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Inferno Combat Series - Smack Talk Thread


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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES 29 PREVIEW

LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 29! In the booth with me tonight is the brash Furious Styles!

Styles: Brash? Nah, I’m just not one to mince words, that’s all. Everyone here is grown, or they should be, and since we’re all adults, we can all take whatever commentary is spoken about whatever topic!

Xavier: That may be the case on the surface but it’s impossible to know the psychological and emotional damage certain comments may have upon others. That’s why we’re here to report the facts and not insult anyone.

Styles: People like it when I talk crap, especially when I talk about the odd names that sound like SAT questions.

Xavier: I have no doubt that there are many people who are entertained by your perspectives and barbs, but we should try to keep such things to a minimum because that’s not our job.

Styles: You do what you do, and I’ll do what I do!

Xavier: Fair enough. Tonight, we have another tremendous lineup of action and intrigue in store for all of you ICS fans, so let’s get down to it!

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: ULYSSES BLAZKOV (9-5; CURRENT STREAK: 3 LOSSES)
VERSUS
UEDA UMANOUKE (30-24; CURRENT STREAK: 7 LOSSES)

 

Xavier: To say this battle represents an excellent opportunity for both of these behemoths to turn the tables is an understatement! When you have two fighters who have a combined losing streak of 10 fights in a row, there’s definitely an issue to be overcome. Make no mistake, both of these warriors are very capable men and they’ve obviously enjoyed various degrees of success, but their struggles as of late can’t be ignored. “The Golden Bear” hails from Kriva Krusha, Macedonia, and represents YABAI in this fight. Looking at what he’s shown in the cage, this massive man has world class boxing skills, world class Muay Thai skills, outstanding grappling and a brown belt to round out everything. Needless to say, he can get the job done in the cage and I have no doubt Umanouke is well aware of what the 27-year-old is capable of! A 7-fight win streak has been his best while his current losing streak has been his worst. It’s very obvious that Blazkov doesn’t have nearly the same level of experience that Umanouke has but in this particular weight class, I think having combat experience is minimized because every single hit these men absorb is like being blasted by a large rock! Currently with his second management team, he captured a championship when he defeated Frank Greene at MMAHelsinki – 9 in the second round by TKO. Looking at the overall body of work, Blazkov has wrecked many a jaw and he’s only been involved in two fights that have gone past the second round, so he either gets the job done quickly or he gets laid out quickly! He’s only had one battle end in submission, so knockouts are the name of the game with him. Since he’s been knocked out four times, and with more concern about his last three fights ending in him being knocked out, the cause for concern about his ability to absorb power while remaining effective in a fight. He’s slightly taller and a good amount lighter than Umanouke, and he’ll use these facets to win this fight by knockout because he’ll be able to outmaneuver Umanouke and get the angle he’s looking for!

Styles: “The Yatomi Brawler” is hurting, plain and simple! To lose seven fights in a row is disheartening, to say the least! The big man from Japan, Yatomi, Aichi, specifically, is a bit unusual for a large man because he’s more focused and capable on the ground, and we just don’t see that often with the big boys. Having an unusual and unexpected approach, at least unexpected for a while, certainly pays dividends, but after a while, like all fighters, their abilities become known and battle strategies have to be flexible for any given situation. The 38-year-old proud warrior is solid in the standup with very good boxing skills and respectable Muay Thai ability. However, as I highlighted, he’s outstanding in grappling and has a black belt, so he’s definitely dangerous in the horizontal plane! He’s with his second management team and has obviously been with them for a long time. The good news for Umanouke is he can rely upon championship experience just as Blazkov can. Umanouke had his first taste of being a champion when he defeated Quetzal Montezuma at NO ESCAPE by way of unanimous decision. Being a multi-time champion is definitely an advantage but, obviously, the last seven fights have been one hell of a nightmare for him! A 9-fight win streak has been his best while his current losing streak has been the worst of his career. Since he has so many fights to his resume, the accumulation of damage is certainly high and there’s no doubt that Blazkov is going to be very aggressive in this fight and try to lay on the damage early and often to test the older warrior’s ability to stand up to his power. What’s concerning for Umanouke is he has bled quite a bit in recent fights. In fact, he lost four fights in a row due to bleeding too much! The potential is here for him to bleed out, so he’ll have to get this fight to the ground as fast as possible and force Blazkov to tap, and that’s exactly what he’ll do!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Umanouke by KO; Xavier – Blazkov by KO

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: MICHAEL BRAKELEY (28-18; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
MON STER (20-18; CURRENT STREAK: 3 LOSSES)

 

Styles: “The Wolf” brings his loud, brash, bird-flippin’ style from The Compost of Kent, England, and the 41-year-old brawler will keep on fighting until his body tells him he can’t go on anymore! Brakeley has bounced around a bit and he’s currently with his fifth management team. Typically, that kind of diversity can prove to be troublesome and potentially detrimental to a fighter because they may feel doubt about themselves and their capabilities. However, much to Brakeley’s credit, he managed to become a champion, finally, when he defeated Tee Nah by KO at XF 30 in the first round! Give him a world of credit for that because he had a total of seven title opportunities and until that win over Tee Nah, he lost five of them. He could have easily been disheartened and called it quits, but he kept coming back for more and eventually cemented himself as a champion. Brakeley has Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, solid grappling and a purple belt. The assumption is he’ll want to keep this fight in the vertical plane where his skillset is best suited, especially since he’s the taller man in this fight. Additionally, from what we’ve seen, Ster is more accomplished in the ground game so Brakeley doesn’t want to push his luck on the mat if he doesn’t have to. At no surprise to anyone, Brakeley has dished out a lot of punishment and has absorbed a lot of punishment as well. A 6-fight win streak has been his best while a 3-fight losing streak has been his worst. I think the strategy tonight is pretty obvious and Brakeley will need to counterattack the younger and presumptuous more skilled Ster. Since Brakeley has a solid height advantage in this fight, look for him to stay on the outside and use that reach advantage as much as possible while Ster tries to get inside of his defenses. Brakeley doesn’t want to have a clinch battle with Ster so he’s going to have to let the strikes fly if and when Ster breaks his defenses because the younger fighter will push the pace of this fight. Brakeley wins this tough battle by knockout!

Xavier: Ster is four years younger than Brakeley and has fewer battles to his credit, but only six fewer. At this stage of their careers, I don’t think that’s much of a factor at all because they’ve seen it all and have done it all! It will be difficult for either man to catch the other off guard because they basically know every trick in the book, so patience and execution are the name of the game in this fight. Ster has Golden Gloves boxing ability, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt as well. On paper, Ster has his pick of the litter, so to speak, as to which area of the mat he wants to try and dictate the pace of this fight. He can either keep it standing and test Brakeley’s ability to hang with his speed and intensity, or Ster can opt to take this fight to the ground and frustrate Brakeley while he controls the pace and space of the fight. Smart money says he takes this fight to the ground as soon as possible and controls the action there to avoid unnecessary damage while making Brakeley fight his fight and that’s exactly what Brakeley doesn’t want to do. Ster has had many management teams and similar to Brakeley, he fought through the diversity and was able to cement himself as a champion! He lost his first title opportunity but when he defeated Lord Beaverton by TKO at AFC #12: Cage Champions late in the third round, he etched his name in the history books as a champion. A 4-fight win streak has been his best while a 3-fight losing streak has been his worst. The problem with that is the three fights have been his last three. He’s going to have to get things turned around in a hurry because it’s bad enough he’s lost three in a row, and he definitely doesn’t want to add to the losing streak. Ster gets this fight to the ground and makes Brakeley tap out!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier- Ster by Submission; Styles – Brakeley by KO

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION: PETER BARNKVIST (17-19; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
BUDDY BARNETT (16-8-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: It’s not often we see a fighter with a losing record, and Barnkvist is very well aware of that fact. The 34-year-old Swede from Uppsala has obviously had an up-and-down career and wants to round out his career in excellent form. He’s solid in the standup with very good boxing and Muay Thai skills, but grappling is where he makes a living. He’s an Olympic-level grappler who also has a brown belt, so he obviously favors the ground game and I expect that be on display in this fight against Barnett. He’s with his second management team and has been with them for a long time, so he knows what to expect from them and vice versa. He recently had a 3-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Ri Zaadha at ICS 18 by unanimous decision, so he obviously wants to reverse that course and get back into the win column tonight. A 6-fight win streak has been his best while a 4-fight win streak has been his worst. Barnkvist has been involved in a good number of fights that have gone the distance, so if that’s the case tonight, he won’t be uncomfortable in terms of his conditioning. An area of concern for him, however, is the number of times that he’s been forced to take a nap in the cage! He’s been knocked out five times so there is concern about his ability to withstand striking power, but that may not be an issue tonight if he can get the fight to the ground where he can avoid being flat out knocked out plus give himself a chance to move ahead on the scorecards while damaging Barnett and potentially setting him up for the tapout finish. Barnkvist does have some knockout victories to his credit so Barnett can’t be careless in his approach to this fight because he could very well find himself on the wrong end up a brutal uppercut if he exposes his chin too long! Barnkvist wins this fight by submission!

Styles: The 27-year-old Barnett represents the LEGION OF DOOM in this fight, and the St. Louis, Missouri, product is seven years younger than Barnkvist, so the possibility that he comes out very aggressive in this fight to test the older Barnkvist’s endurance is an absolute possibility! Speaking of endurance, Barnett’s trainers indicated to me they have some concern with Barnett’s energy level for this fight. Typically, he’s fully rested and ready for war but it appears he did extra training without his training team knowing about it, and since that may be the case, he sems to have over trained for this fight and thus, when he arrived at the venue for this fight, his team was caught off guard and definitely disappointed! This fight will be very interesting due to the fact that both of these warriors prefer to test an opponent’s ability to hang with them on the ground, and since neither of them like the standup nor look too comfortable there, expect to see a lot of high level technical grappling and submission attempts in this fight. I have no problem with that because I like to see a pure battle of wills, and that’s exactly what this fight is going to end up being. Barnett has respectable boxing and Muay Thai skills, but he has outstanding grappling and a black belt to support that, so expect to see these men try and twist one another like human pretzels and whoever can display the better pain threshold will be the one to win. A 5-fight win streak has been his best while dropping 2-fights in a row has been his worst. Barnett had his first taste of gold when he defeated Moe Lester, damn that’s a messed up name, by Guillotine at KONFLIKT FC IX in the second round! Barnett will have to rely upon that championship mettle in this fight because of his reported lack of energy. A veteran like Barnkvist will definitely take advantage of Barnett’s energy situation so Barnett is going to have to come out like an explosion, get this fight to the ground, and make Barnkvist tap, because if this fight lingers, Barnett will absolutely be in trouble! Barnett wins by submission!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Barnett by Submission; Xavier – Barnkvist by Submission

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: YACOB NILSEN (20-11; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
SIONE FETI (1711; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Styles: Nilsen, the tattooed Swede from Oxelosund and another representative of the LEGION OF DOOM brings his Golden Gloves boxing, very good Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and black belt into this fight tonight! The 32-year-old warrior is with his second management team and with his first team, he managed to become a champion by defeating Anthony Johnson at The Beatdown: CHAMPIONSHIP by TKO in the first round. In fact, that title victory occurred during a 9-fight win streak, the best of his career to date. A 2-fight losing streak has been his downside so his ability to, so far, avoid losing three fights in a row is a nod to his fighting ability. That championship experience is very reliable and he’s undoubtedly hoping to achieve that level of success once again with his current management team. During that winning streak, he knocked out a good number of opponents and the majority of his fights have ended in knockouts and TKO’s, but lately his fights have gone the distance, so if he’s unable to score the knockout he seeks against Feti tonight, he has no qualms about taking this fight the distance while avoiding major damage and causing, obviously, as much damage as possible while scoring vital points on the scorecards. He’s been knocked out six times so questions have been raised about his chin. Said questions will definitely motivate him to make this a grappling battle that he can frustrate Feti with while ensuring he doesn’t taste canvas much sooner than he wants. Since he’s slightly shorter and weighs less, look for him to counterattack with fast and accurate strikes until he’s able to score the counter takedown where he can secure the submission by methodically making Feti defend transitions while doing his best to avoid exposing himself to any number of submissions that Nilsen knows. Nilsen wins this fight by submission!

Xavier: “Thumper”, the 29-year-old brawler from New York City, has Golden Gloves boxing ability, world class Muay Thai skills, excellent grappling and a brown belt to balance it all. With his obvious standup skills, this fight becomes yet another classic standup versus ground fighter battle, and typically, the first man to get the opponent into their realm, so to speak, emerges the winner the vast majority of the time. Feti is three years younger, and while that’s not a major age difference, it could be enough of a difference in terms of energy and the ability to maintain a fast pace from start to finish. Feti is the taller and heavier man, and in this fight, that definitely works to his advantage because he can step into his punches and that means more power. More power, if and when it hits, means more damage, and Feti definitely needs to cause Nilsen as much damage as possible, as quickly as possible, because the longer this fight goes, the better the chance that Nilsen drags this fight to the ground where Feti doesn’t want to be. The consistency of being with one management team typically ends up being quite an advantage but, much to Feti’s chagrin, that hasn’t resulted in a championship. When he put together a 5-fight win streak, many believed he’d have an opportunity to win a title but that obviously didn’t materialize. In fact, he recently strung together a solid four-fight win streak but that was halted by Scott Bapp by TKO in the first at ICS 22! A 3-fight losing streak has been the worst of his career but that’s not surprising because of his toe-to-toe fighting style. Looking at the entirety of his career, he’s been involved in some very tough and damaging battles! He’s knocked out a good number of people but, on the flip side, he, too, has been dropped to the canvas quite a bit. Against Nilsen, that actually works in his favor because I don’t think Nilsen has the power to knock Feti out, and that translates to Feti being able to be very aggressive while keeping this fight on its feet where he can best take advantage of Nilsen. Feti takes this fight by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Feti by KO; Styles – Nilsen by Submission

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: RICH SILVA JR. (16-8; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
LEONID MARTINYUK (14-6; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: “The Sleeping Giant” represents The Evil Empire tonight, and the Michigan product from Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines and the University of Michigan are, go blue, brings excellent all-around fighting ability into the cage tonight! Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a black belt make Silva Jr. very effective and dangerous in any given situation. His two wins to one loss ratio is an indication of his capability, and the 28-year-old knows consistency because he’s only had one management team. That has paid off for him because he earned the distinction of being called a champion when he defeated Luke Rockhard, Styles, don’t say a word, at RISE 37 in the first round by TKO!

Styles: Dude, you really expect me to stay quiet when his last name is Rockhard and he was in an organization called RISE!? You know damn well I have to at least comment on that!

Xavier: All right, you just did! Now, relax. Silva Jr. has put together a 4-fight win streak while he’s dropped 2-fights in a row at most. He has looked very good in his last two fights, winning both in the first round by Armbar and Guillotine, respectively, so his submission game is on point, which means Martinyuk will absolutely need to be on guard about that because if he can’t defend himself should this fight go to the mat he’s going to end up in serious trouble! Silva Jr. does have some knockouts on his resume as well so Martinyuk can’t ignore his punching power and will need to ensure his striking defense is solid or this fight could be finished long before it goes to the ground. Likewise, Silva Jr. will need to ensure he keeps his chin tucked and his body bobbing and weaving, or he could be tasting canvas before he has any chance to try and get this fight to the horizontal plane. However, due to the momentum he’s taking into this fight, Silva Jr. will win this fight by submission!

Styles: “The Surgeon” brings his aggression and blood-stained battle gear into this fight as a representative of The Stepdads. The Russian dissector from St. Petersburg is nearly as equally balanced a fighter as Silva Jr. is from what we’ve seen in the cage. He’s physically nearly identical in height and weight as Silva Jr. so to me, there’s no major advantage or disadvantage in that regard, so intelligence and determination will win this fight tonight! As we’ve touched upon in a previous review, Martinyuk is with his second management team and, surprisingly, he hasn’t worn gold around his waist as of yet. That’s difficult to believe when he’s had a 5-fight win streak to his credit and has never lost two fights in a row! Having no losing streak is a tremendous feat in this business as I see it, and that speaks volumes about his capabilities along with his will to win. A certified knockout artist, every single fight he’s had has ended in an early ending! That aggression and power has obviously worked well for him, at least for the most part. All six losses on his record have been knockouts so the concern about his chin is warranted, in the very least. Silva Jr. can definitely expect a maelstrom right as the bell rings so he’d better be ready to match the intensity and rage Martinyuk will put on display or Silva Jr. will end up going nighty night much earlier than he’d like to! Martinyuk will do his absolute best to simply overwhelm Silva Jr. and remove the potential of this fight going to the ground. As long as Martinyuk keeps this fight in the standup, his power will simply be too much for Silva Jr. to handle and Martinyuk will emerge victorious by way of knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Martinyuk by KO; Xavier – Silva Jr. by Submission

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION: ANTI HALF ASSED (17-8-1; CURRENT STREAK: 3 WINS)
VERSUS
VALERIO BARTOLI (17-4; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Styles: Assed, the man who doesn’t like to visit barbershops, and maybe doesn’t shower much at all for that matter, steps out of the swamps of Bay Pines, Florida, and represents YABAI. I wonder if he’s the most controversial member of YABAI. Anyway, the 27-year-old steps into the cage with very good boxing ability, excellent Muay Thai skills, solid grappling and a black belt. Against Bartoli, that black belt will absolutely come in handy because from what I can ascertain, getting Bartoli to the mat and keeping this a grappling battle is the best approach that Assed can take. Working with his second management team, Assed has been able to put together a 6-fight winning streak while losing 2-fights in a row has been his longest slide. Assed has been knocked out three times so while that’s not a lot out of twenty-five total fights, that’s still enough for him to pay extra attention to Bartoli’s strikes while trying to set him up for takedowns. Assed does have seven knockouts to his credit and that’s enough to make Bartoli hesitate enough for him to not completely ignore Assed’s punching power either. The momentum he’s built up from winning the past two fights has been well timed because he’s facing an opponent who recently had a 3-fight winning streak snapped, and this is a prime chance for Assed to extend Bartoli’s slide while taking advantage of his own. Assed doesn’t have a championship as of yet but he’s still young enough to where he has an opportunity to earn a title shot in the near future if he can sustain his winning streak, especially if he can also knock out Bartoli. Avoiding Bartoli’s strikes as well as any clinching attempts is of utmost importance to Assed, and if he can manage to do that while capitalizing on counterattacks and takedowns, Assed will win this by submission!

