Timqwe's writings

[Timqwe]

This is the tread to archive all my writings. At the moment of writing I'm one of the official writers for Generation.

I've also done writing for KOTB.

 

While most of my time right now will go to Generation, you can always contact me if you're looking for a writer, be it freelance or for a longer time.

 

As far as my writing background goes, I'm actually studying Journalism in real life, going into my second year.

 

 

Not taking freelance work at the moment

[Timqwe]

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G #20 Main Card Preview

Li Kong Ho (13-2-0) vs Charles Ng (3-0-0) – 135lbs

We're starting of the main card with two asians fighting in the lowest weightclass. “The Little Dragon” Ho is easily the more experienced of the fighters. He's making his Generation debut, coming over from Rio Chain Gang, where he was on a four fight win streak. He has a very allround game, a great chin on him and is absolutely lethal when he get's you in a submission.

Ng does not have quite the resume Ho has. What he does have though is a chin made of iron and two hands made of bricks. None of Ng's fights have gone over the three minute mark, a rare feat in the 135lbs division. His game that we have seen so far is build on keeping him upright so he can hunt for that KO shot. He has never faced a fighter of Ho's caliber though, so we might see him get dumped on his back for the first time, and no one knows yet how he will fare there.

Estefan Atunes (4-2-0) vs Roy Palmer (8-2-0) – 265 lbs

From the bantamweights we move on to the heavyweights. Atunes and Palmer met once before in Victory Combat League, and now they will be making their Generation debut against eachother. In their previous fight Atunes used his range to box his opponent up from the outside, winning the first two rounds. The third round got scary for him though, as Palmer managed to use his superiour clinch game to rock Atunes. Atunes managed to survive that round and edged out the decision.

The loss didn't upset Palmer much though, as he captured the Victory Combat League Heavyweight title just two fights later. Can the linial champ get the win this time though? We'll see!

Miguel Cotto (7-2-0) vs Iosue Necu (12-2-0) – 205 lbs

If there's one thing we can say oubt Miguel Cotto it is this: He loves knocking people out. This man might be the P4P hardest hitter in Generation. All his wins have come by first round KO. We know he used to struggle on the ground, but his trainers say he worked immensely on that, already earning his purple belt.

He'll be fighting former chalenger and Dignity FC champion Iosue Necu for the right to challenge the champion. The first round of the championship fight between Blake and Necu might be the best I've ever seen. Both fighter threw everything at eachother, both rocking eachother. In the second round however, Blake took over, knocking down Necu multiple times, eventially finishing him with a Supermanpunch. Necu bounced back by very aggresively finishing dangerous wrestler Boschman and wants nothing more than avenge his loss to Blake

Co-Main Event: Zurgadai Jebe (8-2-1) vs Neculai Costel (12-3-0) – 135lbs Title

It's the first title fight of the evening “The Arrow” vs “Quick”. The last time the 135lbs belt was defended it was this same match up. That time it only took Jebe 1:41 to finish Costel, dropping him with a right hook and finishing him with his trademark ground and pound.

Jebe is a very allround fighter, coming from a wrestling base, but over time he has added skills in all areas. His best work is still up close though. The Mongalion marches forward with reckless kicks and punches until he gets to the clinch. From there he usually either dirty boxes his opponent into submission, or goes for the takedown. Once you have Jebe on top of you, you are really in trouble. His ground and pound is one of the best in the game and it's almost impossible to break his top control.

Costel will look to do one thing, get this fight to the ground. The Romanian is a black belt and all his wins have come by submission. His ground defence is a bit lacking though, having lost by submission twice. Still, his biggest chance here is on the ground and since he couldn't get Jebe there the last time, we'll have to see if Costel changed tactics

Main Event: Silvio Crespo (11-0-0) vs Tyrone Badass (10-2-0) – 145lbs Title

The main event of the night sees undefeated Generation 145 lbs champion Silvio Crespo pitted against the last 135lbs champion of Rio Chain Gang, Tyrone Badass.

Is there anyone that can beat Crespo? The 22-year old is already having his 8th title fight, having won all of them, on the way earning three titles. He made is debut in his last fight, grinding out a decision win over Davie Brophy, winning the Generation 145lbs title. It was an unusual way of victory for Crespo, usually knocking his opponents out, but he absoluty dominated Brophy over the course of the fight, proving that he's able to adept to different opponents.

If there is someone who knows how to win decisions though it's Tyrone Badass. He has won his last 6 fights by decision, 4 of them title fights. Badass has some really strong takedowns and some crushing pressure from top control. You do not want to lie under this man. Badass used to fight at 135lbs in Rio Chain Gang, but seems to see more possiblities at 145lbs. Since he last fought, he gained a whopping 13lbs in pure muscle, and I have to say, he looks in very good shape. He's up against the best opponent of his career though. Want to see how it ends? Buy you tickets for G #20, next Saturday in London.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Linial titles on the line:

Since Generation has a lot of fighters who previously fought in other organisations, we will be keep track of those linial titles as well. We have at the moment titles from 16 different organisations in the org. An linial title is earned once you defeat the current title holder, in the weight class the title is in.

On the line are:
Estefan Atunes vs Roy Palmer
Roy Palmer: Victory Combat League 265lbs

Zurgadai Jebe vs Neculai Costel

Zurgadai Jebe: Generation 135lbs

DZ Cannon → Zurgadai Jebe: Gods Fight Club 135lbs

Silvio Crespo vs Tyrone Badass

Silvio Crespo: Generation 145lbs

Silvio Crespo: Elite Canadian Fighting Championship 145 lbs

Silvio Crespo: Slaughterhouse FC 145 lbs

Quinn Ravage → Silvio Crespo: United Martial Arts 145 lbs

[Timqwe]

G #21 Boagrius vs Mcgillicutty - Main Card Preview

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Ripped Pants (3-1-0) vs Dylan Todd (7-2-0) – 170lbs

The first fight of the evening will take place in the welterweight division. Ripped Pants is one huge welterweight. At 185 cm and a walkaround weight of 185 pounds, he towers above the much smaller Todd. He bases his game all around his standup. He throws a nice mix of very accurate punches and kicks and has a solid clinch game on top of that. There were doubts about his finishing ability, but after getting the KO in his last fight in just 35 seconds, these doubts are silenced for now. A part of his game that seems to be lacking is his takedown defence though.

We'll have to hope Pants has improved in that area, because if there is a man that you don't want to get taken to the ground by, it's Todd. The man has won all of wins by submission. The only two fights he lost, he contended for a championship. On top of his purple belt in jiu jitsu and his solid takedowns, comes a really strong clinch game. Many fighters have tried to tie Todd up this way and all got either dragged or thrown to the ground, just to be submitted. If Pants has scouted his opponent right, he'll probably try to stay on the outside this fight.

William Holbert (6-2-0) vs Anthony Bourdain (5-4-0) – 205lbs

The first of two light heavyweight fights of the main card is up next. Both fighters are transfering over from Rio Chain Gang, and will look to make an impact it their Generation debut.

“Wild Bill” Holbert is looking to get back on track after two losses in a row, one of them fighting for the RCG Championship. “Wild Bill” is a pure out fighter, prefering to box his opponents up at range. Even though his wrestling base would suggest otherwise, he's looking to disengage as quickly as the fight gets to the clinch. As far as being made to fight though, you won't find many better man. Holbert has a very good chin and some serious power in his hands. All his wins ended by first round KO!

