AlexManiatakos Posted February 4, 2020 Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 Awesome writing ! Top quality ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaolinVenom Posted February 4, 2020 Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 Awesome writing ! Top quality ! Thank you very much, Alex M, I appreciate your kind words! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaolinVenom Posted February 6, 2020 Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 EMPYREAN: TOIVONEN VERSUS BOLLEKE PREVIEW LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Empyrean, and welcome to Toivonen versus Bolleke! In the booth with me tonight is the ever-vociferous Furious Styles! Styles: That’s right, X! My volume is always turned up but that’s how my fans like it! Xavier: Your fans? Is that right? Styles: You bet your ass that’s right! Trust me, X, there are plenty of people out there who favor my style of journalism and broadcasting! I break it down to molecules and don’t pull any punches! Xavier: You’ll get no argument from me on that point! Styles: Of course not because you know I’m right, which is a very common occurrence! Xavier: Here we go with that again. Moving on, tonight there are ten outstanding battles to behold, and the Light Heavyweight championship is on the line as Ispa and Peterson will knuckle up and see who the better man is tonight! Overall, Empyrean is going to bring the heat with one Bantamweight fight, two Welterweight fights, three Middleweight fights, two Light Heavyweight fights, one of which is obviously for the championship, and two Heavyweight fights! Styles: Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we!? The opening salvo fight is between Marciano Cobb and Douglas McCraken! “Crusty” Cobb, the tattooed warrior from Massachusetts, brings a 22-12 overall record into this fight and plenty of attitude and aggression! The Vendetta product’s recent struggles are well noticed, Styles, but here he is stepping right back into the cage so kudos to him for having the heart of a lion! We all know it’s not easy to square off against an opponent when you’re on a losing streak but he has a chance to stop the skid at two fights and get things turned around here! This warrior is a past champion and that experience has definitely helped him in some of his closely contested fights! Recently, however, he's been knocked out and lost by unanimous decision so there are some questions to be answered about his ability to take a punch! Surprisingly, this is the first time that these two will fight so strategy will obviously be more a factor tonight! They both have a large enough body of work to research but there’s still that slight unknown as to how a fighter will begin each fight! A bit shorter but with a weight advantage, I expect Cobb to engage in a standup brawl and do his best to keep the fight there for as long as possible! Styles: “Scottish” McCraken is from, you guessed, it, Scotland! Xavier: Really, Styles!? You went there? Styles: Hush! The Isle of Mull warrior and member of YABAI brings an 8-6 record into this fight! It’s surprising this well-rounded fighter is having a back-and-forth pattern of victories and defeats overall, but sometimes that’s the way it goes! However, his abilities can’t be denied and he’s proven that time and again. His longest win streak has been three so he can get on a bit of a roll at times but in general, consistency has been a bit of a struggle. For example, over his past four fights, he’s an even 2-2 with the losses and wins coming by way of unanimous decision. In fact, X, he only has one fight that didn’t end in a unanimous decision but, unfortunately for him, that fight ended with him being knocked out by Eduardo David in his first ever fight! Winning many battles of attrition is a nod to his conditioning but calls into question his ability to rock an opponent’s jaw! This fight will be a standup war and that’s right up both of these fighters’ alleys! Xavier: “Crusty” Cobb stands at 22-12 overall, and this tattooed Massachusetts product who represents Vendetta began his career on a 6-fight win streak! That’s an excellent way to begin a career but he then lost two in a row and parted ways with his management team. With his current team, he turned his fortunes around and went on another 6-fight win streak and has been a bit back-and-forth overall but does have a couple of other win streaks as well! Recently, however, Cobb has encountered some difficulties and has dropped his last two fights in a row by unanimous decision and knockout, respectively! Avoiding that three losses in a row taboo is definitely weighing on Cobb’s mind but this fight may very well be what he needs to turn his fortunes around once again because McCraken definitely has no qualms about going toe-to-toe with anyone! Cobb showed excellent power in the early stages of his career and does have some fairly recent knockouts, plus he’s a former champion so that experience can be leaned on if and when he gets into trouble! That championship experience advantage over McCraken may be more impactful in this fight than may initially be understood. Styles: