Regional MMA

After all the fight hype leading up to the show, the Score Fighting Series 5 delivered and then some from the Hamilton Place Theatre on Saturday night.

In the highlight of the show for me—and clearly the "Fight Of The Night" on a card that had some good bouts—Jesse "The Body Snatcher" Ronson showcased a brilliant striking game to defeat Alex Ricci via unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

Ronson was the sharper of the two from the get-go, and he knocked Ricci down with strong punches and kicks on multiple occasions in the fight. Ricci is highly skilled, as well, and despite the first loss of his career, he showed tremendous toughness and will. Ronson was technical as well as aggressive in his approach, and he is poised for bigger things in the very near future.

In the main event of the evening, hometown hero and undefeated bantamweight Josh "Gentleman" Hill dominated veteran Sarnia, Ontario native John Fraser in a fight that certainly wasn't as close as I thought it would be.

Hill got takedowns early in Rounds 1 and 2 after Fraser came in wild and tried to strike. Once on his back, Fraser had no answer for the strength and conditioning of Hill. Hill cut Fraser in the first round with a short elbow, and he rained down punches throughout the fight. Hill took the unanimous decision win 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

The UFC should be next for him if it is looking to showcase the best in the world.

The Score once again delivered a strong card of high-caliber Canadian talent, and most did not disappoint when the cage door closed behind them.

In other main card action, Milwaukee native and Duke Rufous-trained featherweight, Rick Glenn, took out Tristan Johnson with a solid all-around performance that included takedowns that Johnson was unable to answer. Glenn won via second-round TKO and then took the mic in the post fight and called out local Canadian favorite Chris "The Polish Hammer" Horodecki for a fight on the next show.

It was announced during the show that Horodecki will be fighting on the October SFS card in Sarnia.

Kyle Prepolec bounced back after a vicious low blow that almost ended his night to defeat the always-tough Jason Meisel. I had Prepolec up in the first round when a hard kick to the groin floored him for almost the full five minutes of allowed recovery time.

He then went on and submitted Meisel with a very impressive triangle choke from the guard. He moves to 5-1 in his pro career.

Many top fighters were in attendance either cornering or supporting other fighters: Ben Askren, Sam Stout, Chris Clements, Chris Horodecki, Antonio Carvalho, Mitch Gagnon, Sean Pierson and Claude Patrick were all in attendence. 

The rest of the results:

Elias Theodorou defeated Simon Marini via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Jason Saggo defeated Eric Attard via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:24 of Round 1

Ryan Dickson defeated Chris St. Jean via TKO at 2:42 of Round 1

Adam Assenza defeated Taylor Solomon via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Eric Montgomery defeated Frank Marques via TKO doctor stoppage at 4:20 of Round 1 

Jeff Sharkey defeated Robert Thomas via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter @wakafightermma

The Score Fighting Series is back in Ontario this weekend for its fifth show and it can boast that it has booked the best main and co-main event in the promotion's young history. The 12-fight card will be headlined by an elite bantamweight fight with major implications as John "Haggis Basher" Fraser (10-3) will put his status and experience to the test against undefeated young phenom Josh "Gentleman" Hill (8-0).

The 34-year-old Fraser has been at the top of the bantamweight food chain in both Ontario and Canada for many years now with victories over Thierry Quenneville, Eric Wilson, Chuck Mady and most recently Travis Reddinger. He brings an extremely well-rounded game to the cage with relentless submissions being his forte. Hill has burst on the scene and gone undefeated in eight fights since 2009. The 25-year-old out of Iron Muay Thai is a superior athlete with explosive speed and has taken out Randy Turner, Diego Wilson and Eric Wilson on his streak. Fraser is a step up from anyone that Hill, to date, has faced, and this fight will determine exactly where the young phenom fits in the pecking order at this stage of his career.

Before the main event gets started, fans will be in for a wild ride in the co-main as two of Canada's hottest and best strikers will come face-to-face in the lightweight division. London's Jesse "The Body Snatcher" Ronson (10-3) will put his skills to the test against Woodbridge native and elite kickboxer turned MMA fighter Alex Ricci (5-0). Ronson is  looking better than he ever has and has six knockouts in his 10 wins and only one win going to a decision. His performance last December against veteran Tony Hervey at SFS 3 is one of the best displays of technical striking I have ever seen.

