Matt Horwich "War on the Mainland

Check out Matt "The River Dolphin" Horwich from earlier today:



Tickets for "War on the Mainland" are available at 949-824-5000. If you're not in the area, the event is also available on PPV. Call your local cable or satellite provider for details.

Jouban & Marenya explode at ‘Ground Zero’

By Jay Tan

Welterweights Eugene Marenya and Alan Jouban kept Legends MMA’s win streak alive-and-kicking this weekend with a pair of victories at Combat Fight League’s “Ground Zero” amateur MMA event, held at West Coast Jiu Jitsu in Oxnard.

In the main event, Jouban was put in the invader’s role, as he faced West Coast Jiu Jitsu’s star Mose Aieti, who has made waves this year in the SoCal amateur MMA scene. However, Jouban proved to have answers for the hometown hero’s questions, winning by unanimous decision. As the winner of what was declared the Match of the Night, Jouban was awarded a Polanti luxury watch.

“Tough dude. Good fight. It was a fight that I wanted, too. Because I’d been saying I don’t want a quick finish or anything. I want a war. . . I haven’t been out of the first round in my last three fights. So to get to go to a three-round decision, and to kick a guy in the head and have him come back wanting more, it was good,” commented Jouban after the fight.

Marenya, who fought at a 160 lb. catchweight in transition to welterweight, was particularly anxious to get in the cage. He was originally scheduled to fight Anthony Olivas of Bloodbank MMA the week prior, and, ironically, was the main event on that show. However, when rowdy and drunk fans in the crowd started their own fight during the match before Marenya’s, El Monte police and CAMO officials were forced to immediately shut the show down, leaving he and Olivas frustrated and unfulfilled.

“I was pissed off last week. And all that built up into this week, and I put it out there in the ring. I did my thang. Did what my coaches told me, and I banged,” said the North Carolina native.

Also worthy of note about ‘Ground Zero’ was teammate Chris Brady, taking the cornerman reins for the night, covering for head trainer Chris Reilly. Along with Amir Rahnavardi and 10^th Planet brown belt Victor Webster, ‘Boulevard Brady’ was chief second for both Marenya and Jouban. With two successful fights, Brady was praised for his leadership, which, not surprisingly, resembled his longtime mentor’s.

“Brady is like a Little Reilly,” noted Marenya. “He really knows his stuff. He knows the advice to give you. Watches the fight really well. Amir is just a great guy. Great coach. One of the most experienced guys we got. I could hear Vic [Webster] advising. So I basically had all three in my corner, and I really appreciated all of them.”

Jouban noted that having Legends’ more experienced fighters corner their teammates not only helps them grow, but also brings the team itself closer together: “I think not only for me, but for my teammates, I think that it builds their confidence as well. In bringing fighters to fights, [cornering] them, warming them up. That way, we can work together as a team, like an actual cohesive unit. Where, if Reilly can’t make it, I could corner my buddy. I can warm them up. We know that we can all rely on each other.”

160 lbs. – Eugene Marenya vs. Marcus Aven (Right Cross)

Aven spent a good part of the first round working for a takedown, crowding Marenya against the cage and trying a trip, but Marenya fended it off incredibly well, sprawling and stuffing the double-leg shot, quickly escaping when they did finally get to the ground. Marenya opened up with lefts and rights, and then fended off another shot with overhooks and knees. Aven charged and did get Marenya on the ground, peppering him with lefts and taking his back, but Marenya pivoted around and was stacking Aven from above as Aven worked for an armbar as the round ended. Aven was determined to get the takedown in round two, trying to pull in Marenya’s legs against the cage for well over half the round. After breaking apart, Marenya landed a high kick that rocked Aven, who instinctively changed levels and grabbed for a single-leg, which he did score as the round ended. Marenya came alive in the third round, opening with a a low right kic and attacking with lefts and rights to the head, pushing Aven back against the cage until referee Ray Rothfelder stopped the match. Marenya was awarded the victory via TKO.

