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April 1, 2014

The Artist Teases you for Cage Titans upcoming event on 4-5-2014


Cage Titans April 5th Plymouth Ma


Pro 135lbs 

"Relentless" Robbie Leroux (5-2 Clinch MMA) vs. Johnny 'Cupcakes' Campbell (5-5-1 SSSF)

     Robbie is coming back to the cage after nearly a year and a half off.  With at least two bouts missed in 2013 that should have been barn burners and an opportunity to make his presence felt in the local rankings Robbie will come at Johnny looking for a big win.  Robbie isn't known for taking easy fights and with his last fight against Ruben Rey in the Bellator cage as an indicator I would say that we are in for a good match even if it goes the distance.  Johnny comes into this fight with ten pro bouts under his belt and with the exception of a win over the proverbial local punching bag, Josh "Boppy" Beauparlant, his record is one chock full of the top 135-ers including Reality Fighting Champion Jeff Haddad.  Going win-less in 2012 "Cupcakes" fought back to regain his place in the tumultuous division during 2013.  Currently Johnny is under suspension in RI after his loss to Matt Doherty at CES MMA: Gold Rush, but I assume that it is not going to stop him from competing in this event since Mike Polvere is a top notch match maker and in close contact with the MSAC at all times.  Look for Johnny to come out looking for the big win.  Johnny will be the aggressor I feel and control the cage from the start.  Robbie will probably have some rust which may make him hang back a bit.  They both have nothing to lose as they aren't going to give up a spot in the top 10.  We will have to hope they aren't looking to spar through this one and come to the cage ready to leave it all there for the Cage Titans fans.



Pro 125lbs 

Chad "Machine gun" Kelly (2-0 FAA) vs. Remo Cardarelli (1-0 Rivera Athletics)

     Chad is making his way into the local pro scene after a decent run as an amateur fighter amassing 5 wins and 2 losses in 2 years.  In his newly begun pro career he's submitted both opponents via the Triangle Choke.  He's not really fought anyone super tough as a pro so it is his opportunity to keep building the much needed experience a fighter should have if fighting is in fact a career choice.  Remo Cardarelli of the Father/ Son duo "The Fighting Cardarelli's" is also a newly appointed pro at 125lbs.  He's been pretty handy in the cage using his Jiu-Jitsu to secure wins over Shane DeCristoforo.  Remo is an exciting fighter who makes every fight count.  I look forward to this one because of the freshness both fighters bring to the cage.  They don't have a past history and aren't out to prove anything more than that they belong in the cage.  Chad may shake things up and bring his lightening quick stand-up into the equation a-la FAA Muay Thai Kickboxing, but in my opinion if Remo can keep the pressure on him and keep Chad on the outside we may see this turn into a ground fight.  In that case you should brush up on your Jiu-Jitsu and get a large popcorn because it could take awhile for one of them to tire out and tap.  I think it will be a 3rd round submission and I have to give the advantage to Chad because he has faced more opponents and experience is a powerful thing in our sport.

Pro 185lbs 

Michael Rodriguez (Pro Debut - Team Trifecta) vs. Ralph Johnson (6-8 Independent)

     So here we have one of my favorite fighters, Ralph Johnson, out of Worcestor, MA and a debuting pro named Michael Rodriguez.  Mike recently won the 185lb Amateur Title back in October of 2013 for Cage Titans and did so in a decisive way winning a unanimous decision in the judges eyes even with losing a point for an poorly placed knee to his opponents head during round 2.  Mike will be up against a superior striker with years of experience in the sport.  Ralph is coming off a string of fights that seemed to be in rapid succession and with guys playing the ground game.  He has lost more than a few of those fights by submission, but he has shown he still has heavy hands as was the case in Reality Fighting's November 2013 card where he picked apart Jason Ward before delivering the K.O. punch in the first minute of the first round.  My feeling is that Rodriguez will look to clinch up with Ralph and as a Trifecta fighter he has been given the training to make that happen, but Ralph is capable of keeping people on the end of those wonderfully lengthy arms and throwing what must feel like bricks into his victims.  One thing is for sure nothing will deter Johnson from a full on fight and with Michael having gone the distance to claim a title once already in his time in the cage he has the heart to push forward.  With knees and elbows to the head becoming a factor for the debuting pro we will see just how much he's prepared for the next chapter as a pro.  I see the fight being a stand-up contest with each man possessing a skill set that will get the crowd on their feet as the action over flows right from the start.  I see Ralph with his hand raised with a 1st round K.O..

