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World Vale Tudo Fight League - 135lb Grand Prix


Alfred

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I'm back running the IFC mate so the tournament will be under that banner. Doesn't make a difference, just cosmetic.

 

 

From what I can tell, all but one has created but just haven't put forward their guy. Luckily we have a couple of back ups so it shouldn't be a problem if worse comes to the worst

 

Great. Gotcha.

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Ok people, the groups are set, the fighters have been created, contracts have been sent out and the fight schedules have been posted (first page, second post down)

 

Hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here but any questions please ask.

 

Tournament break down and predictions will be coming soon.

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Iron Man Vale Tudo Grand Prix - Season 2 (135lbs Division)
Early Season Predictions
Group A
Fighter: Nilton Guimaraes
Manager: John Pezao – Best Rank 100
168cm, 135lbs - Representing Brazil
Strengths: BJJ Brown Belt
Weaknesses: Useless striking and lack of wrestling
Toughest Fight – Polly Paulson
Fight To Watch – Abel Archer
Early Prediction - Third
Fighter: Nance "The Warlock" Gibbord
Manager: Thaddeus Banks - Best Rank 245
200cm, 140lbs - Representing Italy
Strengths: Wonderful Boxer
Weaknesses: Submission defence, feeble wrestling
Toughest Fight – Abel Archer
Fight to Watch – Polly Paulson
Early Prediction - Fifth
Fighter: Pete Peterson
Manager: Keith Talu - Best Rank 143
173cm, 145lbs - Representing USA
Strengths: Wonderful wrestler
Weaknesses: BJJ White Belt
Toughest Fight – Nilton Guimaraes
Fight to Watch – Abel Archer
Early Prediction - Forth
Fighter: Polly Paulson
Manager: Marcus Shakovsky - Best Rank 57
165cm, 141lbs - Representing England
Strengths: Respectable Muay Thai and Wrestling
Weaknesses: Submission defence
Toughest Fight – Abel Archer
Fight to Watch – Nance Gibbord
Early Prediction – Second
Fighter: Abel "83" Archer
Manager: Mike Hunt - Best Rank 9
168cm, 140lbs - Representing UK
Strengths: Superb Wrestling
Weaknesses: BJJ White Belt
Toughest Fight – Nilton Guimaraes
Fight to Watch – Pete Peterson
Early Prediction - First
Group B
Fighter: Gruff Dragon
Manager: Pika Choo - Best Rank 59
150cm, 130lbs - Representing Belgium
Strengths: Wonderful Wrestler
Weaknesses: Submission defence, Very Short
Toughest Fight – Crisostomo Ibarra
Fight to Watch – Joe Slasher
Early Prediction - First
Fighter: Joe Slasher
Manager: Big Larry - Best Rank 38
162cm, 140lbs - Representing UK
Strengths: Remarkable Boxing
Weaknesses: Lack of Grappling skills
Toughest Fight – Gruff Dragon
Fight to Watch – Girchin Funakoshi
Early Prediction - Third
Fighter: Crisostomo "Simoun" Ibarra
Manager: James Isaac Abraham - Best Rank 49
169cm, 145lbs - Representing Philppines
Strengths: BJJ Brown Belt
Weaknesses: Lack of Striking & Wrestling
Toughest Fight – Joe Slasher
Fight to Watch – Chris Chaitle
Early Prediction - Second
Fighter: Gichin "Shoto" Funakoshi
Manager: Master Tessin - Best Rank 175
