My Favorite UFC Light Heavyweight

             Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport of the 21st century. Ever since the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was founded in 1993, it has become the largest MMA promotion company in the world within a decade, and is continuing to expand to other countries such as Europe and Asia. There are 7 different weight classes that are featured in the UFC. The Light Heavyweight division is one of the most exciting and competetive classes they have to offer, from the long time reigning champ Tito Ortiz to the legendary Iceman Chuck Liddell.

           Mauricio Rua  is one of the top fighters in the world. Famous for his wild and aggressive style, Shogun quickly became a fan favorite. During his days in Pride, Shogun became the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix winner. By the time the UFC brought out Pride, Rua was ranked #1  light heavyweight in the world. He later made his debugt against one of the UFC's favotie sons, Forrest Griffin. Due to his poor condition(resulting from knee injuries), he suffered a 3rd round submission loss and later a lackluster victory over fromer heavyweight champion Mark Coleman.

          After a rough start in the UFC, Shogun reinvented himself and returned in excellent shape, with improvement in his overall game. He faced the divisions former king, Chuck Liddell and struck the knockout artist, eventually TKO'ing him in the first round. Mauricio Rua earned himself a title shot due to this impressive victory.

          At UFC 104, he fought against then champion, Lyoto Machida, who was described as a puzzle due to his unorthodox fighting style. Both men fought to the decision in one of the most technical fights I've seen. Although Shogun fell short in the judges scorecards, he was given an immediate rematch with Machida. Shogun would later knock out Machida, giving him his first loss and was awarded the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Belt (the 11th in the division).

       Although Shogun would lose his title to Jon Jones, he would knock out Forrest Griffin, avenging his loss. He would remain one of the top 10 Light Heavyweights in the UFC. He is scheduled to fight former Pride Champion and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson.

      Ever since his loss in the title fight against Lyoto Machida, I've been a fan of "Shogun" Rua. He displayed disciplined yet aggressive striking against Machida. It was some of the most technical and beautiful Muay Thai I have seen.  I attended UFC 128 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, headlined by my favorite light heavyweight. Although the outcome was disappointing, Shogun would still have a place on my list as one of the greatest fighters ever.





Halloween Party

This year for Halloween we wanted to have some fun with the kids. So what's better than a party? A Halloween Costume party!

                As our adorable, pint-sized patrons arrived, they were greeted by bowls of chips, candy and other treats! Later on we would all enjoy more candy, soda, chips, and  pizza!

                 Games included Pin the Tail on the Black Cat (Congrats to Yameci!) and Witch Hat Ring Toss. I think it's safe to say that everybody's favorite part of the party was the pumpkin pinata. For arts and crafts, we made ghosts and drew on our very own pumpkins to keep. We also had a face paint and tattoo station.

                As for our Instructors and assistants: Head Coach Butch Rinaldi was the grim reaper , Coach Amanda was a cat, Wrestling coach Louie was Pauly D and assistant Gus was Mayhem Miller (hence the red streak in his hair and the mean black eye), Jennifer"Smalls" Rubin was a rather convincing nerd.

                Everybody wore pretty cool costumes but the grand prize had to go to Marcus, 10. He was a terrifying zombie-surgeon with guts and gore spilling out of his surgical attire. His prize was an assortment of 120 temporary tattoos-which he took with a pretty satisfied grin.

                We want to thank everyone for coming and celebrating with us and look forward to next years Halloween party-now on to Christmas!

Why Should New York Legalize Mixed Martial Arts?

The legalization of mixed martial arts in the state of New York has become a hot topic for the past five years.  Each year numerous states are legalizing this once banned sport because of the lack of rules and no holds barred mentality attached to it.  In November of 2000, the UFC broke ground by establishing unified rules to the sport and getting sanctioned by the state of New Jersey.  This has of course become a growing trend for the past eleven years due to increases in safety for the fighters and of course the increasing amount of revenue that is generated by the sport.  States on average earn about         $5 million dollars in economic activity from hosting a mixed martial arts event by the UFC.  As of the writing of this article only three states have not legalized mixed martial arts and in fact made it illegal: Vermont, Connecticut, and New York. 

            Politicians in the state of New York have been at a tug of war over whether to legalize mixed martial arts in the state of New York.  Some politicians argue that to legalize mixed martial arts would open the door to “giving them clubs with spikes on the end.” said by Herman Farrell chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.  The media also portrays mixed martial arts in a negative light by showcasing it as a brutal blood sport with no rules.  A recent segment on Fox 5 news by Andrea Day took a look at an underground mixed martial arts club (http://www.mmafighting.com/2008/09/11/fox-5-does-its-part-to-keep-mma-illegal-in-new-york/).  The whole report focused on the injuries to the fighters such as a swollen eye or a broken nose, injuries very common in hockey and boxing. 

            The positive effect of mixed martial arts is the amount of economic revenue a state can obtain from one event.  New York in an essence could hold three to four events a year plus a fan expo thereby achieving economic revenue of $20-$30 million.  Mixed martial arts have had two fatalities since the sport has been on sanctioned ground.  Mixed martial arts though are not the only sports in the United States to have fatalities.  American Football since 1976 has had over three hundred fatalities but yet it is still considered an American past time next to baseball which has had more fan fatalities than player fatalities.  No fans who observe a mixed martial arts event have to worry about hockey pucks or baseballs traveling a hundred miles an hour at them.  Mixed martial arts are also different to boxing in relation to the knock down rule.  When a fighter in boxing is knocked down they receive a ten count but in mixed martial arts the fights over.  Mixed martial arts have been noted to have a reduced risk of traumatic brain injury because of this practice.  Underground fight clubs are seen as a negative because of the lack of regulations applied to them.  They are only underground though because a sport pretty much legalized across the country has still not found a home in New York.  If you watch the bold link in the previous paragraph you would see that the underground fight club reported for Fox 5 news looks very similar to amateur mixed martial arts events held in other states that have legalized mixed martial arts and thus regulate these events.

