For the first time, one fighter’s accomplishments have earned him the title of both Fighter of the Month and Match of the Month. We at MassMMA usually like to use both to recognize different fighters, but what this man did could not be overlooked. His hard-fought TKO win over a quality opponent shined as both an incredible match and a display of fortitude. Tony Leate is January’s Fighter of the Month and his war with Corey Peterson is Match of the Month.

Leate began his training with Lakeville MMA, specializing in Tae Kwon Do before the school began to incorporate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into their regimen. As he expanded his knowledge, he trained with the likes of WFL Heavyweight Champion Roger Brackett. Head instructor John Marando had brought back the grappling that he had learned at Reality Self-Defense, where Leate would supplement his training. Tony became a part of Team Aggression and soon had his first fight against Eddie Felix in March of 2006. After controlling the position, he submitted Felix with a rear-naked choke. Eight months later Tony returned to the ring to defeat the Dragon Lair’s Geo Sontay by KO. In January of 2007 he gained the Reality Fighting New England 155-pound title with a win over grappling wizard Eddie Fyvie. Despite taking the fight on about two days’ notice, Leate looked composed, avoiding the Fyvie’s dangerous guard and unleashing a right hand that sent him to the mat hard.

This past January saw Leate take on his toughest challenger yet, Simmler BJJ’s Corey Peterson. Peterson had racked up a few impressive wins and his only losses had come at the hands of local killers Chris Grandmaison and Hitalo Machado. Now he was getting his shot at the RF Lightweight title and made damn sure to impress. The match was full of striking, heavy clinch work, takedowns, and submission attempts. Peterson looked to get the fight to the ground, while Leate responded with guillotine chokes. Both men did their fair share of damage with punches both on the feet and on the ground. An even first round was followed up with another aggressive stanza. After more of the same trading of striking, takedowns, and ground work, Leate reversed from bottom to the top of side mount. He trapped Peterson’s near arm with his leg and pounded at his exposed face. Exhausted and trapped, Peterson could not defend himself and the bout was called to a stop. Leate had successfully defended his title.

Congratulations go out to both men for their amazing performance. Look for Leate to defend his title again in the future, or to hopefully make his way to the IFL, as he was picked up into their draft. Either way, he will continue to impress with his hard-nosed style.