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June 27, 2013

AFO Summer Brawl 6/29/2013 Teaser


AFO returns to action on June 29th in Boxborough at the Holiday Inn.  Promo Pete has put together another solid card which should make for a great night of fights.  There is a total of 12 fights which includes 5 pro fights on the card.  Tickets are still on sale at the link here.  I can give you all a little more detail on their new venue since I have been to the last one.  It is very much set up like the Holiday Inn in Mansfield but this room holds more AFO fans!   They have been packing them in the last few shows thanks to you all coming out.  One thing I do like about the venue is it is only an hour away from where we are in Western Mass.  Thanks AFO!  I believe they are debuting a new ring girl there as well.  Let me break down the card for you.  Keep in mind this will not be the actual fight order....



145lb Kendell Amadon, Debut, FAA vs. Jose Salazar, Debut, BTT

At 145lbs Kendell Amadon is facing Jose Salazar.  Kendell is from Fighting Arts Academy so I know he will be ready for a battle.  Jose trains with BTT so you know he will be ready as well.  This should be exciting due to no one knows what to expect so just sit back and enjoy the fight.

145lb Billy Keenan, Redline vs. Gene Ellis 1-0, SSSF

Next up is at 145lbs Billy Keenan faces off against Gene Ellis.  Billy trains with Redline and is 2-2.  His last fight was a real close battle against Jamie Courtney at Coliseum to the Cage back in March.  It was a highly entertaining fight and it was all stand up for the most part.  Billy looked real good and showed great cardio.  Gene trains with SSSF and I believe he is 1-0.  He has one win in his amateur career via ref stoppage to strikes at a previous CFX show.  This is going to be an awesome battle and definitely could be potential for fight of the night.

135lb Billy Gazzero, AFO Debut, Lauzons vs. Fabio Lima, Boston Combat

At 135lbs Billy Gazzero takes on Fabio Lima.  Billy is out of Lauzon's MMA and will be making his AFO debut.  I am not sure if he has fought before but being from Lauzon no doubt he will be ready for a war.  Fabio trains with Boston Combat and has an 0-1 record.  He fought at the last AFO against Doug Sampson and lost to a decision.  Fabio lost all 3 rounds according to my judging but he was very active in getting back to his feet.  This is another tough match for him in facing a fighter from Lauzon so I am anxious to see how he will do.

185lb Kevin Gyagya, Debut, Boston Combat vs. Tony Derienzo 1-1 , Lauzons

Kevin Gyagya will be fighting Tony Derienzo at 185lbs.  Kevin is from Boston Combat and will be making his amateur debut.  Tony is from Lauzon's MMA and has a 1-1 record.  He won with a KO against Tunde Odumusu and lost a decision to Nick Muto.  I don't know much about Kevin as he is making his amateur debut but he better be ready because Tony has proven he has the knockout power.  Can't wait for this one!

125lb Doug Sampson, 1-0, Xcel vs. Yusun Tsou, Debut, Redline

Next up is Doug Sampson against Yusun Tsou at 125lbs.  Doug trains with Xcel MMA and has a record of 1-0.  If you are paying attention you will know that he first fought at the last AFO and won decision against Fabio Lima.  He won all 3 rounds in my eyes and had some great takedowns.  Yusun is from Redline and will be making his amateur debut.  I expect Yusun to have some great striking and won't be so easy to takedown as Fabio was.  Being a 125lb fight, I expect this one to be very fast paced.

155lb James Laughlin, Debut, Doomsday vs. Kensuke Moriyama, Debut, Florian

At 155lbs James Laughlin takes on Kensuke Moriyma.  James is from Doomsday and will be making his amateur debut.  Kensuke is from Florian's MMA and will also be making his amateur debut.  Not much about this fight that I can predict as they are both new fighters but be ready for some raw untapped talent.

165lb Connor Barry Doomsday, 1-0 vs. Jay Helger, 2-1, Gillette MMA

For the last amateur fight, AFO has Connor Barry taking on Jay Helger at 165lbs.  Connor fought at the last AFO and is from Doomsday.  His last fight was against Nic Miragliulio and it ended in somewhat of a controversy.  Connor had his legs wrapped around Nic and the ref asked Nic if he was alright.  Nic of course couldn't hear because his ears were covered by legs and didn't respond so the ref stopped it.  Totally not either fighters fault and just showed lack of knowledge of the sport by the official.  It was an amateur fight so we won't flame anyone too bad on it.  Jay is from Gillettte MMA and comes into this fight with a 2-1 record.  I wasn't able to find all of his info but I know he won a decision and lost to a split decision.  I think this will be a ground battle and I feel it will come down to a decision but I would love to see a finish guys!

