Carolinas Fight Scene Update: Amateur Standout Matt Tran Headlines Epicentre Card on Friday
by Rich Wyatt on Jul 12, 2010 6:44 AM EDT
in North Carolina MMA
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Many sports fans enjoy following recruiting. In fact, websites that specialize in following recruiting for sports teams are cropping up everywhere. This is partly because people want to follow their team's activity more closely. However, there is also something entertaining about getting a glimpse of the next crop of football/basketball/baseball talent. The fight game is no different. Many fans enjoy following the grass roots/regional scene precisely because of the fact that they will occasionally get a glimpse of a fighter that could compete in a major promotion someday. If you follow the burgeoning MMA scene in the Carolinas at all, chances are that you've heard of Matt "Spiderman" Tran. In recruiting terms, Matt Tran would likely be considered a blue-chip prospect. Hailing from Easley, South Carolina, this 24-year-old Bantamweight fighter stands 5'11" tall. What makes Matt so special? His manager, Michael "Cornbread" Allen mentions his grappling: "He's a natural at it. He doesn't have any rank in jiu-jitsu and we don't train off our backs a lot but he's got a natural ability to grapple at a high level. Some folks work for years and years and never develop the skills Matt has. He's also very strong. You'd have to roll with him to know how strong this kid is. He's extraordinarily strong for a 135 pounder." With such a large frame for that division, one wonders how long Matt will be able to continue fighting in that weight class. However, his manager says that he believes that Tran will be staying at Bantamweight for the foreseeable future, even as a professional.
More after the jump:
With his size, submission skills and conditioning, Matt is a tough matchup for any fighter at 135 pounds. He regularly trains with talented amateur and pro fighters at Team Huskey in Asheville and Chris Frye's Gym in Charlotte. In six amateur fights, only one opponent has lasted until the 3 minute mark against Tran. In his last fight, fans saw Matt face one of the better lighter weight fighters in the state, Matthew Coakley (5-1 at the time), and come away with the victory. On Friday night, Tran defends his title against Brantley Furr (3-1). Furr is looking to bounce back from his first loss (to Keith Hulin, another very talented young prospect, in May). At the end of the day, many fans of amateur athletics hope to catch a glimpse of athletes that can be winning competitors at the next level. I believe that Matt Tran is that type of fighter, so Friday's "Cage Fights at the Epicentre" card affords MMA fans just such an opportunity. This card offers a slate of competitive, impressive title fights and an energetic and unique venue. Do yourself a favor and check out this show at the Epicentre in uptown Charlotte, NC on Friday night.
Also on the card:
-170 lbs.- Blaine Thomas (11-5) vs. Alex Mcdonald (3-1) Thomas was ranked as the # 3 welterweight in the June MMA For Real Carolinas fighter rankings. He defends his Fight Lab Promotions welterweight title in this clash.
-155 lbs.- Kevin Forant (4-1) vs. Chris Smith (5-3) This fight will decide the Fight Lab Promotions 155 pound championship.
-205 lbs.- Brandon Beach (2-1) vs. Ben Perry (2-2) This fight will decide the Fight Lab Promotions 205 pound championship.
-145 lbs.- Salah Hemidach (4-1) vs. Christian Brunetti (3-0) This fight will decide the Fight Lab Promotions 145 pound championship.
-185 lbs.- Adam DeHart (9-5) vs. Tony Scarlett (4-0) DeHart was ranked as the # 1 middleweight in the June MMA For Real Carolinas fighter rankings and Scarlett was the # 2 light heavyweight. Tony will be testing the middleweight waters in this matchup.
-170 lbs.- Vincent Alberico (2-0) vs. TBA
-205 lbs.- Robert "Havoc" Smith (2-1) vs. Zachary Klouse (4-3) Smith was ranked as the # 3 heavyweight in the June MMA For Real Carolinas fighter rankings. He is dropping down to his more natural weight of 205 pounds for this bout.