Pro 145lbs 

Peter Barrett (Pro Debut - Maxx Training) vs TBD

Guess my info was quite out of date as the Christian Rivera fight has been off for a month.  I will research the replacement and re tease the fight.  Glad that Peter took the time to read and respond else I wouldn't have had the correct info and you all would have been expecting a different fight than the one I described.  Thanks, Peter.

Pro 170lbs 

Frank Falso (Pro Debut - Team United) vs. Keegan Hornstra (1-7 Port City)

     Frank is going pro after a terrible amateur career where he lost all 4 of his matches.  He's going to enter the ranks of the paid fighters with not so much as one win to his credit.  None of his former opponents had much trouble dispatching of him even with the limitations of the amateur rules and now there are no limits as to the damage he can receive.  I hope he is getting paid well for the ass whoopings he's bound to take.  Keegan has had his ups and downs both as an amateur and as a pro, but he takes the good with the bad and makes lemonade out of lemons.  He's gotten in the cage with some notable locals over his combined 16 ammy/pro bouts so he should come into this match feeling the more confident and experienced fighter.  We know he is his own worst enemy at times, but he's been pretty quiet in the last year on the social media front which says two things to me:
1) HE'S TO BUSY TRAINING TO WRITE ABOUT HIS DAILY STRUGGLES 2) HE'S WORKED PAST THE NEED TO HAVE OTHERS WEIGH IN ON HIS DAILY STRUGGLES
     I think Keegan is going to come out on top in this one if he stays calm and puts into practice what the years of training and time in the cage with folks like Dominic Warr, Sean Nichols, and Bruce Boyington have taught him.  For Frank's sake I hope he took some time to consider what a pro has to do to be the best because taking fights for money opens you up in so many ways to criticism and the school of hard knocks at the hands of schools like CCFA, SSSF, Sityodtong, and many many others that love to feed fighters to their eager and relentless fighters.

Pro 195lbs Catchweight 

Steve Skrzat (6-6 NE Combat) vs. Pat Schultz (7-6-1 CCFA)

     Cage fight veteran Steve Skrzat is looking to put another "W" on his record here against Pat Schultz.  He's coming off a loss due to disqulification at Gladius Fights 6, but prior to that he beat up Jerry friggin Spiegel for two rounds before the ref called the fight due to TKO stoppage.  He also took debuting pro Nino Mendes down via TKO at WCMMA USA vs The World - Portugal, China, and Russia so we know he can throw hands still.  He's never been submitted and only been to decision once in 5 years so suffice it to say this could be an exciting fight for the fans who are all about big guys punching the shit out of eachother looking to flatten faces and leave opponents concussed on the mat.  Pat has a a long history taking fights.  He started back in 2000 as a pro and somehow became an amateur in 2002 and then returned to the pro ranks in 2004.  A one time TUF competitor in Season 7, Shultz got sent back to MA and is working to stay active here for the foreseeable future.  With the exception of a fight with Josh Diekman back in 2007 he really hasn't been in any big fights locally and he's never been invited to any of the local promotions sending up and comers to the next level shows.  Not to say this isn't going to be a good fight and odds are that it will be an all out stand-up war with both men liking to swing big I think it will be Shultz's 14 years in the cage and the amazing talent he trains with at CCFA that will compel him to leave the bloodied and battered body of Steve Skrzat on the mat of cage Saturday night. Conversely if Pat gasses and the younger fresher Skrzat can weather the storm we could see an upset of sorts.  Buy two beers before this one and a bucket of popcorn because you aren't going to want to miss a second of the big guys throwing some tonnage around the pit at Plymouth Memorial Hall.

