LINCOLN, RI (Dec. 2, 2010) – Ending a bitter feud that’s lasted a year, Dany “The Upgrade” Lauzon (14-4-0) only needed 1:54 to force rival Damien “The Omen” Trites into tapping out by way of a guillotine, headlining last night’s professional mixed-martial-arts card
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Ray Hui is MMAFighting.com's Editor
Last week, Massachusetts became the 42nd state to legalize mixed martial arts after Governor Deval Patrick signed the bill into law for the state to regulate the sport.In this FanHouse exclusive, we spoke to Joe Cavallaro, the promoter of the state’s leading promotion, World Championship Fighting, to find out the impact regulation will have on the Bay State and his promotion.
Massachusetts-based promoters and fighters alike are thrilled with the news Monday that legislature has passed a bill for the regulation of MMA in the state, opening the door for UFC events as early as Summer 2010.
Regulation legitimizes the sport for everyone involved, and the arrival of the UFC grants a number of local fighters within the promotion the opportunity to compete in front of family and friends.
MMA wasn’t illegal per se, but there was no governing body for the sport, and the UFC’s stance is to only promote events where there is regulatory body in the state. In the past couple of years, MMA has been most prominently promoted in Massachusetts through the work of Joe Cavallaro and his World Championship Fighting cards, which air on the Comcast SportsNet New England channel.
“The passing of the bill is great,” Cavallaro told FanHouse Tuesday. “We’re excited about it and actually lobbied with the UFC and their fighter Kenny Florian in front of the senate for the regulation to be passed. This bill changes the face of MMA in New England forever. I think it’s a great thing for the sport, the fans, and certainly all of the fighters.”
Mixed martial arts regulation is finally coming to Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick today signed into law a bill, versions of which were previously approved by the House and Senate, that calls for the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission to become the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission and oversee MMA events.
The move opens the door for the UFC to host a long-anticipated event in Boston.
www.mmajunkie.com could not reach Massachusetts State Boxing Commission officials for clarification on the bill’s final details. Massachusetts, for example, may allow individual locales to determine whether or not they want to host MMA events. It’s also not known how quickly the state may be ready to begin its regulatory duties.
UFC president Dana White, though, immediately took to Twitter to express his pleasure over the coming state sanctioning.
Read more »
WILMINGTON – Before his World Championship Fighting bout at the Shriners Auditorium last night, Mike Campbell likened himself to one of those toy monkey-drummers.
As most fighters were getting amped up for their bouts, Campbell was even keeled. He likes to remain on the same level before a fight, he said, like the wind-up toy.
His energy conserved, Campbell exploded on opponent Mike Medrano, dropping him with a flying knee and following up with a flurry of punches until the referee stopped the fight at 3:12 of the first round. Read more »
Saturday, September 26, 2009
by (jencarnacao@sherdog.com)
He was successful.
A former power lifter who built his name on the New England mixed martial arts scene, Campbell — once featured on the “TapOut” reality show on Versus — picked up a first-round technical knockout victory in the main event of World Championship Fighting 8 on Saturday at the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium. The welterweight rebounded from two first-round losses in the WEC.
“A lot came to me fast,” said Campbell, 26, who was fighting on national television after only four professional fights. “I realize what I had, and I want it back. I have to get back on a winning streak.” Read more »
Boston Mass. September 1, 2009 – World Championship Fighting today announced more fights for their September 26th show at the Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass.
Local 7 Iron Worker, and frequent WCF Fighter John Benoit takes yet another tough fight when he takes on American Top Team’s Hitalo Machado. Benoit was very impressive in his recent win at WCF 7 over Damien Trites, and he looks to keep the train rolling against Machado. Machado makes his WCF debut, but is no stranger to the local fans. He’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, and is also an accomplished striker. This highly anticipated fight is sure to please.
Damien Trites will make his return to WCF after his war with John Benoit when he takes on Noah Weisman. Noah was impressive in his pro debut with WCF, beating Steve Beck by submission in the first round. Trites will be a big step up in competition for him, but Weisman is looking to get in there with the very best fighters the WCF can give him. Trites is looking for a rematch with Benoit, and a win here could set that fight up.
Read more »
Joe Cavallaro: The Most Influential Guy You’ve Never Heard Of
By FIGHT! contributor Jeff Harder
It’s a little more than a month away from World Championship Fighting’s seventh show and Joe Cavallaro has had a phone fused to his ear all day trying to make the card a reality.
“If you have 15 fights, that’s 30 fighters, 30 personalities, 30 wives or girlfriends that have opinions,” Read more »
WILMINGTON, MA – It was a good night for co-headliners Calvin Kattar and Dan Keefe, who each added another check to their win columns and put on a great show for the 3,300 MMA fans that packed the Shriner’s Auditorium for World Champion Fighting 7.