-170 lbs.- Jeff Piercy (2-1) vs. Shawn Dillon (0-0)
-135 lbs.- Kenny Hull (0-0) vs. Mike Powell (0-0)
-155 lbs.- Shane Crenshaw (0-1) vs. TBA
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I believe Tran’s first fight was in June 2008 so I’m sure he was training before that, so that would put his years of training at about 4-5 years and he’s fighting someone with less than 2 years experience with no previous background of any kind from what I undrstand. So I’m assuming this is a fight to keep him undefeated….
Can’t speak to Brantley Furr’s training background since I don’t know him so I’ll defer to you on that. I do know that Brantley is older than Matt, though, and has experience on the grappling circuit in addition to currently being 3-1.
From FB info Furr’s B-day is July 12,1985 and Tran’s is Feb.24,1986 about 7 months age difference,so not sure how that is advantage.2nd 2 years vs approx 5 years in training is an advantage.3rd from doing some research it looks like Furr did a NAGA grappling about 1 1/2 yrs.ago when he was still a beginner and the Bud-Cup sometime last year as interm. not advanced.Got this from some Goggle info.So 2 lower level Grappling circuits.I’m not knocking Tran’s abilities or Furr’s, for that matter,but saying let’s compare apples to apples. To the novice out there I have to then imagine If you give Furr 3 more years of training and experience then I’m sure this fight would seem a little more balanced.
by fitforlife64 on Jul 13, 2010 8:55 AM EDT up reply actions
NAGA North Carolina Quick Results
Mens NO-GI Beginner Fly Weight
1st Place “Flyin” Ryan Conn Pallestra 70
2nd Place Brantley Furr Black Belt USA 50
3rd Place Shao Lee
30
NAGA North Carolina Quick Results
by Kelvin Hunt on Jul 15, 2009 4:38 AM PDT in North Carolina Grappling
by fitforlife64 on Jul 13, 2010 9:17 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree that they’re resumes are not apples to apples. I definitely was not suggesting that. I was just pointing out that, at the end of the day (and from a fan’s perspective), you’ve got a 6-0 24-year-old amateur fighter facing a 3-1 25-year-old amateur fighter. Are their resumes apples to apples? I agree that they are not. Is it a fight to keep him undefeated? I suppose we’ll just agree to disagree. I think you’ll likely see Matt turn pro after this fight (just my opinion).
I’m sure he will!!! Either way I expect a good fight.Just really started following local fighters in the last year and their ranking updates on here got me interested. Tran has been the focus point and just wanted to see what the other fighters backgrounds were and that’s how the differences came up. I know Kevin Hulin has a really strong wrestling background. I believe he has wrestled since Middle school and held some state titles. Tim McNamara..Cant find much on him,but know he lost his fight this weekend in the second round by a guy in his debut.Just makes it more interesting to know some details besides just a fight record. I wish the best for all fighters from NC…
by fitforlife64 on Jul 13, 2010 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Cool, hit me up with an email and we can talk some MMA. I always like getting different perspectives. Yeah, you’re going to see some movement in the rankings (pro and amateur) when the new ones come out next week. That will always be the case, though. The only consistent thing in life is change. You’re right about both Hulin brothers. Both are excellent wrestlers.
Varon Webb(beat McNamara)
was not making his debut…that was his fourth fight at least…
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by Kelvin Hunt on Jul 13, 2010 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Name Varon Webb
Height 5′ 7″ (170.18 cm)
Weight 145 (65.77 kg)
Record 1-2-1
Sorry had some conflicting info. Maybe it was a debut at 135
by fitforlife64 on Jul 13, 2010 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, Varon had been at 145 and has fought some tough competition. He earned a 2-2-1 record the hard way.
FITFORLIFE!!? What is your point? Are you questioning the integrity of our show? If you have a better opponent then please stop yapping, get in touch with me and I will put them in there with Tran. In fact since you have such a holy opinion roll your ass in there and you fight him. If that isnt a option then give us your best. Brantley Furr won two fights in a row for Fight Lab then lost to Keith Hulin . Due to his loss we pulled Brantley from the fight and replaced him with Keith Hulin, but Keith was unable to compete due to a family engagement. So instead of scrapping the fight we put Brantley back in there. So is this enough explanation for you? I hope so. If not find me Friday so that we can discuss matchmaking. Maybe you will be able to help me out some…
As for Tim Lov or Loy or whatever your name is…Before you post a article on or a post on here about one of my fighters how about picking up a phone and call or shoot me a email….and Gene explained all that needs to be explained as far as the Tennessee fight goes. if one mishap decision by a 25 year old fighter trumps the number of fighters I have sent to that show then so be it…we wont come back. Any more questions from any of you cyber warriors?