Xavier: “Warhead” represents The Stepdads in this fight and the 28-year-old Italian from Firenze carries world class boxing skills into this fight, and those are supported by excellent Muay Thai skills, very good grappling and a brown belt. He and Assed are nearly physically identical so this is another battle that will come down to determination and heart. Though he’s had three management teams, he was able to capture multiple championships, and that experience will be very valuable tonight against a game opponent who doesn’t have that experience so Assed may not be able to find that extra gear if this fight gets very critical and time becomes of the essence. Bartoli has been able to put together an incredible 12-fight winning streak and those twelve wins in a row is how he began his career! Talk about bursting onto the scene and handling business! Toss in the fact he’s only been knocked out once and it’s easy to see why this man is very respected. Bartoli has knocked out many opponents so his striking power is still very impactful, effective and painful. Keeping this fight vertical is Bartoli’s best opportunity to knock Assed out because the longer this fight continues, the better the chance that Assed has to get this fight to the mat. Bartoli wants to avoid that despite being comfortable on the mat because there’s too much opportunity for him to score the knockout that he wants in this fight. Using speed, aggression and power, Bartoli is going to be all over Assed like he insulted his family lineage and ends up with the knockout tonight!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Bartoli by KO; Styles – Assed by Submission

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: SAMSON FORTIER (11-8; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
MIKE MURHAA (15-12; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: The 28-year-old fighter from Lome, Togo, represents Convicted Inc. tonight. World class boxing, very good Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt are what he’s earned heading into this fight. Although he’s only been with one management team, he hasn’t earned a title fight opportunity as of yet. He obviously wants to earn that right and to do that, just as obvious, winning will present that path of opportunity. Aggression is the calling card for Fortier and there’s only been one fight that didn’t end in a knockout or TKO. The fact he’s willing to stand toe-to-toe with fighters who have nearly as much knockout power as he does, if not more, I a testament to his pride, will and strength, but that does carry a heavy toll. Eight knockouts that he suffered have not stopped him from taking the aggressive approach and I expect nothing less tonight against Murhaa! A 3-fight win streak is his longest and a 2-fight losing streak is his worst. Only one of his fights has gone to the third round, as mentioned previously, so the aggression and power he either brings or has unleashed on him can turn the tide of battle in the blink of an eye. Murhaa had better prepare to face waves of energy and a lot of aggression, and if he’s not ready for that then this fight is going to be a short one, especially since Fortier has the more solid standup skills with a slight height advantage and the lighter weight. He should be much faster on his feet and that fits right into his style of fighting so expect Fortier to try and turn the lights out on Murhaa very quickly! Fortier wins this fight by knockout!

Styles: A 30-pound advantage is substantial in a fight like this because Murhaa can land very heavy and devastating strikes on Fortier while counterattacking his speed and aggression. If Murhaa is able to slow Fortier down enough in the early part of this fight, he can then get this fight to the ground and control the action from there. The 30-year-old Finnish fighter from Sjk represents the LEGION OF DOOM and his solid boxing and Muay Thai skills support Olympic-level grappling skills and a brown belt. He has a bit of an experience advantage in this fight but much like his counterpart, he hasn’t earned a title fight opportunity yet either, so this fight could very well be the catalyst of a championship fight in the near future. A 6-fight win streak has been his best so far while a 3-fight losing streak has been the longest slide. Very much like Fortier, Murhaa is known for knocking his opponents out with quickness and ferocity, but he has also eaten a good number of clean power strikes that have made him take a quick nap! Since his fighting style is similar to Fortier’s, Murhaa may be able to test his standup skills against Fortier’s to see if he can indeed withstand his striking power while seeing how Fortier reacts to his striking power. If Murhaa feels he can’t hang with Fortier’s power and speed, he can then try to lock Fortier in a clinch and drive him to the ground to make Fortier support his own weight plus Murhaa’s. That will eliminate the speed advantage Fortier will have in this fight and absolutely wear him down much faster. If Murhaa is able to slow him down enough then his multitude of submissions will be at his disposal, and that will be very bad news for Fortier. Murhaa wins this fight by submission!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Murhaa by Submission; Xavier – Fortier by KO

MIDDLEWEWIGHT DIVISION: ISPA MURHAA (24-7; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
CASPER TIMMERMANS (29-16-1; CURRENT STREAK: 3 WINS)

 

Styles: Here I was thinking that Ispa and Mike Murhaa were related, and I believe I’m correct about that. How about that, X? A family affair? The 29-year-old fighter from Sjk, Finland, represents The Stepdads in this fight and brings Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and a black belt. It’s no wonder this man has achieved such an outstanding record! His success and style of fighting has cultivated quite a following from fans and even people who don’t support him like his style of fighting, and that has helped his popularity soar. Currently with his second management team, while with his first, he was an absolute beast! He tore through his first seventeen opponents! A 17-fight win streak is absolutely astounding and that puts Ispa in rarified air! Needless to say, during that destructive path, he earned the right to be called a champion, and that occurred when he defeated Roman Divac by unanimous decision at IFC 46 Divac versus Murhaa. After losing that title in the wake of eight previous title defenses, Ispa has yet to see another title fight but that could definitely change in the near future. In his last fight against PutinYa On YerKiester, he looked sharp and focused, and as a result of that, he earned the TKO victory early in the second round. If he can sustain that kind of form when he squares off against Timmermans, he’ll be in very good shape. Ispa has enough knockouts to his name that Timmermans will have to respect his striking power and that could slow the attack approach that Timmermans plans to bring into the cage for this brawl. While Ispa definitely has a disadvantage in terms of in-cage combat, his championship experience, in my opinion, balances out that disadvantage, in the very least. Ispa wins this fight by submission!

Xavier: “Ol Skool” represents the Keyboard Warriors tonight, and the Gent, Belgium, product has shown us all that he likes to fight! In addition to his forty-six MMA fights, he also has five KT fights to his credit, so the 36-year-old is very well combat tested, to say the least. Currently with his second management team, Timmermans, very much like Ispa, was on an absolute tear right out of the gate of his career! He won a title in only his third fight and that came by way of unanimous decision over Aksel Stenger at Just Bleed 13/12! A 7-fight win streak has been the peak, while a 3-fight losing streak has been the low point. Timmermans is rolling at the right time because he brings in the momentum of a recent three fight winning streak and that means his confidence is high, and in a fight like this, that’s a very key element. Since both of these warriors have championship experience, they’ll have a difficult time trying to make the opponent fight their fight, so this could definitely boil down to a match of wits, if nothing else. Although Timmermans has some knockouts to his credit, I’m just not certain he has the power to stop Ispa in his tracks, so Timmermans may need to be extremely aggressive with accurate strikes in attempt to keep Ispa at bay while scoring crucial points on the scorecards. Due to Timmermans being seven years older, he’s going to have to try and end this fight fast and nasty while sustaining the flow of combat in the standup. Avoiding being taken the ground is paramount for Timmermans if he wants to give himself the best chance at victory tonight. Timmermans fires with all he’s got so he can land the first-round knockout and not have to concern himself with energy levels, defensive grappling or carrying extra weight while he possibly loses points on the scorecards. Timmermans wins this fight by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Timmermans by KO; Styles – Ispa Murhaa by KO

HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT: KVAME ZULU (26-8; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
ROSS KEMP (19-8; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: Now we have the first of two championship brawls for the night and “Brahma” Zulu, the Heavyweight champion, puts his title on the line against Ross Kemp! Zulu hails from New Xade, Botswana and he represents YABAI. His world class boxing, world class Muay Thai and Olympic-level grappling are supported by a brown belt, so he brings plenty of firepower to each fight and the fans love it! Currently with his second management team, Zulu has put together a highly impressive 9-fight win streak while a 2-fight losing streak is his worst. As expected in this division, all of his losses have been by knockout or TKO, and a point of concern is that he’s lost six fights by bleeding too much, so Zulu knows he has to finish off his opponents as fast as possible because the damage he can take potentially take in each battle definitely leads to the possibility of him bleeding like a stuck hog, and he absolutely wants to avoid that at all costs! There have only been two fights that weren’t finished early and he won both of those, so he has the lung power and determination to finish a fight that stretches the length of the entire match, but no big man wants to test endurance in battle. Getting in and getting out is the name of the game in this division, and Zulu definitely knows how to do that! He has a slight edge in combat experience, but more importantly, he obviously has championship mettle, and we know how invaluable that is, especially when facing odds such as these. Zulu has knocked men out and he, too, has made men bleed out, so he’s used to dealing with nasty, brutal suffering, but he’s also used to dealing devastation and ruthlessness. Six of his fights have made it to the third round so it’s not normal to expect Zulu’s fights to last long, and Kemp better be prepared for that type of onslaught tonight, because if he’s not, this battle could very well be finished before either man truly has the chance to warm up and work up a sweat! The champion keeps the title tonight with a nasty knockout!

Styles: I love Heavyweight fights and you know that, X! Nine times out of ten, they get in the ring, drop bombs, tear crap up, and leave with one man decimated and left in ruins on the mat until he can get himself together enough to stand up and let the loss sink in. The 27-year-old Englander from Stanhope knows full well what he faces tonight, and his world class boxing, world class Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and purple belt are a very good indication of what he’s capable of in the cage! Representing The GBU and working with his second management team, Kemp brings crushing power and finishing ability. None of his battles have ended in a decision, and that, X, tells the entire story! It’s either finish the opponent or get laid out and pay a heavy price for getting into the cage. A 5-fight win streak is his best so far while losing 2-fights in a row has been his longest slide. He obviously has earned the distinction of being a champion when he defeated Bernd Obermueller by Spinning Backfist in the first round at BFF 25: Obermueller vs. Kemp. This multi-time champion is ferocious, unrelenting and deadly, ladies and gentlemen, and he will definitely push Zulu to the limits tonight! Only two fight have ever gone to the third round so Zulu knows he’ll have punishing power to deal with from start to finish and there will be nothing less. All eight of his losses have been by knockout and he does seem a bit susceptible to getting dropped by head kicks, so Zulu may very well try to stop this fight with a head kick, especially since he’s just a touch taller but lighter and presumably faster. Kemp will undoubtedly expect this and he obviously has the defensive skills to watch out for that but he can’t underestimate Zulu’s kicking ability by any means. Kemp takes home the gold for The GBU tonight by dropping Zulu with pressured power that overwhelms the champion!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Kemp by KO; Xavier – Zulu by KO

MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT: LATROBE ARUNDEL (18-2; CURRENT STREAK: 15 WINS)
VERSUS
ARJAN BHULLAR (31-13-1; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)

 

Styles: We’re once again graced by the presence of the man himself, X! The number one Middleweight in the business, period, steps into the cage tonight to once again prove why he is worthy of that moniker! World class in every aspect of battle with a black belt, there’s nothing this man can’t do, but what he does best is go in that cage and unleash hell! Both losses on his record are by submission and that’s always in the back of everyone’s mind, but let’s be honest, folks. The way he ends fights, with the exception of two victories that are unanimous decision victories over other legendary fighters, is what people talk about and what the people pay to see! Normally I’d comment about the nickname “Blast” but when a dude is a machine like this, I leave it alone because he’s a bad ass! Two fights have gone to the third round and one to the fifth. That’s a very good indication that this fight will not last long, ladies and gentlemen, and that’s no slight or disrespect to Bhullar by any means. Arundel is simply a force of destruction and it will take one hell of an effort from Bhullar, or anyone else for that matter, to slow said devastation and avoid becoming another victim. He first delved into being a champion when he defeated Max Chaos at BUDOKAI DENSETSU 2019 by TKO in the first round and hasn’t looked back since. This future Hall of Famer looks to continually cement his legacy but let it be known that there’s a price to pay for such fame and accomplishments. A massive target is on this man’s back and every fight he has will be one hell of a brawl because every opponent will step into combat with every ounce of his being because they want to be the one to dethrone the champion, especially one as cataclysmic is Arundel! However, it’s difficult to see the champion losing anytime soon and he adds another knockout victory to his resume tonight!

Xavier: The 32-year-old Canadian from Richmond, British Columbia, obviously knows what’s at stake tonight, ladies and gentlemen! He has an opportunity to become lore, plain and simple! Yes, he’s a Claymore Elite Combat champion and rightfully so, but this fight is a different animal in and of itself. World class boxing, very good Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and a black belt is what this member of The Stepdads brings into this fight. Currently with his second management team, he’s managed to run off a 7-fight win streak and become a champion, obviously, and that speaks about his devotion to bettering himself plus his abilities in the ring, especially to deal with pain and brutality! A 3-fight losing streak has been his worst but that doesn’t detract from his many accomplishments. Captain Gonza at ABW 156 Gonza – Bhullar found out what he’s capable of when he lost by TKO late in the second round to this man and Bhullar walked away as a champion. Similar to Arundel, Bhullar doesn’t leave too many fights to be decided by the judges, and I fully expect that intensity, determination and focus to be on full display in this fight! Yes, he’s been involved in more matches that have gone the full distance. Yes, he’s been tapped out twice just like Arundel, but one thing he’s never been the victim of his losing by TKO due to bleeding out. That is a factor in this fight, Styles, because that little detail could make Bhullar more brash when standing toe-to-toe against Arundel because he may very well want to test his ability to potentially make the man bleed. One obvious area of concern is the educated feet that Arundel has. Bhullar obviously has to watch out for Arundel’s punches but if he lets his kicks slip through his defenses, that’s going to be very costly! Bhullar’s striking defense better be on point like never before because he’s going to need to use every bit of his arsenal in this fight if he’s going to halt the pain train known as Arundel. I think Bhullar pulls off this win because he’ll dig very deep, fight through the pain, and land that one strike he needs to secure the win. Bhullar by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Bhullar by KO; Styles – Arundel by KO

 

Xavier: There you have it yet again, ladies and gentlemen! Furious Styles and I thank you as always for taking the time and energy to tune in to our show and give us your attention.

Styles: Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing has supplied us with great clothing and we thank them too, as always, right along with all of you good souls. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and we’ll see all of you at the fights!

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Valerio Bartoli

 

'' Deep respect to Anti ! We both stood and banged like true warriors. Now , i need to clear my name up and avenge the injustice that happened after my fight with Jack Daniels . If he decides to resign with Inferno ,i want a rematch ! This time with judges that will do their job properly. Just check the commentary of that fight and you ll know wtf i am talking about .''

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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES 31 PREVIEW

LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 31! In the booth with me tonight is the nefarious Furious Styles!

Styles: Nefarious? I like that! I’m definitely nefarious in some people’s eyes and I have no qualms with that whatsoever!

Xavier: Yes, you’ve made that rather clear. As usual, ICS has an outstanding night of fights lined up for all of you to behold and even though no titles are on the line, that doesn’t mean the intensity and importance isn’t there in each and every battle!

Styles: Adversaries will always make battles count no matter what’s on the line! Once the cage door closes, it’s on like Donkey Kong!

Xavier: Indeed, it is. Without further ado, let’s get down to business!

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION: ANDRIY VORONIN (21-13-2; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
HARRY “OPIE” WINSTON (26-25; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: Voronin, the 31-year-old fighter from Kiev, Ukraine, brings Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, very good wrestling grappling and a brown belt into this battle. Currently with his second management team, Voronin has strung together a 5-fight win streak as the longest in his career so far while he’s dropped 3-fights in a row at most. Not necessarily known for knocking out opponents, he has dropped twelve men during his career so he does have proven ability, but there were three times where he’s been knocked out, so he can’t be careless against Winston despite his solid knockout rate success! A feather in Voronin’s cap, as the saying goes, is he’s a multi-time champion. He first won a championship when he defeated Dave Wearmouth at CCF FN 15: Wearmouth versus Veronin. As we always say that experience is invaluable and can be leaned on in times of struggle or danger. He’s shown slight struggles against opponent’s with very good submission ability so that’s something else both he and Winston will have in the backs of their minds. Over the course of his last thirteen fights, he’s 6-6-1, so the struggle to establish and maintain a winning record has been difficult. Taking nothing away from his opponents, there’s cause for concern in terms of that lack of consistency. From what I can ascertain, Voronin doesn’t want to test the grizzled veteran’s abilities and skills on the ground, so keeping this fight standing is the path to victory to Voronin. Since he has enough knockout power in his fists, letting them fly and pushing the pace is his best chance of walking out of the cage as the victor tonight! Voronin will lock in tonight and he’ll figure out a way to get to Winston’s chin for the knockout win!

