Freesyle Combat Challenge 41

Welterweight Spotlight: Gerald Meerschaert of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy

Last Friday at Madtown Throwdown 16 – Red, White, and Bruised; Racine resident and Freestyle Combat Academy fighter, Gerald Meerschaert defeated Mike “The Volt” Vaughn with a rear naked choke submission in the second round. Vaughn is the owner and head instructor of Blast Martial Arts in Madison, Wisconsin and holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the world famous Marcello Monteiro and held a (2-1) MMA record going into the fight with his only loss coming at the hands of Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis in 2006. With the win Meerschaert ups his MMA record to (7-2) with five straight wins, all of which have come in 2008. Meerschaert’s last loss came a year ago in August against Pancrase and Deep veteran, Daisuke “13” Hanazawa of Osaka, Japan.

In February at Freestyle Combat Challenge 33, Meerschaert defeated previously undefeated fighter Caleb Krull of Serrano’s Combat Gym via unanimous decision. Krull (4-3) was riding a four-fight win streak but has since dropped two more fights to the very tough Ted Worthington (20-11) and David Gaston (4-0). Despite defeating Caleb Krull, Meerschaert was absent from the WCS 1st quarter rankings while Krull was ranked at #3.

With wins over tough opponents in Caleb Krull and Mike Vaughn, Meerschaert’s other three wins this year have come over complete tomato cans in Kenneth Allen (1-27), Alex Carter (4-23), and Ryan Scheeper (2-6). At first glance one could blame the matchmaking or organization but a fighter like Kenneth Allen has fought in three Wisconsin organizations that include Madtown Throwdown, Gladiators, and Freestyle Combat Challenge in 2007 and 2008.

At only 20 years old it appears that Meerschaert has a good start and a bright future in MMA. He trains under and with high level fighters such as Nick Agallar, Dave Strasser, Brian Geraghty, Sergio Gomez, and Jameel Massouh that have fought in the big shows and know what it takes to make it to the next level. Whether or not this submission specialist will make it to the next level remains to be seen but I think he’s an up and coming welterweight you might want to keep your eye out for in the future.

Freestyle Academy’s Brian Geraghty to fight Dustin Neace

Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy fighter Brian “Duke” Geraghty will face off against Dustin “The Beast” Neace at the Revolution Fight League this Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky. The two fighters were originally slated to fight at Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 for the vacant 145lb featherweight belt this February but the fight didn’t happen. Geraghty instead fought Shaun Kuhl (0-1) and quickly stopped Kuhl with an arm bar submission in the first round.

Brian Geraghty hasn’t fought since the February bout with Kuhl and was scheduled to fight at Gladiators: Fight Night at the Fair on August 4, 2008 in West Allis but pulled out of the event to take the fight with Neace in Kentucky. Geraghty sports an MMA record of (19-12-1) dating back to August of 2000 according to Sherdog with his biggest win coming against Tommy Lee of the Gilbert Grappling/Hellhouse Gym. Riding a three fight win streak, he was cast on the Ultimate Fighter season 5 but had little success on the show losing to the very talented Joe Lauzon in episode 6 via a rear naked choke in round one. In the finale, Geraghty faced off against “Handsome” Matt Wiman but lost via TKO in June of last year. Geraghty would take five months off before fighting again. In November of 2007, he would fight long time Shooto vet, Hatsu Hioki (15-3-1) at Heat 5 in Nagoya, Japan losing a unanimous decision. Since the show, Geraghty has decided to drop from lightweight (155lbs) to featherweight (145lbs), a class where he will be the dominant and stronger fighter.





Dustin “The Beast” Neace hails from Indianapolis, Indiana and sports an MMA record of (15-11-1). You may remember from my Freestyle Combat Challenge 32 article in January that Neace won a single night four-man featherweight tournament in Kenosha. Neace defeated Rich Taylor in the first round with a guillotine choke and in the finals scored a TKO victory over his teammate Jeremy Ashley, also in the first round. Since the tournament, Neace has gone (1-2) and hasn’t fought since April. Neace holds a win over local fighter Eugene Crisler and two losses to Geraghty’s teammate Jameel Massouh.

This should be an interesting matchup as both fighters are submission specialists with almost two thirds of Geraghty’s wins coming via submission and 80% of Dustin Neace’s wins coming by way of submissions. While both fighters have similar records Geraghty has five more years of experience and has bigger name fights on his resume. Geraghty doesn’t fight as frequently so there’s no way to tell if ring rust is going to be a factor, but the fact that he normally fought at 155lbs means he should have a size advantage as well.

I’ve read on the UnderGround forum that the winner of this fight will face off against reigning Revolution Fight League featherweight champion, Stephen Ledbetter for title in Macon, Georgia on October 04, 2008. Ledbetter is a WEC vet and is from Georgia and lost a unanimous decision to Jeff Curran in August of last year. He recently defeated Johnny Bedford for the title in May of this year with a first round triangle choke.

Jameel Massouh to replace Zac George on Adrenaline MMA show

Jameel Massouh of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy has replaced an injured Zac George, who himself had replaced UFC veteran Alberto Crane. Massouh will face off against Clay French on this Saturday’s Adrenaline MMA show in Hoffman Estates, IL. The show will take place at the Sears Centre and will be headlined by a fight between Mike Russow and Jason Guida.

