Travis LizotteCage Titans 48 Breakdown: Marty Navis vs. Tom Connolly
Travis Lizotte "Full Contact Writer"
Marty Navis (4-0) vs. Tom Connolly (1-0)
Welterweight
Age: 26
Fighting out of: Middleboro, Massachusetts
Affiliation: Lauzon MMA
Record: 4-0 (3 Knockouts, 1 Submission)
Last fight: First Round Knockout of Johnny Adams at Cage Titans 46. (11/02/19)
“The Skinny”: Lauzon’s Marty Navis stands out to me as one of the more physically intimidating Welterweights on the New England circuit, with the frame of a Middleweight and the strength of a 205’er, it’s always unbelievable to me that this kid is a Welterweight. Navis has used that size and strength to his advantage nicely since turning pro, running through his first 4 opponents with relative ease. Wielding a heavy grappling game and even heavier ground and pound, Navis has yet to have an opponent last three rounds with him, finishing all four pro fights inside of two rounds and propelling Navis into the discussion as one of the fastest rising Welterweights in the region.
Although Navis missed the entire 2020 calendar due to the Covid-19 shutdown, I can only imagine he has used the time off to improve his ever evolving game. Navis will also have a little extra fuel in the tank this time out, entering the cage for the first time as a father following the birth of his son Tyson in June of 2020. Adding fuel to an already dangerous powerhouse like Navis is something particularly scary for his opponents, but very exciting for New England MMA and Cage Titans fans alike.
Age: 28
Fighting out of: Maine, New York
Affiliation: 5 Element MMA
Record: 1-0 (1 Knockout)
Last fight: First Round Knockout of Gil Pinheiro at CES 55: Wells v. DeJesus. (03/29/19)
“The Skinny”: Don’t let his 1-0 record fool you, Connolly is experienced beyond what shows up on paper. New York’s Connolly began his amateur MMA career over a decade ago, twice the experience of his opponent Navis. Connolly is a dangerous striker, leading to 5 of his 6 Amateur wins coming via strikes, before entering the professional ranks last time out with more of the same; requiring just 15 seconds to dispatch Gil Pinheiro by Knockout at CES 55. It’s evident that when “The Gunner” gets his hands on you, he wastes little time putting you away.
Still on the right side of 30 years old Connolly could become someone to keep an eye on if he can clear the hurdle that is Marty Navis at Cage Titans 48, and begin his professional career with back to back wins. Connolly makes his Sophomore appearance here in New England with intentions of derailing a red hot prospect, and silencing the sold out crowd inside Plymouth Memorial Hall in his Cage Titans promotional debut.
Breakdown: This fight could be an interesting one to watch, especially if Navis decides to stand bang with the slugging Connolly, what Connolly will concede in power to Navis on the feet will likely be made up for in pure technical striking abilities. If Connolly can keep his feet underneath him Navis could be in for a tough test, but good luck slowing down that steam engine...Navis’ grappling is relentless, we’ve witnessed him absolutely rag-doll many men his size inside the Cage Titans cage. There is no reason for me to believe that Connolly will be able to stave off the takedowns of Navis through this fight’s entirety, and if this fight makes it to the mat the momentum swings heavily in the favor of Marty Navis.
No one wants to be on the ground looking up at Marty Navis, because things down there just don’t end well, in fact; it usually ends with his opponent waking up, staring at the Plymouth Memorial Hall rafters. If Marty Navis shows up in vintage form July 10th we could very well be witnessing the rise of the next big Lauzon MMA prospect, but as we know every fight starts on the feet, and most who stand with Connolly get knocked out in short order.