Bourdain is coming into this fight with a bit more momentum, after taking only 2:26 to finish Roan Jenkinson in his last Rio Chain Gang Fight. Before that he lost two in a row though, one to 1 contender Iosue Nicu. He has been quite inconsistent, never having a winstreak last longer than two fights. Bourdain prefers to be very allround. He has won two fights by ko, and even though he's only a blue belt, three by submission. Usually Bourdain prefers the clinch, something which he will probably try to find again this fight, to avoid going to the ground with the purple belt Holbert.

Eugene Gael (3-3-0) vs Sameh Mahmoud (8-1-0) – 205lbs

Trust me Gael is better than his record would suggest. “The Gator” went 0-3 in his first three fights of his carreer, but seems to have turned a page lately, going on a three fight win streak. In those fights, Gael showed he has developed in a very allround fighter, who is very hard to put away.

While Gael has been on a roll lately, he's facing a very stiff challenge. Sameh is the former Gamma Butt-Stompers 205lbs champion and his only loss comes to our champion, Jake Blake. Mahmoud comes from a wrestling background, but has developed a really good boxing game with it too. Because of that, he's dangerous almost everywhere. His biggest strength is still his wrestling though, possessing a very dangerous clinch game and some very strong takedowns, both from the clinch and the outside.

Co-main event: Troy Kirkland (10-4-0) vs Walter Kurtz (7-0-0) - 185lbs

The co-main event of the evening is a middleweight bout between two very evenly matched fighters. Troy Kirkland is a fighter who's not only has competed in mma, but in kickboxing as well. Because of that, you can already expect his speciality: striking. Out of his fifteen wins in mma and kickboxing, only two went the distance. It's safe to say this man packs some power.

His opponent of the day is undefeated prospect Walter Kurtz. While “Renegade” only ever competed in mma, you could say he's more of a kickbokser than Kirkland. Kurtz uses a lot of kicks, compared to Kirkland, who is primarly a boxer. Especially his high kicks are very dangerous. Kurtz can throw those high kicks, because he does not mind spending time on the ground either. Kurtz is a purple belt, with 4 career submission wins. He's making his debut tonight, and will not want to lose his undefeated streak.

Main event: Orpheus Boagrius (14-2-0) vs Conor Mcgillicutty (6-3-0) – 265lbs+ title

BIG MAN THANGS! It's the main event! #1 P4P fighter and SuperHeavyweight champion Orpheus Boagrius will put his title on the line against former Kotb champion Conor Mcgillicutty.
Does Orpheus really need an introduction? The man is on a 13-fight win streak, the man has had 12 title fights in a row. The 2 meter, 300 pound man comes from a kickboxing background, mixing up his crisp boxing with some very powerfull kicks. His fights have never went the distance, all ended by (T)KO. In his last fight we saw the closest thing that came to a resembling a weakness though. Heavyweight champ Rod Black was able to take him down twice. While Boagrius was never really in trouble, it was the first time in a long time we saw the champ having to defend from his back.

Conor Mcgillicutty propably won't be the one that is going to put him there though. “The Joker” shocked Rio de Janeiro by defeating Tito Griffin. Even more impressive, he did it without even getting hit. Conor comes from a boxing background and seems to prefer the clinch a bit more than the champ. Lately he also seems to be growing fonder of kickboxing, using low kicks to set up his punches against Griffin. His skills look up to the task to take on the champ. A glaring weakness in his game is his white belt. I wouldn't be surprised if Boagrius, a purple belt himself, changed from his regular modus operandi, and decided to test Mcgillicutty's ground game.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Linial titles

Two fights have linal titles on the line this evening.

Troy Kirkland vs Walter Kurtz

Walter Kurtz: Laamb Lutte MMA 185lbs

Orpheus Boagrius vs Conor Mcgillicutty

Orpheus Boagrius: Generation 265+lbs
Orpheus Boagrius: MMA Gods 265+lbs
Conrad Mcgillicutty: Kotb 265+ lbs

Big thanks to Ryne Woodsmall for the poster this week

[Timqwe]

Compat 1: Goldrush Preview

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Prince Idowu (3-1-0) vs Royal Pain (5-1-0) – 155lbs

We start the night off with a lightweight bout of Idowu against Pain. I think it's safe to say Idowu is not the kind of fighter that likes to fight for decisions. All of “The Future King's” fights ended in the first round. He has shown to be a dangerous striker everywhere, finishing guys on the feet, or taking them down to unleash some hellish ground and pound. Even in his sole loss, he almost knocked his opponent out, but got caught in a triangle when he dove in to finish him.

Royal Pain is not a guy to be that careless against though. The brown belt from Peru has racked up five submission wins already, four of those in the first round. Because of that threat Idowu will look to keep the fight standing. That's easier said than done though. Pain has some very strong takedowns, scoring a takedown in all but one of his fights and hitting half of the takedowns he attempts.

Nate Gonzalez (6-0-0) vs Richard Machan (3-0-0) – 155lbs title

Two undefeated fighters go at it for the Island Combat Lightweight Championship. Nate is an submission ace, coming out of Compton. So far, his tactic has always been very clear, limit damage on the outside, get to the clinch, then to the ground and then submit you opponent. Judging from his past fights, it seems to be working. The outspoken fighter has aqquired a cultfollowing of fans already, most of them drawn by his brazz behavior on Buzz, and if he does not win the title, we might see a riot in the stadium.

Looking to play spoiler is Richard Machan. Calling “Roller” an Mma fighter might be a bit of a stretch. In all three of his fights, Machan has not hit his opponent with any standing strikes. No, the ground is where Machan thrives. Once there, he mixes up strikes and submissions in high volume. He does not try to pass often, prefering to just keep pressuring his opponent with attacks, until evantually he succumbs. Because of this strong groundgame, Gonzalez might be forced for this first time in his carreer to actually try to keep the fight standing.

Issumatar Tariaksuq (7-1-0) vs Walton Kuntz (8-3-0) – 135lbs title

Next up already the second titlefight of the evening. Tariaksuq might be the only fighter on the Island who wins most his fights by decision. That's not because he doesn't have the power, but his style is tailor made for it. Issumatar has two layers of offence. On the outside he never throws a punch, but slows his opponent down by throwing a high volume of accurate low- and bodykicks, sometimes throwing a high kick for the real damage. If he's met with a better striker, he will move the fight to the clinch, where he unloads with elbows, sapping more energy from his opponent. Because of this, Tariaksuq has never lost the last round of a fight, often even scoring 10-8 cards.

Walton Kuntz is the complete opposite of Tariaksuq, having finished all his fights. Kuntz is primarely a boxer, but finishes most his fights by submission. He uses his boxing to close the distance, and once in the clinch, makes sure to quickly pull guard. It's not the safest game for Kuntz, he had to submit twice, but his oppurtunistic grappling can give any fighter fits. We'll see who comes out on top in this clash of styles.

Carlos Newton (8-2-0) vs Don Julio Cesar Chavez (5-2-0) – 185lbs title

Former champion Carlos Newton is trying to win the title once again.The Canadian submission ace lost his title at Top Dog to Gleb Zheglov, but gets the chance to redeem himself now. Newton never throws strikes, but waits patiently from the outside, till the moment he can hit the takedown. From there he stays very mobile, often improving position, and attacking his opponent with strikes and subs, till they are too exhausted to defend his subs.

Cesar Chaves prefers the outside. A top class boxer, he peppers his opponents with strikes from the outside. If his opponent manages to close the distance, he will pull guard and work from his very strong guard. That is not a place where he wants to be in this fight though.