Jameel Massouh, also referred to as “The Sergeant”, sports a (16-3) record and is riding a two-fight win streak. He is coming off a unanimous decision win over a very tough Myles Merola of British Columbia in March. The fight took place in the Hardcore Championship Fighting organization in Quebec, Canada and was headlined by David Loiseau. It was believed Massouh may have earned himself a ticket back to organization’s next show in May, which was to be headlined by Renato Sobral, but the organization dissolved prior to the event happening.

Massouh’s opponent, Clay French sports an MMA record of (14-2) and holds wins over Pride FC and KOTC veteran Jason Ireland. He also holds a split decision win over Ultimate Fighter season six champion, Mac Danzig. He’s won seven-straight fights, all of which took place in 2007. His last defeat was in Pride FC, where he lost via flying triangle choke to Shinya Aoki in November of 2006 at Bushido 13. French trains with Matt Hughes at the (Hughes Intensive Training) or Hit Squad Gym in Granite City, Illinois. His teammates and coaches also include Robbie Lawler, Tommy Speer, Matt Pena, and Marc Fiore.

Adrenaline MMA

The Adrenaline MMA show took a hit today when it was announced that Jeff Monson was injured and would not be able to compete against Mike Russow. It was announced today that Jeff Monson will be replaced by Jason Guida of Illinois. In addition, Brian Gassaway’s opponent, Tony “The Freak” Fryklund was scratched from the card and was replaced by UFC veteran Forrest Petz of Ohio.

Here is the most current version of the ever changing card:

Adrenaline MMA
Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates, IL
06/14/2008

Main event:
Jason Guida vs. Mike Russow

Main card:
Daiju Takase vs. Terry Martin
Jameel Massouh vs. Clay French
Forrest Petz vs. Brian Gassaway
Jeff Cox vs. Bart Palaszewski
Jay Ellis vs. Rory Markham
Anthony Lapsley vs. Mark Miller
Herc Hayes vs. Kerry Schall
David Kleczkowski vs. Hector Urbina
Aaron Rosa vs. Ron Fields
Louis Taylor vs. Adam Maciejewski

Preliminary bouts:
Dom O’Grady vs. Mike Stumpf
Joe Jordan vs. Ryan Williams
Joe Pearson vs. John Hosman

Fighter Interview: Racine’s Nick Agallar of Agallar Combative Systems

I recently caught up with Nick Agallar after the last Freestyle Combat Challenge show in Racine two weeks ago. I had the opportunity to talk to him about his fight that night with Shane MacDonald in front of his hometown crowd. We also discussed the Art of War television show, in which he is a captain of the GI team and his upcoming fight with Chris Brennan in the season finale.

Also, if you haven’t heard, Agallar is opening his own gym in Racine called ACS or Agallar Combative Systems. We discussed how that will affect his future with the Freestyle Academy and lastly, we talk about up and comers from the Kenosha, Racine, and Waukegan area.

Wisconsin Combat Sports: First off, why don’t you tell us what happened in the fight tonight?

Nick Agallar: First, I just want to apologize to everyone who watched it because that was horrible. He went out there and he’s fought one of our guys before and he usually comes out swinging and comes out hard. He’s good on his feet, his ground kind of sucks. You know, he tagged me a couple of times with the leg kick. That was decent because I got a swollen leg. I threw a couple of high kicks and missed. I hit him with a left hook when I came in, not the biggest, but I know it hurt him a little bit. Then I body locked him and threw him down and then he started screaming about his nutsack.

WCS: Other than tonight’s fight, how did it feel to fight in front of your hometown crowd? You went to high school here and you were a wrestling star.

NA: It felt good, I love fighting at home and we have the best crowd and everybody loves me here at home. On the same token, I almost feel bad about the fight and having him whine about his nuts, it was embarrassing the whole way the fight went down.

WCS: I saw the fliers, you’re opening a gym or is it already open? Why don’t you tell me about that.

NA: Yeah, I’m opening a gym called Agallar Combative Systems or ACS.

WCS: Do you have a website for it yet?

NA: The website will come soon. It’s located in Curt’s Sports Complex or the old YWCA. He’s also going to have a pool and a sports medicine area separate from my gym. It will have physical therapy, massage, and acupuncture. It will be like a one stop shop for everything.

The gym is 1600 square feet and I have it all matted with an 18 by 18 foot ring, so it will be real nice with great locker facilities and showers and everything, so come on down and get beat up.

WCS: Are you still going to train at Freestyle Academy?

NA: Yeah, we’re still going to train at Dave’s and we’re still a team.

WCS: How about instruction, are you still going to teach at Freestyle Academy?

NA: I don’t know. I’m still going to train with those guys when I have a fight those guys will come down and if Dave has a fight, I’m still going to go down because we’re buddies. The problem is that he has his two gyms that he owns and I have to pay rent on this one. I have to put classes on and the more classes the more money and so on, but I’ll be there working out with those guys off and on.

WCS: Alright, so you’ll be teaching and instructing there. Is there anyone else you’ll be bring in for instructors?

NA: Yeah, we’ll get into that in the future.

WCS: Like a Jiu-Jitsu coach or a certain striking coach?

