From Bare Knuckles to Boardrooms (WMMA 3 Dynasty)

[dubb93]

January 1, 1991

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Scott Avatar

While on a plane home from a "business" trip to Japan, American investor Scott Avatar was struck with an idea for a grand Martial Arts Tournament in Las Vegas. He would market the fights on Pay-Per-View and invite some of the biggest names in fighting across multiple martial arts and combat sports. What could possibly go wrong?

On second thought, maybe this isn't where the story of the rise of Mixed Martial Arts starts. Let me take you back to that late December trip to Japan.

December 29, 1990

Scott Avatar's plane touches down late at night in Tokyo. After a taxi ride to his hotel he notices that next door is a hole-in-the-wall arcade full of video games. After checking in at the hotel he headed right back down and quickly noticed that one game was getting much more attention than the rest. That game was "Street Fighter," and dozens of people were crowded around that machine.

All of these people were captivated by a game that depicted a Martial Arts tournament. Scott began to think....

December 30, 1990

After an intense business meeting Scott asks one of his colleagues about what he saw the night before in the arcade. After a few laughs, they quickly invited him out to see the newest underground craze in Japan. He was invited to watch the International Shoot League.

December 31, 1990

Scott decided to attend the fighting event. While there, he was captivated by two things:

1. The pure violence of it all. It was not like any other combat sport he had ever seen. The level of violence was amazing. In the main event he witnessed Marko Prochazka break the arm of hometown favorite Kojuro Ijichi.

Being a native of Vegas, Scott had been to many boxing and even kickboxing events, but he had never seen anything quite like Ijichi refusing to submit and ending up with a broken arm for his troubles.

2. There was no flash to any of this. The atmosphere was very "underground." He saw almost no advertising done and there were absolutely no pyrotechnics. The entire thing had a very low budget feel. Scott was shocked that this new sport had attracted a sell out arena with absolutely no advertising. This was all word of mouth!

January 1, 1991

While on a plane home form a "business" trip to Japan, American investor Scott Avatar was struck with an idea for a grand Martial Arts Tournament in Las Vegas. After watching his first "MMA" show in Japan, Scott knew that he could absolutely do this bigger and better. He could invite bigger fighting names and he could throw much more money at it. His business contacts were almost limitless.

He was going to do it. He called up some contacts and investors and in no time the Global Association of Mixed Martials Arts was founded. The majority investor would be a young Casino tycoon named Matt Tripp.

The first show was set for February in Las Vegas. It would feature eight fighters in a single elmination tournament for a World Championship. It would be held at Tripp's grand Casino, ironically named the LVN (Las Vegas National) Grand Casino.

They even talked rules. There would be no rules...well after some thought there would be some rules. There would be a referee, like he saw in Japan, who could stop the fight. The fights would consist of a single thirty minute round, and after that thirty minutes if there was not a winner a trio of ringside judges would select a winner.

Scott moved quick to put his plan into motion. The new sport of Mixed Martial Arts was about to go global.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/GAMMA_zps3dd8997a.jpg
Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts was born.

[dubb93]

This dynasty uses WAMMA 3 and a slightly modified version of the mod, "Beginning of MMA Reboot."

The mod is a modification of the fictional universe that ships with the game and reverts the data all the way back to the beginning of real MMA.

At the start there are only a handful of active fighters in the database, barely more fighters than I need to fill my roster. Over time, both the rules of my company, and the rules of other companies (new this version) will develop towards the modern day rule-set. Fighters will debut, develop, and retire. Companies will come and go as will training camps. Should be an interesting game to watch unfold.

At the start of the game there are only two companies active, ISL in Japan, who use a strange rule-set at the start that isn't that close to MMA as we now know it.

The other company is GAMMA. I will be playing them. They are the first company to use anything close to the modern day MMA rule-set and thus, their birth in January 1991 is the birth of MMA.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 2, January 1991

GAMMA called the company's first press conference.

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In it Scott Avatar announced that after multiple invites were sent out and talks were exchanged the company had come to terms with eight fighters. The date of the event was set for Saturday, Week 2, February 1991 and would be host to a show called "GAMMA: The Beginning." It was decided the fights would take place in an eight sided cage in an attempt to create a fair fighting environment for disciplines. The eight fighters signed to fight in the first tournament were announced as follows:

Mantas Andreyev

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Mantas is the four time reigning and defending Russian Armed Forces Championships Gold Medalist in Combat Sambo. The thirty year old Andreyev has not lost a competitive Sambo match in nearly a decade.

Vincent Chapin

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The thirty one year old Chapin has spent his entire adult life chasing his dream of wrestling for the US National team at the Olympics. At this point in his life it is apparent that he will not be able to fulfill this dream, and he was quick to jump at the chance for a GAMMA paycheck. Despite never actually winning an Olympic trial, Chapin is still a solid and respected wrestler.

Eugene Clough

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Eugene, 35, made headlines in Canada in 1986 when he incited and then finished a bar room brawl that evolved into a full blown riot. The ensuing trial captured national attention, and both Canada and the United States were shocked when Clough was eventually acquitted. Clough may not have a great amateur background of any sort to fall back on, but he is both mean and rowdy. Due to the riot and ensuing trial, Clough may be the most famous "bar room brawler" on the planet.

"Wild" Bill Cumming

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Bill Cumming was a one-time high level NCAA wrestler, winning the Pacific 10 conference championship in his weight class his senior year at Arizona State. Now 27, Cumming is an assistant coach at his alma matter.

Joaquim Fontes

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Joaquim Fontes, 26, is a name that is well known in the land of Brazil. Fontes is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu prodigy and is thought to be the next truly great Jiu Jitsu fighter to emerge from the land of Brazil.

Nigel Malley

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Nigel Malley is an up and coming professional boxer that is almost always on the verge of cracking the top ten at Heavyweight. Malley has amassed a pro record of 26-7, but always seems to come up short when asked to step up and take on quality opposition.. Malley also has faced criticism for fighting above his "ideal" weight. He is very much an undersized Heavyweight in boxing terms, but at twenty-six he still has room to put it all together after he gets his head on straight.

Cliff McAddam

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The rowdy Scot, McAddam, has spent the last several years fighting in backyards in Scotland's underground fighting circuit. McAddam has a fearsome reputation for having heavy hands, and in his youth was considered one of Europe's top amateur wrestlers. McAddam is the oldest fighter in the tournament at thirty-six.

Rick Stanley

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Stanley is one of the top ranked kickboxers on the planet and is without a doubt the top kickboxer in the United States. Stanley, 30, has both heavy hands and violent kicks, but his wrestling and ground games are sure to be tested in this tournament.

Scott Avatar went on to say that the first round match-ups would be decided by random draw the day of the weight-ins.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 2, February 1991

GAMMA: The Beginning Official Weights

Prior to the weight-ins, GAMMA held a drawing to determine seeding in the tournament. The pairings and the weight each fighter weighted in at are below. They also revealed the company's championship belt.

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The GAMMA World Championship

Mantas Andreyev[205lbs] vs. Bill Cumming[205lbs]
Cliff McAddam[202lbs] vs. Eugene Clough[285lbs]
Joaquim Fontes[180lbs] vs. Vincent Chapin[226lbs]
Rick Stanley[235lbs] vs. Nigel Malley[178lbs]

The fighters are aligned as they would be in a bracket. The winners of the top two fights will meet in the semi finals, etc. This is a single night tournament. The winner will become the GAMMA World Champion.

*Random.org will be used anytime I say there is a drawing. I won't bullshit you to get the pairings I want. If I say it's random, it was really random.

Feel free to add comments, predictions, feedback, or any questions you have to the thread. Feedback is the lifeblood of dynasties and all comments are welcome.

GAMMA 1 results will be posted Wednesday afternoon.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 2, February 1991

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA: The Beginning

Live from Las Vegas, Nevada

First Round:

Rick Stanley (1-0) defeats Nigel Malley (0-1) by KO (Punch) at 5:51. (Decent)

Malley came out fast and used speed to land on Stanley early. Stanley responded with leg kicks, and once Malley really had a damaged leg, Stanley put him to sleep. Stanley with a highlight reel KO to open GAMMA's first show.

Joaquim Fontes (1-0) defeats Vincent Chapin (0-1) by submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 12:58. (Very Poor)

Chapin came out with the plan to push Fontes up against the cage and wear him out by using his weight. Chapin was able to maintain control like this for nearly eleven minutes, but eventually he tired out and the smaller man got him to the ground where he made quick work of him. This sets up an interesting striker/submission guy fight in round two where Fontes will do battle with a very large and very skilled kickboxer.

Eugene Clough (1-0) defeats Cliff McAddam (0-1) by decision after 30:00. (Poor)

Clough quickly hurt McAddam with heavy hands early. He hurt him again about five minutes into the fight when he was able to knock McAddams down with strikes. From that point the fight hit the ground with Clough, completely exhausted, holding McAddam, completely out of his element, on his back. Clough didn't have the tools the finish on the ground and McAddam didn't have the skill to escape, so the fight unfortunately went to a decision. After watching this fight there is a good chance that GAMMA may begin to allow the referee to separate inactive fighters(like they do in Japan). It's about the fans and the fans do not deserve to see fights like this going forward.

Mantas Andreyev (1-0) defeats Bill Cumming (0-1) by submission (Arm Triangle) at 18:10. (Decent)

This was the first fight of the night that actually looked like it contained two really good fighters. The fight was extremely close and went back and forth for about fifteen minutes. At that point Andreyev was able to score a takedown. Cumming was exhausted and Andreyev ended up scoring victory with an Arm Triangle choke.

Semi-Finals

Rick Stanley (2-0) defeats Joaquim Fontes (1-1) by TKO (Punches) at 27:07. (Fantastic)

What a fight! Early in the bout Fontes attempted to shoot in for a takedown and was absolutely brutalize by soccer kicks to the body after he failed the attempt. He just couldn't get the big guy down, and once Fontes commited to the takedown Stanley was able to force Fontes to the ground face first and really tee off.

Fontes would continue to shoot for takedowns as the fight continued, but again he was punished with soccer kicks. Early on Stanley set the tone that if Fontes wanted this on the ground he was going to have to absorb an insane amount of punishment to get it there.

Fontes answered by showing some excellent kickboxing and landed quick punches and leg kicks in bunches. He actually outlanded Stanley in standing strikes nearly 4-1 and by the end of the fight Stanley clearly had an injured leg.

As the fight neared its conclusion Stanley began to land cleanly and eventually put enough power on Fontes' chin to end the fight. An instant classic!

Eugene Clough (2-0) defeats Mantas Andreyev (1-1) by decision at 30:00 (Awful)

Clough takes another decision. He used his size to push Andreyev around and keep him on the cage for most of the fight. I question if Clough has the skills to finish fights, and he may just be getting by on size, strength, and toughness at this point. He will need to show more if he is to defeat Rick Stanley in the finals.

Main Event

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GAMMA World Championship Tournament Finals

Rick Stanley (3-0) defeats Eugune Clough (2-1) by Knock Out (Punch) at 4:23. (Great)

Clough was absolutely no match for Stanley. He had no answers for Stanley's powerful and accurate punches. Without the threat of a takedown, as Stanley had faced in the semi-finals, he was able to stand in front of Clough and just absolutely brutalize him. Stanley is a dangerous fighter and a worthy GAMMA World Champion. This was actually the most dominant Stanley looked the entire night.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/RickStanley_zps799d033d.gif
Pictured is the new GAMMA World Champion Rick Stanley.

Critical Rating: Decent
Commercial Rating: Average
Attendance: 2,573 for a gate of $205,840
PPV Buys: 57,645

[dubb93]

Monday Week 4, February 1991

Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts sent out a press release today.

The Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts would like to announce that GAMMA 2 will be held Saturday Week 1, May 1991 in Las Vegas, Neveda. The event will feature an eight man, single night tournament. The the winner of the tournament will face Rick Stanley for the GAMMA World Championship in a Super Fight at a GAMMA event later in the year.

Among those confirmed for the event are returning fan favorite fighters Joaquim Fontes, Bill Cumming, Nigel Malley and GAMMA 1 runner-up Eugene Clough. Joining them will be four newcomers who will be revealed at a future press conference.

[dubb93]

Tuesday Week 1, March 1991

Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts called a press conference to introduce the four newcomers headed to the cage for GAMMA 2: Proving Ground.

Greg Atteveld

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The smallest newcomer to GAMMA at around 180lbs, Atteveld could also be the most skilled. Atteveld, 34, has spent years amassing a massive reputation as the leading Jiu Jitsu instructor in all of the United States. Atteveld has be involved in, and successfully defeated top BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) guys the world over for nearly a decade. Furthermore, in his youth Atteveld was known for his handspeed as an up and coming amatuer boxer. It has been years (over a decade?) since Atteveld has had a serious boxing match, but he does have the talent and extremely quick hands.

Jack Cobblepot

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Jack Cobblepot is a very large American grappler/wrestler. Standing 6ft 6in and weighting in between 275-300lbs depending on the day, Cobblepot transitioned a solid amateur wrestling background into a good grappling pedigree. Cobblepot, 29, is a veteran of many different combat sports. The criticism of Cobblepot could be that he is a jack-of-all-trades master of none, and that could be fair if it were not for his massive size. He is clearly a master of size. Combine that with a guy who has atleast trained all aspects of this sport and you have a guy who could be a threat in GAMMA.

Manol Sirakov

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Sirakov, 33, is a champion tough man from Bulgaria. Boasting some seriously heavy hands, Sirakov is a legitimate threat to knock out anyone he faces. His massive punching power should be amplified in GAMMA where he will be throwing punches without wearing any gloves. Sirakov's downside is that he really doesn't have any background in any martial art, per say, but his success in tough man contests shows he can be a true threat.

Phil Verdigree

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Verdigree is a journeyman professional boxer from Cardiff, Wales. The twenty-eight year old Verdigree, like Malley, is a guy who is on the fringes of top ten status in professional boxing. Unlike Malley, however, Verdigree actually made the decision about six months ago to give up boxing and prepare for this new sport full time. He had intended on heading to Japan to focus on bringing Heavyweight Shoot Fighting to the masses there, but this invitation from GAMMA made his decision a no brainer. Also, unlike Malley, Verdigree is not undersized. He is a legit 235lbs on fight night.


Follwing the introductions, Avatar announced that the concept for GAMMA 2 would be to pit the newcomers against the veterans to "Prove" who really belongs in the cage. He stated that the veterans of the cage would be seeded based on how they performed in the last tournament with Clough garnering the top seed, Fontes the second seed, Malley the third seed based on the quality of his opponent at GAMMA 1, and finally Cumming rounding it out with a forth seed. He announced that immediately prior to weight-in there would be another random drawing to decide which newcomers would be fighting which veterans.

Finally, just as the press conference was winding down, Avatar announced that starting with GAMMA 2 the referee in charge in the cage will be allowed to separate inactive fighters. He said that the rule change was as a result of fan feedback following the first event.

[dubb93]

Thursday Week 1, March 1991

The International Shoot League held ISL 10.

Of note on the card Yoshinobu Tanaka (5-1-1 #6 P4P in the world) defeated Ebizo Fujishima (4-1-1, #2 P4P in the world) by Unanimous Decision to become the new ISL Light Heavyweight Champion.

Also on the card Yukichi Sato (5-1-2, #7 P4P in the world) defeated Gempachi Higa (3-2-1) by Unanimous Decision, and former Olympic Judo Gold Medal winner Oleg Dorosklov improved to (2-0) with a first round submission victory over Koji Hashiranti (2-4-2).

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, May 1991

GAMMA 2: Proving Ground Weight-In

Eugene Clough (285lbs) vs. Manol Sirakov (260lbs)
Bill Cumming (205lbs) vs. Greg Atteveld (185lbs)
Joaquim Fontes (180lbs) vs. Jack Cobblepot (275lbs)
Nigel Malley (178lbs) vs. Phil Verdigree (236lbs)

Feel free to add comments, predictions, feedback, or any questions you have to the thread. Feedback is the lifeblood of dynasties and all comments are welcome.

GAMMA 2 will be posted on Thursday.

[PilotMan]

good start dubb. I've been playing my current game non stop for the past few months. Easily the game that I've played the most in the last 5 years.

ISL is one of my favorite organizations to watch fights because sometimes they end so differently than you would think.

[dubb93]

good start dubb. I've been playing my current game non stop for the past few months. Easily the game that I've played the most in the last 5 years.

ISL is one of my favorite organizations to watch fights because sometimes they end so differently than you would think.

Thanks for the words. The amount of time I have spent with this game over the years is beyond words.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 1, May 1991

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 2: Proving Ground

Live from Las Vegas, Nevada

First Round

Phil Verdigree (1-0) defeats Nigel Malley (0-2) by TKO (Punches) at 11:13. (Good)

Big debut for Phil Verdigree who proved to be the better boxer in the opening fight of the night. Malley was landing more shots by volume, but Verdigree's shots carried considerably more power. After knocking Malley off his feet, Verdigree finished with hard shots on the ground.

Joaquim Fontes (2-1) defeats Jack Cobblepot (0-1) by submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 21:20 (Average)

As expected, Fontes defeats the much larger Cobblepot.

Trivia answer time! This was the first fight where the referee actually separated inactive fighters. He actually did so several times as Cobblepot had Fontes clinched against the cage.

Cobblepot dominated most of the fight with clinch work and actually out landed Fontes 49-5 in standing strikes. Eventually the fight got to the ground. Once on the ground the fight lasted less than a minute. Fontes is just too good for anyone on the ground. Fontes could be destined for a re-match with Stanley.

Greg Atteveld (1-0) defeats "Wild" Bill Cumming (0-2) by submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 9:03. (Decent)

Cumming didn't have the answer for Atteveld in this bout. Atteveld used the clinch to secure a takedown and then worked his way to a submission victory. Cumming did look to be competent on the ground avoiding both a guillotine choke and an armbar that looked like could have finished the fight, but Atteveld was the better ground fighter. Cumming showed some good defense, but he spent so much time defending against Atteveld that he could not muster any offense of his own.

