New Jersey-based Cage Fury Fighting Championships have announced matches for their next fight card on October 12 in Atlantic City, NJ.
It’s a fairly interesting card and includes the following matchups:
Main Event: Kimbo Slice vs. Tank Abbott – It’s not a relevant bout on the basis of the title picture in the heavyweight division, but Kimbo has been a lightning rod for news and interest. It’s definitely a circus-style main event, but still one that I find very compelling.
Ricardo Almeida vs. Dennis Hallman - Both are guys who are excellent on the ground (Almeida’s Jiu-Jitsu is superb and Hallman is a former NCAA standout wrestler) who have both competed in the UFC. Almeida was once a big time prospect before injuries hurt his career path. This will be a major comeback attempt for him.
Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz vs. Brandon Lee Hinkle - Like Hallman vs. Almeida, this is another matchup between two guys with excellent ground skills. Cruz is the BJJ guy and Hinkle is the wrestler. Both have fought for the UFC with Cruz most recently fighting for the IFL and Hinkle having fought earlier this month for Bodog Fight. Not a bad undercard match for a regional promotion.
Duke Roufus vs. Derek Panza - Both guys are excellent strikers, with Roufus being one of the top kocboxers in the U.S. This will be his MMA debut and I think the K-1 standout is clearly the favorite. A very intriguing matchup.
Chris Ligouri vs. Devidas Taurosevicius - Don’t know much about either fighter but this will be for the NABC lightweight title. I’m not a big fan of sanctioning bodies for boxing getting involved with MMA and would prefer no MMA promoter did business with the NABC. I also know that Ligouri trains with the Rhino Fight Team in Jersey, which is the same where Frank Edgar is based out of.
Anthony Morrison vs. Malachy Friedman - Morrison is a decent prospect who served a suspension for disciplinary issues early this year. All I know of Friedman is that he’s a pretty good poster on the Underground Forum at MMA.tv.
Jose Rodriguez vs. Mike Littlefield - I know nothing about either guy.
John Doyle vs. Jarrid Palmer - Doyle used to train at Philly MMA (the MFS affiliate in Philadelphia) where I used to train. He’s a rugged guy with heavy hands. I don’t know much about Palmer but it will be good to see Doyle fight again.
