Results tagged “Greg Sirb” from MMA Explosion

Bloodyelbow has a post today about Randy Gordon, a former New York State Athletic Commissioner writing an op-ed piece in one of the NY papers, in support of the sport he once banned, (based on the "new" rules). But in his opinion piece, he has this interesting nugget from UFC 101, held in Philadelphia:

"I got an upclose and personal view of just how popular the sport has become when I went to UFC 101 at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center in August. The event brought in a $3.55 million gate, more than any boxing or combat event ever held in Pennsylvania. The sellout crowd of 15,007 poured into the city early and stayed late, making purchases at arena concessions, staying in hotels, dining at restaurants and taking taxis around the city." (emphasis mine).

Not too shabby, I say. The PA state Athletic Commission recieves no money from the state budget, but does get 5 percent of all gate receipts, so that's anice chunk of change that will go a long way in sustaining the agency that regulates the sport in PA.

Just talked with Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pa. State Athletic Commission. He confirmed that tonight's 9th Street Slaughter event at Club 1402 in Reading has been postponed. The event was being promoted by longtime boxing promoter Marshall Kauffman, with MMAinPA.com's Joe Cunliffe doing the matchmaking.

"Just didn't get enough bouts together," was what Sirb said when I asked why the event wasn't happening.

Although I don't believe there is a minimum number of bouts per event required in PA., I know each event in the state has to have at least two professional fights and the rest can be amateur. So far this year, I don't think there's been an event this year with less than maybe eight fights, although I think that was due to a couple of them being canceled at the last minute.

Sirb said that Kauffman had told him he wanted to hold the event in Reading the first weekend in December.

Kauffman was "disappointed" at the show's postponement. "He's never really canceled anything" in his long career as a promoter, Sirb said.

Previously, Kauffman and Cunliffe collaborated on the May 30 hybrid boxing/MMA event in Reading, Pain on Penn Street.

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

Now this is a slick promo right here, giving you a little bit of what to expect for the third installment of the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge. CPWC II, and the one before it - the first sanctioned MMA event in state history - have shown what great fighters we have in little ol' York County. Guys give their all, most of them for no money at all, to show their love for the sport. As far as I know, no other MMA promotion in Pennsylvania has staged as many events as Mark Jovich has in the few months MMA has been legal here.

I talked to Mark today, and he said he had just come from the new Lancaster Convention Center, where CPWC III will take place on October 23. "It's the best, the place is beautiful," he said. "It's just unbelievable." The venue for the event, a 4,000-capacity hall, will have four 10-foot-by-10-foot screens hung above the cage, in addition to 36 lights suspended above. And how about this - shades of PRIDE - a 50-foot catwalk to the cage. And as for the fighter rooms backstage - nothing short of top-notch, Mark said. Mark's working hard to bring the best match-ups, featuring local fighters and maybe even some nationally-known pros. Click here to get more info. on the event.

Just click the banner above.

Announcing the first-ever CPWC/York Daily Record/MMA Explosion live stream and chat. If you wanted to get to the CPWC II but can't make it, just click the banner above and tune in at 5:45 p.m. Saturday. You can view the entire event live, and also chat with other viewers at the same time. The streaming is free, and the chat doesn't require any sign-up. What's better than that? Remember to keep the chatting clean, people. Thanks, and have fun.

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)

I talked with Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pa. State Athletic Commission yesterday about what it costs to be an MMA fighter in the state. The bottom line: not that much.

First of all, it's $10 for a license. Click here for it.

Then, you need to get a Hepatitis B/C test, an HIV test and a physical. Click here for it.

You also need a national MMA ID card. Click here for that.

The medical testing can be doen at any walk-in clinic for anywhere from $40-90, Sirb said. Heck, if you have a good healthcare plan, you might be able to get your primary care physician to do it for the nominal co-pay.

That's the info. that I got from Greg. For more information, check out the Pa. State Athletic Commission's Web site here.

Earlier today, sherdog.com writer Loretta Hunt posted a story that the upcoming Tim Sylvia vs. Ray Mercer boxing bout had been chnaged to an MMA fight.

