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 The Big Apple Fight Club presented it's third event this past Friday night in front of a sell out crowd at The Hard Knocks in New York. The BAFC is a relative newcomer to the MMA world, but has really raised some eyebrows here in New York. They have used some of the best up and coming fighters combined with some quality experienced veterans to present some really exciting cards that have left the fans longing for more.
This past Friday it was: BAFC 3 - Caesar vs Ghostal. There were 10 fights on the card, eight warm up fights and two heavyweight fights sharing the spotlight as co-main events.
The night began with a light heavyweight bout between two fighters who were both seeking their third victory:
Chadd Smith (2 - 4 - 0) and Michael Bloodgood (2 - 1 - 0).
In a fight between two relatively unknown fighters that was expected to just wet the appetite of the fans for the fights to come, this one surprised everyone. It was non-stop action action and was awarded the fight of the night. Bloodgood came out looking to make a statement, but Smith was not to be taken lightly. Smith fought hard but throughtout the first two rounds Bloodgood looked unstopable. Smith stepped it up in the third round and ended up taking the round on the judges scorecards, but ultimately Bloodgood ended up taking the fight by unanimous decision.
Fight two was a middleweight fight between Ocsar Rocha (making his debut) and Barnaba Wariacik (2 - 1 - 0)
This fight was a classic boxer vs wrestler matchup. Rocha had to keep the fight standing in order to have a chance at his first victory. Unfortunately for Rocha, Wariacik had other ideas. Wariacik immediately took Rocha to the mat and Rocha looked totally unprepared for the fight on the ground. Rocha did manage to defend against seven submission attempts, but ended up tapping out on the eighth just before three minutes of the first round and he will have to wait for another night, another time for his first victory.
Fight three was a heavyweight fight between Daniel Cain (0 - 1 - 0) and Steve Mazyck (1 - 3 - 0)
Both fighters were returning to action after disappointing losses by decision in Quick Fight Championship fights.
Cain came out swinging fast and hard and Mazyck seemed hard pressed to defend against the onslaught. Mazyck was cut in the initial exchange, but regained his composure quickly. Mazyck quickly took the fight to the canvas knowing Cain is known for his standup skills and lack of ground skills. The rest of the round and much of the fight remained on the ground but during whole fight Mazyck only attemped one submission. At one point early in the second round Cain clobbered Mazyck with a right that wobbled him and at that point the fight looked like it was over, but Mazyck managed to regain his wits and push on. In the end though, Cain ended up taking it by unanimous decision.
Fight four was a light heavyweight bout between Tito Ortiz (14 - 3 - 0) and Jared Kincaid (2 - 1 - 0)
This fight featured Tito Ortiz's return to action after two years of retirement. Ortiz faced Jared kincaid, one of the rising stars of the BAFC who looks to have a bright future. Kincaid was just recently awarded fight of the night in BAFC 1 for his decision over Rick Langley. Ortiz came out using Muay Thai kicks, but it turned out to be a bad strategy as Kincaid is known as a Muay Thai specialist. Ortiz was cut quickly in the round and Kincaid dominated. Kincaid rocked Ortiz hard in the second round and knocked him down three times. Ortiz showed a lot of heart as he continued to get up and take the punishment. Again in the third round, Ortiz was knocked down two times but refused to quit. Kincaid took the unanimous decision, but you have to give credit to Ortiz for showing a lot of heart.
Fight five was a light heavyweight fight between two fighters who were both making their debut, Sheng Jen Kuo and Tim Noble.
If this fight is kept standing Noble would cruise to an easy victory, as he has superior boxing and equal Muay Thai skills. This was evident by the fact that he had Kuo cut and in a little trouble in the first round in one of the few times the fight was standing. But Kuo came out immediately looking to take it to the mat. Kuo was able to take down Noble over and over, and Noble was denied his stand up fight. Although Kuo did not do much on the ground, he was able to keep the fight mostly on the ground and easily outscore his opponent to get his first win by unanimous decision.
Fight six was a light heavyweight fight between Gary Glutamine (7 - 13 - 0) and Rick Langley (18 - 14 - 0).
Both fighters were looking to bounce back after disappointing loses in BAFC 1. Langley came out aggressively took Glutamine down easily, but that turned out to be a mistake as Glutamine used his superior Jiu Jitsu to quickly put Langly into a triangle and force him to tap out after only 44 seconds. Glutamine was awarded Submission of the night for his nice work in Jiu Jitsu.
