!
Winner by Choke Out. Keegan Hornstra @ 2:19 of Round Two
After the fight, Keegan explained to me that it was a modified arm triangle, a Von Flu choke, that put Lopez out! Nicely done, Keegan. Now go out and find yourself a new nick name! That other one is taken!
Fight # 4
155 lb. Amateurs (3×3)
Mike Morin (0-1; Dragon Fire) vs. Mike Cronin (Pedro’s Wrestling)
Round 1: Morin starts the fight by winning the stand-up battle with strikes, but eventually shoots a double and scores a take-down. Morin then works the G&P game some, and he is scoring! Morin then moves to rear control and begins to deliver some nasty G&P until the ref has seen enough.
Winner by T.K.O. Mike Morin @ 1:31 Round One
Mike Morin showed nice stand-up, a nice take down, and good wrestling pedigree! Nice Job, Mike!!!
Fight # 5
160 lb. Amateurs (3×3)
Shaun Chadbourne (0-0; Clinch MMA) vs. Tim Nguyen (0-0; MAXX)
Round 1: Tim misses his first kick, but stuffs a side kick in there anyway, and then the fighters clinch… it’s a long clinch that is spending a lot of energy for both fighters. They finally separate and then clinch again. Shaun scores a big slam to side control, but Tim stands it back up. So Shaun slams him again and lands in side control on top. Tim grabs a weak head lock from the bottom as the round ends.
Old School score: Shaun Chadbourne 10-9
Round 2: Tim starts the round with knees and punches, so Shaun works a clinch and wins it with a take down. Shaun lands on top in side control, but Tim works out of it and stands the fight back up. Tim begins to land a huge barrage of punches, kicks, and knees and he is scoring well. I don’t know if Shaun owes him money or maybe dated his sister or what, but Tim is hanging a good old fashioned Framingham beating on this guy! Shaun is weathering the storm, but I wonder how long he can take this. Tim begins to tire from throwing so many strikes, but he finishes the round strong!
Old School score: Tim Nguyen 10-9
Round 3: Both fighters are throwing bombs to start the final round. Tim seems to be winning this exchange, so Shaun nails yet another take down. Tim pulls guard off the take down and the ref stands it up real quickly. (I couldn’t figure that one out.) Tim continues to land effectively in the stand up, so Shaun sticks another take down and lands in top with side control. Tim pulls it into his guard as the round ends and so does an extremely close fight.
Old School score: Tim Nguyen 10-9
Official Score: Winner by U.D. Tim Nguyen (29x28x3)
This was a great fight by both warriors. I had Tim winning this by a razor thin margin, as did the judges, but this one could have gone either way. No shame here, boys. I look forward to seeing you both in the future!
Fight # 6
Hvy. Wt. Amateurs (3×3)
Zach Zamzow (0-0; Kaos) vs. Mario Gonzales (0-0; Team United)
Round 1: As the big guys clinch, Mario works a take down along the cage. Mario works to side control and starts to invoke a little G&P. After several serious punches land, the ref stops the action!
Winner by T.K.O. Mario Gonzales @ 1:18 of Round One
Fight # 7
145 lb. Amateurs (3×3)
Dinis Paiva (2-2; JKD) vs. Rico Disiurilo (1-0; Sityodtong)
Round 1: A great stand up battle starts out, but Rico has a slight edge, so Dinis shoots and gets a take down, but Rico pops back up to his feet. Rico is starting to find his range in the standing battle, so Dinis grabs another take down. Right back up is Rico and now he is really starting to score with punches. He clips Dinis with a long right that drops his opponent to the mat. Rico throws down some quick G&P and the ref stops the fight.
Winner by T.K.O. Rico Distiurilo @ 2:24 Round One
A great job by Rico, who looked fast and accurate!!!
