As the doors closed following Rumble at the Roseland 93 last Saturday at the Roseland Theater, one thing was clear: The Full Contact Fight Federation (FCFF) had delivered a near perfect show and the fighters loved it. Saturday night’s fight card was the first time in 13 events that the FCFF had a professional fight on the line up, the first time in 7 events that women squared off in the cage, and it was the first time they had ever held a post fight press conference to close the show. Individually these milestones don’t necessarily mean a lot but when the sum of all parts met at this event, it was truly inspiring. From start to finish, there was something different about the show on Saturday night.
The crowd seemed especially excitable. Fans of headliner Cris “Sunshine” Williams held up cardboard cutouts of the young fighter’s face adhered to popsicle sticks and cheered loudly as fight after fight ended without going to the score cards. Some of the region’s top amateur prospects were on the card so it is no wonder that 13 of 16 fights ended with a finish. The exciting fights definitely added to the exuberant nature of the crowd and in a place like the Roseland Theater, the energy makes the room come alive. If you have never been to a fight at the Roseland, you are missing out on an interesting experience. The close quarters make it feel as if you are sitting right on top of the cage and the better the fight card, the louder it gets, making a room of a few hundred feel like a few thousand in an instant.
Even with all the great fights that night, there was something electric in the air that was hard to put a finger on. However, as each fight was announced, it started to become clear. FCFF owner Kevin Keeney was truly in his element this night. As he introduced each fighter, donning his signature cowboy hat, his voice came alive more than usual. Keeney sold the show and the crowd loved it. His energy seemed to feed off the energy of the fighters and fans. By the end of the night, he had announced that the post fight press conference would be open to the public, giving the fighters another moment to shine in front of the packed house.
The fighters all seemed to enjoy the press conference experience, cracking jokes and basking in the spotlight. Fernando “FDOT” Alvarado seemed especially excited to get his hands on the microphone as he reversed roles to ask a question of his own,
“How you doing tonight Rose City?! You have a good time?! Make some noise if you had a good time! Give it up to Kevin Keeney, Kevin Keeney puts on a good show, man.”
Beyond that, there was some mouthy banter between Cris Williams and local up and comer Keaneo Moyer. Worlds apart in weight and experience, the two still can’t seem to get enough of jawing back and forth. Aside from that, respect was shown between most everyone on stage. The time to sell the fights had finished and this was a much looser room than the press conference the week prior. With Chael Sonnen off in the background soaking it all in and the packed bar cheering as their friends, teammates, and loved ones were asked questions it was clear that the team at the FCFF had found a way to dust off its coat and make one of the longest running MMA promotions in the country feel brand new all over again.