Jake Belcher (8-2-0) vs Hop Sing Jung (10-3-0) – 170lbs title

Two former champions are back to contend for a title once again. Jake Belcher is one of the few that has been champion in both Island FC and Highland Island, and he will be looking to add another championship to his record. “The Talent's” game is based on his takedowns, which are some of the best in the division. From there he attacks with both submissions and ground and pound. His submission game is more for diversity than actually dangerous. The real danger comes from his ground and pound, where he unloads heavy elbows and punches.

Hop Sing Jung is also a former champion, but not in the 170lbs division, but in the 145lbs division. He is one of the top 145 pounders on the Island, only losing to former Island FC Champions Vermeer and Babajide, and now he wants to claim the 170lbs title too.

He has a huge task ahead of him though, Belcher seems to be his equal on the ground and has a whopping 30lbs on him when walking around.

[Guest]

Great work i loved your previews

[Timqwe]

Evo 248: Seia vs Vinetto

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Main Card Preview

 

Pablo Alvado (28-13-0) vs Antonio Camatta (18-9-0) – 145lbs

Two fighters down on their luck will start off the Los Angeles card. Pablo Alvado seems to be on the tail end of his career, after dropping three decision losses in a row. The 1,80 meter tall Italian prefers to work from the outside, rarely trying to clinch up or takedown his opponent. At that range his boxing skills can do the most work for him.

 

His opponent of the night is a familiar foe. Alvado and Camatta squared off once before at Evo 241, where Alvado won the Evo 145lbs title by unanimous decision. After that, Camatta fought Natsu Dragheel. Having a win over the current champion, Camatta will be looking for a win that will get him back into contention.

 

That will most likely have to happen on the ground. Where Alvado is almost a pure boxer, Camatta likes to mix it up a bit more. His standup concists of some crisp kickboxing, where he really likes to change up between headshots and legkicks, all to set up the takedown. From there he softens up his opponent with ground and pound, until he can latch on a submission. Will Camatta be able to catch the aging Alvado this time? We'll see tomorrow!

 

Vagner Love (24-7-0) vs Tiago Renato (36-13-0) – 205lbs

The first five-round fight of a whopping four fiverounders takes place in the Light Heavyweight Division. Love is a former Evolution champion, losing his championship at EVO 230 against Colin Croft. After that he went on to beat Kakoullis by first round headkick, but lost his superfight against Vincent Vinetto in the Synchronicity org. The 33-year old Brazilian whill try to show against Renato that he still can make another run for the title.

 

Love's strongest part lies in his kickboxing. He really mixes up his punches, going both to the head and body often, and adds some thunderous low kicks to that. This offensive arsenal can however sometimes make him forgo his defences, and in a few of his last losses, he paid for that by getting TKO'd.

 

He's fighting “The Brazilian MT-machine”. The oddly nicknamed Renato (he's actually Finnish) is very comparable to Love. Also a kickboxing expert, his statistics are very similar to Love. A mixed up punching approach, combined with strong lowkicks. Renato tends to be a bit more active though, throwing a higher volume of body shots and lowkicks than Love. Renato has one of the best chins in the bussiness, he never got knocked out. He is however prone to getting outpointed by other strikers who can catch him on the way in.

 

Edward Scissorhands (26-7-2) vs Natsu Dragneel (23-7-2) – (145lbs title)

Next up we have Edward Scissorhands defending his second Evolution title for the first time. Many thought Edward's days as champion were over after losing his title to Arnost Paskelev and after that losing to Camatta. He proved his doubters wrong though by beating three men in a row, winning the title in his last fight.

 

Scissorhands is a tripple threat when standing up. Punches, kicks and clinchwork, he does everything. He uses those tools, to overwelm his opponent wherever the fight takes place. Not a man to take risks, Scissorhands will often opt to grind his opponent down this way, instead of going hunting for the knockout blow. Riskaverse is what you could call his groundgame too. Scissorhands has some very strong grappling, which he uses to limit any damage his opponent can do.

 

It doesn't look like he will need his groundgame against Dragneel though. The 34-year old from Brazil has never actually attempted a takedown in his mma-career. What he does however is kick ass. Or head. Or legs. Basically any part of the body that stays uncoverd and that's legal to hit he will kick. Those highly accurate kicks are complimented by a solid boxing and clinch game. Expect this one to be a stand up war of the highest caliber.

 

Sergey Chernov (26-9-0) vs Bruce Hardman (17-7-0) – 265lbs

Heavyweight Superfight! Sergey Chernov comes from Claymore Elite combat and this man is fireworks! If you would look up the phrase “Live by the sword, die by the sword” in the dictionary, there would be a picture of this man next to it. 26 wins and 9 losses, all by (T)KO. He hit a bit of a rough patch at the beginning of the year, losing two of his three fights in the olympics, and his CEC title after that. But he came back with a blast, winning his last three fights. Poor TJ Heisman is probably still eating with a straw, after Chernov only needed 33 seconds to find his jaw and put his lights out.

 

Across from him as a young guy, looking to get his signature win. Bruce Hardman is 28 year old, and we all know 28 is 14 in heavyweight years. The American striker, who has also competed in kickboxing, has some solid wins on his record, but seems to have trouble getting his big win, having to forfeit both the title matches he has competed in. Maybe now that the fight is not for the title, he will be able to get that big win that will propell him into superstardom.

 

Kelemi Seia (43-14-0) vs Vincent Vinetto (25-6-0) – 205lbs

Did I call the last fight a superfight? Well, is there anything bigger than a superfight, because I don't know what I can call this one. #1 ranked Light Heavyweight and Evolution champion Kelemi Seia takes on #2 ranked Light Heavyweight and Synchronicity champion Vincent Vinetto. Seia hasn't been beaten since he lost his Evolution title to Vagner Love. He went on an absolute tear after that though, first beating Montreil Fight Night champion Feitsora. That was the start of a 6-fight winstreak, where he also won his title back against Inspectah Deck. Now he wants to enter legend territoy by beating the only man that also has a case of calling himself the best Light Heavyweight.

 

That man is Vincent Vinetto. Vinetto used to be Synchronicity for a while, but lost that title to Feitsora. Refusing to let that stay that way, Vinetto managed to beat Feitsora for the title right after the Seia-Feitsora fight. With both man having that win, Vinetto now wants to challenge Seia to finaly being called the best Light Heavyweight on the planet.

 

This fight is looking to be another standup war. Seia is the more accurate striker of the two. Especially his body shots and leg kicks are dangerous, landing with a very high speed and accuracy. Vinetto on the other hand looks for the knockout a bit more. Throwing more combinations and headkicks, and going more often to the body compared to Seia aides him in getting that knockout shot.

[Guest]

Another great preview keep them coming

[Timqwe]

Generation #23 - Koizumi vs Gasaspo
Main card preview

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Davie Brophy (9-4-0) vs Anton Newcombe (11-3-0) – 145lbs
Two fighters going opposite directions are meeting to start the main card off. Davie Brophy is one of the original Generation fighters, making his Generation debut at Generation #2. He won the 145lbs title at Generation #3, and defended it twice, but after moving up in weight to fight Mac Donalds, he lost his title. Because of that he's now on a two fight losing streak. The allround fighter from Scotland will look to prove he's still relevant in the 145lbs divisoin.

His opponent, Anton Newcombe is on the upswing. The former champion of Elite Canadian Fighting Championship made his debut in losing fashion against Anton Altair, but after that managed to rack up two wins. A win over the former champion might put the American submission specialist in line a title shot. Brophy has a tricky groundgame though and Newcombe has shown to be beatable once he can't implement his grappling heavy gameplan. We'll see what comes out on top, the championship experience of Brophy, or the momentum of Newcombe.

