This Saturday, all of the talking will stop and the fists will start flying.
A budding rivalry that started a few years ago at a grappling tournament will come to a head this weekend, as unbeaten professional bantamweights Cody Garbrandt (2-0) and Dominic Mazzotta (3-0) will square off in the main event at Gladiators of the Cage: The North Shore’s Rise to Power IV in Pittsburgh.
Both fighters have legions of fans, and Stage AE is already sold out in advance on the heels of the popularity of the two rising stars.
The two fighters went back and forth in December, with the tension reaching a boiling point when Garbrandt came into the cage to face off against Mazzotta following his last win over Jordan Espinosa. And this is no fabricated rivalry drummed up by the promoter, as these two guys genuinely don’t like each other.
Some have called it kind of crazy, with two of the country’s top prospects squaring off so early in their careers. It’s certainly a win for the fans, who will get to see a pair of UFC-caliber fighters square off on the local MMA stage.
An Ohio native, Garbrandt has split his time training at Fight Club Pittsburgh and win Team Alpha Male in California. He’s a former state champion wrestler in Ohio, and he also trains boxing with his uncle who is a former Olympic alternate. He’s been a surefire next-level prospect since his first amateur fight, and he’s developed into one of the most dangerous lighter weight fighters in the country.
Mazzotta trains at the Mat Factory near Pittsburgh, and he claimed the NAAFS amateur featherweight title before turning pro just over a year ago. He has finished all three of his opponents as a pro, including a highlight reel headkick knockout over Jeremiah Yeager that was named the 2013 Pro Male Knockout of the Year by BluegrassMMA fans. He also won the Rookie of the Year and Fighter of the Year Awards, showing the power of his fan base.
A confident Mazzotta joined BluegrassMMA Live last night, where he talked about how he is feels like a win over Garbrandt will propel him to the next stage of his career.
It all goes down this weekend, and BluegrassMMA will be on the scene with live results and a full recap of the event.
The full fight card for GOTC: The North Shore’s Rise to Power IV:
Pro Bouts:
Dominic Mazzotta vs Cody Garbrandt
Chris Dempsey vs Muhammad Abdullah (for middleweight title)
Jason Willett vs Myron Baker
Mitchell Killeen vs Sharif Jones
Amateur Bouts:
Clark Young vs Steve Mowry (for heavyweight title)
Cody Karlheim vs Tobiaus Taylor
Dann Cucuta vs Jeremy Sakuta
Garrett Dush vs Tony Dipiero
Mark Leibach vs Brandon Lux
Jaime Chesney vs Christina Cherkes
Joshua Fremd vs Thomas Gormley
Donald Bard vs TBD
Ryan McClure vs Matthew Patterson
John Daley vs Shockeem Hull