Tonights Ring of Combat XXV fight card has 2 title fights which will take place within Three Rounds of 5-minutes each. These fights will decide who will take home the Light Heavyweight Title and Middleweight title.

Bout 15: Light Heavyweight Championship (205 lbs.) – Ricardo Romero vs. Karn Grigoryan

Ricardo Romero (Advanced Martial Arts)

Romero has compiled an impressive 7-1 Pro record with his only loss coming by way of disqualification when he kneed Glen Sandull in the head when he was down during their title match last september. Besides this blemish, Romero has finished 6 of his 8 opponents by strikes or submissions. He is an aggressive fighter who likes to use his wrestling and ground ‘n’ pound to overwhelm his opponents.

Karen Grigoryan (Team Link)

Karen Grigoryan was set to be on the 8th season of the Ultimate Fighter TV Reality Show, and he beat Eliot Marshall to earn himself a spot. However, he was kicked off due to a fractured nose that he suffered during his fight with Marshall. He is coming off 1st round win over Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black belt Daniel Rial, and is 5-0 in Pro MMA.

Prediction: This is a really good fight. These are two aggressive fighters who come from great camps. Karen has not yet tasted defeat and the same would be said about Romero if not for an illegal knee. This fight is basically a toss up but I am going to go with Ricardo Romero on this one being the more aggressive and physically dominant fighter. Romero will win a hard fought Split Decision against the TUF alum.

Bout 16: Middleweight Championship (185 lbs.) – Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs. Victor O’Donnell

Rafael “Sapo” Natal (Team Renzo Gracie)

“Sapo” won the Ring of Combat Middleweight title with a devestating knock out of Alexandre Moreno, and already has a title defense under his belt beating Plinio Cruz by Rear Naked Choke. He is the cousin of renowned Gracie fighter Renzo Gracie, and has shown some strong strikes to compliment his Gracie Jiu Jitsu ground game.

Victor O’Donnell (Team Vision/Walker MMA)

Victor O’Donnell is 7-0 in Pro MMA with all of his wins by submission, and he has never been out of the 2nd round. On top of that he has never been beaten as an amateur either 4-0. His most notable win was 2 months ago when he dispatched of Forrest Petz by Rear Naked Choke. This will be his first appearance in The Ring of Combat.

Prediction: Both of these guys have great records and are solid all around fighters, but I think O’Donnell is going to be the more explosive, and physically opposing fighter. He has better stand up then Sapo, but he is probably lacking in the BJJ area in comparison. This is also a big step up for O’Donnell, and his first shot at a title. I’m going to try and predict an upset here, as O’Donnell KOs Sapo in the 2nd round.

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Tonights Main Card at Ring of Combat XXV will feature 9 fights with Three 4-Minute Rounds of Mixed Martial Arts action.

Bout 6: Dave Church vs. John Salgado (155 lbs. Lightweight)

Breakdown: This is a rematch from ROC XXIV, last time the fight was ruled a Unanimous Draw due to an illegal head kick in the 1st round from Salgado, that caused the ref to deduct 2 points from the fighter. Salgado is 2-1-1 in Pro MMA with a win against Church’s training partner Jay Isip. Church came back from a long lay off in March to win his first Pro MMA fight by Arm triangle, improving his record to 1-1 he is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Purple Belt under Kurt Pellegrino.

Prediction: The last fight would have ended in favor of Salgado had he not lost those 2 points. I see this fight going the same way. Church has good submission skills, but Salgado is way too well rounded to let this become a grappling match. I predict a Split Decision in favor of Salgado.

Bout 7: Jim Bova vs. Nabih Barakat (155 lbs. Lightweight)

Breakdown: Jim Bova has a slew of submission victories in both Pro and Amateur MMA. He has a 3-1 Pro Record and his only loss was to NJ legend and UFC Veteran Chris Ligouri by cut. Nabih has won his last two fights improving his record to 2-1 as a pro. He comes from the Matt Serra and Ray Longo camp and has shown good kickboxing skills.

Prediction: This is a huge step up in competition for Nabih. Bova is crafty on the ground and has really slick submissions. I give Nabih the nod in the stand-up for this fight, but Bova has better wrestling, submissions, and more experience. Jim Bova by Submission due to a Triangle Choke in the 3rd round.

Bout 8: Ryan LaFlare vs. Robert Cunane (170 lbs. Welterweight)

Breakdown: Ryan LaFlare is off to unbeaten record with his last win against Tiger Schulman’s product Radji Bryson-Barrett by arm bar. Robert Cunane is coming back after an almost two year hiatus, since his loss to Nick Calandrino. He sports an 0-1 Pro MMA record, and a lackluster Amateur record as well. He is someone that usually comes out swinging for the fences.

