By Ted Czech on June 27, 2011 – YorkBlog.com
Since MMA was legalized in Pennsylvania more than two years ago, promoters Maury Nehme and Chris Coyne have built Cage Fight into one of the premier oranizations in the state, indeed, on the east coast. With shows that consistently draw more than 2,500 fans — and with their last two events having televised main cards on MyNetworkTV — Cage Fight is clearly a proving ground for the major leagues.
Arriving in Scranton on Friday, I noticed a few changes. First of all, there was the venue. The past few Cage Fight cards have been held at The Icebox, but Cage Fight 8 was at the nearby Riverfront Sports Complex. In addition, Doug All Nite Long, the area’s best sound and light man, must’ve really stepped up his game, because my ears were ringing from the decibel-blasting music. Plus, he had tons of dry ice, so I felt like I was at a rock concert.
One criticism I heard Friday was that there were a lot of decisions on the card. And I thought that at first too, but now my feeling is, if you have two guys who are matched up right, and they give it their all, sometimes they’re so close in skill level they cancel each other out — that is, neither one can finish the other. That should be a sign of good matchmaking, right? Sometimes the best fights are those that create drama, where fighters are battling back and forth, one gets the upper hand, then the tide turns. That’s where Fran Evans comes in. He runs his own shows in Philly, under the Locked in the Cage banner, and also takes care of matchmaking for Maury and Chris.
Onto the fights, two guys who had huge fan followings — besides Dave “Morgan-mania” Morgan, were Ian Brofsky and Mark Bisignani. Brofsky had a ton of people wearing red, black and white Tri-State MMA/BJJ t-shirts, while Bisignani’s crowd had yellow T-shirts and a sign that said something about taking care of “Biz-ness.”
Two guys with whom I was really impressed — who I had not seen before — were Brofsky for his slick submission game, and Dave Spadell Jr., who’s got some fast, heavy hands, and knows how to use ‘em.
The academy that had the most students on the card was probably Gracie NEPA. Head MMA trainer Jeff Reese was there in support of all his guys, and practically yelled himself hoarse giving out instructions during the fights.
Two guys who were at one point on the card — but whose opponents pulled out for one reason or another — were Richard Patishnock and Martin Wojnarowski. Another scrapped fight I was interested in seeing was Don Cioffi Jr. vs. Bill Bookwalter. Maybe Fran can put it together for Cage Fight 9.
I also ran into some other guys there: Mike Malast, of MMA Melee and also MASS, his promotion, which has its first show July 16, James “Humble Pie” Cianci, who is fighting on the MASS card, and also Gary Cook of Reprizent Fightwear, who regularly sponsors fighters and was taking photos that night.
There weren’t any KOs or TKOs that night, but a few good knock-downs, and some awesome submissions, especially in the main card, where Scott Heckman used a north-south choke and Joel Roberts used a toe-hold (or ankle-lock) to win.
So keep it tuned here for the latest Cage Fight news — as soon as I know something about the next card, I’ll pass it along.