Eugene Clough (3-1) defeats Manol Sirakov (0-1) by decision after 30:00. (Poor)

This was an extremely interesting fight. Don't get me wrong, it was a complete train wreck from the start, but it really showed what the judges will be looking for.

Sirakov landed the only real significant strikes of the fight. He hurt Clough two or three times during the fight, but it was Clough who really controlled Sirakov with wrestling. Clough used the clinch position and scored two takedowns. Once on the ground he was not effective and both takedowns ended with the referee standing the fighters up.

So judging from this fight it seems that the GAMMA judges will be scoring more based on octagon control than damage done. This should be a lesson for GAMMA fighters going forward. As for Clough, he hasn't shown any tools that would leave you to believe he can end fights, but somehow, some way he just keeps winning.

Semi-Finals

Joaquim Fontes (3-1) defeats Phil Verdigree (1-1) by submission (Kneebar) at 15:39. (Good)

Fontes fights another big striker, this time a boxer rather than a kickboxer, and puts on another exciting fight. This fight wasn't quite on the level of Fontes-Stanley, but it was still a good one. It played out much like the aforementioned fight with Fontes having takedowns stuffed, but this time the boxer didn't have access to the big kicks. Verdigree still managed to punish Fontes on his failed takedowns, but it was with punches. Fontes was never in any real danger, however, as the power of Verdigree's ground strikes just wasn't there.

The end of this fight is something that I think will be remembered for some time to come. Fontes managed to get the big Verdigree up for a slam, but Verdigree slipped out the back and took Fontes' back on the ground. Rather than doing the smart thing, Verdigree actually attempted to submit Fontes!

A few minutes later, Fontes had defended the submission, swept Verdigree so that he was now on top, and improved his position to mount. Fontes then reached back and cranked a knee to end the fight. I'm sure Veridgree will look back and wonder why in the hell he tried to submit Fontes rather than standing up.

Eugene Clough (4-1) defeats Greg Atteveld (1-1) by TKO (Punches) at 18:38. (Decent)

It was nice to see someone finally push the pace of Clough and really make him engage in a fight. Atteveld landed punches at will (52-14 in significant strikes landed), but never attempted to take this to the ground. Eventually, it was Clough who surprisingly showed the ability to end a fight as he caught Atteveld and knocked him out. I think if they meet again, I think Atteveld looks to get this fight to the ground.

Main Event

GAMMA 2 Tournament Finals

Joaquim Fontes defeats Eugene Clough by decision after 30:00. (Poor)

Fontes earns his re-match with Stanley after a hard fought thirty minutes with Clough. Fontes was ultra conservative, much like Atteveld, controlling the fight with strikes(44-29 Fontes in significant strikes). These guys must really respect the takedown defense of Clough to not even TRY to get him down.

Nonetheless, exciting or not, Fontes will meet Stanley at GAMMA 3 in a Super Fight for the GAMMA World Championship

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/JoaquimFontes_zps79ac068c.gif
Joaquim Fontes will now face Rick Stanley for the GAMMA World Championship.

Critical Rating: Average
Commercial Rating: Poor
Attendance: 1,998 for a gate of $159,840
PPV Buys: 53,680

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, June 1991

'Nother day, 'nother GAMMA press release.

GAMMA would like to announce that we will be taking GAMMA events away from Las Vegas and will be heading to Fightin' Philly, the hometown of Rick Stanley, for GAMMA 3: Stanley vs. Fontes II. The main event will be a Super Fight between Rick Stanley and Joaquim Fontes for the GAMMA World Championship. The first fight between the two, at GAMMA 1, was one of the best fights in the history of combat sports. This time there is even more on the line and we expect the excitement level to kicked up another notch.

Also on the card will be a single night, eight man, single elimination tournament. The winner of this tournament will become the number one contender for the GAMMA World Championship and is expected to meet the winner of Stanley and Fontes at GAMMA 4, scheduled for early next year.

Fan favorites returning for this tournament include Eugene Clough, Phil Verdigree, and Vincent Chapin.

GAMMA 3: Stanley vs. Fontes II is scheduled for Saturday Week 2, October 1991. It will be live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and will also be live on Pay-Per-View.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 4, August 1991

The International Shoot League held ISL 11.

The Main Event on the card was Oleg Dorosklov (3-0, #4 in the world) defeating Yoshinobu Tanaka (5-2-1, #3 in the world) by split decision to capture the ISL Light Heavyweight Championship.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 2, September 1991

Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts called a press conference leading up to their GAMMA 3: Stanley vs. Fontes 2 event.

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During the press conference, Scott Avatar cleared the air about the upcoming tournament. He said that the inital fights would once again be determined by random draw at the weight-in. He said that Vincent Chapin, Eugene Clough, and Phil Verdigree would be returning and that they would be joined by newcomers Ernie Bruns, Milton Harvey, Susumu Katoh, Noah Musch, and Gary Sampson. Avatar was clear that there would no pre-determined seeding of any kind for this event.

The event was then turned over to Rick Stanley and Joaquim Fontes who took questions from the press. It was revealed during this session that the title fight will be a single 60 minute round and that judges will not score the fight. If the time expires then the fight will be ruled a draw and the champion will retain his title.

Following the event Avatar explained to the press, "You have to beat the champion if you want his belt. We reward guys who finish."

The following new fighters will debut at GAMMA 3.

Ernie Bruns

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The twenty-nine year old Bruns is a crossover from kickboxing. Bruns did not have the success that Stanley had internationally, but without a doubt it was Stanley's success in GAMMA that inspired Bruns join the world of MMA.

Milton Harvey

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Big Milton Harvey, 28, is former All-American wrestler from Syracuse. Milton will look to translate the success he had in college, nearly five years ago, into success in MMA today.

Susumu Katoh

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Susumu is the first fighter to enter GAMMA with an existing MMA record. Susumu was 3-4-1 during a two year stint in ISL. Susumu is young, 26, and has been training MMA for much longer than anyone currently fighting in GAMMA. Most recently Susumu was defeated by Atshushi Nakajima at ISL 11.

Noah Musch

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/NoahMusch_zps456daca4.gif

Noah joins GAMMA later in life. The thirty-three year old from Germany is a veteran of Full Contact Karate. Mush, a black belt, runs his own gym in his native land. He claims to have never been defeated in active competition. A quick scan of Musch's records seems to back up his claim, but the real question is who decided Musch was the official Full Contact Karate record keeper? I'm fairly certain most of these events don't even have official records.....

Gary Sampson

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/GarySampson_zps9af8f1c9.gif

Sampson's path to GAMMA is unique. Sampson was a college teammate of Bill Cumming at Arizona State and was brought in to help Cumming train for his two GAMMA fights. During these trainings Sampson was beating the hell out of people, Cumming included. He would get people down and overwhelm them with strikes from the top. No one could handle his blend unique blend of strikes from the top. It didn't take long for Sampson to realize he was pretty good at this. It took slightly more time for the word to get to GAMMA management, but it was a no brainer to bring this guy in for a tournament.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 3, October 1991

Official GAMMA 3: Stanley vs. Fontes II Weight-In

Main Event
GAMMA World Championship

Rick Stanley(c)[235lbs] vs. Joaquim Fontes[180lbs]

GAMMA 3 Tournament Bracket

Phil Verdigree[236lbs] vs. Noah Musch[232lbs]
Milton Harvey[229lbs] vs. Susumu Katoh[185lbs]
Eugene Clough[285lbs] vs. Gary Sampson[251lbs]
Vincent Chapin[226lbs] vs. Ernie Bruns[192lbs]

Feel free to add comments, predictions, feedback, or any questions you have to the thread. Feedback is the lifeblood of dynasties and all comments are welcome.

Expect to see GAMMA 3 results on Friday.

[PilotMan]

Liking the formatting and the event build ups. I always struggle with taking the time to put graphics in and I think that's where I fail in Dynasties. I think Stanley will keep his title in the rematch, but it could be the start of a nice rivalry. Samson should make a good debut over the hulking Clough.

How long have you made it into any one game? And do you prefer the real world mods or the 'verse? Any house rules that you use regularly?

[dubb93]

Liking the formatting and the event build ups. I always struggle with taking the time to put graphics in and I think that's where I fail in Dynasties. I think Stanley will keep his title in the rematch, but it could be the start of a nice rivalry. Samson should make a good debut over the hulking Clough.

How long have you made it into any one game? And do you prefer the real world mods or the 'verse? Any house rules that you use regularly?

I made it about ten years in my last serious game. It was with this same database. I tend to lose interest when I have to run two events a month to keep my fighters busy. Once I hit that mark I'm lucky to make it more than a couple of years.

I don't play real world mods at all. I would really only be interested in a PRIDE mod, but to my knowledge none exist.

House rules as in to give the AI a fair chance? IDK, I mean, money in this game isn't realistic so there isn't really a point in comparing yourself too hard against the AI. One you hit National everyone should be making a stupid amount of money.

I usually like ALL of my fighters to fight atleast three but no more than four times a year once in an established company. That will be MANY years down the road for this game. I would need to atleast be at the point of holding 12 events a year before I start putting that one in.

Also once ALPHA-1 comes into play I try not to steal more than one fighter from them following any event they run. I also won't take any Japanese fighter away from promotions in Japan unless they opt to let them leave(which unfortunately happens too often).

I'm trying to think here, another I run once in an established game is I won't bring anyone in to my company unless they have been signed and fought for the lesser promotions. They atleast need to go through one contract with the lower level orgs before I will consider signing them. Obviously that can't come into play at this point with only one American company and only one other company in the entire world.

Other than that I don't really know. I guess I've never considered them as house rules before. I'm sure I employ alot more house rules that I'm not even remember ATM.

Basically any house rule I employ is to keep it closer to my own vision of reality rather than creating some form of parity between myself and the AI.

EDIT: And I'm glad you are enjoying reading it. I'm enjoying writing it!

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 3, October 1991

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/GAMMA_zps3dd8997a.jpg

Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 3: Stanley vs. Fontes II

Live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

First Round

Vincent Chapin (1-1) defeats Ernie Bruns (0-1) by submission (Armbar) at 3:51. (Decent)

Chapin used his wrestling to immediately take Bruns down. Completely out of his element on the ground, Bruns was eventually submitted. It was obvious that Ernie did not take MMA training seriously and he had no answer for a guy who was not inclined to stand and trade strikes.

Gary Sampson (1-0) defeats Eugene Clough (4-3) by TKO (Punches) at 16:05. (Decent)

Gary Sampson! Who expected this? Sampson's debut fight has him dominate 40-15 in significant strikes landed and TKO the guy who was runner-up at both GAMMA 1 and GAMMA 2. Whenever the favorite gets defeated in the first round of a tournament it is a big moment. There is a chance we just saw a new superstar arrive in GAMMA. Sampson is clearly the new favorite to win this tournament.

As for the fight itself, Sampson didn't need his "hyped" ground and pound until late in the fight. He was expected to pursue a takedown, but instead he opted to get the fight to the ground by beating Clough senseless until he fell down. That happened about the 16 minute mark and Sampson quickly finished with a flurry of strikes to the downed opponent.

Susumu Katoh (4-4-1) defeats Milton Harvey (0-1) by submission (Armbar) at 16:12. (Average)

This wasn't a fight that had much in the way of "memorable" moments. Harvey used his wrestling to try to shut down Katoh. After a takedown by Harvey, Katoh eventually worked towards a sweep and ended it with a submission. Harvey really did all the right things and employed a good gameplan, but the experience of Katoh was too great an obstacle to overcome. If Harvey returns he GAMMA he also needs a better gas tank. He gassed way too early in a scheduled thirty minute fight.

Phil Verdigree (2-1) defeats Noah Musch (0-1) by TKO (Punches) at 1:27. (Good)

This was the kind of fight Phil needed. Phil landed four punches and they were enough to end Noah's night. Phil escaped the first round and took no damage.

Semi-Finals

Vincent Chapin (2-1) defeats Gary Sampson (1-1) by decision after 30:00. (Poor)

Fastest hype train derail ever?

Chapin showed a level of wrestling he had not previously shown before in this fight. Chapin was 5/6 on takedown attempts and dominated the entire fight with high level wrestling.

All was not roses for Chapin. There was a point in the fight where Sampson had Chapin in trouble on the ground, but the referee was quick to stand the fighters up and probably saved Chapin from taking some serious damage.

Chapin will take his MUCH improved wrestling and takedowns to the finals.

Phil Verdigree (3-1) defeats Susumu Katoh (4-5-1) by TKO (Punches) at 1:06 (Good)

Verdigree shows some great power again in this fight needing to land just four standing punches and then another four on the ground to end the night of the crafty veteran Katoh. Verdigree has yet to hit three minutes of fighting in two victories combined tonight. The tournament final looks to be a classic boxer-wrestler match-up.

GAMMA 3 Tournament Finals

Vincent Chapin (3-1) defeats Phil Verdigree (3-2) by submission at 16:02. (Average)

Who would have expected this? Chapin returns to GAMMA and runs the table with unstoppable takedowns and wrestling. He also showed much improved submissions as well, actually picking up two victories by submission.

It should also be said that his loss in the first round at GAMMA 1 wasn't a bad loss. He dominated Joaquim Fontes for 11 minutes before slipping up and getting submitted. Chapin will be an interesting match-up for whoever wins the main event.

As for Verdigree, I don't think we learned anything we didn't already know. The guy is a great boxer, but is susceptible to anyone who can get up in his face and put him on his back. Verdigree will be back for sure, most likely after he spends a little bit of time training takedown defense and his ground game. I'm confident the next time we see Verdigree he won't go to his back so easily.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/VincentChapin_zpsd0216f7b.gif
Vincent Chapin, pictured above in patriotic undies, defeated three fighters tonight to become the #1 contender.

Main Event

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/gamma_heavy_zps987ca6d4.gif

Super Fight for the
GAMMA World Championship

Joaquim Fontes (5-1) defeats Rick Stanley (4-1) by submission (Arm Triangle) at 6:34 to become the NEW GAMMA World Champion. (Fantastic)

WOW! Big props to Fontes for weathering the storm and becoming the new champion. He really earned it here.

This wasn't the near thirty minute classic that Fontes-Stanley I was at GAMMA 1, but it was the most intense six minutes in MMA history. If you had to ask me to pick a fight of the year I don't know which one I would pick at this point.

The fight started out nearly exactly like the first fight. Fontes desperately wanted this fight on the ground and Stanley made him pay. The beating Fontes took chasing these takedowns was a step beyond what he endured in the first fight. I thought the fight was going to be stopped around the two minute mark when Stanley unleashed a particularly brutal sequence of soccer kicks to the body followed by pin point punches to the head. Fontes survived this and eventually got back to his feet, but had the referee stopped the fight at this point I don't think anyone would have argued.

At the five minute mark Fontes shot in again and seemed to catch Stanley by surprise. The double-leg was too deep and Stanley was flat on his back on the ground.

From this point Stanley was in deep water with a shark. The BJJ prodigy wasted no time getting to mount and finished the fight with an Arm Triangle choke. What an exciting fight!

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/JoaquimFontes_zps79ac068c.gif
Pictured is the new GAMMA World Champion Joaquim Fontes. Fontes submitted Rick Stanley around the six minute mark to win the championship.

Critical Rating: Great
Commercial Rating: Good
Attendance: 2,541 for a gate of $203,280
PPV Buys: 53,152

[dubb93]

Tuesday Week 1, November 1991

A GAMMA press release is making the rounds. It pertains to the next GAMMA show.

The next GAMMA show will be titled GAMMA 4: Redemption. GAMMA will be returning to beautiful Las Vegas on Saturday Week 4, January 1992. The Main Event will feature Joaquim Fontes defending his GAMMA World Championship against the winner of the GAMMA 3 tournament, Vincent Chapin.

The show will also include the eight man tournament format that GAMMA has made famous. This tournament will feature the most star studded cast of GAMMA fighters ever assembled including Mantas Andreyev, Greg Atteveld, Susumu Katoh, Cliff McAddam, Gary Sampson, and Manol Sirakov.

The tournament will also mark the return of Rick Stanley. Stanley, the former GAMMA World Champion, will be participating in a GAMMA tournament for the first time since defeating three men on the same night at GAMMA 1 to capture the biggest prize in the sport.

Joining these seven men will be newcomer Graham Goodbody. All eight men will be vying for a chance to become the top contender for the GAMMA World Championship.

As a special bonus for those in attendance at the arena, GAMMA 4 will feature two live preliminary bouts. The winners of these bouts will be eligible to enter the GAMMA tournament as an injury replacement if the need arises.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 4, December 1991

Press Conference

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Scott Avatar addressed the media at a press conference scheduled to promote the GAMMA event GAMMA 4: Redemption. Avatar said the event was named for two reasons:

1. Vincent Chapin's loss at GAMMA 1 in the first round. Chapin's chance at Redemption is Joaquim Fontes. If he can defeat Fontes, he will go from a guy that everyone thought couldn't cut it in GAMMA to the champion in less than a year.

2. Rick Stanley's return to the cage. Last time we saw Rick Stanley enter the cage he was the champion. That night he was submitted by Joaquim Fontes. Now is his chance earn a rubber match. Three men stand between Rick and Joaquim.

Furthermore there are six other guys that have a shot a redemption too, added Avatar. Andreyev, Atteveld, Katoh, McAddam, Sampson, Sirakov, they all wish their last appearance in the cage would have turned out differently. This is also their chance for Redemption.

Avatar confirmed the tournament bracket would be determined at weight-in with the customary random drawing, and then he introduced the newest GAMMA fighter:

Graham Goodbody

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/GrahamGoodbody_zps4215abd1.gif

"The Man Mountain" Graham Goodbody is simply an enormous man. Standing 6ft 3in and weighting in at roughly 280lbs, Goodbody would be a load for anyone to handle, even if he wasn't exactly a skilled competitor. Unfortunately for everyone else in the tournament, Goodbody is a legend in English Folkstyle Wrestling circles.