Prediction: I haven’t seen much from Cunane that would warrant a positive prediction for him in this fight. Bellmore Kickboxing’s Ryan LaFlare has a great camp of training partners, height advantage, and submission skills. Robert Cunane has… a puncher’s chance. Ryan LaFlare by TKO due to Strikes Round 1.

Bout 9: Anthony Abatelli vs. Kevin Horowitz (170 lbs. Welterweight)

Breakdown: Abatelli is fresh off a tough win over the hard hitting Garrett Carmody in which he used his wrestling to grind out a decision. He is undefeated in MMA overall, 3-0 as an Amateur and 1-0 as a pro. He is out of the Serra/Longo camp and relies a great deal on his wrestling and submission defense. Kevin Horowitz is making his pro debut, after a 3-4 Amateur Campaign. He fights out of Rhino NY.

Prediction: Abatelli is the bigger, stronger fighter at 170 and is a tough test for anyone in the division let alone someone making their debut as a Pro. I think Abatelli is going to out wrestle Horowitz to a Unanimous Decision.

Bout 10: Mitch Whitesel vs. Andrew Riddles (185 lbs. Middleweight)

Breakdown: Mitch Whitesel has had 25 fights, and is coming off of a 4 fight win streak since losing to UFC Veteran Sean Salmon last year. The Ohio native sports a 12-11 Pro record and has a well rounded assortment of victories. He is also the current International Fighting & Boxing League Light-Heavyweight Champion. Andrew Riddles is undefeated in the cage, 4-0 as a Pro and 2-0 as an Amateur. He wins his fights on the ground usually setting up a submission from ground and pound.

Prediction: This has fight of the night written all over it. Both guys are coming off of a 4 fight win streak. Riddles’ hasn’t really been tested yet, because he has dominated his competition, it will be interesting to see how he reacts against a much more experienced fighter. I’m gonna go with the Jersey boy Andrew Riddles from Ricardo Almeida’s camp to beat Ohio’s Whitesel by Submission Rear Naked Choke in the 3rd round.

Bout 11: Eddie Fyvie vs. Jeff Lentz (150 lb. Catchweight)

Breakdown: Fyvie fights out of Spa City BJJ and has amassed an impressive 8-2 record with most of his wins coming by way of submission, his only losses were against upper echelon competition, and he hasn’t lost in over 2 years. Jeff Lentz won most of his amateur fights by submission, but as a pro he is 3-0 winning all by KO/TKO.

Prediction: This has all the makings of a ground war, Fyvie is a Brown belt in BJJ and Lentz is Purple belt. I think this fight is going to be a grappling match between two crafty submission artists, but I can’t picture either of them getting the submission. So I am going to give Eddie Fyvie the nod by way of Unanimous Decision, getting the better of the positions.

Bout 12: Al Iaquinta vs. Tim Sylvester (155 lbs. Lightweight)

Breakdown: Al Iaquinta was the poster boy for Amateur MMA on the East Coast, he finished with an unblemished 14-0 record before going pro, using mostly wrestling to dominate his opponents. He is 1-0 as a pro and he’s coming off a controversial draw against Will Martinez at ROC XXIV in which he was deducted a point for grabbing the fence. He has worked extensively on his stand up, and is the USKBA Amateur Thaiboxing East Coast Super-Middleweight Champion. Tim Sylvester is making his Professional debut after amassing a 2-0 Amateur record. He has finished both his fights by submission, and has only been in the cage a total of 2:22.

Prediction: Sylvester is an accomplished grappler in his own right, but I believe he is biting off more than he can chew against Iaquinta. Iaquinta trains with Serra/Longo, and has a wealth of experience never tasting defeat. Iaquinta will be the better man standing, wrestling, and getting out of submissions. Iaquinta by Unanimous Decision.

Bout 13: Mark Berrocal vs. Radji Bryson-Barrett (170 lbs. Welterweight)

Breakdown: Both of these fighters are coming off two losses in a row. Berrocal who started off as an undefeated 4-0 amateur brawler out of REAL Fighting Dojo, has begun working on his Jiu Jitsu with Black belt Bill Scott. Bryson-Barrett on the other hand has been with Tiger Schulman for the duration of his career. He’s 1-2 in Pro MMA, 4-0 in Pro Boxing, and 0-2 in Pro Kickboxing. His lone win was a TKO by strikes, so it’s safe to say he is mostly a striker.

Prediction: Both of these guys are mostly strikers, Bryson-Barrett being the more refined boxer and Berrocal being a one-punch KO artist. The x-factor  here might just be the ground game as Berrocal has been working on his BJJ and Bryson-Barrett just lost his last fight by arm bar. This is a tough fight to call, but I think Bryson-Barrett is going to use his reach and superior boxing skill to frustrate Berrocal en route to a TKO stoppage.

