It is hard to believe that Combat Zone is about to host their 50th event of mixed martial arts! The show is just days away and it will be held at their home at the Rockingham Park in Salem NH. The doors will open up at 6:30pm and the fights will start around 7:30pm I would imagine. They lost many fights on the card but as of right now there are a total of 7 very well matched fights. 2 of them are pro and one of them is a title fight. Ryan Fennelly the match maker has not been having a fun time with this show but like I said the 7 fights they have are awesome match ups. Ryan told me that he is looking to add a few more fights to the card which may happen in the next few days. Tickets are no longer available online as of right now but you can get them at the door so don't be too late or you will have to be turned away when it is sold out! Let me break down the card for you and by no means will this be the final fight order.
170 lbs AM Sean Seaburg (0-0 Boom Athletics) vs. Dave Spero (4-2 Spero's MMA)
At 170lbs Sean Seaburg will be taking on Dave Spero. The backstory on this fight is Sean and Dave have said some not so nice words to each other lately. Dave is now moving up to 170lbs just to settle this in the cage so this fight is going to be intense. Sean trains with Boom Athletics and will be making his amateur debut. He better be able to back up his talk cause he is facing a fighter with 6 fight experience. Dave has 1 ko/tko, 1 sub, 1 decision and 1 by DQ for wins in his amateur career. He lost two fights by decision but I doubt this fight will be going to a decision with the smack talk that has been going around on this fight! I love to see two guys settle it in the cage so after Friday night one of these fighters will have bragging rights! Which one will it be??
150 lbs AM Mike Scappachio (1-0 Spero's MMA) vs. Corey Cohen (0-0 Lakes Region Valley Tudo
At 150lbs Mike Scappachio challenges Corey Cohen in the Combat Zone cage. Mike trains with Spero's MMA and has a 1-0 record. Mike won his first fight by submission against LJ Scarcella at Combat Zone in Round 1. He will be looking for the early finish once again. His opponent Corey Cohen fights out of Lakes Region Valley Tudo and will be making his amateur debut. This should be a good scrap between both these guys.
150 lb AM Jimmy Munoz (1-1 Munoz Karate) vs. Dave Sousa (1-3 CNBJJ)
At 150lbs Jimmy Munoz takes on Dave Sousa. Munoz trains with Munoz Karate and has a 1-1 record. He won his first bout against Marty Sheehan by ko/tko at CZ 47. Then at Combat Zone 49 he lost a decision to Carl Langston. He is looking to bring home the W and get above .500 average. His opponent Sousa trains with CN BJJ and has a 1-3 record. He lost his first fight by submission back in 2011 against Colton Blanchette. He then fought at CZ 42 and won by ko/tko against Justin Clough. After that he lost his last two fights by sub and one by decision. He has been fighting for a while and will be looking to use his experience in the cage to bring home the W. I think this fight will be a good stand up battle between the two.
177lbs AM Nick Alley (2-1 Team Link Hooksett) vs. Buck Pineau (Team Irish 7-4)
At 177lbs Nick Alley will be squaring off against Buck Pineau. Alley had an opponent drop out recently and thankfully Buck Pineau stepped up to save the fight. Alley is from Team Link Hooksett and has a 2-1 record. He won his two wins by ko/tko and one by sub. For his loss he lost by a DQ to Justin Boraczek. He is a real good fighter and this is another tough challenge for him. His opponent Buck Pineau has a 7-4 record and is now training with Team Irish. Buck has 2 ko/tko 3 sub and 2 decision victories so far in his amateur career. Buck has had two straight losses since coming off his leg injury and is anxious to bring home the W. Both of these fighters are tough as nails and always leave it all in the cage so on that note, this fight is going to be an awesome battle you don't want to miss!
At 177lbs Nick Alley will be squaring off against Buck Pineau. Alley had an opponent drop out recently and thankfully Buck Pineau stepped up to save the fight. Alley is from Team Link Hooksett and has a 2-1 record. He won his two wins by ko/tko and one by sub. For his loss he lost by a DQ to Justin Boraczek. He is a real good fighter and this is another tough challenge for him. His opponent Buck Pineau has a 7-4 record and is now training with Team Irish. Buck has 2 ko/tko 3 sub and 2 decision victories so far in his amateur career. Buck has had two straight losses since coming off his leg injury and is anxious to bring home the W. Both of these fighters are tough as nails and always leave it all in the cage so on that note, this fight is going to be an awesome battle you don't want to miss!
