The Northeast of the U.S. has produced a pretty solid group of MMA fighters in recent years- Tim Sylvia & Marcus Davis (Maine), Kenny Florian, Dan & Joe Lauzon (Massachusetts), Matt Serra and Jon Jones (New York), Josh Koscheck (Pennsylvania) etc… and with the rise in popularity of MMA, you will be sure to see more rising talent oozing out of this area in the near future.

Make no mistake; while MMA is popping up all across the Northeast, the heart of the scene is squarely in Massachusetts. This is where some of the most exciting talent in the Northeast is mixing it up on a regular basis. The top promotions in the region have all set up shop here, playing the part of the Pilgrims in a new MMA land. In fact, two of the top promotions, Full Force and Reality Fighting, have both staked their claims in Plymouth, which I’m sure would have made John Smith very proud.

If you go a little bit more North, you’ll hit Wilmington, which used to be best known for being the home of the Baldwin apple. But, since being trumped by the McIntosh as the most popular apple in New England, Wilmington may now be best known for playing host to the exciting and rising MMA promotion known as World Championship Fighting (WCF).

Joe Cavallaro has been well connected to the MMA world for quite awhile. He’s been a friend of Dana White for almost 20 years. And he’s been a top manager for some of the more successful MMA fighters in recent years like Marcus Davis, Kenny Florian and Sam Hoger. But two years ago he decided to throw his hat in to the ring as a promoter when he began World Championship Fighting (WCF).

By all definitions WCF is a small promotion--- It caters to a specific region, the New England area (Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut...); it operates on a very modest budget; puts all their shows on at one arena (Shriner’s Auditorium); and relies heavily on regional fighters. The entire promotional team is actually a three man gang putting in 16 hour days: Joe Cavallaro, his right hand man Sal Carrillo and matchmaker Rick Caldwell.

While WCF isn’t yet a household name- in a day and age where MMA Promotions fold seemingly every other month (Bodog, IFL, Elite XC…) WCF is slowly but surely succeeding. Following the old adage, “Never bite off more than you can chew” WCF is about to put on their 5th show on November 14th. They have done deals with HDNet, ESPN, and NBC, and have been the topic of one of TapouT’s reality shows. They also reap the benefits of strong Media Relations, which has led to an unusually high amount of exposure for a regional promotion that has only been around for a couple of years.