Cavey Beaumont (6-2-0) vs Lowkie Erwin (7-2-0) – 265+lbs
Next up two very exciting prospects in the SuperHeavyweight division. Cavey Beaumont is making his debut in Generation. The American striker looked very impressive in, the now defunct, Ultimate Proving Grounds, only ever losing in championship fights. The biggest danger in his game are his thunderous headkicks, which he used to knock multiple opponents out cold, including his last win, Charlie Johns. Those kicks are set up by some crisp boxing, including an increddible 74% hit percentage on head strikes.

On the other side whe have the Australian boxer Lowkie Erwin. Lowkie has been doing good for himself since joining the org. Coming in the org of a loss, he managed to attain a three fight win streak, finishing all his fights in the first round. He is a very good puncher, but he might be in over his debt against the wellrounded Beaumont. Erwin never actually attempted a takedown or a kick in his career, and with the kicking game of Beaumont, he most worry not to get stuck at kicking range. We'll see if he can find a way to wade through and work his boxing.

Fred Alsop (16-5-0) vs Anton Altair (9-3-0) – 145lbs
Another fighter making his Generation-debut. Fred Alsop is coming over from the merger with Rio Chain Gang. The 29-year old started his career off at the Island, racking up a 13-3 record there. After that, Rio Chain Gang picked him up eventually getting to challenge champion Badass. For his first fight at Generation the submission artist is returning to the featherweight division, and he'll be looking to make an impact there.

Altair is far from a warm up fight though. The Romanian is a former champion of MMA Gods and challenged for the title against Davie Brophie, coming up in losing fashion in what was one of the best fights of the year so far. Anton is a very accurate striker, hitting 80% of his punches to the head. He compliments that with an accurate lowkicking game and a solid clinchgame. He'll look to make his case for another title shot.

Co-Main Event: Peyton Rudger (12-7-0) vs Vain Celasquez (9-6-0) – 265+lbs

Two of the smaller fighters of the superheavyweight division meet in our co-main event of the night. Peyton Rudger has looked very impressive so far. He made his debut in the org at Generation #10, and after winning two fight got to challenge Boagrius. He couldn't overcome the champion though, and now will be looking to go back to his winning ways.

Vain Celasquez will be looking to do the same. The former Sydney FC champion has gone on a losing streak of two fights when he lost his championship. Vain seems to posess the skill necessary to compete at the top level, but hasn't been able to put everything together yet. His boxing skills don't seem to translate to the cage, hitting only a third of his strikes. His top control is elite level though. Once he's on top of you, it's very hard to get away. Staying there isn't an option either, with his dangerous ground and pound that has led to multiple victories yet.

Main Event: Gunji Koizumi (8-2-0) vs Silvio Gasaspo (5-0-0) – 185 lbs title
Superfight time! Generation champion Koizumi is taking on the last champion of King of the Beach, Silvio Gasaspo. Koizumi has been on an absolute tear since joining Generation. In his debut he challenged for the 185lbs title, and he hasn't let go of it since. The best part of his game is his increddibly tight rear naked choke which he already defeated four opponents with, including his last challenger, Roderick Solo. To get it to the ground, he prefers to clinch up first with his opponent, and chainwrestle his way, but he can also shoot from the outside. His striking game is quite limited, but do you even need one if you're that dangerous on the ground.

His opponent is the undefeated Silvio Gasaspo. Gasaspo shocked Brazil by defeating Kyrie Perry in his last fight for KOTB. Just like the champion, Gasaspo relies on his submission game. A fighter that relies more on speed than strength, he prefers to avoid the clinch game, unlike the champion. Instead he shoots from the outside. If he gets taken to the clinch he usualy pulls guard, opting to work from the bottom instead of staying standing. Now meeting his match on the ground, one might wonder if he might try to work his improving boxing game. I still think this one will be a very tactical groundfight though.

Linial fights
Our mainevent is also one of the biggest linial unification fights we've seen so far. Four titles will be unified after this fight. The titles at stake are:
Gunji Koizumi vs Silvio Gasaspo
Gunji Koizumi: Generation (185lbs)
Roderick Solo → Gunji Koizumi: Rio Chain Gaing (185lbs)
Silvio Gasaspo: Kotb (185 lbs)
Aeden Declan → Kyrie Perry → Silvio Gassapo: Dignity FC (185 lbs)

[Timqwe]

EVO 249: Hess vs Maldini

Preview

http://mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/13976539209288.pnghttp://mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/13947262519958.jpg
"That fat mess is going to sleep in round 4"- Maldini

And for the second EVO card this week, here is Timqwe with the preview:

Phol Hunt (31-5-0) vs Adrian Shota (21-7-1) – 185lbs
Phol “One Punch” Hunt, is one of those guys that you can't believe he isn't champion. The man has been champion in three different organisations already. One of these titles was the EVO championship, but he lost that at EVO 237 against nemesis Rockmetteler Todd. After that, the 32-year old striker beat Jalovaara by late TKO and edged out a split decision against Samusovias. He's looking to get another chot at champion Todd, but since he's 0-2 against the champ, he'll need a mighty impressive performance.

His opponent is the Senegalian Muay Thai specialist Adrian Shota. Shota is making his debut at EVO, coming from the now defunct Ultimate Proving Grounds. There he was the last middleweight champion, having not lost a fight in his last six fights. He'l want to make an impact in his debut, and scoring an impressive win over the former champion might make give him the possibility to add another title to his resume.

Joe Frazier (38-17-1) vs Rocky McColgan (31-8-0) – 265lbs
Fireworks in the heavyweight decision up next. Grizzled veteran Joe Frazier takes on the brawler Rocky McColgan. Joe Frazier has been with Evolution for what seems like forever, making his EVO debut at EVO 151, twenty fights ago. In the time he was with EVO, he managed to win the Heavyweight title against Apollo Gutz, but failed to defend it against Guiseppe Maldini. After that, he went on a 3-fight win streak, before losing his last fight against that same Maldini. The 37-year old will look to proof that, besides his doubters, he isn't done yet, and still has a run in him.

Fireworks are guarenteed with his opponent of the night: 31-year old Rocky McColgan from Ireland. McColgan is a smaller heavyweight, weighin in at 244 pounds. Despite his smaller frame, “Cocky” has some impressive strength, dominating opponents in the clinch. The man has been a champion all his life, winning the BEEF Heavyweight title in only seventh fight, and being in a total of 17 titel fights in his life. His last one didn't go his way though, losing against Brick Tires, what started of a three fight losing streak. He bounced back knocking out Marailov just before the end of the first round, and will try to do the same to Frazier, to come one step closer to what he believes is rightfully his.

Taisto Perälä (20-7-0) vs Nikolai Luzhin (20-5-1) – 170lbs title
The first title of three is up next. Perälä hasn't been increddibly buzy with the title these days, opting for superfights instead. After winning the title from Conan at EVO Undisputed 2016, he went on to retain it against Nada at EVO 241. In the same time, he also went on to have superfights with Bjorn Helgi and #1 rank lightweight Ricki Rocker, ending both fights in losing fashion. The only 26-year old kickboxer will try to prove against Luzhin that he's still one of the best welterweights in the world.

Luzhin is getting a titleshot straight away in his EVO debut. Not an unwarrented shot though. Luzhin is the former UPG champion, and has not lost a fight in UPG, going on a five fight win streak. The 31-year old Ukrainian has the striking skills to match Perälä and posses some very deadly knees in the clinch. Expect this one to be a war.

