We are just just a few hours away from Combat Zone 71. It will be taking place at the Double Tree in Manchester New Hampshire this Friday. The doors will be opening up at 5:30pm and the first fight is set to start at 7pm. There are a total of 11 fights happening with some being mma, grappling and some being kickboxing. In the mma portion there are 4 amateur and 4 professional bouts. I have clearly labelled them below so you can see what is what. Let me break down the fight card for you all. I will not be breaking down the kickboxing and the grappling but they are below in the order. Keep in mind that fights are subject to change.
145 AM KICK Kyle Adams (1-0) PMA vs. Jordan Roy (0-1) Fusion Training Academy
170 AM MMA Taylor Mears (2-0) LRVT vs. Zac Lawrence (1-1) Nostos
The first mma fight of the night Taylor Mears will be taking on Zac Lawrence in the 170 lb division. Mears trains with LRVT and comes into this fight with a 2-0 record. He has 1 win by ko/tko and 1 win by submission. He would love to add one more win to his career. His opponent is Zac Lawrence and he trains with Nostos. He comes into this fight with a 1-1 record with 1 win by ko/tko and 1 loss by submission. This should be a solid battle to start off the night of mma. I see it being a stand up battle.
145 AM MMA Tyler Bourque (0-0) Gate City MMA vs. Tyler O'Doherty (0-0) Defensive Edge
Next up at 145 lbs Tyler Bourque will be facing off against Tyler O'Doherty. Tyler trains with Gate City MMA and will be making his amateur debut. His opponent is Tyler O'Doherty and he trains with Defensive Edge. He also will be making his amateur debut. I can't give much insight into this fight but I like the excitement of not knowing what to expect!
145 AM MMA Matt Brady (2-2) Fusion Training Academy vs. Dan Shapiro (2-0) Redline
Then at 145 lbs Matt Brady will be taking on Dan Shapiro. Matt trains with Fusion Training Academy and comes into this fight with a 2-2 record. He has both of his wins by submission in two very quick finishes. For his losses, he lost 2 fights by tko to strikes. His opponent is Dan Shapiro and he trains with Redline MMA. He comes into this fight with a 2-0 record with both wins by ko/tko to strikes. In this battle I see Brady wanting to take this fight to the mat and work a submission and Shapiro will want to keep this one standing.
135 AM MMA Tim Lightfoot (2-0) Team Link Hooksett vs. Jaimeir Smith (0-2) Brian Beaury Jiu Jitsu
In the last amateur fight of the night Tim Lightfoot will be challenging Jaimeir Smith in the 135 lb division. Tim trains with Team Link Hooksett and comes into this fight with a 2-0 record. Tim has 1 win by ko/tko kick and 1 win by decision. I, also want to note that the last time he fought is in 2012 but nonetheless he is back! His opponent is Jaimeir Smith and he trains with Brian Beaury Jiu Jitsu. He comes into this fight with an 0-2 record with both of his losses by decision. I see this one being a back and forth battle and coming down to a decision.
GRAPPLING Mike Zichelle (Zichelle MMA & Fitness) vs. Ryan Ferguson (Nostos)
125 PRO MMA Jeff Silva (4-4) PMA vs. Dan Cormier (7-9) Tri Force MMA
At 125 lbs Jeff Silva will be fighting Dan Cormier. Silva trains with PMA and comes into this fight with a 4-4 record. He has all 4 wins by way of submission. For his losses, he lost 1 by ko/tko to strikes, 1 by submission and 2 by decision. His opponent is Dan Cormier and he trains with TriForce MMA. He comes into this fight with a 7-9 record with 1 by ko/tko, 2 by submission and 4 by decision. For his losses, he lost 1 by ko/tko, 3 by submission and 5 by decision. I see this being a good back and forth battle. I think Jeff will want to try to get this fight onto the mat and Dan will like to keep this one standing and work his stand up.
135 PRO MMA Ken Murphy (2-2) Team Link Hooksett vs. Andres Rodriguez (3-0) NEMMA
Then at 135 lbs Ken Murphy will be taking on Andres Rodriguez. Ken trains with Team Link Hooksett and comes into this fight with a 2-2 record. In the win column, he has 1 win by submission and 1 by decision. For his losses, he lost 1 by ko/tko and 1 by decision. His opponent is Andres Rodriguez and he trains with NEMMA. He comes into this fight with a 3-0 record with 1 win by ko/tko, 1 by submission and 1 by decision. This is going to be an exciting fight and I see it being a stand up war.
145 PRO MMA Jake Pilla (0-0) Speros MMA vs. Shaquan Moore (0-2) Fusion MMA
At 145 lbs Jake Pilla will be taking on Shaquan Moore. Pilla trains wtih Spero's MMA and is making is long awaited pro debut. As an amateur he went 7-2 with 2 wins by ko/tko and 5 wins by submission. He is more than ready to make his pro debut. His opponent is Shaquan Moore and he trains with Fusion MMA. He comes into this fight with an 0-2 record with both losses being by way of decision. As an amateur he went 5-3 with 1 by ko/tko, 1 by submission and 3 by decision. This is going to be an awesome war as I really have no idea where the fight will take place. Both of these guys seem very well rounded and this is going to be a war.
185 GRAPPLING Tim Caron (9-2) Burgess MMA vs. TBA
This was supposed to be an mma fight but has no been scrapped to a grappling match due to Crowsneck pulling out of the fight.
185 PRO MMA Dennis Olson (14-11) Triumph BJJ vs. Aaron Jeffrey (6-2) Para Bellum MMA
In the main event Dennis Olson will be taking on Aaron Jeffrey at 185 lbs. Olsen is a professional veteran in New England with his record of 14-11. In the win column, he has 1 by ko/tko, 9 by submission and 4 by decision. For his losses, he lost 5 by ko/tko, 3 by submission and 3 by decision. His opponent is Aaron Jeffrey and he trains with Para Bellum MMA. He comes into this fight with a 6-2 record with 4 ko/tko, 1 sub and 1 by decision. For his losses, he lost 1 by submission and 1 by decision. This is going to be a back and forth war as you can see on paper Dennis always leaves it all in the cage and doesn't like to go to a decision.
There you have the complete breakdown of Combat Zone 71. Warchild and I will be making the trip to cover for you all so hope to see you all there!