Styles: The wily veteran, Winston from Charming, USA, wherever that city is, obviously has the in-cage combat experience edge in this fight. The 37-year old has proven that he absolutely enjoys fighting and tonight will be his fifty-second one! That’s a hell of a lot of fight, folks, and since he’s currently one fight above the .500 mark, he obviously has enjoyed the ups and downs of this industry. One impressive facet that this veteran has established is he’s been with one management team for his entire career so there’s no doubt he knows what he brings to the table and his team knows what he’s all about inside and outside of the cage. Just like his opponent, Winston is a multi-time champion so neither of these men will be able to surprise the other, quite frankly. Wit can’t be underestimated by any means, but when two warriors have had this many fights between them, there is very little room for surprise or error, for that matter, because they know exactly how to deal with any openings that occur during this fight. Capitalizing on mistakes is the name of the game and both of them know how to get the job done. Over the course of his career, Winston has put together a winning streak of 4-fights in a row while his worst slide to date has been 6-fights in a row. I give a lot of credit to Winston for continuing to fight despite that six losses in a row because that takes one hell of a mental toll on anyone in this industry! His warrior spirit will definitely receive credit for keeping him in the cage, let alone his desire to be a great fighter. He began his career with a good mix of knockout and submission victories, so he gained the reputation of being a finisher. Along with that reputation, he has also caused some to question his ability to sustain a high level of activity and intensity over the duration of a fight if he’s not able to close out an opponent before the final bell rings. Every one of his losses during the losing streak resulted in unanimous decision losses, and that has been the case recently as well so that’s definitely a concern. His recent TKO victory over Sven Ludwig at ICS 21 was a bounce back of sorts because he had lost to the same man by TKO in their previous battle at ICS 15. Winston uses the momentum of his most recent victory, along with his world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and black belt, to win this fight by Unanimous Decision!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Winston by Unanimous Decision; Xavier – Voronin by KO

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION: “THE BAVARIAN BACHELOR” HERIBERT BOSCH (39-18-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
DEAN “THE CANDY MAN” CORLL (30-23-1; CURRENT STREAK: 2 LOSSES)

 

Styles: Bosch, the 37-year-old German from Trier, and representative of Keyboard Warriors, steps into this fight with a sleight edge in combat experience, but not enough for that to be major difference. Additionally, he’s only one year older than Corll so, similar to the first fight, neither of these men will be able to fool the other with any unexpected approaches to the fight. Bosh is a very solid all-around warrior with Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling a brown belt. He’s been with one management team for his entire career and that’s not common at all, X. That’s a major advantage because they know each other very well so no one is being thrown to the wolves, so to speak. A 5-fight winning streak has been his best and he’s managed to put together that many wins a few different times over the course of his career. A 3-fight losing streak has been his longest and, considering the number of fights he’s been in, that’s quite impressive. Looking at the gamut of his career to date, he’s been able to rack up some solid knockout victories, but overall, the fights he’s been involved in have gone the distance. There’s no question about his conditioning and ability to maintain pressure from start to finish, but due to him not having a lot of knockouts, it’s possible that Corll will feel he can be more aggressive than usual and stay in front of Bosch because he doesn’t feel threatened by his knockout power! Plus, Bosch has been dropped enough times to where Corll will feel emboldened enough to go for a knockout if the opportunity presents itself because the cumulative damage from all of those fights have undoubtedly taken their toll on Bosch and his chin may be susceptible to damage that Corll can potentially bring to the fight tonight! Bosch will need to start and finish with a high output of energy and accuracy to take this fight by unanimous decision!

Xavier: Slightly shorter but heavier than Bosch, Corll, the 36-year-old from Fort Wayne, Indiana, represents YABAI in this fight. World class boxing, solid Muay Thai, very good grappling and a brown belt is what he has in his toolbox for this fight tonight! As you touched upon before, Styles, Bosch has been knocked out a pretty good number of times over his career and due to that fact, Corll will do his best to keep this fight on its feet where he an utilize his very high level boxing ability and solid Muay Thai skills to test Bosch’s chin early and often. Currently with his fourth management team, he started his career very well and captured a championship during his time in MMAHelsinki. Specifically, he defeated Apache Creed by TKO late in the third round at MMAHelsinki – 83, and prior to that, he established himself as a knockout artist by making many warriors take an early nap! He became a multi-time champion later in his career, so he knows how to get the job done. His longest winning streak has been 5-fights in a row, while his worst slide has been 3-fights in a row. As expected, over the course of such a long career filled with a lot of fights, damage has been absorbed and due to that, Corll’s chin is also susceptible to being devastated by punching power! I don’t think Bosch has the power to floor Corll so he’ll have no trepidation with standing toe-to-toe with Bosch and testing his abilities to take and absorb whatever damage Bosch can dish out! It will be very important for Corll to establish his boxing early because he’ll want to eliminate the chance for Bosch to potentially gain confidence and step up his level of output to try and outscore him on the cards. Corll’s purpose in this fight is to finish it early and I think that’s exactly what he’s going to end up doing. He’ll be able to use the extra five pounds he weighs to sink into his strikes and make Bosch go to sleep early by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Corll by KO; Styles – Bosch by Unanimous Decision

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION: CHARLIE “THE MISSING LINK” DARWIN (17-12-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
DIETER SCHMIDT (33-23-3; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: Darwin hails from Valkenburg, Netherlands, and the 30-year-old representative of Vendetta in this fight brings very impressive standup skills. World class boxing and excellent Muay Thai are supported by very good grappling abilities and a brown belt. Currently with his second management team, Darwin’s best winning streak has been 6-fights in a row while his worst skid has been 4-fights in a row. Obviously, he’s been up and down quite a bit in his career, but he still does have a winning record. However, he’s never had an opportunity to win a championship as of yet so he’s undoubtedly looking to make a push for that as soon as possible because he’s potentially on the downside of his career in terms of opportunities. He has a good number of knockouts and technical knockouts on his resume so Schmidt has to ensure he keeps his head moving and chin tucked, because if he allows his chin to be exposed for too long, Darwin definitely has the power and ability to make him pay for it, and pay badly! There is concern for Darwin because his four fight losing streak was two knockouts and two unanimous decision losses, so he’ll have to step up the level of aggression and try to finish this fight as soon as possible, because the longer this fight lingers, the better the odds for Schmidt to drag the fight out to the end and make the judges decide the winner. Neither fighter wants this to happen, obviously, but going the distance is a hell of a lot better than being knocked out cold! Darwin will be very motivated to win this fight because he broke that losing streak with a solid victory over Jack Wilder at ICS 26 by unanimous decision. That win definitely made Darwin feel better and he’ll want to hold onto that feeling as well as the momentum of winning, so expect him to be very aggressive in his quest to knock Schmidt out. Darwin wins this fight by knockout!

Styles: Schmidt is a good amount shorter than Darwin and a bit lighter as well, so I expect this veteran to use the presumed speed advantage as best as possible. The 39-year-old warrior who refuses to ride quietly into the sunset represents Hitokiri-13 tonight, and he brings with that experience very good boxing ability, excellent Muay Thai, solid grappling and a brown belt. Schmidt began his career with an excellent explosion onto the MMA scene! 7-fights in a row topped off with a championship when he defeated Joe Dirt by TKO in the first round at CCR11 was absolutely awesome. This multi-time champion has had his share of bruises and being battered, no doubt, but that’s to be expected by a fighter who has put in as much work as he has. The only thing this man hasn’t experienced is winning or losing by TKO due to too much blood being spilled. He’s basically absorbed as much punishment as he’s dished out and he knows Darwin will be looking to end this fight early, so he’s going to have to match the intensity and energy that Darwin establishes early and often, because if he doesn’t then this fight could be over a bit too fast for him! His most recent win over Evgeni Elkemenchi by TKO in the third round snapped a two-fight losing streak so he’s clutching to the momentum of that victory in this fight. There’s no doubt the crowds enjoy his fighting style and he’ll definitely put on a good show because he has no trepidation about getting hurt and that bravery, though perhaps foolish to some people, is something that can be both respected and admired. The only way I see Schmidt pulling this won out of the bag is to counterattack Darwin with powerful strikes and hope like hell that he clocks Darwin and puts him out because I don’t think he wants to take the chance of having a standup war. Schmidt wins this fight by knockout.

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Schmidt by KO; Xavier – Darwin by KO

MIDDLWEIGHT DIVISION: PUTINYA ONYERKIESTER (16-10; CURRENT STREAK: 3 LOSSES)
VERSUS
ANANADA “MULTI ALEX K” BUNYASARN (20-7; CURRENT STREAK: 3 LOSSES)

 

Styles: The 29-year-old Vendetta representative from London, along with his rather unusual name that I won’t get into because I’ve talked about dude’s name enough, brings world class boxing, very good Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt into battle tonight! Early in his career, Kiester was able to secure a championship as we’ve made mention of previously, and though he’s struggled quite a bit lately, he can still lean on that experience in a pinch. A 6-fight win streak has been his best while a 4-fight losing streak has been his worst. Speaking of streaks, looking at the pattern of victories and losses for this man, he’s all about streaks. He’ll win a good number of fights in a row but will turn around and lose a number of fights in a row. Momentum and confidence, as I see it, X, are the keys to this pattern. If he’s not feeling good about himself then he goes on losing streaks, but when he’s feelin’ himself and handlin’ business in the cage, he’s a beast! His last three fights have been brutal because he’s been TKO’d in all three and all of them happened in the second round. That’s weird but it is what it is. He’s anxious to snap his losing streak tonight and that’s all there is to it. In a nutshell, if he doesn’t knock the opponent out then he ends up getting knocked out. That style of fighting is captivating for the fans, no doubt, but there’s a price to pay for that and that price has been his chin. You better believe Bunyasarn is very well aware of that and I have no doubt he’ll try and test Kiester’s chin as early and as much as possible to see if he can withstand his striking power! One approach Kiester may want to take is to get this fight to the ground and see what happens there despite being a bit taller and heavier, especially if he’s not able to use that extra weight to put the hurting on Bunyasarn. Kiester wins this fight by knockout!

Xavier: Bunyasarn represents YABAI in this fight, and the 29-year-old in many ways is similar to his opponent both physically, skill wise and experience wise. The warrior from Bangkok, and don’t say anything, Styles, has world class boxing ability, very good Muay Thai, solid grappling and a brown belt. Currently with his fourth management team, Bunyasarn has had to deal with a lot of diversity throughout his career, but despite that fact, he tasted his first championship when he defeated Steven Cold at AEW 15 in the second round by TKO. Another multi-time champion fighting tonight, Bunyasarn has won 9-fighs in a row, a very impressive feat, while he’s lost 3-fights in a row. The cause for concern is his last three fights, specifically. Granted, this will be the first fight he’ll have with this new management team so the jury is out as to how he performs and whether or not he can snap his current losing streak, but some of his losses have been by knockout and that makes Kiester happy while it causes Bunyasarn’s camp to be concerned. Keeping his head moving and using smart, swift footwork will be vital for him in this fight. He’s shown the ability to maintain sharp abilities while expending a lot of energy to win the battle of attrition, but he’ll definitely want to put his knockout power to its best use, especially because he doesn’t want to test Kiester’s ground skills because he could end up losing points there plus, obviously, he can’t let his educated fists and feet fly! Bunyasarn wins this fight by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Bunyasarn by KO; Styles – OnYerKiester by KO

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISON: CROWN “THE ASCENDED ONE” HALO (9-8; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
SAMUEL KRAVAC (26-25; CURRENT STREAK: 2 LOSSES)

 

Xavier: What we have here is an interesting perspective about combat experience and age. From what we’ve seen, 37-year-old fighters tend to have a great deal of combat experience and, along with that, quite a bit of damage. In terms of MMA battles, Halo is, as outlined, 9-8. However, he also has twenty-six fights inn the KT circuit, where he battled his way to a 14-10-2 record. That’s not overwhelming in terms of success but it’s obviously a winning record, and in this business, winning is the bottom line. The Jamaican product who represents Heritage has the benefit of those KT fights supporting his world class boxing and world class Muay Thai skills, and that makes him dangerous against any man! He also has very good grappling skills that are supported by a purple belt so he can handle himself in all aspects of combat. In this fight, Halo’s standup skills will be pit against Kravac’s ground skills, so we have yet another classic ground versus standup battle. What that entails is Halo’s very strong desire to keep this fight in the vertical plane because if he doesn’t, that’s going to spell trouble and trouble is what he wants to avoid at all costs. He’s had a multitude of management teams and has still managed to win a championship despite the changes. When he defeated Duke McStoner at GAMT 62 McStoner versus Halo by unanimous decision, he inked his name into the record books as a champion. During his time in KT, he established himself as capable of flattening opponent’s and he’s displayed some of that knockout power into the late stages of his career. What adds a level of intrigue to Halo is his ability to catch opponents with an unexpected knee or elbow so Kravac has to be aware that those additional weapons are in play and he has to keep his eyes open or if he lets a knee or elbow slide through, the fight could be over right then and there. Halo scores the knockout win tonight!

Styles: The 34-year-old grappler specialist from Athens, Greece, represents the LEGION OF DOOM in this fight. Stepping into the cage with Golden Gloves boxing, solid Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a black belt, Kravac will undoubtedly look to drag Halo to the mat and do his damage there! Not only will that allow Kravac to avoid being blasted on by Halo’s elite level standup skills, it will also allow him to frustrate Halo while he controls the space and pace and allows himself to setup shop and go for the submission finish once he’s able to position Halo where he wants him to be. Looking at the body of work that Kravac has accomplished, you’ll see that he’s taken quite a bit of damage when he hasn’t managed to get fights to the ground and keep them there for the entirety of a fight. There are a lot of knockouts he’s suffered and that makes his management team nervous because they know his jaw isn’t what it used to be. Halo could very well tune up Kravac’s chin if he doesn’t keep his striking defense sharp and his feet moving all the time, and that’s a lot to ask of Kravac but that’s what it’s going to take. He’s earned multiple opportunities to win a championship but, unfortunately for him, he’s come up short each time. Taking nothing away from the talent of the champions he’s faced, it seems Kravac just hasn’t been able to climb to the top of that championship mountain. A 4-fight win streak has been the peak of his achievements in terms of that, but he’s also lost 4-fights in a row and currently, he’s riding a 2-fight losing streak into this fight. He has to find that winning groove again and soon because he definitely doesn’t want to drop the taboo three fights in a row because he’s suffered enough setbacks in his career. Kravac’s wins this fight by submission!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Kravac by Submission; Xavier – Halo by KO

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: JEREMY JONES (16-5; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
MIKHAAIL “OREL” ORLOV (24-7; CURRENT STREAK: 5 WINS)

 

Styles: Now this fight is going to be very interesting and potentially very nasty! Jones is three years younger and a lot more combat inexperienced than Orlov. Ten fights isn’t a ton but it’s enough to make a difference in a close fight, and I expect this squabble to be just that, a close one. Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt is what this representative of The Stepdads brings to the table. The Londoner is also the Light Heavyweight champion of the Demolition organization, so he obviously knows how to get the job done and his excellent record is a direct reflection of that! That distinction was earned when he defeated Light LightHeavyweight, strange name isn’t it, by a head kick in the first round at RISE 102 LightHW versus Jones. Three of his losses have been by knockout so there is concern about his ability to withstand knockout power but then again, the men who knocked him out have proven themselves to have a great deal of knockout power so that does have to be factored into the formula. Don’t overlook Jones’ ability to drop an opponent in a flash either, X, because dude definitely has some whammy behind his strikes! He does have a couple of head kick wins, so his legs carry some thunder and that has to be taken into account by Orlov. If this fight does happen to go the distance, which I don’t think it will, X, then Jones has proven he has the stamina and wherewithal to handle business from start to finish and show the judges he controlled enough of the fight to take it him on the scorecards. However, Jones will aggressively go for the knockout because he knows he can score it if he catches Orlov where he wants him to be, and that’s with his head held too high and his hands just far apart enough for him to sneak an uppercut or overhand that drops Orlov to the mat and ends the fight right then and there! Jones by knockout!

Xavier: Orlov has more victories than Jones has total fights, and as you touched upon, Styles, that’s definitely a factor tonight. Golden Gloves boxing, world class Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a black belt are what he’s accomplished up to this point, and the Russian product from St. Petersburg who represents the Keyboard Warriors knows he has a potential standup war on his hands, and I think he actually prefers that, quite frankly! Looking at what he’s done with the two management teams he’s worked with, not only is he a champion from his victory over DJ Giannis at GPG 35 by unanimous decision, but he’s also managed to unleash some knockouts in his career as well. A 9-fight win streak demonstrates his outstanding ability to grasp momentum and run with it to great heights because there aren’t very many people who can win that many fights in a row! He’s lost 2-fights in a row twice in his career and that’s an indication of his ability to turn things around quickly and get back on the winning track. The vast majority of the fights he’s been involved in have been resolved by decisions, so he obviously has the ability to begin with and sustain a high level of output to push himself ahead on the judges’ scorecards. He has suffered seven knockouts in his career so he definitely has to keep his head moving and chin protected because Jones’ power may very well prove to be too much for him to handle! With that in mind, Orlov could very well opt to try and take Jones to the ground and keep him there using BJJ capabilities, experience and intelligence. That’s the best way for him to protect himself while giving himself the best possibly opportunity to win this fight against a hard-hitting opponent. Orlov wins this fight by submission tonight!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Orlov by Submission; Styles – Jones by KO

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: EDDIE “DONKEYLIPS” GELFEN (25-19; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
CONOR “HITMAN” DALEY (18-10; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: The 32-year-old Hitokiri-13 representative with the rather unique nickname steps into battle with world class standup skills, outstanding grappling and a black belt. An accomplished and experienced fighter, he’s simply had a string of bad luck when he’s been presented opportunities to become a champion. No disrespect to the champions at that point in time, Gelfen lost every single title opportunity by knockout or TKO! That’s just a seriously tough break no matter how you cut it. That very well could have ruined some fighter’s outlook on their abilities in the cage as well as their desire to become a champion, but to Gelfen’s credit, he continually bounces back and keeps fighting, the mark of a man with a great deal of warrior spirit. A 5-fight win streak has been his best while his worst has been 2-fights in a row, and that has happened on five different occasions. Gelfen is aggressive and straight forward, and while this style earns a large following of rabid fans who love knockouts and seeing people brutalized, it also opens Gelfen up to a lot of damage on the flip side! That is evidenced by the seventeen times he’s been stopped early by a nap or the referee. That’s a lot of damage to take from anyone and that, unfortunately, screams volumes about his inability to withstand knockout power. Daley could very well score a knockout today simply by overwhelming Gelfen with high output and accuracy so Gelfen is going to need to be extra sharp with his striking defense or he’ll expose himself to a great deal of damage in a short period of time. Gelfen is substantially heavier and if he can lean that extra weight on Daley, be it in the clinch or on the ground, Gelfen will definitely be in much better position to unleash damage on Daley! Getting this fight horizontal could pay dividends faster than Gelfen thinks, especially since we’ve seen his BJJ abilities and they’re nothing short of top notch. Gelfen wins this fight by submission!

