Tag Archives: Matt Brown

mixed martial arts, RFA

RFA RETURNS TO NEBRASKA WITH SMITH vs. JARDINE

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                                          MAIN EVENT:
ANTHONY “LIONHEART” SMITH vs. 
BROCK  “THE MACHINE” JARDINE
MIDDLEWEIGHT SHOWDOWN
CO-MAIN EVENT:
RYAN “ARE YOU READY” ROBERTS vs. 
ADAM “PRIME TIME” TOWNSEND
FEATHERWEIGHT WAR
BANTAMWEIGHT FEATURE FIGHT:
DARRICK MINNER vs. MATT BROWN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH LIVE ON AXS TV
LIVE at the Pinnacale Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska
 
Tickets on Sale Now at Ticketmaster.com 
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) president Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will return home to its roots in Nebraska with RFA 30 in September. The promotion hosted its first show in the “Cornhusker State” in December 2011 and has since promoted MMA events in 13 states across 3 time zones. RFA 30 will take place Friday, September 18th inside the state-of-the-art Pinnacle Bank Arena located in the state’s capital city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The entire main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.

“RFA started in Nebraska and I’m excited to see Anthony Smith and Brock Jardine add to our history in the Cornhusker State,” stated Soares. “These are two surging UFC vets that are about to collide in a fantastic main event at RFA 30.”
Tickets for RFA 30 are available now through Ticketmaster.com. You can also support your favorite fighter buy purchasing your tickets through CageTix.com.
Smith (22-11) is currently enjoying a career resurgence that has left his last five opponents reeling and looking for answers. Smith, who is a native of Nebraska City, Nebraska, quickly rose to prominence in mixed martial arts. Widely known for his no-nonsense approach to fighting, Smith racked up win-after-win and soon found himself a veteran of the UFC, Strikeforce, and Bellator by the time he was 25-years-old. However, it wasn’t until he turned 25 that he feels that he was finally able to close all the gaps in his MMA game. That turning point in his career has contributed directly to his recent winning streak heading into RFA 30 and he is excited about showcasing his new form back in the city where he made his professional MMA debut in 2008.

“I’m super pumped about headlining RFA 30 in front of my fans in Nebraska,” stated Smith. “I don’t know any fighters with my kind of support system. You can’t beat 3,000 people. That noise is pretty much a third man in the cage and no one is beating me in Nebraska. I grew up in Nebraska City, I live in Omaha, and I made my pro debut in Lincoln. My fans in all three cities will be there to see me win in devastating fashion on September 18th.”

Jardine (12-5) is currently enjoying a career resurgence of his own, now that he is back competing as a middleweight, where he has never lost.  Jardine, who competed twice for the UFC as welterweight, holds a career record of 7-0 at 185-pounds. That includes wins in his last three fights, which have all taken place in headliners in his home state of Utah this year. Jardine credits his head coach Rob Handley at Absolute MMA in West Jordan, Utah for his recent win streak at middleweight and looks to parlay that run into a career defining victory at RFA 30, which he sees as his golden ticket back to the UFC.

“I’m very excited to be a part of a great organization like the RFA,” Jardine exclaimed. “Everyone knows what the RFA is all about, developing top prospects and getting UFC vets back to the big show. This will be a great fight for the fans, where the winner could very easily punch their ticket back to the UFC. That’s exactly what I plan on doing at RFA 30.”
The co-main event of RFA 30 also features a local favorite, who is looking to get back to the UFC. That would be Ryan “Are You Ready” Roberts (21-10-1), who like Smith, is also riding the momentum of a five-fight win streak. Roberts most recent outing was his most impressive fight during this run. He stopped fellow UFC vet Junior Hernandez via TKO in the first round of a regional title fight. Roberts is now looking to stick to his winning ways in his RFA debut.
“I’m honored to be fighting as the co-main event in the RFA,” stated Roberts. “I believe I am one of the top featherweights on the roster and will be able to prove that by finishing a tough RFA vet, who is on a roll fighting out of Tennessee. Being able to fight in Lincoln will allow a lot of my fans, friends, and family to make the short trip and liven up the Pinnacle Bank Arena. I can’t wait to finish this fight with the crowd roaring live on AXS TV.”