Bout 14: Gian Villante vs. Joe Abouata (245 lbs. Heavyweight)

Breakdown: Villante is undefeated in two outings winning both in the 1st round. Abouata on the other hand is coming off of an explosive TKO loss to Bret Kohan. He is the current Battle Cage Xtreme Heavyweight champion winning that title from former Pittsburgh Steeler Carlton Haselrig.

Prediction: Abouata is a much better fighter then he showed against Bret Kohan, but Villante is no slouch either. I can see this fight going a number of ways, so I am going to toss up a hail mary guess that Villante is going to upset the warrior from Wilkie’s with a Submission win via Rear Naked Choke after hurting him with some strikes.

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Ring of Combat is New Jersey’s premier professional MMA promotion, and has showcased the skills of some of MMA’s top stars. This friday June 12 they are boasting a 16 fight card with two title defenses. We’re going to break the fights down, so if your going you know what to expect. Also I’m going to throw my 2 cents in on which fighters are going to get their hands raised. The first 5 fights are preliminary bouts with 2 rounds of 4-minutes.

Bout 1: Carlos Brooks vs. David Shapiro (200 lb. catch weight)

Breakdown: Carlos Brooks fights out of the Tiger Schulman camp, and although he is making his MMA debut, he holds a 4-1 Pro Kickboxing record as well as a 2-2 amateur boxing record. This is also Shapiro’s Pro MMA debut, considering he won his first amateur fight about a month ago at Asylum 16.

Prediction: Both of these guys are relative unknowns in MMA right now, so it’s hard to say how this one if going to pan out. On one hand, Brooks has never had to deal with takedowns in a fight yet, so his ground game has yet to be tested. On the other hand, he comes from Tiger Schulman’s with a wealth of world class training partners. All things considered I predict that Brooks is going to be the victor here, winning by TKO due to Strikes.

Bout 2: Howard Longus vs. Jose Viera ( 185 lbs. Middleweight)

Breakdown: Longus is sporting an 0-3 Pro record, with his fights usually ending on the ground from submissions or strikes. Jose Viera Jr. is making his Pro MMA debut, with no prior professional experience.

Prediction: Longus has had 3 rough outings, his last was a quick submission loss Jim Tomczuk at the last Ring of Combat. Longus is hungry and I feel like his experience is going to give him the edge over Viera. Longus takes the “W” by TKO due to strikes.

Bout 3: Sean Santella vs. Jose Villanueva (135 lbs. Bantamweight)

Breakdown: The interesting thing about this matchup is that it is a rematch. These guys fought in 2007 with amateur MMA rules, with Villanueva winning a very hard fought decision. Both went on to have a lot of success in the amateur circuit, and both have one pro fight under their belt. Villanueva is 1-0, and Santella is 0-1 dropping a decision to Villanueva’s teammate Nick Pace at Ring of Combat XXII.

Prediction: The last time these guys fought it was a war. I give Villanueva the definitive advantage in the striking department, Santella a slight upper-hand in the wrestling department, but both transition well on the ground. Villanueva is the more well-rounded fighter, and I think he’s going to continue his winning ways by Unanimous Decision.

Bout 4: Jay Isip vs. Mike Prokop (155 lbs. Lightweight)

Breakdown: Isip has fought a “who’s who” list of successful fighters, including UFC contenders Frankie Edgar, and Kurt Pellegrino (who he now trains with). He boasts a 1-8 pro record and he’s been competing since 2002. Prokop fights out of Rhino Fight Team NY and is making his Pro debut. He had a decent 2-2 amateur record with his only losses coming at the hands of wrestling studs Al Iaquinta and Anthony Abatelli.

Prediction: Isip has a wealth of experience and good training partners over at Team Pellegrino, but Mike Prokop is young and hungry as well. I think that Prokop is going to grind out a Unanimous Decision win using wrestling and ground control.

Bout 5: Louis Gaudinot vs. Nick Cottone (128 lb. catch weight)

Breakdown: Cottone has put together a nice 5-1 professional MMA record since 2005, and he trains with Matt Makowski, and Aaron Meisner over at Daddis FC. Louis Gaudinot is another Tiger Schulman’s product, and is 1-0 as a Pro his last win coming by way of Unanimous Decision against Chris Aquino of REAL Fighting Dojo.

Prediction: This seems like a no-brainer given the experience level of Cottone, but Gaudinot is a scrappy kid, and is unlikely to go down without giving his all. All things considered Cottone has more experience, height advantage, and should be the bigger stronger fighter. I think Gaudinot will be tough to put away, so I like Cottone by Majority Decision.

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