Styles: The Belfast, Ireland, product steps into battle with world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, Olympic class grappling and a brown belt. The 37-year-old warrior has had numerous management teams over his long career and he also, reportedly, has an IQ of 120, so he’s quite sharp mentally as well. Surprising to me, Daley doesn’t have a championship on his resume. In fact, despite having twenty-eight battles to his credit, I was only able to see one solitary battle where he had an opportunity to wear gold, but Link Gaetz made sure that wasn’t the case when he defeated Daley by TKO in the first round. Daley established himself as a knockout artist and very much like the man across from him in the cage tonight, Daley has also absorbed quite a bit of damage due to his aggressive, head-to-head style! Similar to Gelfen, Daley has a large support base because they enjoy watching him aggressively go for, and sometimes score, the knockout, and knockouts are always welcome! I never get tired of seeing people get dropped where they stand! What’s intriguing about this battle is every single loss that Daley has suffered has been a knockout, so very much like Gelfen, Daley’s chin has been called into question numerous times and the belief is Daley can’t absorb power strikes either. So, what we have on our hands, X, is the question of who establishes themselves first? Whoever runs out of the gates the fastest will be the winner tonight because they’ll be the one to either crack the other man’s jaw like a baseball bat upside someone’s head, or one man will get dragged to the ground and end up being forced to tap or snap! The heavily tattooed Irishman wins this by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Daley by KO; Xavier – Gelfen by Submission

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION: CHARLES “SUPERFLY” HAWTRY (20-14-1; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
“THE UNBREAKABLE” GIDEON NAVARRO (24-10; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Styles: This 32-year-old Warsaw, Poland, product who represents UnderGround Fights Enterprises, brings expertise in the ground game along with very solid standup skills! Golden Gloves boxing and very good Muay Thai back up Olympic-level grappling and a black belt. Currently with his third management team, Hawtry has managed to put together a 5-fight win streak although he has dropped 3-fights in a row twice in his career. Overall, the balance between decision fights and fights that ended early looks to be about even but taking a closer look reveals Hawtry has knocked out nine opponents while he was on the receiving end of an early nap five times. Normally a two-to-one ratio is quite good in this sport but when that’s applied to knockouts, that’s a different story because that raises questions about the chin that Hawtry has. Whether or not Navarro can get to Hawtry’s chin is the big question heading into this fight and time will tell about that particular possibility, but from Hawtry’s perspective, this fight needs to be ground focused as soon as possible and it’s imperative he gets it there and keeps it there. The longer it takes for him to do that, the better possibility that Navarro’s chances of winning increase, especially if this fight stays in the standup longer. If this fight goes the distance then Hawtry has proven repeatedly he has the ability to get ahead and stay ahead on the scorecards, and it’s much easier for him to do when he’s able to win the battle of positioning on the ground and shows enough patience and intelligence to make the opponent expose themselves to submissions and control as opposed to Hawtry having to force the issue and try to match strength for strength and wit for wit. Hawtry wins this fight by submission!

Xavier: If “Unbreakable” refers to his warrior spirit then Navarro has proven that time and again because he’s fought his way to a very respectable record while becoming world class in boxing and Muay Thai, as well as having outstanding grappling and a black belt to round out his skill set. The Hawaii product from Honolulu represents The Evil Empire and is very slightly shorter than Hawtry and a bit heavier, so utilizing that weight advantage when striking is definitely Navarro’s goal in this fight! The consistency of having one management team throughout his career has been quite beneficial as Navarro has earned the right to be called a champion. In fact, he’s a multi-time champion but his first taste of golden victory was when he defeated Mike Johnson at SyFi55 by Armbar in the first round! An 8-fight win streak has been his best to date while he’s lost 2-fights in a row twice in his career. An established knockout artist who also has shown he can make an opponent tap out, this balance has allowed him to deal with just about any situation he’s ever faced. The only thing, in fact, that he hasn’t experienced is a TKO victory or loss by bleeding too heavily. In this fight, to an extent, it’s Navarro who can pick his poison. He can either opt to try and keep this fight in the standup only and see if he can crunch Hawtry’s jaw enough to turn out his lights, or he can make this a grappling struggle and take more of a risk in terms of battling for dominant position and cage control while looking for opportunities for various submissions. Personally, I think he’s better off staying on his feet because his skill set can’t be denied and Hawtry’s jaw very well could end up being much weaker than he knows. If that’s the case, then Navarro will win this fight by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Navarro by KO; Styles – Hawtry by Submission

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: MISTER “WHITE TYSON” MCNASTY (25-12-1; CURRENT STREAK: 3 WINS)
VERSUS
OULU LAINE (11-2; CURRENT STREAK: 3 WINS)

 

Xavier: Two streaking fighters square off in this battle, Styles, and we’ll see whose win streak ends up getting snapped tonight! McNasty has a major combat experience advantage in this fight as he has more wins than Laine has total fights. McNasty will obviously look to utilize that experience tonight in his efforts to try and make Laine open himself to errors, both mental and physical, which will allow McNasty to capitalize on the situation and put himself in very good positions to win this fight. The 29-year-old Englishman from the Isle of White, represents Cromulent Doom and has earned respect both as a fighter and as a champion. He entered the annals of champions when he defeated Damatang Camara by TKO in the third round at SyFi 31! Being a multi-champion is obviously an excellent accomplishment and is a credit to his drive and passion to be an outstanding warrior. A 7-fight win streak has been his best so far while his worst skid has been 5-fights in a row. His knockout power has been well documented and a bit sporadic at times, but he’s proven over his last three fights that the power is still there as he has finished all three fights by TKO. That streak of TKO’s has put to rest any questions about his power plus it has obviously built his confidence and self-belief, and those are vital attributes to have heading into any fight! One very impressive truth about McNasty is he’s never been knocked out, Styles! Considering his fighting style and the fact he’s knocked out so many opponents, that’s an incredible feat. McNasty could conceivably begin this fight in the standup and if it’s not going the way he hopes it does, he can opt to slow the pace and test his grappling skills against Laine’s to see how he fares on the ground. Solid options are always better to have than only one option. I think McNasty stays with the standup and wins this fight by knockout!

Styles: The Finnish fighter from Oulu represents the FinnFighters, and that only seems fit. The 32-year-old fighter is a bit of an enigma due to his fighting experience. He obviously has an outstanding record that any fighter would be proud of, but the fact he’s only had thirteen total fights at the age of 32 is definitely unusual. From what I’ve seen, fighters at this age usually have twice as many fights at least, if not a lot more, but as I always say, X, to each their own! He obviously hasn’t taken as much damage and abuse as other fighters his age and he can make a late push to win a championship because he’s definitely on a roll plus he can take more risks with an aggressive fighting style because his opponents at this stage of the game could be weakened due to an accumulation of damage over the years. A 5-fight winning streak has been his best so far while he’s never dropped two fights in a row, a testament to his abilities, skill and understanding. In his short career, he’s established himself as a knockout artist, at least in my opinion, but he has been dropped both times he lost so there are questions to be answered concerning his chin and his ability to fight through taking damage from knockout power. Laine is quite popular due to his fighting style and no-nonsense approach to battle so he may take the fervor of the crowd and use that to his advantage as well. He’s quite a bit taller and twelve pounds lighter so he should have the speed advantage over McNasty in this fight, and he’s going to need it if he’s going to win this potential knockout, toe-to-toe war! Laine, despite being older, has the advantage because of the lack of damage he’s absorbed, X, and that will allow him to overcome the ferocity and aggression that McNasty brings to this fight and he’ll walk out of the cage as the winner by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Laine by KO; Xavier – McNasty by KO

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: HAROLD NICOLAS (31-14; CURRENT STREAK: 7 WINS)
VERSUS
“FIRST BLOOD” BRYER MCGUIRE (29-7; CURRENT STREAK: 4 WINS)

 

Styles: In the final squabble tonight, we have two bad asses who are champions and who are both rolling! That’s the makings of one hell of a fight, X, and we get to see it up close and personal! With Nicolas, the ladies go crazy for a sharp-dressed man, especially when that sharp-dressed man is rolling like the Light Heavyweight champion is! Talk about making a name for himself as of late! All I need to say is look at the last man he made bleed too much and forced the fight to be stopped and that tells the story! To defeat the man, myth and legend known as Akoni Gray is one hell of an achievement in and of itself. To make the man bleed like a slasher movie victim is something else and that’s exactly what he did! It’s even more impressive that a 34-year-old fighter still has the dynamite in his strikes to drop highly skilled and tough opponents. His world class boxing is obviously an asset, as well as his excellent Muay Thai, very good grappling and purple belt. An 8-fight win streak has been his best so far but if he wins tonight, it will be the second time he’s had an 8-fight win streak, and that would be yet another very impressive feat he adds to his body of work! Devastation is the name of the game with Nicolas but don’t forget that with that devastation, he’s also exposed his chin a bit too much to major damage as well. He’s been knocked out eight times so there’s definitely reason and motivation for him to keep his chin guarded against McGuire’s striking ability in this fight. No one can question Nicolas’ confidence and who wouldn’t be confident after defeating Gray? His first taste of gold occurred when he defeated Robert Lukaszewicz by TKO in the first at AFL: Fight at the flats, and he’s obviously done quite well for himself since then and before then as well, obviously. Keeping this fight vertical is imperative for Nicolas to do and he’ll do exactly that as he continues to steamroll through the competition and knocks out McGuire tonight!

Xavier: The 35-year-old McGuire is one year older than Nicolas and yet, he doesn’t have quite the same level of combat experience that Nicolas does. However, the difference is nine fights so it’s not overwhelmingly different, but it’s enough, especially since both of these outstanding warriors are champions! The face-painted Pomona, California, product represents The Stepdads in this fight and despite having a multitude of management teams, his ability to be a multi-time champion speaks volumes about who he is and what he’s capable of! He had his first taste of gold early in his career when he defeated Zammy Bailey at Pulse 73 – Marx versus Joney by TKO in the second round! His career began with one hell of a winning streak, 15-fights in a row to be exact. That’s one hell of an accomplishment that sends a resounding message to all opponents, no matter when they face this man! He’s lost 3-fights in a row and that speaks volumes about his abilities and mettle as well. The owner of many knockout victories, he’s only been knocked out twice in his career so he’s one tough ass man, and that is an asset as well because having as many fights as he’s had has taken a toll on him but not nearly as severe a toll as it potentially could be if he wasn’t as skilled and intelligent as he is. McGuire has world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt, and he potentially may opt to try and take this fight to the ground. Why? If he feels Nicolas is rolling too well in the standup then McGuire can slow the pace and control the space, potentially, and this obviously keeps him from feeling the thunder from Nicolas’ fists and also makes Nicolas alter his game plan, which could frustrate the accomplished veteran. I think that’s the best course of action in this fight and McGuire will win this major battle by submission!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – McGuire by Submission; Styles – Nicolas by KO

 

Xavier: As always, ladies and gentlemen, Styles and I thank you very much for giving us your time and attention. It’s our pleasure to entertain you while providing insight into some of what you’ll be seeing tonight!

Styles: Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing continues to make very cool clothing so check them out and hook up some new outfits. Thank you all for your time and we’ll see you at the fights!

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Outstanding job as always! Give this man the props he deserves.

 

I'm grateful for your kind words, bestever, but please, there's no need to generate kudos. If one person enjoys reading my content then that is enough, and there have been many expressions of thanks directed towards me. For that, I am truly appreciative.

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Man! this is actually great work. Due to me also being a writer, i know how much time and hard work all the writers have to put in their work daily and therefore Kudos to you brother, GREAT JOB.

 

Thank you very much, robin10, I greatly appreciate it. I enjoy your hard work and product as well and definitely appreciate your understanding of the work that I, you and other writers and organization leaders put into producing interesting, informational, and hopefully, entertaining content.

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Xavier, you keep stepping up time after time after time! I keep wondering when the well will run dry, but you're like the bottomless writer who just keeps flowing! Go with your bad self man, best in the game.

 

You're too kind, HareRumpler. Like what you do with Sucker Punch, i do my best to create content that people truly enjoy reading and as we both hope, provides entertainment and maybe even causes some laughter as well.

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There really are only a few great writers left around these days. You, are def one of them. We have a newcomer to the game in Benjamine Halle that's also very, very talented. There are several good writers, but only a few that are "cream of the crop" in my opinion, and you are definitely one of them.

 

I don't mean this just based on your previews and write-ups, but also your fighter commentary pre/post fight. You truly are gifted and glad I finally have a fighter in an org that you write for. Will be looking forward to seeing Great Tiger's name pop up in your work from time to time.

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There really are only a few great writers left around these days. You, are def one of them. We have a newcomer to the game in Benjamine Halle that's also very, very talented. There are several good writers, but only a few that are "cream of the crop" in my opinion, and you are definitely one of them.

 

I don't mean this just based on your previews and write-ups, but also your fighter commentary pre/post fight. You truly are gifted and glad I finally have a fighter in an org that you write for. Will be looking forward to seeing Great Tiger's name pop up in your work from time to time.

 

You're very flattering, Bleakardor, and I truly appreciate your kind words. Admittedly I've been slacking a bit with various fighter pre-and-post fight commentary but I'll pick up the slack in due time. I try to give each fighter a unique personality and style of delivery so I appreciate your recognition of those efforts as well. I'm very glad there are writers who are making a very positive impact in this game and I'll definitely read Benjamine's work. It's always welcome when another surge of energy and creativity is added to the great mix that has already been established by numerous managers, business owners, org managers, such as yourself, writers, avatar creators, poster creators, and anything else I've failed to mention. As you emphasize, it's a collaborative effort that helps keep this game interesting and moving forward. Great Tiger is a very good fighter and I look forward to adding color commentary to his achievements.

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I m really proud to say that i was the one who recruited Esiah back in the golden era of RFC . RFC 340K was the first org Esiah wrote for !

You could clearly see that his previews were of impeccable quality , right from the first writeup . I ve never seen a more consistent and easy to work with writer in all of MMA Tycoon !

Congratz to Jordan for hiring such a great writer for Inferno !

@Esiah : Keep up the great job brother ! Writer of the Year for sure !

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I m really proud to say that i was the one who recruited Esiah back in the golden era of RFC . RFC 340K was the first org Esiah wrote for !

You could clearly see that his previews were of impeccable quality , right from the first writeup . I ve never seen a more consistent and easy to work with writer in all of MMA Tycoon !

Congratz to Jordan for hiring such a great writer for Inferno !

@Esiah : Keep up the great job brother ! Writer of the Year for sure !

 

It was definitely my honor and privilege to write for RFC because of your trust and belief in me, Alex M. You gave me a lot of leeway to develop my own style and that was very key in my development as a writer, and I'll always be grateful to you for that. I'm very fortunate that like you, Jordan (aka bestever) gives me the freedom of creativity and he trusts that my work product will be both informative and entertaining. I strive to produce that type of product each and every time. I truly appreciate your vote of confidence, Alex M, and I will continue to do what I can to continually provide content that people want to read.

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Remember that too, was part of what made RFC a great org back then. Has been in at least 3 orgs now he has been writing for and always enjoyed it.

 

Thank you very much, jjsquirrel. I'm very glad I've been able to assist in making your experience in different organizations positive. That's my main goal when I write any content because I want everyone to enjoy playing this game in whatever capacity they play it.

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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES 32 PREVIEW

LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 32! In the booth with me tonight is the surreptitious Furious Styles!

Styles: Surreptitious? You always manage to put a smile on my face with whatever sesquipedalian word you have stored up for me.

Xavier: I’m very impressed! Sesquipedalian is quite the word!

Styles: I do read, well, sometimes, and I read books or listen to audiobooks that utilize vernacular beyond very layman terms. I basically have no option but to read more sophisticated material because you tend to utilize words that I call SAT words! No one uses some of the terms you use in everyday conversation, but I respect that because I hear and read various comments on various social platforms and many people need to study more sophisticated words.

Xavier: I absolutely concur, Styles! Education is ubiquitous to eliminating ignorance and stupidity.

Styles: See what I mean? Ubiquitous. Who uses that word? You do!