Here's a quote from the story: "Originally scheduled as a six-round boxing bout, Adrenaline owner and promoter Monte Cox said he made the decision to re-categorize the match on Thursday.

'I got a call from the Pennsylvania commissioner saying that the boxing match is illegal because we weren't getting regulated by a U.S. commission,' said Cox on Thursday." (emphasis mine).

So I wondered, who is this "Pennsylvania commissioner" and why did Cox talk to him?

Turns out it is none other than PA. State Athletic Commission Executive Director Greg Sirb.

Sirb said Thursday that he's known Cox for some time, and that as past president of the Association of Boxing Commissions (and now a member of the ABC executive board).

Sirb said he told Cox that the Sylvia-Mercer bout could not happen as planned. "You cannot have a pro boxing event in a state without a state (boxing) commission ... That's a federal violation," said Sirb, referring to Alabama, where the fight, slated to headline Adrenaline III at the BJCC Arena in Birmingham, Ala.

Not only that, but it was to be a boxing match fought inside a cage, which Sirb disapproved of.

To read the rest of Hunt's story, go to the jump.

The fight card:
Adrenaline III
Saturday, June 13
BJCC Arena
Birmingham, Ala.

Tim Sylvia vs. Ray Mercer
Sasuke Zapata vs. Rich Clementi
Chris Davis vs. Jeremy Horn
Juan Zapata vs. Joe Jordan
Keith Johnson vs. Nick Rossborough
John Salter vs. Roberto Traven
Josh Martin vs. Tony Godbold
Josh Barnes vs. Brad Tidwell
Bryan Goldsby vs. Joey Maimberga
Tuan Pham vs. Sean Hall

Amateur Bouts
Justin Trawick vs. Brandon Esch
Keith Cunagin vs. Robert Rodda
Daniel Ritchie vs. Adrian Miles
Ron Mitchell vs. Brandon Powell
Barry Clifford vs. Matt Smart

I meant to say I had a short conversation with Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission earlier today.

Greg was at the Penn on Pain Street, er, I mean, the Pain on Penn Street event Saturday in Reading and said it was a "good show." The event was a half-boxing, half-MMA affair, featuring six MMA bouts.

The event drew 1,600 attendees at the Sovereign Center, Sirb said.

For Sirb, it's on to the next show, which occurs June 11 at The Blue Horizon.

I called up Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, this afternoon, with several questions on my mind:

- The UFC traditionally has weigh-ins the day before their events. A by-product of this is that fighters are able to "diet-down" i.e., come in as shredded as they can, hit the maximum weight allowed in their weight class on the mark, and then gain back 10-15 pounds of water weight before their respective fights.

As you probably know, the UFC has announced that UFC 101 will be held at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 8. I asked Sirb - because as I understand it, the state athlectic commission has same day weigh-ins - what would be done in the UFC's case.

"We're going to be discussing that over the next week or two," he said, referring to the himself and the state athletic commission.

On MMA in Pennsylvania in general, Sirb said things are ging great, with no major problems after several shows. Iron Will Fighting, an event that was held in Johnstown recently, drew 3,400 attendees. Respect is Earned's first event, held in Oaks (just outside Philly) had 1,200 spectators, Sirb said.

The next event, this weekend in Reading, Pain on Penn Street, is an MMA-boxing event. When Ia sked what he thought of hybrid events, Sirb said, "We'll see, it might work." I said asked him if he thought, as others have said, that boxing is trying to bring itself up by catching on to MMA's popularity, he said, "Not at all, I think they can both coexist."

I've mentioned Pennsylvania native welterweight fighter Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman a few times here on this blog, most recently his fight Saturday at Iron Will Fighting Championships in Johnstown.

He's also a Tap or Sleep-sponsored fighter and the first TOS fighter to be featured in a series of drawings by A.D. Youl.

Jerod Phillips of Tap or Sleep, being the entrepreneur that he is, got Charlie to sign a bunch of glossy 8 x 10 copies of the drawing,w hich will be sold at Iron Will and on the Tap or Sleep Web site.

New Cumberland-based Tattoo Fightwear just added these items to their Web site.

Limited edition Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge T-shirt, modeled by yours truly. One ugly SOB ...