125 lbs PRO Chad Kelly (2-1 FAA) vs. Kenny Murphy (0-0 Team Link Hooksett)
Chad Kelly takes on Kenny Murphy in a 125lb professional bout. Kelly fights out of Fighting Arts Academy and bring into the cage his 2-1 record. Chad won his first two fights by submission. In his last fight he lost by submission to Remo Cardarelli at Cage Titans 18. Chad is very well rounded and is extremely slick on the ground. His opponent Kenny Murphy will be making his pro debut and trains with Team Link Hooksett. He had a stellar 6-1 record as an amateur and all of the fights went to a decision. He is also very good on the ground and is used to controlling the fights. Kelly is a finisher and that could make this fight very interesting. This is a big fight and could definitely be fight of the night.
Chad Kelly takes on Kenny Murphy in a 125lb professional bout. Kelly fights out of Fighting Arts Academy and bring into the cage his 2-1 record. Chad won his first two fights by submission. In his last fight he lost by submission to Remo Cardarelli at Cage Titans 18. Chad is very well rounded and is extremely slick on the ground. His opponent Kenny Murphy will be making his pro debut and trains with Team Link Hooksett. He had a stellar 6-1 record as an amateur and all of the fights went to a decision. He is also very good on the ground and is used to controlling the fights. Kelly is a finisher and that could make this fight very interesting. This is a big fight and could definitely be fight of the night.
145 lbs AM Title Fight Jake Pilla (3-0 Havoc MMA) vs. James Squires (2-0 BMAC)
At 145lbs Jake Pilla defends his title against James Squires. Pilla has a 3-0 record and trains out of Havoc MMA. Pilla wastes no time and in all 3 of his fights has had 3 quick finishes. He won 2 by sub and 1 by ko/tko. This will be his toughest fight to to date and I can't wait because this kid is great and I look forward to every one of his fights. Squires is a worthy opponent with a 2-0 record. He trains out of BMAC and has one decision and one ko/tko so far in his ammy career. This fight is going to be a ground battle and is going to be VERY entertaining.
At 145lbs Jake Pilla defends his title against James Squires. Pilla has a 3-0 record and trains out of Havoc MMA. Pilla wastes no time and in all 3 of his fights has had 3 quick finishes. He won 2 by sub and 1 by ko/tko. This will be his toughest fight to to date and I can't wait because this kid is great and I look forward to every one of his fights. Squires is a worthy opponent with a 2-0 record. He trains out of BMAC and has one decision and one ko/tko so far in his ammy career. This fight is going to be a ground battle and is going to be VERY entertaining.
145 lbs PRO Evan Parker (4-2 Fighting Arts Academy) vs. Taylor Trahan (4-1 Team Link North)
In the main event Evan Parker takes on Taylor Trahan at 145lbs professional. Parker has a 4-2 record and trains with Fighting Arts Academy. Parker has 1 ko/tko, 2 sub and 1 decision victory so far in his career. For his two losses, he lost them both by decision. It should be noted that he hasn't been in the cage since 2011 so we will have to see if cage rust is a factor in this fight. His opponent is Taylor Trahan and he trains with Team Link North. He has a 4-1 record and has 2 sub and 2 decision wins so far. His only loss came by tko to strikes at Bone MMA 1 against Phil Parrish and that fight was a war! I see this fight going as another solid ground battle and I don't see it going to a decision.
That puts a wrap on this preview for Combat Zone. The show is stacked with 7 fights and like I said above there may be a few more added. Warchild and I will be making the trip to keep you all up to date on the action. Thanks to Combat Zone for always keeping us in the loop on the fight info. Also I would like to congratulate Combat Zone on their 50th show! That is quite an achievement in this day an age of local MMA in New England. See you all around the cage and make sure to come say Hi!