Once a champion, always a champion, X! You can’t erase truthful history and Cobb’s experience as a champion won’t be forgotten. Cobb is shorter and heavier than McCraken and that will allow him to put more power behind his strikes, plus I think he still has more proven power than McCraken to begin with! Cobb’s standup skills are world class and if this fight ends up in a clinch, Cobb may have the advantage there because he can go to McCraken’s body easier plus lean his weight on McCraken and wear him down faster. I don’t think Cobb is worried about McCraken knocking him out so he can be very aggressive in the standup and look to knock out McCraken! I think Cobb wins this fight by knockout! Xavier: McCraken has something to prove in this fight, Styles, and I believe he will! He knows how to use that height advantage plus has the defensive abilities to keep Cobb at a distance and each time Cobb attempts to get in close to utilize his muay thai skills, especially, Cobb can make him pay for getting inside by using high energy and accuracy to make Cobb defend himself and, in turn, he can set him up for a potential takedown to slow down the pace, control the action, and prevent the potential damage he’ll receive from Cobb, who has more knockout power by assumption! I think McCraken will use aggression, energy and accuracy to frustrate Cobb for the entire fight and Cobb will have to take chances he’s not used to making, and that will expose him to potential takedowns that score points on the judges’ cards for McCraken. McCraken wins this fight by unanimous decision! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – McCraken by Unanimous Decision; Styles – Cobb by KO Xavier: The next two fighters to lock up will be Pat Yaj and Denny Sideman! Yaj is an intense man who likes to yell a lot, and the LEGION OF DOOM member from Knin, Croatia, is 16-8 overall, a very respectable record! Currently on his third management team, he went five out of seven to start his career, a very respectable start to any career! However, both of those losses were by TKO and he parted ways with that management team. With his second team, he had his longest win streak of 4-fights in a row and he both won and lost many fights by knockout! Overall, he went 9-4 with that team but again, the four losses were all by knockout, and that’s obviously a concern! He had moved up to light heavyweight and that’s where he had his longest winning streak but decided to return to his original weight with his current team. He’s currently 2-2 with this team but had a 2-fight win streak halted by Elliot Rockwell at EMP Verygood versus Alcala in the first round! Styles: Yaj has definitely suffered some damage from being dropped as many times as he has been but dude keeps picking himself up and getting right back into the cage, so I respect that a lot! Don’t forget that he’s laid out a good number of fighters himself and that power is always there and should be taken into account! Sideman steps into this fight with a 19-12-2 overall record, a respectable and winning record, but I’m sure the Hitokiri-13 member from Los Angeles would prefer to have more wins under his belt! Currently with his second management team, Sideman, he began his career a bit inauspiciously by being knocked out but he turned things around for himself and proceed to win four in a row before changing management teams! He proceeded to win the next fights after the change and brought home championship gold when he defeated Tom McGettigan at KFC Fight Night St. Pete 3! However, Gary The Reaper ended his title reign during his next fight and he’s not worn championship gold since that point. He obviously wants to return to championship form and glory, and if he can use the momentum gained by his unanimous decision win over Jeff Mma at EMP Ispa versus Marceau, he has a good chance to take the next step towards that goal! Xavier: Yaj has a slight height advantage in this fight and I think that will motivate him to not only keep this fight vertical, but I think he’ll look for an early knockout! We all know Yaj is very aggressive and in this fight, I suspect he feels he can check Sideman’s chin with brutal strikes from the outside but he may also try to surprise Sideman and keep him a bit off balance by mixing in counterstrikes when Sideman attacks! If Yaj is to win this fight, he’ll have to avoid being locked into a clinch at all costs because Sideman could wear him down while in the clinch plus potentially score a takedown which would put him ahead on the scorecards if the fight doesn’t get finished before the judges’ opinions are sought! However, I don’t think this fight goes the distance because Yaj will pummel Sideman with timely strikes, especially on the counterattack, and Yaj will keep the pressure on because he doesn’t fear Sideman’s power! Yaj wins this by knockout! Styles: Sideman has world class standup skills for a reason, X, and the man can handle business in the grappling portion of fights as well! Sideman has the option of taking this fight in the clinch if he feels Yaj is beginning to build momentum or mount an effective offensive! That’s a major advantage because that can very much frustrate Yaj and make him become less technically sound! Sideman is very technically sound and has the experience and ability to capitalize on such situations at any given point in time! If that’s not effective then he could roll the dice and take his chances on going to the mat with Yaj and looking to slow him down, control him and even go for the surprise submission! However, I think Sideman is most comfortable in the standup and is willing to display his excellent striking defense and striking ability where he can avoid being dropped by Yaj and unfurling his own damage while doing so! Sideman wins this fight by surprising Yaj with a knockout! