UFC 98 to Feature Five of the Northeast’s Best
Published by Jim Genia on May 21st, 2009 in Current Events

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Light-heavyweight champ Rashad Evans may be defending his title against undefeated challenger Lyoto Machida, but for East Coast MMA fans the real meat and potatoes of the UFC 98: “Evans vs. Machida” card is the selection of top-shelf, homegrown talent on display. From the co-main event grudge match between Matt Serra and Matt Hughes, to the contests featuring Dan Miller, Frankie Edgar and Andre Gusmao, to the return of TUF 8 finalist Phillipe Nover, the Las Vegas event looks more suited for the streetwise denizens of Madison Square Garden than the star-struck patrons of the MGM Grand. So what’s the skinny on these five Northeast fighters who’ve made it big?

Say the name “Serra” in 1997 and anyone in New York’s burgeoning jiu-jitsu scene would immediately think of Matt Serra, one of Brazilian expatriate Renzo Gracie’s best American students and the very definition of grassroots MMA competitor. Back then there were few options for aspiring fighters to get ring time, which for Serra meant competing at Dan Miragliotta’s (yes, the referee) unsanctioned BAMA Fight Night shows in New Jersey or finding room for a “grappling exhibition” (really, an MMA bout) on one of promoter Lou Neglia’s “Vengeance at the Vanderbilt” kickboxing cards on Long Island. After armbarring and choking out opponents with ease, Serra went on to compete in the prestigious ADCC grappling tournament in the Middle East, with his success there earning him his first taste of Octagon action at UFC 31. A highlight-reel knockout at the hands of Shonie Carter, followed by a string of wins and losses and a star turn on TUF 4 soon had “The Terror” squaring off against welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. The rest, as they say, is history, and while Serra wasn’t the first Northeastern-bred warrior to claim a UFC crown (Staten Island’s Ricco Rodriguez holds that honor), thanks to his stints on “The Ultimate Fighter” as both competitor and coach, the heavy-handed jiu-jitsu specialist is certainly more prominent.

Dan Miller, the big brother (both in size and age) of UFC competitor Jim Miller, entered into the realm of Northeast MMA in 2005 with a background in wrestling and an ever-expanding knowledge of the submission game – which he parlayed into impressive victories in Garden State promotions like Reality Fighting, the now defunct Cage Fury Fighting Championships and Ring of Combat. How big of an impact did Miller have on the local circuit? Aside from a split decision loss to Mike Massenzio, he never lost, and when the IFL came to town he stepped up to represent Renzo’s “Pitbulls”. He ended up winning the organization’s middleweight belt before it went under.

Wrestling powerhouse Edgar made his debut in 2005 at an Underground Combat League event in the Bronx, and then proceeded to dominate in every New Jersey promotion he set foot in, from Ring of Combat to Sportfighting to Reality Fighting. When the “Big Show” inevitably came a-callin’, Edgar was given the unenviable task of facing the previously undefeated Tyson Griffin at UFC 67 in Las Vegas. Edgar edged out a decision, and within minutes of that win the ring announcer at an MMA event in Atlantic City – an event that was happening at that very moment – paused to tell the crowd, “New Jersey’s own Frankie Edgar has just won his UFC debut!” When you win a bout in Nevada and an MMA event thousands of miles away pauses to note your victory, that’s a sure sign you’re some kind of local hero.

Gusmao, a Brazilian émigré living in New Jersey, is a student of Renzo’s but is really more of a capoeira practitioner than a grappler – a distinction that translates into some pretty dynamic striking at times. Gusmao first stepped into the ring at a Sportfighting event in Jersey City, with his 13-second beatdown earning him a slot in the IFL’s light-heavyweight rotation. He went undefeated there, scoring two impressive TKO victories over Mike Ciesnolevicz to go along with his decision and submission wins over Bret Beauparlant and Wojtek Kaszowski, and when the IFL died he was scooped up by Zuffa.

A nurse with a talent for destruction, Nover entered MMA competition back in 2003, when he put opponent Ron Stalling to sleep with a guillotine at a Reality Fighting in Bayonne. The Filipino fought only sporadically after that, juggling combat with school and work, but with each successive submission (usually set up with a stunning and deadly accurate cross), his reputation as a badass grew. The apex of Nover’s local legend was at the culmination of Ring of Combat’s eight-man “Tournament of Champions”, which he won, and then came TUF and Dana White’s high praise.

For all of its Northeast talent, it’s a shame UFC 98 is happening clear across the country. But anyone around the world who tunes into the pay-per-view broadcast will witness what fans in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut already know: these homegrown fighters are killers.