For months the war of words between IFL and ROC veteran Brendan Barrett and Randy Smith finally has a venue to be turned physical. Lou Neglia and Brendan both confirmed yesterday that Barrett/Smith will finally go down at Ring of Combat 32 at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.
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I usually don’t talk about rumors, because I’m not Perez Hilton. But this is a developing story that I’ve been following for a while. It all started a few months ago when stories started getting told over in New Jersey that CNYMMA’s Randy Smith called out Brendan Barrett shortly after Barrett moved up from 205 to heavyweight. The quote, which I haven’t been able to directly attribute to Smith was “I’d fight him for free.”

Now, with just a few days before the show, and a thin fight card on the line, the offer went out to both Smith and Barrett. According to a source close to the promoter, Barrett (who’s got to be jetlagged from an overnight flight from Oregon) immediately accepted the fight. Now, we’re just waiting for Randy Smith to accept the fight that he’s apparently been waiting for.

I’ve been critical of Randy recently, because until the Wyatt fight at Locked in the Cage 4, Randy seemed to only want to fight tin cans. But a guy with an 11-6 record should be taking better fights with guys like Barrett who have IFL and ROC experience. Not fighters fresh off their pro debut.

After getting his weaknesses exposed by Joel Wyatt, backing out of a fight that he supposedly wants, could seriously jeopardize future bookings.

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More than a belt was at stake when Virginia’s Joel Wyatt faced New York’s Randy Smith in Locked in the Cage 4 for the promotion’s new Heavyweight Championship. The main event was a chance for Wyatt to prove that his Matrix 1 loss to Brock Lesnar training partner Cole Konrad was an aberration, while Randy Smith had an opportunity to prove himself a true heavyweight prospect.

Wyatt lost his fight to Konrad after a strike from mount closed his right eye. Joel still contends the damage was done with an eye poke, but Konrad kept the win, and immediately following the fight was announced as the newest signing to Bellator Fighting Championships. Wyatt went back to Virginia to recover and continued to work on his game under the tutelage of MMA Institute’s Rick McCoy.

Randy Smith has banged around the Northeast fight scene for several years, putting together a string of wins on the backs of mediocre opponents. Inflating his record to 15-6 against foes like Michael Oldson, a 1-0 from Virginia who hadn’t competed in two years. In Wyatt, Smith had an opponent who had a winning record for the first time in 6 fights. Defeating Joel Wyatt would lend a modicum of credibility to the quickly fading reputation of CNYMMA’s top heavyweight.
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Ray Longo and Matt Serra at Ring of Combat 29, photo by: Paul Miles

Okay, here’s the deal. Between getting food with Jim Genia, getting my laptop hijacked by Laura Celeste and taking pictures with Brendan Barrett (and sitting right behind a GFL cameraman) I missed most of last night’s Ring of Combat show. But, as much as it pains me to say this as a die hard Pennsylvanian, New Jersey knows how to party. ROC (as with the state’s other premier MMA promotions) brings in outstanding fans for their fights. Not once did I hear “stand ‘em up” when a BJJ fighter was working hard to pass to side control. The fans knew the fighters, had their horses and let the fighters know who they were behind. Being a Philly sports fan I drank in the hate I felt flowing down to the cage when Demetrius Richards was introduced.
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I really thought I posted this bout sheet, which is proof that I’m not getting enough sleep at night. Anyway, quickly so I can go to bed. Ring of Combat will be in Atlantic City tomorrow night. Demetrius Richards will put his light heavyweight title on the line against current heavyweight champion Gian Villante. You can watch Ring of Combat 29 on gofightlive.tv tomorrow night.
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Friend of the program Brutal Brendan Barrett spent some time at Next Level in Oregon training for last weekend’s Ring of Combat fight with Joe Abouatta. Brendan won the fight via RNC in the second round snapping a losing streak. I talked to Brendan last week before the fight, but because this site isn’t my full time job, have not been able to get this online until now. Thanks to Brendan for the photos, which were all taken during his two weeks training in Oregon.
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