Fight # 8
145 lb. Amateurs
Matt Marshall (1-3; Kaos) vs. (Billy Giovanella (0-0; Connors MMA)
Round 1: Billy, a former high school state wrestling champ, starts the first round with slick take down and continues to control well on the ground. Billy works to the mount and starts to land some G&P, forcing Matt to roll. Billy then takes his back and starts to work RNC. Matt stands and Billy is on his back, both hooks in, and working the RNC. Matt falls over backwards and taps out to the choke! Billy Giovanella wins his MMA debut like that…..slick as a smelt!!!
Winner by Tap Out, Billy Giovanella @ 1:52 Round One
Billy has a real nice wrestling pedigree, something that can carry a fighter a long way in this game!
Fight # 9
165 lb. Amateurs (3×3)
Wayne Ahlquist (1-2; Lakes Region Vale Tudo) vs. Will Chan (2-0; SSSF)
Will Chan has a huge fan base here behind him!
Round 1: Wayne looks to spoil the night for a few hundred of Will Chan’s closest friends and family. Wayne comes out looking good, with some clean crisp striking. Wayne lands a nice leg kick that Will Chan follows with a flurry of punches. Will Chan clips Wayne with a punch that drops him to the floor and follows it up with some vicious G&P that has the ref ending the mayhem fast!!! As Chan walks around the cage waving to the crowd, Wayne is trying to grapple the ref to the mat! Good stoppage!
Winner by T.K.O. Will Chan Round One
Fight # 10
145 lb Amateurs
Johnny Vasconcellos (1-0; Clinch MMA) vs. Eddie Lee (1-0; Sityodtong)
Round 1: A good stand up fight is shaping up, with Eddie Lee having a slight edge at this level of the striking game. They clinch and Eddie scores a take down and lands in half guard on top. After a long ground clinch, with both fighters working for position, Eddie opens up a little space and then lands some big G&P to end the fight!
Winner by T.K.O. Eddie Lee @ 2:29 Round One
Fight # 11
165 lb. Amateurs (3×3)
Mike Drohan (0-0; Lauzon MMA) vs. Zack Costello (1-0; MAXX)
Zack Costello is from nearby Scituate, MA. and I think the bowling alley must be closed down for repairs, as half the town made the trip over for the event. Mike Drohan has Joe Lauzon in his corner, so I think that evens things out!
Round 1: The fight starts out with Zack landing clean strikes. They scramble a bit and then clinch it up. Zack gets a nice slam and goes to mount. After some inactivity, the ref stands them up. As they clinch, it seems that Zack is winning at this level too. Zack is landing knees, and generally out working, out muscling, and out striking Mike. The fighters go to the ground one more time as the round ends.
Old School score: Zack Costello 10-9
Round 2: The fighters are circling and pawing cautiously. After a clinch, they separate and then clinch again and Zack gets a take down off the clinch. Mike Drohan now sweeps to gain top control and works to gain side control. Mike now moves to rear control and Zack sweeps to gain top position, but Mike sweeps back to gain top position with rear control and adds a little G&P to spice things up as the round ends. Nice jitz in this round!
Old School score: Mike Drohan 10-9
Round 3: Both fighters know the fight is on the line, as the third round starts with striking and clinching by both guys. Mike nails a take down on the cage to top of guard and he works this for a while. Eventually, Zack sweeps to top and the fight is back to the feet. The two continue to strike with neither gaining an advantage, but Zack scores a take down and finishes the fight on top, stealing the round and the fight!!!
Old School score: Zack Costello 10-9
Official Score: Zack Costello wins by U.D.
Fight # 12
155 lb. Pro (3×5)
Anthony “The Violence” Kaponis (4-2; AFT) vs. Antwan Penn (1-2; MMAT Center)
Penn, a striker, hasn’t fought in nearly a year and a half. Kaponis, a powerful wrestler, is in his seventh fight in eight months. I was told that Penn requested this fight. I’d rather request a root canal!