Fight seven was a heavyweight fight between Brad Ronald (18 - 21 - 0) and Mike Underhill (23 - 10 - 0).
This fight featured the return to the cage after more than a year hiatus by Underhill. Underhill looked a little out of shape and soft around the middle according to the critics and Ronald was looking to take advantage of Underhills woes. Underhill did not look out of shape however when the fight started, he was able to use his wrestling skills take the fight to the ground where the balance of power tilted heavily to his side. Underhill did seem to be tiring toward the end of the fight, but with one second left before it went to the scorecards he conected with a big right that put Ronald out cold.
Fight eight was a middleweight fight between Pete Daniels (11 - 3 - 0) and Brody Savanis (15 - 11 - 0).
This fight is the comebace attemt of the two time middleweight champion of the Global Conflict Fighting org, Pete Daniels. Daniels successfully defended his belt six times there in 2011 but has taken a year off after two consecutive losses. Savanis is also a two time belt holder, he held the middleweight belt for two different fight orgs, Ultimate Proving Ground: Rio and Immortals New York. Both fighters were looking to position themselves to get a title shot in the BAFC. Daniels looked a little rusty as Savanis was able to quickly take him down. After an unsucessful sub attempt, Savanis was able to pass to mount and start beating Daniels silly. The referee had no choice but to stop the fight after 1:52 of the first round because Daniels eyes looked like they were spinning in place. Savanis was awarded KO of the night for his impressive victory.
Fight nine was the co-main event, a heavyweight fight between Qing Nan Lee and Raoul Duke.
In this fight we had two fighters who were both looking to bounce back after losing by decision in their last fights. Duke is an expert at Jiu Jitsu and wanted to take it to the ground while Lee had the superior skills at stand up and wanted to keep the fight standing. Lee came out aggressively, but Duke made him look bad, dodging his sloppy strikes and countering with a massive right that cut Lee. Things did not look good for Lee as Duke quickly followed by taking Lee to the canvas. Lee however deftly defended against three sub attemps and was able to get back to his feet where he held the advantage. Lee used his boxing and Muay Thai skills to wear Duke down, just after 4 minutes into the round Lee connected with a left that cut Duke and seemed to take the life out of him, Lee landed a few more punches and then after 4:31 of the first round he landed with a head kick that knocked Duke to the ground and the referee stopped the fight to protect Duke from any more damage.
The anticipation of the crowd had reached a crescendo by the time the announcer came out to present the fighters for the main event. So much so, that it took a full three minutes for the din to quite down enough so the announcer could be heard. All the fans were on their feet screaming and yelling, What were they so excited about?
The main event was a heavyweight bout between Gaius Julius Caesar (8 - 4 - 0) and Chad Ghostal(8 - 5 - 0).
This fight is the long awaited match-up between Caesar and Ghostal. This fight was highly publicized because Ghostal has been repeatedly talking smack in the press about Caesar, and saying every fight Caesar ever won was nothing but luck. There is a lot of bad blood between these fighters and it has spread into the public as Caesar's fans hate Ghostal, and visa versa. All of Ghostal's smack talk to the press proved to be nothing but hot air though as Caesar easily dominated in every aspect of the fight. Caesar came out fast and aggressive, landing blow after blow and cutting Ghostal with his second punch. You could see from the look in his eyes that Caesar meant business and wanted to teach Ghostal a lesson. You could almost sense the fear coming from Ghostal as Ceasar rocked him with a nasty right. Ceasar then clinched up and almost seemlessly took Ghostal down and began beating him with strike after strike. The referee stepped in a stopped the fight at 1:59 of the first round, and that was probably a good idea, I think Caesar wanted to beat Ghostal to death. After the fight was over security had to break-up six different fights in the stands as Caesar's and Ghostal's fans were going at each other.
In exit interviews with some of the fans after the event, it is clear that this one will leave lasting memories in those in attendance. Diane Fents, a housewife from Queens said "My heart is still beating 150 beats a minute". Dan Quayle, a taxi driver from Brooklyn said "I love to watch Caesar fight but I'm glad I don't have to get in the ring with him". And to be fair, Ron Banterman, a stockbroker from Manhattan said "I heard that Ghostal has the flu, and wasn't himself tonight".
If the BAFC can continue to put on events like this, their fan base will do nothing but grow. Since it's inception last month, they have had three quality events and tickets for their upcoming events are becoming scarce.
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