Daniel Tavares

York's Academy of Combative Arts, a full-service MMA school featuring BJJ black belt Daniel Beleza and Muay Thai instructor Kham Ngondara, is holding a seminar tomorrow at 10 a.m. at their location, 53 E. North St., in the same building as the Greyhound bus station. Cost of the seminar, which should last between 1 1/2 to 2 hours, is $60.

The seminar features Daniel Tavares, a BJJ black belt and NAGA champion. Tavares is a close friend and training partner of Beleza. "He's an incredible BJJ practitioner and instructor," said ACA co-owner Joe Duffey.

In addition, because Tavares, who is 5'10" and about 165, is a bit bigger than Beleza, he brings a different perspective to the table, especially for anyone who has trained with Beleza, Duffey said.

I tell ya, man, it's great to see martial artists in York County and the surrounding area getting together, training and learning from each other. My co-worker Tom Joyce, whose taken a great deal of martial arts over the years, always recalls the squabbling he used to witness and hear about between schools and martial arts masters. It makes you wonder why petty differences couldn't be put aside for the greater good.

George "Phoenix" McGinnis of York Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Red Lion has been at the vanguard of the MMA cross-pollination in York County and beyond, and a recent facebook post by him illustrates this:

"Had a good work out last night. Hit up Blackman's MMA (in Harrisburg) for some mat time with their fighters and then bounced on over to Jay's (Haas' academy in Lewisberry) to work in with their wrestling team. The beauty behind association and comraderie is that everyone generally wins. Hell, just last night I noticed 2 - 3 wrestling techniques at Jay's that I am going to start drilling as early as today to incorporate into my own game..."

As a source of inspiration, I also asked George about how he got his nickname:

"It was decided upon by a couple of friends a good ways back due to my uncanny ability to bounce back from any bad situation. Example: I would be in a match where I was down numerous points and unlikely to recover, and then out of no where I would spark enough energy or motion to escape / reverse the position and or submit my opponent from an unlikely angle."

"An example of how it applies to me off the mat is again my ability to bounce back from a bad situation, or what I often refer to as 'rock bottom'. I have hit rock bottom a handful of times in my life. I have made mistakes that have cost me dearly. I have said and done things that I was certain I would never be able to redeem, but like the Phoenix, its old physical form perishes in the ashes of its self-made pyre and a new emerges stronger and healthier then ever. To me, the Phoenix represents redemption, a fresh start and perhaps a new lease on life..."

Thanks to sherdog.com for the photos

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin

Pa. native (Waynesburg) Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson

Jerod Phillips of Tap or Sleep fightwear made this video about James "Binky" Jones in honor of Binky's recent birthday. An instructor at Baltimore's Ground Control MMA academy, Binky has fought in numerous organizations all over the world. Also known as "The Baltimore Submission Machine," Binky's strongest suit is his ground game. Most recently, he headlined the inaugural Shogun Fights at Baltimore's First Mariner Arena, winning by unanimous decision. Promoted by Ground Control owner John Rallo, the event was Maryland's first since the sport was legalized.

Big thanks to Dann Stupp from MMAJunkie for the story:
The Ultimate Fighting Championship could return to Newark, N.J., for a March 2010 event, a source close to the organization today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
The event is expected to take place at the Prudential Center, which was home to UFC 78 in November 2007, and presumably would be dubbed UFC 111.

However, the UFC has made no official announcement regarding the show. Additionally, though "there have been discussions about a date and location," Nick Lembo of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board told MMAjunkie.com no event has been finalized.

Thanks to sherdog.com for the photo.

To see the video, click here.

MMA Live stacks the deck with recaps of UFC 105 and WEC 44, as well as a preview of UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II. Also, MMA legend Dan Henderson is in Bristol with an update on his fighting future.

George McGinnis, owner of York Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Red Lion, presents a new series, called Technique of the Week. George is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Tatu Taborda in Scranton. Here's George's description of the video:

This is our first "Technique of the week" video. Here you will see Coach Brad Souders and myself demonstrating what we call "Leg Lasso" and we show in detail how to transition into an 'Omoplata'. I have played with similar positions like this before, but this particular variation was shown to us by Renaldo (De La Riva black belt). Note: Some people don't really push for the "Leg Lasso" position much due to their fear of either losing the position or being leg locked. If you control your opponents sleeves and maintain space, it would honestly be extremely difficult for them to leg lock you once you have fully committed to the position...

