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Dedicated to covering Ohio MMA unlike any other news agency, OHMMA.com provides fans with unique content about Mixed Martial Arts fighters, promoters and companies. We are truly a news site; fans looking for fighter drama and gossip will not find the TMZ-style of “reporting” here at OHMMA.com.

Our exclusive Ohio MMA Rankings are compiled by our expert staff of writers who attend events throughout the state each weekend and watch countless hours or video from MMA events as well. We also profile the top pro MMA fighters in Ohio and offer fans an opportunity to buy MMA tickets to events within the Buckeye state as well.

Event Rumors

Jan 11 – Rocktagon 30 (Parma, OH) ☆☆☆

Jan 18 – EFP: Caged Madness 27 (Akron, OH)

Jan 25 – IT Fight Series 24 (Bellefontaine, OH) ☆☆☆

Feb 08 – UVC 27: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Columbus, OH) ☆☆☆

Description of Event Rankings

☆ amateur event, no title fights

☆☆ amateur event, amateur title fights

☆☆☆ pro/am event, amateur title fights or no title fights

☆☆☆☆ pro/am event, pro and/or amateur title fights

★ all pro event

ONE FC 11′s Cody Stevens prepares for the biggest fight of his life against Shinya Aoki

Ohio MMA favorite Cody Stevens (11-5-1) is gearing up for the biggest fight of his life, as the Mansfield native is set to take on veteran Shinya Aoki (33-6) this weekend in the co-main event at ONE FC 11 in Singapore.

Known as “The Wolverine,” Stevens is currently ranked as the No. 4 featherweight in the state of Ohio, and he has been training at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand for the past year. The Fight Farm product has had a successful year and a half, going 3-1-1 over his last five bouts, including a current two-fight winning streak.

The Intimidation Clothing-sponsored fighter has been a staple on the Ohio MMA scene since making his amateur debut in 2006, and he captured both amateur and pro titles in the NAAFS organization. He has developed a reputation for taking on tough opponents with his rap sheet boasting names like Bellator MMA veteran Saul Almeida, TUF veteran Jeff Smith, and current UFC fighter Wilson Reis, and he holds victories over UFC veteran Donny Walker, Anthony Durnell, and most recently, he earned a victory over UFC veteran Dustin Neace at RFO: Big Guns 12 in August.

Aoki is one of the most recognizable names in MMA, as he is a former Shooto and DREAM champion and is also the current ONE FC lightweight champion. He is also a black belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and judo.Along with his current spot as the No. 15 ranked lightweight by MMAjunkie.com, Aoki is also a highly decorated grappler, with multiple championships from around the world.

Roger Bowling dropping to lightweight, expected to make UFC debut in spring

Yesterday ProFightingFans.com reported that more Strikeforce fighters were making their way over to the UFC, and today the news is no different.

“Relentless” Roger Bowling (11-3, 4-3 Strikeforce), a seven-fight Strikeforce veteran, tweeted “Looking to make my UFC debut march or April! Oh and I’m dropping to 155 as well!” Bowling, who has fought at welterweight (170lbs) throughout his pro MMA career, is apparently now making the cut to lightweight, something that those close to him have whispered about for over a year. Within a day of the tweet bookmakers started placing odds about who will be his first opponent. You can see from this bet365 alternatív link who is the favourite at the moment.

In his five-plus year pro MMA career, Bowling has faced several notables as he ran off seven straight wins to begin his career, all on the regional MMA scene.

Included in those wins were a nine-second knockout of UFC welterweight and TUF 11 veteran Seth Baczynski (18-9, 4-2 UFC) and a 28-second TKO win over UFC vet Shamar Bailey. A product of Vision MMA in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bowling went 4-3 under the Strikeforce banner including a 42-second knockout of Jerron Peoples in December 2011.

Bowling is currently the third-ranked professional welterweight in our Ohio MMA Rankings.

For more information on Roger Bowling, stay tuned to Ohio MMA News.

Pittsburgh Challenge Series 4 weigh-in results, news, info, and more

Pinnacle Fighting Championships will hold its latest installment tomorrow night near Pittsburgh – Canonsburg to be exact – at the Iceoplex, and the Steel City is already revving up for what promises to be a night chock full of great matchups and exciting fights. Pittsburgh Challenge Series 4 is a deep card with great matchmaking and could be one of the best of the year.

All professional fighters for the event made weight earlier this evening, meaning that all three bouts on the pro portion of the card are now locked in stone. The amateurs will weigh in tomorrow morning, as per Pennsylvania commission rules.

The main event pits unbeaten Pittsburgh product Shane Chojnacki (2-0), who weighed in at 170.4 pounds, against Ohio native Reggie Parks (2-0), who weighed in at 170.7 pounds. This bout seems like a match made in heaven with two aggressive and powerful fighters, and both guys even weighed in wearing the exact same Man of Steel underwear. Chojnacki fights for the first time in more than 14 months, while Parks is 2-0 in that time. But cage rust likely won’t be an issue here for Mr. InYaFace, as he is always in great shape and shows up to fight. It’s hard to not get excited for a bout between two fighters with a wealth of experience and who have combined for a perfect 100 percent knockout rate in their respective professional careers.

Both fighters in the co-main event showed up just a smidge heavy on the scales, but being that they are fighters and enjoy punching other people in the face, the bout will still happen between Anthony Durnell (9-2) and Amran Aliyev (3-2) at a catchweight of 138 pounds. Durnell tipped the scales at 136.7, while Aliyev weighed in at 137.9. This is another striking fan’s dream match, as both fighters have technical skills to go along with power. Both are also New York natives, but Durnell will enter the bout as the hometown favorite seeing as how he now trains at Fight Club Pittsburgh. Aliyev is no pushover, and he’ll come in looking to avenge a loss to Durnell’s teammate Justin Steave back at the first Pinnacle show in December. Durnell, meanwhile, looks to extend his perfect 2-0 record inside the Pinnacle cage.

The final pro bout of the night will feature the paid-fighting debuts of veteran amateurs Josh Hilliard (0-0) – who weighed in at 154 pounds – and Mike Putnam (0-0) – who weighed in at 154.7 pounds. If the striking battles in the two main events don’t tickle your fancy, then these two guys will be the ones that you want to watch. Hilliard went 8-4 as an amateur and had seven wins by submission, while Putnam has an extensive wrestling background. Neither fighter had an easy road as an amateur, and Putnam’s record shows that in the fact that he has gone 0-3-1 in his last four fights. This could be a sleeper Fight of the Night pick since both fighters will want to kick start a successful pro career.

Two titles will be up for grabs on the amateur side of things, as unbeaten Kyle Strong Dunmeyer (6-0) takes on John Saxton (6-5) for the middleweight title, while Davey Crockett (4-1) battles Jonathan Coffman (2-1) for the bantamweight title.

Other news coming out of Pinnacle Fighting Championships is a new TV deal with the local FOX affiliate (WPGH), where events will be shown via tape delay. For the foreseeable future, I will be the Pinnacle play-by-play announcer with Evolve MMA pro fighter Kyle Rozewski (3-3) providing color analysis.

Along with providing a great fight atmosphere in one of the best fight cities in the country, Pinnacle will continue to bring top-level shows to the area, including Pittsburgh Challenge Series 5 on November 27, which is Thanksgiving Eve. Names have already been floated around for that event like Mr. Pittsburgh Mark Cherico (5-0) and Joey Holt (3-0), and even more big names are expected to be added following this weekend’s event.