169cm, 135lbs - Representing Japan
Strengths: Respectable Boxing & Wrestling
Weaknesses: BJJ White Belt
Toughest Fight – Gruff Dragon
Fight to Watch – Joe Slasher
Early Prediction - Forth
Fighter: Chris "Lights On" Chaitle
Manager: Kyle Moore - Best Rank 143
170cm, 140lbs - Representing USA
Strengths: BJJ Purple Belt
Weaknesses: Likely to struggle in clinch
Toughest Fight – Joe Slasher
Fight to Watch – Crisostomo Ibraa
Early Prediction - Fifth
Group C
Fighter: Duke Nukem
Manager: John Sullivan - Best Rank 168
170cm, 140lbs - Representing Belize
Strengths: Strong Wrestling, Mediocre Boxing
Weaknesses: BJJ White Belt
Toguhest Fight – Rascals Alfalfa
Fight to Watch – One Fortythree
Early Prediction - Third
Fighter: "The Little" Rascals Alfalfa
Manager: Raichu Kong - Best Rank 337
160cm, 130lbs - Representing USA
Strengths: Wonderful Muay Thai
Weaknesses: Lack of Wrestling & BJJ
Toughest Fight – Takayama Yataro
Fight to Watch – Anders Silva
Early Prediction - Forth
Fighter: Takayama Yataro
Manager: Alexander Melchiot - Best Rank 38
163cm, 143lbs - Representing Japan
Strengths: Wonderful Wrestling
Weaknesses: Lack of Striking Skills
Toughest Fight – Duke Nukem
Fight to Watch – One Fortythree
Early Prediction - Second
Fighter: Anders Silver
Manager: Adam Lim - Best Rank 238
186cm, 135lbs - Representing Singapore
Strengths: Wonderful Muay Thai
Weaknesses: Lack of Wrestling & BJJ
Toughest Fight – Takayama Yataro
Fight to Watch – Rascals Alfalfa
Early Prediction - 5th
Fighter: "I Weigh" One Fortythree
Manager: Larry Hawk - Best Rank 125
168cm, 143lbs - Representing Jamaica
Strengths: Submission Wrestling
Weaknesses: Lack of Striking Skills
Toughest Fight – Duke Nukem
Fight to Watch – Takayama Yataro
Early Prediction - First
Group D
Fighter: Tom Baker
Manager: Lieutenant Columbo - Best Rank 9
150cm, 138lbs - Representing England
Strengths: Wonderful Wrestling
Weaknesses: Lack of Striking
Toughest Fight – Eunan Moray
Fight to Watch – Balor Fino
Early Prediction - Forth
Fighter: Balor Fino
Manager: Scotty JoeC - Best Rank 5
165cm, 140lbs - Representing Iceland
Strengths: Wonderful Wrestling
Weaknesses: BJJ White Belt
Toughest Fight – Eunan Moray
Fight to Watch – Tom Baker
Early Prediction - Second
Fighter: Makhlamed Armagedonenov
Manager: Malikoy Muza - Best Rank 61
167cm, 135lbs - Representing Russia
Strengths: Submission Wrestling
Weaknesses: Lack of Striking Skills
Toughest Fight – Eunan Moray
Fight to Watch – Balor Fino
Early Predition - Third
Fighter: "Brilliant" Brian Marais
Manager: Hunter Johnson - Best Rank 760
168cm, 138lbs - Representing South Africa
Strengths: BJJ Brown Belt
Weaknesses: Lack of Striking & Wrestling
Toughest Fight – Eunan Moray
Fight to Watch – Makhlamed Armagedonenov
Early Prediction - Fifth
Fighter: Eunan Moray
Manager: Gus Malcom - Best Rank 1
160cm, 133lbs - Representing Scotland
Strengths: BJJ Brown
Weaknesses: Lack of Wrestling
Toughest Fight – Makhlamed Armagedonenov
Fight to Watch – Balor Fino
Early Prediction - First
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Iron Man Vale Tudo – 135lbs Grand Prix S02E01