Xavier: I try to use expanded vocabulary to not only be more concise when I speak but to also assist others in using words beyond standard terms. Getting down to business tonight, although we have no titles on the line in what’s a rare occurrence of one event scheduled this week as opposed to the standard two, the warriors we’ll be seeing in this cage will show us skills and abilities befitting a champion, and for that, the fans will love it!

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: SHOEI “SHARK” BRAZ (37-29; CURRENT STREAK: 4 LOSSES)
VERSUS
ALEXANDER “NAGANO” GRUZDEV (25-22; CURRENT STREAK: 4 LOSSES)

Styles: All right, X, we’re all adults here, so I’m just going to cut through the chase and get right down to the honesty we all know should be addressed. Respect to Braz for having as many fights as he’s had because that speaks a lot about his warrior spirit and desire for combat but come on man! A 46-year-old has no business being in a competitive battle, especially when his opponent is eleven years younger and much closer to his prime! That’s just a bad mix, X, and it’s no surprise to me that his last management team parted ways with him recently. I know that’s a bit harsh but this is business, after all, and if a product isn’t producing like you want it to, you cut ties with said product, accept your losses if you have to, and find a new product or create a new one. Now, I will say this. Braz could potentially help out a young management group because he has over $200,000 in his account and a brown belt, so he could potentially be a solid BJJ sparring partner at a gym if someone wants to go that route. Overall, the Japanese warrior from Tokyo has decent boxing ability, pretty good Muay Thai, respectable grappling and, as I said, the brown belt, so he has some ability, but to fight at his age, you have to have much more than that as I see it. He’s had numerous management teams and to his credit, he was an animal at the beginning of his career! He started with an eight-fight win streak and during that run, he captured championship gold by defeated Shaka KaSolomon at KO17 by kneebar. He later became a multi-time champion, so respect to him and his accomplishments. However, after having so many fights and suffering so much damage, hell, he’s bled out in two of his past four fights, it’s time for him to enjoy his memories and save what’s left of his body before he ends up seriously injured and unable to enjoy his later years. I’m rooting for him in what should be his last fight, so I’ll say he wins by submission because I like to see underdogs win!

Xavier: There’s an unspoken amount of pressure on this fight for Gruzdev, Styles. If he loses to a fighter who’s eleven years older then where will that leave Gruzdev’s frame of mind? It’s easy to look at this fight and consider it a warmup of sorts for Gruzdev because he needs to keep this fight standing to make quick work of Braz. However, what if Braz makes this fight last the entire length of time by dragging Gruzdev to the ground and making him work much longer and harder than he wants to in this fight? The 35-eyear-old from Russian, St. Petersburg to be exact, represents The Evil Empire in this fight and you better believe each alliance member will be keeping an eye on him in this fight. His world class boxing, very good Muay Thai, excellent grappling and brown belt should be enough to carry him to victory tonight as I see it. This is his fourth management team so he’s had to face some diversity in terms of fighting philosophy and training approach, but that didn’t stop him from becoming a champion when he defeated King Go by KO at DFC Asylum 15 early in the second round! That championship experience will definitely help give him a major edge tonight and if need be, he can lean on that experience to dig deep and figure out a way to get the job done. A 5-fight win streak has been his best while his worst skid has been 4-fights in a row. The bad news is those four losses in a row have all been during his last four fights, so he absolutely needs this win tonight to right the ship and get his mental state back where it needs to be to finish his career on a high note once he reaches that point. He knocked out a good number of people early in his career and he has some TKO wins that were somewhat recent, so I think he has enough tonight to knock Braz out!
PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Gruzdev by KO; Styles – Braz by Submission

FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION: VASILIOS “CAESAR” MEGALOS (21-11; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
MANA FESTATION (29-15-3; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Styles: “Caesar” better hope that Festation doesn’t turn out to be like Brutus back in the day! Speaking of Mana Festation, clever play on words, I’ll give him that, but does a man really want to be known as a festering? And what is it he’s demonstrating, exactly?

Xavier: My assumption is his desire is to manifest victories in combat.

Styles: Well, that does make sense, but he should just say that instead of having that odd name. Anyway, Megalos, the 31-year-old Greek warrior from Athens, steps into the Colossuseum, see what I did there, with Golden Gloves boxing, world class Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and a black belt. In other words, dude has the skills to pay the bills! Representing the Keyboard Warriors, he’s had two different management teams, and much to my surprise, X, he hasn’t worn gold as a champion! Maybe that ivy crown he wears is enough for him, but I’m sure he’d prefer to add championship gold to his career as well. A 5-fight win streak has been his best to date and his worst losing streak has been 2-fights in a row, which has occurred twice. However, over his last two fights, he’s looked sharp and has won each fight by unanimous decision. Earlier in his career he had established himself as a fighter with knockout ability due to the seven TKO’s earned throughout his career. However, a point of concern has been his chin, and while taking nothing away from the men who knocked him out, the ten times he was knocked out or the referee stepped in to stop the fight isn’t a good look, quite frankly, and that will definitely give Festation just cause to look for a knockout tonight! Megalos basically wins by decision or gets dropped, so in this fight he’s going to have to work hard to keep Festation at a distance so he can score vital points while protecting that chin. Though taller and lighter than Festation, he could definitely opt to drag this fight to the mat and look to control and frustrate Festation while, obviously, looking for his own potential submissions for the win. However, I think Megalos prefers to score points in the standup and wear the older Festation down before scoring a takedown and going for the submission. “Caesar” wins this fight by submission!

Xavier: Festation knows he’s seven years older than Megalos, and due to that, he knows full well he’ll be dealing with a very aggressive fighter who’ll want to wear him down and cause him to make mistakes. Festation has the obvious experience advantage in this fight and that will come in handy, undoubtedly, especially since he’s fully aware his ground-based abilities may not match Megalos’, and Festation doesn’t want to end up having to defend himself on the ground and have the pace slowed. The Los Angeles native and Heritage representative has Golden Gloves boxing skills, world class Muay Thai, solid grappling and a brown belt, so he’s capable in any capacity, as all fighters in this organization are. However, very much like Megalos, Festation has never won a championship. His one and only title shot occurred at KAMIKAZE 81: Pandora, where he faced Darth Vader and lost by unanimous decision. Perhaps the Sith lord was able to use a force choke on him to move ahead on the judges’ scorecards. Taking a look at Festation’s body of work, he does have fourteen stoppages by knockout or TKO, and, of note, he has a couple of victories by head kick knockouts, so that’s a nod to his Muay Thai abilities and Megalos will literally have to keep his head out of harm’s way if he wants to avoid eating a brutal kick to the noggin! Festation has only been knocked out once so credit to his toughness and ability to withstand pain and punishment. A 6-fight win streak has been his best while dropping 4-fights in a row was his worst skid. I think Festation takes the chance of being equally aggressive in the early stages of this fight and looks to test Megalos’ chin early and often, particularly with his educated feet. If Festation lands a clean head kick and follows that with a two- or three-punch combination, that’ll be all she wrote! Festation by knockout!
PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Festation by KO; Styles – Megalos by Submission

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: HUGGLE MUFFIN SWEETIE PIE (18-11; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
BILL “THE SPEAR” GOLDBERG (14-12; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: I already know where this is going, Styles, so just go ahead and get it out of your system.

Styles: Thank you! So, we have some pie going up against a spear, right?

Xavier: Yes.

Styles: I don’t know about you, X, but my spear has encountered many different types of pie!

Xavier: That’s enough of that! My apologies, ladies and gentlemen. Sometimes Styles forgets where he is.

Styles: Oh no, I assure you, X, I know exactly where I put my spear each and every time!

Xavier: Lord help me. Moving on, we have a battle between two warriors who are, let’s be honest, on the downslide of their careers. I mean no disrespect but it’s quite rare for a fighter to continually be dominant past the age of thirty. There are always exceptions to the rule, yes, but the general rule is once a fighter hits thirty years old, their chances at winning championship gold diminishes. These are just facts. The Cromulent Doom representative from Romulus, Michigan, at least I presume it’s Michigan, has respectable standup skills but is definitely more of a grappler. Respectable boxing and Muay Thai is supported by outstanding grappling and a brown belt, so the obvious course of action in this fight for Pie is to get this fight to the horizontal plane as quickly as possible! I spoke with his current management team earlier this evening and they expressed concern about Pie’s mood for this fight. Typically, he’s chomping at the bit to get into the cage for a brawl, but they said he doesn’t look quite like the spitfire they’re used to seeing. That, Styles, could very well serve to be detrimental against a game opponent like Goldberg! Currently with his third management team, Pie has managed to cement himself as a champion in this business, and that’s an accomplishment in and of itself. He earned that distinction by defeating Kevin Space by TKO due to making him bleed too heavily at ABW 90 Distacio Jr – Space. Obviously, Pie was named Distacio Jr. when he had that fight. He won the title once again a bit later, so the multi-time champion has proven that he does have the ability to get the job done under immense pressure. Thirteen warriors have either been knocked out or needed the referee to step in so Pie does have some sweet power in his strikes. Yes, Styles, I took it there! Now, he obviously favors the ground game and has a few submission wins, but he prefers to make an opponent take a forced nap, so Goldberg can expect a very aggressive opponent tonight. Pie scores the takedown and gets the TKO tonight!

Styles: I can’t believe you actually said sweet power. Wow! Anyway, Goldberg knows he has an excellent chance at winning this fight in any scenario, be it standing or grappling. The brawler from Iselin, New Jersey, has very good boxing skills, respectable Muay Thai, solid grappling and a brown belt. He knows full well that keeping this fight in the standup is the best way for him to punch his ticket, pun intended, and that will be the focus in this fight! Yes, Pie has proven he has knockout power, and no one denies that. However, X, Pie also has a suspect chin and you better believe Goldberg’s going to look to exploit that weakness. Maybe he’ll just give him the tip of the spear until he sees an opening and can then go for it all! Damn, that sounded dirty as hell! Awesome! Goldberg has consistently been with his management team so that’s an advantage in my opinion. No, he’s not a multi-time champion like Pie is but Goldberg brings ferocity and power into the cage. A 3-fight win streak has been his best while a 3-fight losing streak has been his worst. However, nine warriors have been dropped where they stood by his striking power, so he has the ability to rock Pie’s chin to turn out his lights if Pie doesn’t keep himself out of trouble! There’s no doubt that Goldberg has kissed a lot of canvas himself, but that doesn’t stop him from being very aggressive and going for the finish as soon as possible. That aggression and nasty attitude will make this fight very uncomfortable for Pie, despite his level of experience, because Goldberg will simply look to overwhelm pie and I definitely feel he’s going to do exactly that tonight in this fight! Goldberg emerges the victor after he drops Pie where he stands and leaves him in crumbs like a broken crust! Yes, I had to say it!
PREDICTIONS: Styles – Goldberg by KO; Xavier – Pie by TKO

FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION: DO HO JOY (22-11; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
CARL “THE CREEP” KINGSTON (26-10; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Styles: Be honest with me, X. Joy looks like he either is a software engineer or the type of dude you’d see in a park scoping out young girls playing volleyball, right?

Xavier: Don’t you think that’s a bit of a harsh judgment!?

Styles: You know me, I break it down to molecules! Besides, you didn’t say no!

Xavier: For cryin’ out loud.

Styles: Joy hails from Seoul, South Korea, and the 32-year-old FinnFighters representative definitely has the skills to pay the bills. World class boxing and Muay Thai is supported by outstanding grappling and a brown belt, so Joy knows how to handle business in any given situation. However, over his last eight fights, he’s an even four and four and has literally gone from losing to winning to losing and that pattern has held up so far. He’s looking to break that pattern here tonight and in order to do that, he’s going to need the consistency he’s received from his only management team he’s had in his career, plus he’ll need the championship mettle he’s shown earlier in his career. He earned the right to be called a champion when he beat Gary Day by unanimous decision at NSC 21: Nielsen versus Barca. He’s had sporadic knockouts in his career so there’s some power behind those world class skills, but the two times he’s been knocked out may give him pause enough to try and aim for a unanimous decision victory since he’s obviously very comfortable with that type of fight. A 7-fight win streak has been his best while a 2-fight losing streak has been his worst, and he’s experienced that occurrence twice in his career, so props to him for not losing the taboo three fights in a row! He and Kingston are basically the same height and size, but Joy does have a five-pound advantage so he may be able to sink a little more power behind his strikes when he’s able to land them. Technically he should be able to land clean shots since he’s shown himself to be the superior striker, but in the fight game, technicalities don’t matter as much as will power. Joy is five years younger so he should have the conditioning advantage and can apply a lot of pressure on Kingston and force him to fight Joy’s fight. With that, I think Joy wins this fight by unanimous decision!

Xavier: The 37-year-old Detroit native steps into the cage representing the LEGION OF DOOM, and the “Creep” brings his baby face looks and Radiohead theme song into this fight along with very good boxing, excellent Muay Thai, excellent grappling and a purple belt. Kingston has a bit of an edge in combat experience as expected by a man who’s five years older than his opponent, and Kingston is also a former champion, just as Joy is, so neither man will have a major advantage over the other in terms of championship experience. He began his career with a 7-fight win streak and became a champion by defeating Takeshi Hashimoto by TKO at Just Bleed MMA 16 in the fourth round, so he absolutely earned that victory! His worst losing streak has been 2-fights in a row and that’s only happened once, so similar to Joy, Kingston deserves props for his fighting ability and the avoidance of the three-fight losing streak. Looking at his entire scope of work, Kingston has proven to be a very streaky fighter who takes momentum and rides with it, so he absolutely needs to turn his current path around because the last loss to Quan Le by unanimous decision at ICS 27 didn’t sit well with him at all. His last eleven fights have ended in a decision and I have the feeling Kingston wants to prove that he can finish a fight early against a proven opponent, and this is a prime opportunity for him to do so in the cage tonight. Kingston may opt to be more of a counterattacking fighter tonight because he can fully expect Joy to try and establish the pace of this fight in the standup and I think Kingston will oblige him in that endeavor. Going to the mat just doesn’t make sense for Kingston to do in this fight so Kingston will score the victory tonight by knockout off of the counterstrike!
PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Kingston by KO; Styles – Joy by Unanimous Decision

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION: OSIRIS EGYPTIAN (20-10-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
BEEZOW DOO-DOO ZOPITTY-BOP-BOP-BOP (30-14-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Styles: Hold up!

Xavier: I knew it.

Styles: What in the blue hell is Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittty-Bop-Bop-Bop!? Doo-Doo? This man has a nickname for feces in his name!? Bop-Bop-Bop? Is that some sort of scatting that Jazz singers do? Wow, man, that’s one hell of a long name. I wonder what his family members call him! Just, wow man! And, while I’m at it, Osiris Egyptian? Yes, we all know that Osiris is a name associated with Egyptian history and is one of their many gods. All right, I’m done, for now.

Xavier: Thank you for getting all of that out of your system, for now at least. Egyptian is a highly skilled competitor with world class boxing and Muay Thai skills along with outstanding grappling and a brown belt. The 32-year-old man with the elaborate headdress hails from Cairo, no surprise there, and has been managed by one team so consistency is very familiar to him. The FinnFighters representative isn’t known as a feared knockout force but he does have six knockouts or TKO’s on his record so there is some power there that Bop can’t completely ignore. However, as shown through his career, Egyptian is very comfortable making fights a battle of endurance and pressure as opposed to severely impactful force. Although that’s not wildly popular with the fans, as everyone knows, a win is a win, and however a warrior gets the job done is their business! The bottom line is he gets the job done and the fans can appreciate that. Additionally, this man is a champion and that’s something that can neither be ignored or erased. Egyptian made his mark in this business when he defeated Samuel Cooke by TKO in the third round at EFA 40 Turner versus Kingi. He went on to win another title later in his career so that proves he can best some of the top competition in this industry. His longest win streak has been 4-fights in a row, and he managed to do that twice. Likewise, he’s lost 2-fights in a row as that longest streak and he has done that twice as well. He’s slightly taller but lighter than Bop so using the speed advantage he should have in this battle is imperative because keeping this fight in the standup gives him the best chance at victory. Egyptian defeats Bop tonight by making this fight a toe-to-toe war and sustaining high energy and pressure and winning by unanimous decision!

Styles: Bop is what I’ll call him, too, X, because there’s no way I’m going to say those twenty frickin’ names each and every time I refer to this dude! The 37-year-old product from Philly represents Hey Steve tonight and the veteran, who is five years older than Egyptian, is a very well-rounded warrior. Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a black belt is what he brings into this battle! Much like his opponent tonight, Bop has also had one management team throughout his entire career so that consistency does pay dividends. Evidence of that occurred when he defeated Dog The Multi Hunter, and I dig that name, too, X. Very clever and a nice play on words. Does he have a pair of handcuffs that he brings to the cage? Just curious. Anyway, he defeated Hunter at Pulse 90 – Dog versus Bop Bop by majority decision. Neither of those men were satisfied with that result so they crossed paths once again at Pulse 98 – Driver versus McGuire. Ironically enough, that fight resulted in Bop winning again by majority decision. Like Egyptian, he won another championship later so he, too, proved he knows how to get the job done when the pressure is raised to its highest levels. A 6-fight win streak has been his best while losing 2-fights in a row has been his longest streak on the downside, and that has occurred four different times in his career. Similar to Egyptian, Bop hasn’t laid a destructive path of knockouts, but he has defeated eleven men by knockout or TKO, so Egyptian has to definitely make sure he keeps his head moving and eyes open because he doesn’t want to test Bop’s striking power unnecessarily. Bop has been involved in quite a few decision battles as well, but I think he still has enough pop in his knuckles to win this by knockout!
PREDICTIONS: Styles – Bop by KO; Xavier – Egyptian by Unanimous Decision

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION: ABNER APPLEGATE (26-13-1; CURRENT STREAK: 2 LOSSES)
VERSUS
“THE HIGHLANDER” ROBERT DRUMMOND (14-7-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Styles: Applegate has three years of life experience over Drummond, and in addition to that, he has a major combat experience edge. Believe me, that experience advantage is significant tonight in terms of Applegate knowing how to get himself out of trouble should he find himself in some. I wonder if he has any relation to Bonita Applebum.

