White Belt Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network is hosted by Tim O’Connor of the The Combat Sports Agency and Mark Daniels of the Boston Herald.
White Belt Radio runs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/5 PT (unless otherwise noted) on MMADieHards.com and the MMA DieHards Radio Network. If you cannot catch the show live, it’s available on demand RIGHT HERE shortly after the broadcast.
Apologies will not change the outcome against Mike “The Wolverine” Rio. Fighting out of Championship Fighting Alliance, Rio (twitter: @MikeRioMMA) has been dominating the lightweight division along the Florida circuit. Developing a record of 3-1 in 2011, Rio’s only loss came by the hands of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner, Efrain Escudero at “CFA 2”.
In his most recent outing at “CFA 4,” Rio came out victorious in a last minute bout against Massachusetts native, John Ortolani, shortly after completing his tryouts for the fifteenth season of “TUF.” “I was in a situation where I needed to keep fighting and I didn’t want to sit out for too long,” Rio said to White Belt Radio which is heard exclusively on the MMA DieHards Radio Network.
“I know for a fact that the whole situation with the “TUF” takes a little while so I couldn’t sit out too long. I knew that I would have gotten the quick fight, took the fight, won the fight and came out with nothing hurt. Now I just wait and hope to either get a call-back or to hear really good news from the UFC.”
The experience of trying to make UFC’s reality show is a long, tough process that requires a level of patience and a certain demeanor. With the day starting at seven in the morning and concluding over 12-hours later, there was a lot of time for Rio to scope out the competition and prepare for the infamous, “interrogation round.”
“It is a huge honor to sit there with the people that could instantly change my life with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” Rio said. “But it is also a little bit nerve racking. A lot of people go in there trying too hard and they lose it, so just go in there and be yourself. I tried to stay calm, cool and collected while impressing them on the ground, impressing them with my hands and trying to sound intelligent and professional because I’m not that guy to start cursing people off.”
Taking a fight after the tryouts proved to be a beneficial gamble for “The Wolverine”, as if he lost, it may have ruined his chances at appearing on “TUF” or even with the UFC altogether. However, the well-rounded Rio knew that the calculated risk would pay off.
“Ortolani is extremely strong and very athletic,” Rio admitted. “But due to the situation that I was in – picking up a fight directly after the “TUF” tryouts – it was a make or break fight for me. So I went into this fight very safe and very calm because the last thing that I wanted to do was put a loss on my record that could change my life. I managed to win the fight in the first round with both of us taking minimal damage.”
Before the fight even took place, there was a battle pursuing within the social media world that got a little out of hand. When the fight was announced, friends and fans of both sides decided to show their support for their chosen fighter. When words became more serious and personal, Rio took notice, but took the bigger approach and turned a blind eye.
However, Ortolani took notice and attacked the situation head on, providing retribution in a way not typically undertaken by fighters.
“What happened was, when you get friends of fighters that are set to fight,” Rio explained. “They can tend to take it too far with the favoritism and messages being sent. One of John’s friends or acquaintances ended up cursing me out publically on Facebook, I saw it, but I don’t slander my opponents so I just let it slide.
“Apparently John Ortolani told his friend to remove the comment and he took it upon himself to email my mother and apologies for what was said. John Ortolani is a top notch guy to me; he’s a gentleman, 100%.”
In return, Mrs. Rio will be writing an apology letter to the UFC, for what her son is going to do to the lightweight division.
White Belt Radio is back on the MMA DieHards Radio Network, focusing on some of the nation’s best regional and local shows.
Tim O’Connor of the The Combat Sports Agency and co-host Mark Daniels of the Boston Herald, talk to CFA 4′s Mike ‘The Wolverine’ Rio, fresh off his victory against John Ortolani by TKO.
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White Belt Radio is back on the MMA DieHards Radio Network, focusing on some of the nation’s best regional and local shows.
Tim O’Connor of the The Combat Sports Agency and guest co-host Hector Castro of MMADieHards.com, subbing for Mark Daniels of the Boston Herald, talk to Ring of Combat’s Pat Audinwood, fresh off his championship victory against Al Iaquinta, and Charlie Rader, ready to face Corey Hill for XFC 15 in Tampa, Fla.
Every week White Belt Radio will focus on some of the nation’s best regional and local shows, and hosts Tim O’Connor of the The Combat Sports Agency and Mark Daniels of the Boston Herald have on Ring of Combat’s Jimmie Rivera and Tachi Palace’s Ian McCall.
Ronnie Rogers looks to celebrate in Massachusetts.
(Courtesy of BostonHerald.com)
Ronnie Rogers loves to fight.
You would just need to take one look at the 26-year-old’s record to see that. The South Carolina native steps inside the cage tomorrow night in Lowell (MA) at the Tsongas Center for the eighth time this year as he takes on UFC veteran Rich Clementi for Victory Promotions Fight Night.