The Underground, Los Angeles – Sunday September 9th 2018


Group Stage Round 1


Group A


Nance “The Warlock” Gibbord (0-0, 140lbs) vs. Polly Paulson (0-0, 141lbs)


Kicking things off in the second successive Vale Tudo tournament is a fight that should definitely get the heart pumping.


Wonderful boxer Nance Gibbord takes on brawler Polly Paulson in what may be only a handful of opportunities to show off his striking pedigree. Gibbord hasn’t been afforded much chance of progressing overall and his chances of qualification definitely hinge on picking up points in fights like these but Paulson is being coached by manager Marcus Shakovsky who has just finished guiding his previous tournament fighter Gargan Morus to a third place finish last time out. On paper Paulson looks to be your arch-typical clinch monster but if last tournament is anything to go buy, Paulson could playing the same short con and actually turn out to be a heavy hitting sprawl and brawler like his predecessor and has been predicted a second place finish overall in Group A


This is definitely a fight that both managers will feel that they have a good chance of winning and with two highly skilled wrestlers in the group elsewhere, they will definitely not want to walk away without any points at this early stage.


Prediction: Paulson by KO although if he does decide to fight on the outside Gibbord’s 35cm height advantage could give him some serious problems


Abel “83” Archer (0-0, 140lbs) vs. Pete Peterson (0-0, 145lbs)


Our second Group A fight is yet another match up slated earlier to be a “fight to watch”. Wrestlers Abel Archer and Pete Peterson will go head to head in what can only be assumed to be a battle for top position though we have been duped before by these kind of early builds.


Abel Archer looks most likely to follow the wrestling ground and pound philosophy with his superb wrestling credentials and assumed efforts in BJJ. He is also guided by former Top 10 manager Mike Hunt who with eight years in the business has an obvious wealth of knowledge and predicted a first place finish in the group. Pete Peterson looks to be in a similar vein though with some obvious efforts put into his boxing before this match up, it’s very possible that Peterson could be looking to use his wonderful wrestling skills to help keep the fight standing and wear down his opponent with some basic but solid striking in the clinch. If that was the case it would certainly make the fight more interesting but with manager Keith Talu only getting involved in the MMA world this year, it would definitely come as a surprise if he could pull this off against such a veteran of the fight game.


Prediction: Abel Archer by TKO via ground and pound.


Group B


Gruff Dragon (0-0, 130lbs) vs. Crisostomo “Simoun” Ibarra (0-0, 145lbs)


Next up, small wrestler Gruff Dragon has been handed a very tough season opener against Filipino BJJ Brown Belt Crisostomo Ibarra. At 150cm and 130lbs, Dragon will definitely be more of the smaller fighters in the tournament and that could definitely be a factor in this match up as he will be unlikely to muscle Ibarra around on the ground.


Dragon, managed by Top 60 manger Piko Choo who guided his fighter to a fourth place overall finish in last seasons tournament, has been predicted a first place finish in the group despite this very tough opening fight. Ibarra, who is also led by returning manager James Isaac Abraham has reached similar heights though has been involved in the business for a good number of years at this point and is expected to do well in the group with a predicted second place finish.


This is a fight that Ibarra will definitely want to be winning. Without any real wrestling skills to help him get the fight to the floor he is lucky that Dragon is likely to want to do it for him this time around which gives him a little extra time going forward. With the only other alternative being to duke it out on the feet without any skills in striking at all, it would definitely be a gamble, though in truth, this is a definite bogey match up for Dragon and he would be very lucky to walk away with any points at all.


Prediction: Ibarra by Submission.


Joe Slasher (0-0, 140lbs) vs. Gichin “Shoto” Funakoshi (0-0, 135lbs)


Our second Group B match is up is a fight to watch as remarkable boxer Joe Slasher takes on Japanese sprawl and brawler Gichin Funakoshi.


Predicted early to finish third in the group, the United Kingdom’s Joe Slasher starts his MMA career under the tutelage of Top 40 manager Big Larry who at this point has shown a good aptitude for the business and will definitely have the advantage in that department for this fight. With pretty much zero skills outside of his Boxing, this opening match could definitely have been worse and Slasher might feel confident of taking maximum points. Of course, to do that, he will need to get past Funakoshi who could be looking to take control in the clinch and use his significant wrestling advantage to bully Slasher around. Funakoshi however is guided by relative newcomer Master Tessin who may struggle against the more experienced players of the tournament and as such has been predicted a fourth place finish in Group B


Prediction: Slasher by KO although he will need to be very careful if Funakoshi has any skills in the clinch.


Group C


Takayama Yataro (0-0, 143lbs) vs. Anders Silver (0-0, 135lbs)


Moving into Group C, we have Japan’s Takayama Yataro taking on Muay Thai specialist Anders Silver and this could end up being a very quick lesson for Silver unless he can somehow overcome the gulf in wrestling skills


Yataro comes into the tournament under the guidance of wily manager Alexander Melchiott, who by this point is a veteran of Iron Man tournaments and is predicted to do well in the group with a second place finish. Silver too is guided by a returning manager though Lim hasn’t fared too well in the past and as such isn’t expected to qualify this time around either.


On paper this looks like a classic striker versus grappler match up and if that is the case then it is likely to be fairly cut and dry. Silver will be unable to stop Yataro from getting the takedown and unless he can pull off a spectacular and quick KO to finish the match early, will succumb to Yataro’s superior grappling skills. Yataro’s manager however is known for his deceptive fight tactics however and it’s possible that Yataro may favour some kind of striking approach. If that was the case then it would completely change the outlook of the fight and even possibly play into the hands of Silver though even then it is unlikely that Yataro will walk away empty handed.


