This weekend I made the trip up to Amsterdam, NY to cheer on Precision MMA boxers Paul Maley and Dan Power.  Once again I got a speeding ticket on the way up, but I figured that was a good omen since last time that happened Pat Daka took home the golden gloves title.

The bouts were outside at a baseball stadium.  First up was Paul Maley.  I knew Paul would be hungry since he wound up on the wrong side of some extremely close decisions recently and was looking to make a statement.  Sure enough he took the center of the ring and wasted no time getting down to business.  Landing crisp jabs and solid uppercuts Paul was clearly getting the better of his game, but outmatched opponent.

In the second round the ref gave Paul’s opponent a standing 8 count.  This sparked more output and Paul made the third round his strongest.  As the judges score cards were being tallied we knew Paul had won

  Next up was Dan Power.  Dan brought his straight ahead pressure style into the ring and immediately went after his rangy opponent.  Scoring with heavy body shots and high output Dan comfortably took the first round.  At the start of the second Dan smelled blood and went in strong, but got a little reckless and ate a big uppercut against the ropes.  He went down but quickly jumped to his feet assuring the ref that he was more than ready to continue.  Unfortunately, something the ref saw lead him to think otherwise and he stopped the fight, giving Dan’s opponent the victory.  To say Dan was upset is an understatement.  He acted as a sportsman and shook his opponent’s hand, but was extremely frustrated that the fight was taken out of his hands when he wanted to continue.

I had mixed emotions.  On the one hand I know Dan is incredibly tough and would have gone out there to give it his all.  On the other hand I know sometimes fighters are too tough for their own good and perhaps this time it may have been best to live to fight another day.  One thing I can guarantee though, whoever steps in the ring with Dan Power next is going to have a bad day.

While I was in upstate New York there were also some fierce MMA fights going on at Valley Forge, PA.  My training partner Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman continued his rise up the  pound ladder and racked up a dominating victory at CFFC.  This makes three straight dominating performances for Charlie, the UFC should be taking notice soon.

Hudson Valley martial arts

Precision fighters get back in the ring for muay thai fights in July and AMA fighters will keep me busy as Andy Main fights in Pancrase and Sean Santella defends his CFFC Flyweight title in the coming months.

If you’re looking to train Hudson Valley martial arts then check out Precision MMA in LaGrange, NY.  Call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com to get started