NA: Well not yet, my brother is a high school wrestling coach and I have a lot of really good wrestling friends who are going to join, so we are going to be based on wrestling. After that, I’ll be the main guy but I have a couple people in mind for some standup.

WCS: Alright, with Art of War, is it like nine separate shows that they are going to turn into episodes or what’s the deal with that?

NA: As far as I know, it’s nine separate episodes on TV starting in like July. Well, it’s posted somewhere, I don’t remember and it ends in September. The first show we did on April 19th was for the first two episodes. On May 24th in Oklahoma is the next one. I’m not fighting there I know that much. Me and Brennan will be there as coaches. I just got an e-mail like two days ago from the main guy named Clyde and he said that they are trying to put a show together June 7th. I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that, but every month there is supposed to be a show.

WCS: So are you going to be on the June show?

NA: They want us both to fight once before the finale and I think they are looking at June and then me and Brennan would fight in August, which would get aired as the final episode in September.

WCS: So you have no idea who your opponent would be in June?

NA: No, no idea.

WCS: Chris Brennan, he’s been around for like ten years, he’s been in all the big shows, he’s got good wrestling, pretty good standup, and he’s got a good submission game. What’s your game plan for the fight?

NA: Me and Brennan are going to brawl I think. A good fight really brings the best out of two people and I think he’s really looking forward to it and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve talked to the guy, I like the guy, he cracks me up, he’s kind of cocky but he cracks me up. I don’t think that lately he’s fought at his peak, well I don’t want to say he’s past his prime, but I don’t think he’s trained as hard. But for this fight I think he’s going to train really hard. He’s going to come out there and try to prove something. Both of us have kind of been on the backlight a little bit and this fight will get us some recognition again. So it’s a big fight for both of us.

WCS: Yeah, the way I look at it is, this is a big fight between two big name fighters. Obviously that’s why it’s headlining the season finale. Where do you see his advantages being in this fight?

NA: I think we’re both pretty equal all the way around.

WCS: My opinion is that I think on the feet your both pretty equal, wrestling is pretty close, maybe he is a little better at submissions.

NA: So your saying I’m going to lose? (Laughs)

WCS: No of course not. (Laughing)

NA: My ground, I guess I don’t use it much since I’m usually on top. I’m actually good on the ground. If you ever roll with me, I’m very good at Jiu-Jitsu.

WCS: I haven’t, but my brother tells me that your incredibly strong and that your one of the strongest guys around.

NA: I’m dick diesel strong for 155, put that in there, dick diesel.

WCS: Well, I’m going to have to look that up because I have no idea what that means.

NA: (Laughs) Anyway, I know Chris is going to be very strong. He’s very big for 55 and he cuts down.

Actually, now that we’re going through this, I would give me the advantage on the feet. I think I’m a little bit more aggressive and a little bit more wild on the feet. Not to say that I couldn’t get tagged, or that he couldn’t either. In wrestling I’m good, but my real strong point is that I can control people. My strength is a big factor, if your going against a guy who is just as slick as you, and you can out muscle them, that’s a part of the game. Anybody at the gym will tell you that I’m strong.

WCS: So give me a prediction on the fight?

NA: I don’t want to do that. I think I’m going to win and I’m going to train my ass of for it. It’s a big, big fight and I’m looking forward to it. I think I can finish it, I just have to keep working and overwhelm him, just keep it rolling.

WCS: Back to the Art of War. After August, have you signed any kind of long-term deal with them or is it just this season and then we’ll see what happens? Have you talked to any other organizations?

NA: No, right now I’m just talking with them. What’s funny is, I don’t have any contract signed. We’re still negotiating on the Brennan fight. It’s going to happen obviously because they’re paying me to fly out to all the other shows. I don’t have a contract to fight in June even. They just want to get me in there.

It’s weird because people hear things before I hear them. Like that WEC thing a while back that said I’d be fighting at 145.

WCS: Oh, your talking about Pequano.

NA: Yeah, the guillotine guy. I didn’t even hear about that until I read it on Sherdog. That was crazy because since then they haven’t really said anything to me.

WCS: Well, he’s also a 145er. How much do you cut by the way?

NA: Not much, I’m big framed, but I don’t cut that much. I usually weigh like 170 maybe.

WCS: Well that’s all I have for you. Anything else I should know.

NA: Just that I have a beautiful wife and an eight-month old beautiful girl at home. They’re beautiful and I love them.

WCS: Oh yeah, one more thing. Is there anybody we should keep an eye on? Any up and comers from Strassers?

NA: Well, you probably know most of them. Jameel’s (Jameel Massouh) doing well, he turning it on. Sergio (Gomez) lost those two in the WEC but they were both kick ass fights with very tough guys. Brian (Geraghty), same thing, he’s tough, he just hasn’t fought at the right weight for a while. He’s going to be a 45er from hell, very tough and very technical.

WCS: Well, I know about those guys, give me an up and comer to keep an eye on.

NA: I think an up and comer that’s going to be good is Gerald (Meerschaert). He’s young and he’s only 20 years old. I think Gerald is going to be very good.

WCS: Yeah, I think he’s like (6-2) now.

NA: “300” is going to be tough. Adrian Gutierrez.

WCS: Yeah, I saw him fight a couple shows ago and he fought a much bigger opponent and came back from behind to win it.