Prediction: Yataro by TKO via ground and pound.


Duke Nukem (0-0, 140lbs) vs. “I Weigh” One Fortythree (0-0, 143lbs)


Another fight that is expected to be one to watch is here in Group C and it is between Belize’s Duke Numem and Jamaica’s One Fortythree. Both fighters are expected to do well in the group and so a win here will definitely give the victor a boost going forward.


Part of the appeal of this match up is the element of the unknown. On paper One Fortythree looks to be a solid Submission Wrestler but having tested himself before the tournament in the QFC he put on a solid display in the clinch to pick up a TKO victory in the first round and it’s possible that his Blue Belt in BJJ is purely defensive. If he doesn’t possess the takedown ability to get this fight to the floor than we could be in for an absolute war as Duke Nukem looks very much as though he is prepared for some down and dirty, inside clinch fighting and could even be considered favourite with his advantage in Boxing skills.


Fortythree has been predicted a first place finish in the group whilst Nukem a third. All of this could change on the night as this fight is a big one for both fighters. Taking things at face value however, Fortythree looks set to take this


Prediction: Fortythree by TKO on the ground.


Group D


Eunan Moray (0-0, 133lbs) vs. Balor “The Beast” Fino (0-0, 140lbs)


Here in Group D, already dubbed “The Group of Death”, we have yet another must see fight between two fighters that are highly regarded as potential group winners and possibly even as potential tournament winners.


Scottish BJJ Brown Belt Eunan Moray comes into the tournament guided by a nine year veteran of the game and former No.1 manager Gus Malcom. This experience alone justifies Moray’s early group favourite tag but to help things along, Moray is a submission specialist residing within a group made up entirely of grapplers. Tonight he faces wrestler Balor “The Beast” Fino who couldn’t have asked for a worse season opener but he is under the expertise of Top 5 manager Scotty JoeC and despite this difficult group has been predicted to finish second overall.


With the submission side down, Moray looks to have already begun improving his stand up skills although still woeful. Should Fino decide to avoid the ground he would still be in for a tough time on the feet and may just feel that he will take his chances with his wrestling and slightly larger build. Fino may consider any points from this match up as a success but Moray will definitely be wanting to pick up the maximum here and get his tournament campaign off to the best start.


Prediction: Moray by Submission though Fino is never going to be a push over in this group.


“Brilliant” Brian Marais (0-0, 138lbs) vs. Makhlamed Armagedonenov (0-0, 135lbs)


Our final match up for the season opener pits BJJ Brown Belt Brian Marais against submission wrestler Makhlamed Armagedonenov.


Brian Marais comes into this tournament without any real expectations on his shoulders. Guided by newcomer Hunter Johnson, Marais will be gaining valuable experience alongside his manager and as such would do well to pick up any points at all amongst this group of experienced managers. On the other side of the cage will be Makhlamed Armagedenenov, who as well as being a pain to spell each time, could end up being a pain for some of the other fighters with his superb wrestling and BJJ Blue Belt. Armagedenenov is guided by Malikoy Muza who, although not in the game very long, has done well in his short time and shown a good grasp of what it takes to win fights at this level.


This fight will really come down to how well Armagedonenov can utilise his wrestling and shut down Marais’ inevitable submission attempts. Though inexperienced, Marias will have an excellent shot at a victory in this one especially if he can keep guard against the superior wrestler and look to capitalise on any defensive grappling weaknesses that might appear as the fight goes on.


Armagedonenov could be a dark horse in this group but he represents Marais best shot at any points and will need to get things very right if he is to get off to a good start.


Prediction: Armagedonenov by Dec

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Good luck to everyone. May the best fighter win!

 

Brian is a bit nervous for his first fight, and he had to cancel his lecture at the International Conference on Polymerization Catalysis and Flexible Polymer in Dubai this weekend.

 

I assured him if he can make a name for himself in this tournament, he will have a good career in MMA. At least he has a good qualification to fall back on.

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Good luck to everyone. May the best fighter win!

 

Brian is a bit nervous for his first fight, and he had to cancel his lecture at the International Conference on Polymerization Catalysis and Flexible Polymer in Dubai this weekend.

 

I assured him if he can make a name for himself in this tournament, he will have a good career in MMA. At least he has a good qualification to fall back on.

 

lol. If only all MMA fighters were so forward thinking.

