Ring of Combat 16

Atlantic City, NJ

Ring of Combat 16: “Beasts of the Northeast” Tournament Semi-Finals
By Jim Genia

(October 26th, Tropicana Casino & Resort, Atlantic City) Sometimes you can predict them, sometimes you can’t. At Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat 16: “Beasts of the Northeast” tournament semi-finals, the warriors who survived September’s opening round clashed to decide who goes on to the finals. Who came out on top? Well, if you thought the last middleweight tournament winner was going to make it, you were wrong. And if you thought the wrestler with just one pro fight under his belt was going to crumble against the far more experienced veteran, again, you were wrong. It was a night that had knockouts, submissions and wars – and while some of the outcomes were predictable, there were definitely a few upsets. Highlights of the event included:

Ring of Combat 16: Thomas Velasquez pummels Anthony Ladonna from behind - Photo by Tom DeFazio

Velasquez pummeling Ladonna

• The back-and-forth battle between Tom Velasquez and Anthony LaDonna, which saw the Team Endgame representative dominate Round One and the Team Serra/Longo representative dominate Round Two. But Velasquez snagged a lightning-fast heelhook in the final round, and that was all she wrote.

• Relative newcomer Mark Berraciol’s crushing right hook, which had the veteran Andrew Calandrelli dazed and confused at 0:35 of the first round.

• Rising star Mike Massenzio and his growing repertoire of submissions. This time it was a north-south choke, and opponent Erik Charles had no choice but to tap at 1:18 of the first.

Ring of Combat 16: Mike Massenzio finishing off Erik Charles with a choke from North-South position - Photo by Tom DeFazio

Massenzio finishing off Charles

Full results:

Beasts of the Northeast Semi-Finals

Lightweights
• Dave Sachs (Pittsburgh FC-155lbs) vs. Joe Camacho (Team Renzo/AMA-155lbs)
Sachs via rear naked choke at 3:26 of Round Three.

Welterweights
• Mark Berraciol (Real Fighting Dojo-171lbs) vs. Andrew Calandrelli (Calendrelli/Bombsquad-171lbs)
Berraciol via KO at 0:35 of Round One.
• Charlie Brenneman (Cambria Martial Arts-169lbs) vs. Joseph Aviles (Jungle Gym-164lbs)
Brenneman via unanimous decision.

Middleweights
• Lance Everson (Boneyard-184lbs) vs. Marc Stevens (TaiKai-182lbs)
Everson via TKO – doc stoppage due to cut after Round Two.
• Erik Charles (Bombsquad-186lbs) vs. Mike Massenzio (Ironhorse MMA-185lbs)
Massenzio via north-south choke at 1:18 of Round One.

Light-Heavyweights
• Ricardo Romero (Advanced Martial Arts-204lbs) vs. John Clarke (CTMMA-206lbs)
Romero via TKO – Clarke could not answer the bell for Round Two.
• Lou Pascavage (MFS/KOA-206lbs) vs. John Doyle (Round One-203lbs)
Doyle via tapout due to strikes at 1:21 of Round One.

Preliminaries:
• Chanti Johnson (Serra/Longo-148lbs) vs. Anthony Montanaro (Pitts Penn-151lbs)
Johnson via TKO – doc stoppage due to cut after Round One.
• Eric Henry (Bombsquad-171lbs) vs. Doug Gordon (Team Rush/Elite BJJ-170lbs)
Gordon via majority decision.
• Anthony LaDonna (Serra/Longo-170lbs) vs. Tom Velasquez (Team Endgame-171lbs)
Velasquez via heelhook at 1:09 of Round Three.
• Dan Whalen (MMAT-183lbs) vs. Nick Catone (BJJ Shore Academy/Ricardo Almeida-184lbs)
Catone via rear naked choke at 0:58 of Round One.

Ring of Combat 16: Nick Catone punishing Dan Whalen - Photo by Tom DeFazio

Catone punishing Whalen

ISKA World Kickboxing Welterweight Championship
• Scott Mukaddam (Team Wolfpack-148lbs) vs. Chris Algieri (US Karate Academy-147lbs)
Algieri via unanimous decision after ten rounds.
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