Here's a message from Chad Dubin of LionHeart Management, about top prospect Paul Bradley, who at one time trained in State College:
We had a fight scheduled for Paul Bradley on December 18th that was cancelled so we are trying to find another fight in December or January for Paul.

Here are Paul's quick facts:
· Currently fighting at 170 or 185
· Pro record is 12-1
· TUF Season 7 Veteran
· NCAA Collegiate All American

You can also visit www.lionheartfighters.com for more info.

If there is any interest please contact me:

Chad Dubin

chad@lionheartfighters.com
(814) 280-1982

So, I'm at the CPWC III last month and I see this new mma clothing company with a booth set up and a mascot that looks like Cerberus, the mythical three-headed dog that guards the land of the dead:

On A3's site, he's known as the Dogoyle. Cool. Although I didn't have time to say what's up to them, I've since met 'em on facebook, found out they're based not too far away in Va. So here they are; hit 'em up.

Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge 3 Winners

Official Page for Central PA Warrior Challenge | MySpace Video
It was only last month that we saw the third (or fourth, if you count Poconos) event put on by Mark Jovich, under his Warrior Challenge banner. And while Mark may be done for this year, he's already planning for Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge IV in Lancaster in February.

sherdog.com has the call:
Ricardo Lamas vs. James Krause
Round 1
The lightweights touch gloves and are on their way. They circle cautiously. Nice low kick by Lamas. Krause returns fire with a right head kick, but he misses. They trade low kicks and then Krause rifles a stinging right kick to the ribs, but Lamas catches the leg and shoves him down. Krause delivers a glancing up kick to Lamas' fight on the way down. Krause scrambles up to his feet and Lamas forces him into the fence. Krause fails at pulling guard and Lamas just shoves him down. He lands two hard right hands and Krause scrambles up. They trade leather and Krause imposes his size onto Lamas and takes him down. Lamas, unfazed, scrambles right up and reverses Krause into the cage. Krause reverses. They clinch along the cage. They scramble again and Lamas scores a takedown and quickly seizes his back. He misses a rear-naked choke, and when Krause tries to escape, Lamas rolls him over and scores the mount. Krause bucks him and scrambles, but Lamas is on him like stucco. Lamas quickly seizes the back again. He can't sink the rear naked and backs off. He kicks at the legs of the downed Krause and dives in with a right hand at the horn. 10-9 Lamas.

Some last-minute hype for Brown vs. Aldo. Can't wait for this one.

Bloodyelbow has a post today about Randy Gordon, a former New York State Athletic Commissioner writing an op-ed piece in one of the NY papers, in support of the sport he once banned, (based on the "new" rules). But in his opinion piece, he has this interesting nugget from UFC 101, held in Philadelphia:

"I got an upclose and personal view of just how popular the sport has become when I went to UFC 101 at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center in August. The event brought in a $3.55 million gate, more than any boxing or combat event ever held in Pennsylvania. The sellout crowd of 15,007 poured into the city early and stayed late, making purchases at arena concessions, staying in hotels, dining at restaurants and taking taxis around the city." (emphasis mine).

Not too shabby, I say. The PA state Athletic Commission recieves no money from the state budget, but does get 5 percent of all gate receipts, so that's anice chunk of change that will go a long way in sustaining the agency that regulates the sport in PA.

Ricardo Lamas vs. James Krause

Here's a blurb from MMAMelee on Virginia native James Krause, who fights tonight at WEC 44:
MMA Melee sat down with an incredible talent James Krause to congratulate him on his success and see what's next for this rising WEC star.

James born New Port News, VA is fighting out of Team Grindhouse MMA in Lees Summitt, MO. Krause is a highly experienced mixed martial artist with an intimidating 30 fights under his belt, 28 victories 90% of them coming by way of submission. Before professional bouts were sanctioned in Missouri, he collected a near perfect amatuer record of 18-1, sometimes fighting twice a night! As a professional he carries an un-believable 10-1 record, his only loss was against top contender Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Next he will step into the cage against All-American wrestler Ricardo "The Bully" Lamas on a stacked WEC 44 card November 18th, so we asked him a little about his world class stardom.