After Goodbody had a chance to speak it was time to hype the title fight. Both Chapin and Fontes were brought out, pictures were taken, and questions were asked. As the event was winding down Avatar announced that the two alternate bouts would be "Wild" Bill Cumming vs. Mick Curran and Noah Musch vs. Claude Lerond. When questioned about the newcomers Avatar remarked, "You will have to buy a ticket to find out."

[dubb93]

Monday Week 1, January 1992

The first full year of competitive MMA in the United States is complete. This is the first in a yearly series that will show what the world of Mixed Martial Arts looks like.

Company Rankings
1. Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts
--Low Level National and based in America

2. International Shoot League
--High Level Regional and based in Japan

Top 10 Fighters in the World*

1. Joaquim Fontes (5-1, GAMMA World Champion)
2. Oleg Dorosklov (3-0, ISL Light Heavyweight Champion)
3. Rick Stanley (3-1)
4. Kanji Togo (5-1-1, ISL Welterweight Champion)
5. Yukichi Sato (5-1-2)
6. Mantas Andreyev (1-1)
7. Marko Prochazaka (2-0-1, ISL Middleweight Champion)
8. Ryosei Sakamoto (1-0)
9. Yoshinobu Tanaka (5-2-1)
10. Bokkai Iida (5-3)

*Ranked by Blurcat Fight Magazine, the world's leading authority on all things MMA

MMA in 1991, Yearly Awards*

Fighter of the Year

Joaquim Fontes

Show of the Year:

GAMMA 3: Stanley vs. Fontes II

Fight of the Year

Joaquim Fontes vs. Rick Stanley at GAMMA 3

Worst Fight of the Year

Eugene Clough vs. Mantas Andreyev at GAMMA 1.

Knock Out of the Year

Rick Stanley knocks out Eugene Clough at GAMMA 1.

Submission of the Year

Joaquim Fontes submits Rick Stanley at GAMMA 3.

Main Event of the Year

Joaquim Fontes vs. Rick Stanley at GAMMA 3.

Upset of the Year

Eugene Clough defeats Mantas Andreyev at GAMMA 1.

*Yearly awards are given out by Blurcat Fight Magazine, the world's leading authority on all things MMA

Author Note: Every company, fighter, and event that took place this year in the game world was eligible for these awards. As it turns out GAMMA took them all. It is extremely unlikely that this will continue in future years.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 4, January 1992

Official GAMMA 4: Redemption Weight-In

Main Event
GAMMA World Championship

Joaquim Fontes(c)[180lbs] vs. Vincent Chapin[226lbs]

GAMMA 4 Tournament Bracket

Graham Goodbody[275lbs] vs. Manol Sirakov[260lbs]
Susumu Katoh[185lbs] vs. Gary Sampson[251lbs]
Rick Stanley[235lbs] vs. Greg Atteveld[185lbs]
Cliff McAddam[202lbs] vs. Mantas Andreyev[205lbs]

GAMMA 4 Tournament Alternate Bouts (Preliminary Fights will not air on Pay Per View)

Bill Cumming[205lbs] vs. Mick Curran[201lbs]
Noah Musch[232lbs] vs. Claude Lerond[226lbs]

Feel free to add comments, predictions, feedback, or any questions you have to the thread. Feedback is the lifeblood of dynasties and all comments are welcome.

GAMMA 4 results will be posted on Monday.

[BYU 14]

I'll jump on some predictions

Main Event
GAMMA World Championship

Joaquim Fontes(c)[180lbs] vs. Vincent Chapin[226lbs]

GAMMA 3 Tournament Bracket

Graham Goodbody[275lbs] vs. Manol Sirakov[260lbs]
Susumu Katoh[185lbs] vs. Gary Sampson[251lbs]
Rick Stanley[235lbs] vs. Greg Atteveld[185lbs]
Cliff McAddam[202lbs] vs. Mantas Andreyev[205lbs]

[dubb93]

I'll jump on some predictions

Main Event
GAMMA World Championship

Joaquim Fontes(c)[180lbs] vs. Vincent Chapin[226lbs]

GAMMA 3 Tournament Bracket

Graham Goodbody[275lbs] vs. Manol Sirakov[260lbs]
Susumu Katoh[185lbs] vs. Gary Sampson[251lbs]
Rick Stanley[235lbs] vs. Greg Atteveld[185lbs]
Cliff McAddam[202lbs] vs. Mantas Andreyev[205lbs]

Who do you have winning the whole tournament?

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 4, January 1992

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/GAMMA_zps3dd8997a.jpg

Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 4: Redemption

Live from Las Vegas, Nevada

Preliminary Fights

Tournament Alternate Bouts:

Noah Musch (1-1) defeats Claude Lerond (0-1) by submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 13:54. (Decent)

Mick Curran (1-0) defeats Bill Cumming (0-3) by TKO (Punches) at 1:22. (Good)

***PPV Broadcast Begins***

GAMMA 4 Tournament First Round

Mantas Andreyev (2-1) defeats Cliff McAddam (0-2) by submission (Standing Guillotine) at 2:36. (Great)

Andreyev slaps on a standing guillotine and gets a quick victory in the opening bout. McAddam showed some solid wrestling along the cage, but he left his head in and the Sambo master took the opportunity to end the fight.

Rick Stanley (4-1) defeats Greg Atteveld (1-2) by TKO (Punches) at 3:48. (Good)

Greg Atteveld gave it his all in this fight, but Rick Stanley was just too good. Atteveld did land a really nice punch to start the fight, but after Stanley shrugged it off Atteveld quickly decided he needed the fight on the ground.

As Atteveld began to get battered by punches, he got too aggressive and shot in for a takedown from WAY outside.. Stanley stuffed it and made Atteveld pay by accomplishing what he nearly accomplished against Fontes and ending the fight with strikes from the top.

This sets up a huge semi-final between the two top ranked fighters left in the tournament.

Gary Sampson (2-1) defeats Susumu Katoh (4-6-1) by TKO (Strikes) at 0:27. (Good)

Gary Sampson's return trip to the cage sees him easily march into the second round by quickly overwhelming Katoh with strikes.

Sampson clipped him early and finished strongly before being pulled away by the referee.

Graham Goodbody (1-0) defeats Manol Sirakov (0-2) by TKO (Punches) at 5:17. (Average)

An impressive debut for Graham Goodbody sees him stop Sirakov with strikes.

Goodbody has an impressive wrestling background but he even never tried to utilized it. He instead opted to stand with the champion tough-man and it payed off. Goodbody decisively battered Sirakov 25-5 in significant strikes and had enough power to finish the fight with punches.

It will be interesting to see how far the newcomer can go. He will need to stay off his back in the next fight if he is going to have any chance. Sampson showed poor takedown defense at GAMMA 3, Goodbody should see if he decided to fix that whole in his game between events.

Semi-Finals

Mantas Andreyev (3-1) defeats Rick Stanley (4-2) by submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:09. (Great)

Upset!

Mantas came out with a plan and executed it perfectly. He got Stanley off his feet immediately, got him to give up his back, and locked the submission in perfectly.

This is a career defining victory for Andreyev and a giant setback for Stanley. It will be interesting to see exactly where Stanley goes from here. For Mantas, he HAS to build off this huge victory and win this tournament. He can't let this win become a footnote.

Gary Sampson (3-1) defeats Graham Goodbody (1-1) by decision after 30:00. (Poor)

This was a fight between two large heavyweights with hard heads. The two spent the entire fight engaged in a stand-up battle that was dominated by Gary Sampson (58-10 in significant strikes).

Sampson will need to be careful in the finals as he will be matched up against a great submission guy. Sampson's primary mode of doing damage (his ground striking), will also put him in the most danger of being submitted. Should be a great fight!

GAMMA 4 Tournament Finals

Gary Sampson (4-1) defeats Mantas Andreyev (3-2) by TKO (Punches) at 2:08. (Great)

Sampson really showed how he can be a SUPER dangerous opponent for grapplers in this fight.

After a feeling out process, Andreyev took his chance and shot a double leg in on Sampson. Sampson showed MUCH improved takedown defense by stuffing it. As Andreyev attempted to make his way back to his feet, Sampson pounded his head in and scored the TKO victory. This is the exact risk every wrestler/grappler in GAMMA is going to take by attempting to take down Sampson. If they get it, great, they have rendered Sampson ineffective on his back. If they don't get it? Oh boy, look out! The fight is probably going to be over. Sampson may be the most dangerous fighter to enter GAMMA.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/GarySampson_zps58ac1e49.gif
Gary Sampson is, shockingly, the winner of GAMMA's most star studded tournament to date.

Main Event

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Super Fight for the
GAMMA World Championship

Joaquim Fontes (6-1) defeats Vicent Chapin (3-2) by submission at 20:07 to retain the GAMMA World Championship. (Decent)

Fontes was a huge favorite coming into this fight, but after watching these two I can say it was a MUCH harder fought fight than I expected. Coming in I really expected Fontes to get a quick submission, but Chapin proved how great his wrestling really is by completely controlling the action for roughly 15 minutes.

Finally, Fontes picked his spot and tried to get it to the ground. His attempted was stuffed, but Chapin decided to keep in on the ground and enter the spider's web so to speak. I think Chapin made this poor decision because his gas tank was completely empty.

Once Chapin was committed to the ground his fate was sealed. Fontes swept him, improved position, and eventually secured the choke. I would say Chapin slacked on training and that caused him to gas, but it was obvious from watching this fight that he trained extremely hard. He showed the best submission defense we have seen to date. He hung with Fontes on the ground for roughly five minutes, something no one has seemed capable of doing, and defended six submission attempts successfully. Chapin has nothing to be ashamed of. If he can get his cardio fixed he could be a future champion.

This sets the stage for Fontes-Sampson at GAMMA 5. It will be extremely interesting. I think that if Fontes tries to shoot in on Sampson he will absolutely HAVE to make it count or there is good chance he gets knocked out by ground strikes.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/JoaquimFontes_zps79ac068c.gif
Joaquim Fontes, pictured, successfully defended his GAMMA World Championship at GAMMA 4.

Critical Rating: Good
Commercial Rating: Decent
Attendance: 2,187 for a gate of $174,960
PPV Buys: 58,138

[dubb93]

Nice job picking the five fights correctly BYU.

[dubb93]

Thursday Week 1, February 1992

GAMMA sent out a press release to the media regarding the next GAMMA card.

GAMMA is about to go on tour! By the end off 1992, GAMMA will hold events in Chicago, Las Angeles, and New York City! The tour begins Saturday Week 1, May 1992 in the city of Chicago with GAMMA 5: Windy City Wasteland.

The event will be the site of the much anticipated Joaquim Fontes-Gary Sampson GAMMA World Championship fight.

The show will also feature GAMMA's customary tournament. This time returning favorites Mantas Andreyev, Eugene Clough, Jack Cobblepot, Noah Musch, and Rick Stanley will join newcomers Frank Analysis, Mick Curran, and Santiago Tosso in the quest to earn a shot at the GAMMA World Championship.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, April 1992

GAMMA called a press conference to detail the upcoming GAMMA 5: Windy City Wasteland event.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/ScottAvatar_zps264b3fe0.gif

Avatar began the press conference by expressing how excited he was to be taking GAMMA on a tour of the United States this year. He said that future venues for GAMMA would include Los Angeles and New York City. Avatar confirmed that both of those events would take place before the end of the year and that GAMMA had something special and unique planned for both venues.

Avatar went on to talk about the tournament alternate bouts that took place at GAMMA 4. He said the concept was an experiment, and confirmed that it probably didn't work as well as GAMMA intended. He said that GAMMA fighters aren't just going to take themselves out of the tournament. He said that both fighters who were victorious in those preliminary fights will be involved in the tournament at GAMMA 5 and that in the future the fights will be used as a way of getting into the following tournament.

Avatar said it just makes sense to use it that way and that at GAMMA 5 two guys who would have probably otherwise been let go by GAMMA will get a chance to come out and fight. The winner will get an automatic spot in the tournament at GAMMA 6. The preliminary fight will be Cliff McAddam vs. Milton Harvey. Avatar said this is really a win or be cut situation for both fighters. The victor will fight in the Tournament at GAMMA 6 and the loser is out of GAMMA. Avatar expressed hope that in the future this can be used as an avenue to get guys into GAMMA.

"Not everyone is a world champion," Avatar remarked. "Those guys with that big reputation, we will still be bringing those guys in. But there are tough guys out there who haven't been given the chance to be the top guy in their discipline. They may be that top guy, but they haven't been given the chance to show it. These fights will be a way to bring those guys in, try them out, and if they win, if they really are as good as they say, they get a GAMMA contract."

Avatar then introduced the newcomers to the GAMMA 5 tournament.

Frank Analysis

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Frank is the current Louisiana State Toughman Champion and is a feared brawler. What Frank lacks in technique he more than makes up for in power. Analysis also has youth on his side. At twenty-six he has plenty of time to grow and mature as a mixed martial artist.

Mick Curran

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/MickCurran_zps09fe293f.gif

Curran actually made his debut at GAMMA 4 where he knocked out Bill Cumming in about a minute. GAMMA 5 will be Mick's PPV debut, and the 28 year old will be looking to seize this huge opportunity.

Curran is a guy who really doesn't have a big background in any specific martial art. He's a legit tough guy who grew up in extreme poverty in Wales. From the time he was able to leave his home he has had to fight just to stay alive. Curran knows better than any other fighter in GAMMA how big of an opportunity it is to fight in the cage and he is not likely to squander it.

Santiago Tosso

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/dubb93/GAMMA/SantiagoTosso_zps302b4aab.gif

Santiago Tosso is a member of Joaquim Fontes' Escola Da Luta camp in Brazil. The camp has a World Class reputation in Jiu Jitsu instruction, owing to the fact that Fontes is the founding member of the camp.

It may surprise you to find out that Tosso's background is not in Jiu Jitsu. He's actually a kickboxer. When you combine the twenty-nine year old's background with the fact that he is getting world class Jiu Jitsu instruction on a daily basis, it becomes clear that Tosso has the potential to be a real force in GAMMA.

Before the press conference ended, Avatar let Fontes and Sampson have their moment. After the media had their go at the two main event fighters the press conference came to an end.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 1, May 1992

Official GAMMA 5: Windy City Wasteland Weight-In

Main Event
GAMMA World Championship

Joaquim Fontes(c) ([180] vs. Gary Sampson[251]

GAMMA 5 Tournament Bracket

Santiago Tosso (MMA Debut)[185] vs. Mantas Andreyev (3-2)[205]
Jack Cobblepot (0-1)[275] vs. Mick Curran (1-0)[201]
Frank Analysis MMA Debut)[233] vs. Noah Musch (1-1)[232]
Eugene Clough (4-3)[285] vs. Rick Stanley (4-2)[235]

GAMMA 5 Prelim

Cliff McAddam (0-2)[202] vs. Milton Harvey (0-1)[229]

*Weight in []

**GAMMA 5 will be posted on Tuesday

[BYU 14]

Nice job picking the five fights correctly BYU.

Thank you :) Too bad I forgot to keep going. Will take a look at the next one and make some picks.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 3, April 1992

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 5: Windy City Wasteland

Live from Chicago, Illinois

Prelims

Cliff McAddam (1-2) defeats Milton Harvey (0-2) by submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:22. (Great)

***PPV Broadcast Begins***

GAMMA 5 Tournament First Round

Rick Stanley (5-2) defeats Eugene Clough (4-4) by TKO (Punches) at 3:09. (Good)

This was the worst possible first round fight for Clough as Stanley once again proved too much for the Canadian. This played out much like their encounter in the finals of GAMMA 1, with Stanley able to land straight power punches to Clough's chin.

Stanley talked about improved wrestling and takedown defense leading up to this event. He didn't get a chance to show it, but I'm sure he will be challenged more as we get further into the tournament tonight.

As for Clough, you have to really wonder if this young sport has evolved past him at this point. With guys like Stanley, Fontes, Andreyev, and Chapin who all have one area that they are great at, a guy like Clough who really doesn't stand out in a single area will struggle against the top guys. He used size to reach the finals of GAMMA 1 and 2, but with the giants who have entered GAMMA since then, Clough can't rely on size along anymore. I feel like the next time we see Clough in the cage will really give us an indication on his future. My money says it's bleak.

Frank Analysis (1-0) defeats Noah Musch (1-2) by TKO (Punches) at 15:49. (Fantastic)

Shockingly, these two just put on a Fight of the Year contender! These two went at each other with reckless abandon for the roughly sixteen minutes this fight lasted. Musch out landed Analysis 42-12 in significant strikes landed, but it was Analysis who landed the shots that mattered by knocking Musch down and finishing him with punches on the ground.

Anyone who thinks that Analysis can allow Stanley to hit him 42 times and still win is crazy. Analysis will have his hands full in the semi finals, and he will need to show MUCH improved defense to have any chance.

I will also mention that there was controversy at the end of this fight. The majority of the fans in attendance, as well as the announcers calling the action, thought that the referee stopped the fight too early and that Musch may not have been in that much trouble.

Jack Cobblepot (1-1) defeats Mick Curran (1-1) by decision after 30:00. (Poor)

Another fight filled with controversy as I had the fight scored for Curran. Curran controlled the stand up battle outlanding Cobblepot 31-9 in significant strikes. Cobblepot did manage two takedowns, but he did no damage on the ground and the fight was quickly stood back up. I really have no idea what the judges were watching. Cobblepot moves on, but Curran will most definitely be back in GAMMA for another tournament.

Mantas Andreyev (4-2) defeats Santiago Tosso (0-1) by TKO (Punches) at 0:26. (Good)

No controversy here!

Who would have predicted that Andreyev would (t)KO the kickboxer in 26 seconds with punches? This could really show that Andreyev spent alot of time training his hands and if that is the case then Andreyev is going to be extremely dangerous in this tournament.

Tosso's debut could not have been worse. There is a strong possibility that Tosso just doesn't have the chin for this.

Semi Finals

Rick Stanley (6-2) defeats Frank Analysis (1-1) by TKO (Soccer Kicks) at 0:37. (Good)

Stanley is known for his deadly soccer kicks and he really got to show them off here!

Analysis' poor defense was on display as soon as the fight began. Stanley put Analysis down with the first punch that connected and then finished him with soccer kicks.