Hector Camacho (30-6-0) vs Ozzy McKane (23-5-0) – 155lbs title
The second of three title fights is up next. Camacho has looked very impressive in his EVO run. He won the title in his debut, and hasn't let go of it since, only losing a superfight against Connemara. Camacho prefers to limit all danger, using his allround skillset to either keep his opponent at range, or grind him up on the ground, coasting to a decision.

Going to the ground might not be the best idea against McKane though. The Irish black belt has racked up eight submission wins in his career. He's coming over from Trinity, where he was a three time champion, as well as the reigning champion. Also winning the Evolution championship, might make him one of the greatest lightweights of all time.

Jon Hess (27-12-0 MMA, 15-2-0 KT) vs Giuseppe Maldini (32-19-0) – 265lbs title
Two heavyweights with a lot of fights under their belt go at it in the main event of the night. While both being 34, they already have a combined total of 108 fights. Hess hasn't been that long in EVO yet, but it only took him three fights to get to champion Brick Tires and defeat him by TKO. Hess sports some impressive power, finishing all his wins by (T)KO and is probably the best pure striker at heavyweight, maybe even in the whole world.

Maldini is no slouch in the striking department either though. The former champion is very powerfull, and always stays dangerous. He throws a very low volume of strikes, opting to keep his opponent at bay, until he can hit him with that one big shot. Faced, against the on paper better striker Hess, he might do something we rarely see though, and see him utilese his black belt. No love lost between Maldini and his opponent too, as Maldini called him “a fat mess” on buzz, and predicted that he “would go to sleep in round 4”. Watch EVO 249 tonight, to see if he follows up on his words.

[Timqwe]

Generation #24 - Blake vs Nicu

Main Card Preview

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Michael McGuire (5-0-0) vs Desmond Bradley (4-1-0) – 205lbs
Two quite inexperienced guys who both have their roots in Victory Combat League will meet in our first fight of the main card. 20-year old Michael McGuire is an undefeated boxer from the United States. It's being said that his actual strength lies in his kicking game, but to be honest, we haven't seen much of it yet. McGuire has opted to do the most damage from the clinch instead.

His opponent hails from a similar background, but has took his skills another way. Desmond Bradley also comes from a boxing background, but prefers to work at range. From there he mostly headhunts for the killshot. He has in his last fights that his takedown defence still needs work, something that costed him dearly in his last fight against Antoni Koscielski. He won't have to worry about that against McGuire though. Expect this to be a standup war between two VCL-alumni.

Magnus Magnusson (6-1-0) vs Sandu Lungu (9-4-0) – 265lbs
Two former champions meet in the first heavyweight fight of the night. Magnus Magnusson is the last champion of Hustle.mma and is currently on a six fight win streak. He's coming over in the merger with Rio Chain Gang, and will look to make a statement in his first fight for Generation. Magnusson is a physically imposing specimen, having some insane strenght. He packs that strength in everything he does, be it his crushing powerstrikes or his slamming takedowns. He even knocked out his last opponent with a slam.

Sandu Lungu is also making his debut, coming over from King Of The Beach. At KOTB, Lungu was a Hall of Famer and a former Superheavyweight champion. Lately, Lungu hasn't been going so hot though, losing 3 out of his last 4 fights. Lungu prefers to fight in the clinch, something he'll probably be looking for again in this fight. That way he'll have less chance to get hit by one of Magnusson's counters. To get there he combines low kicks and headpunches in his attack. Especially his punches to the head are very accurate and I wouldn't recommend being at the end of one of those.

Aedan Declan (8-1-0) vs Saul Goodman (8-1-0) – 185lbs

Another two fighters making their promotional debut. Aedan Declan comes over from KOTB, where he went 2-1, only losing to Kyrie Perry, who would later end up to be KOTB Middleweight champion. Apart from that, he's also a former Dignety FC champion. The Irish brawler is a kickboxing expert, throwing a lot of kicks to the body and legs every match. He's not the most powerfull striker, but he's very accurate, and will chop anyone up if you don't take the fight to him from the beginning.

Saul Goodman comes over from VCL, where he was the last reiging Middleweight champion. At VCL, he has looked unstoppable and he is now on an eight fight win streak. Goodman has incredible cardio and will probably look to take this fight to the clinch, where he can use his very accurate dirty boxing to grind down his opponent. He's no fish out of the water at range though. Goodman posesses some impressive boxing skills. His lack of a kicking game could put him in trouble against Declan though.

David C. Marvin (12-0-0) vs Yngve Stolt (8-0-0) – 170lbs title
Champion vs Champion, Undefeated vs Undefeated! We got ourself a fight here ladies and gentleman! David C. Marvin is a Generation original, making his promotional debut at Generation #1. We've all seen him so often, I barely have to explain what the game of this young man is. The comic-book loving fighter is a submission ace, highly trained in BJJ. He also has the wrestling game to match that, hitting 40% of his takedowns. That nummer might not seem that impressive, but when you combine that with the fact that he barely throws any strikes, that number gets much more impressive. If you're on the ground, your night is basically over; Marvin will relentelesly spam submission attempts until you give in.

Former and last reigning Rio Chain Gang champ Yngve Stolt does not believe in the onedimensional attack of his opponent. He adapts to the weaknesses of his opponent. He can fight both at range and in the clinch, although he has shown a slight preference for the former. There he unloads with highly precise strikes, both kicks and punches. He's also a BJJ brown belt, a skill he mostly uses defensive, but can be used offensive too, judging from his armbar win against Kristian Michels. Still, he'll look to let this one stay on the feet, because no one will want to get into a scrambling battle with Marvin.

Jake Blake (10-0-0) vs Iosue Nicu (13-2-0) – 205lbs title

Last but not least, a rematch for the Light Heavyweight title between challenger Iosue Nicu and undefeated champion Jake Blake. The Brazilian striker is going into his sixth title fight already. Blake isn't the most technical figher in the world, but he swings with devestating power and comes forward with ruthless agression. Blake is at his most dangerous in the second round, where lately everyone of his opponent has seemed to wilth under his relentless pressure.

Iosue Nicu might be the fighter who has performed the best against Blake though. The Romanian kickboxer actually managed to steal the first round in their last fight with a headkick that almost knocked Blake out, but couldn't finish it before the bell, and couldn't follow the champ in the second round. While Nicu might be one of the most talented strikers in the division, he has shown a tendecy to get in brawls that don't favour him, something he should avoid against the more powerfull Blake. I hope for him that his head is in the right place, because he didn't show much confidence in his chances for his fight. Let's hope it's a plot to paint himself as the underdog.

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Linial titles
A whopping four fights with linial titles on the line one of the a title unification fight.

Magnus Magnusson vs Sandu Lungu
Magnus Magnusson: Hustle.mma (265lbs)

Aedan Declan vs Saul Goodman
Saul Goodman: Victory Combat League (185lbs)
David C. Marvin vs Yngve Stolt
David C. Marvin: Generation (170lbs)

Ester Maverick → David C. Marvin: DiGNITY (170lbs)
Yngve Stolt: Rio Chain Gang (170lbs)
Jake Blake vs Iosue Nicu
Jake Blake: Generation (205lbs)

Iosue Nicu → Jake Blake: DiGNITY (205lbs)

Sameh Mahmoud: → Jake Blake: GAMMA Butt-Stompers (205lbs)

[Timqwe]

G #26- Black vs Napoleon

Main Card preview

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Peter Pan (10-7-0) vs Ralph Miller (5-2-0) – 145lbs

To start the main card off, we having traveling journeyman Peter Pan vs Generation original Ralph Miller. Peter Pan is coming over from KOTB. He used to be a title contender for his whole carreer, and used to be the undefeated Red Star Fighting champion. However, once he joined KOTB, he went through a rough patch, losing his first three fights in the org before finaly picking up the win. Pan is an submission artist, with some solid boxing skills. However, he relies on his opponents to make a mistake, instead of initaiting the fight. We've seen him sometimes get outpointed by strong topcontrol wrestlers and better strikers.

