LI ready for big 2017
(Long Island, NY., February 27, 2017) – In the next few months, Long Island will look to put its stamp on the MMA world with major scheduled bouts in March and April as some of the top fighters in the sport will try to ascend up their respective division rankings.
With the likes of Chris Weidman, Gian Villiante, Al Iaquinta and Andre Harrison all scheduled to fight, all four Long Island natives have a chance to cement Long Island as a hot bed for MMA on a national platform.
Villante will take on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 107 in Brazil.
The scheduled fight on March 11, 2017 will pair the two hard-hitting fighters who are both coming off wins.
Villante (15-7) is coming off a “Fight of the Night” bonus victory after a second-round TKO over Saparbek Safarov in Albany on December 9, 2016.
The Long Beach native has now alternated wins and losses, his past 5 fights, as he tries to gain some momentum against Rua.
“Shogun” is a well-known veteran of the sport who has a record of (24-10) and is a former light heavyweight champion.
The Brazilian has found success recently with two consecutive wins, both by decision. In May of 2015, he won “Fight of the Night” via unanimous decision against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 190 and followed that up with a split decision win over Corey Anderson at UFC 198 in May of 2016.
The booking for Rua will be his fifth straight fight in Brazil.
The fight card will be headlined by Victor Belfort vs. Kelvin Gastelum. UFC Fight Night 107 will be aired on FS1.
A week after that, fresh off his successful WSOF debut, Long Island’s Andre Harrison is getting a shot at the featherweight belt on March 18 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino against champion Lance Palmer.
Harrison, (15-0) who recently left Titan FC is the reigning featherweight champion. The undefeated featherweight wasted no time taking his new organization by storm defeating Bruce Boyington (14-10) in his first fight in The World Series of Fighting organization.
Harrison took Boyington down to the ground early in round one on New Year’s Eve and gained top control; he then swiftly took the back of Boyington and went for the guillotine.
As Harrison cranked, Boyington tapped and it was all over at the 1:46 mark of round one.
Now, Harrison, who resides in Freeport, who has yet to taste defeat , will be a part of a stacked WSOF 35 card, including 3 World Title fights.
Palmer (11-2) who fights out of Sacramento, California is coming off a decision win over Alexandre Almeida on July 30, 2016, to claim the featherweight championship.
“The Bull” Harrison announced a few months ago that Titan FC and Harrison have parted ways after three years and will make his return to the ROC (Ring Of Combat) against Ohio native, Julian Lane, on November 18 at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City. However, that fight was canceled due to Lane pulling out with a groin injury. It all worked out for Harrison in the end as Harrison defeated Boyington.
The Long Island native Harrison had defended his Titan FC featherweight title for the fourth consecutive time against Bellator veteran Alexandre Bezerra, where he won on Titan FC 41 via unanimous decision back in September, which was his last fight before his submission on New Year’s Eve.
In his previous fight, on Titan FC 39; he defeated Deivison Francisco Ribereiro via TKO at the 2:13 mark of round three to remain #1 in the featherweight division.
“The Bull”, who fights out of Bellmore Kickboxing Academy, made his professional MMA debut at the ROC (Ring of Combat) 39 on November 18, 2011. After winning seven straight in the ROC, the Long Island native has strung eight-consecutive wins in Titan FC and WSOF organizations.
The WSOF 35 card will be televised live on NBC Sports Network.
To begin April, the UFC has announced that native Long Islander, Chris Weidman, will fight against Gegard Mousasi at UFC 210 in Buffalo on April 8 at the KeyBank Center.
Weidman, (13-2, 9-2 UFC) is currently riding a two-fight losing streak after his latest loss to Yoel Romero in November at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden. The former middleweight champion previously lost his belt at UFC 194 to Luke Rockhold in December of 2015.
“Once I heard he was calling me out, I said let’s give this guy what he wants,” Weidman said. “Now I’m going to throw this guy a beating.”
Fighting out of Baldwin, Weidman started his MMA career off with 13 consecutive victories before losing to Rockhold via TKO in round four on December 12, 2015.
His impressive career was accentuated when he defeated Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt twice, (UFC 162 and 168), and defended it twice, beating Lyoto Machida and Victor Belfort, UFC 175 and UFC 187, respectively.
This will be Weidman’s biggest test to date as he is facing Mousasi (41-6-2, (8-3 UFC). Mousasi, who went 4-0 in 2016, is currently riding a four-fight winning streak with three of those bouts coming via finishes. In his last fight, he defeated Uriah Hall via TKO in round one on November 16 at UFC Fight Night 99.
Mousasi is currently ranked #5 in the middleweight division, while Weidman is #4.
Finally, after a long layoff, Long Island’s Al Iaquinta is back. It was announced that Iaquinta will take on Diego Sanchez on April 22 in Nashville.
Injuries and a contract dispute with the UFC organization has left the Wantagh resident waiting to get back to the Octagon for over two years.
The 29-year-old has an impressive 12-3 MMA record and is 7-2 in the UFC. Fighting in the lightweight division, Iaquinta last fought on April 4, 2015, where he beat Jorge Masvidal via spilt decision.
Currently riding a four-fight winning streak, Iaquinta has also won seven of his last eight fights with noteworthy wins over Joe Lauzon (UFC 183) and Ross Pearson (UFC Fight Night 55).
Fighting under the Serra-Longo Team, Iaquinta declined a fight against Thiago Alves on the UFC 205 card at Madison Square Garden due to a contract dispute with the organization but is back and ready to go.
Sanchez (27-9) last fought on November 5, 2016, where he won a unanimous decision over Marcin Held at UFC Fight Night 98.
March and April will be jammed packed with fights, but for Long Island, key fights, for top fighters, will undeniably make noise in the MMA world.
Please continue to check our Twitter handle (mmaLImagazine) and Instagram page (mmalongislandmagazine) for up-to-the-minute updates on all fights.
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.
Photo credit:Getty Images
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