Combat at the Capitale
February 6, 2009 
Written by:
Nick Reilly
Photos by:
Marz
As a fan of the New York Yankees, something has always bothered me. Why is it that people who aren't Yankee fans hate the Yankees? I understand that every team has rival fans, but the Yankees are different because if you are a baseball fan you either love them or despise them. Ask a Red Sox fan and you might get the whole “Yankees buying championships” line of reasoning, but I always suspected that the fact that in competition people often resent the majority and the Yankees have a massive fan base.
On a night where Tiger Schulmann Mixed Martial Arts had fighters in nearly half of the bouts, I proved my assumption true but found that in that hate there is another element: respect. The highly partisan crowd, nearly all of which was made up of TSMMA fans, would erupt with chants of "TSK" when their fighters entered the ring. As a petite young woman unleashed piercing screams of "Kick his ass, Louis" directly behind my head, leaving my ear drums shattered and my left ear ringing for three full days after the event, I found myself inclined to discard my journalistic integrity and scream myself hoarse for their opponents. Yet, I had to respect the TSMMA fighters that were literally "bringing the noise," because as good as it felt to root for the little guy, they dominated the night, convincingly sweeping all seven of their events with four unanimous and one split decision in five amateur fights.
TSMMA scored. In a pro international rules match, TSMMA’s green-haired Louis Gaudinot (robustly cheered on by the woman I mentioned earlier) scored a round three TKO after knocking down Kioto’s Matt Lyall four times. In the first, Gaudinot answered early pressure by Lyall with solid defense and good use of hands that kept Lyall on the retreat. Gaudinot finished the round with what could best be described as a flying drop roundhouse that resulted in a knockdown, leaving Lyall heading back to his corner at the rounds close looking apprehensive. Both fighters start round two cautiously until Lyall landed a solid shot to Gaudinot’s ribs and followed with a spinning back fist that missed its mark. Both fighters exchange until Gaudinot backs Lyall up against the ropes, landing a flurry of punches that sends Lyall through the ropes. The fighters come out circling in round three until Gaudinot connects with a left that scores a knockdown. After an exchange in the corner, Gaudinot has Lyall reeling and lands a spinning back kick to the ribs that leads to a fourth knockdown and a TKO at 1:43.
US Kickboxing champion James “B-52” Smith of the Black Thaiger Academy faced of against WCL champion Uriah Hall of TSMMA in a short but intense battle for the Pro Muay Thai Regional Championship. In round one, both fighters start strong, circling and trading blows. Smith works the legs with solid kicks and Hall responds with a knee to the chest. The fighters continue to trade punches until Hall lands a left kick to the jaw that puts Smith on the canvas. Smith recovers only to have Hall land a knee to the chest and a brutal right that left Smith out against the ropes, resulting in a KO at 2:59 of round one.
In other action, Team Combat’s Francois Ambang faced The Wat’s Mark Lecroulant in a pro Muay Thai fight. Round one began with devastating leg kicks from Ambang that continually land on Lecroulant’s left leg, a method he would continue to use throughout the round until landing a massive right that leaves Lecroulant on the on the mat. Lecroulant recovered and the two fighters finish the round circling and trading leg kicks. Ambang begins round two with a savage kick to Lecroulant’s stomach that lands him on the canvas. After his recovery, Ambang continues to work Lecroulant’s left leg. The two fighters exchange punches, with Armbang scoring a second knockdown off the ropes and finishing the round with a monstrous kick to Lecroulant’s stomach. Round three continues in the same fashion as the other two, with Armbang punishing Lecroulant’s left leg. Lecroulant picks up the pace, throwing head kicks that Armbang continually blocks and responds to with high and low kicks. Ambang lands a ferocious kick to the ribs that crumbles Lecroulant to the canvas for an eight count. The round ends with the two exchanging blows. Lecroulant does not answer the bell for the start of the fourth round, leading to a TKO.
In the fight of the night, EC Champ Andrea DeAngelo of the Neglia Competition Team faced off against NYS Champ Christine Rosa of the Longo Competition Team in four rounds of action for the US Kickboxing championship. Round one begins with Rosa dominating early until DeAngelo, fighting off the ropes, scores a knockdown with a solid combination. Rosa recovers and the two fighters stand toe to toe and trade for the remainder of the round. Both fighters begin round two cautiously until Rosa presses the attack and puts DeAngelo against the ropes. DeAngelo, who proves to be dangerous from this position, lands a strong head kick and takes control, dominating Rosa with her back against the ropes. The fighters again start to unleash on each waging a vicious war of attrition until the round comes to a close. Round three follows a similar pattern, with both fighters exchanging consistently and taking turns fighting off the ropes. As the round comes to a close, both fighters are beginning to show fatigue. Although both fighters come out aggressively in round four, DeAngelo takes advantage of Rosa, keeping her against the ropes and dealing massive amounts of damage. Rosa stands strong and both fighters continue to trade at a furious pace until the round closes out and goes to the judges, who score the fight unanimously in favor of DeAngelo 40-35, 39-36 and 39-36.
TSMMA
AMA Fight Club
Longo Comp Team
AMA Fight Club
TSMMA
The Wat
TSMMA
Combined MA/Bakary Gym
Team Budokan
Volfin's Karate
TSMMA
Combined MA/Bakary Gym
TSMMA
Sitan Gym
The Wat
AMA Fight Club
Bull Pen
Competitior's Edge
Neglia Comp Team
AMA Fight Club
The Wat
Dragon V
EC Champ / Neglia Comp Team
NYS Champ / Longo Comp Team
TSMMA
Kioto
Team Combat
The Wat
WCL Champ / TSMMA
US Kick Champ / Black Thaiger
Combat at the Capitale, NYC, Nick Reilly in Events, Muay Thai 
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