It is very early in Ricci's MMA career, but he has an incredible amount of hype behind him right now, based on his dominant performances to date. I thought that he would be very tough in his last fight against Adrenaline Training Center tough guy Iraj Hadin, but Ricci knocked him out in just over three minutes. His speed and length are proving to be tough puzzles to solve, but Ronson is better than any fighter that Ricci has seen.

The rest of the card is packed and stacked with some of the best climbing fighters in Ontario such as Tristan Johnson, Will Romero, Jason Saggo, Ryan Dickson, Elias Theodorou, Kyle Prepolec, Lyndon Whitlock and Jason Miesel.

The Score will once again deliver a top notch show for fight fans in Ontario with many exciting and relevant fights. Hamilton Place Theatre should be raucous and rocking on Saturday night.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA, and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter @wakafightermma

Over the past several years Team Bombsquad has established itself as one of the top professional mixed martial arts camps in the entire northeast. Most famous as the original launching pad for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, the Bombsquad roster has been consistently placing fighters on UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, WEC and top-level regional cards for over half a decade.

All of this has been accomplished while based in the sleepy college town of Ithaca, N.Y., in the heart of a state that has still yet to sanction professional mixed martial arts. Fighting for the Bombsquad by definition means being a road warrior.

Head trainer Ryan Ciotoli once estimated to me that he travels 30-35 weekends a year with his fighters.

The Ithaca team will be on the road once more this Friday, August 24, when Bombsquad members and highly ranked prospects Evan Velez and Aljamain Sterling head to Atlantic City, N.J., to fight for the Caged Fury Fighting Championship flyweight and bantamweight titles, respectively.   

For Sterling (6-0), it will be the second defense of a belt he won last October when he beat New Jersey native Sean Santella by unanimous decision.

Santella (10-3-1) promptly dropped to flyweight and captured the CFFC title at 125. In a funny twist of fate, his challenger this Friday will be Sterling's teammate, Velez (5-1, 1 NC).

Further thickening the plot is the fact that Santella holds a victory over Sterling's opponent on Friday, Brazilian native and Pennsylvania resident Sedico Honorio (8-2).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwEqJQds3a0

But in the tough Northeastern regional circuit, familiarity breeds respect, rather than contempt.  

"I actually saw them fight each other at my pro debut," Sterling told me. "They're both tough. Very good on the ground."

Sterling turned pro in April 2011, following a standout wrestling career at SUNY Cortland, where he twice earned All-American honors. Success has come quickly in the professional ranks. The 2012 Bloody Elbow world bantamweight scouting report ranked Sterling as their No. 2 prospect.

Sterling's mental intensity and focus is exemplified in the slogan emblazoned on his t-shirts: "When I dream, I work. Reality." When asked to elaborate on this idea he commented:

I really believe, anything you want, you can achieve. So when you say it, you start to channel yourself towards it. Because you've focused your awareness on it, you start to do things in your life to make it happen. I see myself in the UFC, eventually becoming the champion.

It's a mental outlook characteristic of the team. In a similar manner, Velez told me: "With the UFC adding the flyweight division, I really see things opening up for me." 

A Bronx native, Velez wrestled at Hunter College in the city. His journey into martial arts has been a lifetime commitment. At four years of age, his father and Shihan Ervin Velez started him in World Oyama Karate.

"It's a full contact Japanese style," Velez explained. "So the big thing it helped me with for MMA is that I've been used to seeing punches and kicks coming at me since a very young age."

Velez made his professional debut just a month before Sterling. "That's about when we started up with the Young Gunz," he said. "We just had a bunch of young guys breaking into the sport, hungry for opportunities." 

Indeed, I work out at the Bombsquad's home gym of Ultimate Athletics in Ithaca, and it can be tough to even begin to keep track of the amount of talent continually coming through the doors. Sterling and Velez will be joined in Atlantic City by lightweight teammate Desmond Green, another blue-chip prospect and a former star wrestler for the University of Buffalo. 

The steady influx of talented, hungry athletes ensures that team practices are always intense and competitive. 