Stanley looks great tonight.

Mantas Andreyev (5-2) defeats Jack Cobblepot (1-2) by submission (Triangle with Armbar) at 10:16. (Good)

Mantas Andreyev has REALLY evolved into a dangerous fighter. I don't say that lightly. This fight really showed how much he has improved as a fighter.

Andreyev forced Cobblepot to take him down by dominating the striking battle and landing powerful punches. That isn't something we have seen from Andreyev before tonight and now he's shown that powerful striking game in two straight fights. After Cobblepot was on the verge of losing the fight, he decided to take Andreyev down. As it turns out that wasn't a good idea either as Andreyev submitted him from his back.

This sets up one of the most interesting finals we have yet seen. Andreyev will meet Stanley for the second time, and this time both of the fighters appear to be much improved.

GAMMA 5 Tournament Final

Mantas Andreyev (6-2) defeats Rick Stanley (6-3) by submission (Americana) at 4:08. (Good)

Statement fight for Andreyev. He seems to just have Stanley's number after defeating him at two straight events.

This fight was extremely close to their last fight. Andreyev scored a quick takedown and eventually worked his way to a submission victory.

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Mantas Andreyev, pictured, shows he has Rick Stanley's number by submitting him again at GAMMA 5.

Main Event

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Super Fight for the
GAMMA World Championship

Gary Sampson (5-1) defeats Joaquim Fontes (6-2) by Knock Out (Punch) at 2:09 to become the NEW GAMMA World Champion. (Great)

If you are going to fight Gary Sampson you either need to do it standing up or with him on his back. If you don't know you can get him to his back then you can't try to take him down or he will destroy you if you fail.

This was an interesting fight to watch. It was an even stand-up battle until Fontes got a waistlock on Sampson. He used the waistlock to get behind Sampson and attempted to climb his back for a rear naked choke.

Sampson wasn't having any of it and he flipped Fontes off his back (over Sampson's own head) in an impressive display of power. He played it smart and didn't go down into Fontes' ground, instead he stood over him and landed a devastating punch that ended the fight.

Sampson has a very unique skill set that makes it extremely hard for anyone to defeat him.

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Gary Sampson knocked out Joaquim Fontes to become the new GAMMA World Champion.

Critical Rating: Great
Commercial Rating: Good
Attendance: 2,009 for a gate of $160,720
PPV Buys: 50,938

[dubb93]

GAMMA 6 pressers tomorrow.

[dubb93]

Monday Week 2, May 1992

Hot on the heels of GAMMA's latest successful show, the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts was quick to release a presser.

Scott Avatar promised something unique for GAMMA's first trip to beautiful California and GAMMA intends to deliver on it.

GAMMA 6 will air live on Pay-Per-View from Los Angeles, California. Since we will be so close to the movie stars, we figured we would put on a show with a little Hollywood flare.

GAMMA 6: A True Hollywood Story will take place Saturday Week 2, September 1992 and will feature the most unique tournament in the history of GAMMA. If will feature of tournament where the fighters will be seeded 1-8 based on size! Hollywood loves the underdog, the little guy, and so does GAMMA!

Confirmed for the event are Vincent Chapin and Cliff McAddam. Joining them will be giants of the cage such as Graham Goodbody, Phil Verdigree, and newcomer Solomon Austin, the largest competitor in GAMMA's history!

The tournament will also feature the GAMMA debut of exciting newcomer, and Gulf War hero, Norman Pike. He will be joined by former ISL star, and fellow newcomer Atshushi Nakajima.

That's eight guys, right? Wait....we forgot someone! Joaquim Fontes will return to the GAMMA tournament format as he begins his path to reclaim the GAMMA World Championship!

Speaking of the GAMMA World Championship, Gary Sampson will defend his title against the brutal Russian, Mantas Andreyev.

It will be a True Hollywood Story!

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, September 1992

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GAMMA held their press conference for GAMMA 6: A True Hollywood Story. The majority of the event was conducted by Scott Avatar, who spent some time talking about Hollywood parallels to his event that will feature small guys, underdogs, war heroes, a newcomer from the mysterious land of Japan, and even an evil Russian fighting an American for the biggest prize in MMA.

Avatar was emphatic that this is the fighting event that Hollywood deserves. Before revealing the tournament seeding Avatar remarked, "We're going to take these guys word for their weight. I called everyone up, asked their weight, and then told them our plan. We could have waited until weight-in, but we really think this event deserves some extra buildup."

The tournament was seeded based on size. The bracket was revealed as:

1. Solomon Austin vs. 8. Joaquim Fontes
4. Vincent Chapin vs. 5. Norman Pike
3. Phil Verdigree vs. 6. Cliff McAddam
2. Graham Goodbody vs. 7. Atshushi Nakajima

Avatar then introduced the newcomers:

Solomon Austin

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Solomon Austin stands 6'4 and weights in excess of 300lbs. The thirty-three year old Austin makes up for any lack of skill he has with pure size. He caught GAMMA's attention in March when he was victorious at an independent show. Austin seems to possess decent wrestling and standup, but definitely seems to fall back on his size more often than not.

The theme for this show, combined with Austin's mammoth porportions was just too perfect a match to pass up.

Atshushi Nakajima

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Nakajima racked up a 3-2 record for ISL and defeated GAMMA fighter Susumo Katoh in his last fight with the company. Nakajima is known for his cardio and is a really good all-rounder. He's unlikely to be put into any spot in MMA where he isn't comfortable.

Nakajima is one of GAMMA's smaller fighters at roughly 185lbs, but what the thirty-one year old lacks in size he makes up for in experience and skills.

Norman Pike

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Norman Pike, 23, is an Army Ranger and recognized war hero from the Gulf War. Pike has received numerous medals and even made the talk show loop to support the troops.

Pike has extensive training in multiple combat arts from both the US military and private trainers from all over the world. Pike has such a wide range of skills that he is going to be extremely difficult for anyone to defeat.

It was then time for Gary Sampson and Mantas Andreyev to have their media access. As the press conference was coming to a close, Avatar said that newcomer Stan Blackheath would take on Manol Sirakov and Santiago Tosso would be facing newcomer Barry Strachan in the events preliminary fights.

"As always, these are all or nothing fights. Win and you will be included in a future GAMMA tournament, lose and you are out the door. These will be huge fights for Barry and Stan who will attempt to earn a GAMMA contract as Manol and Santiago try to prevent themselves from being let go. Remember to buy your tickets early so you don't miss out on these two great fights that won't air on Pay-Per-View."

[dubb93]

I feel like this is a good time to add that small independant MMA shows are starting to pop up around the world. Fighters may begin to show up with records that indicate that they have fought in some small independant shows. In some cases guys have already showed up with fights on the independant circuit, such as with Solomon Austin.

For those not familar with WMMA these are actual fights that are simmed by the game. They usually involve a named fighter fighting against a random "local fighter" who is not a named fighter in the database. Only in extreme circumstances will the "local fighter" be able to defeat the named fighter, but crazier things have happened and truly crappy named fighters have been known to be generated by the game.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 2, September 1992

GAMMA 6: A True Hollywood Story Weigh-In

Main Event
GAMMA World Championship

Gary Sampson(c) (5-1) [251] vs. Mantas Andreyev (6-2) [205]

GAMMA 6 Tournament Bracket

Solomon Austin (1-0) [315] vs. Joaquim Fontes (6-2) [180]
Vincent Chapin (3-2) [226] vs. Norman Pike (0-0) [210]
Phil Verdigree (3-2) [236] vs. Cliff McAddam (1-2) [202]
Graham Goodbody (1-1) [275] vs. Atshushi Nakajima (3-2) [185]

Preliminary Fights

Manol Sirakov (0-2) [260] vs. Stan Blackheath (0-0) [228]
Santiago Tosso (0-1) [185] vs. Barry Strachan (0-0) [240]

*Weight in []

**GAMMA 6 will be posted on Friday.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 2, September 1992

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 6: A True Hollywood Story

Live from Los Angeles, California

Prelims

Barry Strachan (1-0) defeats Santiago Tosso (0-2) by TKO (Punches) at 2:40. (Great)

Stan Blackheath (1-0) defeats Manol Sirakov (0-3) by KO (Punch) at 15:26. (Good)

**PPV Broadcast Begins**

GAMMA 6 Tournament Opening Round:

Atshushi Nakajima (4-2) defeats Graham Goodbody (1-2) by Submission (Guillotine) at 11:02. (Good)

Nakajima by gas tank! Known as the "Iron Man" in Japan, Nakajima has a reputation for never tiring in fights. That energy reserve came up big for him here. Nakajima was super active during this fight, but the larger guy eventually got Nakajima to the ground. From the bottom, and actually caught in side control, Nakajima was able to submit Goodbody with a guillotine.

Being able to finish a submission from such a poor position could mean one of two things. Either Nakajima is exceptional at submissions, or Goodbody doesn't even have a basic understanding of how to defend against them. Either way there is no way Nakajima should have been able to finish a guillotine from that position. This was a super impressive debut for Nakajima.

Phil Verdigree (4-2) defeats Cliff McAddam (1-3) by TKO (Punches) at 2:17. (Great)

Big Phil shows his power once again as he quickly finishes Cliff McAddam. When Phil is landing he is as dangerous as any fighter in the world. He has now proven this with four knockout victories in GAMMA.

Norman Pike (1-0) defeats Vincent Chapin (3-3) by Submission (Americana) at 28:08. (Decent)

What a debut for Pike! As you read that result I'm going to assume you probably think Chapin took the fight to the ground and Pike managed to get a submission right before the fight ended. Right?

Well, you would be wrong. The level of domination that Pike put on here was impressive. Chapin is a guy who was known as the highest level wrestler in GAMMA. He is a guy who has won a tournament and fought for the GAMMA World Championship based on that wrestling ability. Pike completely neutralized him from a wrestling standpoint, and as the fight went on it was Pike who was able to complete a takedown. Pike actually showed better wrestling than Chapin here. Chapin was never even close to getting Pike off his feet.

It doesn't end there. Pike completely dominated the striking by a margin of 35-9 in significant strikes and once the fight got the ground, Pike passed Chapin's guard and submitted him in less than a minute. This is a guy who just put on some of the best submission defense we have ever seen at GAMMA 4 against Fontes. This debut for Norman Pike is the most impressive debut GAMMA has seen in quite some time!

Two unbelievable debuts so far at GAMMA 6. Time to see what Solomon Austin has to offer!

Joaquim Fontes (7-2) defeats Solomon Austin (1-1) by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 5:40. (Average)

Austin showed size and not much else. Fontes made it look easy here with the choke finish. This was a real letdown, especially after Nakajima and Pike were so impressive in their debuts.

GAMMA 6 Tournament Semi-Finals

Atshushi Nakajima (5-2) defeats Phil Verdigree (4-3) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 9:02. (Good)

Nakajima weathered the early storm of Verdigree and managed to get him to the ground. Phil has been poor on his back his entire GAMMA career, and while he looked better in this fight on the ground than he has in the past, Nakajima was able to submit him.

Nakajima has shown a real high level all-around MMA game so far in this tournament. This victory over Verdigree is Nakajima's biggest victory in his MMA career.

Joaquim Fontes (8-2) defeats Norman Pike (1-1) by Submission (Triangle with Armbar) at 17:12. (Decent)

This fight was all Norman up until it hit the ground. Norman absolutely lit up Joaquim standing by way of 22-4 in significant strikes. Joaquim may be the best fighter in GAMMA, so Norman doing this well for this long in this fight shows that his victory over Chapin wasn't a fluke.

Norman is probably just too green at this point. Give him a few more GAMMA fights and a little more time to train and I think he could be a future champion. This was one of the most impressive debut runs that GAMMA has had in quite some time.

GAMMA 6 Tournament Finals

Joaquim Fontes (9-2) defeats Atshushi Nakajima (5-3) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 5:27. (Good)

Am I the only one who finds it weird that the two smallest fighters in the tournament reach the finals?

Nakajima had nothing for Fontes in this fight. Fontes is on a different level than most MMA fighters at this point in his career. Nakajima put on a good show tonight, it's a shame the night ended with him in completely over his head, but that is GAMMA and this is where the best in the world fight.

Fontes has earned the right to be the next challenger for the GAMMA World Championship and will be looking to get his title back at GAMMA 7.

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Fontes earned the right to challenge for the GAMMA World Championship. Fontes lost the title to Gary Sampson at GAMMA 5.

Main Event

GAMMA World Championship

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Gary Sampson (6-1) defeats Mantas Andreyev (6-3) by TKO (Punches) at 0:22. (Good)

This wasn't what I expected. Sampson caught Andreyev early and finished the fight in just 22 seconds. Sampson is the most dominant fighter in MMA at this point.

He will defend his title at GAMMA 7 against Joaquim Fontes, whom he knocked out after just a few minutes at GAMMA 5.

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Gary Sampson is the most dominant MMA fighter on the planet.

Critical Rating: Good
Commercial Rating: Decent
Attendance: 1,710 for a gate of $136,800
PPV Buys: 53,200

[dubb93]

I had alot of fun building up to and running this card. GAMMA 7 is looking to be a fun show as well. Expect pressers for it later tonight and the show itself to be posted on Sunday.

The game world is really starting to take shape. Now if only ISL would run some damn shows. It's been over a year since they last held an event with no end to it in sight. They keep claiming they don't have enough fighters to hold an event, yet they cut guys like Nakajima and refuse to sign guys who are 2-0 or even 3-0 on the Japanese local scene. The number of fighters who are debuting has started to increase so I hope they begin to sign guys up and hold some shows.

My last private game I held with this database didn't have this issue, but I have seen it talked about in the past. They always end up signing enough people to hold shows before they run out of money.

[dubb93]

Thursday Week 3, September 1992

A GAMMA press release is making the rounds this morning.

GAMMA heads to Gotham with an event scheduled for Saturday Week 4, December 1992!

The event will be the very first GAMMA event to NOT feature a tournament. Instead GAMMA will focus on Super Fights for the very first time in GAMMA's history.

And I'm tellin' ya, we got some Super Fights scheduled! The Main Event will feature Gary Sampson defending his GAMMA World Championship against the man he took the belt from, Joaquim Fontes.

The card will also feature a huge Co-Main Event as the man with the most knock outs in GAMMA history, Rick Stanley, will go to war with the man who ranks third in career GAMMA KO's, Phil Verdigree. This fight is guaranteed to be a WAR!

Other fights scheduled for GAMMA 7 include:

Mantas Andreyev vs. Eugene Clough in a re-match from GAMMA 1 where Clough defeated Andreyev. Since that time Andreyev has gone on to become one of GAMMA's biggest stars. He is out for revenge!

Atshushi Nakajima vs. Norman Pike in a battle of exciting newcomers to the tournament at GAMMA 6. Both men entered the tournament and made unexpected deep runs.

Jack Cobblepot vs. Graham Goodbody in a fight that pairs two of the largest men in GAMMA against one another.

-Plus-

GAMMA stars Vincent Chapin and Frank Analysis are scheduled to compete in separate fights!

Catch GAMMA 7: Super Fights live on Pay-Per-View.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 4, November 1992

Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts held their GAMMA 7: Super Fights press conference.

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Avatar spoke at length about the main fights on the card. He spent an equal amount of time putting over both the GAMMA World Championship fight and the co-feature bout between Rick Stanley and Phil Verdigree.

After covering the main bouts, Avatar finished rounding out the fight card by announcing that opponents had been found for Chapin and Analysis. Vincent Chapin will be fighting newcomer Murray Darby, while Analysis will face fellow new face Pedro Sousa.

Avatar then introduced the new fighters to the fans.

Murray Darby

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Twenty-four year old Murray Darby is a standout amateur wrestler from New Zealand. Intent on furthering his wrestling career, a transition to MMA was the natural choice.

Pedro Sousa

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Pedro Sousa is a veteran of Brazil's no rules Vale Tudo fighting circuit. Sousa, 21, is known for a violently aggressive fighting style where he explodes into fits of offense. Sousa's reckless abandon often means he puts himself in great danger of sustaining damage himself, but the fans in Brazil absolutely love the shows he puts on. He is often able to simply overwhelm fighters who aren't capable of defending his all out assaults.

At this point the event was turned over to Stanley and Verdigree followed by Sampson and Fontes. After the media had their fun with the fighters, it was time for Avatar to field some questions.

In response to a question about who the top contender following this event would be Avatar remarked, "Sometimes there isn't a clear cut top guy. I don't think that is a bad thing. It will give us options on where to go from here. Maybe GAMMA 8 is a return to the tournament format and that gives us a top contender, I don't know. We are going to evaluate all of our options following this event."

[dubb93]

Friday Week 4, December 1992

Official GAMMA 7: Super Fights Weight-In

Main Event

GAMMA World Championship

Gary Sampson(c) (6-1) [251] vs. Joaquim Fontes (9-2) [180]

Co-Main Event

Rick Stanley (6-3) [235] vs. Phil Verdigree (4-3) [236]

-undercard-

Mantas Andreyev (6-3) [205] vs. Eugene Clough (4-4) [285]
Atshushi Nakajima (5-3) [185] vs. Norman Pike (1-1) [210]
Jack Cobblepot (1-2) [275] vs. Graham Goodbody (1-2) [275]
Vincent Chapin (3-3) [226] vs. Murray Darby (MMA Debut) [211]
Frank Analysis (1-1) [233] vs. Pedro Sousa (MMA Debut) [205]

*Weight in []

[PilotMan]

Good development. I see the benefits of playing an early company or playing with a smaller fighter group. I almost always end up trying to take a small company up, with heavy limits on who I can sign, how I sign them, and when and how I can cherry pick. Right now I am running about 36 (24 ppv, 12 tv) shows a year, 10 (5) fights per show. It takes some time to get through I can tell you that.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 4, December 1992

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 7: Super Fights

Live from New York City, New York

**PPV Begins**

Pedro Sousa (1-0) defeats Frank Analysis (1-2) by TKO (Punches) at 25:53. (Poor)

The first fight of the night wasn't terribly exciting, but Sousa was extremely active as expected. He administered one of GAMMA's largest one sided beatings seen to date, destroying Analysis 57-1 in significant strikes landed. 19 of those were monster leg kicks, and by the end of the fight Analysis was unable to put any weight on his extremely bruised and swollen leg. These were the most violent leg kicks seen in GAMMA to date.

