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Binky Jones, Jerod Phillips and Biff Walizer.

Bad nights happen in MMA. Jerod Phillips, owner of York-based MMA clothing company Tap or Sleep knows it, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Case in point was last weekend's Extreme Challenge: Mayhem at the Marina in Atlantic City. York County's Biff Walizer, who is sponsored by Tap or Sleep, fought at 155 pounds, losing in the second round to Kevin Roddy by triangle.

"Biff controlled the fight in the first round," Phillips said. "Biff cut him. ... He landed the better strikes on the feet."

But by the end of the first, Phillips said he could tell Walizer was winded. During the break, Walizer asked Phillips to shake out one of his arms, which had been caught in a tight armbar during the round.

In the second round, Walizer shot in for a single-leg takedown, but it was negated by Roddy, who then punished Walizer with strikes before submitting him.

"If he would have had cardio, that would've kept him on his feet for the second and third rounds," Philips said of Walizer.

Walizer, who trains at LionHeart in state College, teaches at Red Lion Area High School and coaches the school's varsity wreslting team. But now that the season is over, it's Phillips' hope that Walizer can concentrate on his cardio. And he won't have too long - his next fight is at the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge, the state's first MMA event, to be held at Wisehaven in York Township on April 19.

Also that night, new Tap or Sleep-sponsored middleweight fighter Mike Johnson, who fights out of Philadelphia's Fight Factory, lost to Jay Silva by TKO/referee stoppage from strikes in the second round, Phillips said.

In addition, Matt Kocher, who is the strength and conditioning coach at LionHeart, lost by rear-naked choke to Troy Maxwell in the second round of their welterweight fight.

So it was a bad night, but Phillips is looking ahead to the Warrior Challenge, where he'll have sponsored fighters and a table to sell his

merch.

Earlier today, I spoke with Jerod Phillips, whose York County -based MMA clothing company, Tap or Sleep, sponsors local pro Biff Walzer, about Biff's fight tonight in Atlantic City.

Jerod told me that for tonight's fight, Biff weighed in at 155.2 pounds, and the guy he's fighting, Kevin Roddy, weighed in at 153.

I asked Jerod what his thoughts were pre-fight, and he said, "What I'm worred about is Biff trying to muscle him around and getting caught in an armbar."

Jerod said they might try to stand-up with Roddy for a while, since he is not known for his striking ability.

Jerod also said that at weigh-ins, the scale had to be replaced because it was weighing everybody heavy. Biff, who trains at LionHeart Fighters in State College, had to shed about three pounds early Friday, but it was no problem for the life-long wrestler.

"He did a little running and then went to the sauna," Jerod said.

Lou Neglia is putting on what promises to be another spectacular night of fights on Feb. 20 at the Tropicana Showroom in Atlantic City. The fighters on the card are from some of the most prominent fight teams on the east coast, like Ricardo Almeida, Rhino, Serra Longo and Renzo Gracie. For more information, click here to go to the ROC Web site.

Biff

I've already announced that local lightweight pro Biff Walizer has a fight on Aug. 30 in Kentucky. He's also scheduled to take on Rob "Rhino" Guriano at Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat in Atlantic City on Sept. 12.

Guriano is owner and head instructor of the Rhino Fight Team out of Manchester, NJ.

According to his Web site, he is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has cornered more than 50 pro fights.

"Rob Guriano has trained with some of the best fighters in the world and has been in the fight game for over 15 years. Rob started the rhino fight team over 4 years ago witch has won over 7 title fights in the last 2 years. The rhino fight team is the most active amateur and pro fight team on the east coast," according to the Web site.

Rob Guriano