Warrior Nation is set to return on August 24th, 2012 with their fourth installment to the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee Mass. Jesse Camp has been working double duty on matchmaker and promoter and I am judging by the fight changes I have seen, he has been having lots of fun! With that said, he has put together an excellent card that includes 9 fights, 3 of them pro and 6 of them amateur. Tickets are still available by visiting here. Get your tickets and eat some excellent Polynesian food and watch the mayhem ensue in the cage. Of course, the lovely Warrior Nation girls will be there strutting their stuff and awarding each winner of the night a great picture with them. Who doesn't like a ring girl sandwich?? Ok let us break down the card for you all.
1) Walter Rodriguez vs. Ruso Khubecov
I wasn't sure if this fight was going to happen due to the last commission meeting and Walter had to get an xray to show his hand was alright. Thankfully Walter is all set and this fight is still on because it is going to be a great one at a catch weight of 150lbs. He trains out of Lion's Den and has a 1-0 record. I have seen Walter in the cage twice and both times were at Premier FC. He shows very good grappling skills in a grappling match against Joe Leonard who is also making his amateur debut later on this card. In his first fight he won by knockout in Round 1 over Eoghan Lenney. His opponent Ruso trains out of Connor's MMA and has a record of 2-0. His first fight he won via unanimous decision at a Cage Titans event over Chris Lane and I heard that was a war. His second fight I saw firsthand where he knocked out his opponent John Healey in just 13 seconds in Round 1. John Healey is a tough kid too. So if you are following along here we have two fighters who both have knockout power which should make for a great opening fight!!
2) Curtis Watkins vs. Zack Ordoyne
Curtis Watkins will be making his amateur debut and trains out of East Coast United BJJ at 155lbs. East Coast United BJJ has many locations so I am assuming it is the one from Connecticut. Zach Ordoyne, his opponent is from Team Ravenous located in Greenfield MA and has a record of 1-0. His first amateur win came at a Premier FC where he won with a first round guillotine against Josh Smith. It was a very exciting fight because after a roll Zach actually ended up finishing the choke from on top in mount which you don't see very often. This is going to be a battle you don't want to miss.
3) Nhel Theam vs. Allen Edgecomb
Nhel Theam will be facing Allen Edgecomb at 135lbs. Nhel trains with DCNU and will be making his amateur debut. Allen trains with Shaolin Kempo and has an amateur record 0-1. Allen made his amateur debut at the last Warrior Nation in April where he suffered a loss via armbar in round 1 in 2:34 seconds. He is hungry for his first career win and will be looking to make it this Friday at Warrior Nation IV. I expect this fight to a great ground battle.
4) Ian McEwan vs. Chad Kelly
Ian McEwan will be facing off against a very tough Chad Kelly at 135lbs. Ian trains with Lion's Den and has a record of 1-0. He loves to face tough opponents and this is no exception. He fought Marvin Maldonado in his first fight where he won a unanimous decision. Ian looked very comfortable where ever the fight went and controlled the fight through most of the rounds to secure the victory. Chad trains out of Fighting Arts Academy Gardner and comes into this fight with a 2-2 record. Chad is an all around great fighter. He has great standup and an even better ground game. Chad has won a fight via decision and one via armbar. This is a great matchup between two amateur fighters who are comfortable where ever the fight may go. This fight is going to come down to whomever can get the takedowns and control their opponent. Will Chad's experience be a factor and secure him a victory or will Ian continue his win streak?? We will find out on August 24th!
5) Michael Tabor vs. Joe Leonard
This fight will be at a catchweight of 140lbs. Michael trains out of Guardian MMA and has a record of 0-2. He lost his first fight in a CFX show where he lost via submission in Rd 1 to Louis Callebar. His second loss which most of have seen was at a Premier FC where he lost a unanimous decision to Mike Velazquez. This was a great fight and they were standing and banging most of the time if I remember correctly. His opponent, Joe Leonard, who I like to call The Artist is co-owner of this site and has been training for a while. He is my good friend and has to deal with many medical issues in his life and I am proud that he has got healthy enough to make his amateur debut. Joe trains with Team Ravenous out of Greenfield MA and will be ready to put on a show. I see this fight being much like Tabor's last fight and we will see some stand and banging and the crowd will be going nuts!!