We need to get Sousa someone who can hang with him next time. Throw him a striker and I expect to see some serious fireworks.

Vincent Chapin (4-3) defeats Murray Darby (0-1) by Decision. (Poor)

This was a fight that had some interesting moments, but the majority of the bout took place with Darby's back pinned to the cage. Chapin showed his trademark wrestling, but his actual takedowns seem to have left him. It has now been two fights in a row that he hasn't been able to complete a single takedown. I wonder if age is starting to slow him down?

The exciting moments came about the 10 minute mark where Darby rocked Chapin, but he was not able to finish him. Chapin showed good heart and defense to survive. Then around the 22 minute mark Chapin broke Darby's nose with a punch. There was a considerable amount of blood.

Graham Goodbody (2-2) defeats Jack Cobblepot (1-3) by Decision. (Average)

A really poor night of fights thus far.

Cobblepot really struggled to do anything in this fight. Goodbody dominated the striking, 25-4 in significant strikes landed, and took Cobblepot down four times. The fans deserved a finish here though and we didn't get it.

Hopefully the action starts to pick up as we head into the final four fights.

Atshushi Nakajima (6-3) defeats Norman Pike (1-2) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 17:40. (Average)

Nakajima by gas tank! Pretty sure I've typed that before.

The fight started out exciting. The two went toe to toe and took turns landing hard shots on each other. Eventually it slowed down into a fight dominated by the wrestling of Pike. He took Nakajima down twice, but was unable to mount any type of offense inside of Nakajima's dangerous guard.

Eventually Pike gassed and Nakajima took him to town on the ground and ended it with a submission. Nakajima is extremely dangerous due to his cardio and ability to take advantage of anyone's weaknesses.

Eugene Clough (5-4) defeats Mantas Andreyev (6-4) by Decision. (Poor)

There was just too great of a size difference for Andreyev to overcome. Mantas looked to be the superior fighter in all of the technical aspects, but Eugene was able to force him up against the cage and beat him up with dirty boxing.

Andreyev attempted twelve takedowns and Clough was able to defend each and every one of them. This is a particularly tough loss for Andreyev to take as the two fighters were thought to be headed in opposite directions. Could Clough, at 37, be poised for one last great GAMMA run?

Phil Verdigree (5-3) defeats Rick Stanley (6-4) by Knockout (Punch) at 4:02. (Great)

Upset alert! Verdigree made a statement in this fight that he is GAMMA's premier striker. Most of the focus was on Stanley's GAMMA resume of knockouts, Verdigree clearly felt overlooked.

Stanley was the more active fighter in the fight as he threw nearly five times as many strikes as Veridgree, but it was big Phil who was landing. He stalked Stanley around the cage and put him to sleep at the four minute mark with a brutal uppercut.

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Phil Verdigree, pictured, shocked the world by knocking out GAMMA's most feared striker Rick Stanley.

Main Event

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GAMMA World Championship

Gary Sampson (7-1) defeats Joaquim Fontes (9-3) by TKO (Punches) at 1:24 to retain the GAMMA World Championship. (Good)

Sampson makes his case that HE is actually GAMMA's premier striker. How much fun would Sampson-Verdigree be at this point?

Fontes never even got to attempt a takedown. He couldn't handle the power Sampson has in his hands and folded as soon as Sampson was able to land punches.

Sampson seems to be on a completely different level than every other MMA fighter at this point. He seems to have corrected his lone flaw, takedown defense, and added brutal standup (best in the world at this point?) to his MMA game.

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GAMMA World Champion Gary Sampson scored yet another quick Knock Out victory at GAMMA 7.

Critical Rating: Average
Commercial Rating: Good
Attendance: 2,272 for a gate of $320,040
PPV Buys: 53,340

[dubb93]

1993 will be a huge year for GAMMA and MMA as a whole. The pressure has been mounting on GAMMA to take steps to regulate their sport. 1993 seems to be the year that some substantial changes are anticipated to be made.

There are also rumblings of a sleeping giant in the far east with resources beyond ANYTHING GAMMA could ever dream of. Expect the birth of this sleeping giant at some point during the calender year.

1993 will be the year with the largest hurdles to overcome that GAMMA has faced to date.

Even in the face of all these obstacles....the fights must go on...

The Bare Knuckle era is about to come to an end.

[dubb93]

Monday Week 1, January 1993

As 1992 draws to a close, Blurcat is once again here to present the awards for the best....and worst of 1992 in MMA.

Company Rankings
1. Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts
--Low Level National and based in America

2. International Shoot League
--High Level Regional and based in Japan

Top 10 Fighters in the World*

1. Gary Sampson (7-1, GAMMA World Champion)
2. Oleg Dorosklov (3-0, ISL Light Heavyweight Champion)
3. Kanji Togo (5-1-1, ISL Welterweight Champion)
4. Joaquim Fontes (9-3)
5. Marko Prochazka (2-0-1, ISL Middleweight Champion)
6. Ryosei Sakamoto (1-0)
7. Yoshinobu Tanaka (5-2-1)
8. Bokkai Iida (5-3)
9. Chikafusa Abukara (6-3)
10. Mantas Andreyev (6-4)

*Ranked by Blurcat Fight Magazine, the world's leading authority on all things MMA

MMA in 1992, Yearly Awards*

Fighter of the Year

Gary Sampson

Show of the Year

GAMMA 5: Windy City Wasteland

Rise of the Year

Gary Sampson

Fall of the Year

Rick Stanley

Fight of the Year

Frank Analysis vs. Noah Musch at GAMMA 5

Worst Fight of the Year

Gary Sampson vs. Graham Goodbody at GAMMA 4

Knock Out of the Year

Phil Verdigree knocks out Rick Stanley at GAMMA 7

Submission of the Year

Joaquim Fontes submits Atshushi Nakajima at GAMMA 6

Main Event of the Year

Gary Sampson vs. Joaquim Fontes at GAMMA 7

Upset of the Year

Mick Curran defeats Bill Cumming

*Yearly awards are given out by Blurcat Fight Magazine, the world's leading authority on all things MMA

ISL's lack of holding any events this year was a good thing for their fighters in the fighter rankings. Most of those guys started with bigger reputations than the guys who fight in GAMMA and since they just haven't fought much at all they haven't had a chance to fall from grace.

I'm confident that most, if not all, of those guys that are ranked would not fare very well in GAMMA's current landscape.

[dubb93]

Tuesday Week 2, January 1993

GAMMA sent out their first presser of 1993.

GAMMA returns to Las Vegas with GAMMA 8: Sampson vs. Verdigree on Saturday Week 3, March 1993.

The event will be headlined by a GAMMA World Championship fight between the two most destructive strikers in the MMA today. Gary Sampson, winner of four straight by way of knock out, will defend his title against Phil Verdigree. Big Phil is coming off his biggest victory to date at GAMMA 7 where he knocked out former GAMMA World Champion Rick Stanley.

GAMMA 8 will also feature GAMMA's first seeded tournament.

The number one seed in the tournament will be the GAMMA 3 Tournament Champion, and the only man to defeat current the GAMMA World Champion Gary Sampson, Vincent Chapin.

The number two seed in the tournament will be two time GAMMA Tournament runner-up Eugene Clough. A little known fact about Eugene is that the only fights he has lost in his entire career have been to men who went on to become GAMMA World Champion(Fontes, Sampson, Stanleyx2). With no former champion in this tournament will anyone be able to stop Clough, or will the next GAMMA superstar find a way to stop the monster?

They will be joined in the cage by six other men. The only two ways to catch the action in March are to join us live or catch us on Pay-Per-View!

[dubb93]

Friday Week 3, February 1993

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GAMMA held their press conference for GAMMA 8: Sampson vs. Verdigree.

The company wasted no time and immediately got into the hype surrounding the Gary Sampson vs. Phil Verdigree fight. Avatar talked about the fight briefly before handing the event over to the two men in the main event. After they had their say the event went back to Avatar.

Avatar revealed the remaining seeds for the GAMMA 8 Tournament. The bracket will look like:

1. Vincent Chapin vs. 8. Stan Blackheath
4. Atshushi Nakajima vs. 5. Pedro Sousa
3. Gary Goodbody vs. 6. Greg Atteveld
2. Eugene Clough vs. 7. Barry Strachan

Avatar then talked about how big of an opportunity this is for the fighters involved. He closed the event by revealing that the event will feature two preliminary fights. As usual, Avatar talked about how much he loves the "all or nothing" aspect of these fights. He revealed that the bouts would be newcomer Felipe Luiz Rosa vs. Susumu Katoh and Noah Musch vs. Murray Darby. Avatar's final thoughts to the media were, "This is why you really need to buy a ticket to our events. The last time Noah Musch fought he put on the fight of the year. The only way you will see him fight at GAMMA 8 is if you have a ticket and a seat in the arena."

[dubb93]

Friday Week 3, March 1993

GAMMA 8: Sampson vs. Verdigree Official Weight-In

Main Event
GAMMA World Championship

Gary Sampson(c) (7-1) [251] vs. Phil Verdigree (5-3) [236]

GAMMA 8 Tournament Bracket

1. Vincent Chapin (4-3) [226] vs. 8. Stan Blackheath (1-0) [228]
4. Atshushi Nakajima (6-3) [185] vs. 5. Pedro Sousa (1-0) [205]
3. Graham Goodbody (2-2) [275] vs. 6. Greg Atteveld (1-2) [185]
2. Eugene Clough (5-4) [285] vs. 7. Barry Strachan (1-0) [240]

Preliminary Fights

Susumu Katoh (4-6-1) [185] vs. Felipe Luiz Rosa (MMA Debut) [237]
Noah Musch (1-2) [232] vs. Murray Darby (0-1) [211]

*Weight in []

[SirFozzie]

*bump* did this die down? :)

[dubb93]

*bump* did this die down? :)

I have this show saved, and it was epic. I will get it posted tomorrow.

[dubb93]

Been a long time coming.....

Saturday Week 3, March 1993

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 8: Sampson vs. Verdigree

Live from Las Vegas, Nevada

Prelims

Murray Darby (1-1) defeats Noah Musch (1-3) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 15:35. (Great)

Felipe Luiz Rosa (1-0) defeats Susumu Katoh (4-7-1) by TKO (Punches) at 1:15. (Good)

***PPV Begins

GAMMA 8 Tournament Opening Round

Eugene Clough (6-4) defeats Barry Strachan (1-1) by Submission (Armbar) at 19:56. (Poor)

This fight was definitely one-sided as Clough pretty much dominated it everywhere he wanted to.

At different times during the fight he turned a takedown into some solid elbows from the top, good wrestling and clinch control into effective dirty boxing, and even solid standup into a knockdown that he finished with an Armbar on his groggy opponent.

This wasn't the same Eugene Clough we have seen in the past. This is a much more motivated man! This could be his last great ride into the sunset. At 38, Clough doesn't have a whole lot of time left in his career. He needs a tournament victory tonight to cement his legacy.

Graham Goodbody (3-2) defeats Greg Atteveld (1-3) by TKO (Knees and Punches) at 3:45. (Great)

Atteveld's return to GAMMA was not what he had in mind as the giant Goodbody easily got him to the ground and took the fight out of him with knees to the body.

Once the knees had taken Atteveld's will to fight, Goodbody finished him with punches from the top.

Atshushi Nakajima (7-3) defeats Pedro Sousa (1-1) by Submission (Guillotine) at 24:14. (Good)

We have had a couple of really good fights so far tonight!

Sousa started the fight by knocking Nakajima down early with punches, but he choose not to follow him to the ground. He instead decided to play it safe and wait for Nakajima to stand up.

The majority of the rest of the fight played out with Sousa the aggressor, but getting caught with counter strikes in bunches as a result of his aggression. Nakajima was 0/9 in takedown attempts during this fight, but eventually was able to pull guard on an exhausted Sousa.

From there it didn't take long before Sousa was caught deep in a Guillotine and the fight was over. If Nakajima is able to score two more victories in this tournament tonight where does that put him in GAMMA's hierarchy? That would give him a tournament victory, a tournament runner-up, and a big super fight victory in his three GAMMA appearances. We will see if Nakajima has what it takes to pull it off.

Vincent Chapin (5-3) defeats Stan Blackheath (1-1) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 12:18. (Good)

I thought Chapin was out!

About six minutes into the fight Blackheath landed a monster head kick that sent Chapin to the ground in a heap. I thought it was over, but somehow Chapin was able to survive the ensuing onslaught of punches and pull guard.

Blackheath looked great in the standup, Chapin was clearly outmatched. He was also unable to score a takedown. He was 0/3 in takedown attempts. If it weren't for that massive headkick that Blackheath landed, odds are Chapin would have been beaten up with strikes the entire fight.

Instead he was able to sweep Blackheath and work his way to a submission. Chapin moves on, but he took some damage AND I don't think this is the same guy who won GAMMA 3. The Chapin that fought that night showed takedowns that couldn't be stopped. This Vincent Chapin hasn't finished a takedown in the GAMMA cage in since GAMMA 4 when he took Joaquim Fontes to the ground. Unfortunately for Chapin, father time may not be on his side.

GAMMA 8 Tournament Semi-Finals

Graham Goodbody (4-2) defeats Eugene Clough (6-5) by Decision. (Average)

Yea, I'm not too sure about this one. I scored it for Clough who I felt controlled the fight with three big takedowns and top game.

The judges on the other hand scored it for Goodbody, who was the more active fighter in the standup, but for all of that action he only landed 16 significant strikes the entire fight. So despite throwing nearly 5x as many strikes as Clough, Goodbody only landed a mere 3 more significant strikes.

I would also say the majority of this fight was on the ground. That was where Clough wanted it to be and he made it happen to the tune of three solid takedowns that Goodbody could do nothing to stop.

If this is the end for Clough, and at 38 it very well could be, I hate to see it end with a controversial decision.

Atshushi Nakajima (8-3) defeats Vincent Chapin (5-4) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 16:28. (Average)

Nakajima is the most underrated fighter in GAMMA.

I've been calling him a "jack of all trades" fighter with no weaknesses, and after watching this fight I don't think that is fair. Nakajima is clearly a wizard on the ground. His sweeps, transitions, and chain submission attempts are without rival in GAMMA right now. I think a re-match between him and Fontes would be fun to watch, especially if it was a Super Fight rather than a fight at the end of a tournament.

Nakajima has to be the favorite over Goodbody. Nakajima submitted him the last time the two met in the tournament at GAMMA 6. In that fight Nakajima finished Goodbody with a Guillotine Choke that, by all rights, he wasn't even in position to finish. The submission is included on nearly every GAMMA highlight reel.

GAMMA 8 Tournament Final

Graham Goodbody (5-2) defeats Atshushi Nakajima (8-4) by TKO (Punches) at 0:49. (Good)

Graham Goodbody gets his revenge! He won't ever be able to get his GAMMA 6 submission loss off the GAMMA highlight reel, but he sure can make a highlight of his own!

Nakajima didn't really do anything wrong here, he just got clipped by a punch early and finished. Goodbody emerges from the fringes of GAMMA's roster and defeats three men, including a legend and one of GAMMA's top fighters, enroute to becoming the GAMMA 8 Tournament Champion.

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Graham Goodbody is declared the GAMMA 8 Tournament Champion. It may not have been without a little controversy, but his knockout of Nakajima in the finals left no doubt who deserved the crown tonight.

Main Event

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GAMMA World Championship

Gary Sampson (8-1) defeats Phil Verdigree (5-4) by TKO (Punches) at 24:14 to retain the GAMMA World Championship. (Good)

I think this is one of the most important fights in GAMMA's history.

The "invincible" Gary Sampson was battered and bruised. Verdigree knocked the mighty Sampson down not once, not twice, but three times with strikes!

On top of that on two other occasions he had Sampson on rubber legs and on the verge of going down. Big Phil has some power!

Sampson added to his mystic though by surviving it all. He survived three knockdowns to land that one great punch he needed. When it landed, Big Phil went down in a heap. It was over in a flash as the referee had to pull Sampson off Verdigree.

Sampson retains his title in a fight that was simply an amazing to watch! No one has ever done to Gary Sampson what Phil Verdigree did tonight. He deserves all the credit in the world for putting on one hell of a show.

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Gary Sampson, pictured, survived the ultimate challenge at GAMMA 8

Critical Rating: Good
Commercial Rating: Decent
Attendance: 2,709 for a gate of $216,720
PPV Buys: 76,300

[dubb93]

GAMMA sent out a presser.

The GAMMA Tournament of Champions

One Night. One Title. Every GAMMA Tournament Champion.

Press Conference Soon.

[dubb93]

*bump* did this die down? :)

To more fully answer this question: No.

This is just how I tend to play WMMA. When I run out of ideas I take a break. Expect to see more breaks of about the same length as this goes on, probably at about the same amount of events. I'm usually pretty consistent.

[dubb93]

Thursday Week 4, March 1993

ISL is back! ISL held ISL 12 last night in Kanto.

The Main Event saw Oleg Dorosklov defend his Light Heavyweight Championship successfully by defeating Yukichi Sato by decision. Dorosklov is now 4-0 in his MMA career. For some reason many MMA journalists think Dorosklov is the top MMA fighter on the planet.

And I have ocean front property in Oklahoma for ya too.....

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, June 1993

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GAMMA called a press conference today and Scott Avatar used it to reveal more about what he called "The GAMMA Tournament of Champions." It was revealed the location for the event would be Denver, Colorado.

Avatar said that the tournament would be for the GAMMA World Championship and that all six Tournament Champions in GAMMA's history would be in the tournament, including GAMMA World Heavyweight Champion Gary Sampson, who won the Tournament at GAMMA 4. They will be joined by the only two men to be runner-up in multiple tournaments, Atshushi Nakajima(GAMMA 6 and 8) and Eugene Clough(GAMMA 1 and 2).

