Misery Loves Company: Fight Lab Promotions

On Saturday, April 16, at the packed Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, NC a lot of fighters experienced misery while others celebrated much-deserved wins in what proved to be an exciting MMA event.

Sixteen fighters from the Carolinas knew they would be facing tough opponents, but for some "tough" was not the appropriate word. There were three professional fights and four amateur fights.

The participants were eager to get in the cage and do some damage to their respective opponents.

The following fighters added a W to their credentials:

Ricky Rainey (vs Ben Perry)

Michael Corvino (vs Aaron Osborne)

Christian Sinnott (vs Dave Sweeney)

Shane Crenshaw (vs Sergio Bollo)

Nick Smith vs  (Roy Hughes, Jr.)

Ronnie Rogers vs (Brian Keller)

Keith Richardson vs (Marc Corum)

The pace was set for the night when “The Sniper” Ricky Rainey came out fast and furious against Ben Perry. Rainey gained and maintained control during the bout. Rainey had heavy hands and gave an all-around solid performance, which included multiple strikes, body punches and kicks. Rainey won by unanimous decision.

Chris Sinnott and Dave Sweeney was over quickly. Sinnott showed why he deserved to add a W in his column. If you blinked during this bout, then you missed the excitement of seeing the fight be stopped early in the first round by a barrage of strikes and outstanding wrestling skills.

Next up was Shane Crenshaw and Sergio Bollo. Crenshaw came out ready to go with both barrels blazing, while Bollo tried to defend with his fast hands. Takedowns were a breeze for Crenshaw and the majority of the bout saw some serious ground-and-pound from the dominant Crenshaw.

Bollo succumbed in the second round to a tight rear naked choke that would have squeezed the life out of an anaconda. It was easy to see why Crenshaw improved his record to 2-1.

Michael Corvino dethroned the previously undefeated Aaron Osborne. This was an extremely exciting bout that got the crowd all worked up, especially since the hometown fighter was getting the short end of the stick. It was a great mixture of a slug fest and ground-and-pound. It ended rather abruptly with Corvino executing a very technical arm triangle, which moved him up to 5-2 in the standings. 

The “Vanilla Gorilla's" loyal followers were behind Nick Smith from the time the fight started until well after his dominating victory over Roy Hughes Jr. This was a five-round war that added a loss for Hughes, bringing his tally to 3-2. Meanwhile, the Gorilla showed how easy it was to defend his welterweight title, and he now stands at 5-1 on his quest to continue to be the best.

The first of the professional matches was led by the ever-dominant Ronnie “Bam Bam” Rogers. He is a true beast and completely manhandled his opponent, Brian Keller. Rogers came into the fight with an 8-5 record, but very soon, that eight changed to a nine.

Rogers dominated with heavy hands, dominant ground control and punishment that would make anyone miserable. It was a merciless display of punishment that thankfully ended fast with a sick rear naked choke being perfectly executed on the now 6-8 Keller.

The main event of the evening was cancelled, so Keith Richardson and Marc Corum finished out the great night of fights making their fight a memorable new main event.  Corum held his own early during the firstround, but soon, Richardson’s well-rounded skill set proved to be too much for Corum.

There was a lot of ground-and-pound, with Corum taking the brunt of the punishment. Richardson made the take downs look easy and displayed strikes that were powerful and painful. The fight went the full distance, with Richardson being crowned victorious by unanimous decision, which advanced Richardson’s standings to 8-2 while Corum tipped the scale in an unfavorable way to 3-4.

Fighter Spotlights

Michael Corvino started training in MMA at the ripe old age of seven. His parents enrolled him in a karate class and his interest took off from there. He earned his black belt in Shaolin Kempo at age 17. Corvino took some time off during college, when he attended The College of Charleston and earned his BS in Biochemistry.

While taking a sparring class at a local gym, his interest in MMA peaked again. His first fight was in May of 2010. He currently trains with American Fighter of Charleston, S.C.  He was born and raised in Charleston, and is now a student at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he is working on his doctor of pharmacy degree.

Michael’s next step is fighting for the ISKA 170 lb state championship belt, which will take place on May 21 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. He plans to continue his training with focus areas on jiu-jitsu and boxing.

He has big ambitions of turning pro and working as a pharmacist on the side. Michael displayed a very impressive showing, and you should expect to see and hear much more about this tough and very educated young man.

Ronnie “Bam Bam” Rogers is a pro on the go and is sure to hit the fast track soon. He has been training in MMA for about four years. He grew up watching MMA movies, which got him interested in pursuing his dream of becoming a professional fighter.

The fight between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock was the turning point that made Ronnie become serious about being focused and dedicated and being the best he can be. Growing up in Seneca, S.C., provided some challenges for finding a place for him to train, but now he is a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym, and has excellent training partners.

All of the fighters did a good job, but Michael Corvino and Ronnie Rogers were the two stand outs that earned spotlight of the night.

If you missed this show, you can catch another Fight Lab Promotions show on June 11.