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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