Click here to read the interview.

See Tito's UFC 106 vlog, "media day" after the jump.

Not too long ago, I posted a video of Aaron Tru, who works for MMAPrime.tv, getting choked unconscious by Cris "Cyborg" Santos. In this video, Tru gets put through a Cyborg workout. Warning: the end is sick, I mean, literally, sick.

Mike Brown defends his WEC featherweight title against Jose Aldo tomorrow (Wed.) on Versus. Event starts at 9 p.m. EST.

Just found the poster for this event, being held outside of Pittsburgh, in Greensburg. Click here for more info.

Elijah Garshnick vs Jeremy Bennett
Joe Demore vs Kevin Horowitz
John Opfar vs Chris Sydnor
Caleb Ball vs Jason Trzewieczynski
Gannon Krebs vs Coy Maloy
Shaun Kelly vs Cody Kremer
Bernie Lynch vs Michael Gehman
Jeremiah Bozich vs Zach Search
Christopher Octave vs David Versuk
James Moore vs Jordan Popinski
Jeremy Kosicek vs Matt Breiner
Bob Tipinski vs Drew Shields
Bane Compton vs Coy Maloy

Watch the first part of this video: they both like to salute after they win, so loser has to agree never to do the salute again ... right? or is that just stupid?

Check out the Web site for info. like the entire fight card, tickets and how to view if you live out-of-state.

from mmajunkie:
Tickets for "UFC Fight Night 20," the UFC's first-ever trip to Virginia, go on sale later this week.

Featuring a main event between lightweight contenders Nate Diaz (11-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Gray Maynard (8-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), "UFC Fight Night 20" takes place Jan. 11 at Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) at Ticketmaster.com, though UFC Fight Club members and UFC.com newsletter subscribers get first dibs a few days prior.

Date: Relson Gracie Seminar (Tues Nov 24, 2009)
Times: (All evening classes will be canceled)
6pm-7:30pm Gi Class ($40)
7:30pm - 9:00pm No Gi ($40) Both classes ($75)

Please Call Balance Studios at 215 636 9661 to reserve your spot.

Relson's Seminars generally sell out within the first day, so Call ASAP if you want a space.

If you are a Memeber of Balance Studios, see Josh in the office to reserve your space.

from the premier mma social networking site mmamelee:
Come down to American Fighter MMA & Fitness Center located in SWEAT Fitness at 700 Passyunk Ave Queen VIllage PA 19147 on Saturday November 21st 2009 to try out for a new edgy MMA Reality Show scheduled to start taping the second week in January 2010!!! This is strictly for amateurs only!! Try outs are from 10am to 5pm. Call us at (267) 687 - 1599 for more details.

I wanted to let you all know the results of the competition this past weekend at the NAGA Submission Grappling Tournament.

Dan "The Mirror Guy" Genevesi took 1st place, 139.9lb. Division

Joe "Wildman" Marerro took 1st place, 149.9lb. Division

Victor "Apu" Millian took 2nd place, 224.9lb Division

Keith Patterson took 2nd place, 199.9lb Division

"Wrestler" Joe Ruggierio took 2nd place, 225lb+ Expert Division

A message from Larry Novak, owner of New Cumberland-based mma clothing co. Tattoo Fightwear:
They're here! Tattoo Fightwear has just released 8 new products to it's product line. Two new styles of shorts, two new t shirts, two new hoodies, two new styles of hand wraps and 2 new styles of mouth guards. BUT THAT'S NOT IT!, receive a 10% discount on all Tattoo Fightwear hoodies along with free shipping. Along with every purchase you will also receive a free Tattoo Fightwear bummper sticker. To take advantage of this tremendous offer go to www.tattoofightwear.net. Thank you for your support and Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Larry
Tattoo Fightwear

Nice overhand right by Denis Kang on Michael Bisping.

Body kick by Brandon Vera on Randy Couture.

Ross Pearson jumping knees on Aaron Riley

hat thieves

...in the largest fighting school in the United States of America??? Guy's name is Christian "War God" Darrow and has a Web site at atticamma.com. I'll let you figure the rest out.

From all that I've read - I haven't seen the fight yet - Couture vs. Vera was a close one. The judges' decisions may have been questionable, but what followed from Joe Rogan and others apparently was determined by Spike to be unfit for public consumption:

from mma fanhouse:"I thought I won," Vera said. "I left it all out there. I gave it to Randy as best as I could. ... I still don't know -- what the hell? -- thanks, judges."