Xavier: Styles, that’s a song.

Styles: I know that! A Tribe Called Quest is bad ass! I’m just thinking out loud. Anyway, the Englander from Birmingham represents the LEGION OF DOOM in this fight and brings world class boxing and Muay Thai ability along with outstanding grappling and a brown belt, so there’s nothing this man hasn’t seen or done with the exception of stopping an opponent or being stopped by bleeding too much. Hell, maybe he scores his first TKO due to cuts tonight! Currently with his second management team, he’s managed to cement a 6-fight win streak as the best so far while his worst losing streak has been 2-fights in a row, and that has happened four different times so he’s another warrior who’s managed to avoid the three-fight losing streak, and that’s a nod to his will to win. He’s had various winning streaks throughout his career so he’s definitely the type of fighter who grabs a hold of momentum and sustains it for good stretches. Add to that ability the championship experience he first tasted when he defeated Kim Jong Guk by TO in the fourth round at CEFC 312 and he’s a handful in any fight! He’s been knocked out four times so he can’t go gung ho against Drummond in this fight but he does have a good number of knockouts in his career so he could very well surprise Drummond with his power if he manages to land clean strikes, especially any kicks to the head. I think Applegate comes out very aggressive in the standup and looks to knockout the younger opponent before anything bad can occur!

Xavier: The Scottish warrior from Edinburgh represents The GBU in this fight and brings world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a black belt to the cage tonight. On the flip side of not having as many fights as Applegate has had, Drummond has absorbed much less damage than Applegate and that could absolutely factor heavily in this fight because Drummond can hurt Applegate before potentially trying to drag this fight to the ground where I feel Drummond can take control of this fight and score vital points on the scorecards while keeping the pace he wants to operate against Applegate while looking for any number of potential submission holds he’s well-schooled in! Currently with his fifth management team, he’s had to deal with quite a few changes during the course of his career and I personally believe that altering of training and fight approach has cost him the opportunity to be a champion, at least up to this point in his career. Of course he has the potential opportunity to wear championship gold before he lays the gloves in the cage but he’s going to have to go on a solid winning streak here and soon to earn that opportunity, and I think that will be great motivation for him in this fight. Add in the fact he was able to string together a 7-fight win streak while only having two instances of 2-fight losing streaks and it’s easy to see why he feels he has enough left in the gas tank to earn a championship, and it’s difficult to argue with him, Styles! Not necessarily known as a knockout artist, he does have some knockout victories to his name plus he still hasn’t been knocked out, so if nothing else, we know he’s one tough ass dude! That toughness will carry him to victory tonight as he makes Applegate tap out tonight!
PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Drummond by Submission; Styles – Applegate by KO

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION: EMIL “FUTURE” MARINOV (21-16-1 KT; 6-0 MMA; CURRENT STREAK: 7 WINS)
VERSUS
“COOL HAND” LUC GAGNON (24-10; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

 

Xavier: The 33-year-old Bulgarian from Plovdiv represents Hitokiri-13 and steps into the cage with a very extensive background in the KT circuits. That extensive experience has paid dividends so far in his MMA career as he’s not tasted defeat in seven fights, and that 7-fight win streak is most certainly on the line tonight against Gagnon! As expected from a high-level KT fighter, his boxing and Muay Thai skills are world class and they’re supported by excellent grappling and a purple belt so he’s learning how to handle business on the mat as well, but he obviously prefers the standup as the vertical plane is very familiar to him. He’s had a number of management teams throughout the course of his career and as such, he’s had some very good flashes of consistency and achievement in his career, especially at the beginning! He knocked out his first four opponents and was well on his way to a title but was stopped short in the second round against Mike Dimelo by knockout. He then lost his next fight by knockout as well and there were concerns about his ability to stand up to striking power. His second opportunity to wear gold also came up short as he lost by unanimous decision to Dwan Diego at OC! KT 5. Up to this point, those have been the only opportunities to win a championship so I have no doubt that sits in the back of his mind as very good motivation to keep winning fights to prove he still has plenty left in the tank and deserves a title shot in the near future. He’s lost 2-fights in a row on four separate occasions but has managed to avoid that third and that’s an indication of his warrior spirit along with his skills. He’s taller and heavier in this fight so I expect him to win this standup battle by knockout!

Styles: The 31-year-old Canadian from Gatineau, Quebec, represents The Stepdads tonight and is a well-balanced warrior. Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt round out his technical achievements while a 5-fight winning streak has been his best thus far, and a 2-fight losing streak has been his best. He’s another fighter who clutches onto momentum and knows how to sustain it because he’s had sporadic win streaks throughout his career and has knocked out an impressive number of fighters. As expected from a warrior of his skills, he’s a multi-time champion and the first time he showed his championship ability was when he defeated Jason Montgomery by TKO in the second round at PFF 12W – Montgomery versus Gagnon! Even early in his career there were concerns about his ability to withstand powerful strikes and that remained a concern throughout his career. He’s made many a man take an early nap in the cage but he’s also gone night-night and he’s also bled too much in a battle, so he’s definitely taken his share of damage and Marinov is most certainly aware of that fact! Since Gagnon has gotten used to being shorter and lighter than his opponents, he’ll be very comfortable facing that circumstance once again tonight, and the assumed speed advantage he’ll have over Marinov will come in handy because Gagnon absolutely can look to take this fight to the ground where he has a very good chance at outworking and having better positioning on the ground while looking for any openings where he can lock in a submission and score a tapout! I don’t think he’ll have any issues standing toe-to-toe with Marinov because he may very well still have enough pop in his punches to drop Marinov where he stands, but if he senses that’s just not going to happen then he can shoot in, score the takedown, and take over from there. Gagnon wins this fight by submission!
PREDICTIONS: Styles – Gagnon by Submission; Xavier – Marinov by KO

SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: FUTOSHI MATSUNAGA (26-11-1; CURRENT STREAK: 6 WINS)
VERSUS
PABLO “LOCO” NORIEGA (17-5-1; CURRENT STREAK: 5 WINS)

 

Styles: Now this is going to be one hell of a brutal battle! I know it’s in the Super Heavyweight division but that’s a special setup so these two could lock horns and let it all go in the cage! When you have two fighters stepping in with a combined 11 wins in a row, you know this is going to be one hell of a show because neither one of these men want to lose their win streak! Matsunaga is two years younger yet has a good amount more combat experience than Noriega and that could very well be a difference maker tonight, especially since from what we’ve seen, Noriega may be the more technically skilled warrior. Since Matsunaga is quite a bit shorter than Noriega, that may actually work out in Matsunaga’s favor if he attempts to take this fight to the ground. Granted, Noriega is a very high-level fighter in all aspects of combat and getting him to the ground may not be an easy task, plus if that does occur, Matsunaga will have to work very diligently to try and keep Noriega on the mat long enough to take advantage and look for potential submissions against a fighter who looks to be equally skilled in BJJ! Matsunaga is a world class boxer with excellent Muay Thai skills, outstanding grappling and a black belt, and his 6-fight win streak is evidence of his ability to handle business in the cage. Currently with his second management team, it’s no surprise that his current winning streak has been the best of his career to date while never dropping more than one fight before bouncing back with a victory is an indication of this man’s heart and passion! He’s only been knocked out once in his career so Noriega could be very aggressive in looking for a knockout to make a name for himself as one of only a couple or few warriors to knock Matsunaga out. One surprising fact about Matsunaga is, despite him earning four opportunities to win a championship, he’s never donned gold. Perhaps that’s the driving force behind this late surge of multiple victories and be that as it may, if he defeats Noriega tonight then I have no doubt his name has to be entered into the championship contender conversation! Matsunaga wins this fight by knockout!

Xavier: “Loco” is a very highly skilled combatant in every sense of the word! World class boxing and Muay Thai is backed by Olympic-level grappling and a black belt, or, in other words, this is a bad man! It’s very surprising to me that a man of this skill level has only battle in twenty-three fights. Typically, at the age of 34, a warrior has had two to three times that number of fights. Regardless, Noriega is a dangerous and capable man in the cage, plain and simple! He’s had a number of managers and that may very well have deterred his championship path because, despite his incredible skill level, he’s only had one shot at a title and lost that by TKO in the fifth round of NSC 33: Twborg versus Wolf to Bobo Nielsen. Similar to his opponent tonight, if Noriega can get the best of Matsunaga in this fight then I firmly believe his name has to be seriously considered as a contender for a title shot! He only has that one knockout against him, so he’s proven his ability to take power strikes from opponents and keep on ticking. Additionally, he has three knockouts to his credit so he could very well drop Matsunaga if he gets a clean look at Matsunaga’s jaw. Noriega is also very comfortable in fights that last the entirety of the time limit so, if nothing else, he can apply immense pressure on Matsunaga and outscore him on the cards if all else fails. However, I don’t think Noriega will have any issues in trying to control the pace and space of this fight on the ground and go for the submission despite being the taller man. Noriega puts an abrupt halt to Matsunaga’s win streak by making him tapout tonight!
PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Noriega by Submission; Styles – Matsunaga by KO

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION: ARCHIBALD KNOX (26-15; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
MATTEO “THE WEREWOLF” BORETTI (20-8; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)

 

Xavier: Knox represents Convicted Inc. tonight, and the 33-year-old Manhattan product, who reminds me of the movie “Gangs of New York” with his style of clothing, is a balanced warrior who has Golden Gloves boxing ability, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a purple belt. He’s had the benefit of being with one management team and that has brought a good amount of success. However, surprising to me, Knox has yet to become a champion in this business. Four different title opportunities have been earned and yet he wasn’t able to overcome particular opponents at various points in time. However, make no mistake about it, he’s very capable in that cage and anyone who underestimates him pays the price each and every time! This is a rebound match of sorts because they’ve crossed paths when they battle at ICS Leapyear where Knox won by unanimous decision, so Knox has a bit of a mental edge in this fight because he knows for certain he can defeat Boretti! Naturally, neither of these men can assume they’ll have the same style of fight and the exact same success with certain strategies and strikes so the chess game will be very intriguing. Obviously, they’ve both looked sharp in their last two fights so momentum doesn’t favor either man tonight. A 5-fight win streak has been his best so far while his worst has been 2-fights in a row, and that has occurred five times in his career. However, as both Styles and I speak of often, he’s avoided the dreaded three losses in a row and that shows his ability to figure out what he needs to shore up and gets the job done to get back in the win column. Early in his career he knocked out many fighters, so he has enough snap in his strikes to level Boretti if Boretti doesn’t keep his head moving. Knox is shorter and lighter, and I think he’ll use those advantages by taking this fight to the ground and scoring the submission!

Styles: Boretti has a prime opportunity to gain vengeance tonight against a fighter who bested him not too long ago, and you better believe, X, that Boretti will be very amped for this fight! He’ll definitely have a chance to howl at the moon tonight as he represents Vendetta in this fight. Since he’s five years younger than Knox and doesn’t have as much damage from not having as many fights, I fully expect Boretti to be very aggressive in wanting to not only establish himself in the vertical plane, but he’ll also want to keep his options open by potentially going to the ground when the time is right! He could very well try to daze Knox in the standup then lock him in a clinch, pull guard, and look to end the fight right then and there by going for a submission off of his back. If that fails, it’s all good because he’ll have dragged Knox to the mat while avoiding a major struggle because Knox has shown his skills in grappling. Boretti can go to work on the ground once he manages to get Knox there and he knows this is an excellent strategy for this fight. Currently with his third management team, he has managed to win multiple titles and that experience could be a huge factor in this fight since he knows how to push himself to those deep championship levels when the pressure is on. His first experience with being a champion occurred when he defeated Cody Brings by KO in the second round at RISE 84 – Boretti versus Brinks. Boretti has shown sporadic power and he could very well muster enough concussion power in his strikes to rock Knox, hey, that rhymes, and either go the finish in the standup or try to get the tapout. Boretti procures some vengeance tonight by defeating Knox by submission!
PREDICTIONS: Styles – Knox by Submission; Xavier – Knox by Submission

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: AKONI “KING OF KINGSTON” GRAY (42-6-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
“SLENDERMAN” SCOTTY BAPP (13-5; CURRENT STREAK: 9 WINS)

 

Styles: Oh hell yeah! You know how much I enjoy inter-alliance battles, X, and this is going to be a supreme one! The Stepdads are on full display here in this fight between an incredible warrior legend in Gray and the young up and coming warrior, Bapp! What can I say about Gray? The man has seen it all and has done it all! Even though he’s twelve years older than Bapp, you better believe he has the conditioning to hang with Bapp from start to finish because the man has an incredible amount of energy. Here’s a word for you, Styles, since you like that type of thing. Gray is indefatigable!

Xavier; Excellent word!

Styles: Yes, I know it is! Now, I know quite a few people were stunned by Gray’s loss to Harold Nicolas by TKO because Nicolas made Gray bleed badly, but you have to keep in mind that Gray has had a hell of a lot of fights. In addition, Nicolas has incendiary blasts in his knuckles and that was the result! Regardless, I have no doubt Gray has no concerns about that loss and is ready to get right back into the win column plus earn alliance bragging rights. A 15-fight win streak is all I need to say, X! A 2-fight losing streak is the worst of his career. That’s simply incredible and speaks volumes about how special of a warrior this man is! The Hall of Fame is simply waiting for him to finally say he’s had enough and there will be tremendous pomp and circumstance when he does because he deserves to be celebrated everywhere he goes! Having only been floored twice in his lengthy career tells as much of the story as anything else does. Bottom line, it’s just a treat to watch this man work and he knows exactly where to hit and how hard to hit because he has a crapload of knockouts on his record! Obviously, he’s a multi-time champion and has proven time and again he’s intelligent, sharp, tough and destructive. Look for Gray to be very aggressive against his alliance mate because he wants to prove to Bapp that he still has what it takes to be a legendary champion plus show the young lion that he has a bit more to go before he reaches Gray’s level in his own career. Gray wins this outstanding fight tonight by knockout to earn even greater respect along with more bragging rights within the ranks of The Stepdads!

Xavier: “Slenderman” has one hell of an opportunity tonight, Styles, to truly put himself on the map! The 26-year-od from Atlanta, Georgia, doesn’t need to be educated on what Gray has done and is capable of because he’s seen it up close and personal for some time now! Bapp will need every ounce of his youthful effervescence to keep up with the level of energy and aggression he’ll be facing as soon as the bell rings for this fight! Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt are what Bapp brings into this fight, but most importantly, this man has a tremendous amount of momentum and the timing of this current 9-fight win streak is absolutely perfect! Winning nine fights in a row is absolutely nothing to sneeze at folks and that just shows all of us that Bapp is very dangerous! Yes, he’s been knocked out in his career but that will not deter him from going toe-to-toe with Gray because he truly can just go for the gusto. Why the hell not? When you fight a legend, you leave it all in the cage because you don’t want to second guess yourself, especially when you have the chance to make a huge mark in your career! Bapp’s record shows that he’s only lost 2-fights in a row twice so he knows how to snap back after a loss and, obviously, he’s taken a hold of momentum by the horns and is riding it as far as he possibly can. Bapp has a tremendous height advantage in this fight and I fully expect him to counterattack Gray with aggression and power because he’ll have to take full advantage of his reach advantage if he’s going to withstand the onslaught he’s sure to feel once that bell rings! Bapp establishes himself as a serious threat to the championship by showing the MMA world what he’s got and scores the knockout tonight!
PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Bapp by KO; Styles – Gray by KO

 

Xavier: And that concludes our broadcast this evening. Thank you, all of you, for taking the time to join us tonight and we hope you enjoyed the show.

Styles: As always, a big shout out to Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing. They hook up some kick ass threads for ICS and we’re very appreciative of that. Thank you all for chillin’ with us and we hope we kept all of you entertained while you get ready to watch these battles. On behalf of Xavier, we’ll see you at the fights!

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As of tomorrow at ICS 33 Ma Balls Is Hot will be pick a Hottest Fighter award for each and every Inferno card going forward.

 

This fighter will receive a direct payment to his manager of 20k and it will be captured in this thread. http://www.mmatycoon.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=65285&hl=inferno

 

There is one catch, only fighters sponsored by Ma Balls Is Hot will be eligible. .

 

 

Also any Hot Balls sponsored fighter that gives a shout out at an ICS event will get 10k sent direct to manager and 20k sent if it is a title fight. This is on top of any sponsorship agreements

 

The reason we are doing this going forward is to recognise and thank all of our fighters and also to thank and promote the great Inferno Fight Series

 

 

 

Any fighter that is fighting in Inferno that would like a sponsorship please contact me https://www.mmatycoon.com/managerprofilemanager.php?MgrID=123962 and we will work out a deal for you. Any fighter in top 200 we will negotiate above our current sponsorship tiers posted here https://www.mmatycoon.com/clothingpublic.php?cid=5571

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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES 34 PREVIEW

LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 34! In the booth with me tonight is the meticulous Furious Styles!