COOOOORNBREAD!!!!!
by Mr.cornbread on Jul 15, 2010 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions
My point is when u start looking at all the aspects of a fight it is not just fight card info. Like I said earlier I really just got interested last year and that is one reason I started researching local fighters. Tran was one that was talked about frequently so I wanted to find out a little about his background and some of the fighters he fought. So when I noticed the difference in experience, not number of fights, just wondered about the whole picture. My other point to this is in regards to the fight Sat. night….I do believe it is going to be a Great fight card and I don’t believe any Fighter goes into a fight not believing they can win it…but food for thought on the fight between Tran and Furr…If Furr or anyone for that matter had 3 more years to train to get the experience and was currently fighting at the level they are now, Would Tran really be a stand-out? Not saying he wouldn’t but wouldn’t the measuring field be a little more even….so it makes me think who is really the stand-out here..Furr has only been training 20 months….. not fighting….Training and has no background in wrestling.So answer to next question…I would like to see Tran’s first pro fight against Preston Marks,Tim Goodwin, Jim Carey ……or how about at 145 against Casey Johnson or JJ Brantley who has years of training but not as many fights…I support all NC fighters and didn’t say I wanted to fight but didn’t know you had to get it the ring to be a MMA Fan or to have an opinion….If you have to Fight to watch one of your fights or have an opinion about them I’m sure the number of spectators would be greatly decreased and would not be sold out….
by fitforlife64 on Jul 15, 2010 7:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Agreed. Tran was supposed to defend his 3FC and ISKA Tennessee State title this past Saturday at 3FC 4. He was no where to be found a week before the show and Allen pulled him from the Main Event, after the promoter had built the show around him. As a result, he was stripped of both titles.
Tim Loy
Tennessee MMA Writer
tzloy@yahoo.com
865-256-2330
Hmm
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by Kelvin Hunt on Jul 12, 2010 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Matt has had this fight booked for well over a month now. Does the promoter of the TN show claim that he was promised Tran’s involvement? If so, how recently? Just curious. I can follow up with Matt to get his side if you like.
From a Article under Fanpost
The main event saw Brandon McMahan win the vacant 3FC and ISKA State titles in the 135 lb. division. McMahan had only a week’s notice to prepare for his opponent Mike Briley of Nashville. He was originally slated to face highly regarded Matt Tran of Team Huskey, but Tran mysteriously was no where to be found in the weeks leading up to the show. McMahan, of Hard Knox Combat Club in Knoxville, made Briley tap to strikes at 1:15 of the second round.
by fitforlife64 on Jul 13, 2010 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions
My name is Gene Click and I am the promoter for 3FC based out of TN. Matt Tran was my 135 Champion as well has holding the 135 TN State ISKA belt. Tran was scheduled for a total of 9 weeks to compete on my July 10th card. I as informed my Mike Allen, Tran’s manager that he had not been able to contact Tran for a total of two weeks. This was on July 1st.
I was informed by Allen that it was in my best interest to pull Matt Tran and move forward. Mr Allen, ISKA rep Todd Murray and myself made attempts to contact Mr Tran with no response. I was forced to pull Mr Tran of his title for the 3FC and the ISKA pulled his State Title. That was not up to me or my promotion. An explanation would have kept his title intact as long as it was credible. Mr Tran chose to not make any attempts to contact us so we were forced to proceed with a 135 State and 3FC Title bouts.
I mean no disrepect to Matt Tran or His Manager Mike Allen. I actually like them both very much. It would have just been more professional to handle things in a different manner on Mr Tran’s behalf. I wish him nothing but the best of luck in his career. Gene
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