Earlier this month, I posted the first five of the Top 10 amateurs in this blog’s coverage area. Here is the second five — and as with the first five, in no particular order. Thanks to all who helped me with this list. Now, the next part is to match these guys up with Matt Leyshock’s Top 10 ammys on the western part of Pa. and Ohio.
Haq.
Umaer “The Beast” Haq, 12-3, a 135-lber, hasn’t fought since Oct. 30, 2010. According to mixedmartialarts.com, has won three titles, one of which, for Operation Octagon, he successfully defended. According to his website, Haq “first started Martial Arts at 12 years old, training with Master Mike Hess. Umaer holds 23 national and international title belts and has received his black belt in MiKiDo. He currently works with children and has hopes to continue. Umaer loves working with youth so much that he has become the instructor of ‘The Future Champions for Life’ Summer Program.”
Outlaw, right, squares up with Jason Eib.
Sidney Outlaw, 6-1, last fought at FightRight MMAA’s Brawl in the Hall in June and as a late replacement, beat York’s Troy Finkenbiner by tko/ref stoppage, late in round 3. As I wrote before, “with a name like “Outlaw” you’d better be a good fighter.” The Renzo Gracie student delivered, showing a great combination of stand up and sprawling to avoid takedowns. Outlaw’s got two fights in New Jersey — about a week apart — for Helster MMA Fight Night and New Breed Fighters.
Sabatini.
Pat Sabatini, 11-1, a 145er from Pa., has fought in such well-known organizations as New Breed Fighters, Asylum Fight League and Xtreme Caged Combat, winning three titles. Sabatini holds a decision win over another highly-touted prospect, Jimbo Hoffman, (who is now 2-0 as a pro), at a New Breed Fighters event in Feb. 2010.
Arce.
Julio Arce, 10-0, of New Jersey, has cut his teeth on some of the region’s best promotions, like Asylum, Matrix Fights and Ring of Combat, even fighting a guy named Shark Bait Gutierrez at Matrix Fights III in October 2010. A Tiger Schulmann student, Arce, has beaten Matt Friedeborn, and faces Jordan Morales on Oct. 22 at Xtreme Caged Combat presents: Unleashed in Feasterville.
Hess.
Brent Hess, 9-1, hailing from Alexandria, Va., Hess has seven submissions and two decisions to his credit. An instructor at Falls Church, Va.’s MiKiDo, Hess is the son of founder Mike Hess. hess submitted the highly-regarded Casey Johnson on March 20, 2010 at Operation Octagon 10 with a guillotine. In an interview with Bloody Knux, Hess said he and his father have trained with Rickson Gracie in California on numerous occasions over the years.
Is it fair to include Virginia based fighters who compete under a different rule set in events sanctioned by non-ABC commissions?
You make a good point, Paul, although I’d be willing to bet most of the guys on the list have had some fights in Va. Guys in Pa. like to fight in Va. … The thing is, a few of the guys on the list have fought in LITC, and I made sure to mention that, so I don’t know why yer bitchin’
Friedeborn and Macke are in the first set. Besides, Fran suggested Haq and Hess.
Mike Pope should definately be on this list. Yes he is one of my teammates but he is 9-1 and has beat some very good competition in VA. Just my two cents, this is a good list of up and comers.
Colton, thanks for the comment. As I’m finding with this list, there are a lot of great fighters out there. I’ll keep Mike on my radar now. Let me know when his next fight is!
Sabatini is the guy to watch out for. He is so young and talented and has a very bright future ahead of him. His fights as well as his grappling matches are very exciting to watch.
Thanks for the insight, Rjb, I’ll definitely pay closer attention to Sabatini on this blog. I might try to set up an interview with him in the next couple weeks.
Just noticed I called Sabatini “Sabatino” at one point in the post. Have to change that.
Pat Sabatini is by far one of the most talented fighters i’ve known more then half my life. Ive trained with him for quite awile now out of Warrior Mixed Martial Arts and never met someone with his speed and technique.
Rad, thanks for the email, I appreciate the insight on Pat. Like I said, I definitely have to interview him.