Lentz and Iaquinta Dominate at Ring of Combat 25
by Jim Genia
O'Donnell
(June 12th, Tropicana Resort & Casino, Atlantic City) A middleweight belt changed hands, a light-heavyweight champ was crowned, and knockouts were the theme of the night, but when all was said and done the big news was the collision course set between two runaway freight trains named Jeff Lentz and Al Iaquinta. Ring of Combat 25 saw an unknown but complete badass in Victor O’Donnell deposit defending champ Rafael Sapo on Queer Street and leave him there, Ricardo Romero prove once more that he’s a league above all other Northeast 205-pounders, and studs like Marc Berracol and Ryan LaFlare end their bouts with big exclamation-point KOs. Yet Lentz’s two-minute destruction of veteran Eddie Fyvie and Iaquinta’s 13-second knockout over Tim Sylvester said it all: if and when these two killers meet, there’s going to be fireworks. Other highlights of the event included:
• The back-and-forth war between Serra/Longo up-and-comer Nabih Barakat and Jim Bova. The razor-thin decision went to Barakat thanks to his superior striking, but both men showed a ton of heart.
• Bellmore Kickboxing heavyweight Gian Villante’s dominant performance over the tough Joe Abouata. It was Villante from beginning to end.
• The hard-fought win by old-school fighter Jay Isip, which saw him drop Mike Prokop early and pound on him throughout.
Isip on top of Prokop
Full Results:
ROC Middleweight Title
Rafael Sapo (Team Renzo-184lbs) vs. Victor O’Donnell (Team Vision/Walker MMA-186lbs)
O’Donnell via doctor stoppage at 5:00 of Round One.
USKBA Light-Heavyweight Title
Ricardo Romero (Advanced Martial Arts-206lbs) vs. Karen Grigoryan (Team Link-205lbs)
Romero via TKO at 2:50 of Round Two.
Main Card
Gian Villante (Bellmore Kickboxing-232lbs) vs. Joe Abouata (Wilkie’s Warriors-234lbs)
Villante via TKO at 1:48 of Round One.
Mark Berrocal (Bill Scott BJJ-170lbs) vs. Radji Bryson-Barrett (TSMMA-172lbs)
Berrocal via KO (punch) at :13 of Round One.
Al Iaquinta (Serra/Longo-155lbs) vs. Tim Sylvester (Maxercise/Daddis FC-155lbs)
Iaquinta via KO (punch) at :13 of Round One.
Eddie Fyvie (Spa City BJJ-149lbs) vs. Jeff Lentz (Rhino Fight Team-151lbs)
Lentz via KO (punches) at 2:02 of Round One.
Mitch Whitesel (Wreck Room-184lbs) vs. Andrew Riddles (RABJJ-185lbs)
Riddles via unanimous decision.
Anthony Abatelli (Serra/Longo-171lbs) vs. Kevin Horowitz (Rhino Fight Team NY-168lbs)
Horowitz via unanimous decision.
Ryan LaFlare (Bellmore Kickboxing-170lbs) vs. Robert Cunane (LA Boxing-176lbs)
LaFlare via KO (punch) at 1:19 of Round One.
Jim Bova (Anthracite Combat Club-155lbs) vs. Nabih Barakat (Serra/Longo-156lbs)
Barakat via split decision.
Preliminary Bouts
Louis Gaudinot (TSMMA-129lbs) vs. Nick Cottone (Maxercise/Daddis FC-128lbs)
Cottone via unanimous decision.
Jay Isip (Pellegrino MMA-155lbs) vs. Mike Prokop (Rhino Fight Team NY-154lbs)
Isip via unanimous decision.
Jose Villaneuva (TSMMA-134lbs) vs. Sean Santella (AMA FC-134lbs)
Majority draw.
Howard Longus (Wilkie’s Warriors-186lbs) vs. Jose Viera (KTFO-179lbs)
Viera via rear naked choke at 1:15 of Round One.
Carlos Brooks (TSMMA-198lbs) vs. David Shapiro (LVIRK-200lbs)
Brooks via TKO at 1:29 of Round Two
