An exchange in which it appears Kos may have poked Johnson in the eye.

Thanks to sherdog message board member ZombieProphet for the gifs.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-8 Koscheck
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-8 Koscheck
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-8 Koscheck

Round 2
Johnson throws a left-hand lead and is accidentally poked in the eye by Koscheck. Yamasaki gives Johnson time to gather himself and action is resumed. Koshceck lands a head kick and pokes Johnson again. This time the replay is hard to watch as Koscheck's finger jammed directly into the left eyeball of Johnson. The injured fighter takes a few minutes and once again the fight is back on. Johnson cracks Koscheck with a right hook and the fighters trade leather in the center of the cage. Koscheck pushes forward and gets a double leg. From the top in half guard, Koscheck slams elbows down on the left eye of Johnson. 90 seconds remain in the round and Koscheck continues to blast his foe with punches and elbows. Johnson's nose is bleeding and Koscheck looks for an arm triangle. Johnson fights it off and Koscheck moves to the back. He locks in a rear-naked choke and Johnson taps out at the 4:47 mark.

Strawbridge and Ty Krebs square off.

York pro Anthony Dick once trained with Mark Jovich's Central Pennsylvania Martial Arts Academy fighters at MACE in Red Lion. He's now with ACA and according to Strawbridge's myspace, the two are fighting at CPWC IV in February at the Lancaster Marriott.

from Strawbridge's page:
Nov. 12: "Feb 19 I will be making my pro debut against Anthony Dick. @ the lancaster marriot. Pleas come out n suport me.I will be selling tickets."

Nov. 19: "wow week 1 of 14 is almost over! My feet n body are killing me.I wont look the same 14wks from now. 185lbs To beat a pro u gotta train like one!!"

Anthony Dick

York's Academy of Combative Arts has two fighters in the upcoming Pain on Penn Street II in Reading on Dec.4:

Josh Kessler vs Don Cioffi
Jon Tuxford vs Michael Alessi
The event is being held at the Sovereign Center, 700 Penn Street, in downtown Reading. Doors open at 7 p.m.

In their last fights, both at CPWC III, Kessler won with an Americana over Rob Hailey and Tuxford Lost by TKO to Mike Stoltzfus.

-- For the professional 145-lb. title, Wilson Reis beat Dwayne Sheldon by unanimous decision.

-- For the women's 125-lb. championship, Tara LaRosa beat Valerie Coolbaugh by rear-naked choke in the first round.

-- In another pro fight, Tim Williams beat Jamall Johnson by RNC at 3:30 in the first round.

-- Shawn Clay, scheduled for a pro fight against Tuan Pham, was a "no-show," according to Evans.

-- For the 145 amateur title, Brylan Vanartsdalen beat Phil Ferraro by unanimous decision.

Joe Duffey, co-owner of Academy of Combative Arts in York, took one of his most promising fighters, James "Shrapnel" Chappell, to the MMA try-outs at American Fighter in Philly today. Just after 7 p.m., Joe emailed me, saying that despite the limited information available on the try-outs, they were for real, they were professional and time will tell how Chappell did, although preliminarily, it appared those in charge were impressed, Joe said. I'll have more on this as it becomes available.

Here's an email from Larry Novak, owner of Tattoo Fightwear, a New Cumberland-based mma clothing company:

Tattoo Fightwear is sponsoring James "Shrapnel" Chappell, here are a few of his stats:
-Green Belt USMC Martial Arts
-High School Wrestling
-Blue Belt BJJ
-1yr. Boxing/Muy Thai
-Competed in NAGA, UGC and took a gold medal at the PA.State BJJ Tournament
-Ammy record: 3-0
-Light weight title holder for the Central PA. Warrior Challenge.

To see one of Chappell's fights, click here.

Ted's Take: Jimmy's won all of his fights by armbar - which, don't get me wrong, is a great thing - but I can't wait to see it when he lets his hands go.

MMA MELEE is merging the arts and putting together a compilation of Fight Music intended to fuel the fire of athletes everywhere. This album will serve as motivation to maximize inspiration in training and impart honor on the days of battle. We are looking for artists who can create tracks to stimulate ambition and enhance vision.

If you have what it takes, and you think your music is worthy of fighters using it as walk out music, create a Profile, upload your music and send an e-mail providing your Username to mixtapes@mmamelee.com.

Also, MMA MELEE is looking for fighters to be featured inside the album cover. To become eligible for this selection e-mail your Username to mixtapes@mmamelee.com.

Start Time: Friday, November 20, 2009 at 1:25am
End Time: Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 4:25am

Earlier this week, I did a post on try-outs for a reality show. Here it is again:
"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."

Props to MMAMelee for posting the notice, but as far as more details, that remained a mystery.

So I dialed the number and got a message, but I can say it is in fact the number for the American Fighter MMA & Fitness Center.

UFC fighter Rich Franklin, I'm pretty sure, owns the American Fighter brand of clothing and academies.

I hit up his Web site, and found this video, with a description:

"Already attracting network interest, "American Fighter" is an uplifting documentary about people who demonstrate the fighting spirit in their own lives. The first episode is based on Cincinnati resident Joe Garvey and his struggle against paralysis."

So, that's about all I know. Hope this helps, if only a little. If anybody reading this goes to the try-outs, drop me an email and tell me how it went, and what it was all about. Thanks.

Found out about this through the Migliarese brothers, who run Balance Studios in Philadelphia. It's a new MMA promotion operating out of Philly that has its first event tentatively scheduled for February 27, location and fights to be announced at a later date.

MATRIX PROMOTIONS MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to promote the most electrifying showcase of mixed martial arts. Our promotion will be born in Philadelphia and eventually reach the world. Our elite MMA fighters from around the globe will entertain local professionals and fight aficionados.

Click here for the web site, if you want to fight for the promotion, or just receive updates.

Go to the next page to read about who is involved in Matrix Fights.

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 (Sat.) 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..."

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