If you’ve been out of the loop for the past three months, you might have never heard of this young up-and-comer. He’s only been fighting since June, but in that short time he’s amassed an impressive 4-0 record, winning all of his fights by TKO and defeating some established names in the local MMA scene. Hailing from CNY MMA, August’s Fighter of the Month is Tamden “The Barn Cat” McCrory.

Tamden began his MMA career at June’s WFL Judgment Night 2, defeating John Jenner by strikes. At Untamed 5 he gained notoriety by beating Boneyard instructor and Massachusetts veteran Bobby Dias with impressive ground and pound. However, it was his two wins in August that made the MassMMA staff take notice. First, he stepped into the cage against Brendan Hoxie. Although Hoxie showed great escapes and a never-say-die attitude, McCrory controlled the pace of the entire fight. He wore Hoxie down throughout the first round and unloaded in the second for his third TKO in a row. Only two weeks later did Tamden fight again. He faced a very tough Joe Manzillo, who had just come off of a win over Dyrell Walker in New Hampshire. Manzillo may not be known that well by many, but he is a solid fighter with a Greco-Roman wrestling background. When the two met, Tamden was at his most vicious, hitting successive flurries of strikes and brutalizing his opponent. It was an incredible display of punches from back mount that knocked Manzillo unconscious and gave Tamden his latest victory.

Tamden credits the tutelage of Ryan Ciotoli and Erik Charles for his success. “I’ve  only been training five months, but it seems like five years the way they push me and help me improve everyday.” Although he wrestled a bit in high school, it wasn’t until he arrived at CNY MMA that he became “The Barn Cat” that everyone knows him as. His fierocity in the ring is matched only by his will to train and improve. He lists Erik and Ryan among his influences in MMA, as well as Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, and Dany Lauzon. “He’s got great back flips. I wish I could do back flips.”

Tamden McCrory is fighting Jason Girouard on September 23rd at WFL’s “X.” This match will be for the World Fighting League’s Middleweight Championship. On October 6th, Tamden heads to New Jersey to fight another local star in Mike Littlefield. MassMMA looks forward to seeing him in action again