Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy has produced more notable MMA stars in Wisconsin than all other gyms combined. His fighters have fought in the UFC, the WEC, BodogFight, Japan’s Pancrase and have also appeared on the Versus TV show Tapout, as well as Spike’s The Ultimate Fighter. This Saturday Dave Strasser will hold Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 in Kenosha and he has some of the biggest names in Wisconsin MMA on the card. Fighters like UFC veteran Brian Geraghty, BodogFight veteran Nick Agallar, and Pancrase veteran Jameel Massouh will be fighting in the ring.
As you may remember from my Freestyle Combat Challenge 32 article last month, Dustin “The Beast” Neace of Indianapolis, Indiana won the 4-man 145lb Featherweight tournament that evening. According to Sherdog, Neace holds an MMA record of (14-10-1) and the tournament win has earned him a title shot against UFC veteran and Ultimate Fighter 5 cast member Brian “Duke” Geraghty.
Brian “Duke” Geraghty who holds a (17-11-1) MMA record according to Sherdog and fought at 155lbs on the Ultimate Fighter show. He is currently riding a two-fight losing streak that includes a fight in Japan last November and a fight against Matt Wiman in the TUF 5 finale last June. It appears that Geraghty will be a stronger and more dominant fighter at featherweight and is making the necessary adjustments to get back on the winning track and revitalize his career, which would be better suited in the WEC’s featherweight division. Judging by their comparable records and from what I saw of Neace at the last FCC event, this fight has the making of a great main event title fight.
Also on the card is one of the most successful MMA fighters in Wisconsin history. That man is 155lb lightweight fighter, Nick Agallar. Agallar holds an MMA record of (19-5) according to Sherdog and has fought in the WEC, the UFC, and BodogFight. He is currently riding a two-fight win streak that includes a split decision win over James Jones at BodogFight: Alvarez vs. Lee in July of 2007 and most recently, a first round TKO win over Japan’s Shinya Kumazawa at FCC 31 in November. Agallar is (8-2) since making his return to MMA, which was halted due to a 16-month layoff from the sport while he fought in the Iraq war.
Jameel “The Sergeant” Massouh will also be fighting on the card at bantamweight or 135lbs. Massouh sports a (14-3) record according to Sherdog and is coming off a unanimous decision loss in Japan’s Pancrase organization to Miki Shida last December. His other two losses came at the hands of Japan’s Daiki Hata and Tristan Yunker who holds wins over notable fighters such as John Hosman, Clay Guida, and John Halverson. He has also fought on many Madtown Throwdown shows as well as Freestyle Combat Challenge shows and began his career winning 11 straight fights. According to Dave Strasser, Jameel Massouh will face Kyle Dietz. Dietz holds a (3-0) MMA record according to FC Fighter.
Accrding to Chris Geraghty’s website, www.theringannouncer.com, Japanese fighter Kazuki Okubo is also slated to fight on the card. Despite a (7-9) MMA record, Okuba has fought in Rings, Deep, M-1, Pancrase, and Pride. He has fought notable fighters such as Jeremy Horn, Kurt Pellegrino, Daijiro Matsui, and Ikuhisa Minowa. The article also states that Okuba will stay in Wisconsin after the fight and continue to train with Strasser’s camp and fight again in future FCC shows in 2008.
All in all, MMA cards in Wisconsin don’t get stacked with bigger name talent than this card so I would recommend taking the trip down south to Kenosha this weekend if you are planning on seeing some upper level talent and recognizable fighters. Wisconsin Combat Sports will be covering all the action this weekend including Combat USA, Titletown Combat Championship, and Freestyle Combat Challenge. We hope to see you there.
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