According to Matrix matchmaker Sam Caplan and promoter Jimmy Binns Jr, Julio Rosario and Brylan Van ArtsDalen will square off in the main event of their third Matrix show. Van ArtsDalen, representing the US Army and Daddis Fight Camps comes in with Matrix and Bellator experience. Rosario, a US Marine and 3 tour Iraqi War veteran fighting under the Semper Fi MMA flag, can use this fight to announce his presence on a bigger stage.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 21% [?]

Matrix Fights seemed to be running up hill in the last week suffering a staggering number of bout sheet changes. By the time weigh-ins came around last night the card had been whittled down to three amateur and four professional bouts. In a scene that’s accustomed to nearly twice as many fights per card, Matrix 2 was looking to be a thin show. But, the benefits of hiring one of the nation’s top matchmakers paid off for the company. Of the bouts that did end up going off, fans were given 7 well matched fights, and treated to KO & Submission of the Year Candidates, along with an incredibly gutty performance from Tim Carpenter.

Looking back at the results, Philly cleaned house. Daddis Fight Camps (and their sister gym, BJJ United) went 5-0.

At the top of the show, Joe DiFranco looked strong, letting his hands go a couple times on his way to a three round decision over Luis Vasquez. In the second fight, Azunna Anyanwu lit up Media PA’s Charles Finneran. Finneran was tagged a couple of times before succumbing to a TKO mid way through the first round. The amateur card rounded out with DaddisFC’s Matt Friedeborn took Pittsburgh’s Jimmy Cerra to a decision.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 64% [?]

Matrix Fights 1, photo by: Paul Miles

In MMA there are strikers, grapplers and brawlers. Then there are fighters. Tim Williams is a fighter. Tim has survived a near fatal car accident and a brain aneurysm and has gained the respect of the region’s fight community in a way few other fighters have. He’s taken the attitude that what hasn’t killed him outside the cage only makes him stronger inside to a lifetime 9-0 record (3-0 pro, 6-0 ammy). He’s the current Locked in the Cage middleweight champion, and he’s starting to gain some recognition outside the Delaware Valley. Matrix Fights announced today that Tim will face his toughest opponent yet when former New York club bouncer and two time UFC veteran Jay Silva (3-4) returns to the east coast for the Matrix 2 main event.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 12% [?]

Oh, hai.

You guys all know that I’m pretty proud to do this website for the most part all by myself. Aside from the layout (and a new header from M3MMA that I really need to upload), I hustle for everything on this site. I fund it out of pocket, I go to the fights myself, and I am my own camera man and video guy (thanks to guys like Joe DiFranco for helping out with that, by the way). Its that DIY ethic that was instilled in me back in my misspent punk rock youth. That, my friends, is all about to change.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 8% [?]

Brad Daddis Practices What He Preaches. Photo by: Paul Miles.

Brad Daddis is the owner & head trainer at Daddis Fight Camps (Philadelphia & Cherry Hill gyms), and is also a previous interviewee. He and I got together this week via Facebook to catch up and talk about some of the guys on his fight team. In the course of our chat, Brad reveals who Wilson Reis and Matt Makowski‘s first round opponents will be in the Bellator season 2 tournament.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 16% [?]

I’m sure I’ve said it here on several occasions. I am an old school ECW fan. I was such a hardcore ECDub fan that to this day if I hear Walk by Pantera, I mark out for Rob Van Dam. So to have a chance to participate in an MMA show at the old ECW Arena (recently rechristened as The Arena is a very special occasion for me. Its up there with places like The Blue Horizon and The Spectrum in my heart for favorite venues in the city of Philadelphia. So a special thank you to the Migliarese brothers and Jimmy Binns Jr letting me be a part of this show. For this show I sat up in the balcony above the front door, which gave me a chance to observe the packed house (around 1500, maybe more) during the event. And the crowd was a typical Philly crowd, and I mean that in the very best possible way. Aside from one drunk asshole who tried to steal an inspector’s seat in the red corner, the crowd was fantastic. They were loud for everybody, and even gave referee Kevin Mulhall a respectful round of applause. The fights, which were booked by 5 Ounces of Pain‘s Sam Caplan were all very evenly matched. in the main event Matt Makowski was paired with a former Muay Thai opponent in LeVon Maynard. With the Bellator season coming up, you’d expect Makowski, who’s been out of action for 8 months, to get one of those “tune up matches”. But he banged on Maynard like he stole his lunch money, and Maynard gave it right back to him. But it was an outstanding night of fights, and if you missed the show, you missed a show. No date was announced for return engagement, but in the program an ad teased that Matrix 2 will be coming back in June to The Arena. With all that said, the following results are unofficial until confirmed by the PSAC, and were originally brought to you (first and fast) by MAMMA Online at our Twitter account.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 10% [?]

All this “weekend snowicane” talk is really getting depressing. But before you get worried, as of right now Matrix Fights 1 is still green lit. I will update you if I hear any postponements due to weather. For now, though, plan on being at The Arena. That said, this show is the culmination of several months of work for Phil Migliarese of Balance Studios, Jimmy Binns Jr and Sam Caplan. Three really solid dudes. The crew put a lot of time into preparing for this show. The card features some well known locals and amateurs out of two of Philly’s top camps; Daddis FC & Team Balance. Of the 22 fighters on the card, only 4 have sub-.500 records. The card is sitting at 5 pro fights and 6 amateur bouts with the east coast debut of Brock Lesnar‘s training partner Cole Konrad and the Philadelphia debut of native son Matt Makowski.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 8% [?]