Maryland Cage Brawl April 2012

Saturday April 14^th:  6:00 thru 11:30 PM, 800-plus in attendance

Copyright James LaFond 2012

Describing the teams involved:

“Baltimore Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

4 fighters: 3 wins, 1 loss

These guys were very well-rounded and well-schooled. The school is based in the Essex neighborhood of Baltimore County. The MMA instructor is Lee Synkowski, who, based on his fighter’s performance, obviously knows what he is doing. The fighters from this club were the easiest to interview, I think because they were so relaxed.”

Carlo’s Fight:

“Bout Seven

170 lbs

Blue: Carlo Elter, 25, first fight, Baltimore BJJ, Hamilton

Red: Rob Begley, 30, first fight, Noel Smith’s BJJ, Fort Meade

Round One

Rob opened up with two very nasty leg kicks and seemed to possess the stronger standup game. Carlo responded with knees and was then cut [I think via accidental head butt] over the right eye. Carlo knew he was cut and rushed Rob into the cage, where Rob defended with a very nice straddle-sprawl. Carlo finally executed a huge slam that made the Athletic Commission suit to my right wince, got the mount, took the back, and sunk in a rear-naked to end it at 2 minutes and 37 seconds of the first round.

This was a good desperate fight with the fighters demonstrating sharp instincts.

Runner up for submission of the night.”

Robin’s Fight:

“Bout Eleven

140 lbs

Blue: Robin Paguia, 19, first fight, Baltimore BJJ, Perry Hall

Red: Channing Spriggs, 20, first fight, Vuong’s MA, Baltimore

Round One

Channing was definitely giving away some weight. The lighter man had a nice neat deceptive boxing style, but he got manhandled in the clinch and on the ground.

Round Two

Again, Channing came out with some slick standup and got taken down by the stronger Robin. Channing attempted a sweep from the bottom and Robin responded with a sick ‘alligator roll’, achieved a mount and pounded away.

Round Three

Channing leg kicked and Robin countered with punches. Channing covered and pulled Robin down on top. Robin then achieved side-control. I forget how they got back up, but when they did Channing was gassed out. He tried a leaping front kick and ate a punch for his trouble. He staggered back and his eyes rolled up in his head as Robin came in to finish him. Referee Eric Jordon saw this and leaped between the fighters to stop a really needless and damaging KO, at 59 seconds into the third round.

I think Channing would match well against Jamal, and Robin is a natural match for Nick.

Keep an eye out for Robin as he matures. I can see him turning into that kind of Mark Munoz buzz-saw nobody wants to fight.”

Jeff’s Fight:

“Bout Thirteen      

155 lbs

Maryland Cage Combat Lightweight Championship

Blue: Jeff Mount, 27, 0-1, Baltimore BJJ, Parkville

Red: Ronald ‘Swagg Daddy’ Vaughters, 19, 3-0, Noel Smith’s BJJ, Glen Burnie

Round One

Ronald, a wrestler out of Old Mill High School, shot in against Jeff. Ronald attempted to slam Jeff and the aptly named Mister Mount, used some insidious snaky leg-hooks [I heard a few ‘What-the-hell is that’s] to lockup the wrestler on his feet, and then backed him into the fence, sunk in a guillotine, and pried him into a mount like he was bending a giant coat-hanger, to finish the fight at 1 minute and 10 seconds of the first round. My pencil neck has failed me quite a few times against head-cranks in stick fights so I can well imagine the suffering of the ‘Swagg Daddy’ neck.

Jeff put on a nice clinic on how to stop a wrestler.

Submission of the night.”

Jordan’s Fight:

“Bout Fourteen

125 pounds

Maryland Cage Combat Bantam Weight Title

Blue: Jordon Jones, 18, second fight, Baltimore BJJ, Middle River

Red: Gregory Saumenig, 23, 2-2, Wand Fight Team, Las Vegas

Summary

This was a mismatch from the word go. Gregory was the most experienced MMA fighter on the card, with the best wrestling pedigree. He is a mature 23 years old. During our interview he was hyper and relaxed. With everyone else it was one or the other. He is a seasoned fighter compared to the rest of the field at this event.

Jordon, who was surprised when I informed him he was in one of the title fights, is a young 18 years old. He looks like a guy that might either remain at his current weight or possibly morph into some middleweight monster over night. Predicting the eventual size of a guy his age with his body type is not easy. He was determined, cool, and well-schooled, but very much overmatched. It is to his credit that he went the distance with such a tough experienced opponent.

I should note that match-making for the smallest and largest classes of fighters is not easy, and naturally generates mismatches. I expect this experience is going to help Jordon develop.

Highlights

Gregory threw a head kick [which would have gotten him in trouble if it had landed], missed it, and spun right down into a pick and slammed Jordon. He had real high posture in the guard and his takedowns were unstoppable. I bet this guy takes people down all day long in training. He scored two nasty slams and really tried to finish with a rear naked choke. Jordon for his part had an excellent guard and very good defense against the choke.”

 -James LaFond

Stand out performance of the day were Josh Weinstock’s all foot lock submission win Advanced Absolute division run.  Also impressive was Kenneth Hall’s come from behind armbar win against an opponent who had 50 lbs on him.

Next tournament is Good Fight Saturday June 9th at the Du Burns Arena.