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Duke Nukem showed a lot of skill and savvy in his pro debut, putting on a striking clinic and dominating the critics' favorite, One Fortythree.

 

Accompanying him at ringside throughout the tournament is fellow Hell House member and EFL 135 lb. champion, Brian Clairemont. Along with the advice of manager John Sullivan, Nukem is well represented outside the cage.

 

Inside the cage, he takes care of himself. One down, all the rest to go.

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Joe Slasher (0-0, 140lbs) vs. Gichin “Shoto” Funakoshi (0-0, 135lbs)

 

Our second Group B match is up is a fight to watch as remarkable boxer Joe Slasher takes on Japanese sprawl and brawler Gichin Funakoshi.

 

Predicted early to finish third in the group, the United Kingdom’s Joe Slasher starts his MMA career under the tutelage of Top 40 manager Big Larry who at this point has shown a good aptitude for the business and will definitely have the advantage in that department for this fight. With pretty much zero skills outside of his Boxing, this opening match could definitely have been worse and Slasher might feel confident of taking maximum points. Of course, to do that, he will need to get past Funakoshi who could be looking to take control in the clinch and use his significant wrestling advantage to bully Slasher around. Funakoshi however is guided by relative newcomer Master Tessin who may struggle against the more experienced players of the tournament and as such has been predicted a fourth place finish in Group B

 

Prediction: Slasher by KO although he will need to be very careful if Funakoshi has any skills in the clinch.

 

Funakoshi is here to show he’s more than a fourth place finisher

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Prize Money Update



Thanks to a very generous donation from Emily Chanet from KAISER Nutrition the prize money pool has been increased by 1 MILLION DOLLARS and now stands at 2.1M overall



Please show your appreciation by supporting Kaiser for your nutritional supplement needs



The Prize Pool now stands as following



1st Place = 1MIL + 3 Months VIP


2nd Place = 500k


3rd Place = 300k


4th Place = 200k


5th Place = 100k

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Joe Slasher (0-0, 140lbs) vs. Gichin “Shoto” Funakoshi (0-0, 135lbs)

 

Our second Group B match is up is a fight to watch as remarkable boxer Joe Slasher takes on Japanese sprawl and brawler Gichin Funakoshi.

 

Predicted early to finish third in the group, the United Kingdom’s Joe Slasher starts his MMA career under the tutelage of Top 40 manager Big Larry who at this point has shown a good aptitude for the business and will definitely have the advantage in that department for this fight. With pretty much zero skills outside of his Boxing, this opening match could definitely have been worse and Slasher might feel confident of taking maximum points. Of course, to do that, he will need to get past Funakoshi who could be looking to take control in the clinch and use his significant wrestling advantage to bully Slasher around. Funakoshi however is guided by relative newcomer Master Tessin who may struggle against the more experienced players of the tournament and as such has been predicted a fourth place finish in Group B

 

Prediction: Slasher by KO although he will need to be very careful if Funakoshi has any skills in the clinch.

 

Funakoshi is here to show he’s more than a fourth place finisher

 

 

Mother of god. So many clinch punches haha.

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Iron Man Vale Tudo – 135lbs Grand Prix S02E02

The Underground, Los Angeles – Sunday September 23rd 2018


Group Stage Round 2


Group A



Nilton Guimaraes (0-0 in Season) vs. Able “83” Archer (1-0 in Season)


Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brown Belt Nilton Guimaraes makes his first appearance this season after enjoying his scheduled bye week first. With the uninterrupted training time and the opportunity to watch his opponent in action during the opening round, Guimaraes’ chances of victory will only have increased in a fight that was always going to be a tricky one for wrestler Able Archer. Of course, Archer may not see it that way considering he fresh off of a decisive TKO victory over Pete Peterson and in relatively quick time meaning that Archer may have been able to get back into the gym fairly quickly. He also has the good fortune of being injury and cut free so this fight should truly be at it’s competitive best.


As Archers game plan to fight in the clinch instead of the floor has been revealed, it does change the dynamic of this fight some what and Guimaraes will need to work much harder to get this fight to the floor as Archer definitely will not do it for him. Even so, the clinch will not necessarily be a completely comfortable spot for Archer either as Guimaraes will need only to secessfully pull guard to bring the fight into his world. If Archer can prevent that from happening however, his wrestling advantage will be overwhelming.