At this point all eight men joined Scott Avatar on the stage as it was revealed that the all important tournament drawing would be happening tonight!

Following a random drawing the bracket was determined to be:

Mantas Andreyev vs. Joaquim Fontes
Atshushi Nakajima vs. Rick Stanley
Eugene Clough vs. Vicent Chapin
Graham Goodbody vs. Gary Sampson

After the drawing Avatar talked about the match-ups for a few minutes. He noted how Goodbody and Sampson are "...probably the two top ranked guys in the world right now." And that a potential second round fight between Joaquim Fontes and Rick Stanley would "...be the fight of the year again. The two guys have gone to war twice and for my money delivered the fight of the year both times."

It was also announced that preliminary fights would scrapped in favor of fights live on Pay-Per-View. "We are going to try a new format," revealed Avatar. The fight between newcomers Arthur Franco and Petey Barnum will take place after the first round fights and the evenings Co-Main Event will be a battle between strikers Pedro Sousa and Phil Verdigree. "If Gary and Graham are one-two right now then Big Phil has to be number three," added Avatar.

The new fighters were introduced:

Petey Barnum

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"The Broadstreet Bully" Petey Barnum is a boxer from North Carolina. At twenty-nine Barnum is entering MMA a little later in life than most, but Barnum has a really solid striking game to build upon. Barnum is 3-0 on the regional MMA circuit.

Arthur Franco

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Young Arthur Franco, 23, is a wrestler from Brazil. The Brazilian is thought to be one of Brazil's top amateur wrestlers.

The conference ended with Avatar doing one last hard sell of the card and telling everyone to make sure they find a way to catch the action on Saturday Week 1, July 1993.

[dubb93]

Thursday Week 3, June 1993

Following alot of buzz and rumors GAMMA was forced to send out a press release today.

GAMMA can confirm that "The GAMMA Tournament of Champions" will be the last GAMMA event to feature no weight classes.

Following meetings with the Nevada State Athletic Association we have made the following changes to our weight classes going forward.

Heavyweight 206-265lbs
Lightweight 205lbs and under

GAMMA will not be able to retain the services of any fighter who is not able to meet these weight requirements.

GAMMA will return to our standard numbering format later this year at GAMMA 9 where we will crown our very first GAMMA Lightweight Champion.

We had hoped for a big reveal, but following the commission going public with the information we felt inclined to confirm the news.

In other news ISL is now making up for lost time. They signed a deal with a Japanese TV station and are running so many shows now that I'm not going to be able to cover them all.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, July 1993

The GAMMA Tournament of Champions Official Weight-In

GAMMA Tournament of Champions Brackett

Mantas Andreyev (6-4) [205] vs. Joaquim Fontes (9-3) [180]
Atshushi Nakajima (8-4) [185] vs. Rick Stanley (6-4) [235]
Eugene Clough (6-5) [285] vs. Vicent Chapin (5-4) [226]
Graham Goodbody (5-2) [275] vs. Gary Sampson (8-1) [251]

Super-Fights

Pedro Sousa (1-1) [205] vs. Phil Verdigree (5-4) [236]
Arthur Franco (MMA Debut) [205] vs. Petey Barnum (3-0) [202]

Weight in []

[dubb93]

This will be up later tonight. In the meantime I'll post a short teaser.

This card contains not 1, but 2 legit Fight of the Year contenders. If I sort by best fights ever this card has 2 in the top 5 in the history of MMA and the top 2 fights in the history of GAMMA.

It was also a night of firsts. By the end of the night we had something we have never had before.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 1, July 1993

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

The GAMMA Tournament of Champions

Live from Denver, Colorado

PPV Begins

The GAMMA Tournament of Champions Opening Round:

Graham Goodbody (6-2) defeats Gary Sampson (8-2) by TKO (Punches) at 0:44. (Good)

Are you kidding me!? Where has Sampson's chin gone? For the second fight in a row he gets hurt with punches and this time he gets finished. Graham Goodbody scores the biggest victory of his career in the opening fight of the tournament. This is also one of GAMMA's biggest upsets to date.

Where can this fight card possibly go from here?

Vincent Chapin (6-4) defeats Eugene Clough (6-6) by Submission (Standing Guillotine) at 9:56. (Great)

Vincent Chapin turned the clock back for atleast one fight tonight and turned in a dominant performance here.

Chapin was able to keep Clough on the outside most of the fight with solid jabs and leg kicks. Once Clough was able to close the distance, after absorbing a considerable amount of damage I might add, Chapin slapped on a choke that ended the fight. Chapin looked like a man ten years his junior in this fight.

Rick Stanley (7-4) defeats Atshushi Nakajima (8-5) by TKO (Punches) at 5:48. (Decent)

Nakajima came out and wanted to trade punches with Stanley in this fight. In what was a surprise to nobody, expect maybe Nakajima, that was a terrible idea. Stanley's power was just way too much for Nakajima. Stanley moves on in the tournament.

A second round fight between Stanley and Fontes could be a FOTY contender if Fontes can defeat Mantas Andreyev in his first round fight.

Joaquim Fontes (10-3) defeats Mantas Andreyev (6-5) by Submission (Triangle Choke with Armbar) at 1:06. (Good)

Andreyev came out and scored an early takedown on Fontes. Fontes didn't even attempt to defend it and was more than happy to pull guard. Fontes then quickly worked his way to a submission victory.

We've now seen questionable strategy decisions in back to back fights. One has to wonder what these two guys were thinking taking on world class fighters and trying to beat them at what they do best. You don't try to submit a BJJ expert just like you don't stand and bang with one of the top kickboxers in the world.

This sets up Fontes-Stanley 3 which is a fight that probably could have headlined an entire fight card. Rick Stanley knocked out Fontes at GAMMA 1 to become the first GAMMA World Champion. Joaquim Fontes submitted Rick Stanley at GAMMA 3 to take the title for himself. These are the only two former World Champions left in the tournament and their rubber match will be in the semi-finals.

Super-Fight

Arthur Franco (1-0) defeats Petey Barnum (3-1) by Submission (Armbar) at 1:52. (Good)

Barnum's lack of wrestling and submission defense shot him in the foot here. Franco turned an early takedown into a quick submission victory. One has to wonder if Barnum was ready for this level of competition.

The GAMMA Tournament of Champions Semi-Finals

Vincent Chapin (7-4) defeats Graham Goodbody (6-3) by Submission (Guillotine) at 29:42. (Good)

This was an amazing fight! So much emotion!

Chapin showed great jabs and leg kicks again. His striking has greatly improved, but he got himself in trouble by chasing takedowns. Goodbody kept stuffing them and really pounding him with strikes on the ground. Had Chapin just kept his distance he probably would have won this fight on points. By chasing the takedowns he probably had the fight scored closer to even.

The last minute of this fight was just epic. As I said the fight outcome was still up in the air. Either guy could have came away with the decision if they finished strong.

Goodbody was able to clip Chapin with a wild haymaker and sent him crashing to the ground. As Goodbody went to finish the fight with strikes from the top it became apparent that he really hadn't hurt Chapin as much as he thought he had. Chapin kept his composure and after Goodbody had quickly punched himself out he locked on a guillotine choke that finished the fight with just 18 seconds left!

Who had Chapin fighting for the GAMMA World Championship at this point in his career? How does GAMMA top this? How about the re-match of the 1991 fight of the year?

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Vincent Chapin managed to turn back time tonight and has earned a shot at the GAMMA World Championship

Rick Stanley (8-4) defeats Joaquim Fontes (10-4) by TKO (Punches) at 7:40. (Fantastic)

Well, that was probably the Fight of the Year again. These two absolutely went to war. Fontes punished Stanley with leg kicks, which he has developed nicely since the last time these two had last fought. Stanley, on the other hand, was landing hard and straight power punches.

The fight had two big highlight worthy moments in it. The first one brought everyone back to Stanley-Fontes 1 when Stanley punished Fontes with soccer kicks following a failed takedown attempt.

The other was the end of the fight where Stanley overwhelmed Fontes with straight power punches up against the fence.

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Rick Stanley's victory over Joaquim Fontes in their rubber match will earn him a shot to regain the GAMMA World Championship that he lost at GAMMA 3.

Super-Fight

Phil Verdigree (6-4) defeats Pedro Sousa (1-2) by TKO (Punches) at 18:42. (Excellent)

By the fight rating this was actually the best fight GAMMA has ever put on! What a night of fights tonight!

These two had a hard fight to follow, but they actually did the impossible and put on an absolute classic. The explosive Sousa battled against the counter puncher Verdigree. Sousa landed nearly twice as many significant strikes in this fight, but it was Verdigree who picked his shots wisely and made them count.

It was a counter punch that ultimately put Sousa down for good.

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Following the fight, GAMMA president Scott Avatar joined Phil Verdigree (pictured) in the cage and announced that he was the number one contender for the GAMMA World Championship. It was announced that a fight between Verdigree and the winner of the tournament finals will happen later this year!

Main Event

Finals of The GAMMA Tournamet of Champions

for the

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GAMMA World Championship

Rick Stanley (9-4) defeats Vincent Chapin (7-5) by TKO (Punches) at 2:05 to become the [b]NEW[b] GAMMA World Champion. (Great)

Rick Stanley does it again! He becomes the only two time champion in GAMMA history and repeats his historic feat of winning the title in a tournament that he accomplished at GAMMA 1. He is the only fighter in GAMMA history to win the GAMMA World Championship in a tournament and he has now done that twice!

The actual fight here was short and sweet. Stanley showed tons of power and too much aggression for Chapin, who couldn't stand the heat. Stanley's first solid combination ended the fight.

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Rick Stanley is now a two time GAMMA World Champion!

Critical Rating: Fantastic
Commercial Rating: Good
Attendance: 3,341 for a gate of $459,000
PPV Buys: 76,500

-GAMMA Bonuses-

$1500 to each of the following:

Fight of the Night: Phil Verdigree vs. Pedro Sousa
Knockout of the Night: Rick Stanley
Submission of the Night: Vincent Chapin

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 4, July 1993

A GAMMA presser is making the rounds today....

GAMMA returns in September with GAMMA 9: The Lightweight Tournament.

The event will be headlined by a tournament for the new GAMMA Lightweight Championship. The single night, four man tournament will feature Joaquim Fontes, Atshushi Nakajima, Arthur Franco, and Pedro Sousa.

Also on the card will be a re-match between Graham Goodbody and Vincent Chapin in the GAMMA Heavyweight division.

The card will take place Saturday Week 4, September 1993 live from Las Vegas, Nevada.

In other news, Blurcat Fight Magazine is reporting the following:

Following his defeat at the GAMMA Tournament of Champions, Gary Sampson has been seen in Philly training at Rick Stanley's American Cage Fighters training camp. ACF is ran by Stanley and is considered the largest and most successful training camp in the United States.

It is unknown what this means for any potential Stanley-Sampson title fights down the road, but in the long run these two teaming up under the same building can be nothing but good for American MMA.

It is also being reported that Sampson is unlikely to return to the cage this year. His return is expected in early '94, while Stanley is expected to defended his title against Phil Verdigree in November at GAMMA 10.

[dubb93]

Monday Week 1, September 1993

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Today is a historic day in the history of Mixed Martial Arts. In a landmark press conference in Tokyo Japan, ALPHA-1: Japanese Mixed Martial Arts was announced as the new big player in MMA.

The company debuts with an unprecedented budget and the support of the entire country of Japan. The company is expected to debut their first show by the end of the year. The company has signed a prime-time TV deal to air their shows in Japan and Asia on a major network. The company will use a rule-set very similar to GAMMA, with the exceptions of fights taking place in a ring rather than a cage and ALPHA-1 will use rounds. ALPHA-1 fights will have a ten minute first round with each additional round being five minutes long.

In other news Blurcat is reporting the following...

GAMMA has signed a TV deal with National Pride TV to air a show called "GAMMA Live!" on cable TV.

The show will air in late evening and is expected to feature four fights per card. Details are sketchy at the moment, but the company is expected to air three to four events in the first year.

National Pride TV has coverage in most major markets in United States.

Another MMA promotion was also founded as HILITE opened in Hawaii. This company will not compete with any existing promotions and will instead focus on lower level and rookie fighter. This company is said to be a low level regional company. Blurcat approached Scott Avatar who said that he thinks companies like HILITE are great for MMA and he looks forward to seeing them develop guys who can go on to become stars under the bright lights of GAMMA. He did not rule out a future partnership between the two companies.

Author note: I don't like the idea of rushing to a TV show, but with both ISL and ALPHA-1 airing shows on regular TV, my hand has been forced. If I don't follow suit then I will be left behind.

Also, it should be clear that the MMA landscape has drastically changed at this point. HILITE should develop into a feeder league for GAMMA, along with more companies that have yet to debut, and ALPHA-1 is now the #1 MMA company in the world. We are beginning our fast track towards modern MMA.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, September 1993

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GAMMA called a press conference for their GAMMA 9: The Lightweight Tournament event.

Avatar began the conference by putting over the new Lightweight division. He then revealed that the bracket for the tournament would be:

Joaquim Fontes vs. Pedro Sousa
Arthur Franco vs. Atshushi Nakajima

The finals for the tournament, which will be the main event on the card, would be for the new GAMMA Lightweight Championship. At this point Avatar brought the four fighters out and revealed the new belt.

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Following some pictures with the fighters and the new championship, Avatar began to talk about the rest of the card. The Co-Main Event on the card will be a re-match between Graham Goodbody and Vincent Chapin in the Heavyweight Division. Avatar remarked, "Their last fight really doesn't get the credit it deserves because of some of the other fights on the card. It was truly epic, and we fully expect the re-match to be even better."

The rest of the fight card was also revealed to be:

Stan Blackheath vs. Barry Strachan
Frank Analysis vs. Jack Cobblepot

Both fights were announced as fights in the Heavyweight division. Avatar then began his hard sell of the event, ending with a reminder that the card is live from Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday Week 4, September 1993.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 4, September 1993

GAMMA 9: The Lightweight Tournament Official Weight-In

GAMMA Lightweight Championship Tournament
Joaquim Fontes (10-4) [180] vs. Pedro Sousa (1-2) [205]
Arthur Franco (1-0) [205] vs. Atshushi Nakajima (8-5) [185]

Graham Goodbody (6-3) [265] vs. Vincent Chapin (7-5) [226]
Stan Blackheath (1-1) [228] vs. Barry Strachan (1-1) [240]
Frank Analysis (1-2) [233] vs. Jack Cobblepot (1-3) [265]

Weight in []

*Heavyweight division 206-265 / Lightweight division 205 and under
**Feedback and predictions are absolutely welcome. Is there a fight you want to see? Fan influence can definitely impact booking decisions.

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 4, September 1993

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 9: The Lightweight Tournament

Live from Las Vegas, Nevada

PPV Broadcast Begins

Lightweight Tournament Semi-Finals:

Atshushi Nakajima (9-5) defeats Arthur Franco (1-1) by Submission (Arm Triangle) at 25:46. (Average)

Atshushi Nakajima is the winner of GAMMA's first ever fight in the Lightweight division. By winning this fight he will now fight for the vacant Lightweight Championship later tonight.

Arthur Franco looked really good in this and really controlled the flow of most of the fight with wrestling. He put Nakajima up against the cage and punished him with dirty boxing. It wasn't until much later in the fight when Nakajima used a Guillotine Choke to get the fight to the ground. From there he showed his skill getting a sweep and a submission. He may be without equal on the ground at this point in his career.

Joaquim Fontes (11-4) defeats Pedro Sousa (1-3) by Submission (Guillotine) at 4:04. (Great)

Fontes really survived a scare here. At 1-3 Pedro Sousa is probably the best fighter in the world with a losing record. His fight with Goodbody at the ToC was the best MMA fight in history and he follows that up here at GAMMA 9 by knocking Fontes off his feet and nearly finishing him with an exciting burst of soccer kicks followed by big punches.

His aggression is what makes him such a dangerous and exciting fighter, but it is ultimately what has cost him another fight. Fontes survived the storm, and once it was clear that Sousa wasn't going to be able to knock Fontes out they were both left on the ground. Sousa tried to escape, but he was in over his head on the ground and quickly submitted.

Most 1-3 fighters would be cut from GAMMA, but I just can't do it to Sousa. He's one of our better fighters and he's absolutely the most explosive and exciting fighter on the roster. He will be back. For Fontes it's a date with Atshushi Nakajima in the Main Event tonight for the GAMMA Lightweight Championship.

Non-Tournament Fights

Jack Cobblepot (2-3) defeats Frank Analysis (1-3) by Unanimous Decision. (Poor)

Jack Cobblepot picks up the win in what was a fairly lackluster thirty minutes of action. A quick takedown by Cobblepot put him on top of Analysis who was not able to escape...for nearly thirty minutes. Would have been nice to see the referee stand these two up at some point.

Barry Strachan (2-1) defeats Stan Blackheath (1-2) by Unanimous Decision. (Average)

Our second straight thirty minute decision of the night definitely had more action than the previous fight. With good reason too as both of these guys really needed to get a victory here in the GAMMA cage to keep the paychecks rolling in.

The majority of the fight played out with Strachan as the more active and accurate striker and Blackheath throwing, and occasionally landing wild haymakers. Strachan destroyed Blackheath 93-20 in significant strikes landed, but it was Blackheath who had the advantage in knockdowns 2-1.

Ultimately the judges gave the fight to Strachan and I agree with the score. It seems like Strachan was scoring well with strikes the entire fight.

Hopefully we get some more finishes before the night is over.

Vincent Chapin (8-5) defeats Graham Goodbody (6-4) by Submission (Americana) at 13:43. (Fantastic)

What a fantastic fight here. This would have been a candidate for Fight of the Year in most years, but with Goodbody-Sousa from the ToC show no other fight really has a chance this year. This has been an amazing year of fights in the GAMMA cage so far.

These two were extremely well matched in the striking game, but it was a Vincent Chapin takedown that really changed the complexion of this fight. On the ground Chapin moved to mount and opened Goodbody wide with elbows. The amount of blood was astonishing.

