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Dept. of Ass Kicking: MMA tonight in South Philly
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Dept. of Ass Kicking: MMA tonight in South Philly
Matrix Fights, organized by the Migliarese Brothers of Balance Studios and Jimmy Binns Jr., will host its first card this Saturday night. Headlining: Daddis Fight Camp muay thai trainer Matt Makowski who takes on Levon Maynard of Virginia Beach, VA. But the late addition of Brock Lesner’s training partner Cole Konrad to the card raises the stakes significantly.
This event is important for a couple of reasons, aside from the fact that any quality fight within city limits maintains Philly’s momentum towards a valid local MMA scene. It has the unique distinction of pulling a real fight venue —The Arena, formally the New Alhambra, which regularly host boxing and muay thai matches as well as pro-wrestling (which we degrade in high-brow manor with an italicized pro). The card will garner national and possibly international attention because of Konrad's addition to the lineup. The No. 1 unsigned MMA prospect is a lock (baring a spectacular chumping or doping conviction) to move on to more notable promotions (Bellator and Dream have been mentioned). He’ll be fighting Brazilian jiu jitsu purple belt Joel Wyatt. This will give Matrix some claim as a local launching pad, although Konrad is neither local — he fights out of Minnesota, and this is his second fight — he made his pro debut in North Dakota in January. Regardless, developing new talent for higher profile promotions is something many local organizers claim as their role in this still murky middle-world of local MMA. If Brock Lesner shows up to the event, as he did at Konrad’s debut, you can bet Matrix will be on the national radar, representing Philadelphia MMA.
Matrix doesnÂ’t have their distinction yet and still needs to put the show together with professional execution. The risk of having all their attention hobbled by low-rent antics or wise-guy shenanigans- something the local scene has been conspicuously absent of- is still very real.
The event offers some generous pre and post-fight activities. The weighins and press conference will be a free event tonight at Zee Bar, Front and Spring Garden Streets, from 7 to 9 p.m. And the after party will get a little blue at Delilah’s, next to Zee Bar at Front and Spring Garden Streets, Saturday night from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.(show your Matrix ticket for free admission).
The fights go down at The Arena, 7 West Ritner Street. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; fights start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at the door, $35-$40.
Here is the full card, with links to the fighters official MixedMartialArts.com statistics:
Matt Makowski vs Levon Maynard
Joel Wyatt vs Cole Konrad
Aaron Meisner vs Francios Ambang
Will Martinez, Jr. vs Mitch Lyons
Julio Rosario vs Steven Baker
Aaron Hicks vs Jimmy Cerra
Luis Vasquez vs Nah-Shon Burrell
Daniel Matala vs Michael Piekarski
Joe Difranco vs Ryan Gunning
Matthew Friedeborn vs Mike Manion
I disagree that Kole Conrad is a top prospect. He's 1-0 as a pro with no amateur record, and nobody knew who he was in MMA until a couple weeks ago when he made his debut. I also don't think we'll see him in Bellator, just because Bellator doesn't run a heavyweight tournament. But with the serious lack of competition in the 265 division outside of Strikeforce/UFC,he's definitely in a position to gobble up some titles in the smaller promotions. Especially if he can tell promoters that he's bringing Brock out to corner for him.
Bellator gobbled up Konrad. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/mma/post/2010/02/bellator-beefs-up-heavyweight-ranks-with-wrestling-champ-konrad/1
Yeah, I feel really silly now. But honestly, Conrad didn't impress me too terribly much. I wouldn't put him up there with Ricardo Romero yet. I mean he's only got two fights with no amateur experience. If he wasn't connected to Brock Lesnar, we wouldn't know him out here.
It's too bad the event came off as totally racist. Both black fighters won their fights (with one of them DOMINATING - Maynard whooped Makowski) and lost decisions. If they don't clean up their acts, black fighters will get the word to not appear at Matrix events in S. Philly where they cant get a fair shake.
Bill. Matrix has ZERO control over judging and officiating. So please don't tie the name of the promoter to scoring. Its the PSAC. This is what I hate about "MMA fans", no clue what's going on. The State Athletic Commission assigns judges, referees and inspectors. If you have a problem with the way it was scored, talk to Greg Sirb, and DO NOT blame the promoters.
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