"That's the Bombsquad culture," Velez says. "Always training. We always want to be ready to take a fight on short notice, whenever the big break comes along." 

For a rising prospect like Velez, this is an essential attitude, as he learned firsthand recently, when UFC matchmakers contacted the camp about using him as a possible last second replacement for a recent FX card. 

Ultimately, the opportunity didn't materialize. But just getting that close left Velez hungrier than ever and further convinced that the "Bombsquad culture" is the way to go.

"When the UFC calls, you have to take the fight, whether you're ready or not. So you had better make sure you are ready all the time."

When Miesha Tate (12-3) faces Julie Kedzdie (16-9) on Showtime, Tate is considered to be a heavy favorite. But, Kedzie’s story is equally compelling.

While Tate is the more dominating fighter (According to ProMMANow, odds are currently listed as: Tate -465 vs. Kedzie +365) with a more storied history, these are two of the most fascinating veterans in women’s MMA. When Kezdie takes on the former bantamweight champion, she will certainly look back on the roads that she has crossed to get where she is today.

At 18, Kedzie faced severe depression and anxiety and was plagued by a horrific eating disorder to give her momentary pleasure.

"It was definitely a dark period for me," she told Loretta Hunt of Sports Illustrated. "It was a six- or seven-year struggle."

In her time of recovery, there were many things that she had to do to rediscovery herself as an individual and as a fighter. She moved in with her sister to curb the attacks, saw a therapist and started to devote her life to a passion.

Kedzie dropped out of college to pursue women’s mixed martial arts, but has since earned a degree in English literature. She had also moved from Indiana to New Mexico for training at a world-class gym among some of the world’s best athletes.

The endearing athlete has since made a name for herself among the other athletes who train among her.

"I always say she's the Lucille Ball of MMA," said trainer Greg Jackson in his Sports Illustrated interview with Hunt. "She's very smart, but things happen to Julie that don't happen to other people. She'll always dropping her phone or accidentally running her car into a garage. Just stuff like that."

But according to the article, Kedzie, 31, still suffers from occasional relapses.

"It's a legitimate illness that can cause a lot of damage, so I just tried to attack it as head-on I could. I'm not a trained psychologist, but I tried to support her as much as I could. I tried to create a positive atmosphere that supported her not doing that any more, but ultimately the change had to come from her."

"[Bulimia] wasn't something I mentioned in my career [until now] because I don't think it made me sound very tough, but I emerged from it and here I am," said Kedzie (via Sports Illustrated).
And here she became. The fighter became the first woman to ever be shown on Showtime and earned “Fight of the Night” honors in her first match.

“I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal,” Kedzie explained to Sherdog inside trainer Greg Jackson (via Tristan Critchfield of Sherdog). “I’m pretty sure my manager had explained it to me, but to me, it was another fight. I like everything just being another fight.”

That’s the kind of mentality that she will need to take when she faces Miesha Tate on Saturday night.

“I’ve been asked whether Tate is the biggest bout of my career a lot, but she’s just another opponent. I don’t disrespect her or her marketing schemes or whatever she does, but she’s just another fighter. That’s how I see it,” said Kedzie (via Sherdog).

Tate seems to have echoed these sentiments.

“I'm preparing for her as though I am fighting the number one girl. I figure if I was training to fight Ronda [Rousey] or Sarah [Kaufman], then I'll make if through Julie and move on to fight one of those girls,” Tate told David Ciapala of Yahoo! Sports. “So I'm just training as hard as I can - just preparing myself the best that I can.

And not that I have much of a game plan, honestly. I'm just going to go out there and let my skill set and my instincts kick in for me.”

But Kedzie has remained level-headed.

"I think I match up very well with Miesha,” said Kedzie to Carlin Bardsley of SportsNet. “We've had a couple of similar opponents, but we've never actually fought each other so it's about time. I think I match up very well technically, and I bring a lot to the table that people aren't necessarily aware of from my past fights and I'm looking forward to showing them a fully developed fighter."

Kedzie is an inspirational fighter given all that she have achieved to reach the success that she is now familiar with today.

The two face off at 8 p.m. ET and PT on Showtime Extreme.

