Pound for Pound Best Fighter in the World Returns to UFC!! | Long Island MMA

Pound for Pound Best Fighter in the World Returns to UFC!!

On October 23^rd 2015 the UFC announced the reinstatement of #1 light-heavyweight in the world, Jon “Bones” Jones.  Jones had pled guilty to his felony charge of a hit-and-run incident that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm.  As part of his plea agreement, Jones was given an 18-month probation stint and 72 community appearances.  Jones is eligible to return to competition immediately and the UFC expects him to meet all terms of his plea agreement as a condition of his reinstatement.  UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said “There are significant expectations we have regarding his conduct moving forward.”  And Jones had issued a statement saying “I am thankful to be able to do what I love once again and I look forward to proving myself as a champion in and outside of the Octagon.”  The future looks promising for Jones, hopefully he learned from this experience and will work to be the role model and inspiration that this sport needs.  Upon his return it is expected, though not confirmed, that he will have an immediate title shot with the current champion Daniel Cormier.  DC had lost his title fight against Jon Jones, but later replaced Jones in his fight against Anthony Johnson, where DC dominated Rumble Johnson on the ground and pulled out a submission victory in the 3^rd round to win the vacated Light-Heavyweight title.  The exact return date for Jones is yet to be determined but we are all looking forward to it, including Cormier, who congratulated Jones on his reinstatement to the UFC and said “I can’t wait to compete against him again.”

Long Islands Ryan LaFlare vs. Mike Pierce: December 11th 2015 | Long Island MMA

Long Islands Ryan LaFlare vs. Mike Pierce: December 11th 2015

Ryan LaFlare, fighting out of his gym Long Island MMA in Farmingdale New York, will be taking on Mike Pierce at The Ultimate Fighter Finale, scheduled for December 11th 2015.  This UFC card is very promising, also holding bouts with Frankie Edgar vs Chad Mendes and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson.  Both LaFlare and Pierce are coming off of a loss, but LaFlare has been a lot more active than Pierce.  Mike Pierce had suffered a sprained MCL and a torn ankle ligament due to his last opponent, Rousimar Palhares, neglecting to let go of a heel hook even after Pierce tapped out and the referee stepped in.  Palhares was then cut from the UFC the next day for his actions.  That fight took place on October 9th of 2013, more than two years before his upcoming bout with LaFlare.  Ryan LaFlare has had 4 fights in that time and has looked very good in all of them.  With wins over Santiago Ponzinibbio, Court McGee, and John Howard, and a 5-round decision loss to Demian Maia, Ryan Laflare is showing that he can go the distance and hang with the best of them.  Damian Maia is LaFlare’s first and only loss, and he plans to come back stronger and better than ever before.  The internet polls have Ryan LaFlare as the favorite and we are all excited to see him go out and represent the high-quality of fighters that comes out of Long Island New York!

UFC’S BEST STRIKING COACH COMES TO LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK!

UFC’S BEST STRIKING COACH COMES TO LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK!

Renown striking coach, Henri Hooft, had made his way back to Long Island this past weekend for a kickboxing seminar at “Long Island MMA and Fitness Center” in Farmingdale, NY.  Hooft has trained some top fighters such as Anthony Johnson, Rashad Evans, Eddie Alverez, Vitor Belfort, Tyrone Spong, and Long Island’s own, Ryan Laflare.  It is never wise to miss an opportunity to train under such a knowledgeable coach.  With a style that blends the disciplines of Muay Thai and Dutch Kickboxing, there is no better way to take your striking game to the next level.

Henri Hooft left the soccer fields as a child to start karate lessons, and soon found his way into kickboxing.  After years of kickboxing he had moved to Thailand while still competing in the Netherlands.  The cross training helped attribute him to be such a well-rounded trainer with the ability to blend styles as needed.  Hooft holds 89 Kickboxing matches in his professional career, and has earned World and European titles.  He currently works as the head striking coach of Blackzillians fight team in Boca Raton, Florida.  We are lucky that we are able to host a Henri Hooft seminar, here at Long Island MMA in Farmingdale, once a year.  I know many people are looking forward to his next visit to New York

The turn out on this seminar was excellent.  There were enough people for everyone to work with many different partners of different skills and sizes, and Henri had made a point to give each person enough attention to help them advance their own game.  After almost two hours of cleaning up our fundamentals everyone had the opportunity to join in some sparring sessions at the end.  Asking around the gym afterwards all you could hear was positive reviews!  “It was a great experience and I will definitely be coming to the next one” says Long Island MMA’s Mike Morris.  “It was really awesome to work with such a renowned trainer who has worked with so many great fighters, some of the tips he gave me are going to have a big impact on my technique” said Keiran Kirk, member of Chris Weidman and Ray Longo’s Power MMA in Garden City, New York.   It’s good to see practitioners from all over Long Island to gather for such an event, everyone is looking forward to the next time Henri Hooft can make his way here!