NA: What’s nice is we have that foreign exchange thing going on. We have some tough Japanese guys. Ricardo Damm is going to be here starting a belt system.

WCS: You mean Ricardo Damm is going to move here to Wisconsin?

NA: Yeah, he’s moving to Kenosha but he’ll teach and train at Kenosha and Waukegan.

WCS: What do you mean by a belt system? Jiu-Jitsu?

NA: Yeah, like I know Jiu-Jitsu really well but I’m not certified in a belt. Who else do we have? We had two guys tonight at 155 who fought each other Andy (Holm) and Ryan (Anderson). Both of those guys are going to be extremely tough.

WCS: Yeah, Andy looked like Corey Hill when I saw him.

NA: What is he like 6’9”? (Laughs) And Ryan has a lot of heart and is very strong for his size. Hopefully, I didn’t forget anybody.

WCS: Well, thanks a lot for the interview and good luck in the Brennan fight.

NA: Thank you.

Freestyle Combat Challenge 34 Quick Results

Gerald Meerschaert defeats Alex Carter via Triangle Choke – RD 2
Evan Martinez defeats Damien Chamberlein via Arm Bar – RD 1
Jordan Jackola defeats Chad Leroy via Guillotine Choke – RD 3
Gabe Garcia defeats Dave Olive via TKO (Stoppage Due to Strikes) – RD 1
Ryan Scheeper defeats Ken Allen via Arm Bar – RD 1
Javi Vega defeats Travis Wolfren via Triangle Choke – RD 2
Kiuma Kunioku defeats Dave Love – TKO (Knees) – RD 2
Dave Strasser defeats Steve Connelley – Verbal Submission (Injury) – RD 1

Jameel Massouh to fight on HCF show in Quebec, Canada

Fresh of his WCS submission of the night victory at Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 last month, Jameel “The Real Deal” Massouh of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy is set to fight again on March 29 in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. According to MMA News, Massouh is slated to fight Myles “Cowboy” Merola of British Columbia, Canada on the Hardcore Championship Fighting card entitled, Crows Nest.

As you may recall from my previous article, Massouh recently fought Craig Howard of the Freaks of the Industry based out of Lafayette, Indiana. Massouh gave up nearly 40 pounds to his inexperienced opponent. It didn’t matter as Massouh made short work of his opponent dominating every aspect of the fight.

Jameel Massouh sports a (15-3) record according to Sherdog and holds wins over area fighters such as Rob Mrotek, Eugene Crisler, and Mike Lambrecht. His only losses have come to the very tough and notable Tristan Yunker, Daiki Hata, and Miki Shida. The Hata and Shida fights took place in Japan’s Pancrase organization.

Myles “The Cowboy” Merola sports a (9-4) record according to Sherdog and fights out of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada for the Suitela Fight Team. He is a two-time veteran of HCF and sports a (1-1) record in the organization and is the former National Fighting Challenge or NFC Welterweight Champion. He most recently lost via rear naked choke to Ariel Sexton last month at the HCF – Destiny show in Calgary. He has fought at both 170lbs and 155lbs and is listed at 155 on the HCF website. He appears to be primarily a grappler with some decent triangles as can be seen in his highlight reel. His striking shows he has some heavy, yet sloppy hands.

Jameel Massouh was announced as 140lbs in his bout last month against Craig Howard and is able to make the bantamweight class. I believe this bout will probably take place at 155lbs but I have not been able to verify it. Regardless, Massouh will again be the smaller opponent is this bout and while I feel that Massouh is probably the more technical striker and grappler, I think he may have some trouble against a veteran fighter in Merola due to the size disadvantage, which can be evidenced in the Merola vs. Davis video below where Merola is the noticeably smaller fighter against Davis. This remains to be seen, but many good fighters have suffered setbacks when they fight outside of their respective weight classes against equal or lesser talent. I hope this is not the case for Jameel Massouh and wish him best of luck in the bout.

Hardcore Championship Fighting is quickly become one of the premier fight organizations in Canada. In less than one year, HCF has had notable fighters such as Joe Riggs, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Aleksander Emelianenko, Sean Salmon, and Solomon Hutcherson fight on their shows. This card will feature talent that has fought in the UFC, Pride, Pancrase, IFL, and BodogFight. This is a big opportunity for Massouh to test himself on the big stage that will draw attention from many harcore MMA fans worldwide. Mysteriously absent from this card is HCF signed fighter with Wisconsin roots, Solomon Hutcherson.

Below is the fight card according to MMA News:

Hardcore Championship Fighting: Crows Nest
Robert Guertin Arena
Gatineau, Quebec
03/29/2008

Main Event:
David Loiseau (Canada) vs. Todd Gouwenberg (Canada)

Semi Main Event: Rob MacDonald (Canada) vs. Hector Ramirez (USA)

HCF World Lightweight Title Defense
Sarah Kaufman (Canada) vs. Molly Helsel (USA) World Champion

Nabil Khatib (Canada) vs. Gideon Ray (USA)

Brent Beauparlant (Canada) vs. Amir Rahnavardi (USA)

Andrew Buckland (Canada) vs. Dan Hornbuckle (USA)

Bill Boland (Canada) vs. Michal Hamrsmid (Czech Rep.)