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Sideman by KO; Xavier – Yaj by KO Styles: Marco Alvado and Johannes Tulikoura keep the action flowing as they step into the cage next! Alvado steps into combat tonight with a 15-8-1 record so while that’s a good record, no doubt, he definitely wants to improve upon that much more because he demands much more of himself! This Italian racecar engine and YABAI alliance member continues to be a unanimous decision machine! He’s not getting the finishes he wants, obviously, but he’s also not being carted out on a stretcher night after night so he’ll take that! He’s been rollin’ nicely over his last two fights so the confidence he needs to fight against Tulikoura is definitely there! This will be the first clash between these two so both fighters obviously want to get the leg up on the other. In order for that to happen, he’s going to have to keep this fight in the standup and, obviously, avoid the fire-filled fists that Tulikoura brings to each fight! Xavier: The man with the flaming fists known as Tulikoura steps into combat with a 15-6 record, a solid career for the Finnish fighter from Oulu! His current management team is his second one and with his first team, he had an excellent start to his career, winning 5-fights in a row and six out of seven, overall! With a great beginning like that, it’s difficult to understand why a management team would part with an excellent fighter but it does happen for various reasons. With his current team, he’s been a bit back and forth in the wins and losses column and is looking for consistency. His recent TKO victory over Boris Bulletzowich at EMP Toivonen versus Asham broke a two-fight skid so that definitely felt good! Against Alvado, he’s the shorter fighter so I expect him to approach this fight as a counter fighter in the standup. Question is, will he take the risk and try to get Alvado to the ground for a grappling battle? It seems to me his best bet to win, Styles, is to keep this fight standing and avoid locking up in a clinch against Alvado while staying on the outside and attempting to chop away at Alvado’s legs and body with various strikes. Additionally, Tulikoura should have the power advantage in this fight. If that’s indeed the case then he can wear Alvado down with accurate strikes in an effort to set him up for power shots when Tulikoura deems it opportunistic to do so! Styles: I think Alvado has the upper hand tonight, X, because he’s world class on all standup levels no matter how you cut it, and if a clinch war happens then I think he’ll be able to capitalize on that as well! Tulikoura could go to the body in the clinch and try to wear Alvado down that way but Alvado’s defensive skills are very sharp and he can defend his torso while using his height to rain down strikes on Tulikoura! I think Alvado will be able to do that effectively for the entire fight and once Tulikoura slows down, Alvado will pour on the pressure until he gets a rare knockout! Xavier: Tulikoura has the power advantage, Styles, and with that advantage, he has a puncher’s chance to turn the tide of this fight at any given point in time! He’ll have to rely on accuracy more than power initially so he can gauge the distance needed to get to Alvado’s chin but to also effectively and consistently counterattack his strikes! Once Tulikoura’s able to determine Alvado’s striking range, he can then launch a counter offensive and slow Alvado down by working his legs over with kicks and his body over with a mix of strikes! Once he’s able to get Alvado to lower his guard just long enough, Tulikoura can slip a crushing uppercut between the gloves and turn out Alvado’s lights! Tulikoura wins this fight by knockout! