Cage Titans FC 18 Preview

On April 5th, Regional Fight Sports is going to be treated to another excellent card from Cage Titans FC, at Plymouth Memorial Hall in historic Plymouth, MA. The upcoming show is bringing us 17 sure-to-be action packed fights, with some pro debuts, local stand-bys, and a farewell fight to a local MMA legend!

Here it is folks, the main card breakdown and predictions from Regional Fight Sports!

Robbie Leroux vs. Johnny Campbell, Pro Bantamweight (135 lb.)

The night’s feature scrap will place two always exciting fighters on a collision course. “Relentless” Robbie Leroux out of Clinch MMA will be taking on Johnny Campbell in a fight that’s sure to produce fireworks. Both the fighter’s names are synonymous with the local MMA scene, and have been wowing spectators for quite some time now. Both are veterans with a lot of experience, so it’s hard to say either one will have the advantage as far as cage-savvy is concerned. Leroux is as an excellent grappler and strong wrestler with the pedigree to back it up. As a fighter, Robbie has shown he has the ability to win in any facet of the game. Of his six wins, he has won by slick submission, powerful (t)KO’s, and slugged his way to decision victories. It’s never easy to top a guy who knows his way around the game, so I expect “Relentless” to put on an excellent display.

Johnny Campbell is pretty well rounded himself, but when you look at the history, it’s his hands that make him his money. Johnny comes into the ring with three technical knockouts out of five professional wins on his resume, as well as a submission and decision victory. While the guy has shown the ability to submit and push his way to victory, his hands do most of the talking for the South Shore Sport-fighting product. He lands quickly and has shown some strong technical striking.

Chad Kelly vs. Remo Cardelli, Flyweight (125 lb.)

The next bout of the evening features those fast, high flying flyweights we’re all becoming so fond of. #3 ranked Chad Kelly out of Fighting Arts Academy in Leominster steps into the cage to duke it out with former Amateur Standout Remo Cardelli of Rivera Athletics. Both fighters are undefeated in their relatively short careers, as Kelly boasts a 2-0 record and Cardelli 1-0. Someone isn’t going to leave this cage undefeated, and someone is going to be taking another step up in the 125 pound ladder. When it comes down to it, Kelly has a plan, and that plan is to choke you unconscious. The biggest problem for a lot of his opponents is, as it turns out, he is really good at it. In his amateur and professional career, Kelly boasts 5 wins, including his two professional wins, by submission (three of which came by triangle choke). Even in his amateur defeats, both were split decisions to extremely successful opponents, so Kelly is a game fighter. That kind of success isn’t easy to come by, especially while fighting off of your back, so the submission game better be respected, or Cardelli will just be another win on Kelly’s unblemished professional record.

Cardelli comes into the fight with only one professional win so far, but a stellar amateur career. Undefeated as an amateur as well, Cardelli has shown an ability to finish by any way he wants. While he has won by Tko and Decision, Cardelli has proven himself just as capable on the mat as his adversary. Two of his 4 wins (1 pro and 1 amateur) are by submission. I was fortunate enough to be able to see Cardelli’s last brawl with Shane Decristoforo, in what proved to be one hell of a fight. His prowess on the mat is impressive, and his hands looked crisp as well.

Ralph Johnson vs. Mike Rodriguez, Middleweight (185 lb.)

Ralph Johnson and Mike Rodriguez will face off in the night’s middleweight bout. Ralph is an independent fighter who slings leather to devastating effect, while Rodriguez is a former Amateur champion looking to make a splash in his pro debut. Both these guys have proven to be strong fighters, so we expect this one to end as quickly as it starts.Ralph Johnson isn’t exactly hard to figure out when it comes to his game plan…he’s a big guy with big power, and when his hands touch chins…people go down hard. Johnson has all 6 of his wins coming by KO or TKO in the first round, so he comes out of the gate swinging. He’s a big middleweight with explosive power, so Rodriguez will have his hands full with those cinder blocks coming his way.

Rodriguez is the former Cage Titans Middleweight amateur champion, and while this is his professional debut, his amateur record lets us know that the guy means business. In four amateur bouts, Rodriguez has shown some power of his own, notching two wins by TKO, as well as a submission and decision win. Rodriguez is a finisher, and has yet to be defeated in a contest. Also, judging purely from the paper, Mike seems to be the more well rounded fighter because of his varied means of victory.