Marenya’s growth as a fighter, from his first West Coast match back in April, was markedly obvious, not just in his takedown defense, but, according to Jouban, his punches and kicks: “I think Eugene’s striking is really starting to come along. You could see the progression in his last three fights, leading up to this. It really showed because he landed the head kick. . . The guy wore himself trying to take him down. But the striking was the difference-maker. The guy didn’t want any part of the striking, but he had no choice. Eugene had the more dominant reach, and just athleticism.”

“I’ve been working with a lot of the good wrestlers at the gym. I’ve been working with some of the good jiu jitsu guys. Working on little tricks to defend the takedown. And it paid off,” said Marenya.

175 lbs. – Alan Jouban vs. Mose Aieti (West Coast Jiu Jitsu)

Aieti was active on the attack, taking Jouban down off a combo and working from inside Jouban’s guard. Jouban muted Aieti’s options by pulling mission control. Aieti tried a short slam to no avail. Once referee Ray Rothfelder stood them up, Jouban landed several Muay Thai knees, kicks, and punches to end the round. Both men were more cautious in engaging in round two, throwing selective kicks before Aieti charged in. But Jouban caught him with two more Muay Thai knees before being taken to the ground, where Aieti kept the fight. In round three, Aieti shot in for a takedown that Jouban caught with a front headlock, slipping in an underhook and several strong knees. Jouban let go and tagged Aieti with a right kick, then charged in with kicks and punches. Aieti dropped Jouban with an overhand right and pounced, but Jouban caught him in a triangle choke that he held to round’s end.

Judges awarded Alan Jouban the match via unanimous decision, off scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.

Marenya had nothing but praise for the always-poised Jouban, commenting “aw, man. Superman! Great fight. . . He outworked the kid. . . I guess people now know not to stand-up with Legends guys. ‘Cuz Chris Reilly, Muay Thai. It’s just showing how great our stand-up reputation is. No one wants to stand with us.”

In other “Combat Fight League: Ground Zero” action that night:

135 lbs. – Juan Aguilera def. Juan Estrada via TKO, R2.

185 lbs. – JJ Mortimer def. Sid Sidberry via submission, R1.

150 lbs. – Francisco Estrada def. Peter Mostawa via submission, R1.

205 lbs. – John Hernandez def. Jarrod Huggins via KO, R1.

145 lbs. (female) – Ronda Rousey def. Hayden Munoz via submission, R1.

Legends MMA is sponsored by X-Pole, Melee Fight Gear, and MMA Elite.

Rockymore wins big at Spar Star

By Jay Tan

He might not be old enough to drink, but Jacob Rockymore is old enough to put heads to bed, as he demonstrated on July 30^th at Spar Star MMA’s inaugural event at the El Monte Civic Center in El Monte.

Rockymore, making his California MMA debut, defeated Cole Riley of OC Boxing with a arm triangle choke (aka side choke) at 1:31 of the first round.

“That shit was tight. . . I went in there, had fun, did my thing, and the results came out good. If you see the video, I was focused,” he said proudly in the days after the fight.

The match started out swiftly, as Rockymore attacked with combos and Riley replied with sharp jabs. Rockymore pressed the action with a pair of kicks and an overhand right, which eventually led to grabbing a waistlock and working for a takedown. He did eventually trip Riley to the mat and bully him over, then throwing rights from inside Riley’s guard. Riley swept Rockymore, who swept Riley almost as quickly, before landing in a side choke that he cinched until referee Larry Landless stopped the match.

For Rockymore, this match was not just about the immediate victory, but also about moving past his previous bout and proving to himself that he could perform at the level for which he’s trained. This past May, Rockymore fought in Las Vegas, first coming up on the short end of a hairline-thin split decision and then struggling through sickness backstage. However, in El Monte, the young flyweight was determined to claim his reversal of fortune.

“I felt more confident. Because I knew I was going to win this fight, for some reason. The last one was tough as fuck. Harder than I expected it to be. This one, the guy was overweight, and I was under. . . When I was inside the cage, I was just ready. My mind was set and everything. I knew what I was gonna do.”

