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2016 marked the birth of DMV Combat Fanatics. This website was born out of my love for martial arts and combat sports. But it was also an accident that I began writing articles and posting content at all. Earlier this year, during the course of my own martial arts training, it seemed that I couldn't shake the injury bug. From March to July, I was seemingly recovering from an injury or getting injured. It was a depressing period. During one of my personal pity parties, my wife, Zoe suggested that I started writing about the "fight stuff" I watched on-line all day. So on a whim, I started a Facebook page and began sharing the videos that I subscribe to on YouTube and receive in my daily streams. I was basically killing time and I had no expectations. Facebook requested a website address for my page and that was the first time I really thought about generating content. I'd written before for a newsletter and a friend's blog. But this would be something different and I was already brimming with ideas. I produced my first post in May, Ground Control Welcomes Dorian Price. I got to meet some cool guys in Columbia, MD and I was pretty much satisfied. Next, I figured I'd interview the owner of the boxing gym I went to (Jason Farrell of Level Up) and play it by ear from there. I continued to share videos I regularly watched on Facebook everyday and sprinkling in my articles along the way. Through some of this early work I became aware of the regional combat sports events that were taking place in the area. I was shocked to learn that more people didn't know that these events were being held. So I wanted to write about them and let fight fans know they were happening. Because I really wasn't sure of my status or my long-term intentions, I bought my ticket to these events and just enjoyed the shows. I wrote about what I saw and experienced later. You see I'm not a journalist. I'm a martial artist first and foremost. I'm a fan, and a budding amateur fight analyst. Most folks never even responded when I finally begin requesting press passes. So I bought my tickets and kept writing. A couple of interviews and a few more events later Glory Kickboxing granted me a press pass. The UFC then allowed me access to the press area of their website. I'm having fun! When the Facebook page "likes" got to 200 I was ecstatic! When they reached 500 I was floored. I'm now just over 3,300. In 8 months, DMV Combat Fanatics has had nearly 18,000 page views with 10,860 unique visitors. All of this from a brief conversation with my wife. I've been able to meet some fantastic people this year. But what I've been inspired by the most is the competitors that I've met and captured photos of this year.  Most of these men and women will never move to the next level. There will be no UFC payday or HBO Boxing contract for many of them. These are people with full-time and part-time jobs who train in their spare time and strap up to walk on stage to test themselves. Placing their bodies in harm's way purely for the love of what they do. It's a beautiful thing to see and from my perspective they are all winners. This time last year I had no thoughts of doing any of this. It was happenstance. Now I'm excited about what lies ahead and I know that I'm just getting started. Thank you for the "likes". Thank you for the words of encouragement and support. Thank you for making 2016 a great year!  Where the idea started - Zoe Rodriguez-Keeton. DMV Combat Fanatics Favorite Posts of 2016
DMV Combat Fanatics Most Popular Posts of 2016
About the Author: Darryl Keeton is an avid striking, grappling and wrestling fan living in Upper Marlboro, MD. He holds a black belt in ITF Tae Kwon Do and is also a practitioner of Combat Jujutsu, Boxing and Muay Thai.
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A common view shared by many teachers, coaches and martial artists alike is that fighting and self-defense are one in the same. In his books, Meditations on Violence-A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence (2008) and Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected (2011), author Rory Miller punches a hole in that theory. He parses out the experiences of sparring at a dojo, sport competition, a bar or a street fight and extreme violence in separate spheres that require distinct treatment. It is a sobering suggestion that your chosen martial arts training might get you killed. Miller approaches the topic of violence as not only an experienced martial artist (over 30 years of study) himself but also as a corrections officer who has had regular encouters with attacks and violent engagement over his career. Facing Violence is not a martial arts book on techniques or fighting principles. It is essentially a book on recognizing, dealing with and surviving a violent encounter. Miller does not mince words or sugar coat the facts. He suggests that if you're a martial artist or instructor and you've never spent any time studying or teaching how violent conflict actually occurs or how criminals attack, you are missing a key element in self-defense training. If you've trained to pull punches at your gym or dojo to make sure you keep your friends (and yourself) safe or if you've had the specific rules of your chosen competition ingrained in your psyche, you've trained your reactions and responses in a way that could possibly do yourself harm in a real conflict. Miller reveals flaws in certain drills and training, the problems that can occur with overthinking strategy and tactics and how the brain responds in a violent engagement. It is an eye-opening book that will surely lead you to reexamine your training and your preparation for a bad encounter. Miller's next book, Meditations on Violence picks up where Facing Violence left off. He provides a bridge between the two books by continuing the discussion of how violence occurs from a social standpoint but digs deeper on how violence occurs from asocial behavior. Arguably you may be able to find other resources that touch upon these subjects in varying degrees. But, Mediations on Violence stands alone in fully preparing you to think about the consequence and the aftermath of a confrontation. The legal ramifications you may be exposed to in defending yourself or your family and the emotional and psychological toll that may come with it. I consider these two books, companion pieces and they should definitely be on your reading list for 2017. You do not need to be a martial artist to appreciate either one. But if you are? You're welcome. If you've read them before, I'd love to hear your comments below. About the Author: Darryl Keeton is an avid striking, grappling and wrestling fan living in Upper Marlboro, MD. He holds a black belt in ITF Taekwondo and is also a practitioner of Combat Jujutsu, Boxing and Muay Thai. 
ASHBURN, VA - A cold Saturday night in Loudoun County, Virginia ushered in the 43rd installment of CageZilla Fighting Championships. It was a stellar event and an awesome location for cage fighting.