6) Billy Leishner vs. Nick Berube
Billy Leishner has stepped in to fight Nick Berube at 155lbs. Billy trains out of Dexter MMA and has a record of 1-2. He has lost two of his fights via submission and won one of them via submission. Nick trains with Team Link and has a record of 3-3. He has one decision victory and two ref stoppage victories. He lost two fights via submission and one decision. I feel this fight will most likely take place on the ground and should be another great ground battle.
~PRO FIGHTS~
7) Roger Zapatta vs. Josh Mellen
Roger Zapatta will be facing Josh Mellen at 185lbs. Roger trains out of Bruno Tostes in New York and has a record of 0-1. I wasn't able to find any info on Roger but I have seen many fighters fight from Bruno Tostes and they are always ready for a fight. His opponent Josh trains with MTF and has a record of 2-9. Josh likes to take last minute slots on cards and is always ready but unfortunately they aren't the best matchups for him and his record suffers. He has lost several first round stoppages to strikes and I don't believe he has had a fight go into the second round yet but I could be wrong. However, this fight is a decent match up for Josh and hopefully he can use his experience to get his record closer to .500 by achieving the victory. Roger will want to keep this fight standing and try to overwhelm Josh and Josh will want to get this fight quickly to the ground where he can control the fight.
CO-MAIN EVENT (125lbs)
8) Theo Desjardin vs. Anthony Carmenatty
MAIN EVENT (130 lbs)
9) Dan “The Hamburglar” Cormier vs. Billy “The Wolverine” Giovanella
This fight right here has the potential to be not only fight of the night but fight of the year. Dan Cormier who was 6-2 amateur will be making his pro debut and in a big way. Dan likes to fight at 125lbs and sometimes had to fight at 135lbs just to find opponents but thankfully Billy has agreed to meet him at 130lbs and the fans are going to see an awesome fight. Dan trains with Tri-force MMA and has had some great victories throughout his amateur career. He has beaten Chad Kelly via split decision and Colton Blanchette by unanimous decision. As for his opponent Billy, he trains with Connor's MMA and had like Dan a stellar amateur career where he was 5-2 and went pro. After going pro he quickly became 2-0 with two wins at CES over Theo Desjardin and Gilvan Santos. I see this fight coming down to two things. Dan will probably want to keep it standing where he can control the fight and stand and bang. Billy likes to use his wrestling and take guys down and control the fight that way. It is going to come down to whether Billy can take Dan down because I saw firsthand Colton and Chad kept trying to take Dan down and were not very successful in that. You definitely don't want to miss this fight!!
That just about wraps up this teaser. I hope you all enjoyed my insight on the fights. I have fun looking up the fighters records and getting you all and myself hyped up for the fights. If any of my info is incorrect just let me know and I will gladly fix it. Thank you to Jesse Camp and the entire Warrior Nation crew for providing us with the up to date card so I could bang out this teaser. Tickets are still available so make sure you grab them by visiting here. Please support the fighters by providing their full name in the promo code spot and help them get some more $$. We will be there and hopefully will be doing live play by play so don't leave this website!
That just about wraps up this teaser. I hope you all enjoyed my insight on the fights. I have fun looking up the fighters records and getting you all and myself hyped up for the fights. If any of my info is incorrect just let me know and I will gladly fix it. Thank you to Jesse Camp and the entire Warrior Nation crew for providing us with the up to date card so I could bang out this teaser. Tickets are still available so make sure you grab them by visiting here. Please support the fighters by providing their full name in the promo code spot and help them get some more $$. We will be there and hopefully will be doing live play by play so don't leave this website!
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