195lb Grudge Match Josh Mellen vs. Mike Zichelle

For the first of the pro fights they have Josh Mellen against Mike Zichelle at a catch weight of 195lbs.  This one is set as a grudge match although I am not sure who started the grudge or not.  Josh is mostly an independent fighter and takes last minute fights.  His record is something like 1-11 and he hasn't had a win since 2010.  His last fight with Pierry Pierre was turned into a no contest.  However he has been preparing for this fight and did not take it last minute.  I feel it is a must win for him as the commission appears to be cracking down on fighters with really bad records.  Mike has been training with Triumph I believe and has a record of 4-3.  He has 4 KO/TKO wins and his losses 2 of them were from submission.  I think this is a good match up for both fighters and I highly doubt it will go the distance.

125lb Chad Kelly, Debut, FAA vs. Jared Sarno, 2-0, sssf

Next up is Chad Kelly making his pro debut against Jared Sarno.  Chad trains with Fighting Arts Academy and I believe in his amateur career he was 5-3 or something like that.  The majority of his wins come by submission or decision.  Jared trains with SSSF and comes into this fight with a 2-0 record.  He also has 2 wins by submissions.  I think this is going to be a crazy ground battle and should be a back and forth one.  Both fighters have great cardio and come from good teams.  I expect this one to go the distance or end late in the 3rd round with a submission.

125lb Billy Giovanella, 4-1, Connor's MMA vs. Darren Mima, 2-1, TNT

At 125lbs Billy Giovanella takes on Darren Mima.  Billy trains out of Connor's MMA and has a 4-1 record with his only pro loss to Robbie Slade.  He is ready to get back to his winning ways.  Billy is a tough fighter and grinds out the wins on the ground.  Darren Mima trains out of TNT MMA and has a 2-1 record.  He comes all the way up from New York and he isn't coming all this way to lose.  His last fight was for AFO where he won over Dan Cormier via submission in Rd 1.  I have only seen that one fight from Darren and he looked impressive over a tough Dan Cormier.  I expect this one to be an awesome ground battle.  How do you all see it going??

175lb Joe Cloutier, 2-0 Doomsday vs. Ralph Johnson, 5-5

At 175lbs Joe Cloutier takes on Ralph Johnson in a pro battle.  Joe trains with Doomsday MMA and has a 2-0 record.  He has two submission victories by keylock very quickly in the first round.  This is a much tougher fight for Joe and I can't wait to see it.  Ralph comes into this fight with a 5-5 record.  He took two last minute fights for CES and they just weren't good match ups for him at all.  In fact his last opponent was TUF fighter Chuck O'Neil.  All five of his wins came by KO/TKO and 4 of his losses came via submission.  Ralph surprises fighters because he is so tall and has Jon Jones type reach.  If Ralph can keep this standing it will be his fight to win but if Joe can take him down then the reach won't make too much of a difference.


230lb Robbie Roberts, AFO Debut vs. Eric Bedard, 4-3, Gillette

Robbie Roberts takes on Eric Bedard at 230lbs pro fight.  Robbie comes into this fight with a 8-16 record.  He has 1 KO/TKO and 6 Sub victories.  He has lost 7 to KO/TKO and 8 to submissions in his career.  Eric comes into this fight with a 4-3 record.  He lost his last two fights to Pat Walsh and is ready to turn his streak around and make it a positive one.  Eric has knockout power and can also submit.  This is going to be an awesome battle.  Robbie obviously has the experience in this fight but Eric is one tough SOB.

Well there you have it folks.  Hope you all enjoyed this teaser as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Warchild and I will be at AFO covering the event for you all.  He promises to do his best to take some shots of the action for us and I will be doing the live play by play if you can't make it.  AFO fans who bring a sign(keep it clean) could be a lucky winner and be moved up to a table courtesy of AFO so bring your signs folks! My writing never does the fights justice though so come on out to see them live!  What fight are you most excited to see??