Styles: Thank you, X, for that. There are times when I’m meticulous, especially when I go out on a date. I’m hoping that the dating scene will be more active now that some places are slowly opening up back to business. I know there’ve been protests out here in Los Angeles and Mayor Garcetti had some strong words for President Trump, but that’s another topic of discussion! We’re here about MMA business and we’re going to see some business handled in that cage tonight!

Xavier: Well said, Styles! There’s going to be a lot of business taken care of in that cage, no doubt, and we’re also going to see two titles on the line tonight in what promise to be outstanding fights! Without further ado, let’s get down to it!

 

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION: BESSARION ALEXIUS (33-19-2; CURRENT STREAK: 2 LOSSES)
VERSUS
RYU “THE WATER MOCCASIN” AOKISON (24-22-1; CURRENT STREAK: 5 LOSSES)

Xavier: I know it sounds a bit strange to say a fight that features two men who are close to the end of their careers and have a combined seven-fight losing streak between them is compelling, but I feel this fight is indeed compelling. Alexius, the 40-year-old Romanian from Beius has quite the female following because of his athletic build and model looks, but he’s also a respected combatant who has had a total of fifty-four fights in his career. That’s a hell of a lot of work, Styles, and anyone can respect that, especially since he obviously has a winning record! He’s six years older than Aokison so that could prove to be an advantage in this contest despite the mileage he has on his tires, so to speak. Granted, Alexius only has seven more fights than Aokison but age can’t be measured in terms of combat knowledge. Alexius brings Golden Gloves boxing, very good Muay Thai, Olympic class grappling and a brown belt, so he’s still a dangerous competitor in that cage! His recent struggles are well documented as he has lost the last five out of six fights, with one being a draw. He’s currently with his third management team and the assumption is he’ll finish his career with this team. A 6-fight win streak has been his best while on the opposite side, his longest losing streak has been 3-fights in a row. One accomplishment he can lean on is his championship achievement. He gained said achievement when he defeated Anselmo Harris at NSC 35: Fitch versus Cha by unanimous decision. He defended his title three times as well, so he proved he has the knowledge and ability to achieve high levels. However, Father Time is a beast, and many have wondered aloud if it’s time for Alexius to hang up the gloves and become a trainer and MMA analyst. He’s going to show everyone he’s not done yet by defeating Aokison by knocking Aokison out!

Styles: Aokison has a little less experience, true, and his record isn’t as impressive as Alexius’. That’s also true, but another truth is this man brings world class grappling and a black belt to this fight, along with Golden Gloves boxing and excellent Muay Thai, so he can’t be underestimated by any means! The UnderGround Fights Enterprise member hails from Fukishima, Japan, and has quite the height advantage in this fight. Typically being the taller man is a hindrance as opposed to a benefit in the grappling sense of combat, but that black belt allows Aokison to adapt to any opponent he faces and manage to keep himself out of harm’s way while looking to secure dominant positioning and tightening up Alexius into any number of submissions! This is his third management team and similar to Alexius, his struggles as of late are well documented. Stepping into this fight with this losing streak is dangerous business against any opponent, X, and when I saw Aokison earlier while he prepared for this fight, he looked a little tired from my estimation. If he’s not fully energized and committed to this fight, then he’s handing Alexius a major advantage that the veteran will know how to take full advantage of! The longest winning streak of his career has been 8-fights in a row while the most he’s dropped in a row has been the current 5-fight losing streak. What that means is Aokison is going to have to dig very deep and find a way to pull out this win because suffering that many losses in a row has to be absolutely taxing on his psyche and confidence, and a fighter who lacks confidence really has to end fights quickly to overcome that. Aokison, despite looking a bit tired, finds a way to dig deep and get the job done by taking this fight to the ground and forcing Alexius to tap out!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Aokison by Submission; Xavier – Alexius by KO

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION: PIERRE JOSEPH PROUDHON (19-10; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
WILLIAM “BRAVEHEART” WALLACE (28-14; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Styles: I’d say it’s pretty obvious that Proudhon is from France, but nonetheless, he hails from Besancon and the 32-year old steps into this fight with very good overall skills. Solid boxing, world class Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt make him capable in any given situation and he’s proven that time and again. Currently with his fourth management team, Proudhon began his career on an excellent note by securing his name into the annals of championship lore when he defeated Mihai Viteazul by knockout at TGC 23: Nobrainer versus Lang 2 in the first round! He would defend that title three more times and later capture another title in a different organization, so Proudhon knows how to handle business in that cage! A 10-fight win streak is how he began his career and I suppose it could technically be eleven in a row, but one fight was a No Contest for whatever reason. On the downside, he’s lost 3-fights in a row but that’s only happened once. The last time we saw him battle, he defeated Nigel Benn Jr. by TKO in the second round at ICS 24 so he’s obviously looking to carry that momentum over into this fight! I believe Proudhon still has plenty of firepower left in his cannons and tonight, he’ll look to drop Wallace where he stands! He’s a little shorter than Wallace but he can still get to Wallace’s chin by using counterattacks and quite movement with his feet. Making Wallace chase him is a smart way to tire the man out since he is older. If that doesn’t work, then Proudhon does have the option of taking this fight to the ground and wearing the older Wallace out while making him defend himself from being tapped out! However, I think Proudhon goes for the knockout tonight to prove that he still has fire left in his chamber!

Xavier: Wallace and his faithful monkey represent Cromulent Doom tonight in this contest, and the 41-year-old Scotland product brings aggression and his unusually large arms into this fight ready to do damage! Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, very good grappling and a purple belt is what he has in his arsenal, and as I see it, Styles, Wallace’s best chance is to keep this fight in the vertical plane. In order to do that, Wallace is going to have to be patient and make Proudhon miss some strikes so Wallace can capitalize on them because I’m not sure Wallace wants to try and match Proudhon’s speed and energy in this fight! In addition to that, when I saw Wallace in the locker room area warming up, he looked a bit fatigued. Granted, he could get himself together by fight time, but I think that’s playing with fire. I know he’s a veteran and I know he has the ability to make any opponent go to sleep early with one clean shot, but it’s very surprising that a veteran of numerous battles would step into a fight with anything less than a full tank of air in his lungs! Like Proudhon, Wallace also has a champions pedigree and that became the case when he defeated Butch Carson by TKO in the first round at KOFC 25 – Kruiz versus Grice. He defended that title once then became a champion again, so being a multi-champion and battling a multi-champion adds a layer of depth to this fight. His longest winning streak has been 5-fights in a row while the longest slide has been 3-fights in a row. His aggression and power have served him well, overall, and his take no prisoners attitude has won him many fans. It’s also won him many trips to the canvas after being knocked out so he’s going to have to drop Proudhon as quickly as possible to avoid fatigue and possibly being dragged to the mat where he doesn’t want to be! Wallace wins this battle with a wallop!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Wallace by KO; Styles – Proudhon by KO

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: ULYSSES “THE GOLDEN BEAR” BLAZKOV (10-5; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
“MR. AMNESIA” KRISTIAN JOHANSSON (25-6; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Xavier: Fight fans have been looking forward to seeing these two behemoths step into the cage and rattle the foundation, and now they’ve got their wish! The 27-year-old mastodon from Kriva Krusha, Macedonia, steps into battle representing YABAI tonight. He’s eleven years younger than Johansson and typically I’d say that’s a disadvantage, but when the fighters are two massive sides of beef like this, there are exceptions to the rule! Since Blazkov has only had fifteen fights compared to the thirty-one that Johansson has had, technically, Blazkov should be the much fresher and far less damaged warrior in the cage for this fight. World class boxing and Muay Thai are supported by outstanding grappling and a brown belt. Since he’s shorter and lighter than Johansson, and that’s not something often said about Blazkov, he’s going to have to rely on speed and maneuverability tonight to avoid absorbing strikes that must feel like being hit by a tree from Johansson to take home the victory tonight! I don’t think either one of these very large men will want to go the ground because it would take a hell of a lot of energy to get back up and keep fighting, so Blazkov could very well lock Johansson into a clinch and wear the taller and heavier man down a bit by leaning on him against the cage while unloading vicious a body shots to open up Johansson’s defenses enough for Blazkov to land a jaw-snapping uppercut! A 7-fight win streak has been his best while his worst has been 3-fights in a row lost, so he absolutely wants to carry over the momentum from his recent win over Ueda Umanouke by TKO in the first round at ICS 29. Blazkov will win this battle of the titans with brutalizing strikes that overwhelm Johansson and make him stare up at the large tattoo on Blazkov’s belly while the referee tells him that he lost!

Styles: Johansson may be called “Mr. Amnesia” but he sure as hell hasn’t forgotten how to fight! The Swedish product from Stockholm steps into battle representing UnderGround Fights Enterprise tonight, and the 38-year-old veteran of many wars has very good boxing and Muay Thai ability supported by solid grappling and a purple belt. Since he’s the taller man tonight, I can easily see him opting to fight Blazkov using counterattacks, especially to Blazkov’s body in an effort to tire out the younger bear and hell, maybe he’ll mess up that tattoo while he’s at it! He’s with his third management team and he recently got this team their first victory together when he won by unanimous decision over Anthony Griffith at ICS 26. It was surprising that he didn’t finish that fight because a cursory look at his career shows us that he’s a wrecking machine! Many men have felt the fury of his strikes and many have lamented the pain they experienced while staring up at the arena lights! A very impressive 10-fight win streak has been his best stretch while his worst slide has never been more than one loss. That’s highly impressive because of the amount of damage these men unleash in that cage, so tat speaks volumes to his determination, training, desire and toughness! Johansson cemented his name in championship lore when he knocked out William Volkov in the first round at HFC 54: Volkov versus Johansson! I’m surprised that these two haven’t crossed paths until now, but Johansson will prove he’s still a destructive force to be reckoned with! Unloading his very respected power while counterattacking, as I spoke of before, is definitely the meal ticket for Johansson tonight and we could very well see Blazkov get dropped early in the first round if he leaves himself open long enough for Johansson to land that one clean shot he needs to put this fight to bed!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Johansson by KO; Xavier – Blazkov by KO

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: “METHYR OUTLAW DALL” MILKTOAST DIDDLYBOTTOM (29-25; CURRENT STREAK: 4 LOSSES)
VERSUS
MIKE MURHAA (15-13; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Styles: Oh hell yeah! You know this was meant to be, X! It’s been a while since I’ve talked about this dude and his jacked up name, so bear with me for a minute!

Xavier: I expected nothing less.

Syles: And you know this, man! I don’t know what his nickname really means but that doesn’t matter! What does matter is his name, especially that last name! Diddlybottom!? I swear that sounds like a real cheap back alley adult movie star name! Hell, his first name sounds like a kid’s cereal, don’t you think?

Xavier: Possibly.

Styles: Aren’t you the extraordinary conversationalist tonight?

Xavier; Keep me out of it!

Styles: You’re no fun! Anyway, the overly large human from Dainty Lane, wherever the hell that is, steps into battle as a rarity. It’s not often you see walking refrigerators with grappling and BJJ skills of a high level, but here it is, ladies and gentlemen! Diddlybottom has world class grappling ability and a black belt in BJJ, so a man his size who could probably tip over a car actually prefers to wrestle on the ground! I know it’s an anomaly but hell, if it works, I can’t knock it! While he doesn’t have the best record, the 39-year-old UnderGround Fights Enterprise member definitely knows how to get the job done once the fight ends up on the ground. He’s a good amount taller than Murhaa so that may work against him a bit in his effort to grapple against Murhaa, as I expect him to, but be that as it may, that’s what’s going to happen, especially since he’s basically twenty pounds lighter than dude! He also has Golden Gloves boxing and solid Muay Thai so he won’t be trepid about standing toe-to-toe with Murhaa at all, but I think he’ll want to get this fight horizontal so he can try and lean his weight on Murhaa and tire him out while battling for superior positioning! Diddlybottom has had numerous management teams so he’s had to endure quite a bit of diversity, but he is a champion, so that can’t be taken away from him nor overlooked. By defeating Tong Po by unanimous decision at Pride FC 28, he etched his name into a prestigious class of very large men, so he can rely on that experience if he needs to do so. He’s basically seen it all and done it all so at least he won’t be caught off guard by anything that Murhaa throws at him tonight. The winner of 6-fights in a row at one point in his career, he has to overcome his longest losing streak, which he’s currently on, because he absolutely does not want to lose a fifth fight in a row! In order to do that, he’s going to have to outwrestle Murhaa and take this win home via tapout!

Xavier: Murhaa is the heavier man of the two, but, more importantly in my opinion, he’s also the younger man. Being nine years younger than a war torn opponent, especially one as tall as Diddlybottom, is a major advantage because he can do a lot of damage by sinking that major weight behind his strikes, be they aggressive or patient counterstrikes, and he can definitely try and lean that extra weight on Diddlybottom in the clinch to wear the older man down before going for either the knockout or the control on the ground which can lead to a submission! It’s very unusual to have men this tall and heavy favoring the ground game, in my opinion, but here you have two such warriors, and if this fight goes to the ground early and often, it could literally end up being a battle of attrition! Seeing that Diddlybottom has more wins than Murhaa has fights, I think it’s safe to assume Murhaa has suffered less damage and thus, he should be able to withstand a potential toe-to-toe semitruck crash with Diddlybottom and get the better of the exchange! He may have to use counterattacks and more movement than he’d like to, but it’s better to opt to do that than taste repeated dynamite blasts in the standup that could lead to him being taken to the mat while he’s rocked and that would be a very bad situation. The LEGION OF DOOM brawler from Sjk, Finland, has been the winner of 6-fights in a row at one point in his career while he’s dropped 3-fights in a row at most. Murhaa has been involved in some brutal battles and while he’s waylaid many fighters, he, too, has tasted his share of canvas sandwiches but that doesn’t stop his aggression and the fans love him for it! Murhaa will be aggressive in seeking a knockout over Diddlybottom and he’ll get it because he’ll overwhelm the older fighter!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Murhaa by KO; Styles – Diddlybottom by Submission

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION: CASPER “OL SKOOL” TIMMERMANS (29-17-1; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
HARRY “OPIE” WINSTON (27-25; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)

Xavier: The man with the blue shades steps into the ring representing the Keyboard Warriors in this matchup. The Belgium brawler from Gent has world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and brown belt skills, and the 36-year-old absolutely knows how to use all of those tools at his disposal! This man has done a little bit of everything from KT to TWGC to MMA, so he’s pretty much seen it all and done it all. That experience is very valuable because he knows how to get himself out of trouble under any circumstances, a very pertinent ability and attribute that has helped him become a multi-time champion! His first taste of gold occurred when he defeated Aksel Stenger by unanimous decision at Just Bleed 13/12, and he won that title during an 8-fight win streak. In fact, that’s been his longest winning streak of his career so the timing of that was excellent. His longest losing streak has been 3-fights in a row so we have a fighter in Timmermans who knows how to take hold of momentum and carry it over for good stretches of time. Earlier in his career and then during a mid-career stretch, he was known to display knockout power, but his skillset allowed him to achieve victory in basically every possible manner. He’s also shown his toughness and ability to withstand striking power as he’s only been knocked out three times in his career, and for having had as many battles as he’s had, that’s a very impressive feat! Timmermans is the taller man and will utilize that height in the standup to the best of his ability. It’s imperative that he keeps this fight standing because I don’t think he wants to see just how skilled Winston is on the ground, especially with his high level BJJ skills, so it’ll be bombs away in the standup for Timmermans. Timmermans wins this very challenging fight by knockout!

Styles: Winston hails from Charming, California, and the 37-year-old LEGION OF DOOM member brings a very solid arsenal of skills in this battle. World class boxing, outstanding Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and a black belt is what Timmermans will be dealing with tonight! Winston has the advantage of consistency here with having worked with only one management team for his entire career. We’ve touched upon that previously but it’s definitely an important facet of combat that can’t be overlooked because he and his management team know exactly what he can and can’t do in the cage, and as of late, he’s been on a roll! He gained vengeance of sorts by defeating Sven Ludwig by TKO after Ludwig defeated Winston by TKO in the battle before that one! Winston took that momentum and carried it over to his fight against Andriy Voronin and won that by TKO in the third round as well. Winston’s definitely feelin’ himself, X, and that’s bad news for Timmermans because that makes Winston that much more difficult to battle. A 4-fight winning streak has been his best while his worst showing has been a 6-fight losing streak. That’s very tough to deal with for any fighter but the fact he kept coming back for more tells me a lot about his warrior spirit as well as his desire to push himself to higher limits! Not known particularly for being a knockout artist, he has enough knockout victories to make Timmermans aware that he can’t underestimate the velocity in Winston’s strikes. Winston does have the option of taking this fight to the mat if he feels Timmermans getting the best of the standup and if and when the fight goes to the ground, Winston will definitely do all he can to keep it there, and I think Winston wins this matchup by scoring the tapout!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Winston by Submission; Xavier – Timmermans by KO

FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION: “THE SAMOAN SCRAPPER” MALAKI FISO (16-8; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
QUAN “CHIEN BINH” LE (25-9-1; CURRENT STREAK: 3 WINS)

Styles: Fiso is four years younger than his adversary in this contest, and he obviously doesn’t have nearly the same level of in-cage combat experience either, but I don’t think that’s going to cause him to slow down whatsoever! The GBU representative brings Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, very good grappling and a black belt into this fray, and his aggressive style of combat makes him a dangerous opponent that the fans enjoy watching. He’s only been with one management team and I personally believe that helped him greatly in becoming a champion. He conquered that mountain, if you will, when he defeated Mike Hunt, and you know I want to say a lot about that name but I’ll leave it alone since it’s like beating a dead horse since that name has been used in jokes and sayings since we were little kids, X. He defeated him by unanimous decision and defended it once before losing it to Demian Azevedo. He won another title by defeating Ivan Volkov by armbar at Skrap Fight 73 in the first round, so he has that championship knowledge and ability he can call on in dire straits. It’s obvious that he’s not a knockout artist but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable in the standup, so Le better not get overconfident while this fight is vertical because if he does, that could prove to be very costly. Fiso has had three different instances of a 4-fight win streak so he knows what to do when he’s on a roll, and since he defeated Ryan Rodriguez at ICS 27 by unanimous decision, he’s definitely rollin’ at the right time to carry that momentum into this fight! Fiso is a bit taller and heavier than Le but not by so much that it harms his BJJ abilities, plus he can use the weight to keep Le on the ground and pinned for the submission win that Fiso will score tonight!