Myles Merola (Canada) vs. Jameel Massouh (USA)

Marcus Vinicios (Canada) vs. Rodrigo Ruas (Brazil)

Dan Grandmaison (Canada) vs. Nino Schembri (Brazil)

Ben Greer (Canada) vs. TBA

Len Tam (Canada) vs. Russell Yip (Japan)


My other articles with Jameel Massouh:

Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 - Agallar, Massouh, and Geraghty Victorious

Freestyle Combat Challenge 33: Geraghty, Agallar, and Massouh return to Wisconsin


Other links:

Jameel Massouh vs. Craig Howard

Myles Merola vs. Garett Davis

Myles Merola Highlight Reel

Interview with FCC fighter Jameel "The Sergeant" Massouh in Osaka Japan!

Gladiators Thunderdome to Feature Sherron “Rob Roy” Leggett vs. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis

WEC vet Sherron Leggett a.k.a. Rob Roy of Kenosha, Wisconsin is slated to fight up and comer, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis of Roufusport in Milwaukee on May 17 on the Thunderdome show at Wisconsin State Fair Park. I know that this fight is a few months from now but since it is one of the biggest local match-ups on the horizon, it deserves added time to get hyped up and get people talking.

Sherron “Rob Roy” Leggett

Sherron Leggett is a Strasser’s Freestyle Academy trained fighter who sports a (14-4) MMA record according to Sherdog. He is a WEC veteran and holds a (1-1) record in that organization. He made his WEC debut in May of 2007 by defeating Charlie Kohler via TKO in the second round.

After the win, Leggett was recruited by the Tapout Crew to fight on a Extreme Challenge show in Iowa in July of 2007 and star in their new Versus television show. The show portrayed him as an up and coming fighter despite having already fought in the WEC and having at least 14 fights under his belt.

In the episode, the Tapout Crew descended on Kenosha to pick up Leggett and film some of his training techniques which consisted of back yard training work-outs with undefeated fighter Ray Hunter and gym sessions with Dave Strasser, which included cameo appearances by Ron Faircloth and Pat O’Malley.

The fight was held at a biker rally called Sturgis on the River in Davenport, Iowa and the Tapout Crew dressed Leggett up as a superhero. Due to vacation plans, Dave Strasser was unable to attend and corner his fighter, leaving him in the hands of Punk Ass. Luckily, the well-connected business mogul got Josh Neer and Spencer Fisher of Team Miletich to help Leggett out with training and cornering.

Leggett went into the show not knowing who his opponent would be until the actual weigh-in. In the fight, he faced “Crazy Man” Chris McDaniel and controlled his opponent using his wrestling ability. He finished the fight with an Americana from side control at 2:36 in the first round.

Leggett’s next fight would be at WEC 29 against the soon to be lightweight champion and UFC vet Jamie Varner in August. The two traded takedowns before Varner scooped up his opponent and dumped Leggett on his head. Varner quickly began punching but Steve “Porn Stache” Mazzagatti stopped the fight and deducted a point from Varner for strikes to the back of the head. When the action resumed, Varner hit Leggett with two big high kicks and Leggett quickly returned the favor with a takedown. Varner was able to get back to his feet and Leggett attempted to get his back, but Varner got a single leg and dumped Leggett to the canvas. Varner quickly exposed Leggett’s Jiu-Jitsu level by getting full mount and then Leggett’s back. Varner used a body triangle to control Leggett before returning to full mount and the back again; he finished Leggett by TKO referee stoppage in the first round.

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis is a striker out of the Roufusport Gym in Milwaukee. He recently made his pro debut at Gladiators 48: Seasons Beatings last December. In that bout he showed remarkable stand-up skills and finished his opponent Mike Skinner with a guillotine choke. The fight only lasted 36 seconds.

In his next bout at Gladiators 49, Pettis put on a show for the fans, picking apart his opponent Gorge “El Terror de Durango” Barrazza of Elgin, Illinois. He showed the crowd that he was in fact the most surgical and powerful striker on the card. Using a knee from the clinch he shattered the nose of Barrazza but “The Terror of Durango” showed his warrior spirit and hung on. It would again be a knee to the body that downed Barrazza and set up a ground and pound TKO finish near the end of the first round.

There are also rumors that “Showtime” will face Morrison Lamb of Fox Valley Grapping in a bout sometime prior to the Leggett fight. The Lamb vs. Pettis bout was originally scheduled for Combat USA: Seasons Beating in December, but Lamb was forced to pull out of the bout due to undisclosed reasons as was stated in earlier article located here.

Match-up

The Leggett vs. Pettis match-up is a classic bout of striker vs. grappler. Legett’s previous fights have shown him to be a very tough, yet one-dimensional wrestler. His strength is not to be denied and he is very controlling once he has an opponent in his realm, which is on the mat. All of Leggett’s losses are to very legitimate opponents including the current WEC Lightweight Champion, Jamie Varner, Nardu Debrah, who has fought in BodogFight, and Wisconsin’s own MMA legend Demian Decorah.

