Scott Heckman, Azunna Anyanwu and Albert Alvarez win at Locked in the Cage 7,as the local MMA scene moves... onward and upward?
Monday, February 14, 2011 at 12:07AM Charles Cieri 
The market swells
The National Guard Armory in Northeast Philly was packed with over 2000 people for Locked in the Cage 7(LITC7) Friday night. This marks the second consecutive show to fill the enormous room (following LITC 6, which surged the local MMA scene forward with the biggest crowd to date- 2,280). Previous events hovered around 1200-1500 people, so for the LITC team to add consistency to their achievement is a huge success for them and for the local scene.
The crowd also seemed to be of a particular variety. They showed up early - the place was filled by the third amateur fight - and stayed until the end. This may sound normal to the uninitiated but it isn t. MMA shows have been surviving on the ability of individual fighters to sell tickets to their individual fans, this is evident as sections of the bleachers erupt for certain fights and clear out after the decision is read. This not being the case for LITC 7, and to a lesser extent LITC 6, shows that the fan base (read:financial base) of the local scene is broadening. In short, the mass market is being tapped.
And the show came off pretty smooth, the LITC team continues the push to match the quantity of their shows with quality of video and audio production and this was another crucial step in the right direction.
Here is the recap of the action, check back in at the end to be snapped out of this lovefest and into a pretty sobering take-away.
The Amateurs
Justin Wagner (0-1) Shaddock MMA v Randy Courtney (1-0) 302 BJJ
In a double debut, 302 BJJ product Courtney overwhelmed Wagner who spent the whole fight on his heels until tapping to a rear naked choke in the second round. Wagner has the aggression of someone who shares a mat with Jimmy Adkins and Tim Williams, as we’d expect, he needs an opponent who won’t blink so we can see what else he has.
William MIller (1-0) Shaddock MMA v Adrian Luna (1-1) Elite Tactical MA
In a pretty close back and forth fight, Luna came close to finishing in the first and third rounds with tight armbars. However, he spent most of the fight accepting punishment in exchange for mildly threatening and ultimately unsuccessful positions. Miller gets his first win via decision.
Nolan Wiser (2-1) Tiger Schulmann's MMA v Kyle Nicholson (1-0) Shaddock MMA
Both fighters came out on the head hunt but Nicholson was able to string two punches together and started backing down Wiser who recovered well by shooting and scooping up Nicholson for a slam. He lost his control on the ground however and Nicholson worked to the back, came up with a rear naked choke and sunk it in for the tap.
Pat Macke ( 6-2) Rocco MMA v John Michael Holland (3-3) Tiger Schulmann's MMA
Both fighters looked pretty even on the feet but Macke made a smart move to push the fight to the floor were he was able earn the decision victory. Holland wasn’t overwhelmed and made a good showing on the ground for Tiger Schulmann’s MMA (they’re still stinging from the weak ground performance of their flagship fighter Lyman Good at Bellator 33). Holland even forced Macke to wager his elbow ligaments in a desperation escape from a very tight armbar in the second round.
Matt Friedenborn (6-1) Daddis FC v Noel Arcibal (2-2) Elite Tactical MA
Photo courtesy of Pinball
Lawrenceville’s Friedenborn takes the decision without much trouble. He had too much depth on the ground and too much reach on the feet. At points Arcible looked to be developing a counter punch flow but it was short lived as he quickly fell into being tentative and not reacting on time or standing too stiff and upright- easy prey for the takedown.
Look for a pretty even fight between Macke and Friedenborn April 22nd at Matrix Fights 4.
Dan Matala, Daddis FC (4-2) v Daniel Carbonel (3-6) LA Boxing
Carbonel was able to overcome Matala s reach advantage with low leg kicks and kept an edge in the back and forth striking throughout the fight. But, in the end, Matala was able to get enough back with his own strikes; clinch control and take downs put him over on the score cards to get the decision.
Photo courtesy of Pinball
Albert Alvarez (2-0) Philadelphia Fight Factory v Roy Smith (0-2) Team Combat VA
Alvarez came in with all types of pro-looking head movement and foot work but we only got to see seven seconds of it as he nails Smith with two lefts, sending him unconscious to the mat.
More on this fight in the take-away.
The Pros
Hector Pacheco (1-3) Balance Studios v Steven Baker (1-4) DE Combat Sports
This one will need some video evidence to confirm the legality of it. Pacheco mauls Baker and KO’s him with a knee to the head. Baker was close to the ground but ref Keith Peterson ruled it a legal strike so until any video shows otherwise, that’s the call.
Azunna Anyanwu (2-0) Daddis FC v Corey Mullis (0-3) Razzano Academy
Photo courtesy of Pinball
Anyanwu is, like Alvarez, one of the brightest prospects to come out of Philly since PA sanctioned the sport in 2009. And, again like Alvarez, we didn’t get much time for him to showcase. He came out with a lot of movement and caught Mullis’ first kick attempt and countered with strikes. Mullis showed his size and strength in clinching and walking Anyanwu to the other side of the cage. Anyanwu broke free and reentered with a barrage of shots, the vast majority connected. Mullis was literally KO’d, revived and KO’d again by consecutive punches. The last shot sent him crumpling to the floor, ending the fight shortly after the minute mark in the first round.