Once Goodbody saw his own blood it was almost like his will to fight was sucked from him, or maybe he just literally got it beaten out of him, but Chapin was able to get a fairly easy Americana submission victory.

After the fight Scott Avatar joined the fighters in the cage. Prior to the fight he had made the comment that if Goodbody was able to win this fight he would be the #1 contender for the GAMMA World Championship. When asked if Chapin was now the top contender, Avatar confirmed that Vincent Chapin was next in line. "You could argue he just had his shot at the Tournament of Champions, but really that was his third fight of the night. I said it would be Goodbody if he won, well it's fairly obvious Vincent felt slighted and was out to make sure it didn't happen. He's [Vincent Chapin] earned it," added Avatar.

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Following the fight, it was announced that Vincent Chapin is in line for a shot at the GAMMA Heavyweight Championship. He will meet the winner of Rick Stanley and Phil Verdigree. That fight is scheduled for GAMMA 10.

Main Event

Finals of the GAMMA Lightweight Tournament

for the

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GAMMA Lightweight Championship

Joaquim Fontes (12-4) defeats Atshushi Nakajima (9-6) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 28:22 to become the NEW. (Average)

I've wanted to see a re-match between these two for some time and we finally got it. This was a MUCH more even fight than their encounter at GAMMA 6. The amount of respect Fontes showed to Nakajima here is a sign of just how far he has come as a fighter. At GAMMA 6 Fontes went right at him and scored a quick submission. Here Fontes took it slow and made sure not to end up in a bad position.

Fontes eventually took this to the ground and improved his position to the point where he was able to finish a submission. It was impressive seeing how he worked on the ground against a top guy like Nakajima. With the Heavyweights out of the picture, Joaquim Fontes could hold this title for quite some time. There isn't any obvious contenders lined up for him at this point(and even fewer people who would seem to have a shot of actually taking the title from him).

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Joaquim Fontes is GAMMA's first Lightweight Champion. He is GAMMA's first and only two division champion.

Critical Rating: Good
Commercial Rating: Poor
Attendance: 2,801 for a gate of $224,080
PPV Buys: 76,800

-GAMMA Bonuses-

$1500 to each of the following:

Fight of the Night: Vincent Chapin vs. Graham Goodbody
Submission of the Night: Vincent Chapin

[dubb93]

Monday Week 1, October 1993

There is a GAMMA press release making the rounds today.

GAMMA will hold two more events this calendar year. We will make our cable TV debut on Friday Week 3, November 1993 with GAMMA Live! from Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event will be headlined by a Heavyweight bout between the legendary Eugene Clough and Norman Pike.

Then on Saturday Week 4, November 1993 we cross state lines and invade New York City with GAMMA 10: Aftershock. The event will be headlined by the much anticipated GAMMA Heavyweight Championship fight between Rick Stanley and Phil Verdigree. The Co-Feature of the night will be a fight between Mantas Andreyev and Greg Atteveld. The winner of this fight will be declared the #1 contender for the GAMMA Lightweight Championship and will receive a shot against Joaquim Fontes early next year.

Author Note: Expanding to two divisions means I needed to sign many new fighters to contracts. I have done that and they will be debuting over the next few cards. I've come up with what I think are some interesting ways to debut them and get the new weight classes rolling.

[dubb93]

Monday Week 2, October 1993

Blurcat is reporting that Japanese star Atshushi Nakajima has left GAMMA and signed a three fight deal with ALPHA-1. The bidding war was said to be furious between the two companies. Could this be the start of a war between the two biggest MMA companies in the world?

[dubb93]

Monday Week 1, November 1994

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GAMMA held a big press conference today to cover both their GAMMA Live! From Atlantic City card and GAMMA 10: Aftershock.

Avatar said the company would first cover the GAMMA Live! From Atlantic City card. He talked about the opportunity to expose GAMMA to a wider audience. He said he thinks matching a war hero and a legend against one another was going to be a great way to cap the night off. He said the other fights on the card are going to be all about the Lightweights. The full fight card was revealed as follows:

Eugene Clough vs. Norman Pike
Cliff McAddam vs. Thais Antonio Taffarel
Mick Curran vs. Josh Aldarisio
Bill Cumming vs. Sean Morrison

Avatar then talked excitedly about the newcomers:

Josh Aldarisio

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The compact Aldarisio is a former three time All-American wrestler at Michigan. While he may be on the smaller side at about 170lbs, he more than makes up for that with youth, 26, and pure explosiveness. He is an extremely high level wrestler.

Sean Morrison

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Morrison, like Aldarisio, is an extremely high level wrestler. He's also undersized at about 170lbs. Morrison, 23, had an extremely successful collegiate wrestling career at the University of Kentucky.

Thais Antonio Taffarel

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Taffarel, the largest of the newcomers, is able to tip the scales much closer to the Lightweight Divison's limit of 205lbs. The twenty-one year old Brazilian is one of the best Muay Thai fighters on the planet. Since deciding to make a run at MMA he has begun training at the Escola Da Luta fight camp where he receives world class Jiu Jitsu instruction from Joaquim Fontes.

The event then shifted its focus on GAMMA 10: Aftershock. Avatar brought out the champion, Rick Stanley, followed by the challenger, Phil Verdigree. The two fighters took turns taking questions from the media. Avatar then took the event back over. Avatar said to expect fireworks when these two titans hit the cage.

Avatar then revealed the entire fight card for the event

GAMMA Heavyweight Championship
Rick Stanley(c) vs. Phil Verdigree

Lightweight Divison #1 Contender Fight
Mantas Andrey vs. Greg Atteveld

Murry Darby vs. Lukas Pokorny

Heavyweight Tournament
Bence Bodor vs. Felipe Luiz Rosa
Gunnar Nilsson vs. Soren Jellyman

Avatar then began to talk about the newcomers scheduled for the fight card.

Lukas Pokorny

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The young Lukas Pokorny, 22, comes from a Taekwondo background. He hails from Bulgaria and has a 1-0 record on the regional European circuit. His ground game is not nearly as polished as his striking.

Bence Bodor

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The thirty-three year old Bodor is a journey-man boxer turned MMA fighter. He's 1-0 on the regional European circuit after scoring a highlight reel KO that caught the attention of GAMMA.

Soren Jellyman

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Soren Jellyman is a twenty-eight year old kickboxer from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He's traveled the world and been a successful kickboxer for nearly a decade now. He joins GAMMA with a 1-0 record after a brutal (t)KO victory he scored at an event in Minnesota.

Gunnar Nilsson

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The twenty-eight year old Gunnar Nilsson is a complete physical specimen. Nilsson stands 6'5 and actually has to cut weight to make the limit of 265. He's also a mound of solid muscle. Nilsson trains in Europe with the legendary Mantas Andreyev. According to Andreyev, Nilsson has world class wrestling and ground striking on par with Gary Sampson. Only time will tell how accurate that is.

Avatar ended the press conference by thanking everyone for their patience and by saying how excited he is for GAMMA's recent expansion. Avatar ended the event with, "This sport has grown so much in the last couple of years. These new guys are really good. I can't wait for you all to see how good these guys are."

[dubb93]

Thursday Week 3, November 1993

Blurcat is reporting the following news....

GAMMA newcomer Sean Morrison has been making headlines this week when talking to the press about his upcoming fight with Bill Cumming. He told the press that he, "...plans on breaking his arm, I don't even care if he taps. I'm breaking it. He's probably too stupid to tap anyway."

Bill Cumming has not responded to these comments.

Official GAMMA Live! from Atlantic City Weight-In

Eugene Clough (6-6) [265] vs. Norman Pike (1-2) [210]
Cliff McAddam (1-3) [202] vs. Thais Antonio Taffarel (MMA Debut) [185]
Mick Curran (1-1) [201] vs. Josh Aldarisio (MMA Debut) [170]
Bill Cumming (3-3) [205] vs. Sean Morrison (MMA Debut) [155]

Weight in []
*Predictions and comments are welcome

[dubb93]

Friday Week 3, November 1993

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA Live! From Atlantic City

Live from Atlantic City, New Jersey

Sean Morrison (1-0) defeats Bill Cumming (3-4) by Submission (Armbar) at 24:13. (Poor)

Morrison caused some serious controversy leading up to this fight by flapping his jaws to the media, but he backed it up here. He said he was breaking Cumming's arm, and while he didn't back that up, he did finish this with an armbar. Morrison struggled with the size of Cumming, but he eventually was able to get this where he needed it to finish the fight.

To show you how tough it can be in GAMMA, take a look a Cumming's record. He's now 0-4 in two stints in GAMMA. In between that time he was 3-0 away from GAMMA.

Josh Aldarisio (1-0) defeats Mick Curran (1-2) by TKO (Punches) at 8:14. (Fantastic)

This was another fight where the newcomer was obviously more skilled, but struggled a bit with a large size difference.

The most impressive part of this fight was a huge slam by Aldarisio. He got the bigger guy up on his shoulder and planted him down on the ground by the cage. On the ground Aldarisio quickly finished the fight with punches from the top.

We have already seen alot of talent debut tonight, now we get to see Thais Antonio Taffarel next. Taffarel is probably the most exciting newcomer to debut on this card and from a hype standpoint Taffarel is definitely the top. He is a world class striker and trains Jiu Jitsu with Joaquim Fontes. GAMMA has been sure to feature Taffarel on their hype campaign for this event. Time to see if he can live up to that hype.

Thais Antonio Taffarel (1-0) defeats Cliff McAddam (1-4) by TKO (Punches) at 3:36. (Good)

Taffarel was absolutely as good as advertised. He knocked McAddam out on the fence with a short right hook from the clinch and followed it up with a few shots on the ground for good measure.

Following this fight, McAddam came just short of announcing his retirement. He blamed everything from a bum knee to age [39] on his defeat here. He made no bones about the fact that he felt he had a poor camp and wasn't really ready for this fight.

Main Event

Norman Pike (2-2) defeats Eugene Clough (6-7) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 26:13. (Average)

Norman Pike snatched victory from the jaws of defeat here over Eugene Clough in a fight that was heading for a Clough decision victory.

Before I get to the fight recap, I need to say that I have serious problems with the way Clough fought this fight. As he has often done over the course of his career he was simply out to win a decision. However he really took it to the next level here, actually taking down Pike to score points and immediately standing back up. It wasn't something that needed to be done, and it most certainly isn't anything I like to see. I'm glad he ended up losing this fight. Now onto the fight recap.

Clough was able to control most of the fight with his wrestling, without really doing any damage to Pike. As the fight wore on Pike was obviously frustrated, as most guys who fight Clough are. Eventually Pike was able to bring this fight to the ground with a takedown and he used his skill on the ground to take Clough's back and score the submission victory.

Don't sleep on Pike. He may just be 2-2, but he now has victories over Vincent Chapin and Eugene Clough. Both of those guys are, at worst, top 10 in the world at Heavyweight. Chapin is absolutely top 3. Pike's two losses are to current GAMMA Lightweight Champion Joaquim Fontes and ALPHA-1 superstar Atshushi Nakajima. Not bad losses by any stretch of the imagination. This win definitely makes Pike crack GAMMA's top 10 in Heavyweight. If he strings together a few more, who knows? Maybe he could shoot up into the title picture.

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Norman Pike took a big risk and it paid off tonight as he scored the upset over Eugene Clough in the main event.

Critical Rating: Good
Commercial Rating: Decent
Attendance: 1,233 for a gate of $98,640

-GAMMA Bonuses-

Fight of the Night: Josh Aldarisio vs. Mick Curran
Knockout of the Night: Thais Antonio Taffarel
Submission of the Night: Sean Morrison

Following the event Blurcat reported the following:

Thais Antonio Taffarel suffered a fractured ankle last night in his knockout victory over Cliff McAddam. The injury is expected to keep him out of the cage for roughly six months.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 4, November 1993

GAMMA 10: Aftershock Official Weight-In

Main Event

GAMMA Heavyweight Championship
Rick Stanley(c) (9-4) [235] vs. Phil Verdigree (6-4) [236]

Mantas Andreyev (6-5) [205] vs. Greg Atteveld (1-3) [185]
Murray Darby (1-1) [211] vs. Lukas Pokorny (1-0) [260]

GAMMA 10 Heavyweight Tournament
Bence Bodor (1-0) [232] vs. Felipe Luiz Rosa (1-0) [237]
Gunnar Nilsson (MMA Debut) [265] vs. Soren Jellyman (1-0) [233]

Weight in []
*Predictions and feedback are always welcome

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 4, November 1993

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 10: Aftershock

Live from New York City, New York

GAMMA 10 Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Finals

Gunnar Nilsson (1-0) defeats Soren Jellyman (1-1) by Submission (Armbar) at 5:25. (Average)

Nilsson lived up to his billing here as he wasted little time with Jellyman. Nilsson really muscled him around before getting him to the floor and locking on the submission.

Jellyman was outmatched with someone who was able to close the distance and muscle him around the cage.

Felipe Luiz Rosa (2-0) defeats Bence Bodor (1-1) by TKO (Punches) at 20:40. (Great)

This fight turned out to be a really awesome standup battle. If I were a betting man I would say Rosa felt disrespected when he didn't get his own spotlight at the press conference like Bodor did.

Anyway, since he hasn't been introduced formally, Felipe Luiz Rosa is a big heavyweight striker. He's got some big power to go with that size too as he's now 2-0 in GAMMA with two knockouts.

These two went back and forth the entire fight and were extremely close in significant strikes (31-29 Bodor), but it wasn't until after the twenty minute mark when Rosa was able to land a punch with significant power and drop Bodor. Rosa quickly swarmed and finished the fight.

Felipe Luiz Rosa will look to make it 3-0 in GAMMA later tonight when he will be matched up against Mantas Andreyev Fighting Systems fighter Gunnar Nilsson.

Non Tournament Fight

Lukas Pokorny (2-0) defeats Murray Darby (1-2) by TKO (Punches) at 0:16. (Good)

That was quick! Lukas Pokorny looked absolutely awesome tonight with a quick stoppage of Murry Darby. Darby falls to 1-2 in GAMMA, including a thirty minute decision loss to highly ranked Heavyweight Vincent Chapin. For Pokorny to finish Darby so quickly is extremely impressive.

GAMMA 10 Heavyweight Tournament Finals

Gunnar Nilsson (2-0) defeats Felipe Luiz Rosa (2-1) by Submission (Armbar) at 4:53. (Great)

Nilsson was just simply too strong and bullish for Rosa who was pushed around the cage, taken down multiple times, and ultimately submitted. Rosa wanted to stand at range and strike Nilsson, but I'm not sure that is possible as Nilsson relentlessly closes the distance and fights you right up in your face. His brute strength allows him to take you down at will too.

I think Gunnar Nilsson is a future superstar for GAMMA. The debut of Gunnar Nilsson and Lukas Pokorny tonight tells me the future of the GAMMA Heavyweight division is in good shape as I could see both of them becoming highly ranked fighters very shortly.

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Gunnar Nilsson had an amazing debut at GAMMA 10. His massive strength and relentless nature makes him GAMMA's top Heavyweight prospect. Big things are expected from him in the near future.

Mantas Andreyev (7-5) defeats Greg Atteveld (1-4) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 8:48. (Good)

Atteveld drops his forth straight fight in the cage. Andreyev looked like he was simply better than Atteveld in every way. Andreyev was the better wrestler, striker, and submission fighter in this fight and eventually got Atteveld's back on the ground and submitted him.

This fight was billed as the #1 contender fight for the GAMMA Lightweight Championship and after the fight Scott Avatar jumped in the cage and confirmed that Andreyev is the top contender at Lightweight.

Greg Atteveld will probably ride off into the sunset following this fight. I suspect he'll either retire or pop up somewhere like ISL. They seem to be a good fit for him. He's clearly past his prime at this point.

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The legendary Mantas Andreyev submitted Greg Atteveld at GAMMA 10 to earn a shot at the GAMMA Lightweight Championship.

Main Event

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GAMMA Heavyweight Championship

Phil Verdigree (7-4) defeats Rick Stanley (9-5) by TKO (Punches) at 5:56 to become the NEW GAMMA Heavyweight Champion. (Great)

Vegas had this one wrong! Rick Stanley was the massive favorite coming in at -520 despite a prior defeat to Verdigree at 7. Stanley has now lost the GAMMA Heavyweight Championship on his first defense both times he has held it. Rick Stanley just doesn't look like he normally does when he fights Verdigree. It's hard to explain, but he's super tentative when he is matched up against another high level fighter, whereas he's laid back and lets his hands and feet go against guys who don't have the big power threat in their hands. If he's going to stay at the top of this division he needs to figure out what the hell goes on in his head when he steps into the cage with an elite striker.

The fight started with an extended feeling out process and neither guy wanted to put themselves at risk of getting caught. As the fight wore on, Verdigree began to land more and more clean, hard punches. Eventually a big left hook clipped Stanley and put him down. A flurry of follow up shots resulted in the referee jumping in to save Stanley.

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Big Phil Verdigree knocked out Rick Stanley to become the new GAMMA Heavyweight Champion at GAMMA 10.

Critical Rating: Great
Commercial Rating: Good
Attendance: 3,862 for a gate of $461,700
PPV Buyrate: 76,950

-GAMMA Bonuses-

Fight of the Night: Felipe Luiz Rosa vs. Bence Bodor
Knockout of the Night: Phil Verdigree
Submission of the Night: Gunnar Nilsson

[dubb93]

Blurcat has released their updated GAMMA rankings.

Heavyweight

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Champion: Phil Verdigree (7-4)
1. Gary Sampson (8-2)
2. Vincent Chapin (8-5)
3. Rick Stanley (9-5)
4. Gunnar Nilsson (2-0)
5. Graham Goodbody (6-4)
6. Jack Cobblepot (2-3)
7. Barry Strachan (2-1)
8. Felipe Luiz Rosa (2-1)
9. Norman Pike (2-2)
10. Luka Pokorny (1-0)

Lightweight

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Champion: Joaquim Fontes (12-4)
1. Mantas Andreyev (7-5)
2. Thais Antonio Taffarel (1-0)
3. Sean Morrison (1-0)
4. Bill Cumming (3-4)
5. Josh Aldarisio (1-0)
6. Arthur Franco (1-1)
7. Mick Curran (1-2)
8. Pedro Sousa (1-3)

Author's Note: I figured this may help you guys follow along better with all the new fighters being added. I felt kinda lost myself. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I don't think the newcomers will be stopping anytime soon. GAMMA is going to be forced to hold shows more frequently to maintain pace with the other companies and that means more fighters are going to be required. :)

The current plan is to update the lists about two or three times a year.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 2, December 1993

GAMMA sent out their last presser of the year today.