They also have mesh trucker hats.

Pennsylvania fighter Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman, who is sponsored by Hanover-based Tap or Sleep fightwear, is headlining the May 16 Iron Will Fighting event at the War Memorial in Johnstown. Here's a write-up Iron Will did on him:

Johnstown, PA - Iron Will Fighting Championship is proud to announce one of their headline fighters, Charlie Brenneman. He will be fighting at the premiere MMA fight at the Cambria County War Memorial on May 16.

Charlie was born and raised in the small town of Hollidaysburg, PA. He is the product of a great family to whom he credits all of his successes. They have continually supported Charlie through the dreams that became a reality and the dream that remained just that. Charlie believes adversity is a blessing in defeat and defeat teaches you much more than victory.

Just heard from Mark Jovich that there will be a Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge in the Poconos on 26 June, to be held at the Pocono Manor, in conjunction with World Karate Union Banquet. You can buy tickets online by clicking here.

No word yet on the line-up for the event.

Tickets are now available for the next Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge, to be held at the same venue as the first, Wisehaven Banquet Hall & Expo. To buy tickets, click here, then click on "Ticket Information" in the left-hand column.

Mark Jovich, CPWC promoter, has also listed a partial fight card:

Joshua Aarons vs. John Andel
Tom Duffey vs. Ray Eltringham
Kevin Flinchbaugh vs. Philip Meck
Justin Krebs vs. Justin Scott
Ryan Howard vs. James Chappell
Brett Evans vs. Dustin Keener
Chris Evans vs. TBD
Troy Jensen vs. John Flock
Duane Bastress vs. Josh Kessler
Keith McDonald vs. Mike Oberdick
Lewis Rumsey vs. TBD
Jonathan Weirich vs. Chad Strawbridge
Biff walizer vs. TBD
William Childs vs. Jay Haas
Eric Steppe vs. TBD
Mike Stoltz vs. TBD

Pa. State Athletic Commission Executive Director Greg Sirb

I've been talking to Greg Sirb on the phone for about two years now, ever since I started this blog and became aware that MMA's rules and regulations were making their way around the state. I don't think in all our interviews we've been on the phone more than five minutes a pop. Greg's not the type of guy to mess around. If you don't have questions for him, he's not going to offer anything. He runs a tight ship, with military-like precision.

Ok, so I'd never met the guy in person before, but I knew he was a badass -- because he'd told me so over the phone. He's a little fireplug of a guy, clearly in shape, probably still capable of wrestling and boxing the way he did years ago.

I was able to witness the weigh-ins the morning of the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge, and not to kiss ass or anything, but the guy is hilarious.

In a small, dimly-lit room backstage at Wisehaven, Sirb sat at a table with all his paperwork. He called in the first fighter. After that, it was his voice booming, "Next fighter!" Each fighter heard the same line, "Take off your hat, sit down!"

When fighter Kevin Flinchbaugh gave Sirb his MMA identification, Sirb took a look at it, looked at Kevin and said, "You look just like your picture, ugly as sin."

Fighter Keith McDonald didn't have a copy of his ID, but Sirb did. Sirb gave the paper to McDonald to make a copy from, and told him to bring the original back, "If you don't, you'll have a fight before you have a fight."

Another fighter approached Sirb's table, spitting dip into a plastic soda bottle. "Please don't do that in front of me. That's a good way to get on my bad side. That'd just be a mess if you got hurt before your fight," Sirb said. After that, the fighter was all "yessirs" to Sirb.

Brett Evans checked in, then his brother, Chris Evans walked into the room. "Another friggin' Evans," Sirb said.

Sirb also asked fighters their age. Fighter Ray Eltringham struggled a bit with that one, or maybe it was just Sirb's tough demeanor that threw him off.

"How old? Uh, twen -, twenty-six, twenty-seven," Eltringham stammered.
"Don't ask him too many hard questions," one of Eltringham's corners said.

Fighter Ronald White, sporting a blue mohawk, was surprised that in Pennsylvania, amateur fighters get to have two corners. "I'm used to New Jersey, you get three guys," he said.

"Then go fight in New Jersey," Sirb said.