Eric Purcell (1-4) The Tenth Round v Lamont Lister (7-10) 360 Jiu Jitsu
Photo courtesy of Pinball
Purcell losses a tough decision to Lister who spent nice chunks of time hanging on while Purcell keep pace the whole fight. This included more then a few minutes in the first round where Lister was mounted and simply bear-hugged Purcell who repeatedly chest slammed his opponent's head but couldn't dislodge him.
Lister spent another stretch in Purcell's guard where he was content to bury his head and only pop up every thirty seconds or so and throw heavy shots. To be fair one of these barrages penetrated Purcell s defenses. Lister also handled himself well on the feet and pounded Purcell in the turtle position for a stretch of time. In the end, the judges gave it to Lister.
Scott Heckman (5-1) Revolution Academy V Brian Jackson (3-1) Philadelphia FIght Factory
With the LITC 145 pound belt at stake as well as the WMMAC title on the line, both fighters came out extremely focused. Things almost ended early when Jackson grabbed an awkward anaconda choke that slide into something resembling an inverted head and arm triangle. Heckman would later admit that he temporally blacked out but he held on long enough for Jackson to blow his arms out and loose the grip. From there out, it was Heckman's fight. Jackson had tons of heart and ground defense to work his way back to the guard from positions that would have tapped most guys.
The Story of the fight is Heckman's smothering wrestling- he came close to finishing a few times while in half guard by walking his free leg high enough to trap an arm, leaving jackson s head unprotected for punches. But he also showed some boxing to open the second round by working his way in and stumbling Jackson with a combo.
In the third round, Heckman took the fight back to the ground after ducking a vicious high kick attempt from Jackson. Heckman locked onto a D'arce choke and after securing Jackson's legs maxed out the pressure and forced the tap.
The Take-Away
While the crowd left happy, they were some undertones that should be addressed. Paul Miles pointed out and other sources confirmed that there was anger generated by the Alvarez v Smith matchup. Commissioner Sirb was overheard yelling at Roy Smith for coming in unprepared. On a purely visual once over, Smith appeared to be an extremely strange matchup for the golden boy, Albert Alvarez and upon investigation, Smith's training and foreknowledge of his opponent are certainly questionable. After the jubilation of the KO, Alvarez himself seemed upset, although he could not be reached for comment.
Now, far be it for me to nitpick the matchup for a 1-0 amateur, I m certainly not going to do that. But I also can t ignore the fact that Sirb, Alvarez and Smith all seemed to walk away from this fight with sour faces. (It should be noted that Smith was proud and gracious in defeat, he took the fight on short notice following a cancelation and made no excuses, nor would anyone need to make an excuse for succumbing to a lighting quick left hand.)
So while this isn t an opportunity to place blame on anyone, it is an opportunity to address a major threat that our newly established scene faces.
While LITC 7 came close to matching the numbers of LITC 6 it didn’t match up in terms of competition. To be fair, this is mostly due to the local threshold being blown skyward by the amount of pure talent compiled for LITC 6. To expect an event like that to be duplicated in a two month turnaround is unrealistic.
The other major hindrance is the hype that now surrounds some of the local scene’s talent. Who the hell would be crazy enough to fight Azunna Anyanwu? What amateur could possibly feel confident enough to step to Albert Alvarez? He not only has unrestricted access to a top five lightweight in the world but could possibly get training time with Eddie’s contact list, which includes UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edger.
Having said that, local promoters are going to have to find a way, the gyms that feed into the circuit are going to have to let their fighters fight and the athletic commission is going to have triple check that this remains status quo. As crowds swell and profit begins to seep into the air, danger is abundant.
Protectionism threatens to suck the life out of the scene before it breaths free air. The temptation for promoters, gym owners and fighters themselves to protect against income- shattering losses will become crushing.
How is this threat best defended against? I have no idea; I'm sure much brighter scene watchers then myself have stood by helplessly. But keeping track of the health of the scene involves asking a fairly simple question- how competitive are the fights? Fortunately the greatest asset of this local scene is the talent pool and if the competition level can be maintained then that talent can challenge and feed on itself. If this happens, good fights will not only be abundant for fans, but they ll be cheap for promoters.
It would seem doing anything other then this will simply tamp down talent and drive up cost.
Photo courtesy of Pinball
Check back throughout the week for updates, fight video and video interviews.
Charles Cieri
PA to investigate Pacheco victory from LITC 7
According to Yorkblog.com, State Commissioner Greg Sirb is investigating tape of Pacheco v Baker in which Pacheco, a Balance Studios product, wins his first fight via first round KO. The knee that Pacheco used to KO Baker is what’s in question here. And, from this video, it looks like an easy call- Pacheco definitely threw the strike while Baker had his knee on the ground, which would make it an illegal knee to a downed opponent.
Stay tuned to see if ref Keith Keith Petterson missed the call, or if there is some other consideration we are missing here.
Fight starts at 1:15, the knee comes in at about 2:15
Charles Cieri
Video of Albert Alvarez' eight second KO of Roy Smith.
All about the level change according to Alvarez. This is from Sherdog's Keith Millis' interview:
“That is the first time I knocked anyone out,” Alvarez told Sherdog.com after his triumph. “I always flash-K.O. people, but nothing like that. Level-change works all day: level-change, drop your hands, come back over with that hook.”
And here is the video:
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