Fighters of New York: Bobby Bodden

March 22, 2016 will go down as a red banner day for New York. It was the day that saw Mixed Martial Arts finally legalized in our beautiful state. However, now a new question arises – When will the UFC host its first event in our illustrious hometown, in our “city that never sleeps,” in our mecca of sporting events, Madison Square Garden? We can only hope and wait for that time to come. One hopeful who has been waiting and putting in the training is Bobby Bodden out of Long Island MMA. Bodden is set to enter the cage on April 2nd, on the NYFE 10 card at Club Amazura in Jamaica, Queens NY. New York Fighting reached out to hear his thoughts.

Bobby with training partner Hugh

Since the announcement of his pending fight in early March, Bodden has been enthralled with the work of perfecting his craft and being fully prepared for the ensuing battle. According to Bodden, he has trained consistently for the past several weeks with only two days of rest. Relying on the expertise of one of his coaches and his sparring partners, Bodden developed a game plan that he plans to utilize to dismantle his opponent. “One of my coaches, Anthony D’Angelo, watched footage of Jerome [Mickle, Bodden’s opponent]. One of my teammates too, he actually beat Jerome. His name is Hugh McKenna. I’ve been getting a lot of rounds with him.” In addition, Bodden feels confident that he is ready due to the other sparring partners that have been involved in his camp, namely Greg DiPasquale and Ryan LaFlare.

Bobby with Coach Anthony

Bobby and Coach Depo

Not to put aside the upcoming fight or to treat it lightly, Bodden was asked for his thoughts on the excitement of having MMA finally legalized in his home state. Bodden expressed that the reality of this historic event hasn’t really sunk in as of yet. “The whole event is surreal because of the many times [voting on legalizing MMA] has occurred. Times where it was going to be legal and then it wasn’t. It hasn’t sunk in. It will probably sink in when there is a first major professional event at Madison Square Garden.” Like every other fighter in the state, he hopes of someday having the chance of being part of that moment. In addition, Bodden relayed his slight angst of having to travel to New Jersey in order to fightbin the past. However, he understands that all things come in due time and feels that UFC will reach out to the more popular New York fighters such as “Jon Jones, Dennis Bermudez, Chris Weidman, and Ryan LaFlare. I’m hoping to make it to the (prelim) undercard on UFC Fight Pass.”

Bobby with Rick Schaffer

With that said, Bodden was asked the inevitable question of “When do you think you will make the jump and go pro?” He eloquently explained what his plans were – “Hopefully, after I smash this kid on April 2nd.” In addition, Bodden feels all the work has been done and everything is set into place and all that is left is a brilliant execution on the 2nd of April. He acknowledges he couldn’t have achieved his level of success thus far without key figures assisting him along the way. In addition, to his coaches and sparring partners, Bodden mentioned the support of Matt Culley, NewYorkFighting, MadeToThrive, Long Island MMA, Rich Shaffer, and Long Island Pro Physical Therapy.

Mr Bodden in fight mode

Bobby Bodden knows that with hard work and perseverance, there is nothing that he can’t accomplish. Bodden sets his sight on the 2nd and his future. He’s ready to go to work.

New York Fight Exchange

Writer: Jacques Blain

Editor: Kyle Antonelli