Combat Zone is returning for their 45th show at the Rockingham Park in Salem New Hampshire this Friday. As you can see they have been around for a while but this one is going to be special. It is the start of a new era. Why do you ask? This is the first show being under the new ownership of the Kattars. Calvin Kattar has been around the fight game for a long time so he knows what it takes and what the fans want to see. Tickets start at just $40 bux and are available here. They are also available at the door. The doors open at 6:30 and the fights start at 8pm. There will be 9 fights in which 3 of them are pro with big names as Pedro Gonzalez, Rodrigo and Saul Almeida. It will be business as usual for Combat Zone and I am pumped to go to my first CZ event. Let me break down the card for you.
180lb. AM Scott Coburn (0-0 SC MMA) vs. Justin Boraczek (0-0 Spero MMA)
At a catchweight of 180lbs Scott Coburn takes on Justin Boraczek. Scott is from SC MMA andhis hometown is Haverhill MA. He will be making his amateur debut. Justin is also making his amateur debut and is out of Spero MMA. No doubt he will be ready for a battle being under the tutelage of Dave Spero. Justin is also from Haverhill Mass. This will be a great first fight that will show us what these two amateurs are all about and who is ready to take home the first victory of the night.
150lb AM Jake Pilla (0-0 Wai Kru) vs. Nick Toressi (0-0 Independent)
Next up at 150lbs Jake Pilla will face off against Nick Toressi. Jake is from Wai Kru and his hometown is Billerica MA. He will be making his amateur debut. Nick is an independent fighter who is also making his amateur debut. He is fighting out of Methuen MA. Two Mass boys heading up to NH to show what they are made of! Sounds like a good time to me.
140lb AM Ivan Sanchez (0-3 Intenze MMA) vs. Danny Klemarczyk (0-0 Team Kaos)
At a catchweight of 140lbs Ivan Sanchez will meet Danny Klemarczyk in the cage. Ivan trains with Intenze MMA and comes into this fight with an 0-3 record. He is fighting out of Lawrence MA and he has fought for Combat Zone his entire amateur career. He lost two fights by submissions and his last fight he lost a unanimous decision to Jay Perrin. He is hungry for his first amateur victory and this just might be the night he gets it! Danny is from Team Kaos in NH and he will be making his amateur debut. He is fighting out of Nottingham, NH. This one should be a good one with both fighters being from two great teams. We will have to see if experience in the cage is a factor for Ivan or not.
170lb. AM Greg Pierce (0-0 CNBJJ ) vs. Andrew Cutter (0-0 Team Kaos)
Then at 170lbs Greg Pierce will fight Andrew Cutter. Greg is from CNBJJ and will be making his amateur debut. He is fighting out of Beverly Mass. His opponent Andrew is the second fighter from Team Kaos. He will also be making his amateur debut. Andrew is out of Farmington, NH. As you can see Combat Zone is having lots of amateur debuts this night which should be good. I like the amateur fights because you never know what to expect from these new fighters. It is a clean slate for them.
150lb AM Dan Lynch (0-0 Spero MMA) vs. James Murrin (2-2 Broadway BJJ)
Next up at Combat Zone is Dan Lynch taking on James Murrin at a catch weight of 150lbs. Dan will be making his amateur debut and is from Spero MMA. He is from Plaistow, NH. His opponent James is from Broadway BJJ and comes into this fight with a 2-2 record. He is from Taunton Mass. He lost two decisions at the start of his career in 2007-2008. He then bounced back and won by armbar in 2009. His last fight was in 2011 where he defeated Ahsan Abdullah with a unanimous decision which is no easy feat. As you can see there are a couple of things that could be a factor in this fight. One is that James hasn't fought since 2011 so we will have to see if cage rust is a factor. Second, James has had four fights already and Dan will be making his debut. I know being from Spero's MMA he will be ready for a battle but we will have to see if he is ready enough to make up for four fight experience.
