You
all must have seen our new banners on our site for World Cup of MMA on
both sides. You are all probably wondering who they are?? Well this
article is going to answer all of that as we interview their team
involved with World Cup of MMA. They are a unique promotion and are
looking to make a splash in a big way. Why are they unique?? Well they
work with other countries to try to pin the best of one nation against
another nation. Teams are formed around the world and "consist of four
males and one female" Dave Borelli, their matchmaker told us. There the
teams will compete "against one another over a four year period in an
effort to accumulate enough points that would qualify them to the sports
highest honor, an invitation to the World Cup of Mixed Martial Arts
Championship." We may not have mixed martial arts in the Olympics or a
SuperBowl but they can make one pretty damn close their own way! WCMMA
consists of eight teams around the world that will compete in this
tournament.
Their first inaugural event is set to take place on September
15th, 2012 at Foxwood MGM Grand. They have already announced the four
of their "SUPER FIGHTS," which are matches outside team competition and
are for individual world titles (5rd, 5 minutes). The first one is
David LaChapelle from SSSF against Yao Honggang. Second fight is Brett
Oteri from Connor's MMA vs Wang Sai. Then for the third they have Bill
Jones from The Shop MMA against Yang Jianping. The you have Team USA vs
Team Portugal in MMA World Cup Competition. Team USA is coached by
Ricardo Liborio, and the fighters on Team USA are J.P. Reese who is a
155lb fighter with two time NCAA wrestling championship qualifier in
2002 and 2003. Shaun Dillon is also on the team at 170lbs and is part
of American Top Team in FL. Byron Byrd for 185lbs is also Team USA. He
is the 2010 M1 Global U.S. Tournament Champion!" At 220 lbs they have
Derrick Mehmen who is a seasoned professional fighter and is known for
his fight with Roy Jones where he overcame a severe cut above his left
eye and still won the unanimous decision. For the lucky woman selected
to be on the team it is none other than Suzie Montero at 125lbs. She
has great skills and has defeated Kim Couture in her career. She is a
kung fu specialist and kickboxer. They will also have a professional under card made up of all New England fighters. In the heavyweight division we see Pedro "The Problem" Rivera from New Breed MMA vs Pat "The Beast From The East" Walsh of Wai Kru. At 145lbs we have Cleon Hoggard of Terry Dow MMA, vs Brandon Flemming of South Shore Sport Fighting. And at 155lbs we will see Tim O'Connel from Coventry Brazilian Jiu Jitsu face off against another fighter from South Shore Sport Fighting, Lee Metcalf. Some great local talent who will get a chance in a world class event.
With this card we get to all witness the first step towards the "ROAD TO ROME 2017" right here in New England. I asked Dave about their locations and where they plan on having events. They have "headquarters in Rome, Italy and satellite offices in Hong Kong, and another main office in Shanghai, China" said Dave. They are planning events events all around the world that will be sanctioned or produced by World Cup of MMA. This may be their first Mixed Martial Arts Event but their group itself has produced over "80 international kickboxing events, back in the 80's and 90's and helped establish the Sports Channel America Kickboxing Series." Dave also told me something that really caught my eye. He told me that WCMMA sees themselves as "a public service, it doesn't want to control, or manage athletes." They want to help provide a road map to success for other nations that have the same vision. They will actually help any promotion who they feel are similar to their standards get sanctioned and help them become successful. The WCMMA is also designed to license national team franchises, which is very much like how the NFL and NBA is setup now. With that said, their team is very serious about this sport and are looking to take it to the next level. We have a real treat at seeing the start of this great promotion in New England and I hope that their other events will be made available so everyone around the world who can't go to their events can see.
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