Recently in Cops vs. Cons Category

Just a reminder about this event. I blogged about it recently, after having spoken with one of the promoters. The bottom line is this - a lot of guys on the Internet are complaining about the name and concept of the event, but when you get down to it, these are fights sanctioned by the state, so everything should be above-board and professional. A fight is a fight, as Royce Gracie said. Check back here next week for results.

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

Yeah ... I'll say this: I'm going to reserve my judgment until I talk with promoters Ryan Kerwin and Raymond Gokool. Maybe this is a tongue-in-cheek thing, just trying to create characters, like pro wrestling. You know, give the crowd heels to boo and babyfaces to cheer (or maybe the opposite). Still, if they were going to do that, they could just make up names for teams like The Straight-Shooters vs. The Scofflaws, or something like that. If they're really glorifying actual police officers and criminals fighting, then I have a problem with it. I'm a cops reporter here at the Daily Record, and while officers are not perfect, I have a deep respect for what they do. On the other hand, everybody's an adult here, so if you're a fighter, it's your choice where to fight, and if you're a potential spectator, you can either buy a ticket or not. Either way, I'll keep you updated.

From its Web site, here's who the promotion has signed:
Tom Sauer (cop) vs. Kevin Jordan (con)
Lamont Lister (cop) vs. Mike Bogner (con)
Taylor Sensabaugh (cop) vs. TBA (con)
TBA (cop) vs. Rick Casarez
TBA (cop) vs. Anthony Morrison (con)