Round 1: Kaponis misses a shot, but nails a quick take down on his second attempt. Antwan grabs a guillotine, but Kaponis slowly pulls out of it. Kaponis is on top in Antwan’s guard as he pushes the fight to the cage. Antwan stands, but as Kaponis pulls him back down Antwan lands in mount. Kaponis sweeps to top of guard. Anthony continues to work from top of guard while Antwan is neutralizing him real well from the bottom. About 4 ½ minutes in, Kaponis starts to land some small G&P and the round runs out of time.
Old School score: Anthony Kaponis 10-9
Round 2: Antwan is striking well as Kaponis is stalking. Kaponis scores a take down and is controlling Penn real effectively, keeping him on his back. (When Kaponis takes you down, you stay down!!) Kaponis is finding some room to G&P. Things are opening up as The Violence continues. The G&P is too much and the ref has to step in and stop The Violence!!!
Winner by T.K.O. Anthony “The Violence” Kaponis Round Two
Anthony is fast becoming the most talked about fighter in New England. He really has found his home at 155 lbs. This young man is one of the most respected fighters out there, a true gentleman! His wife is due with their first baby in six weeks!!! Good luck with all that life brings you, my friend!
And remember us all when you get there…
Fight # 13
135 Pro (3×5)
Chris “Kumite” Rowley (Dragon Fire) vs. Johnny “Cupcakes” Campbell (SSSF)
Johnny was 5-0 as an Amateur, but lost his first Pro fight.
Round 1: Johnny misses with a high kick and Chris scores a fast double leg take down to the cage. Johnny fights hard, but Chris gets it to the ground. Johnny stands it right back up. Johnny is speedy quick and accurate on his feet, so Chris grabs another double leg but Johnny sprawls against the cage and begins landing huge damaging elbows to the back and side ribs of Chris. Back in the cage center they swing and Kumite wants no part of this, so he clinches again. Johnny is landing the nastiest elbows I have ever seen to the back and side ribs of his opponent! These elbows are relentless and accurate! This dude can strike!
They separate and back to the feet and they clinch and, again, Johnny is crushing Chris with brutal elbows to the rib cage, followed with Big G&P as the ref steps in just before the cops do!!!
Winner by Assault & Battery, Johnny “Elbows” Campbell, 4:41 Round One
Johnny “Elbows” is fast, intense, and athletic. I feel like I’m watching Nate Kittredge’s little brother. Watch out New England @ 135!!!
Fight # 14
135 (3×5)
Barrington “Rude Boy” Douse (6-7; AFT) vs. Joe Cushman (8-4; Lauzon)
Douse recently beat one of Joe’s teammates. Joe has been out of the cage for two years, but has Joe Lauzon in his corner and 213 of his most intimate friends on hand!!!
Barrington “Rude Boy” Douse is a lot bigger than Joe Cushman.
Round 1: The Rude One is trying to find his range with long lead leg head kicks, as he is much taller. Cushman shoots off a kick but Douse gets a take down into top of guard. Douse is controlling well, but Joe works a slam to steal top of half guard, but Douse pulls full guard. Douse is staying real busy from the bottom with elbow and fist strikes while keeping Cushman neutralized. Douse continues to win this fight from the bottom, as he is very long and agile in the guard. A scramble starts, and the fighters stand and clinch. Douse scores a take down for some G&P, but Joe pulls an arm bar attempt to end the round; a real close one!
Old School score; Barrington Douse 10-9
Round 2: Douse is scoring well with the lead kicks again, but Cushman nails another take down. Cushman lands some G&P from top of guard for several minutes. Douse finally escapes but Cushman locks in a guillotine and jumps guard. Douse pulls out of the hold, but Cushman goes for an arm bar. Douse pulls out of this as well and answers with an elbow. Cushman spins on the bottom for a leg lock, but Douse spins out as the round ends…Cush is showing great Jitz.
