– Friday, March 23, 2012 8:00pm ET featuring Absolute Action MMA 24 from the Shimmers Ballroom in Covington, Kentucky. In the main event, Brittany Skelton (5-3) will fight for the AAMMA Lightweight Title. His opponent has not been named yet, as several fighters have fallen through at the last second, but nevertheless, AAMMA will find a suitable opponent for Skelton and the two will throwdown in the cage for the 155 lb championship. Skelton is a tough matchup for anybody as he is very quick with his punches and takedowns and poses a problem for most opponents because of his superior cardio conditioning. But Skelton will be at a disadvantage as he will have little time to game plan for his eventual opponent so once he steps in the cage he will be going off of pure fighting instinct and just have to go with the flow. Sometimes matches that are put together at the last minute can be the most exciting on the card because the fighters don’t get bogged down with a detailed strategy. They just fight. Expect this bout to just be about fighting as whoever wins walks away a champion. In the co-main event, Brian Francisco (5-1) battles Deric “The Manimal” Reece (4-8) in what could be a #1 Contender’s Match for the Lightweight belt. Francisco is a fast starter who packs a heavy punch as all 5 of his wins have come via KO in the first round. He will be taking on his toughest opponent to date in Reece, but don’t expect that to curtail Francisco’s furious pace. Reece has been on a tough skid as of late and for him to get back on the right track he will have to do what he knows best and that’s unloading punches, as all 4 of his wins have come by submission, due to strikes. Not many people wanted to fight Francisco, but Reece stepped up to the plate and if he can pull the mild upset here, he will be right back in the title hunt for the AAMMA Lightweight strap.
– Friday, March 23, 2012 10:00pm ET featuring Epic Fighting 11 Four Points Sheraton in San Diego, California. In the main event, Gibran Alvarez (4-1) out of Victory MMA takes on Jason Mangaroni (2-0) from Shark Tank MMA in a cruiserweight battle. Alvarez has tremendous cardio for a cruiserweight as all 5 of his bouts have gone the distance. Alvarez likes to wear out his opponents and push the pace throughout. A strong wrestling background allows Alvarez to usually dictate where the fight goes and he will look to take down Mangaroni in this bout from the early going. For the undefeated Mangaroni, he is the epitome of a fast starter as both his victories have come within the first round, one by KO and the other via submission. Mangaroni has devastating power in both hands and is a strong grappler always looking to finish fights. Alvarez will try to stifle Mangaroni’s attacks by using superior control and positioning on the ground. This will be a classic battle of wills as whoever can control the action in the cage and where the fight goes will have a distinct advantage. In other action, Daniel Valdez (0-3) fights Francisco Castro (5-4) in a featherweight bout. Valdez is coming off a tough loss in his last fight in which he suffered a TKO loss, but his other two defeats came by way of razor close decisions. You have to respect Valdez and his continued determination to always bring it with every fight. Castro is coming off of a tough loss in the California State Finals back in December and before that bout was on a 4-fight winning streak. Castro is a cage general and controls the pace of the action very well, as he grinds out his opponents for unanimous decisions. He will look to do the same against Valdez. Both fighters have proven they can go the distance and this should be a fight where there is constant action between the two 145 lb fighters.
– Friday, March 23, 2012 11:00pm ET featuring Ultimate Reno Combat presents Fight Factory at The Knit!. Reno, Nevada. Michael O’Leary battles Joe McGann in the main event that is a matchup of two of the top featherweights in the West! O’Leary and McGann are both capable of having fight of the night because of their unique, fast-paced style and this bout should be nonstop action from the opening bell. This is also an important bout because it is a #1 Contender’s match and will set up a future shot at the 145 lb title down the line for the winner. In the co-main event, Melvin Washington fights William “Will” Ruppert in the debut fight for both lightweights. For Washington and Ruppert it’s either sink or swim in this bout.
– Saturday, March 24, 2012 6:30pm ET featuring NAAFS – Combat Challenge 19 at Chapparells Community Center in Akron, Ohio. The Ohio-based NAAFS has been a proving ground for tons of MMA fighters who have made their way to the UFC and Strikeforce. NAAFS continues to promote the Midwest’s premier up and coming fighters and Combat Challenge 19 will only add to NAAFS’ rich history. In the main event, Josh Lasich (3-0) battles Dave Lastafka (6-0). In a battle of unbeatens, something has to break. Lasich is a grappling wizard winning all 3 of his fights by submission (2 in the NAAFS cage). He has also managed to stay healthy through it all as he has already fought once this year. Lastafka is also a NAAFS veteran winning 4 times with the organization. Lastafka also has an unbreakable ground game mixed with a world class striking game as he has stopped 5 of his 6 opponents. Lastafka is the naturally bigger fighter, so expect him to use his strength to try and wear Lasich out on the ground. Lasich should have the advantage in cardio though so it will be interesting to see the strategy in this bout and who is able to impose their will. Nothing is assured in fighting, but this bout is about as close as you can get to a can’t miss fight. The winner will set himself up as one of the rising stars of MMA. In the co-main event, Anthony Holder (3-3) takes on Adib Nour (2-0) in a heavyweight scrap. Holder has won his last 3 fights all in round one. He swings for the fences and when he connects, it usually lights out for his opponents. Nour is just as deadly with his fists as he has finished his two opponents in the first round also, his last fight only lasting 16 seconds. Don’t blink when these two grizzly bears get in the cage as this fight could well be over before the announcer has time to take his seat outside of the cage. Both fighters don’t mess around and there will be very little if any feeling out process. Expect fireworks and expect them early.
– Saturday, March 24, 2012 8:30m ET featuring SportFight X from the Von Braun Center. Huntsville, Alabama. The Von Braun Center will house fans as they witness the first professional fight sanctioned by the Alabama Athletic Commission. This will be the promotions first stop in Alabama and promises to deliver an event matched by none as they have in other states prior to Alabama becoming sanctioned. The main event will feature a professional debut with two fighters who have had an outstanding amateur career as Stephen Wilhite of Cullman, AL vs Luke Neyland of Marietta, GA. Both fighters have fought under the SportFight X banner and scored impressive wins. The 27 year old Wilhite is a well rounded fighter who represents Triad Martial Arts and trains under Johnny Lee Smith. Wilhite is a tough character and afraid of no competitor. Last year at SportFight X “Middle Tennessee Mayhem” he was faced with a gut wrenching dilemma as his opponent of over 45 days had a fainting incident while being examined for a pre-fight medical exam. This occurred about one hour prior to the show leaving Wilhite without an opponent for a short period. Wilhite was offered a one hour notice fight replacement against a 15 pound heavier opponent Greg Taylor from IMA. What began as a sad night for Stephen turned out to be a bad night for Taylor as Wilhite hammered out a win in the first round. Neyland is a 23 year old freestyle fighting product of X3 Sports in Atlanta, Georgia training under Tony Tucci. Neyland has taken tough fights throughout amateur career. In two of his last four fights Neyland has been victorious by arm submission in the first round and at less than the two minute mark.
Other events this week:
Pro-Wrestling: Impact Zone Wrestling (Weekly Free show): Mar 24, 2012 8:00pm ET.
Boxing: WBC International HW Championship Boxing – Tye Fields vs. Mariusz: Mar 24, 4:00pm ET.
Kickboxing: IKF championship kickboxingt presents “Thunder Downunder WWIII” Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Tape delayed on Mar 25,8:00pm ET.
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