Rogers (10-6) is coming off a win over UFC veteran Diego Saraiva and hopes to put his name on the map with another.
“It’s my life. I love to do it,” Rogers told White Belt Radio. “It’s crunch time. I’m at that age, if I want to get in the big show I need to get those fights with the big named guys. Also to do that, you can’t really have a fulltime job. I sacrifice, I don’t work so I can train more but to keep myself up I have to fight more. And I like to fight.”
New England fight fans first got a taste of Victory Promotions in April, when Vinny Fraumeni partnered with the Global Fight League and helped put on GFL 10 at the Tsongas Center. Tomorrow will be the first as Fraumeni brings Victory out as its own promotion. He’s already throwing some money out there bringing in Clementi (40-20-1), who fought for the UFC ten times. The 36-year-old holds notable wins over Anthony Johnson, Melvin Guillard and Sam Stout.
Though local fans know Clementi, it’s safe to say the Boston area isn’t too familiar with his opponent. But Rogers isn’t worried about that and says he makes fans where ever he goes. He describes his style as, “in your face gritty.”
“I’ve got fight of the night several times. People just love my fight style,” Rogers said. “I don’t sit back. There’s never a dull moment even if it hits the ground. There’s always action. It’s straight forward the whole time. If he wants to stand and bang we’ll stand and bang. If he wants to take it to the ground it’ll get there that way too.”
He started training five years ago after watching the UFC and becoming a fan of Matt Hughes. Rogers wrestled in high school for three years and won the state title during his last. He’s been training at the Hit Squad for the past six months and hopes to put his striking on display come tomorrow.
“He says he’s going to knock me out, I heard, but once he stands and trades with me I’m sure he’ll change his mind real quickly,” said Rogers. “My goal, just as most fighters, is to get to the big show. But definitely I think beating him would put my name out there to the next step. I think beating him would definitely help me out a good bit.”
Every week White Belt Radio will focus on some of the nation’s best regional and local shows, and hosts Tim O’Connor of the The Combat Sports Agency and guest co-host, Hector Castro of MMADieHards.com, subbing for Mark Daniels of the Boston Herald have on ProElite’s Ryan Martinez, fresh off his victory against Mark Ellis, and Ronnie ‘Boom Boom’ Rogers, ready to face Rich Clementi for the Victory Promotions in the main event.
White Belt Radio runs Monday afternoon’s at 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT (unless otherwise noted) on MMADieHards.com and the MMA DieHards Radio Network.
Louis Gaudinot
TUF Life Radio on MMADieHards.com and the MMADieHards Radio Network airs on MMADieHards.com as Matt Leung and TUF 14 contestant Louis Gaudinot talk about the latest episode with TJ Dillashaw.
If you cannot catch the episode live, it is available on demand RIGHT HERE shortly after completion of the live broadcast.
Every week White Belt Radio will focus on some of the nation’s best regional and local shows, and hosts Tim O’Connor of the The Combat Sports Agency and guest co-host, Hector Castro of MMADieHards.com, subbing for Mark Daniels of the Boston Herald have on Pacific Xtreme Combat matchmaker Eli Monge and Aljamain Sterling, fresh off his CFFC 11 victory earning him the Bantamweight championship.
White Belt Radio runs Monday afternoon’s at 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT (unless otherwise noted) on MMADieHards.com and the MMA DieHards Radio Network.
White Belt Radio airs at MMADieHards.com and the MMADieHards Radio Network as hosts Mark Daniels and Tim O’Connor bring you XFC 14 fighter Nate Jolly and CFFC 11′s Sean Santella.
Jolly prepares to face off against former WEC champion Jamie Varner at XFC 14 in Orlando, Florida on October 21st.
Santella joins us as he finalizes his camp to face Aljamain Sterling at CFFC 11 at the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City, NJ on October 22nd.
White Belt Radio airs Mondays at 3 p.m. ET (unless otherwise noted) on MMADieHards.com and the MMADieHards Radio Network. If you cannot catch the live stream, it is available RIGHT HERE on demand shortly after completion of the broadcast.
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White Belt Radio airs at MMADieHards.com and the MMADieHards Radio Network as hosts Mark Daniels and Tim O’Connor bring you former TUF 13 contestant Chuck O’Neil.
O’Neil takes on UFC veteran and fellow former TUF competitor Marcus Davis in the headlining welterweight match on Oct. 15 at the W-1: Reloaded event at the Bank United Center in Miami. O’Neil (8-4) is taking his first fight since being released from the UFC following his loss to Chris Cope at the TUF 13 Finale in June.
White Belt Radio airs Mondays at 3 p.m. ET (unless otherwise noted) on MMADieHards.com and the MMADieHards Radio Network. If you cannot catch the live stream, it is available RIGHT HERE on demand shortly after completion of the broadcast.
