John “the Don” Caldone shines at ROC 82 – Recap and results
Photos by Angelo Carchesio
Ring of Combat held their annual December card last night at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, NJ. I was cageside with UFC veteran “Raging” Al Iaquinta and Professor Jay Regalbuto. If you were there, or enjoyed it on the free stream, you were treated to a bunch of highlight reel moments, and no-doubt-about-it finishes at ROC 82.
Main Event
John “the Don” Caldone capped the night off with a fade-away looping right hand KO that sent Estell to the canvas as he side-stepped a combination from his very game opponent, Darius Estell and landed viciously. Caldone was crowned the lightweight (155lb) champion and said to me after the fight…
This was fun fighting for a belt for the first time. I’m ready to come back and go for the 145 lb title and be a double division champ.
The Don brings some personality to go along with his beautiful array of strikes, which were on display all fight. We saw multiple varieties of kicks land and spinning backfists and elbows. Estell never stopped coming forward and shared in the leg kicks that did damage to both fighters. His right hand also found a home a few times, but Caldone was not to be denied on this night and now has won 5 on a row moving to 6-1. Caldone is the kind of fighter that the next level is looking for. He is definitely approaching there, especially if his coaches at Long Island MMA have anything to say about it.
Caldone winner via KO R2 1:43
Co-Main Event
Sergio DeBari brought his jiu jitsu with him and was masterful through the first round controlling position. Taylor Pierce did have some success early on with his stand-up, but DeBari was in making it his kind of fight. In the second round, Pierce fought off several choke attempts, until Sergio caught the head and arm triangle to get the tapout in the 145 lb weightclass.
DeBari winner via submission (head and arm triangle)
Main card
Christopher “Big Nog” Guariglia earned the TKO victory after Titus Moore couldn’t answer the bell for the third round due to an injured shoulder. We could see Moore favoring the shoulder after round 1 and thought he may not even make the second round, but he’s a warrior and fought through the round before his injury stopped him. Guariglia fights like a mountain lion. He clings on and doesn’t want to let go. He may have caused the injury with his tenacious grappling in the first round. Guariglia now has 3 wins in a row and is looking like a worthy competitor in the lightweight division.
Guariglia winner via TKO Dr Stoppage R2
Ibrahim Simreen (155 lbs) made his professional cage debut and couldn’t have been more impressive. Simreen has dangerous grappling skills and took on a 2-0 Brendan Hyde. Hyde will surely attest to that as Simreen looked solid on the feet, but why mess with success? He scored takedowns and controlled most of the action, mounting his opponent several times. He got the finish with a head and arm triangle.
Simreen Winner via submission (head and arm triangle) R3 1:54
John O’Dea (145 lbs) got his first win as a pro as his striking was on full display from the opening bell. Calero is tough as nails and had some of his own moments but couldn’t find any sustained success in his takedown attempts. O’Dea was relentless and has some momentum after stomping out of the corner for round 2 and emphatically finishing Steve Calero with several combinations that went unanswered.
O’Dea Winner via TKO (strikes) R2 :37
Anybody who buys a ticket from Ben Coyle, is going to get their money’s worth. He comes to the cage to seek and destroy every time. Last night, he brought the violence as his hands proved to be the difference makers. He landed multiple significant head strikes before finishing with your basic 1-2 loaded with angriness. Hector Iglesias got overwhelmed and although he recovered a couple of times, he couldn’t withstand the pursuit. The flyweight division has some exciting talent.
Coyle winner via TKO referee stoppage R1 1:54
Haseeb Khetab immediately went to work after the touching of the gloves. Justice Harris with some nice change of level early on, but Khetab lands a flurry of strikes that forces Harris to cover up and gets the referee stoppage. The Brian Beaury Jiu Jitsu fighter grabbed his first career victory (1-2). More flyweight talent incoming.
Khetab winner via TKO referee stoppage R1 :51