Leggett is an experienced veteran MMA fighter and has fought world-class fighters and fought in several big shows, so this is his fight to lose. Anthony Pettis on the other hand, has nothing to lose other than his unflawed record, because on paper he should probably lose this fight, although I believe he has a very good chance to be victorious. He only has two professional fights on his resume thus far and the three amateur fights he went undefeated in. He has nowhere near the experience level of his opponent. He does however possess superior striking comparable to most high-level MMA fighters and the strength and power to match. In addition, he has a very technical jiu-jitsu game although no one has got to see it in action. The real question is whether or not Pettis has a sprawl game. Roufusport does have several wrestlers in the gym but none that I know of that have the speed and body type of Leggett. Pettis would be best to recruit some outside talent like up and comer Reed Ehmke to give him the look and build of his opponent. If Pettis does get taken down, how will he fight off of his back? These are unknown factors that are impossible to predict.

With a win over a WEC veteran, Pettis would most certainly get looked at by talent scouts in larger organizations sooner than later and become the first fighter to be developed out of the Roufusport Gym to make the big leagues. He really has everything to gain and nothing to lose in this bout. Rob Roy desperately needs a win over a game opponent to give the WEC a reason to bring him back. There were rumors that he was to fight in the Evolution Fight card in January but he was dropped from the card for unknown reasons. It will be interesting to see how Leggett’s all around game has developed since his layoff last August. It will have been 10 months since he has seen action inside the cage, so ring rust could play a factor. I have also heard that Leggett also trains Jiu-Jitsu under Wisconsin Combat Sports Grappler of the Year, Tom Mueller so I am anxious to see how his ground game has progressed.

This bout has the makings to become fight of the year. Who do you think will win this fight and why?

This article was originally posted on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 03-04-08.

Breaking News: Sergio Gomez vs. Rich Crunkilton at WEC 33

Sergio Gomez of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy will make his return to action at WEC 33 according to the fight card at Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 last Saturday. I caught up with Gomez after the fights and found out that he will face Rich Crunkilton on March 26, 2008.

Sergio Gomez won his first six fights and made his WEC debut on the television series TapouT, episode number six. In that bout versus Marcus “Cannonball” Hicks, Gomez was winning the bout but succumb to a guillotine choke in the second round. After the loss at WEC 27 Gomez returned to action at Freestyle Combat Challenge 31 last November. He scored a 2nd round TKO victory over Brent Rose but injured his hand in the process sidelining him from action. His MMA record according to Sherdog is (7-1) and he has never had a fight go to decision.

Rich Crunkilton sports a (14-2) MMA record and is coming off a loss last September to then WEC Lightweight Champion Razor “Rob” McCullough. His WEC record is (6-1) and his only other loss came during his most famous battle. At UFC 42 in April of 2003, Crunkilton fought Hermes Franca and in the fight Franca almost literally tore Crunkilton arm off. Despite the arm break and dislocation Crunkilton refused to tap out and lost via unanimous decision.

MMA Weekly currently shows nine bouts listed on the card but not this fight. The card will feature the rematch of Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen in a middleweight title bout. Doug Marshall will also defend his light heavyweight bout against number one contender Brian Stann.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Combat Sports or www.wicombatsports.com where I am a writer.

Breaking News: Nick Agallar to Fight Dan Lauzon in the Art of War

Fresh off his victory last Saturday at Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 in Kenosha, I ran into BodogFight veteran Nick Agallar. Nick Agallar fought Luke Nichols in the main event and breezed through his opponent in less than one minute. Agallar told me that his next fight will be in the April 19th Art of War show against Dan Lauzon.

Last week Sherdog inaccurately wrote an article stating that Nick Agallar had signed with the WEC and was slated to fight Alexandre Franca Nogueira. The article also stated that the bout would be fought at the 145lb featherweight class. Agallar said that he was in talks with a few organizations and he had not signed a long-term deal with any of them as of yet. In addition, he stated that he is happy fighting in the 155lb lightweight class.

Dan Lauzon sports a (9-2) MMA record according to Sherdog and has also fought in the UFC. He is also the younger brother of UFC lightweight contender Joe Lauzon. Lauzon as you may remember fought Spencer Fisher at UFC 64 in October of 2006. He gave Fischer a good fight but lost via TKO late in the first round. He dropped his next bout but has since rattled off five-straight wins. His most recent is a first round triangle choke victory over Frank Latina in the WCF or World Championship Fighting on February 8.

To read more about Nick Agallar please read my other articles. I have also linked the Sherdog article I reference above.

Freestyle Combat Challenge 33: Agallar, Geraghty, and Massouh Victorius

Freestyle Combat Challenge 33: Agallar, Geraghty, and Massouh Return to Wisconsin

‘Pequano’ Expected to Sign with WEC

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Combat Sports or www.wicombatsports.com where I am a writer.

Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Combat Challenge 32

Saturday's Freestyle Combat Challenge show took place in downtown Kenosha at the Marina Shores Ballroom. The event was highlighted by a four-man 145lb featherweight tournament, which began the evening featuring fighters from all over the Midwest including Indianapolis, St. Paul, and Fargo. In addition, the card also featured a semi-finals bout of an ongoing 155lb lightweight tournament to decide which fighter is going to get the opportunity to fight in Japan. Also on the card was a main event that featured Wisconsin MMA legend Adrian Serrano.

145lb Featherweight Tournament

In the 145lb tournament Jeremy Ashley of Indianapolis, Indiana showed off his submission prowess with multiple attempts against Zach Schumack. He finished the bout via arm bar in the second round to advance to the finals. In the other semi-final match Dustin “The Beast” Neace, also of Indianapolis, Inidana, wasted no time disposing of Rich Taylor via a guillotine choke quickly in round one, knowing that he need as much energy as possible for his finals match-up against Jeremy Ashley.

