Marc in the middle, flanked by some of his fighters.
Marc Slomske, owner and head trainer at Slomske's Fight Team in Middletown, Pa., posted this on his myspace on Monday:
"Slomske's Fight Team (Next Legend Fightwear) I fought Saturday at the first C.P.W.C. and won grand champion and $500!!"
Note: Slomske's referring to the karate tournament which followed Friday night's MMA event. Marc also runs Next Legend Fightwear. Hit him up here.
Here it is. Mark Jovich is putting on Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge 3 at the Lancaster Convention Center on Oct. 23. Click here for tickets and click here to see the fight card.
Barnes hails from Joplin, Missouri and is sponsored by Middletown, Pa.-based fightwear co. Next Legend, run by Marc Slomske. Hit up Next Legend Fightwear here.
Don't be afraid to modify your NL shirts, bros.
Chris' recent myspace posting says, "Whoo! Fightn @the Coca-Cola event Center in Bricktown,OKC Aug.28th @155."
CPWC II Highlights:
Continuing Bob Bitner's entry on facebook: Then Jay Haas fights in Philadelphia, Aug 21 at Arena Assault:
Forgot to mention that Hanover's Chrissy Adler is also fighting for the interim heavyweight title at Operation Octagon on 8/15:
Bob Bitner, head trainer at Hanover, recently wrote on Team Tap or Sleep's wall on facebook.
First thing he announced was that tonight, Ryan Harder fights at Onslaught Fights in Winchester Virginia.
Harder is in the main event, defending his 135-pound title, at Operation Octagon in Manassas Virginia on Aug 15:
Well, I'm back -- I was out this week with something, a flu-thing that gave me a fever of 105 at one point -- but, anyway, like I said, I'm back, so let's get to it. Here's a video Tom and I shot at the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge II on Saturday at Wisehaven, just before the fights started.
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.
Here is the card for the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge, taken from mixedmartialarts.com. Twenty, count 'em, 20 fights, two of them women, two pros, and the rest amateur. Talk about bang for your buck. Web site for last-minute ticket sales, click here.
Tom Duffey Vs. Joshua Aarons
Ryan Heflin Vs. TBD
Eric Steppe Vs. Shea Banks
Logan Estep Vs. James Chappell
Kevin Flinchbaugh Vs. Danny Signor
Justin Krebs Vs. Justin ""Skiz"" Scott
Brett Myers Vs. Michael Blackwell
Shaun Kepner Vs. Collin Sharpe
Troy Jensen Vs. John Flock
Kevin Killian Vs. Adam Dehart
Duane Bastress Vs. Josh Kessler
Robert Haley Vs. Mike Oberdick
Lewis "The Beast" Rumsey Vs. Keith McDonald
Ty Krebs Vs. Chad Strawbridge
Matthew Munoz Vs. Mike Stoltzfus
John Tuxford Vs. Adam "Hoss" Hostetter
Jessalee Kline Vs. Danielle La Rosa
Jennifer Martin Vs. Danielle Martinez
Preston Marks Vs. Justin Haas
Johnny Buck Vs. Louis Armezzani
Mark Jovich tells me there's still a few tickets left if you want to attend the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge II at Wisehaven on July 18. Get your tickets here. The card is stacked with talented local fighters, and there are two re-matches from the last show. It should be an awesome show, as the first history-making event was, and there's not a bad seat in the house.
A couple other things Marc and I covered in our conversation earlier this week:
He's still hoping to fight in at least one, but maybe more, amateur fights soon. Marc is in his 40s, but trains right alongside his fight team, having spent decades as a martial artist.
The challenge for Slomske is convincing the Pa. Athletic Commission he should be eligible to fight. According to Greg Sirb, the commission's executive director, the cut-off age for fighting is 36. An exception can occur only after a fighter endures a battery of medical exams. Even then, the commission can still say no.
"I did my dialated eye exam and a stress test," Slomske said. On the stress test, the doctor said Slomske "couldn't be any better." He added he hopes to fight before the end of fall, before his CAT scan runs out.
Marc knows the odds are against him.
"Hopefully, they'll see me, interview me," he said. "I would love to get in there, just once or twice."
Slomske's Tae Kwon Do and MMA Academy is located at 4 S. Union St., Middletown, Pa. To call the academy, hit up 717-944-5944.
To order clothing - shirts, hats and skullies - from Marc's Next Legend fightwear, click here.
Marc Slomske had a depressing - but unfortunately, all too common - tale to tell me earlier this week. Late last week, he and his fight crew from Middletown, Pa. were gearing up for an event in Lancaster, OH. His fighters wanted to get a taste of Ohio's amateur rules, which are very similar to professional rules, with no kick pads and striking on the ground. The event was to be held last Saturday, but on Thursday, Slomske received a call from the event's promoter, who said it had been canceled.
"I guess it fell through," Slomske said. "We had four guys on the card. It was disheartening. We were training our rear-ends off."
Not wallowing in despair, Slomske's fight team is focused on the future, which promises to be full of action: the fight team of Brett Evans, Jonathan Weirich, Justin Krebs, Chris Evans and Danny Signor, have fights at both the WKU Warrior Challenge in the Poconos on June 26 and the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge II on July 18 at Wisehaven in York Township.
With all the excitement and confusion that was the Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge, I didn't get a chance to do an official interview with Mark Slomske and his fight team then. They were there en force, with four fighters, plus in the lobby they showcased their MMA clothing line, Next Legend Fightwear.
Recently, Mark - who is in his 40s, but still fights full-bore with all his guys - told me that for the next CPWC, scheduled for July 18, he'll have five fighters on the card. So, add Danny Signor's name to the existing fightteam of brothers Chris and Brett Evans, Jonathan Weirich and Justin Krebs.
Slomske's Tae Kwon Do and MMA Academy is located at 4 S. Union St., Middletown, Pa. To call the academy, hit up 717-944-5944.
To see Next Legend apparel, click here.
