Blocking the Box

An article by Fightergirl's writer Shelley Devine

Action Photos by Cathlin Daley 

Tisha Rodrigues (top) vs. Shannon Harney (bottom)

It was a full house Friday the 13th at the Rock! Unlike other area promoters, David George still fills Rockingham Park in Salem, NH with eager fight fans drawing from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. He is also the ONLY New Hampshire promoter who will give female fighters the opportunity to showcase their skills and compete equally along side the male competitors. I know because I’ve asked two currently known NH promotion companies after a July show I was promoting with mostly female fighters had to be canceled.

Fortunately I still managed to salvage one of the fights I arranged by getting it on David George’s Combat Zone 34 card. Most of the other female fights fell off for various reasons. Thankfully, Tisha Rodrigues and Shannon Harney were eager to fight, having waited for some time for a fight, after experiencing the common frustration of fights lining up only to fall apart time and again! Aug 13, was their shot to compete and David George provided the venue.

It appears that most women in New England on average wait about a year between fights possibly due to the lack of opponents in the area. However, there have also been other reasons causing setbacks, those of which include, for a few months no amateurs were allowed in Massachusetts, certain schools would not fight against affiliated schools (that’s changing now for women), and the lack of knowledge by trainers/promoters on where to find female fighters. So it has been somewhat of a personal undertaking of mine to help these girls who really want to fight, get fights. And boy, were these girls ready! Calm, cool and collected, like two pros who had numerous fights, they each weighed in lighter than their agreed upon weight of 120 lbs. Fighting out of the blue corner was Tisha Rodrigues (1-1) representing the Boneyard and in the red corner, Shannon Harney of Dragon Within was the favorite entering the cage with a 2-0 record.

Shannon Harney (left) vs. Tisha Rodrigues (right)  

I was impressed with their initial approach, stalking like seasoned veterans exchanging punches. Harney caught Rodrigues’ first round house kick while she remained balanced on one leg as both exchanged punches. Within seconds they were both clinching up against the fence. Rodrigues, or who has become affectionately known as the Lil Bully, delivered a vicious knee to the box and threw Harney to the ground. Harney’s corner began shouting “groin shot”. The fight was immediately stopped! Initially, it was questionable whether it was a knee to the belly, because Harney lost her lunch, which was a first for Combat Zone!

My heart went out to these girls, was the fight over? Would Shannon get up and continue? Would the ref or commission call the fight?…I was, to say the least, concerned! I know if I was in there, I wouldn’t want my fight to end like that. I mean a win is a win, but for both fighters, I’m sure when home and all is said and done, it would have been unsatisfying after all the preparation they had done. I kept saying in my head come on Shannon get up and continue, you can do it! If it was in fact ruled as a knee to the box then she had time to recover and still fight.

And that she did! Man! The look on her face was sooo pissed off! I was so glad to see Harney still had her fighters’ edge! The fight continued and Rodrigues dominated submitting Harney with less than 2 sec left in the first round by rear naked choke. Improving her record to 2-1, it was an honorable win for Tisha Rodrigues! And Shannon Harney was still eager to fight on future cards. So for me setting up my first fight was a win, win!

Tisha Rodrigues with her fight team

An additional bonus and one of the many things I like about this promotion is that they post all the fight videos on their website for public viewing, and fighters can view their fights and learn from their strengths and weakness. See for yourself at the link below and you be the judge!

My weekend of female fight coverage wasn’t over, the next afternoon it was down to Brockton, MA to Campanelli Stadium to view two more female fights. The first fight was, well, I won’t even list the names because it was downright embarrassing! Although, giving the matchmaker the benefit of the doubt, they had to find another opponent because their original fighter had to back out due to medical reasons. But, having a fighter turning her head away from a flurry of wild punches and being stopped due to unanswered punches in 41seconds is not my idea of a well matched fight! Honestly after this fight, I was ready to leave.

Fighter Kaline Mederios

Next up, the only amateur female in the area being considered to go pro because she can barely get a fight in NE is Kaline Medeiros. After signing a two year contract just shy of six months ago, Medeiros was getting her first fight at Cage FX. Unlike, Tisha Rodrigues who had many sponsors including Tussle, Fight Soap, Cage Candy, Nutritional Edge, Fight Chix, and Boston Brawler, Medeiros entered the cage with the Brazilian flag as her banner. By comparison, Rodrigues is a shining example on getting her name out there and if she so chooses to continue in MMA could compete at a national level with a little bit more experience under her belt. But what is really outstanding is that she presented herself as a woman fully empowered in the fight arena by taking her fight career in her own hands.

She not only trained as a fighter but she also thought of herself as a business, which is consistently overlooked by male and female fighters. Her trainers are her team and with their guidance she makes informed decisions about the fights she takes, sponsors, training, and her health. So girls, girls, girls please be aware of what you’re signing on for. You are a brand, your name is your business, don’t just throw it away and expect someone to take care of you. You need to be aware and research what is truly in your best interest!

That said, Kaline Medeiros (Tim Gillette) faced off with Grace Nowak (Team Crush). Medeiros (2-1) came out with fierce punches against Nowak (0-0) who returned and covered trying numerous attempts for a single leg takedown to no avail. The fight ended in the first round with Nowak turtled covering a barrage of punches delivered by a ruthlessly unstoppable Medeiros. Kaline Medeiros improved her amateur record making it 3-1.

After seeing all these girls fight live, I couldn’t help but get the wheels in my head spinning. Setting up my first fight between Rodrigues and Harney will hopefully open a door for female MMA fighters. They are the first for what will be the start of a Girl Fight League, that is intended to support female MMA practitioners by finding them venues, opponents, sponsors, and having regular training sessions for girls only. Hopefully, it will keep the girls currently training motivated and develop a sense of camaraderie with other women who share their interest of the sport. . .and, hmm, perhaps some very exciting fights will come out of this for NE fight fans! Medeiros vs Rodrigues, Harney vs Nowak, anything’s possible!

Video - Harney vs Rodrigues

About the writer: Shelley has over 10 year Martial Arts experience. She is also a trainer at Sityodtong.

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• Martial Arts, MMA