215lb. AM Joe Lambert (0-0 Independent) vs. Doug Dainty (1-4 Allstar MMA)
Then it is the big boys turn at 215 lbs when Joe Lambert takes on Doug Dainty. Joe is an independent fighter fighting out of Nashua NH. He will be making his amateur debut. Doug is from Allstar MMA and is coming up from Miami OK. He has a 1-4 record. His only win he won by submission. Out of his four losses he lost 3 by way of the fist and one by submission. I think this is a great match up and at least from my standpoint (sitting point) is very even. We could see a knockout and I know the fans will love that! Now onto the pro fights!
160lb PRO Saul Almeida (12-4 CNBJJ ) vs. Wayne Harnois (3-11 Brute Force)
For the first pro fight of the night Saul Almeida will fight Wayne Harnois at 160lbs. Saul is from CNBJJ and has a 12-4 record. He is from Framingham Mass. Saul has had a long career of fighting in New England and has won pretty much all of his fights by decision. He has struggled lately and has suffered 3 losses in a row. Wayne is from Brute Force MMA and is from Gardner MA. He comes into this fight with a 3-11 record. He has won all 3 of his fights by submission. His losses were pretty spread out by submission, dec and ref stoppages to strikes. It should also be noted that he hasn't fought since 2009. I believe this was a last minute addition to the card and I see Saul winning this one easily. I would love to see Saul finish this fight as he hasn't finished his opponent in a while. How do you all see this one going down??
155lb PRO Pedro Gonzalez (8-5 Redline MMA) vs. Chris Barnes (8-23)
Next up is Pedro Gonzalez against Chris Barnes at 155lbs. Pedro is from Redline MMA and comes into this bout with an 8-5 record. He is from Gloucester Mass. Out of his 8 wins 7 of them came by submission. He has lost 3 by submission and 2 by decision. I saw his last fight against Dave LaChappelle and he looked excellent with great striking and takedown defense. His opponent Chris is from Apollo Karate and is from Tulsa, OK. He has a record of 8-23. His wins were spread out across the board by ko/tko, subs and decisions so he is well rounded. He does however have 23 losses which is a lot. He lost the majority of his fights by ko/tko and by submissions. This could spell trouble for him when he faces a very tough Pedro. Then again he isn't coming all the way from Oklahoma looking for a loss. I give the edge to Pedro and I feel he will win this one by submission.
150lb. PRO Rodrigo Almeida (9-2 CNBJJ vs. Zac Kelley (6-10)
The last fight of the evening is between Rodrigo Almeida and Zac Kelley at 150lbs. Rodrigo has a 9-2 record and is from CNBJJ. He is from Boston Massachusetts. He won 1 fight by ko/tko, 4 by submissions and 4 by decision so he is very well rounded. I saw him fight Lee Metcalf and he has some nasty submission skills and is very well versed on the ground. Zac comes into this fight with a 6-10 record and is coming from Seminole, Oklahoma. He has won 3 by tko/ko to strikes, 2 by submissions and 1 decision. He has lost 4 fights by submisson, 2 by decision and 4 by tko/ko to strikes. This could spell disaster for him as Rodrigo has great submission skills. I give the edge and say Rodrigo wins this fight by submission.
There you have the full breakdown of Combat Zone 45. I like to have fun and predict some of the fights but as we all know it is MMA and anything can happen! I expect this show to run smooth with them being around for such a long time in New Hampshire as this being their 45th show. Warchild will be there taking photos and I will be there with the live play by play assuming I have cell service/internet. New Hampshire fans are in for an awesome night of fights. Then the next day is Bellator on Spike TV and of course many fans are going to Mohegan Sun for the event. This should be another great MMA weekend. See you all there! Thanks to Combat Zone team for keeping us in the loop with the fight cards and updates! One last thing I would like to note is Combat Zone has an awesome website that they update regularly. They link all the videos, photos and fight cards up on their website so please check it out at www.czmma.com.