1st – Josh Weinstock – Advanced Absolute

1st – Rick Slomba – Purple Belt 122.5 – 149

1st – Kenneth Hall – White Belt 215 and up

2nd – Aaron Mitchell – Beginner 188.5 – 202

2nd – Zach Bruno – Intermediate 202 and up

2nd – Nicholas Bohli – Purple Belt 122.5 – 149

2nd – Luke Gannett – 30+ Intermediate 188.5 – 202

2nd – Luke Gannett – 30+ Blue Belt 188.5 – 215

2nd – Savon Thamavong – 30+ Blue Belt 135.5 – 149

2nd – Zach Bruno – 30+ Intermediate 202 and up

2nd – Daniel Mummert – Teens Gi 131 – 132 lbs

3rd – Shimon Kafka – Purple Belt 175.5 – 188.5

3rd – Shimon Kafka – Advanced 175.5 – 202

3rd – Zach Bruno – Blue Belt 188.5 – 215

3rd – Tim Kiser – 30+ Intermediate 149 – 162

3rd – Aaron Mitchell – White Belt 188.5 – 202

3rd – Michael Seicke – White Belt up to 135.5

3rd – Andrew Meissinger – Novice up to 135.5

3rd – Dylan Young – Juvenile No Gi 44- 49

3rd – Dylan Young – Juvenile Gi 44-49

Here is a video of the ceremony, more coming soon:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3137752290164

We have rented the Horst & McCann Indoor gun range in Bel Air from
9-11. Use whatever guns you want, or bring your own. You only pay for
ammo.

http://www.horstguns.com/
2137 North Fountain Green Road
Bel Air, Maryland 21015

Phone: (410) 399-9518
Toll Free: (800) 941-5804

Prior to that we will meet at Magerks at 7pm for dinner.
Magerks Pub
http://magerks.com/belair/
120 S. Bond Street
Bel Air, Md 21014

Yankee swap : Bring a wrapped unmarked gift that costs less than $27.84.

Both Jason Newing and Jordan Jones made their MMA debuts at the Barbarian fight club card on November 5th.

Jason won by triangle in the second round. His opponent worked a smart, tactical gameplan that kept Jason away from his strengths, but Jason was eventually able to find a way to win.

Barbarian Fight Club Jason

Jordan fought a close fight that ended in a split decision with one judge scoring the fight 30-27 totally in his favor. Jordan stayed in the fight the entire time, and pushed himself past what he thought were his limits.

Barbarian Fight Club Jordan

Josh Weinstock 1st in No-Gi Advanced Weight Class, 2nd in No-Gi Advanced Absolute, 2md in Purple Belt Absolute

Alex Vianna 1st Beginner No Gi

Battle of Baltimore, Baltimore MD, October 15th, 2011

Logan Kisner, in his first BJJ tournament, took 1st place and earned the belt in both his gi and no-gi divisions.  Great job Logan!

These belts are just my size!

A strong day for the kids team at the NAGA MD tournament on Oct 9th.

Dylan Young looked unstoppable, winning Gold in his Gi and No Gi divisions with conceding a single point.

Tony Augustyniak was back in top form, less than one month after returning to the mats from an injury layoff. He took Gold in the Gi, Silver in No Gi

Josh Lausch was strong in his debut tournament earning a Silver Medal amidst stiff competition.

Musashi Williams had the fight of the day, staying in the match till the end to earn his Bronze medal.

Josh, Tony, Musashi, and Dylan with the spoils of victory.

Our adults did well also, with nearly everyone picking up some hardware.

Zach Bruno: Gold No-Gi; Silver Gi

Brian Reagan: Gold Gi; Bronze No-Gi.

Sara Rowe: Silver Gi; Bronze Gi

Wes Clarke: Silver No Gi

Coach Adam Bell: Bronze No-Gi: Bronze Gi

Lacee Mullen: Bronze No Gi

Special thanks to Danny, Robin, Craig and Zach for traveling down to support Rob!

One highlight would have to be Savon Thamovong’s quick armbar win in his gi division to take third place. Check it out, it only takes 20 seconds…

This exact technique is a part of our Core Curriculum, and Savon learned it a couple of months ago. Now we have a good reference for how it should be applied in competition. Savon has been work hard and entering many competitions lately and learning and improving from each one. He took 2nd in No-Gi, 3rd in Gi for the day.

Other highlights include Randall Watkins double 1st places wins in his Gi and No Gi divisions. Watch out when he moves up to the next level!

Alex Viana has also been putting in the work on the competition side and he finally reached Gold in his no-gi division, capping it off with a quick nasty guillotine submission in his final. Here he throws down a bow and arrow collar choke variation for a gi match win:

Alex Hankewycz got 3rd in gi. The team was rounded out by Jeff Mount, Chris Wolff, Ryan Clarke, Ryan Stark, and Zach Bruno. Great job to all competitors!

A couple of our young guns headed over to test their mettle at the Battle of the Beach in Wildwood, NJ. This tournament is one of the biggest kids tournaments in the country so its great for the kids to get out there and show their stuff.

Aaron Butler got 2nd in both his gi and no gi divisions. Would you want to square off on the mat against this guy?

Here is a video of Aaron, in his trademark red gi, in action

Dylan Young got second place in his no gi division.

Here he is in control in the mount
Dylan has been working hard in the kids classes for almost a year. He started training after his father Will joined the gym. Will recounts Dylan’s experiences on the mat