Despite such a dominant and adept performance, Rockymore is still quick to recognize that he’s got a long way to go, saying “I still feel like I can do better. I’ve still got a lot to learn. . . [like] the jiu-jitsu on the bottom. After he flipped me, I was like ‘fuck, what do I do now?’ I just tried to strengthen over. Get my butterfly guard and flip him. That worked, but what if it didn’t?”

Teammate Eugene Marenya was also scheduled to fight on the Spar Star event, and was in fact the last match of the night, but in an unfortunate turn of events, the show was cut short when several drunk fans ignited their own brawl in the stands, just one match before Marenya’s.

Fortunately, Marenya didn’t need wait long before finding another match. The next day, he was added to Combat Fight League’s “Ground Zero” event in Oxnard, taking on Marcus Aven of Right Cross.

Legends MMA is sponsored by X-Pole, Melee Fight Gear, and MMA Elite.

New Matt Horwich Interview for "War on the Mainland" PPV!!

"The Limit Smasher," Matt Horwich, did this interview in anticipation of his next match, a middleweight championship fight against UFC veteran Thales Leites, which is scheduled for August 14th at the UC Irvine Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA.

Horwich is being brought in as a last-minute replacement after Falaniko Vitale was forced to withdraw.

This is the co-main event for Powerhouse World Promotions and Integrated Sports' "War on the Mainland," airing live on pay per view. Also appearing on the card will be Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia, Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello, Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver, Jason Lamber, Allen Goes, and Terry Martin.



Tickets are available by calling (949) 824-5000. Or watch on pay-per-view.

Hope to see you at the fights!

Updated Fight Cards for July 30th and August 6th

It’s going to be a busy next two weeks for the Legends MMA team, with fighters scheduled to compete on back-to-back-to-back events from now through mid-August.

July 30 – Spar Star MMA in El Monte

This Friday, July 30^th, Eugene Marenya and Jacob Rockymore do battle at Spar Star MMA in El Monte.

125 lbs. – Jacob Rockymore vs. Cole Hughes Reilly (OC Boxing)

160 lbs. – Eugene Marenya vs. Anthony Olivas (Bloodbank MMA)

WHEN: Saturday, July 30^th, 7:00pm

WHERE: El Monte Expo Center

12051 Garvey Ave.

El Monte, CA, 91732

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE AT THE LEGENDS / BESPUN (BRICKHOUSE) FRONT DESK!!

August 6 – Combat Fight League in Oxnard

The following week, Alan Jouban puts his undefeated win streak on the line against Mose Aieti of West Coast Jiu Jitsu, at Combat Fight League’s “Ground Zero.”

175 lbs. – Alan Jouban vs. Mose Aieti (West Coast Jiu Jitsu)

WHEN: Friday, August 6^th, 7:00pm

WHERE: West Coast Jiu Jitsu

2945 Los Olivos
Oxnard, CA 93036-8919
(805) 604-0944

Tickets are available at www.CombatFightLeague.com or by calling West Coast Jiu Jitsu at (805) 604-0944.

Jouban & Palencia Sweep at County Cage Fighting

By Jay Tan

Alan Jouban and Christian Palencia were victorious in their California MMA debuts last night, at the second County Cage Fighting event, held at Adrenaline Combat Sports & Fitness in San Bernadino.

Jouban finished his opponent in the first round via gogo plata, while Palencia demonstrated his striking power and grappling finesse to secure a unanimous decision.

“I was really excited about fighting in the cage. That was a big step for me, to get that first cage fight out of the way,” noted Jouban.

SparWithMe.com was on hand to record the fights, and has graciously made them available to the public.

175 lbs. – Alan Jouban vs. Jason Townsell (Combined Martial Sciences)

http://www.sparwithme.com/2010/07/13/rob-bird-team-cff-manuel-murillo-team-quest/ (Mislabeled, but the correct video)

“I was really happy for him. I was surprised he got taken down, but it kinda looked like he was kinda fine with it and didn’t want to fight it too much. He kinda pulled guard and started working that gogo plata. Got it eventually. He’s working all aspects of the game, which is really good,” Palencia said of his teammate.

Indeed, Jouban says he intended to fight from bottom, explaining that he feels that his amateur days are the prime time to test as many different fight situations as possible.

