Saturday, January 29, 2011

CZ 36

Congratualtions to Nate LaMotte, who made a triumphant return to the cage last night with a win in the first round over veteran Nuri Shakir during Combat Zone 36.
LaMotte had been sidelined for almost a year with injuries, but didn't take long to get back into the flow. He slapped a rear naked choke on Shakir and got the Nashua resident to submit just before time expired in the first round.
The other big winner of the night was Calvin Kattar, who continues to improve his repuatation as one of the best fighters in the area by beating Luis Rodriguez in a unanimous decision.
It will be interesting to see where both winners go from here. I would love to see a fight between LaMotte and Tom Moreau, and hopefully Kattar, who got his 11th win, will get a shot from one of the bigger promotion companies.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Finally!

After more than three months without any action, mixed martial arts finally returns to the Granite State later this month when Combat Zone 36 takes place at Rockingham Park on Jan. 28.
It's been a long wait. The last event in New Hampshire was CZ 35, which was also held at the Rock way back on Oct. 22. This is certainly a setback to any signs of growth the sport may have had after a strong fall, and it is disappointing to see such a lull.
That being said, there is a pretty-good card slated for Jan. 28.
The featured match comes in the 155-pound weight class, where Calvin Kattar (10-2) takes on Luis Rodrigues (4-0).
The co-main event has Manchester's Nate LaMotte (11-5) taking on journeyman Nuri Shakir (15-16) in the 170-pound weight class. It is also the end to a long layoff for LaMotte, who hasn't had a fight since March 27, 2009, when he beat Davin Wesinger.
There are 16 fights scheduled, 10 amateur and six pro.