“Chicken Killer” Ralph Miller is a lot like Pan. He also likes to grapple, although he seems to favour the striking game a bit more than Pan does. Still, all of the former 145lbs titlechallenger's wins have come by submission. However, this time he meets a superior grappler, so he'll might have to find another way to victory.

Balder Torkelson (4-1-0) vs Giblert Melendez (8-2-0) – 185lbs

Two young fighters who have taken a very different aproach to their carreers in their first years meet next. Torkelson is an unexperienced fighter, who only once fought in an org, spending most his time on the regional circuit. On the regionals, he was unbeaten, but once he signed up with Extreme Mixed Martial Arts he went 1-1, winning his first fight, but losing to the champion. He hasn't had a fight in five months now, and judging from his training, he has improved immensely. Look for him to show off those new skills, mostly his vastly improved grappling skilled.

Giblert Melendez has been a lot more active in his career. Giblert was undefeated for his first 6 MMA fights, earning the KOTB Middleweight Championship, which he succesfully defended two times. On top of that, he's also 2-0 in kickboxing, and snatched the Elite KT belt, before that organisation went defunct. However, Giblert has hit a rough patch in his carreer, losing his championship to Kyrie Perry and losing his fight with Irish striker Aeden Declan after that. The Mexican striker will look to avoid going on a three fight losing streak. If he loses, I expect to not see him for a while, because quite honestly, his game has some holes that need to be filled.

Slavko Pakula (7-2-0) vs Ryo Rossi (7-3-0) – 265lbs

Enough regular sized man, time for some heavyweights. Pakula is not a huge heavyweight, standing at 1,88m and 260lbs, but is incredibly strong for his size. His preffered tactic is simple, get to the clinch, and cut his opponent up. He will use every part of his body to attack you there, using punches, elbows and sometimes knees to hunt for the knockout. His outside game ain't bad either. His output is kind of low, but he rarely gets hit and only really needs to survive there.

Ryo Rossi on the other hand is huge. Rossi has a walkaround weight of 290lbs and had to cut a lot to make weight, coming in at 265,4lbs. Rossi is a pure grappler, who has been with the organisation since Generation #4. He has a record of 4-2 in the org and is on a 3-fight winstreak right now. The younger Pakula seems to have the bigger upside of the two, but I wouldn't count out that the crafty Rossi surprises him with an sub.

Nameless Fighter (12-2-0) vs Tyrone Badass (10-3-0) – 145lbs
Two former fighters of different Rio-based orgs fight in the Co-main event of the evening. Nameless Fighter is making his Generation debut, coming over from KOTB. The American striker got late in the game, but he was able to overcome his late start, and do very well there, only losing to champion Chris Karter and dangerous submission artist Prathamesh Randhawa. While Fighter is a very good striker, his groundgame seems to be underdeveloped, he's still a white belt in BJJ.

In underdeveloped groundgame is not something you want against Tyrone Badass. The former RCG 135lbs champ is having his second fight in Generation, losing his debut against champion Crespo. Badass is a fantastic grinder, who gets up close with you, and peppers you with strikes, either from the outside, in the clinch or on the ground. He has however packed on a lot of muscle since his RCG days. If he loses this fight, maybe he should think about going back to 135lbs, where he had his biggest succeses.

Rod Black (16-4-0) vs Buster Napoleon (7-0-0) – 265lbs title

And now the main event! Heavyweight champion Rod Black takes on undefeated prospect Buster Napoleon. Black is one of the most experienced fighters you an fight in the 270k ID range. He started his carreer of on season 4 of the Island, where he was Syndicate Heavyweight champion. He joined the Org at Generation #10, where he immediatly won the title, and has gone 3-1 in the org, only losing a superfight to Orpheus Boagrius. Black started his career off as a submission artist, but since leaving the Island has transformed himself to a very strong clinchboxer. If needed, he still has his submission game to fall back to though.

On the other side of the cage is one of the hottest prospects in the sport right now. Buster Napoleon is on an undefeated 7-fight win streak. Biggest name in that streak is former KOTB-champion Sandu Lungu, who he defeated by first round-tko in his last fight. His skillset looks similar to Black's, although Napoleon is a bit more contend to stay at range, instead of instigating the clinch. We haven't seen much of his ground work yet, but he has a purple belt in BJJ, and what we've seen so far looks very promising. Has time caught up on Rod Black, or is he too much too soon for the you challenger. We'll see it tonight, don't miss it!

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Linial titles

Only one fight has linial titles on the line tonight:

Rod Black vs Buster Napoleon

Rod Black: Generation (265lbs)

Rod Black: DiGNITY (265lbs)

[Timqwe]

G#27 - Stolt vs Allen

Main card preview

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Cale Downes (8-9-0) vs Derrik Harris (6-5-0) – 145lbs

In our first fight of the main card, two featherweights will meet. Cale Downes has had an odd career. He started of at the Island, where he went 4-5 and missed weight two times when trying to fight as a bantamweight. After that, the submission ace kept fighting for Highland Challengers, before deciding to hit the regionals. After two fights on there, he went over to King of The Beach, where he lost his first two. Suddenly however, he seems to have turned a corner, picking up two wins in a row. Downes will look to use his jiu jutsu advantage against Harris, in his first fight for Generation.

Derrik Harris is also making his Generation debut. The British striker is coming over from Victory Combat League, where he had a 2-2 record. The fighter from Liverpool is a very strong striker, with some powerfull punches and a near unbreakable chin. In his previous fight he has shown too be quite easily submitted though. I favour Harris, but if it hits the ground, it could be a short night for him.

Herger Ysengrin (5-1-0) vs Ouje Bougoumou (4-0-0) – 155lbs title

The second fight of the main card, and we have our first title fight already. Despite only having fought 6 times, Ysengrin will go into his fourth title defence. Ysengrin is a very allround fighter. He prefers to take his opponent to the ground, where he can land ground and pound, but has shown to be strong everywhere the fight goes, even hitting 77% of punches aimed at the head. On top of that he's managed by current #1 manager Wolf, so everything points to Ysengrin being champion for a while.

He's taking on a very dangerous prospect though. Bougoumou is probably one of the few who's star shines as bright as Ysengrin's. The Canadian is still undefeated, and has held the MMAHelsinki championship, winning it in only his second fight. He's coming of a split decision win against Zopitty-Bob-Bob-Bob. His game looks a lot like Ysengrin's, but Ouje is more of a pure boxer, who never throws kicks, and instead of striking on the grounds, opts to control his opponent as look for submissions. The most impressive part of his game is his boxing though, where he hits an increddible 88% of headstrikes.

Sameh Mahmoud (9-1-0) vs Anthony Bourdain (6-4-0) – 205lbs

Two fighters trying to state their case for a Light Heavyweight title shot up next. Mahmoud made his Generation debut at Generation #17, losing to the champion Blake. However the Iraqian fighter bounced back by grinding out a decision win over Eugene Gael. He hit four takedowns in that fight, a gameplan we haven't seen in a while from him. Mahmoud will try to show that with his newly improved skills he's ready for another shot at the champ.