Frank Falso vs. Keegan Hornstra, Welterweight (170 lb)

The main card’s welterweight battle will be fought between the veteran Hornstra, with eight fights to his credit, against the debuting Falso. Hornstra is fighting out of Port City, and is 1-1 in his last two. Falso will be fighting out of team United and making his professional debut after a four fight amateur career. Falso comes into this fight with a clean slate as a professional. While a good fighter, he will have to look to keep his limbs in place against the Port City BJJ product in Keegan, as Falso has proven that he can be submitted. However Falso is as tough as they come and as an amateur he did fight all studs. Falso is training out of Team United Muay Lao located in Providence RI. The gym has brought in well respected BJJ purple belt coach George Thibault to improve the “Striking Schools” ground game. Team United has been around for a long time (2008) and has helped start the careers of ranked regional fighters, amateur champions and pro MMA fighters such as: Andre Soukhamthath, Nate Andrews, Dan Cormier, Theo Desjardin, Tommy Venticinque, Mario Gonzalez, Shane Decristoforo, Tom Evans, Todd “The Hulk” Chattelle and many others. Striking coach William Soukhamthath has done a great job over the years of mentoring and training some of the best fighters in the region. Team United has been a gym where many faces have come through the doors to get cross training in, many of these faces being ranked pro fighters in the region. Knowing all of this which many people do not, Frank will be ready for the very tough MMA veteran Keegan Hornstra.

Hornstra comes into this fight looking to snatch a second victory in three contests. The Port City product will most likely be looking to latch on a nice submission early, and make it look pretty for the fans. He has a strong guillotine and finished his last win in the first round, so he will look to repeat the success.

Steve Skrzat vs. Pat Schultz, Catchweight (195 lb)

This fight will be a special one, as local MMA legend Pat Schultz will be gracing the cage for the last time, win or lose. His farewell fight is sure to be a strong one, as Schultz has proven time and time again, he can put on a great show. Across from him will be Steve Skrzat, a strong competitor and savvy veteran, Skrzat will look to play heel in this one, ruining the farewell fight with his highlight reel power. Schultz has long been a fixture along the local MMA scene as a coach and a fighter. He had a stint on the Ultimate Fighter, a strong 8-2 record, and a sterling reputation as a coach, Schultz will look to do the Cape Cod Fighting Alliance proud and bring home one last knockout in his farewell fight. Schultz has some high-level power and crisp striking, having all but one of his wins come by KO or Tko. He will look to use that striking to give the fans a show.

Skrzat is no foreigner to the stand-up game. Like Schultz, all but one of his victories have come by KO or TKO, and Skrzat is more than willing to go out on his shield, swinging hard leather until someone hits the canvas.

Billy Keenan vs. Dan Dubuque, Featherweight (145 lb)

Starting off the Main Card isn’t an easy job. Fighters need to set the pace for the whole show, get the crowd glued to it’s seats. That’s why Mike Polvere has given us a title-scrap between two surging amateur featherweights in Keenan and Dubuque. Both fighters are on three fight winning streaks, and that big pretty belt is right within their grasp. They just have to run over the other to get their hands on it. Keenan fights out of Redline Fight Sports and has shown to have a little life in them hands. Keenan has a couple TKO’s to his credit, and seems more than willing to exchange with anyone looking to test his power. He’s a tough fighter who isn’t easy to put away, as his two losses are decisions, and he has yet to be finished in his career. He will be looking to set that pace right away and try to land those combinations on his opponent and toss another scalp onto his belt.

Dan Dubuque will be looking to get his hands on that belt by any means necessary. All of Dan’s wins have been decisions, so he has the cardio to finish a fight strong and is willing to go full tilt for all the rounds he needs to get the win. He will have his hands full with Keenan, but if he can push the pace and take him out of his comfort zone and make sure Keenan can’t utilize his hands, he has a fighting chance to take the belt home!

And that’s it folks! Our main card Predictions for Cage Titans on April 5th, at Plymouth Memorial Hall.

Cage Titans FC Undercard

125lb AM – Ryan Kane (0-1, CCFA) vs Dan Krall (1-1, Battlecrew)

135lb AM - Fabio Lima (1-1, Boston Combat) vs Max Barrett (2-2 MAXX Training)

185lb AM – Joseph Cameron (0-0, Boston Combat) vs Mike Fisk (0-0, Team Anubis)

125lb AM – Buun Tengamnuay (0-0, Boston Combat) vs Dave Baxter (0-1, USMMA)

145lb AM – Jose Rustrian (2-2, Boston Combat) vs Jeff Perez (2-2, SBG East Coast) 135lb AM – Ryan Pompeii (1-0, TriForce) vs Randy Costa (0-0, Lauzon MMA)

155lb AM – Evan Aubrey (1-1, Wai Kru) vs Jacob Weeks (1-0, SBG East Coast)

160lb AM – Barry Liseno (0-2, Independent) vs Jimmy Manning (2-2, CCFA)

Written by student interns: William Raczkowski & David Messuri

Edited by RFS Staff