Old School score: Joe Cushman 10-9
Round 3: Once again, The Douseman is landing lead leg head kicks to start the round and The Cushman grabs himself another take down, landing in side control. Joe is landing some strikes and he works to the mount and finally to rear control. The Cushman goes for RNC, but The Douseman won’t let it happen, so The Cushman works some G&P from the rear. Joe locks in a body triangle, but Douse rolls it over to top of guard, so The Cushman pulls another arm bar. Douse stacks him, but Cush pulls Guard into another arm bar attempt to end the round and the fight!!!
Old School score: Joe Cushman 10-9
Official score: Joe Cushman wins by split Decision
This fight was as close as it gets! Cush showed great movement in transitioning from one sub attempt to another. I caught up with him after the fight and he credited the boys at Lauzon‘s and SSSF with building his cardio for this one. This was a big win against a big opponent. Great to have The Cushman back in the saddle!!!
Barrington Douse showed real nice striking here, and if the decision went the other way no one would be complaining. Nice job by the Douseman!!!
Fight # 15
145 lb. Title Fight (5×5)
Bill Jones (8-4; Kaos) vs. Lee Metcalf (8-3; SSSF)
Great fights need no hype!!!
Round 1: Both guys are trading leg kicks equally in the center of the cage. A brief clinch ends in a double leg takedown for Jonesie, but Lee has a guillotine locked in. Lee is in the bottom of guard, but his back is not touching the mat and this Guillotine is in tight! Jonesie finally pulls out of the choke, but Lee quickly has a triangle choke locked in. Jonesie starts hammer fisting away to the face of Lee with his free hand and he eventually breaks the triangle, but Lee Metcalf transitions to an arm bar. He locks it in real tight, as Jonesie tries to pound his way out of this awful spider web that is Lee Metcalf. Jonesie finally bangs himself to MMA freedom and from side control he ups the G&P strikes! Jonesie goes to mount while dropping elbows and fists, and he finally slips to rear control and a nice RNC. Lee Metcalf goes to sleep without so much as a tap!!!
Winner by choke out: Bill Jones @ 3:24 Round One
Billy Jones is the new Cage Titans FC 145lb Champion!!!
The only thing slicker than Lee’s Jitz transitions was Billy’s toughness. Bill tells me after the fight that the Guillotine was on so tight that he almost went out, ‘cause he wasn’t tapping! He also said that the arm bar was tight enough to end the fight as well. (Maybe it was Show & Tell day back in Rockland and Lee wanted to bring Billy’s arm back with him! Maybe not, but what we were treated to was a real advanced transition/submission clinic by Lee Metcalf.)
Lee was disappointed with his loss, but he gives great respect to Jonesie for the hard fought win. Lee didn’t remember anything after the first elbow strike that connected, and was generally unsure of how the fight ended. Lee is a real good fighter and a really sincere guy who will definitely be back. These two tough warriors have a great respect for each other.
What a great night of action we were blessed with on this fall night here in Randolph.
Here is how the Fights stack up:
Fight of the Night: The Cushman and The Douseman
Knock Out of the Night: Moises Rodriguez
Submission of the Night: Billy Jones
Earned a New Nick Name Tonight: Johnny “Elbows” Campbell
So, until next time, keep it in the cage and keep it legal!
Old School
I’ll admit I’m biased, barrington is a teammate and a friend, but I think this fight should be a instant re-match. That’s a fight that would sell tickets….and throw a belt up for grabs while you at it!
nice review, love the fight of the night awards section.
thanks for sacrificing your ass for our entertainment.
Great review Denny!! It was an awesome show no doubt!!! Cage titans is the real deal!!!!
A great venue and a well written review, however; I was a little disappointed in the Jones/ Metcalf write up. Yes, Lee transitioned well but was not able to get any of the submissions, therefore his” web” wasn’t able to catch any “flies” and I believe he was hanging on for dear life so as not to eat the elbows and punches that he eventually did. As for being respectful…glad he has been humbled- he told a whole team to F themselves in the pre-fight video (really?),not to mention the numerous disrespectful comments he launched all over the web for months-glad that’s done. Not much of a write up for the new champ. It’s JONESI by the way, not JONESIE…just saying.