Don't be fooled by Anthony Bourdain's mediocre looking record, this men is one of the best the division had to offer. If you take into account that three of those losses where against two-time title challenger Iocue Necu, it starts to look a bit better. Bourdain is an excellent striker, with some powerfull kicks, which he likes to throw to both the legs and the body. He made is Generation debut at G#21, where he disposed of William Holbert only ten seconds in the second round. However, he has shown te be controlable when it hits the ground, and against a strong wrestler like Mahmoud, he'll have to make sure that this fight stays at striking range.

Roderick Solo (10-1-0) vs Walter Kurtz (8-0-0) – 185lbs

It's the battle of baldheaded prospects! These two men are two of the most talented guys the middleweight division has to offer. Roderick Solo has only lost once in his career, to our champion, Gunji Koizumi, where he refused to tap to the champions rear naked choke, instead passing out. He bounced back by knocking down Hugo Carmody and finishing him with strikes in a fight he was up till then losing. That's part of Solo's style though. He isn't the most accurate striker, but what he hits, he hits with a vengeance, and every shot could be the end of the fight.

However, if there is one man that frightens me more than Solo, it's Walter Kurtz. I'm serious, don't leave me alone in a room with this man, I've heard him mumbling about cutting out organs! And while I'm afraid we might see an actual in cage death one day with this man, he's also one of the most talented prospects in the world. Through his career, Kurtz has prefered to drag his opponents to the ground, where he tired them out with his very active grappling, until he could latch on to a submission. However, lately, Kurtz has been showing off his improving striking game, knocking out Bobby Bones in the first round and mixing it up against Kirkland, where he het 34 of his 39 punches to win the unanimous decision. With this new wrinkle to his game, it will probably only take one more win for “Renegade” to earn a title shot.

Yngve Stolt (9-0-0) vs Parker Allen (7-1-0) – 170lbs title

And now the moment we've all been waiting for. Undefeated champion Yngve Stolt takes on KOTB champion Parker Allen. Stolt shocked the MMA world by defeating longreigning champion David C. Marvin in his last fight, putting the first ever loss on the record of the Hall of Famer. Scoring 49-46 on all the judges scorecards, Stolt showed some impressive submission defence, and when on the feet, made sure he did enough to outscore Marvin. The Swedish striker will now look to defend his title against Parker Allen, unifying four linial titles in the progress.

Parker Allen is no pushover though. The 22-year old striker is on a 5 fight win streak, three of those fights title fights. While he isn't particulary big for the division, he looks small enough to make 155lbs, that never has hindered him. He actually prefers to muscle his opponents in the clinch, where he pours on the strikes until his opponent crumbles. However, he might be one of the few that can match Stolt standing up. While he mostly uses his boxing to set up his clinch attempts, Allen has shown that he can also more than hold his own in a pure kickboxing match.

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Linial titles

A whopping 9 linial titles are on the line. With these fights, all the current linial titles in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions will be unified.

Herger Ysengrin vs Ouje Bougoumou – 155lbs

Herger Ysengrin: Generation

Dag Daghammar → Herger Ysengrin: Kotb

Ouje Bougoumou: MMA Helsinki

Roger Frost → Beezow Doo-Doo Zopitty-Bop-Bop-Bop → Ouje Bougoumou: Gods Fight Club

Roderick Solo vs Walter Kurtz – 185lbs

Walter Kurtz: Laamb Lutte MMA

Yngve Stolt vs Parker Allen – 170lbs

Yngve Stolt: Rio Chain Gang (170lbs)

Yngve Stolt: Generation (170lbs)

Ester Maverick → David C. Marvin → Yngve Stolt: DiGNITY (170lbs)

Parker Allen: Kotb (170lbs)

[Timqwe]

Lighthouse 1 Main Card Preview

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Jake Houghton (2-1-0) vs Herra Hiiri (1-0-0) – 170lbs

The first fight of our main card is between two fighters who are, to start of with a cliche, virtually identical. Same height, very comparable in skills and almost the same weight. British brawler Jake Houghton has the small experience advantage of the two. He already has three fights under his belt, starting his career with two first round knockouts, before dropping a decision to his pre-Island aquintence Bob Shimmy.

Herra Hiiri lacks the experience Houghton has, but he has a manager who has a proven Island manager in his cornor. ErkkI Perähikiä entered the Island last year with his prospect Pyry Kontio, where they captured the Highland Island and Island Combat belts, on top of having some insane battles with other Island toppers like Alexander Vermeer and Kingsley Babajide. Hiiri is his new hopefull. He debuted on the Island regional scene by dispatching off DJ Scribble with a three whopping 30-24 scorecards. Rumors have been that Hiiri is impossible to knock out, even heavyweight training partners have fallen short. The power of Houghton vs the durability of Hiiri, I don't see how this one could be boring

Anthony Cormier vs Malaquias Teixera – 170lbs

The next matchup also takes place in the welterweight division. Where the last fight had two fighters with comparable bodytypes, here it couldn't be any different. Anthony Cormier is a 2-0 fighter from Australia. For his debut at Lighthouse he's moving up in weight, having competed in the lightweight division before. Even fighting up, he's still taller than his opponent, having a 4 cm height advantage. That might turn out to be a great advantage, since both fighters seem to prefer to stay on the outside, and throw punches from there.

Teixera might give up a bit in height, but don't be mistaken, he's a lot bigger than Cormier. Where Cormier weighed in at 163 pounds, Teixera actually had to cut down to 170. The American from San Diego is one of the most experienced guys in the org, sporting a 4-1-0 record, with his sole loss coming in his debut. He has shown himself to be quite the powerpuncher, scoring three first round knockouts already. He might need to try to fight against his usual instincts though, fighting against the more classically trained boxer. His Muay Thai might be better served dirtying the fight up in the clinch.

Co-Main Event: John Dodson vs Igor Laponov – 145lbs

In our co-main event we have two guys who will both try to make their case to be in the first Lighthouse Featherweight title fight. Both of these guys come into this matchup with a 2-0 record, but they did it with very different styles. Dodson is a smaller featherweight, coming in at 142lbs and 173 cm. He doesn't let his small stature stop him though. Dodson has never seen a second round, overwhelming his opponents with lightning fast powerfull punches. His opponents have so little room to breathe, he's only been hit once in his career.

He's not the only one who has seemed near untouchable though. Igor Laponov also has been hit only once in two fights. Only that is not because of his standup skills, but because he keeps taking them down before they can hit him. When he's standing he'll sometimes throw a kick, but mostly it's takedowns takedowns and more takedowns. Once he gets it to the ground he doesn't care if he's on the top or the bottom, he will keep throwing up submissions till one of them sticks. We'll see who prevails in this old school battle of the styles.

Main event: Cloud Strife vs Francis Hooper – 265lbs

The last fight on the card sees two of the most well known heavyweights square off. Cloud Strife was first signed with competitor Revolution Island, but after a conflict between matchmakers and fighter they decided to part ways. Strife decided to try his luck in Lighthouse instead, becoming the face of the first batch of Lighthouse signings. Strife is one of the most experienced guys in the org, going 5-1 on the regionals, only losing to current Revolution title challenger Zyd Xyd. The Japanese fighter with the anime hairdo is a standup specialist. He's a decent boxer at range, but his real strength lies in the clinch, where he grinds down his opponents till they can't take it no more. If he gets his hands on you, you're not getting out of them any more.

The strength in the clinch does not promise good things for Hooper. The sole loss of the 2-1 fighter came mostly by getting outworked in the clinch. Oddly enough, his both wins came from fighting in that area too. Maybe Hooper just was not on his game one day. What the massive heavyweight (he cuts down to 265) should prevent at least is a battle longer than a round. Hooper is hard to knock out, but his wins both came under 40 seconds, which leaves serious questions about his gastank, which could hurt him against the grinder Strife. On the other hand, Strife will have to get past Hooper's power first, something that will always be a risk.

