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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Popularity: 35% [?]

Looking at the results, I see 4 10-10 scores awarded by judges in tonight’s Evolution AMMA show at Club Abyss in Sayresville NJ. This is a very good thing. I am a supporter of liberal applications of 10-10′s and 10-8′s. Along with those scores came a split draw and a majority decision. Just goes to show, you can’t judge a show by its win-loss record.

Hit the jump for the official results.
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Popularity: 39% [?]

Everyone in the MMA community was saddened by the death of Michael Kirkham after a Rage in the Cage event in Columbia South Carolina. And in the wake of Kirkham’s passing, people are beginning to look at safety mechanisms in the sport of mixed martial arts, much as boxing is examined after a fighter is killed in a fight. An article by Jay Heater turned up on IdahoStateJournal.com which called for tighter regulation of amateur mixed martial arts. Kirkham was 1-2 as a fighter going into his April 24th bout with D’Juan Owens, who himself was a veteran of 11 amateur bouts.

Nick Lembo, Counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, has been an outstanding resource for this website for the last 8 months, and has been my first phone call whenever I have a question regarding the oversight or administration of mixed martial arts. I asked Nick a few questions so I could understand better how fighter safety is managed through licensing and matchmaking.

For the record, South Carolina Athletic Commission does not sanction amateurs. The Rage in the Cage event from April was sanctioned by the ISKA.

Whenever a participant dies as a result of injuries sustained in a combat sport, the regulation and safety of that sport is called into question.  So far, MMA has been able to avoid this scrutiny, but unfortunately, we recently lost Michael Kirkham after a fight in South Carolina.  In general, and without speaking specifically about South Carolina’s regulatory body, how safe is mixed martial arts compared to boxing, or any other combative sport?

Mixed martial arts, with proper oversight, is as safe, or safer than boxing or other combat sports.

The NJSACB and NSAC tend to set the standard for how combat sports are governed at the state level.  So can you explain how some processes are done in New Jersey?  For example how are fighters, professional and amateur, licensed and cleared to fight?

First, fighters must clear any existing suspensions. They must then pass medical requirements and obtain a license. For an amateur license, you must be 18. In rare cases of outstanding backgrounds, a waiver can be granted to age 16. For a pro license, you must prove the requisite skill level and background experience. Finally, once licensed, the proposed match ups need to be approved.

And I know that as Counsel to NJSACB, and the top representative of the SACB at MMA events, matchmakers submit their proposed fights to you, and you either clear the fight, or reject the fight.  I imagine this is more an art than a science, but what criteria do you use to approve fights submitted by matchmakers?

I am not the top representative for the agency. I have, however, given presentations to the ABC membership with regard to MMA Matchmaking.

You are correct that it is more an art than a science and the below is what I consider:

1-FIGHTER’S PRO AND AMATEUR RECORD
The first step should be to check with the national database and obtain the fighter’s professional and amateur mixed martial arts record. Also take note of fights that may have been recorded as non-sanctioned results (NSF). This provides an overall picture of the fighter’s win-loss ratio, level of activity, type of opposition and method of conclusion for all contests.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

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.

Popularity: 23% [?]

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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Popularity: 25% [?]

Hopefully you were one of the couple dozen people who checked in to last night’s liveblog, something I hope to turn into a regular feature from shows I cover live. (Quick thanks to the Go Fight Live crew for sharing table space and power with a brother.) If you were with us either at the John Perzel Community Center, or watching on GFL and following the live blog, you saw some good fights. The pro card featured some of the most even fights I’ve seen in a while. There were two titles on the line, the amateur 145Lbs title which went to Fight Firm‘s Ben Tichy, and the LITC Heavyweight title, which was won by Joel Wyatt from MMA Institute in Virginia.

Hit the jump for full results.
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Locked in the Cage returns to Philadelphia this Friday for LITC 4 from the John M. Perzel Community Center in Northeast Philadelphia. Two titles are on the line when Ben Tichy (3-1) takes on Brian Pitaniello (2-1) for the amateur featherweight title. And on the pro card, Randy Smith (11-5) finally takes on a guy with a winning record when he steps in for the heavyweight title against Joel Wyatt (5-2). Doors at 7:00PM, first fight at 8:00PM. The fights will be broadcast at GoFightLive.tv.

Hit the link for the rest of the card:
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Popularity: 24% [?]