GAMMA will return to our home base with GAMMA 11: Best Served Cold, live from the LMN Grand Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

What is "Best Served Cold" you ask? Revenge! The Pay-Per-View event will be headlined by the return of former GAMMA World Heavyweight Champion Gary Sampson as he will seek payback on the man who knocked him out five month ago, Graham Goodbody.

The event will also feature the return of the former 2x GAMMA World Heavyweight Rick Stanley. Rick Stanley will face the hard hitting Brazilian Felipe Luiz Rosa in the evenings Co-Main Event. Expect even more great fights to be added to the card as we get closer to the day of the show, including the all important reveal of the fighters who will be taking part in the GAMMA 11 Heavyweight Tournament.

GAMMA 11 isn't the only event we are ready to announce! Early 1994 will be a busy and exciting time for fans of GAMMA. In February, GAMMA returns to cable TV with GAMMA Live! From Detroit. It will air live on National Pride TV and will be our biggest free show yet! Expect the return of top Heavyweight prospect Gunnar Nilsson as well as GAMMA's first free tournament! Four of the top Lightweight contenders in the world will battle it out on free TV in a single night tournament. The winner of the tournament will shoot straight to the top of the contenders list and will earn themselves a shot at the GAMMA Lightweight Championship later in the year.

Speaking of the GAMMA Lightweight Championship, GAMMA Lightweight Champion Joaquim Fontes will return in early April to do battle with the top contender, the legendary Mantas Andreyev at GAMMA 12: Legacy. Both men seek to secure their "Legacy" as GAMMA's premier fighter in the Lightweight Division. Live in Ohio? Join us in Cincinnati for this star studded event. Tickets go on sell tomorrow!

Also in April, GAMMA returns to Hollywood with GAMMA 13: The Tournament. What Tournament you ask? How about the return of the single night, eight man tournament format, only this time in the Lightweight Division? You read that right! GAMMA will be returning to the eight man tournament format for GAMMA 13! How can we top that? How about we add the GAMMA Heavyweight Championship fight between Phil Verdigree and Vincent Chapin to the top of the bill? This could be the biggest card in GAMMA's history!

These are very exciting times to be a fan of GAMMA! 1994 will be the year of GAMMA!

[dubb93]

Monday Week 1, January 1994

Sad that 1993 has wound to it's conclusion? Don't be! Blurcat is here with the a recap of the best that 1993 had to offer in MMA.

Happy to be a year wiser? Don't be! Blurcat is here to bring you down with the worst that MMA had to offer in 1993!

Company Rankings

1. ALPHA-1: Japanese Mixed Martial Arts (ALPHA-1)
--Mid Level National and based in Japan
2. Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA)
--Low Level National and based in America
3. International Shoot League (ISL)
--High Level Regional and based in Japan
4. HILITE Fighting (HILITE)
--Low Level Regional and based in America

1993 MMA Awards, presented by Blurcat

Fighter of the Year
Graham Goodbody

Rookie of the Year
Noach Van Der Capellen (Undefeated in ISL, now signed with ALPHA-1)

Show of the Year
The GAMMA Tournament of Champions

Fight Team of the Year
Mantas Andreyev Fighting Systems

Rise of the Year
Vincent Chapin (He did have a great year with wins over Eugene Clough, Stan Blackheath, and Graham Goodbodyx2. His run to the finals of the ToC was amazing as well. Pretty good for a guy who was just 4-3 coming into this year. I may have given it to someone else though, as Vincent has now won this award twice in three years. I guess that goes to show how bad his really 1992 was. He was 1-2 in 1992, including a bad loss to Norman Pike.)

Fall of the Year
Bokkai Iida (Went 2-2 this year in ISL after previously being ranked as the #8 ranked fighter in the entire world.)

Fight of the Year
Phil Verdigree vs. Pedro Sousa at The GAMMA Tournament of Champions

Worst Fight of the Year
Zachary Gilbert vs. Yoshinobu Tanaka at ISL 12

Knock Out of the Year
Noach Van Der Capellen knocks out Bokkai Iida at ISL "Head to Head" in June

Submission of the Year
Joaquim Fontes submits Atshushi Nakajima at GAMMA 9

Main Event of the Year
Phil Verdigree vs. Rick Stanley at GAMMA 10

Upset of the Year
Zachary Gilbert defeats Yoshinobu Tanaka at ISL 12

[dubb93]

Monday Week 2, January 1994

Breaking news being reported by Blurcat.

There is some controversy following last night's ISL Head to Head show from Kanto, Japan. In the main event of the evening, feared striker Chew Chua extended his undefeated streak to 3-0 by defeating the man regarded as one of the top fighters in the world, the undefeated and revered Oleg Dorosklov. Chua scored the victory by third round technical Knock Out. This victory earned Chew Chua the ISL Light Heavyweight Championship.

This is where the controversy began. Following the event, Chua surrendered his title, thanked the fans for all the support they have showed him, and revealed that he is heading to GAMMA. We contacted GAMMA who confirmed that they had a signed contract with the new ISL champion.

Chua's reputation as a striker is fearsome. Will GAMMA rush a "Champion vs. Champion" fight? Only time will tell.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 2, January 1994

GAMMA called their GAMMA 11: Best Served Cold Press Conference.

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Scott Avatar took to the podium as he played to the media in attendance. He talked at length about the main event of the card between Gary Sampson and Graham Goodbody. "Sampson took some time away from the cage after Goodbody knocked him out. He went to train with Rick Stanley in Philly. Good things are coming from that camp. Sampson, Stanley, Chapin, Morrison all train there. Gary really picked a good place to be at. Gary begged me for this fight. He says he's in the best shape of his life," added Avatar.

Avatar then revealed the entire fight card for GAMMA 11.

Gary Sampson vs. Graham Goodbody
Rick Stanley vs. Felipe Luiz Rosa
Jack Cobblepot vs. Norman Pike
Mick Curran vs. Osmosis Benn

GAMMA 11 Heavyweight Tournament
Waly da Cunha vs. Randall Donnelly
Tim Boyer vs. Edward Zahn

"We got some serious new fighters debuting at this event. Let me tell ya about these guys," Avatar began.

Osmosis Benn

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Osmosis Benn, 21, is a huge signing for GAMMA. The Lightweight fighter is a solid 205, and a former high level NCAA collegiate wrestler. Benn was the national runner-up last year in his weight class, but after he was ruled academically ineligible for his senior year he turned to MMA. He debuts in GAMMA with high expectations.

Tim Boyer

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Boyer is a giant in the cage at 6'7 and weighting in at 250+. At twenty-eight, Boyer is veteran no-holds barred fighter from Canada. He uses his long arms to destroy his opponents with jabs.

Waly da Cunha

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The twenty year old Brazilian gave up a promising Muay Thai career to begin training MMA and fight in GAMMA.

Randall Donnelly

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Randall Donnelly, 21, is another collegiate wrestler who has turned his attention to MMA. Donnelly wasn't as successful as Benn, but he was about middle of the pack at his Junior College in Oregon. Unlike Benn, who couldn't make the grades, Donnelly's college wrestling career ended when he got into trouble with the law.

Edward Zahn

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The twenty-five year old Zahn is a roughneck from Texas with a reputation for being wildy unpredictable. Some say Zahn may be off his rocker, but one thing is certain, he's got some heavy hands. Zahn has been fighting anybody and everybody since, roughly, the time he started walking.

Avatar ended the event by doing his standard hard sell for GAMMA 11.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 4, January 1994

GAMMA 11: Best Served Cold Official Weight-In

Main Event
Gary Sampson (8-2) [251] vs. Graham Goodbody (6-4) [265]

Rick Stanley (9-5) [235] vs. Felipe Luiz Rosa (2-1) [237]
Jack Cobblepot (2-3) [265] vs. Norman Pike (2-2) [210]
Mick Curran (1-2) [201] vs. Osmosis Benn (MMA Debut) [185]

GAMMA 11 Heavyweight Tournament
Waly da Cunha (MMA Debut) [231] vs. Randall Donnelly (MMA Debut) [239]
Tim Boyer (MMA Debut) [253] vs. Edward Zahn (MMA Debut) [206]

*Weight in []
**Predictions, Comments, and Feedback are welcome!

[dubb93]

Saturday Week 4, January 1994

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Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts presents

GAMMA 11: Best Served Cold

Live from Las Vegas, Nevada

GAMMA 11 Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Finals

Tim Boyer (1-0) defeats Edward Zahn (0-1) by TKO (Punches) at 4:32. (Decent)

Tim Boyer was extremely impressive in his debut fight. He used long straight punches from his 6'7 frame and even tossed in some brutal leg kicks. He showed a complete striking game here.

It was those leg kicks that quickly wore Zahn down and allowed Boyer to tee off on a stationary Zahn. It was an awesome strategy to watch play out, and it was Boyer's amazing power that allowed it to be employed.

Randall Donnelly (1-0) defeats Waly da Cunha (0-1) by Knock Out (Punch) at 5:24. (Great)

Woah!

Waly was awesome in this fight. He really made Randall Donnelly look slow and lumbering by comparison. I don't know if he got too comfortable in the striking game, but out of nowhere Donnelly leveled Waly with a right cross and knocked him completely stiff. The announcer at cage side said Waly da Cunha looked like Frankenstein after he got whacked.

Donnelly has got some freakin' power!

Non-Tournament Fights

Osmosis Benn (1-0) defeats Mick Curran (1-3) by TKO (Punches) at 3:16. (Great)

It only took a single takedown attempt from the fearsome wrestler, Osmosis Benn, to set the end of this fight in motion. Benn shot in hard and fast and put Curran on his back. He passed guard all the way to full mount and pounded him out with strikes from the top.

Osmosis Benn is the highest level wrestler to debut in GAMMA since Vincent Chapin. The difference between the two is Benn's youth. That makes his takedown attempts faster and more powerful. At only 21, Benn could be a nightmare for alot of GAMMA fighters for a long time coming.

Norman Pike (3-2) defeats Jack Cobblepot (2-4) by Decision. (Average)

I'll start this by saying I had the fight scored for Jack Cobblepot. It was a close fight and the judges went the other way. That said this was a huge win for Norman Pike against a fighter higher up the rankings than he is.

The striking battle was extremely close in this fight [55-54 in significant strikes in favor of Pike]. Bearing that in mind, the majority of the fight (about 20 minutes) was fought with Norman Pike's back to the cage and Jack Cobblepot being the one to push (and hold) him up against it. Still, I will say again, this was a big win for Norman Pike that should push him up the rankings. He could even be in line for a title eliminator after this one.

GAMMA 11 Heavyweight Tournament Finals

Tim Boyer (2-0) defeats Randall Donnelly (1-1) by Knock Out (Knee) at 3:05. (Good)

Boyer showed off some great kicks again this fight with both kicks to the legs and the body. It became clear early in the fight that Boyer wanted to soften Donnelly up and get him to a clinch. Donnelly was able to fight it off for a few minutes, but eventually the kicks took their toll and Boyer ended the fight with a picture perfect knee from the clinch.

It will be interesting to see how far Boyer is able to go in GAMMA. His striking is a truly beautiful thing to watch. He is going to really beat some people up in the cage. Donnelly is a wrestler, but at what level his wrestling is at is still not known. I would have liked to see Donnelly shoot in on Boyer to get a real gauge for both guys wrestling. Alas, Donnelly had to be on the defensive the entire fight.

Boyer's takedown defense, or lack there of, will determine how far he is able to go in GAMMA. Right now we don't know anything about it, it could be great, or the top wrestlers could have him on his back the entire fight. If he can stay upright his ceiling is the title. There is no doubt that if he can build a great takedown defense around this striking game that he could be something special in the cage.

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Tim Boyer showed extremely high level striking at GAMMA 11 to win the GAMMA 11 Heavyweight Tournament.

Rick Stanley (10-5) defeats Felipe Luiz Rosa (2-2) by TKO (Punches) at 6:01. (Great)

Rosa was probably in over his head here if we are being honest, but I will give props for stepping up and taking on Rick Stanley. He also did a good job to survive the early fight Rick Stanley flurry and actually make a fight of it. Stanley had Rosa on queer street less than a minute into the fight, but couldn't finish it.

Stanley was able to finish it at about the six minute mark with a flurry of punches standing. He then followed him to the ground where the referee stopped the fight. This was a solid, if not spectacular, bounce-back fight for Stanley after losing his title at GAMMA 10.

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Rick Stanley started his quest to become GAMMA's only three time Heavyweight Champion with his TKO victory over Felipe Luiz Rosa at GAMMA 11.

Main Event

Gary Sampson (9-2) defeats Graham Goodbody (6-5) by Decision. (Poor)

It wasn't the greatest fight in GAMMA's history, but it was the fight Gary Sampson needed, as revenge is his over Graham Goodbody. I agree with the judges, even if I was a bit surprised that Sampson had so much trouble with Goodbody. I thought coming in that Goodbody's victory over Sampson at ToC was a fluke punch and this would be closer to their GAMMA 4 fight that Sampson completely dominated, but as closely matched as these two actually are I'm not so sure now that these guys aren't a coin flip fight.

What makes Goodbody such a tough matchup for Sampson is Sampson's inability to get Goodbody off his feet. Goodbody is a larger (and possibly more skilled) wrestler than Sampson. The only way that Sampson can get Goodbody off his feet is to send him down by strikes. I think we have all seen enough Graham Goodbody at this point to know that probably isn't going to happen. The man may have the best chin in MMA.

I wish I could go into detail about the thirty minutes of action in this fight, but it was just thirty minutes of rather boring standup and clinching. Neither fighter was in any trouble at any time and the fight was really even throughout. Had Goodbody won the decision I would have been a bit up in arms, but there wouldn't have been a riot or anything.

After Sampson's title run where he won the title and then defended it three times in dominant fashion, one would think he has to be at the very top of the contender's list after this fight. Right? Time will tell, Scott Avatar didn't confirm or deny anything relating to the title picture after the fight.

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Gary Sampson was the most dominant champion GAMMA has had in the company's history. After defeating Graham Goodbody tonight it is safe to say that Gary Sampson is back! The entire Heavyweight Division has been put on notice.

Critical Rating: Decent
Commercial Rating: Average
Attendance: 3,432 for a gate of $274,560
PPV Buyrate: 77,150

-GAMMA Bonuses-

Fight of the Night: Osmosis Benn vs. Mick Curran
Knockout of the Night: Randall Donnelly

[dubb93]

Do the readers think there was enough star power on the GAMMA 11 card to make up for the fact that there was no title fight?

Mantas Andreyev is laid up with an elbow injury and Phil Verdigree won't be ready until late March, at the earliest, to defend his title. That forced the move. Both are on schedule for their GAMMA 12 and GAMMA 13 main event fights barring a setback. Surprisingly, Rick Stanley was rocking and ready to go despite his loss at GAMMA 10. That guy is literally ALWAYS ready for a fight.

[dubb93]

Friday Week 1, February 1994

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GAMMA held the press conference for GAMMA Live! from Detroit today. Scott Avatar started the event by revealing the entire card:

Lightweight Tournament
Josh Aldarisio vs. Sean Morrison
Niko Soldo vs. Arthur Franco

Gunnar Nilsson vs. Barry Strachan

Scott Avatar revealed that the Main Event of the fight card would be the finals of the Lightweight Tournament. He said that the tournament, GAMMA's first being held on free TV, would really flesh out the Lightweight Division. "Whoever wins this tournament is next in line behind Mantas Andreyev. The winner will meet the Fontes-Andreyev winner, probably in July or August."

Moving on, the media asked Avatar about Sean Morrison's mouth and how much smack he has been talking since he joined GAMMA. Avatar replied, "It isn't something we are used to, but I kinda like it. He said he was going to break Bill Cumming's arm and he finished him with an armbar. This is the fight game. If you can back it up, you can say whatever you want." Later during the question and answer session Avatar added, "The guy [Morrison] is going to keep doing it. He already broke news of the fight with Aldarisio early by talking to you guys. We talked with him about that and he knows that was the wrong thing to do, but once it's official he can say whatever he wants. You know, he better be able to back it up though or you guys will really hammer him."

Avatar then introduced the lone new-comer appearing on this card:

Niko Soldo
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Avatar was extremely excited when talking about Soldo. He had a damn good reason to be excited about Niko. The twenty-five year old Soldo, a Croatian National, is a former World Champion kickboxer. Even though Soldo never met Rick Stanley in an organized kickboxing fight, it wasn't until Stanley transitioned to MMA that Soldo began to rise in the kickboxing ranks. In 1993 Soldo accomplished the feat that Stanley tried and failed multiple times. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix in Japan.

The talk moved on to Gunnar Nilsson. "He's not in the conversation about a title fight right now. He's still new to the sport, he really needs to concentrate on Barry Strachan. This will be a tough fight for him. He gets past him then we can begin to talk. Don't sleep on Barry. The guy is 2-1 in GAMMA and he's ranked in the top 10 at Heavyweight."

Avatar finished the press conferance by telling everyone that this is the biggest TV card that GAMMA has had. "I can't think of any reason to miss this card. These guys are the future of GAMMA."

[dubb93]

Thursday Week 3, February 1994

GAMMA Live! From Detroit Official Weight-In

GAMMA Lightweight Tournament
Josh Aldarisio (1-0) [170] vs. Sean Morrison (1-0) [155]
Niko Soldo (MMA Debut) [205] vs. Arthur Franco (1-1) [205]

Gunnar Nilsson (2-0) [265] vs. Barry Strachan (2-1) [240]

*Weight in []
**Comments and Predictions are always welcome