Jeremy Ashley and Dustin Neace would both fight again in the final bout of the night. Ashley would attack early but Neace ended up with full mount and began to throw some heavy leather. After getting the fight back to the feet, the fighters showed some standup before Ashley was able to secure his own takedown. Neace immediately sweeps Ashley and gets side control. With only one minute left in the first round Neace was able to quickly get full mount. Ashley would attempt to muscle his way out to avoid the barrage of leather Neace was unloading. The referee finally came in to save Ashley. Neace, the most experienced of the four fighters, wins the tournament by TKO (referee stoppage) from ground and pound with one second left in the round.

16-man 155lb Lightweight Tournament Semi-Final Bout

Matt Morin of Adrian Serrano’s Combat Sports Gym moved one step closer to Japan last night. Freestyle Combat Challenge has had an ongoing 16-man tournament in which the victor gets to fight in Japan through Dave Strasser’s fighter exchange program.

Morin’s opponent Alberto Ramirez of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy was definitely the fan favorite in this bout and the crowd went crazy when his name was announced. As the fight began, the taller Morin used his Muaythai clinch to throw knees and control the smaller Ramirez. Ramirez responded by getting a takedown and side control. Morin quickly regained half-guard, and then full guard. Morin attempts an arm triangle from the bottom and the two combatants spill out of the ring. As the fighters are brought back in and the fight begins, Morin attempts a heel hook. In a strange turn, Ramirez jumps out of the ring to avoid the heel hook. The referee attempts to start the fight again in the same position (Morin with the heel hook) and Ramirez’ corner complains. The referee in one his controversial and questionable calls of the evening, decides to just start the fighters standing. Morin gets a takedown from the clinch, gets full mount, and cross-faces Ramirez, traps an arm, postures up and goes for the armbar. With the arm extended, Ramirez is forced to tap in round one.

With the victory, Morin now faces the winner of the other 155lb semi-finals bout in February at FCC 33. Morin and the winner will then face each other in the March show at FCC 34. The winner of that bout will be crowned champion and get an all expense paid trip to fight in Japan.

Main Event

The crowd went wild as Wisconsin MMA legend Adrian Serrano was announced during his fight with Josh “The Crowbar” Horsch of Piqua, Ohio. The “Crowbar” didn’t let the crowd phase him as he quickly shot in for a takedown. As Horsch worked from half guard he stayed busy landing body shots, elbows and the Bas Ruten favorite “cross-face”. It was apparent early that one of the combatants was bleeding and as the match continued the blood began to flow more and more, it became obvious it was Serrano’s. This fight was beginning to look like a blood bath as both combatants were covered in blood. Horsch attempted some kimuras on Serrano but the cagey veteran was not about to be caught. Horsch went back to his half guard and finished the round working more elbows, his cross-face, and about a half dozen body shots to finish out the first round.

The doctor entered the ring in between rounds to check on Serrano’s cuts. The doctor decides to let the fight continue and the second round begins. The fighters touch gloves and Horsch immediately goes to his bread and butter move, the single leg takedown into half guard. The second round looked to be a continuation of the first round as Horsch goes back to working his cross-faces, elbows, and body shots from half-guard. Horsch manages to pass the guard this time, but Serrano is able to escape and get the fight back to the feet. Horsch executes a standing guillotine before pulling guard. Serrano quickly taps to the choke. Being the classy fighter that he is, Serrano holds the Horsch’s arm up and gets the crowd to acknowledge the feat of the younger fighter.

Other Highlights

I’d think knockout of the night would have to go to Kevin Kelley of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy. Kelly who came out sporting a t-shirt with the saying: “Greetings taco lovers”, muscled his much taller opponent Joe Cooper around the ring and to the canvas. As Cooper threw some shots from bottom, Kelley stood up and stomped on the head/face of Cooper immediately ending the fight.

I’d give fight of the night to Shane McDonald vs. Adrian “300” Guitierez. McDonald of Team Ho Down was sizably bigger than his opponent Adrian Guitierez of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy South. Early on McDonald was out striking and muscling around Guitierez. He also used a Muaythai clinch to his advantage and attempted a guillotine choke. Once on the ground the fight was a back forth battle of reversals. As McDonald attempted an ankle lock, Guitierez turned the tables and quickly mounted MacDonald. Guitierez turned up the heat with relentless strikes to McDonald and the referee was forced to stop the fight. A nice come from behind TKO victory via ground and pound for Guitierez who showed why his nickname is “300”.

