MMA on LI in 2017 looks to be outstanding
(Long Island, NY., January 3, 2016) – It is a new year, a new beginning and new chapter in the MMA world on Long Island. Below we will explore the top five stories to look forward to in mixed martial arts in early 2017.
In chronological order, Long Island fighters and events are top notch as we begin the new calendar year.
On January 20, Lindenhurst’s Jennie Nedell will fight for the 130-135 pound kickboxing championship against Anna Shearer. This bout will mark the third time these two women have faced off, with Shearer taking the first, while Nedell got her redemption as she beat Shearer via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) on Glory 33 at the Sun National Center in Trenton, New Jersey.
After losing to Shearer in April of 2014, the 38-year-old Lindenhurst resident won the last two rounds of the three-round fight to secure the victory.
With the win, Nedell moved to 27-4-1 in her kickboxing career. Later this month, the rubber match will take place live from The Capitale at the Combat at the Capitale World Championship in New York City.
One week later, Long Island Island’s UFC bantamweight star, Aljamain Sterling, will get back into the Octagon for the first time since May of 2016 against Raphael Assuncao.
The fight was originally scheduled for December 9 at the Times Union Center in Albany as part of the UFC Fight Night 102 card, but Sterling withdrew due to an injury.
Now, the two fighters will battle on January 28, 2017 at UFC on Fox 23 in Denver, Colorado, at the Pepsi Center.
Sterling (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) had just missed out on the historic UFC 205 card held at Madison Square Garden because of a bicep injury, but had healed in time for the second-ever UFC New York card in Albany. However, one month ago, Sterling disclosed a minor injury that forced him to withdraw again.
It didn’t take long for the 27-year-old to find a new card as these two top ranked bantamweight contenders will fight early in the new year in the “Mile High City”.
The Long Island native, who fights out of Uniondale, started his MMA career off with 12-consecutive victories before losing via split decision to Bryan Caraway on May 29, 2016.
Exactly one week from Sterling’s fight, Long Island’s Dennis Bermudez will take his talents to Houston to headline UFC Fight Night 104 in Houston on February 4, 2017.
Bermudez, who is from Lindenhurst, will be taking on his biggest challenge yet in his illustrious career.
It has been three years since Chan Sung Jung (13-4, 3-1 UFC) better known as the “Korean Zombie” has fought due to a mandatory military service required by South Korean male citizens.
The “Korean Zombie” last fought on August 3, 2013 at UFC 163 against then champion, Jose Aldo. He lost via TKO in the fourth round.
While it’s been over three years, the “Korean Zombie” is still considered one of the best fighters in the featherweight division. These two 145 pounders are scheduled to headline a major card in a city that is known to put on great fights.
For Bermudez, a win, and a potential three-fight winning streak, will put him right up there in contention for a title shot.
A veteran to the sport, Bermudez has been fighting in the featherweight division since 2009. Fighting out of Long Island MMA and Bellmore Kickboxing Academy, Bermudez holds a professional record of 16-5.
After stringing together seven consecutive victories, the 29-year-old ended a personal two-fight losing streak on February 21, 2016 against Tatsuya Kawajiri with a win via unanimous decision.
In his last fight on August 6, 2016, Bermudez defeated Rony Jason via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) at UFC Fight Night 92 in Salt Lake City, Utah. With that win, Bermudez now will be looking for a three-fight winning streak.
The fun doesn’t stop there, as a week from the Bermudez’ fight, UFC will bring their first-ever fight card to Brooklyn on February 11 at UFC 208 at the Barclays Center.
Two Long Island fighters are set to fight on the card as Ryan LaFlare and Randy Brown, who trains out of Bellmore Kickboxing Academy will fight on the Pay-Per-View card.
Lindenhurst's Ryan LaFlare will take on Roan Carneiro in a welterweight showdown, while Brown will take on George Sullivan.
The 33-year-old LaFlare has enjoyed an impressive MMA career thus far. At 12-1, LaFlare has lost only one fight in eight years. His only loss was to Demain Maia on March 21, 2015, but he quickly avenged that defeat by winning his next bout on December 11, 2015 on UFC TUF Finale 22, defeating Mike Pierce via unanimous decision.
Fighting out of Long Island MMA, LaFlare is a Nassau Coummunity College graduate and was born and raised on Long Island.
With notable wins over Court McGee (UFC on Fox 9) and John Howard (UFC Fight Night 39), LaFlare is one of the most well-decorated fighters on Long Island.
LaFlare was scheduled to fight on July 23, 2016 at UFC on Fox in Chicago, but pulled out due to an injury.
Having just announced his up-and-coming bout against Carneiro on his Facebook page, LaFlare will be part of the first ever MMA event at the Barclays Center.
Carneiro (21-10), fighting out of Brazil, last fought on September 27 at UFC Fight Night 94, where he earned a victory against Kenny Robertson via split decision.
Brown recently moved his MMA record to 9-1 as he defeated Brian Camozzi at the 1:25 mark of round two just last month at UFC Fight Night 102 in Albany, New York on December 9th. He has now won two consecutive fights in the UFC, both via finishes. On UFC Fight Night 94, he submitted Erick Montano in the third round via guillotine choke.
A former Ring of Combat champion, Brown started his MMA career with seven consecutive wins.
This will be Brown’s fifth fight in the last 13 months after catching his big break on the ROC 53 card, when President of the UFC, Dana White, signed him to a UFC contract after watching him in person on his hit YouTube show, “Looking For A Fight”. Brown had already captured the ROC (Ring of Combat) welterweight title with a win over Mike Winters at ROC 50 with a victory via TKO in round two in January, 2015.
After being signed by the UFC, Brown found success winning his first fight over Matt Dwyer via unanimous decision in January of 2016. He is currently 3-1 in the UFC organization.
His opponent, Sullivan, (17-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is coming off a loss in his last fight when he lost to Alexander Yakolev via knockout in round one on UFC on Fox 18 back in January, 2016.
With these fights and Long Island fighters scheduled to fight early in 2017, there is even more excitement as officials a few months ago confirmed that MMA might be on its way to Long Island. Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, the firm running the new Nassau Coliseum, are in negotiations with the UFC to bring MMA to the arena in 2017.
Nassau Coliseum has been closed since last August and it would sure make a statement with an action packed night of fights for the thousands of MMA fans on Long Island.
With fights already held at Madison Square Garden (UFC 205 & WSOF 34) and in Albany, a first-ever event at Nassau Coliseum would cement that MMA in New York and on Long Island would make mixed martial arts even more popular in the Empire State.
As the fastest growing sport in New York and on Long Island, MMA seems to be an unstoppable train, and there is still so much to look forward to.
MMA Long Island Magazine is published by MMA New York Media Corporation. For more information please visit www.mmalongislandmagazine.com or call (516) 318-2418.
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