            Why should mixed martial arts be legal in New York? Why do you think it is illegal at this point in time? Please feel free to comment.

Is Competition Good For MMA?

The sport of mixed martial arts has become very popular in the past ten years due to an avid fan base and appeal of the sport itself.  Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC has been established as the main global brand and premier league for the sport where the best fighters often ply their trade.  Throughout the years various leagues or promotions of mixed martial arts tried to compete with the UFC but eventually ended up being bought out by the UFC or went bankrupt. 

The history of mixed martial arts leagues and their rise and downfall is nothing uncommon in the realm of sports.  The NBA of basketball had competition from the ABA back in the 1960’s and 1970’s for dominance of the sport.  Two different leagues with their own brand of stars and style of play each attracted their own fans.  The ABA though was unable to compete with the marketing machine of the NBA and could not acquire the revenue that the NBA obtained.   In 1976, the NBA eventually became the premier league of basketball when the ABA merged with them.  The ABA of course has been long since forgotten since their name has never been tied to the NBA since the merger, only one league survived.  The 1976 merger of the NBA and ABA echoes the exact results of the UFC-Pride merger.  Pride was the main competitor for the UFC during the 1990’s and was seen as the better league.  Pride though was unable to financially compete with the UFC and their expanding global brand over mixed martial arts.  The UFC in a sense became mixed martial arts to the casual fan.  In 2007, the UFC eventually merged with Pride and imported Pride’s top fighters into the UFC.  Pride suffered the same fate as the ABA 31 years later.

The question for this article “Is competition good for MMA?”.  Is it good for mixed martial arts to have the best athletes and fighters in one league? 

UFC 136 Predictions

Edgar vs. Maynard
Both are good wrestlers. Frankie is the better boxer; Gray is the stronger of the two.
This is going to be another great one; it’s so hard to pick this one. Both men are tuff & fight so hard. Since I have to pick, I’m going with……
The Bully is the New Lightweight Champion of the World
Aldo vs. Florian
I like Kenny Florian but he always come in wrong for a title fight i.e. not enough wrestling, not enough boxing. Maybe it’s too much brother get back to Mark Dellagrote & get back on top.
Jose Aldo retains his Featherweight Belt by decision.

Sonnen vs. Stann
I always like to root for my fellow Marines, My heart says Brian Stann by KO, My head says Chael Sonnen  by ground & pound.
Since my divorce I don’t listen to my heart any more.
Chael Sonnen by TKO
Guillard vs. Lauzon
Melvin Guillard, is an athletic freak, who has been sticking to the Greg Jackson fight to win plan. Joe Lauzon will keep the pressure on Guillard ruin the plan & break Guillard. I don’t think Guillard is mentally tough enough to deal with Lauzon.
Joe Lauzon wins by decision
Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan
Nam Phan got robbed in their 1^st fight, not this time.
Leonard Garcia crushes Nam.
Leonard Garcia wins by TKO 2^nd round


Spike TV Prelims
Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago
Demian Maia wins by submission

Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens
Jeremy Stephens wins by decision

I can't wait to see these fights!
I'll be watching them with all my MMA fanatics at New York Mixed Martial Arts in Queens NY.

Queens boxer wins in Connecticut.

Spotlight

Jenn "Smalls" Rubin
Boxing out of Queens NY

Jenn Rubin is a 20 year old majoring in political science at Baruch college. She is also one baaad NYMMAer (and by bad we mean good). Nicknamed Smalls due to her 4'10 stature, she is force and focus of our boxing program.

Scheduled for her first amateur boxing match on September 24th in Connecticut, Jenn has been displaying her undying work ethic. When asked what her main driving factors are she told me:"Originally it was fun and offered a challenge I never had physically and mentality . Now, I want to fight because I know I will never have this opportunity again once I head back to school. Also I want to showcase what I have been working so hard on and make everybody proud. Her commitment doesn't go unnoticed by anybody! Her last training day went as follows:

3 rounds-light drilling

6 rounds-sparring with Pro Patricia Alvicar

4 miles-about 29 minutes

5 rounds of interval training (usually does 10-15 rounds. Those of you that know our interval training-it's EXHAUSTING.)

3 rounds shadowboxing

3 rounds heavy bag

3 rounds slip bag

3 rounds double end bag

3 rounds-more sparring (this time with training partner Rachel)

2 rounds- shadowboxing

4 rounds- drilling/wall drill

Brief bio

Name: Jenn Rubin

Age: 20

Weight: 125

Live in: Queens NY

Train at: New York Mixed Martial Arts in Queens NY

How long have you been with us? 1 1/2 year.

What got you started in boxing?

I use to play softball back in high school. When college hit, I was feeling out of shape and decided I wanted to get back and shape and hit things.

What part of your training is most enjoyable?

Sparring. I like getting in the ring with the people from the gym because each person has something to offer. There is such a variety of talent at the gym. Each person forces me out of my comfort zone and makes me a better boxer.

Least enjoyable?

Running. Running. Oh and running

Inspirations?

My brother Jed who is a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps, my sister Janelle and the general NYMMA lifestyle : )"

Ultimate goal(s)?

Win

 Signature move:

Right uppercut to the body followed by a cross to the head.