Ring of Combat, brought to you by Louis Neglia, has always put on cards stacked with the best regional talent. The numbers tell the story as more than 115 fighters have gone onto the bright lights of the UFC after earning victories in the cage at the Tropicana of Atlantic City, NJ.
This Friday night, June 2, ROC 59 boasts five title bouts as UFC President Dana White will be in attendance filming for his show ‘Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight.” There are several candidates on this card who could or maybe should have already gotten the call.
Here is a look at the entire Ring of Combat 59 fight card:
Main Event…Heavyweight championship Shelton “the Gravedigger” Graves (5-3) vs “Brutal” Brendan Barrett (10-6-1)
This is a rematch from ROC 56 where Graves beat the defending champion when the referee stopped the fight in the third round and declared a TKO. Barrett was not happy as he thought it was premature and he didn’t suffer much damage. I was cageside for this battle and I agree that it was a questionable stoppage in what was a very close fight. ‘BBB’ has been very vocal about getting this rematch and he now gets his wish against a very savvy and talented Gravedigger. Graves is a master at using his body for leverage to dictate the pace of the fight. Barrett must try to keep some distance and use his boxing to his advantage. Barrett has several pro boxing fights on his resume and has an advantage in the stand-up game. This should be a hotly contested fight, but with the big boys, one punch could end it.
Co-Main Event…145lb championship Julio Arce (11-2) vs Tim Dooling (6-2)
Dooling took this fight on about four weeks notice after Pat Sabatini had to withdraw from the fight. “The Jaguar” has won five fights in a row and is on a roll. He is coached by Dante’ Rivera, who is a brilliant strategist and studies the fight game as well as anyone. He will have to come up with an effective game plan as his opponent, Julio Arce is as good as it gets. Arce is the former 135 lb ROC champ. After losing the title and a rematch to newly signed UFC fighter, Brian “Boom” Kelleher, Arce decided to fight at 145 and not cut as much weight. The move has been terrific for the Tiger Schulmann product as he won the belt from Frankie Buenafuente and then defended it in a rematch. Arce, a crafty southpaw, is a former Golden Gloves champ and has diligently worked on his takedown defense and become a prime prospect for the UFC. I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t joined teammates Jimmie Rivera and Shane Burgos on the big stage yet. Performing live in front of White, there may be no denying him if he is impressive once again.
170 lb championship… Sidney ‘da Gun” Outlaw (7-3) vs James Rumley (3-3)
Outlaw was a grappling machine in winning his title against a very athletic and dangerous Taj Abdul-Hakim at ROC 58. Sidney could probably cut to 155 lbs but took the title fight and was dominant. He now defends his belt against James Rumley who has finished his opponent in all 3 of his wins. Two by KO and one by submission.
135 lb championship… Merab Dvalishvili (6-2) vs Raufeon Stots (8-0)
I call Merab the 135 lb version of Khabib Nurmogamedov. His grappling has been unstoppable as he has strung together 5 consecutive wins in dominating fashion. He has steadily improved his all around game, but when you are so strong in one area, there is no reason to go away from it. Throws, slams, take-downs and ground and pound have gotten him to this point and now he faces probably his toughest opponent to date. Stots is no stranger to championship belts as he won the VFC championship in his last fight in April to remain undefeated at a very crisp 8-0 including a victory over Jeff Curran. This could be fight of the night.
135 lb championship… Brandon Urquijo (2-0) vs William Elliot (2-0)
Urquijo is coming out of Brooklyn Mixed Martial Arts coached by Terry Gold . Brooklyn MMA has put together a very nice team led by Gold and he has several fighters who are considered blue chip prospects. I love what he has going on there. Brandon is one of his blue chippers. He is a chiseled 135 lbs of excitement and fights with a purpose. His opponent is William Elliot who is also 2-0 and has a 9 second KO and an 18 second KO, in his only two professional fights. I’m not sure you can be any more dominant than that after two fights. He is the 8th ranked flyweight according to Tapology. This has the makings of a war. Both guys have next level skills.
Other fights on the card:
Michael Trizano vs. Eddie Lenoci 155 lbs
Wendell Sneed vs. Tajuddin Abdul-hakim 170 lbs
Tevin Cooke vs. Paul Grant 155 lbs
Edwin Smart vs. Chris Stanton Heavyweight
James Gonzalez vs. Michael Lawrence 155 lbs
'Beautiful' Bob Meloni
More than 15 years experience in the PA/NJ regional MMA circuit. Commentator/post fight interviews/pre-fight show host @ Art of War Cage Fighting and Ring of Combat
The story of the fighter is what Bob loves about the sport. From the lowest level, to the highest, he only cares about the two warriors who do battle once the cage doors close. Everything else is secondary. Without their blood, sweat, and tears, he would not be here enjoying every minute.