Amateur 145lbs Title Fight

Billy "The Kid" Keenan (Redline 4-2) and Dan Dubuque (3-1 DCNU)

     Billy Keenan is the Victory promotion's 145lb amateur title holder since September of 2013 and won that fight via ref stoppage to strikes in the 2nd round.  A Redline fighter is never one to take lightly.  His teammates are some of the most hardened and methodical in New England.  This fight could be the fight of the night stealing the lime light from any other bout on this card.  Dan Dubuque was an ATT fighter when he got into the cage back in 2012 and fought his first fight in a Cage Titans cage at Plymouth Memorial Hall during the Prevail event.  Dubuque left American Top Team shortly after that fight and joined the Danilo Cherman Nova Uniao club out of CT where he's been honing his skills as a well rounded fighter ever since.  One fight I remember particularly well was his bout with Florian fighter, Grant Mosley, at the November 2013 Reality Fighting event at Mohegan Sun.  Mosley is a hard core jiu-jitsu submission fighter who can put the squeeze on the best of them.  In that fight Mosley threatened Dan more than once with deep subs, but Dubuque kept the pressure on and smashed Grant at every opportunity.  The crowd was into the fight from bell to bell and in no small part was that due to the energy Dan brought to the cage that night.  Like I said this has Fight of The Night written all over it.  As an amateur 145lb fighter myself I am anxious to hear how this one goes down.

Undercard

 (This will be researched and updated because we always give jsut as much atttention to the Undercard fighters as we do the Main Card here at WesternMassMMA)


125lb AM – Ryan Kane (0-1, CCFA) vs Dan Krall (1-1, Battlecrew)
   
135lb AM - Fabio Lima (1-1, Boston Combat) vs Max Barrett (2-2 MAXX Training)

185lb AM – Joseph Cameron (0-0, Boston Combat) vs Mike Fisk (0-0, Team Anubis)

125lb AM – Buun Tengamnuay (0-0, Boston Combat) vs Dave Baxter (0-1, USMMA)

145lb AM – Jose Rustrian (2-2, Boston Combat) vs Jeff Perez (2-2, SBG East Coast)

145lb AM – Chris Suarez (1-4, Independent) vs Jimmy MacDonald (1-0, FightZone)

135lb AM – Ryan Pompeii (1-0, TriForce) vs Randy Costa (0-0, Lauzon MMA)

155lb AM – Evan Aubrey (1-1, Wai Kru) vs Jacob Weeks (1-0, SBG East Coast)

160lb AM – Barry Liseno (0-2, Independent) vs Jimmy Manning (2-2, CCFA)

Amateur 170lbs

TJ Holt (0-2, Independent) vs Derek Peterson (0-1, Gilette’s)

     Holt is returning to the cage after some time putting life back in order.  He's been training regularly alongside Ralph Johnson and I am hopeful that this means he's preparing himself for the kind of battle we all know he's capable of enduring.  Holt fought back at PFC's 12 and 14.  In PFC 12 he had two rounds of action where he capitalized with well executed takedowns and got in some strikes from the top.  He, like Johnson, lost the advantage when the opponent took to their Jiu-Jitsu tools.  In Holt's first fight he was swept by Hunter and then mounted where he was trapped and ended up losing via TKO.  In his second match TJ got inside and clinched with the visibly larger Mike Mangan, but he couldn't keep it standing.  Both men fell to the mat and Mike mounted and controlled TJ forcing a tap to strikes in the first round.  Derek fought for Cage Titans back in July of 2013 where he lost the decision after three rounds with Kevin Schneider.  Peterson spent most of the fight on the ground getting bullied by Kevin.  He tried for guillotines, but must not have the technique down.  He gave up top position in every scramble.  He even lost a point for grabbing the fence and you know our refs are pretty lenient here in MA where that is concerned so he must have been doing it a lot and during key exchanges.  I see TJ taking this fight in the 3rd if he can push Derek throughout the first two rounds.  Get him tired and then climb on top letting the hands go channeling two losses and turning it into fuel for the win.  TJ can't let Derek drag him to the ground while they are fresh.  He's prone to being mounted and controlled there.  He's got to utilize his lean and lanky frame and put whatever skills he's acquired since PFC into a lethal toolkit and stay focused.

So far this is how I see the next Cage Titans event.  I like the Main card for the most part.  There are some names here that will surely be talked about this year as they amass more bouts.  We may even be surprised by one or two matches that seem grossly mismatched, but I wouldn't count on it.  The Undercard is a breeding ground in this event.  A good mix of new and returning amateurs eager for some time in the cage from all the local schools out East.  I am sure no one will be disappointed and that we will be praising Mike and Shelly for another awesome night of fights.  I will be updating the Undercard as I find more info on each fighter.  I'll be in ME filming a robotics competition this coming weekend and won't get to see any of the fights happening around MA, but I wish everyone a safe and memorable evening.  Remember to give it your all, the fans can tell when you do. ~Joe "The Wild Ginger" Leonard AKA The Artist