From sherdogger Brandino:"Looked like joe was going to cry because his little friend was handled by an old man.

I could not believe Joe spent that much time crying and saying it was a robbery. UFC really needs to look into replacing Rogan with Florian or Randy.... somebody who doesn't have an agenda and who is not blatantly bias to Eddie Bravo students or buddies of him.

Joe needs to go!

Am I the only one who thought Joe was unprofessional and completely off base saying that Vera should of won?"

From sherdog.com member Goathair33:

Spike edited out the little rant by Rogan about the decision. and comments by both he and Goldberg. as well as Vera's "Thanks Judges". WTF?

Based in my old, old stomping grounds of Falls Church, Va. (lived there as a kid in the 70s), this MMA fightwear company has been a big sponsor of the Ultimate Warrior Challenge, which puts on top-notch events in the DC area. Assassin Industries is also on MMA social networking site mmamelee.com. Check out their web site here.

LOS ANGELES, CA- November 14, 2009 - Phil Davis won the Gold Medal at the BJJ NO GI World Championships held last Saturday November 7th, outside Los Angeles, CA.

Competing in the HWT Division, Phil Davis won 3 matches to claim the Gold Medal. The first match was won by Rear Naked Choke submission in :25 seconds of the 1st Period, the second match was won by Arm Bar submission in 2:00 of the 1st round, and the Gold Medal match was won by a dominating score of 12-0.

Congrats to Phil on his success outside the octagon.

For more information please contact:

Chad Dubin
chad@lionheartfighters.com

OFFICIAL RESULTS from mmajunkie.com:

Randy Couture def. Brandon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dan Hardy def. Mike Swick via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Michael Bisping def. Denis Kang via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 4:24
Matt Brown def. James Wilks via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 2:27
Ross Pearson def. Aaron Riley via TKO (doctor's stoppage) - Round 2, 4:38
John Hathaway def. Paul Taylor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Terry Etim def. Shannon Gugerty via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 1:24
Nick Osipczak def. Matthew Riddle via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 3:53
Dennis Siver def. Paul Kelly via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 2:53
Alexander Gustafsson def. Jared Hamman via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:41
Andre Winner def. Rolando Delgado via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 3:22

Tom and I talk Strikeforce, UFC 105, PA Fighting Championship, Asylum Fight League, Cage Fight 2 ... and Marlon Brando.

Nick "Oz" Osipczak knees matt Riddle.

sherdog.com with the call:
Matt Riddle vs. Nick Osipczak
Round 1
Riddle and Osipczak exchange low kicks. Riddle, with a huge smile on his face, pushes forward into a body lock and then a single-leg takedown. Osipczak is active off his back, but riddle lands some nice elbows. The fight is stood up by referee Marc Goddard after a head butt to the body by Riddle. Riddle takes the fight back to the mat and gets reversed with about 20 seconds left in the round. Osipczak takes mount and Riddle can only hang on. Round one goes to Osipczak 10-9 on the Sherdog card.

Round 2

Osipczak vs. Riddle.Osipczak lands a right head kick to lead off the second stanza. Riddle scores a takedown, but is stood back up because of a lack of action. Riddle tries to answer, but Osipczak lands a right hand that forces Riddle to shoot. Osipczak sprawls and forces riddle to his back. He controls from the top and batters him with shots until the round ends. 10-9 Osipczak.

Round 3
Riddle ducks under a right hand and scores a takedown. He is unable to advance position or strike and is stood up. Riddle gets another takedown and moves to Osipczak's back. The Brit gets his guard back and sweeps to mount. He pounds away while Riddle feverishly tries to extricate himself. Goddard decides Riddle has had enough and steps in at 3:53 of
the final round, giving Osipczak the TKO win.

I am sending out this email to let you all know that this Saturday, November 14th the school will be closed due to the NAGA Grappling Tournament. Many of us are going to be competing in the tournament, so if you are interested in participating or just want to come and support your team you can go to nagafighter.com for details or just give me a call. Thanks and I will see you all on Monday.

Thanks,
Adam Rocco
Roccomma.com
215-778-2517

Click here for more information.