Follow @BryanKalbrosky

Saturday Aug. 18 will be one of the biggest days of the year for the sport of mixed martial arts in Minnesota as Sterling Entertainment Group and Driller Promotions deliver Downtown Showdown IX at the Hyatt hotel in Minneapolis, MN.

The event features an incredible card which will be headlined by two of the top 155-pounders in the state as Damion Hill (5-1) battles undefeated up-and-comer Dan “The Hitman” Moret (2-0).

For Moret, the fight against Hill will be the biggest of his MMA career, and it has come alongside some major changes in his professional life. A former member of Mankato Martial Arts, Moret began training at one of Minnesota’s premier facilities, The Academy, in early July.

“I love everything about it. It’s obviously a top-notch facility and the coaching has been great,” Moret told Bleacher Report MMA. “The training partners are top-level. I liked what I had down in Mankato, but when you train with guys that are at the UFC and Bellator level and all the top local guys, it’s tough not to get better.”

Even in the short time he has been at The Academy, Moret has seen noticeable improvements to his game. Working with UFC stars like Jacob Volkmann and Bellator up-and-comers like Mike Richman has forced him to polish his skills more than ever.

“For a long time, I could just out-muscle or out-hustle people, but here that’s not the case,” Moret said. “If you leave an arm hanging, it’s going to get taken away from you.”

Richman and Volkmann have been instrumental in getting him ready for Saturday’s fight, and other teammates have also stepped in to mimic Damion Hill’s fighting style.

“Jordan Parsons does a really good job of replicating Damion Hill’s fighting style. Andre Tieva has been coming in and sparring with me, mimicking what [Damion] does,” Moret said. “I’m very fortunate to have a bunch of left-handers in the gym. I get to see that stance a lot.”

One of the best aspects of Hill’s game is simply his speed; he uses that to keep his opponents off balance and catch them with some highly unorthodox strikes.  

“He’s not afraid to throw wild strikes and spinning maneuvers, Superman punches. You just have to be tight the whole time against him,” Moret said. “I think Damion poses the most threats of anyone that I’ve faced.”

Although he respects Hill’s one-punch knockout power, Moret is not going to be concerned about it going into Saturday’s contest.

“His power isn’t going to make me shy away,” Moret said. “I’ll put my power against his any day and we’ll find out on Saturday.”

Highly confident in his own ability to finish, Moret sees the fight ending in the first round, but he believes that the longer the fight goes, the better it could be for him.

“At the risk of sounding too bold, I feel like I have an advantage just about everywhere,” Moret said. “He might be a little quicker than I am, but I hit harder than him, I’m taller than him, I’m bigger than him. I feel like I can out-strike him, I feel like my wrestling and jiu-jitsu are better than his, I feel like my transition game is better than his. I don’t honestly see where he would see that he has an advantage.”

Hill himself has also said that he believes the fight will end in the first round. But for Moret, that statement from Hill just further solidifies his confidence that the fight will go his way.

“I think he’s hoping to catch me with something. That’s really his chance, to nail me with a big shot,” Moret said. “I think him saying, ‘It’ll be over in the first round,’ is maybe his prediction and also his hope. He knows that if he doesn’t nail me or he doesn’t take me down right away, then what’s he going to do?”

With a win, Moret is looking to have at least one more fight by the end of 2012. But given the wide net that his management team at Sterling Entertainment Group has cast, that fight could be in MMA, or it could be something else entirely.

“The great thing about working with Jeremy Bjornberg and all the guys at SEG is that there are opportunities to do things like professional boxing, K-1 Kickboxing, submission hunts and grappling tournaments,” Moret said. “You can find some way to compete all the time. You don’t have to take a bunch of MMA fights in a row just to try to stay busy.”

If he does go to 3-0 after a win over Hill, his next MMA opponent will be chosen very specifically.

“Obviously, with only having three professional fights after this one, and already being ranked pretty highly in the state, I’ve got to sort of pick my fights. I can’t just fight anybody to stay active. I’m not going to be fighting guys that have 25 losses just to get in there.”

Moret vs. Hill will headline the Aug. 18 fight card at the Hyatt in Minneapolis, MN. Fans in the area are encouraged to purchase tickets online or at the door for as little as $35/ea. Doors will open at 6:45pm for the all-ages show.