Headlining CageZilla 43 this evening was Malcolm Travis of Washington D.C. fighting out of BETA Academy against Anthony Wilson of Stafford, VA representing Crossroads MMA. The co-main event featured Matt Skibicki of Lexington Park, Maryland with BJJ Conquest facing Kyle Graham from Fredericksburg, VA out of KOA Martial Arts. The CageZilla events offer a different feel than some of the other area promotions. The Silver Eagle Group location where the CageZilla fights are held is a firearms training facility that seems ideal for a fight crowd. It's a spacious but intimate location with high ceilings and cinder block walls that provide for an echo effect of hand strikes, kicks and slams. Hostesses serve food and drinks to patrons seated around the cage offering a date night appeal to what is generally just a sit close and watch location. What was quite evident is that Ashburn loves their MMA. The crowd filled the place early and was lively and supportive of each of the bouts on the 13-fight card. The promoters should think seriously about having a Mad Max theme night for one of the fights. The venue could pull it off.
Most of the bouts went the distance this evening and were spirited and competitive fights. Some of the highlights included Hairo Martinez of BETA Academy vs. Joseph Won of Justin Lough BJJ. Won was looking to keep the fight standing and threw some sharp combinations early on but Martinez had made up his mine to make this fight into a grappling match and pressed Won against the cage attempting to clench both his hands for the take down. Notable during this match was Martinez's
employment of foot stomps when he had Won against the cage. You barely even see foot stomping at the elite level anymore, so it was a nice to see this throwback technique on display. Martinez's commitment to the ground game paid off as he was able to drive Won down with a double-leg take down in the 3rd round, pass guard, mount and begin raining ground and pound. The bout was stopped at 2:49 in the 3rd with Martinez getting the TKO. 
Brad Davis (L) and Michael Scafate (R)
Zak Draego of MMA Institute also looked impressive vs Zach Pannell of American Made Fighter. Draego took control early, slowly pressing forward forcing Pannell to fight going backwards. The rear progression slotted Pannell into kicking range for Draego who offered rear leg kicks to the head of Panell early and often until one finally took Pannell down where he was finished with strikes. Referree Rick Humphries stopped the fight at 1:47 in the 1st round, awarding the the fight to Draego by TKO.
Schyler Sootho of Ground Control bested John Kermon of Capital MMA by being the aggressor, switching stances and attacking on angles. Kermon struggled to get going while fighting with his back against the cage for most of the fight. Combinations by Sootho took him down before he was finished by unanswered strikes on the ground at 2:39 in the 1st round. 
In the only women's bout on the schedule, Nikol Aguirre of Beta Academy vs. Natalie Davis of Smooth Moves Kickboksen was good skill match-up and they put on a fine show. Davis chose to fight on the outside using handy footwork to slip and dodge strikes by Aguirre. Her game was to jump in and deliver single strikes or combinations while trying to time the incoming Aguirre. Davis was effective early but Aguirre was undetered. She relentlessly came forward squeezing off real estate in the cage as Davis' movement began to slow in the 2nd round. By the 3rd round, Aguirre's patience began to pay off as she cut off Davis' escape routes and filled the space with straights and hooks. Davis began to take damage and eventually found the mat succumbing to further strikes by Aguirre.
At 2:43 in the 3rd round, Aguirre was declared winner by TKO. 
Nikol Aguirre preps for battle.
In the co-main event at 145 pounds, Matt Skibicki played spoiler to the more experienced Kyle Graham. The contest was determined early as Skibicki engaged quickly at the start pushing Graham to the cage. Graham was able to alleviate the pressure and create space but seemed to be content with loading up on his right hand and leading with a high chin and a low guard which usually invites trouble. Skibicki exploited the opening with repeated left hooks finally landing one clean and putting Graham down with combinations. Skibicki won by KO at 2:41 in the 1st round.
Matt Skibicki gets his hand raised over Kyle Graham.
The final main event was a 205 pound, Muay Thai rules fight with Malcolm Travis vs. Anthony Wilson. This would prove to be a war of will between the two fighters. Travis began Round 1 with uneven movement and spastic jabs while Wilson attempted to circle away looking for openings. Wilson seemed to find his game plan for the fight as Travis would drop his hands to power up for low kicks and Wilson would step in to deliver head shots. An overhand left by Wilson found a home and
dropped Travis midway through the 1st Round. The knock down seemed to wake Travis up a bit and the war was on. The remainder of the fight consisted of Travis attacking Wilson's body with leg kicks and torso shots while Wilson attacked the head with hooks, straight line crosses and overhands. The fight became a battle of attrition and referee, Sean Spath spurred the fighters on by breaking up any small measure of inactivity when the fighters the clinched. Both fighters withstood the others best blows and treated the appreciative crowd to a stellar performance. In the end, the judges declared Malcolm Travis the victor by split decision, 30-27, 28-29, 29-27. 
205 Title Winner - Malcolm Travis
CageZilla Fighting Championships promotes itself as the longest running MMA promotion in the Washington D.C. area and it seems they have a formula for continued success. Good service, good quality fights, good venue. Not sure you can ask anything more for a combat sports event.
Saturday Night Fight Club
CAGEZILLA 43 RESULTS
If you would like more information on CageZilla's upcoming fights, visit their website at http://cagezilla.com/. About the Author: Darryl Keeton is an avid striking, grappling and wrestling fan living in Upper Marlboro, MD. He holds a black belt in ITF Taekwondo and is also a practitioner of Combat Jujutsu, Boxing and Muay Thai. |
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