Prediction: Guimaraes by Submission. I have a feeling that Archer will not be able to get the KO quick enough in this fight before Guimaraes finds a way to get the fight to the floor.


Pete Peterson (0-1 in Season) vs. Nance “The Warlock” Gibbord (0-1 in Season)


In our other Group A bout, we have two warriors who will be looking to put their opening round defeats behind them when wrestler Pete Peterson takes on boxer Nance Gibbord.


Pete Peterson suffered a first round TKO against fellow wrestler Able Archer last time out in what surprisingly ended up being fought entirely in the clinch. The fact that Peterson himself did not go for any takedowns leads us to believe that he too will be looking to continue this game plan and once again this really does turn this fight upside down from the earlier predictions.


Nance Gibbord faced a tough test in the form of sprawl and brawler Polly Paulson and ended up on the wrong side of TKO early in the first round. Surprisingly, Gibbord didn’t throw any strikes and instead looked to take the fight to the ground and even succeeded at one point. Without any real wrestling or submission pedigree however, he was unable to capitalise from there and the fight was stood up not long after.


So after one round of fights, a match up that was earlier predicted to be a classic looking grappler versus striker affair now could end up being anything but. As both fighters lost relatively quickly in their opening bouts, they didn’t look to suffer from too much fatigue and both should have been able to get back in the gym shortly afterwards. In fact, Peterson looks to have improved his boxing slightly and Gibbord too his wrestling. As a striker, Peterson would normally struggle against Gibbord’s boxing but after Gibbord’s performance last time where in he didn’t throw a single strike, who knows what will happen in this one?


Prediction: Peterson by KO. As a striker versus striker match up Gibbord would be the heavy favourite but judging by each’s last performance, Peterson takes this one.


Group B


Chris “Lights On” Chaitle (0-0 in Season) vs. Joe Slasher (0-1 in Season)


Our Group B debutante Chris Chaitle makes his first appearance this season and he’ll be taking on Joe Slasher, a fighter who will definitely be looking for revenge after his opening round loss to Gichin Funakoshi


Chris Chaitle comes into the tournament with a BJJ purple belt and a mediocre level of Boxing. A good combination of skills against a wrestler but perhaps not against the serious hand skills of Joe Slasher. He may still look to get the fight to the floor and win the fight with a submission there but there is still the possibility that he will try to go toe to toe with the superior stand up fighter no matter how ill advised.


Joe Slasher has had an unfortunate start to his career. In his tune up fight the in the QFC system, Slasher lost his MMA debut after a very gruelling fifteen minute bout that went to a decision and also suffered a pretty significant injury in the process. This injury would follow him into his opening bout of the tournament and though he showed tremendous fortitude to grit his teeth and make it all the way through yet another full twenty minutes, the injury clearly hampered him and once again he found himself on the end of another decision loss. Now, this time free from any such injuries, Slasher looks to make a better impression in his second Group B bout.


Prediction: Slasher by KO. Difficult to predict for definite as Chaitle is still very much an unknown quantity in this tournament but Slasher is known for his big right hand outside of MMA and the chances of it finding a home on Chaitles chin is predicted to be high.


Gichin “Shoto” Funakoshi (1-0 in Season) vs. Gruff Dragon (0-0 in Season)


Next up, a big fight for Gichin Funakoshi who got off to a good start in his opening Group B bout where he picked up two points from a decision win over Joe Slasher. Now he faces a tough fight against wrestler Gruff Dragon, a fighter predicted to finish first in the group, who is coming into this fight after a stalemate draw with BJJ Brown Belt Crisostomo Ibarra.


Funakoshi was predicted a fourth place finish in the group but after the first round of fights currently resides in first place and with another win here, could really dig himself in atop the Group B pile. Dragon may fancy his chances here however as the superior wrestler though Funakoshi definitely showed he had the cardio for whatever pace Dragon wants to set. Funakoshi will have the advantage on the feet and probably the clinch though whatever technical ability he has in that department he certainly lacks in power after landing over one-hundred punches over a twenty minute period.


Prediction: Dragon by Finish. Funakoshi looked good in his first bout but Dragon’s wrestling could be a real problem for him and the fight could come down to how good Funakoshi’s defensive grappling is.