For those unable to attend, a free live stream will also be available through the Sterling Entertainment Group website at SterlingMN.com.

For more MMA news, fighter interviews and opinions, follow Nick Caron: @NicholasCaron.

Following their wildly successful second event in late July, the all-women’s MMA promotion Invicta FC will be back again in mere months for Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama, currently set for Saturday, Oct. 6.

The event, which will take place in Kansas City, KA, will feature American phenom Jessica Penne (9-1) as she battles the undefeated Japanese warrior Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama (8-0) in the very first Invicta Fighting Championship title fight in the atomweight (105-pound) division.

The 29-year-old Penne, who co-main evented by knocking out Lisa Ellis-Ward at Invicta FC’s inaugural card on April 28, will attempt to make it two in a row in Invicta against Sugiyama.

Sugiyama, a 34-year-old current champion from the Japanese all-women’s promotion JEWELS, will make her debut in the United States following a successful defense against Yasuko Tamada in late May.

Fresh off delivering an electric challenge to Sara McMann, Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Shayna Baszler will step back in the cage in the 135-pound co-main event to take on Invicta FC 2 winner Sarah D’Alelio.

In addition to the highly-anticipated main events, Invicta FC announced that the full fight card will include 13 professional bouts. Other fights on the card include:

Barn Honchak vs. Aisling Daly
Tara LaRosa vs. Vanessa Porto
Leslie Smith vs. Cat Zingano
Michelle Waterson vs. Lacey Shuckman
Julia Budd vs. Elaina Maxwell

The six-fight preliminary card will be headlined by Carla Esparza vs. Lynn Alvarez, and will include:

Ashley Cummins vs. Joanne Calderwood
Amy Davis vs. Stephanie Frausto
Jessamyn Duke vs. Marciea Allen
Tecia Torres vs. Kaiyana Rain
Katalina Malungahu vs. Taylor Stratford

The ticket sale date for the much-anticipated Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama event, featuring 13 professional bouts, will be announced soon.

It has been a little over a year since the passing of renowned mixed martial arts coach Shawn Tompkins and his legacy is alive and well in his home province of Ontario. Tompkins was an elite striking coach originally out of London, Ontario, more recently out of the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada. His real legacy is his elite students and his work throughout the community to grow the sport and raise money for important local charities.

In June of this year, a charity screening of "Driven" starring Jens Pulver was shown in downtown Toronto by local charity organization Show Your Strength. (video highlight attached) The organization was put together to help youth all around the world have the opportunity to participate in sport, exercise and healthy living. The event was attended by special guests, UFC and Tompkins trained fighters Mark Hominick, Sam Stout and Chris Clements. The event raised over $10,000 which was divided between various local charities.

Later this month, a second event will be held to raise money in honor of "The Coach" as the 1st Annual Shawn Tompkins Memorial Golf Tournament will be held at Fire Rock Golf Club near London, Ontario. The event will raise money for the Shawn Tompkins Memorial Fund and Heart and Stroke Foundation and will feature UFC fighters, NHL and media personalities. Tournament Director Joe Botnick has worked hard to deliver incredible sponsorship, prizes and people in honor of The Coach.

I spoke with Botnick on the phone this week and it is clear he was up for the challenge of this event.

"I'm hoping for and expecting to sell out all the spots in the event and many people have been great in supporting and sponsoring this event. We have four amazing hole-in-one prizes, one that includes tickets to a UFC event anywhere in the world."

Botnick is an avid Tompkins and MMA fan who has attended UFC events all over the world and he is constantly giving back; just one of the many fighters and fans who are and will continue to carry on the legacy.

For more tournament information: https://www.facebook.com/ShawnTompkinsGolfTourney#!/photo.php?fbid=466098523400293&set=a.453821584627987.107506.439581409385338&type=1&theater

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA, and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter @wakafightermma

The 'Gracie' surname is revered in the Mixed Martial Arts community. Royce Gracie truly brought the surname to the forefront with his victories in the first few UFC events, defeating bigger men with the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that his family invented. 

Many fighters have carried the 'Gracie' surname into Mixed Martial Arts competition, but for the first time in a major Mixed Martial Arts event, three fighters from the famed family will fight on the same night. Brothers Igor, Rolles and half-brother Gregor will all compete when ONE Fighting Championship visits Manila for ONE FC: Pride of a Nation. 