Traveling into enemy territory to lock horns with Roberts will be one of the more affable and entertaining fighters in the sport. That would be none other than Adam “Prime Time” Townsend (13-3), who will be dropping down to featherweight for this fight. The high-octane Tennessean made his RFA debut at lightweight in May, as a part of the RFA team that defeated a team of Legacy fighters in the historic promotion vs. promotion event that took place in Robinsonville, Mississippi. The flamboyant Townsend, now looks to reassert himself against his fellow RFA fighters.

“I’m excited about coming to someone else’s hometown and whooping them in front of their fans,” Townsend exclaimed. “Honestly, I’m too big and fast for him. I’m easily the best fighter he has ever faced. I’m surprised he even accepted the fight. He’s probably going to back out of the fight once he starts watching tape on me.”
The feature fight at RFA 30 will mark the return of one of Smith’s lifelong friends from Nebraska City. That would be Darrick Minner, who will be making his fifth appearance inside the RFA octagon. Minner has gotten his hand raised in three RFA fights, which includes a win over Marvin Blumer at RFA 24 this past March. That win was a dominant career-defining moment in the young fighter’s career that has many wondering how far he can ascend in this sport. The man eager to test Minner’s potential is a man who has been making his own star glow brighter by defeating highly-touted prospects in his first two RFA fights. That would be Matt Brown (10-4), who has a fighting style eerily reminiscent to the UFC welterweight star who shares the same name.
Also scheduled to return to the RFA octagon on the main card of RFA 30 are former RFA lightweight title challenger Zach Juusola (10-3), four-time RFA vet Dan Moret (8-2), and former University of Nebraska wrestler James Nakashima (3-0). Juusola will face Nebraska native Robert Rojas (10-4) at lightweight, Moret welcomes undefeated Grand Dawson (7-0) at featherweight, and Nakashima will tussle with fellow undefeated welterweight prospect Chance Recountre (7-0).
The RFA 30 preliminary card and further information regarding this event will be announced soon. RFA 30 will be the promotion’s sixth event to take place in Nebraska since its inception in 2011. The entire main card of RFA 30 will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Friday, September 18th.
Please visit RFAfighting.com for bout updates and information. RFA is also on Facebook at Facebook.com/RFAfighting, Instagram at @RFAfighting, and Twitter at @RFAfighting.
mixed martial arts, UFC, women's MMA

UFC 185: It’s Showtime!

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Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports

Despite the turmoil experienced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship so far this year, from the failed drug tests of stars like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, to the reshuffling of UFC 184 because of an injury to middleweight champion Chris Weidman, the company has delivered in the Octagon so far this year. Despite Weidman’s injury, UFC 184 was still a smashing success thanks to another dominant performance by women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

Now UFC 185 is here, with another stacked card that should entertain once again. This card is anchored by TWO title fights, taking fans back to a time when the UFC would routinely offer stacked fight cards before rapid expansion under their deal with FOX apparently created an oversaturated product.

Here’s who I think emerges victorious on this talent-filled card.

Chris “Kamikaze” Cariaso (17-6) vs. Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo (7-0) (Flyweight – 125 lbs.)

Cariaso is coming off a submission loss to flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson last summer. But to be fair, everyone is losing to Johnson these days, and he’s close to cleaning out the flyweight division. Cejudo has yet to experience defeat and enjoyed a unanimous decision victory in his UFC debut late last year.

Cariaso has been a UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) veteran for the last five years and rode a 3-fight win streak prior to his loss to Johnson. Cejudo is a young pup trying to make a name for himself in the UFC, but Cariaso will use his veteran savvy to catch the overeager fighter for a finish.