All in all it was a great night of fights in a very nice venue. The show didn’t do a good job explaining the fighter exchange program and the significance of some of the bouts, although the bouts themselves were very exciting. The show did a good job bringing together fighters from all over the Midwest including North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The Vale Tudo rules made for some exciting yet dangerous bouts and the promotion kept a good flow on the show with very few breaks or lulls in action. The only real complaint I had was that the referee made multiple bad calls throughout the night with restarts in the wrong position in the Ashley vs. Schumack and Morin vs. Ramirez bouts when he was visibly confused. I’d like to thank Dave Strasser for having Wisconsin Combat Sports cover the action. The full results are listed below. Expect photos of the event sometime later this week.
Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Combat Challenge 32Marina ShoresKenosha, WI01/12/2008

145lb Featherweight Tournament Bout
Jeremy Ashley – C4 – Indianapolis, IN – (5-4)
vs.
Zach Schumack – Fargo, ND – (6-3-1)

Jeremy Ashley wins by Armbar – Round 2

145lb Featherweight Tournament Bout
Rich Taylor – Minnesota Martial Arts Academy – St. Paul, MN – (2-1)
vs.
Dustin “The Beast” Neace – Boiler Room – Indianapolis, IN – (15-9-1)

Dustin Neace wins by Guillotine Choke – Round 1

205lb Light Heavyweight Bout
Dustin Keller – Shark Bite – Sullivan, WI – (0-1)
vs.
Gary Weir – Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Kenosha, WI – (1-0)

Gary Weir wins by Unanimous Decision – Round 3

195lb Catchweight Bout
Joe Cooper – Freaks Of The Industry – De Motte, IN – (1-4)
vs.
Kevin Kelley – Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – South Milwaukee – (4-1-0-2)

Kevin Kelley wins by TKO/KO (Stomps) – Round 1

155lb Lightweight Bout
Shane McDonald – Team Ho Down – Cornersville, IN – (2-2)
vs.
Adrian “300” Guitierez – Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy South – Xion, IL – (2-0)

Adrian Gutierrez wins by TKO (Ground and Pound) – Round 1

155lb Lightweight Bout
Matt Morin – Adrian Serrano’s Combat Sports Gym – Milwaukee, WI – (5-2)
vs.
Alberto Ramirez – Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Kenosha, WI – (0-2)

Matt Morin wins by Arm Bar – Round 1

160lb Catchweight Bout
Steve Corley – Freaks Of The Industry – Lafayette, IN – (0-1)
vs.
Scott Wagner (1-2)

Scott Wagner wins by Arm Bar – Round 2 – (0:43)

170lb Welterweight Bout
Ryan Scheeper – Philbricks - Clinton, IA - (0-2)
vs.
Fernando “Fists Of Fury” Gomez – Rockford, IL – (2-1)

Fernando Gomez wins by Submission (Strikes) – Round 3

180lb Catchweight Bout
Kenneth Allen – Chicago, IL – (2-23)
vs.
Gerald Meerschaert – Racine, WI – (3-2)

Meerschart wins by Triangle Choke – Round 1

185lb Middleweight Bout – Main Event
Josh “The Crowbar” Horsch – Piqua, OH – (4-0)
vs.
Adrian Serrano – Adrian Serrano’s Combat Sports Gym – Milwaukee, WI - (55-28-4)

Josh Horsh wins by Guillotine Choke – Round 2

145lb Tournament Championship Bout
Jeremy Ashley – C4 – Indianapolis, IN – (4-4)
vs.
Dustin “The Beast” Neace – Boiler Room – Indianapolis, IN – (15-9-1)

Dustin Neace wins by TKO (Ground and Pound) – Round 1 – 4:59

Racine’s Solomon Hutcherson to fight Amir Rahnavardi

Racine’s Solomon Hutcherson (8-4) is slated to face Amir Rahnavardi (9-8) in Canada’s Hardcore Championship Fighting on February 1, 2008.

Hutcherson as you may remember was a contestant on the Ultimate Fighter Season 3 reality show early in 2006. While on the show he fought Rory Singer in episode 5 and suffered a KO loss in the second round. In the Ultimate Fighter Finale 3, in June of 2006 he squared off against Luigi Fioravanti but suffered a first round KO late in the round. Since his time in the UFC, Hutcherson has rallied back and rattled off two straight wins. In addition, he has signed a multi-fight contract with the fairly new upstart Hardcore Championship Fighting out of Canada. He has also been training in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture with his Team Dagger cohort Kendall Grove.

Amir Rahnavardi is riding a two-fight losing streak. His most recent loss came at the hands of Antonio Schembri via Triangle Choke in May. Prior to that he lost a unanimous decision to Ryan McGivern two weeks earlier in the IFL. Rahnavardi has also fought in Pride, King of the Cage, and Extreme Challenge organizations. He has fought many notable opponents including Keith Jardine, Gary Goodrich, and Lee Murray. His biggest win was over Daijiro Matsui in 2000.

Hardcore Championship Fighting has put on two shows since July and has featured notable fighters such as Sean Salmon, Gergard Mousasi, Aleksander Emelianenko, and Joe Riggs. Their third event will feature the return of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Nogueira (12-3) has not seen action since his upset loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Pride 33 last February.

Below is the complete card according to MMA Weekly:

Hardcore Championship Fighting 3: Destiny
Calgary, Alberta
02-01-2008

HCF Lightweight Championship
Thomas Schulte vs. Garett Davis

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Todd Gouwenberg

Gegard Mousasi vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos

John Alessio vs. Derrick Noble

Damir Mirenic vs. Mike Pyle

Andrew Buckland vs. Dan Chambers

Solomon Hutcherson vs. Amir Rahnavardi

Myles Merola vs. Ariel Sexton

Tim Hague vs. Miodrag Petkovic

Nabil Khatib vs. Lucas Rota

Babian Cortez vs. Juan Barrantes