Igor, Rolles and Gregor are all black belts in BJJ and will look to showcase that during the event, which is expected to be one of the largest events in Asia this year. 

Rolles will compete in a heavyweight match against Australian fighter Tony Bonello. Igor Gracie, who has competed in Strikeforce and Bellator, will face Korean knockout artist Jung Hwan Cha while Gregor Gracie will look to bounce back from his loss in the last ONE FC event against Nicholas Mann. 

Their trainer, Mixed Martial Arts Legend Renzo Gracie, had this to add about their fight (from MMAJunkie.com):

"Rolles, Igor and Gregor Gracie have never trained so hard for a fight in their lives," Renzo Gracie stated. "All three of my students understand that ONE FC in Manila will be the largest MMA event in the history of the Philippines. They are embracing this experience wholeheartedly and are training exceptionally hard to achieve victory in front of 16,500 fans. The fans in Manila will get the chance to see the next generation of the Gracie family dominate the world of MMA once again." 

We are at a pivotal place in the history of women's mixed martial arts. Strikeforce, the promotion that in many ways was built on female stars like Gina Carano, "Cyborg" Santos and Ronda Rousey, teeters on the brink of extinction. As fighters continue to abandon ship to the UFC, the future seems bleak.

Bellator, another event that has invested time and promotional power into the women's sport, goes months in between featuring women at all. Other events use female bouts like old school wrestling promoters used matches between midgets—as oddities, spectacle to help sell the show. But little thought goes into the matchmaking and no time is spent developing the stars of tomorrow.

There was a void, a gap that former UFC and Strikeforce executive Shannon Knapp nimbly filled with her Invicta Fighting Championships. Her first event, featuring Strikeforce fighters Liz Carmouche and Marloes Coenen, shocked the MMA world by attracting more than 200,000 fans for a free live stream of their first show in April.

"Those numbers—I was blown away. I never expected that. I called (the streaming) company up to go over everything with me. Just so I could believe it," Invicta president Shannon Knapp told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. "It was way beyond my expectations. Was I impressed, excited and happy? Yeah, of course."

For Knapp, a calculated risk had paid off. Like many regional promotions, or national events just getting their feet wet, HDNet had come courting. The MMA friendly channel covers the cost of production and offers a small fee to boot. It helps spread the risk a bit, keeping a promotion from losing big. But Invicta feared it would also prevent any chance of winning big as well. Knapp and business partner Janet Martin decided to go another direction.

"I have Time Warner and I don't even get that channel," Knapp said. "We're trying to build a brand here. I can go out here, I can pay for my own filming, put it out there for free and I can build my brand everywhere in the world. Instead of the small amount of people who can see it on HDNet, everyone can see it."

Now, three months later, Knapp is hoping lightning will strike twice for Invicta. Like former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes says, you aren't really a champion until you defend your title. Knapp says she is driven to prove Invicta's success was no fluke.

"I want to go in and prove we're not a one-hit wonder. We're trying to capture people's attention. All I'm asking for is people just give us that one moment. Click on, take a look and see what it's about. I don't think if you're a fight fan, a true fight fan, that you can be gender biased. Because I can guarantee you, every one of my female fighters is coming to fight. They're skilled, they're talented and they deserve to be on this stage."

A Risky Main Event

To main event the second card, Knapp looked for the best fighters available. Many promoters would have shied away from 2004 Olympic silver medalist Sarah McMann. A grinding wrestler, McMann, despite an undefeated record, has had some fights that had fans yawning. But she's also a fighter who has the potential to be the world's best at 135 pounds.

Knapp rolled the dice, matching McMann with submission expert Shayna Baszler. She's been a bit of a nervous wreck ever since. Does Knapp worry that the fight could be an bore, two grapplers battling for incremental advantages? Few promoters would admit that days before the fight. Knapp is a straight shooter though, and didn't hesitate to offer an honest assessment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6duMvgGsi4

"Yeah, honestly," Knapp said with a laugh. "Yeah, I'm always concerned. You match them up, and it's a good matchup on paper. And then you just hope for the best. It's out of your control then. (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva would tell you the same thing.

