By: Jim Genia - mmajournalist.blogspot.com
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At the last Underground Combat League show, New Generation Karate 172-pounder Josh Candon made short work of his opponent thanks to a blazing left hook and a smooth transition into a rear naked choke.

Veteran MMA journalist, Jim Genia, from mmajournalist.blogspot.com, authored this spotlight on rising local NYC fighter Shawn Obasi. Pictures are courtesy Eric Joza at nycfight.com. (thanks to both!)
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In December of 2004, a nightclub bouncer named Shawn Obasi (top) stepped into the ring at NYC’s Underground Combat League weilding heavy hands and crowd-pleasing intensity. But those attributes were all he had, and the 250-pound Grados Wing Chun representative lost via TKO after nearly seven minutes of fevered scrapping. Click through for more.

Due to the UFC’s confidentiality rules, Brian McLaughlin of Fishkill, NY (owner/operator of Hudson Valley Jiu Jitsu) was very selective in what he could share about his time in Las Vegas attempting to make it into the Ultimate Fighter 8 reality show house.

In this exclusive interview, McLaughlin shares his thoughts on the “story” he told his family about his fake trip to Brazil, the tryout process, meeting Dana White and Frank Mir and the reaction of his friends upon sharing the true nature of his travels. Click through to listen to this interview with Brian McLaughlin.

Kurt Pellegrino is a busy man. He is in the home stretch of his training camp for a September 6th UFC 88 bout Vs. Thiago Tavares in Atlanta all the while overseeing the move of his Belmar, NJ school to a new, larger location. Click through for more information and link to school.

Brian McLaughlin from Fishkill, NY was selected to be a cast member on the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter 8 show which starts in September on Spike TV. TriStateFighter.com featured McLaughlin back in June as a rising MMA star in the Tri-State area. With a 5-0 record and the winner of the Ring Of Combat 155lb tournament in 2007, McLaughlin has used his top flight Jiu Jitsu to dominate opponents. Click through and watch video of McLaughlin working out in a boxing session.

Brian McLauglin (photo applying choke) from Fishkill New York and owner/operator of Hudson Valley Jiu Jitsu contacted TriStateFighter.com earlier today to announce he has been selected as a cast member for the eighth season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. Phillipe Nover from Brooklyn, who is 5-0-1 in his pro career, was also chosen as reported by SI.com. Nover trains in New York City with Renzo Gracie. TriStateFighter.com featured McLaughlin extensively this past June as a fighter on the rise. Click through for a link to our past print story on McLaughlin and stay tuned for a re-publish of our video segment on Brian.

Much of the country first realized Connecticut had a top flight Jiu Jitsu/MMA program when Dan Cramer had success on the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter reality show. Cramer was credited as being part of the American Top Team out of CT, which is connected to Best Way Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Danbury. The man behind Cramer’s training and the growth of Best Way Jiu Jitsu in CT is Luigi Mondelli, the head trainer at both the Danbury and Bridgeport locations.