Congrats to Bill Jones! You’re a tough SOB and did what you needed to do to win. Much respect. As for Team KAOS, I may have said some things in the “hype video”, but remember it was just that, a hype video… I’m still being disrespected after all this. So that just shows me you guys are sore losers, as well as sore winners… Not all of KAOS, but some of you seem to take shots at my character as well as my fighting. If you have not stepped in the cage (you know who you are) you really have no right to speak since you have no clue about the emotions and effort put into fighting…. Again, much respect to Bill Jones.
No one speaks for me I had a great fight with a tough guy. and i have all the respect for you as well LEE all sh!t aside we fought and its over thanks again for the fight!! everyone has there opinons!!
bill is propably the most humble guy ive ever met along with being very non confrontational (for a fighter anyway) im beyond happy that we have had the chance to train togather and become friends, and lee i can tell you bill has never said a bad word about you and has constantly asked everyone to lay off the nonsence but both teams have made sure there voices were heard
you are a talented guy who took a fight most guys wouldent due to you injuries and it being a difficult match up im sure we will see you again lighting someone up soon good luck to you and all of SSSF you guys have put toather a great team and it shows!!!
@kahlo, as for me “hanging on for dear life” lol! I was trying to finish the fight. You clearly don’t understand the sport… I’m one of the most humble ppl you will ever meet. Ask anyone who knows me. But I was attacked first. And its little remarks like this that I’ve been dealing with for 8 months. Please show respect and go away…
both dudes fought hard jonesi we still gotta train together man good fight congrats
To kahlo… I would like to respond to your comment on the Jonesi Metcalf fight review
1. Bill, sorry I misspelled your name…I’ll try not to let that happen again. Lord knows we’ll be writing about you in the future.
2. Actually, in speaking to billy after the fight, he told me that the guillotine was tight and he was starting to gurgle. (We all know that the gurgling is the last thing before you go to sleep.) Bill also said the triangle was not too tight, but the arm bar was real tight, and deep, but a little too deep to have the extention on the arm just right, and therefore he was able to power out of it. Billy didn’t seem to be describing a desperate fighter hanging on for dear life, but a skilled grappler transitioning from one sub attempt to another.
3. In speaking with Lee after the fight, he described the guillotine as being on there pretty tight, so tight that he heard Billy starting to gurgle just before Billy broke free of it. He then went on to tell me that his transition to the Triangle choke didn’t have it locked in as tight as he liked, thus allowing Billy to start striking, so he transitioned to the arm bar. He felt the arm bar was real tight, but billy is tough and pounded and powered out of it.
Bill’s and Lee’s accounts of the fight seemed to me to be almost identical, but from different sides of the fence. They both described to me a high quality fight going on in that cage, and that seemed to me to be true, not some poor guy hanging on for dear life.
4. I would like to respond to the “not much of a write up for the new champ” comment for a moment. The main event lasted only 3:24 into the first round, and I tried to cover that fairly, and I think I did.
This venue had the press sitting so far from cage side ( probably forty feet) that we missed a lot of the action due to fans gathering in front of us. We missed an awful lot of the action, but this is a new promotion and maybe this is just one of the growing pains. I did the best I could. As far as the new champ, I started the fight description with “Great fights need no hype” and I meant it. Great fight means great fighters! Nuf said!!! I think I gave an accurate account of Billy in the fight itself, based upon my view of the action, a pre-fight talk with Billy, and post fight interviews with both fighters. I tried to convey Billy’s toughness in a fair way, as bill himself said he wasn’t tapping. I also stated that the only thing that beat Lee’s Jitz was billy’s toughness! And in the post fight comments I also described Bill as a tough warrior.