Xavier: The 31-year-old Hanoi product represents the Keyboard Warriors tonight, and he brings a lot of skill and ability with him into this squabble! Golden Gloves boxing, world class Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a black belt are what fuel this warrior and the experience edge will definitely be a factor in this fight. He’s not a multi-time champion like Fiso but he’s a champion nonetheless, and that became cemented when he defeated Vika Partio by unanimous decision at NSC 42: Wolf versus Boston. He lost the title two fights later but that doesn’t remove the fact he knows what it takes to sit atop the mountain of championship success, so he, too, can rely on that knowledge and experience if and when he’s unable to impose his will on Fiso! Le is all about winning the battle of attrition and he enjoys making his opponents fight his fight while frustrating the hell out of them by outmaneuvering them, outwrestling them and outthinking them! He has some knockouts to his credit so Fiso can’t be completely loose in the standup, but Le’s definitely not known for bringing a lot of power with him so speed, accuracy and will are the keys for Le to win this fight tonight. If he wants to make this a battle of attrition, first thing he’s going to have to do is score vital points in the standup while softening up Fiso before going for any takedowns. Le could opt to try and lock Fiso into a clinch and score points there while seeing if Fiso can prevent him from gaining dominant position for the trip takedown or standard shoot-in takedown. Once Le takes this fight to the horizontal plane, he’ll keep it there because he knows he can outwrestle Fiso while frustrating him and forcing him to make errors he normally wouldn’t in an effort to transition out of Le’s grasp, and when that happens, Le locks in the submission for the win!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Le by Submission; Styles – Fiso by Submission

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION: SASHA “ALEX K IS GAY” BELIY (20-14; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)
VERSUS
FIYERO LERMONTOV (20-11-1; 2 LOSSES)

Xavier: The 31-year-old LEGION OF DOOM member who hails from San Bernardino, California, not far from here, actually, brings his purple flattop hair style and aggressive attitude into the cage with Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and brown belt at his disposal!

Styles: Obviously, there’s some personal vendetta with the whole nickname deal, right?

Xavier: Indeed, but that’s between Beliy and The Stepdads, Styles. We’re just here to focus on the fights.

Styles: I know what I’m here to do, man, but I just have to wonder what Alex thinks of the nickname. Is he pissed, bemused, amused, indifferent?

Xavier: I’m sure you can find out if you really want to, Styles.

Styles: I just might do that!

Xavier: Currently with his third management team, Beliy has managed to string together a 5-fight win streak as the best of his career so far while suffering 4-losses in a row has been his worst. However, he recently snapped that losing streak in strong fashion by knocking out Sheev Palpatine in the first round at ICS 27! Obviously, the question is can he carry that momentum from the first-round knockout into this fight against Lermontov and be just as effective? Beliy can rely on his championship pedigree if he’s in a less than favorable position against Lermontov in this fight. Beliy became a champion very early in his career, in fact, he achieved that in only his second fight, and many said he was destined for greatness! He defended that title three times in a row before moving to another organization, then there were no more title opportunities or title opportunities until much later in his career. The last time he had such an opportunity was against Will Rock at EMP Rock versus Beliy, and, obviously, Rock emerged victorious by TKO in the first round. That started his 4-fight losing streak, in fact, so the knockout win over Palpatine was impeccably timed. Early in his career, Beliy was quite the knockout artist and over the course of his career, he’s made fifteen opponents take early naps, a rather impressive accomplishment! On the other side of that coin, Beliy has tasted canvas ten times in his career so there are concerns about his ability to withstand powerful strikes and continue to press forward. He’s slightly shorter and lighter than Lermontov so I expect Beliy to look for his potential knockout with counterattacking, feints and speed, especially since Lermontov is very highly skilled in the standup aspect of combat! It will be a difficult undertaking, but Beliy wins this fight by knockout after feinting his way inside Lermontov’s defenses and making him expose his chin just long enough!

Styles: The 29-year-old Russian from Omsk represents The Evil Empire in this contest, and the 29-year-old has established himself as one of the very highly skilled warriors in this business! World class boxing and Muay Thai are backed up by outstanding grappling and a black belt, so he’s a force to be reckoned with on any level of combat. If Lermontov wants to take this fight to the ground and try his luck there, I fully expect him to utilize his very sharp accuracy and very fast strikes to score important points on the judges’ scorecards while softening Beliy up for potential takedowns while also potentially frustrating Beliy with his speed and strength! Since Lermontov is slightly taller and lighter than Beliy, I expect him to want to establish his jab, especially, as that will allow him to gauge the distance he wants to have to land his strikes while staying out of harm’s way as much as possible. Lermontov can even push the space and pace while in the standup by locking Beliy into a clinch and testing the waters there, as the saying goes. If Lermontov feels he can control Beliy in the clinch, then he can really try to drain the energy from Beliy there before attempting any takedowns into control from wherever he feels he can be most effective against Beliy. Lermontov has only had one management team so he knows what they can push him to do and they know what he can and can’t do. That integration of knowledge allowed Lermontov to become a champion when he defeated Bernardo De Barros by armbar at TAFC: Fujimoto versus Shorton. Shorton, huh? I could really take it there, X, but I’ll leave that alone and focus on Lermontov. Earlier in his career, Lermontov scored a good number of TKO victories and I see that being the case tonight against Beliy because I feel Lermontov will be more aggressive and damaging than the older Beliy! Lermontov by TKO!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Lermontov by TKO; Xavier – Beliy by KO

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION: SPEVA KOSO (24-11-3; CURRENT STREAK: 2 WINS)
VERSUS
MICK “MONEY WWEIGHT” MURPHY (31-11; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Styles: Three years older than his opponent tonight, Koso steps into the cage with world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, Olympic-level grappling and a black belt. A very highly skilled fighter who doesn’t have a preference when he fights because he enjoys combat, the Londoner represents YABAI in this fight and brings a championship pedigree as well. Granted, it’s not as prolific as Murphy’s, perhaps, but that doesn’t mean Koso won’t know how to handle his business once the bell rings! Despite having numerous management teams throughout his career, he made it known to this industry that he was able to withstand the winds of change and still become a top dog in his weight class. His controversial split decision victory over Sala Barbo at RS 165 All Out War put him into the upper echelon of combat! Surprisingly, that’s the only title he’s ever held in his career and that seems to be bad luck and bad timing for a man of this skill level to not have had a plethora of championship fights, but that’s just the way it goes. A 5-fight win streak has been his best while his longest struggle has been 2-fights in a row. Considering how many fights he’s had, it’s very impressive that he’s only lost at most two fights in a row. That absolutely speaks volumes about his fighting spirit, skill level and desire to return to form and achieve all he can. Known much more for his submission skills, I believe that’s his meal ticket tonight against Murphy because, in my opinion, Murphy has enough power to make this a very painful night for Koso if he doesn’t focus and handle business right away. Koso could even lock Murphy into a clinch if he’s struggling against the fiery brawer and take control of the scorecards as well as positioning in the ring! Koso wins this fight by tapout!

Xavier: The LEGION OF DOOM is rather busy tonight as they have another representative engaging in combat this evening in the form of Murphy, the fiery Irishman from Dublin! Murphy is substantially taller than Koso and as long as he can keep this fight in the vertical plane and Koso at bay, Murphy will be able to exploit his major height advantage very well! Very much like his opponent, Murphy is very skilled all around with world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt. Despite is excellent grappling skills, I doubt Murphy wants to test his luck against Koso’s grappling skills because that could end up in a bad result, one, and two, it takes Murphy out of his element and that’s to be devastating in the standup! His aggression and power have served him very well on multiple occasions as he began his career with an incredible 15-fight winning streak! I know we’ve touched upon that before but that doesn’t take away from that very impressive accomplishment! To no one’s surprise, Murphy became a champion early in his career by defeating Mister Bean by unanimous decision at KOFC 30 – Diehard versus Rackham 2. A knockout artist early in his career, the number of knockouts have slowed a bit as time has progressed but that doesn’t mean he’s lost the ability to tune up an opponents chin if they leave it exposed for too long! Murphy is a multi-time champion so he does have that distinct advantage over Koso, and that could very well turn the tide of this battle to Murphy’s favor if Koso manages to take the momentum away from Murphy. The championship experience edge absolutely favors Murphy and that, along with his willingness to put himself directly in harm’s way to try and drop his opponents where they stand is endearing to the fans! However, Murphy has suffered for that direct line of combat and has tasted canvas five times. Now, overall, that’s an excellent mark because he’s had so many fights that were so violent and brutal that anyone would sustain damage from them, but the fact that these five knockouts have all occurred in recent battles is what’s a bit disconcerting for Murphy an his team. However, to deal with that, Murphy needs to be a storm with legs and overwhelm Koso until he can land the rib-cracking hook he needs to win by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Murphy by KO; Styles – Koso by Submission

LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT: MIN-SIK KONG (31-9-1; CURRENT STREAK: 3 WINS)
VERSUS
“THE JAVAN ZOMBIE” TEKE BAMALOG (18-6-2; CURRENT STREAK: 3 WINS)

Xavier: This is the perfect time to have a Lightweight Championship battle! Both competitors are on a 3-fight winning streak recently and both are primed to put on one hell of a show because neither man wants to lose, of course, but neither man wants to lose the momentum they’ve had to work arduously to establish! Song, the champion, hails from Busan, South Korea, and the 33-year-old La Familia representative steps into combat with his baby face appearance and world class boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and brown belt skills! He’s looked very sharp and determined over the last three fights and the fights have been right up his alley because they’ve been battles of frenetic pace and we all know that Song can establish and maintain one hell of a fast pace! I understand some of the fans may not sing his praises for winning numerous fights ending in decision but in this business, securing the victory and walking away in one piece is one hell of an accomplishment in and of itself! Not every fighter is going to be a destructive path and sometimes I think Song’s intelligence and meticulous approach to battle is overlooked and underestimated, but he’s a champion for a reason, ladies and gentlemen. He had to work and wait for his title opportunity, and for Song, it was the fourth time around being the charm, and when he defeated Derek Harris at Pride FC 28 by unanimous decision, his lifelong dream of being a mixed martial arts champion came to fruition! He’s surprised some opponents and has knocked them out, but mainly he’s proven that fitness is his best friend, along with speed and smarts, of course. A 7-fight win streak has been his best while his worst showing has been losing 2-fights in a row, so he’s still managed to avoid the taboo three fight losing streak! He’s just slightly taller than Bamalog and weighs the same, so he’ll have to use his experience and slight height advantage to keep Bamalog at bay from start to finish of this fight and do what he does best by keeping up the high level of energy output and taking this fight the distance for the unanimous decision win!

Styles: The Stepdads will be watching this fight very closely, X, because they know this is a prime chance for Bamalog to emerge with a bit more weight around his waist tonight! The 31-year-old Indonesian from Cipamingkis knows he’s the younger fighter with less combat experience, but he also knows he has less wear and tear on his body and due to that, Bamalog may be ultra-aggressive in this fight because he knows Song will try to outwork him plus he doesn’t have major concerns about Song’s striking power and that means Bamalog can take more chances in the toe-to-toe start to this fight. I don’t see this fight going to the ground because Bamalog could very well focus entirely on trying to drop the baby-faced assassin and say to hell with trying to secure the unanimous decision win! Bamalog brings Golden Gloves boxing, excellent Muay Thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt to this championship opportunity, but, again, I don’t think he wants this squabble to end up on the mat! Keeping this baby vertical gives Bamalog his best chance at bringing home that prestigious title and he knows he’s going to have to work his ass off to take that title off of Song’s hands. I have no doubt that Bamalog is extra motivated tonight because a man of his skill set and accomplishments doesn’t have a lot of championship history to his name and there’s a sense that bothers him a great deal because he feels he’s been overlooked for far too long! That, X, is one hell of a motivating factor and could very well help him overcome his lack of combat experience and championship pedigree in comparison to Song! Two instances of a 4-fight win streak have been his best so if he sustains that pattern, he wins tonight and wins perhaps his biggest battle to date! He’s lost 2-fights in a row twice so he, too, has avoided the taboo mark of losing 3-fights in a row. I think Bamalog steps it up big time tonight and surprises Song by knocking him out with counterstrikes!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Bamalog by KO; Xavier – Song by Unanimous Decision

WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: “DR. KNEEVIL” NICK GRAVES (33-6; CURRENT STREAK: 9 WINS)
VERSUS
RODERICK “RIGH” TURNBULL (25-8-2; CURRENT STREAK: NONE)

Styles: And the last throwdown of this showdown tonight is one hell of a doozy! The rare breed that the champion, Graves, is will be on display tonight and the fans will love it yet again! This man is incredible because at the age of 30, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down! That’s very rare, especially in this business, and the fact he still packs sledgehammer’s in his strikes is incredible and very destructive! Add to that the fact that he’s on a 9-fight win streak currently and his best winning streak has been a tremendous 15-fights in a row, and it’s very easy to see why there’s no stopping this man! Knockout artist, devastating force, cataclysmic energy, call it what you will but the dude is just nasty and damn brutal when he gets into that cage! Dropping opponents like flies left and right is his calling card and he’s answered that call time and again. He first wore gold around his waist when he knocked out Cal Klos at NJMMA #32: Klos versus Graves, and he didn’t look back for a long time! When he lost to Joe Smith by TKO, there was a collective crap taken by this industry because no one saw that coming! No disrespect to Joe Smith but when you face a dude on a 15-fight winning streak, you’re not really expected to do a whole lot to halt that incredible momentum. Luc Gagnon has turned out to be one hell of a thorn for this man and he’s lost three times to Gagnon, so that speaks volumes about what Gagnon brings to battle, but nonetheless, Graves has dealt with being knocked out five times very well because, let’s face it. He doesn’t have to worry about being knocked out if he drops the man standing in front of him first, right? Besides, I don’t think this dude knows any other way to fight, X, and the fans don’t want to see him do anything else! He’s wildly popular and there’s no doubt he has surges of energy from the fans that chant his name the entire time he fights. World class boxing and Muay Thai supported by outstanding grappling and a purple belt are the technical arsenal he brings to battle, but the TNT-laced knuckles are his calling card, and tonight, he retains his title by unloading that explosive power on the jaw of Turnbull time and again until the man falls where he once stood! The Stepdads celebrate big time tonight after this win!

Xavier: Turnbull knows what he faces in Graves tonight, Styles, and I have no doubt he’s mentally prepared for this fight because he has been rolling along very well lately. If you overlook the draw he had against Brandon Marsden Jr. before he recently defeated him at ICS 28 by TKO late in the third round, he’s technically on a 6-fight win streak so the momentum and confidence are exactly where they need to be at the right time! To stop the wave of power named Graves, Turnbull is going to have to dig real deep into his striking defense bag and even further to find that warrior spirit that makes him get up in the morning, ignore the pain and push himself harder each time in the gym because he loves combat and he wants to be the best he can be, period! He’s not the force of destruction that Graves is but let’s be honest, Styles. There aren’t many men that bring that kind of power and ferocity into the cage so Turnbull can’t focus on that whatsoever. His laser focus will be on doing what he needs to do to emerge as the victor tonight after this hellacious battle, and in order to do that, he’s going to have to make Graves expend a hell of a lot of energy trying to score the knockout. If Turnbull can keep his chin tucked and head moving and make Graves miss those power shots time and again, plus work on his body to sap his energy and some of that crushing striking power, then Graves will be noticeably slowed down and that will give Turnbull all the inspiration he needs to step up the pressure and continuously land accurate, fast strikes to move ahead on the scorecards and stay there! Turnbull does have some power, folks, but he obviously doesn’t want to try and have a standup war with Graves because that would be very painful and futile! You don’t win 9-fights in a row by being stupid or crazy brave, and you also don’t lose 2-fights in a row twice over a long career by not using your noggin! Turnbull can rely on his Golden Gloves and world class Muay Thai tonight to bring home the gold for the Keyboard Warriors and make the people of Edinburgh, Scotland, even more proud of him!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Turnbull by Unanimous Decision; Styles – Graves by KO

 

Xavier: And we’ve reached the conclusion of our show tonight! Thank you as always, ladies and gentlemen, for your outstanding and humbling support. We are truly grateful to each and every one of you and can’t thank you enough for encouraging us to work harder each and every time.

Styles: We also want to thank Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing for their incredible support and my understanding is they’re giving out extra love to fighters who are signed to their brand, so if you have a merchandise contract with this outstanding company, give them a shoutout and get hooked up! Hey, maybe we’ll get hooked up because I always talk about them!Xavier; That’s for fighters only, Styles.

Styles: Hey, you never know! I might get hooked up with an extra fat dinner or something kick ass like that because of my shout outs! Anyway, take care, ladies and gentlemen, thanks again, and we’ll see you at the fights!

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