"I'd like to say no, but...I think any time you put two wrestlers together and they both have that foundation—you take the risk that the fight can stall out. We are going to encourage them that it not happen. But a fight is a fight and an athlete will always go back to their roots. It's just a comfort zone. This is their life. This is their career. And a loss does matter. You don't want them to take chances or to manipulate them. I'm never going to say 'Hey Sarah, I know you're an Olympic wrestler and you're going to want to take her to the ground. But could you not? Could you stand and trade with her for a few minutes first?' No. You're overstepping your boundaries at that point."

McMann will make no promises that the fight will be exciting. Her focus is on winning.When I told her about Knapp's fears for the fight, she did nothing to alleviate them.

"I won't pull any punches either. Yes, it's entertainment, but I go out there with one objective," McMann said. "And usually me pursuing that objective ends up being entertaining. But I go out there to win. It's a competition. If this were fake wrestling, I'd be more than happy to go out there and be entertaining and have that be one of my objectives.

"When you take the highest levels of any athletic competition, it's typically more boring. I have a solid offensive game and defense. The other person has solid offense and defense. It's harder to execute moves on somebody. Now, if they give me somebody I can crush, that's going to be an exciting fight...but if you take two highly skilled athletes, they're not always the most exciting fights. I'm not going to lose a fight in order to be exciting."

The Zuffa Shadow

After the incredible success of the first Invicta show, rumors began to spread that Zuffa, owners of both the UFC and Strikeforce, were silent partners in the promotion. This speculation was fueled by Knapp's unusual business relationship with Zuffa, which allowed Invicta to use Strikeforce fighters on her show. Knapp wanted to set the record straight though—this is her show, not anybody else's.

"Zuffa is not a partner in our promotion. Not one penny. This is me and my business partner's money. It's us and just us. That's it. And isn't that a beautiful thing to have happen? Two people making decisions and building an organization," Knapp said. "I hear everything. It only takes one person to create a seed and spread it. Dana White and I have a mutual respect. But he doesn't own Invicta. I've been asked this, even by potential broadcast partners. Does Zuffa? No. Does Lorenzo (Fertitta)? No. Does Dana? No. They didn't ask about Frank (Fertitta). What about Frank? No."

The Rousey Dilemma

One Strikeforce fighter Invicta hasn't been able to ink a deal with is Ronda Rousey. The bantamweight champion is everywhere. On the cover of ESPN: The Magazine. In the tabloids dissing the ubiquitous Kim Kardashian. Presumably finding time to train in between media appearances.

It's a flashback to the days of Gina Carano, the beautiful former Strikeforce champion who has gone on to a career in the movies. And it makes Knapp a little nervous.

"I think Ronda's doing some great things," Knapp said. "But it's a little scary sometimes when you put the success of a sport on one person's shoulders. What happens if, and I'm not saying this will happen, but what happens if Sarah Kaufman does come in and upset Ronda? What happens to every thing that has been built around her and laid on her shoulders?

"It's kind of scary. Look at what happened with Gina (Carano). She carried the weight of the sport on her shoulders. When she got upset by Cris (Cyborg) look what happened. It's scary and makes me a little nervous."

McMann, who started focusing on Rousey as a future opponent the minute Ronda dropped to 135 pounds, doesn't have a problem with her status as the sport's "it girl." But she agreed with Knapp that women's MMA would be better served with a broader promotional focus.

"Optimally we would have more than one girl," McMann said. "Just so people can see the variety that exists within women's MMA. But I don't think it's bad that it's resting on her shoulders. If she decided to retire or leave the sport, or has to step back for some reason, somebody else would step in and fill that gap, just like Ronda filled that gap after Cris Cyborg had been all anyone talked about for a long time. And before that it was Gina."

McMann is happy to fly under the radar a bit. "I don't want to be the face of women's MMA. I'm more than happy that somebody like Ronda likes that role. That's cool with me. I wouldn't want to do the things you have to do to fill that role. I just want to beat everybody. That's my goal."

Knapp, for her part, frets a bit about the intense focus on Rousey. She's a big supporter and appreciates Ronda's public support of Invicta. But despite Rousey's obvious box-office appeal, the potential for disaster, she's afraid, lurks.