Winner: Cariaso by second-round TKO

Roy “Big Country” Nelson (21-10) vs. Alistair “The Reem” Overeem (38-14-1) (Heavyweight – 225 lbs.)

I’ll admit up front that I’m not a big Roy Nelson fan. He’s a talented fighter who delivers exciting fights and is an entertaining personality. But ever since he debuted in the UFC and won season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” he feasted on lower-ranked heavyweights like Stefan Struve, Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione. But when matched up with elite heavyweights like Fabricio Werdum, Junior Dos Santos and Daniel Cormier (before he dropped to light heavyweight), Nelson was routinely outclassed and battered.

Overeem has also failed to live up to the hype that came with his jump to the UFC. After he demolished Brock Lesnar in 2011, a title shot was in the works against then-champion Junior Dos Santos. But the fight never materialized due to injuries and Overeem suffered back-to-back knockout losses to Antonio Silva and Travis Browne.

Overeem has alternated wins and losses since then but is coming off a first-round knockout of Struve. Nelson was knocked out in his last fight against Mark Hunt, which despite Nelson’s usually iron chin, does not come as a shock, given Hunt’s incredible punching power.
Overeem may not have Hunt’s power, but I think he will batter Nelson for a rather lopsided decision victory. At this stage in his career, Nelson is a gatekeeper. But “The Reem” doesn’t need to prove himself against a brawler like Nelson.

Winner: Overeem by unanimous decision

Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks (16-3) vs. Matt “The Immortal” Brown (21-12) (Welterweight – 170 lbs.)

Speaking of brawling and battering, this fight has all the makings of a Fight of the Year candidate. Hendricks dropped the welterweight title to Robbie Lawler last year and should he win this fight, a rematch with Lawler is all but assured – assuming Lawler gets past Rory McDonald later this year.

Brown also lost to Lawler in his last fight and was also on the receiving end of a brutal beating. Hendricks and Brown tend to just slug it out and ask questions later, which should result in an entertaining fight for the fans. Hendricks seems to have renewed his commitment to MMA following his loss to Lawler and he seems driven to get his belt back. Brown is as game as they come, but Hendricks will prove to be too much.

Winner: Hendricks by second-round TKO

Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza (11-2) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (8-0) (Women’s Strawweight Title – 115 lbs.)

Esparza made her UFC debut with a bang by winning the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” to feature all female fighters, and in the process become the UFC’s first women’s strawweight champion. She effectively derailed the Rose Namajunas hype train to win the belt, when some were dubbing Namajunas the next Ronda Rousey in the strawweight division.

Jedrzejczyk derailed a favorite in her own right, defeating highly regarded Claudia Gadelha last year by a close decision when many thought Gadelha would be Esparza’s first title defense. Jedrzejczyk is a grinder who thrives in an ugly fight in close quarters. Esparza used her wrestling to neutralize Namajunas’ quick-striking offense, so getting into an ugly fight with Jedrzejczyk shouldn’t faze Esparza one bit. Esparza will take Jedrzejczyk down early and often and ride her wrestling to a decision victory.

Winner: Esparza by unanimous decision

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (18-2) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (23-7) (Lightweight Title – 155 lbs.)

Pettis has been absolutely dominant as of late, not only winning the lightweight title from Benson Henderson in quick and exciting fashion with a first-round armbar but routinely displaying his amazing athleticism and using it to quickly shoot himself up the best pound-for-pound fighter list.

But Dos Anjos is not to be taken lightly. He too finished Henderson in the first round and earned his title shot by absolutely dismantling Nate Diaz late last year. Dos Anjos is tough and will know that Pettis is looking for a quick finish. He won’t get it, but Pettis’ freakish athleticism will make its presence felt eventually and overcome Dos Anjos and solidify Pettis’ case as one of the best lightweight fighters of all time.

Winner: Pettis by second-round submission

Chris Huntemann writes about mixed martial arts in the state of Maryland. He also shares his thoughts on the UFC, Bellator, and World Series of Fighting. Check out his blog, or follow him on Twitter: @mmamaryland.