Itso and Drago shine at Ring of Combat 83 – Full results
Ring of Combat 83 was held on Friday, March 1 at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Complete results of the card below.
Itso Babulaidze hasn’t earned a nickname yet, but let’s just call him Itso because it’s unique just like he is. The Georgian came to the U.S. five years ago and is doing what many people would say is impossible. With no combat sports training in his past, he dove headfirst into coach John Marquez office and started soaking up every bit of knowledge and putting in relentless work. Last night he proved that he is not just a phenomenal grappler but has way more to his game.
After winning the ROC 170lb title in his last fight of 2023, he started off 2024 defending that title against Josh Jackson, who was 8-3 and coming off of 3 straight violent finishes. Before the fight, I sat in their dressing /warmup room and asked John about the progression of Itso’s striking. Everyone already knew that he’s a straight savage once he gets his hands on you. Marquez told me that Itso never stops working on his craft, and while his technique is a work in progress, he has a lot of power that we haven’t seen in the cage.
That ended last night at Ring of Combat 83 when he defended his championship with a 17 second TKO. It’s not really a question to me if he will make the UFC, but rather when he will get the opportunity. 5 fights may not be enough to get the call, but no doubt that many of his teammates, who are already on the UFC roster, are telling Sean Shelby and Dana White about Itso. He may get a shot on this year’s Contender Series, and if not, we will gladly have him back again to keep shining. There is something special about Itso.
Jimmy Drago is so fun to watch. The technical part of his game and his fight IQ are off the charts. That makes him even more dangerous as he is also a vicious competitor and very talented. The welterweight impressed last night as he finished an undefeated (4-0 4 KOs) Myles Robinson 35 seconds into round 2. Drago barely was touched in round one as his masterful gameplan brewed. Drago started early and often on damaging his opponents front leg and was first in almost every exchange. It was a brilliant performance and moved Drago to 5-2. His family at Local 40 were loud and had the Tropicana rocking with constant chants.
Roman Kurishvili captured the 145 lb title as he scored a unanimous decision over John “the Don” Caldone. It was Kurishvili’s first fight at 145 after fighting exclusively at 155. I thought the fight was very close and we could see a rematch.
Ashiek Ajim and Nodir Alididov (135 LB) went toe to toe for the full 15 minutes. This was the US debut for Nodir as he has come over from Tajikistan with a 4-4 record. Ajim did not give him a warm welcome as he took home the split decision victory.
Justin “Kid Marvelous” Montalvo is a beautiful striker and used those hands to pound the body and earn a hard-fought win and unanimous decision over Brett “the American Nomad” Pastore. Montalvo moves to 6-2 and has faced nothing but great competition as the Bellator vet throws his name in there for a possible title shot at lightweight.
My commentating partner “Raging” Al Iaquinta noticed early on that Billy Markle had his right hand a little too low as Austin “the Assassin” Coleman was finding a home with his left hook. Less than 20 seconds later, Coleman landed a huge hook that knocked Markle to the ground and Coleman moved in for the finish just 1:06 into the contest at 140 lbs.
John “All Day” O’Dea and Harley Locklear treated the audience to an intense 3 round slugfest. Locklear despite the loss, was very solid in his pro debut as O’Dea moved to 2-1. I’d pay to watch either of these guys fight. Two entertaining featherweights.
Chris “Big Nog” Guariglia went the distance with Brendan Hyde and earn the unanimous decision win at 155 lbs. Guariglia’s style is to smother his opponent and he does it well. Chris is now 4-2 and is getting better every fight.
Jonathan “The Mexicutioner” Alvarez and Ronald Barone (155 lb) was a wild one. Alvarez threw tons of strikes and landed with many of them. Barone was cut above his eyelid but that did not stop him from continuing and showing tons of heart as Alvarez kept firing away. Alvarez got unanimous decision and Barone earned a lot of new fans, including myself.
Ahmed Khamis and Cole Cameron (140 lb) beat each other up for the full 15 minutes. Coleman’s grappling in the first round was impressive, but Khamis weathered the storm and came back to grab the final 2 rounds and get the unanimous decision.
Marcus Reid and Ty Mees (135 lb) started the night off and had Professor Jay Regalbuto glowing with some high-level grappling exchanges, submission attempts and defense. Reid, a Matt Serra blue belt, is a unique character. It’s very easy to see that he is having fun and enjoying what he does. Marcus earned the win in his pro debut as the split decision landed in his favor.
Overall this was a tremendous fight card. Wonderful matchmaking by Frankie Perez and Louis Neglia Jr. Looking forward to fight announcements and their next fight card June 7th