"I won't take anything away from Ronda," Knapp said. "I think she's as good an ambassador as anyone. I embrace what she's doing. I know she's trying. My only concern is whether it's fair to put all that weight on one athlete's shoulders.

"That's what bothers me a little. We build all this, put it all behind one person and let's say that person goes in there and they lose that fight. What does that do when we've put all the hype just on that one person? As far as the sport goes? Do fans say 'See, I knew these women sucked.'"

The goal, for any promoter of combat sports, is to see transference.  In theory, all the promotion and hype put into Rousey would transfer to Kaufman in the event the Canadian beat the Strikeforce champion. Knapp understands that in principle, but doesn't think it applies here, not after months of Rousey hype.

"Not in this case. We'd love if it would, but not in this case. That has to do with public perception and the way we've sold it. We've sold Ronda as unbeatable. Now, what if Sarah Kaufman comes in and demolishes her? Oops. That was the face of female MMA. That's who the sport was being built on. Now what? What do we do with it? There are many faces of women's MMA. And when you watch our event you'll get to see each and every one of them."

Invicta Fighting Championships 2 will stream for free on InvictaFC.com on Saturday night. The live stream on InvictaFC.com kicks off at 7 p.m. ET with a six-fight preliminary card.

The Philippines is home to more MMA fans than any other country in Asia, apart from Japan, and why the UFC decided to go to Macau first is a mystery. Fortunately for the Filipino MMA fans, ONE FC has stepped in to fill the breach with the biggest and best show the country has ever hosted.

ONE FC "Pride of a Nation" is going down on August 31st and anyone who is suffering from UFC overload after the crazy recent schedule of mediocre cards should check it out because it has got some of the top fighters from Asia, Australia and South America.

Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki, who has been the top pound-for-pound fighter in Asia for as long as I can remember, is still waiting for an opponent, as is former Strikeforce middleweight champion and UFC veteran Renato Sobral.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski knows who he will be fighting, top Australian heavyweight Soa Palelei who has won his last seven fights. Arlovski has won his last two fights but Palelei is a top quality fighter and this will not be an easy fight for 'The Pitbull'.

Dream bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes has also been handed a very difficult ONE FC debut against CFC bantamweight champion Gustavo Falciroli. The Brazilian born fighter was selected to appear on TUF: 'The Smashes' as a lightweight but didn't get his Australian citizenship through in time and is much bigger than Fernandes, who was last seen winning the Dream bantamweight grand prix on new year's eve.

The fourth Australian (if you count Falciroli) on the card is 16-1 heavyweight Tony Bonello who is taking on Rolles Gracie. There are three Gracies on the card which must be some sort of record, and none of them have been given easy fights.

Gregor Gracie goes up against Nicholas Mann, an Australian who lives in the Philippines and has a 4-1 record while Igor Gracie has been matched with 8-6 Korean Jung Hwan Cha. Mann is the URCC light heavyweight champion and his fight with Gracie fight is taking place at a catchweight of 80 kgs.

ONE FC "Destiny of Warriors" will have three Filipino fighters but only one of them has an opponent and that is Eric Kelly who will be going up against former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. Kelly is 7-0 and is URCC featherweight champion and Pulver has been doing better lately after some bad results.

There will be two more URCC champions on the card and both are still waiting for opponents. URCC flyweight champion Kevin Belingon suffered the first loss of his career against Masakazu Imanari but is still 9-1 and Eduard Folayang is the most famous MMA fighter in the Philippines but is also coming off a loss to Ole Laursen which saw his record slip to 11-2

Phil Baroni might be in his twilight years but he still knows how to sell a fight and will be desperate for a win when he takes on BJJ black belt Rodrigo Ribeiro. These two trained together at Evolve MMA in Singapore apparently and this promises to be a straightforward striker vs grappler match.

With Babalu, Aoki, Arlovski, Fernandes and three Gracies this could be the best non UFC card ever to take place outside of Japan. It's taking place at the same arena as the Thriller in Manila and ONE FC confidently predict a 16,500 sell out, MMA in the US might be starting to get stale due to saturation but in Asia, fans still can't get enough.