“I want to finish every one of my fights differently while I’m an amateur. I want a knockout. I want a submission. I want a submission from top, from bottom. I want as many varieties of finishes that I can have. I just want to test myself. So far it’s worked out. . . . Not to sound arrogant in any way, but I don’t want to say ‘oh this works,’ and keep doing it. I really want to see what I can do. How many ways I can finish people, and then have that in my arsenal when I go pro. And know what works, and know what I’ve done in the past,” he explained.

160 lbs. – Christian Palencia vs. Vince Vouquez (HB Ultimate Training Center)

http://www.sparwithme.com/2010/07/12/vince-blue-vs-christian-palencia-red/

“He was easily dominating the striking. He had so much more power on his punches. The first round, he didn’t have the distance yet, because the guy had the way longer arms. But once he had the distance, I thought Christian was gonna knock him out,” said head trainer Chris Reilly.

“Christian, in my eyes, puts on a great fight. I think, after this fight, he’s at the pro level. He’s been tiptoeing in that category, but after this fight – he fought a much bigger, much stronger guy. Very, very tough guy. . . I thought he fought a three-round perfect fight. He won every part of the fight. Stand-up, ground, clinch, takedown, sweeps. Everything,” added Jouban.

For Palencia, the victory was a moral one as well, as he came in far more under weight than necessary. Weighing himself at 170 lbs. (for a 160 lbs. match) 24 hours before the fight, Palencia went into overdrive for the weight cut. However, he officially weighed-in at 153 lbs., and with only a few hours before fight time, rehydrating and rejuvenating his energy levels continued the strain on him.

“It felt really good to win, afterwards because I felt like before the fight, I was going in there less than 50%. Just the way I was feeling. . . . That cut really did me bad. I just felt like I wanted to throw up, but I fought for it to stay down. . .I was like ‘there’s no way I’m going to be able to fight a full fight, or do whatever I want to.’ When I did, I actually beat him, everybody said I did good, I was really proud of myself,” he recanted.

"I was just nervous because I knew how bad Christian’s insides were feeling. Because of the weight loss. Christian was puking at the trash can right before we went out. And he was really not feeling well and he was really worried about it. . . I was like ‘remember how you felt, after your last fight? And you’re the one who begged to get in right away, because you wanted to wash that loss off your memory. Don’t let a little stomach thing stop you,’ recalled Reilly.

Jouban and Palencia will next fight possibly as early as July 30^th, joining teammates Eugene Marenya and Jacob Rockymore, for Spar Star MMA, at the El Monte Civic Center in El Monte.

Legends Fighters competing on July 10th & 30th – TICKETS NOW ON SALE!!!

This month, the Legends MMA team is scheduled to compete twice, right here in California.
On Saturday, July 10th, the team travels out to Adrenaline Gym in San Bernadino for County Cage Fighting.

Tickets are now available at the Brickhouse (Legends / BeSpun) front desk.

160 lbs. catchweight – Christian Palencia vs. Vince Vouquez (HB Ultimate Training Center)

175 lbs. catchweight – Alan Jouban vs. Jason Townsell (Combined Martial Science)

WHEN: Saturday, July 10th, 6:00pm

WHERE: Adrenaline Combat Sports & Fitness
1930 South E Street
San Bernadino, CA, 92408

For more info, visit www.CountyCageFighting.com or call 909-422-0648

Three weeks later, on July 30th, three Legends fighters compete at the inaugural Spar Star MMA promotion, being held at the El Monte Expo Center (just 20 minutes east of the Brickhouse).

125 lbs. – Jacob Rockymore vs. Omar Martinez (Bloodbank MMA)

160 lbs. – Eugene Marenya vs. Eddy Barrezueta (South Coast Fight Club)

Alan Jouban is also expected to fight on this card.

WHEN: Saturday, July 30th, 7:00pm

WHERE: El Monte Expo Center
12051 Garvey Ave.
El Monte, CA, 91732

For more info, visit www.SparStarPromotions.com/ or call T-Bone at 562-244-8067

Both cards are subject to change.