Group C


“The Little” Rascals Alfalfa (0-0 in Season) vs. Duke Nukem (1-0 in Season)


Rascals Alfalfa makes his MMA debut here tonight and he faces a stern test in the form of 1-0 Duke Nukem who made quite the strong start in his own debut last time out, beating One Fortythree by TKO in just under four and a half minutes of the first round


In that fight Nukem showed that he is capable both on the inside and from a distance though tonight he may well want to avoid trading at range against Alfalfa who is something of a Muay Thai specialist and likely to be a few levels above in that area. Nukum may look to spend the majority of the fight in the clinch where his 10lb weight advantage and 10cm height advantage could be put to good use but without the benefit of yet seeing Alfalfa in action, his guess is as good as ours as to what exactly Alfalfa will be looking to do in this one. The only thing we know for sure is that Nukem is currently joint top with maximum points and that another win here tonight would put him in a tremendous position to move forward. Can Alfalfa spoil the party?


Prediction: Nukem by KO. He looked good in his opening round and we have yet to see anything of Alfalfa. If he can manoeuvre the fight into the clinch he has a great chance of picking up another lot of maximum points.


“I Weigh” One Fortythree (0-1 in Season) vs. Takayama Yataro (1-0 in Season)


Next up we have One Fortythree making his return after something of an upset in the opening round. Predicted to finish the group stage at the top of the pile, Fortythree dropped his first fight by TKO to Duke Nukem and now faces another very tough test in a must win fight against Takayama Yataro. Yataro, who is coming into this bout after picking up maximum points against striker Anders Silver, currently sits in joint first place and is unlikely to want to move from there making this potentially a very important fight for both fighters.


With a superb wrestling base and a BJJ blue belt, Fortythree’s biggest criticism in his last fight was perhaps not being aggressive enough in his attempt to get the fight to the floor. This time round however, his eagerness to strike could be a big factor as so far Yataro has not shown much interest in that side of things at all. It’s more than likely though that this fight will end up in the ground and with both fighters possessing such strong grappling fundamentals, it really could be anyone's fight.


Prediction: Yataro by Dec. Based mainly on the results of their last fights but truthfully, it could just as easily go the other way.


Group D


Tom Baker (0-0 in Season) vs. Eunan Moray (0-1 in Season)


The first of our Group D match up’s provides debutante Tom Baker a big opportunity to take out predicted group winner Eunan Moray who comes into this bout not only off the back of a tough loss to Balor Fino but also with a fairly significant injury that he is unlikely to be over come fight night. This was slated to be a bogey fight for Baker but now, his chances of victory could not have been higher.


Moray is known for his heart however, which was evident in his opening round fight when he was able to stay in the fight after an early first round knockout. In what was highly expected to be a ground war ended up being a stand up slug fest and in the end Moray ended up second best and now faces an uphill battle to even qualify further, let alone finish in his predicted first spot.


Hardly anything is known about Baker other than he has some wonderful wrestling skills but, with so many other similarly skilled wrestlers changing tactics in order to keep the fight standing, whether or not Baker will be looking to get this fight to the floor or not will be a guessing game.


Prediction: Baker by TKO. No matter where this fight ends up, Moray’s injury is likely to hamper him tremendously and Baker’s camp are seasoned vets likely to take control.


Balor “The Beast” Fino (1-0 in Season) vs. “Brilliant” Brian Marais (1-0 in Season)


The final tournament fight of the evening is a big one for Group D with both Balor “The Beast” Fino and surprise package “Brilliant” Brian Marais currently sharing the top spot with three points apiece.


Last time out, Balor Fino made a big statement when he took out predicted group winner Eunan Moray. It could have been a tricky fight for the wrestler if it had ended up on the floor but on this occasion the fight remained standing and Fino made a point to show that he had some fire in his fists and was able to finish the BJJ specialist by TKO in the second round. Tonight he faces a similarly looking Brian Marais and we just may get another showing of his rudimentary but effective striking skills.


Attempting to continue his good form is Brian Marais who has already surpassed all expectations after picking up maximum points in his opening bout. Marais, a brown belt in BJJ, was able to get the fight to the floor after a few attempts and from there was able to secure a very slick armbar from guard. Whether he will be able to repeat that feat once again here remains to be seen but for now, Marais has put himself into a very good position to move out of the group stage and perhaps into the championship play-offs. Well above his predicted fifth place finish.


Prediction: Fino by Decision. Just a gut feeling but I think Marais will do well in this fight and Fino will find it difficult to finish him. The experience of the two management teams however means that a betting man would have to go for the smart money and that is Fino.

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