A couple months ago, I blogged about a promotion that was planning an MMA event in Reading called “Crime and Punishment: Cops vs. Cons” and said I would reserve my judgment until after I spoke with its promoters, Ryan Kerwin and Raymond Gokool. Well, I spoke with Kerwin earlier tonight.
My first stop, however, was a call to Greg Sirb, executive director for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission on Wednesday.
I asked Sirb what he thought of the event, was it going to be real cops taking on real cons inside a cage?
“That’s just blowing smoke up your ass,” he said. Sirb said that “not even one” of the fighters on the card is a real cop or real con. “It’s marketing. There’s no cops, there’s no convicts. I have the freakin’ line-up. Do you think I would let that go on?”
My next call, today, was to Kerwin, who said that yes, the title of the event is a bit of marketing to set himself apart from the other MMA events popping up all over the state. But contrary to what Sirb said, the fighters – at least those on the main card – are all cops or cons. “This isn’t a joke,” he said.
Middleweight bouts
Cop – Lamont Lister
vs
Con – Matt Masterson
Cop – Taylor Sensabaugh
vs
Con – John Bryant
Welterweight bouts
Cop – Chris Kennedy
vs
Con – Marcus Ajian
Lightweight bouts
Cop – Brian Smiley
vs
Con – Shannon Green
Featherweight bouts
Cop – Johnny Torres
vs
Con – Gabriel Greenberg
Kerwin, 30, who hails from the Philadelphia area, said he has known many on both sides of the law – he served 10 years in prison “for an assault I didn’t commit.” He emerged from incarceration determined to make something of himself. Hearing the frustration of other cons who could not get anyone to hire them, Kerwin established his own business, Xtreme Caged Combat.
News of Kerwin’s first event has reached many MMA Web sites and blogs, and most of the reaction has not been positive.
“I think it’s good for the sport,” he said of Cops vs. Cons. “If it generates more people in the stands who wouldn’t otherwise watch it, how’s that bad?”
He also points out that there have been bouts in the past pitting police officers versus former inmates, they just haven’t been promoted as such. For example, Forrest Griffin, a former cop from Georgia, took on Rampage Jackson, who, although was arrested after their bout for fleeing and eluding police, projects an image of a street thug in the cage. In addition, Kimbo Slice notched his only backyard brawl loss to Boston police officer Sean Gannon … Just thought about Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Aleksander Emelianenko in PRIDE.
Staging an event where cops and cons get to throw down is a formula for instant grudge matches. You can’t not have an opinion on the fights – either you’re for the cop, or you’re for the con, Kerwin said.
“If I was to do a regular event, I’d lose every dollar (I invested),” he said. “Nobody knows who I am, nobody knows the fighters.”
When you get down to it, these are MMA fights between two combatants that have been approved by the state, Kerwin said. MMA fighters have a great reputation for sportsmanship – shaking hands, hugging, congratulating each other after a fight. Kerwin expected Cops vs. Cons to be no different.
Click here for the Cops vs. Cons Web site.
Charge by phone 1-(800)-745-3000 or at www.ticketmaster.com