[Timqwe]

For the BFF Light Heavyweight Tournament

 

BigLarry/Leonstolz vs Philofthefuture/Stef Power

 

Eddie Nordon vs Joyce Manaloto
Eddie Nordon first burst upon the scene taking on Floppy Dick in the regionals. Unfortunately, he ended up losing to the more experienced fighter in just 43 seconds, but his vaunted power made his opponent wince on every landed shot, a valuable attribute at the higher weights. On the other hand, the quick loss does raise some questions about how well his chin will hold up. Nordon is a lifelong Muay Thai practitioner, who seems to prefer boxing with his opponent.

Staying at range will probably be the last thing Joyce Manaloto wants. The Philippian brawler will make his pro-debut in this tournament, but from what we’ve heard from his coaches, he is both well versed in Muay Thai and wrestling. Even though Joyce is the taller and lighter fighter, he’s probably going to try and chase down Nordon, who is going to try to pick his shot on the incoming bruiser. The longer it stays at range, the better chance Nordon has, but if it hits the cage, Manaloto will probably take over and grind out the win.

Paul Tyler vs Stef Power Jr.
Paul Tyler comes in the tournament with a serious background. The former Division-I wrestler already made his debut in the regionals, where he managed to take down the Japanese striker Sanada an impressive 7 out of 7 times. While he didn’t get much done on the ground, he picked up an easy 30-27 decision this way. Apart from his collegial wrestling background, it seems like Tyler has dabbled in submission grappling, attacking Sanada with a variety of chokes and limb attacks. His inability to finish those though, suggests that there might be some work in the gym for him left.

Unfortunately for Tyler, it seems like Power Jr. is a bit more well-versed in the art of submission grappling. Manager Stef Power has sent his own son in to the tournament, after an impressive debut on the regionals, where Stef managed to let the 7 years older Ortiz tap to strikes, after dismantling him on the feet. There he showed an impressively accurate boxing game and his coaches have told me that he has a blue belt in BJJ to back it up. This seems like a pick your poison type matchup for Tyler. If he has worked on his submission defence, he has a good chance of grinding out the win, but if he hasn’t, it’s only time until he gets caught in something.

 

Fuel4Hatered/Ikki Takeda vs Grant Brophy/KD

 

Billy Basher vs Jansen Eriksen
New Zealand’s Billy Basher is an absolute giant in the Light Heavyweight division. The redbearded giants stands at an impressive 6’8” and cuts down from 220lbs to make the division. Are is not much known about the giant other than that, other than that he comes from a Muay Thai background. His size and strength is going to make it a tough first round for any opponent, but we’ll have to see how well his cardio holds up after that.

On the complete opposite of the spectrum is Danish bruiser Jansen Eriksen. At 6’1”, without the need to cut any weight, Eriksen is one of the smaller fighters in the tournament. He already has made his debut in the regionals, where he managed to counter every takedown attempt Jamaican wrestler threw at him, and knocked him out in just 45 seconds. Power, speed, defences against grapplers, the Scandinavian striker seems to have it all, and has established himself as one of the early favourites. It’s going to be interesting to see though, if his investments in beating grapplers will come vback to bite him when he has to take on a pure striker in Basher.

Rick Waters vs Jesse Killpatrick
The other side of this matchup sees two debuting grapplers face of against each other. Rick Waters is one of the most decorate grapplers in the tournament, sporting a brown belt. The question is, does he have the tools to get the fight to the ground to make use of that brown belt? Since Waters seems to have invested most of his training time in his boxing, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.

Getting the fight to the ground is not usually a problem for High School All American Jesse Killpatrick. The stocky wrestler from Seattle is a major talent in wrestling, who decided to fully skip college to compete in this tournament. His lack of BJJ training might see him try to keep this one standing though, there is no way his white belt grappling is enough to fend off Waters vast collection of submissions. That means we might get to see a boxing match between two fighters that have not that much boxing expertise. Waters seems slightly further along boxing wise, and his 7cm reach advantage will come in handy, but striking battles at this level often come down to athleticism, chin and power, and that we will only find out when these two fighters make their debut.

 

Humble Greco/Scotty JoeC vs Rei Rei/Patrick Trevis

 

Damian Joyner vs Mamed Ramzanov
This matchup will finally answer the question, which is better, catch wrestling or sambo. Damian Joyner is a catchwrestler from LA, who is going to make his debut in this tournament. Not much more is known about him, other than that will be the first time he is going to leave LA, to fight on the other side of the world in this tournament. According to his coaches though, he’s a natural who managed to pick up the sport incredibly fast.

On the other side of the ring stands Mamed Ramzanov. The Dagestan sambofighter that trains in London will have his second match, after submitting 25-year old striker ItalianoSausigie in just 18 seconds. The Russian might be slightly behind Joyner as far as progress goes, but his gymvideos show that he’s able to get out of the tightest submissions. Expect these two to trade submissions back and forth.

Garry Willes vs Ibubesi Mbube
If the last matchup was a fight between light, fast grapplers, this fight is a match between muscles. Two guys that cut down all the way from 220lbs to make the limit will square of against eachother. Their styles couldn’t be more different though. Garry Willes actually used to wrestle at heavyweight in college, where he once tipped the scales at 240lbs. Here he’s going to have to do the huge cut to 205. What the size gives him is a downright nasty top game and a lot of power behind his strikes.

Mbube on the other hand wants nothing to do with the ground. The striker from Zimbabwe is the only African fighter in the tournament and hopes to do the entire continent proud. Even in Japan we’ve heard the stories about his freak strength, where he drags broken down vans down the street as a strength training. It’s going to be interesting to see him going up against someone who can come close to matching his raw power.

 

Skenoj/Gonzasco vs Los Mags/Neon Richards

 

Migo Tello vs Yuri Luzhka
The first of the last two fights is very interesting, not just because of the fighters, but because of the managers. Los Mags is the one that mentored Skenoj and taught him the game. Will the student become the master, or is the day not just there yet? Their background comes back in their clients. Tello and Luzhka are both BJJ brown belts with some wrestling expertise. They are also the same weight, both walking around at 205lbs, but the 6’2” American towers over the 5’10” Russian.

The experience here lies in favour of the Russian. He already made his debut on the regionals, armbarring the 7 year older catchwrestler Rounds. For Tello it will be his debut. Will this experience help out the Russian Luzhka, or has Tello managed to take advantage of the extra training time, expecially since rumor is he’s a natural at the sport, picking up new techniques as he sees them?

Genji Kamogawa vs James Romero
The last fight of this round sees the only hometown fighter make his MMA-debut. Genji Kamogawa seems to be an all-round mixed martial artist that prefers to fight against the cage. Other than that the Tokyo resident training in London is with 6’2 215lbs slightly above average for the tournament. The only weak spot in his game seems to be his jiu jitsu, since he’s only a white belt in that.

That weak spot means that he’s going to have to do everything in his power to keep this fight on the feet. Just like his Russian teammate, US born James Romero is a BJJ-specialist with a brown belt, although he seems to be slightly lagging behind in the wrestling department. His first fight on the regionals he ended up losing to journeyman ZB Penduko, but at the same time he managed to survive 3 rounds against the 8 year older more experienced fighter. He’s going to need that durability once again, because Kamogawa is a very good defensive wrestler, but if he manages to get it down, he should finish the fight in mere seconds. That’s a big if though.