When I cover a fight of this kind I generally figure 15 to 20 hours of time. Two days out I try to do a little research on each fighter and invoke that into the review, thus you may see a few fighters have a home town mentioned or maybe a little comment on some other aspect of their life or fight-life that I think is pertinant. The night of the fight I leave my house around 5:00 and I don’t get home til around 1:00 A.M. The next day after the fight I spend many hours tpying and changing and then editing so that my final draft is fair and accurate to the fighters as well as entertaining for the reader. I will usually have someone else read it for a final opinion, in case I overlooked anything. I don’t get paid for this and I don’t want to. I just want to try to give thirty fighters my best and most honest effort , the same honest effort that we all put into our training every day!
When a fighter figures all his training expenses, medicals, time away from work, etc. He’s lucky to break even as well. We don’t do this for the money.
Covering a 15 fight card means I have to try to be fair and honest to thirty fighters. I do also have time and space limitations.
To Billy and Lee, I would welcome a post on the review of your fight as far as my accuracy and fairness. If any fighter feels I have ever not been honest or fair, feel free to let me know.
SSSF is arguable the finest MMA school in the region, as is evedenced by the level of fighters at the top of the local talent pool that fight out of there as well as that one young who is one step away from the number one world ranking!!! This is also the source of training partners for the Lauzon boys and their camp.
As far as team KAOS goes, this upstart school is making fast inroads into the regional MMA scene as well as any other. In a game where it takes many years to develope into a high level MMA school, KAOS is arriving in a big way in only a year.
If we were to choose a school of the year, SSSF is right at the top of the list. If we were to pick rookie school of the year, KAOS is right up at the top of that list.
LET’S SHOW SOME RESPECT!!!!
ps. Please, don’t everyone get in a pissing match about School of the Year / Rookie School of the Year… I’m just making a point!
That was an awesome show and a great review. My only complaint about the show was that the security staff didn’t control people in front row. They shouldn’t be allowed to stand. I mean, they’re in the front row, for gods sake. How will anyone else be able to see? Being a borderline-midget, I had to stand on some chairs in the back row, but even then I couldn’t see. That was really frustrating and it detracted from the experience quite a bit. Nonetheless, the production and matchups were still great, and I had a blast despite my little gripe.
great review old school
Congrats to Bill Jones on your win, defend the belt well my freind. Lee Metcalf is a tough customer and will fight another day !!!!
I just quickly wanted to touch on the press area as it has come up again. I wanted to do something a little different/special for the guys covering the event. What we did was put them up on platforms and gave them tables so they had an area to write about the event. (Stole the idea from UFC Boston) My thought was that they would enjoy this more than what they typically have to do, write in their lap. In addition, this elevated them over the crowd as well as gave them a view of the big screens.
It seemed to be a hit for some press as this was a quote from another website’s review…WesternMassMMA.com
“Much to our surprise, we were seated in an awesome press booth with a great view of the cage and big screens. The staff even brought over bottled water to us guys in the press box! (attn promoters…take note!)”
After reading OldSchool’s review maybe the placement may have been a bit off so for that I apologize. The press booth was right next to the bar so it was in a high traffic area which we were constantly trying to clear out throughout the night.
And to Kin…Next show is on me, front row for you!
As for the event and the promotion itself…We are always open to new ideas, suggestions and criticism. Personally I am a perfectionist so every show you attend will be better than the last. I have already met with my staff and determined things we can make better for the next event so hope to see you all there as we grow as promotion!
Thanks Old School for clarifying. I do enjoy all your write ups including this one. Admittedly, I did eat a lot of elbows in the fight. No big deal, it’s a fight… The “hanging on for dear life” comment was just left to diminish my fighting skills and insult me by someone who doesn’t understand ground fighting or jiu-jitsu. I mean, I wouldn’t comment on baking cakes if I didn’t know a thing about it… ; )