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Tulikoura by KO; Styles – Alvado by KO Xavier: The next lions to roar at one another across the cage at one another will be Vladimir Impaler and Doug Bell! Styles: There’s that last name again! Impaler! That’s just a powerful last name! Xavier: Indeed, and very suggestive! Styles: Hell yeah it is! Xavier: Obviously there’s a lot of history attached to that name as well! Looking at “The Horizontal” and his history, he’s 25-13 overall so he obviously likes to fight! Styles: “The Horizontal”? Well, hell, I like the horizontal, the vertical, and the perpendicular! Xavier: That’s enough. Currently with his second management team, Impaler has been in some wars but that’s to be expected in the heavyweight and super heavyweight division! A 6-fight winning streak has been his longest so far but the most striking fact about his career is he has had two opportunities to become a champion, and both times, unfortunately, he was not able to defeat the champion he faced! Both of those fights resulted in him losing by TKO and that may have had a factor in the ultimate decision for that management team to move on from him seven fights afterwards! In a nutshell, Styles, with Impaler he either wins by knockout or losses by knockout! That does tend to be the case with the vast majority of the very large men who relentlessly batter one another with bone-snapping strikes, however! With his current management team, he’s 5-3 and all but one fight has ended in a unanimous decision. Needless to say, damage has been done on both sides of the coin for this warrior and he keeps right on going and asking for more! This is the first time he and Bell will lock horns so that’ll have a very rude and painful introduction to one another here tonight! Styles: Bell hails from New York and represents The Evil Empire! At 24-11, I’d say he’s doing a solid job of representing them! Bell is quite a bit shorter and lighter than Impaler in this fight so speed, agility, and energy will be the foundation of his approach to winning this fight! He’s going to have to avoid being clubbed by one of Impaler’s tree trunk legs or sides of beef he calls fists in order to get in close enough to Impaler to do some damage! Of course he could opt to counterstrike, especially to chop away at the big man’s legs, but he definitely wants to get in tight to Impaler so he can’t fully extend his strikes where his power is at its utmost devastating! The stick-and-move approach is what has worked best for him in his career, in my opinion, and that’s the meal ticket tonight! What’s very interesting to me, X, is very much like Impaler, he too has had two opportunities to become a champion and lost both of those by TKO! In fact, both of these men lost to Super Heavyweight, so they have an unusual history between them without actually fighting one another until tonight! Bell began his career with an outstanding 7-fight win streak, his longest so far in his career, and after that he has definitely been up and down with wins and losses! He established a 3-fight win streak at the end of his time with his first management team and followed that up with a win for the new management team! Since then, he’s had some struggles but turned things around in his last two fights! He has an opportunity to win three in a row tonight and you know Bell is hungry to do that! Xavier: The approach to this fight is simple for Impaler! Keep Bell at a distance and don’t let him get in close to kick away at his legs and body nor get a clinch and place his head beneath Impaler’s jaw to control the big man’s movements! As long as Impaler can launch the rocket blasts he calls fists and lumbers the logs for legs that he has at Bell, he’ll be in good shape! Since Bell is lighter and faster, Impaler will have to be more calculating with his strikes because Bell has the speed and ability to get inside to take advantage of any misses! Impaler will win this fight by using accuracy until he’s certain he can catch Bell with a ballistic blast from his fists and put this fight to rest! Styles: Bell is going to have to be a ball of energy tonight, X! Avoiding the big man’s strikes will be priority one, obviously, but the other will be to wear him down! Footwork, using his world class muay thai to kick the big man’s legs and body, plus getting inside to land thudding punches to his body then slip a jaw-cracking uppercut between his hands to bring the big man down, or at least stun him, will be the key to pulling this off! No one doubts Bell’s toughness and he has the power to knock Impaler down and yell “timber!” while the big man falls, but he’s going to have to be very sharp with his movements! Bell will do exactly that and secure the victory by making the big man take a nap from getting his jaw cracked! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Bell by KO; Xavier – Impaler by KO Styles: Murzol Gro Ulfimph, damn, that’s a hell of a name, and Yodsawan Sitsongrit step into the cage to show the world what they’re made of! X, you broke down the meaning of sitsongrit last time but it still sounds like a large woman or dude sitting on a big ass bowl of grits to me! Xavier: Stop it! Styles: What!? I’m just sayin’! “Hired Gun’, which is what I’ll call him from now on, is 18-10-1 so he knows what he’s doing! I have to wonder, though, if dude really is a hired gun because if he is, do you put that type of information on blast? Xavier: Maybe he does it as a form of intimidation. Styles: Could be, or maybe he’s just damn proud, or damn crazy, and lets it be known! Either way, The Evil Empire representative very recently switched management teams after being with his former team for twenty-eight fights! That’s a long time, X, because as we’ve seen, some dudes and their management team split after one fight, let alone nearly thirty! He was able to string together a 5-fight winning streak and that’s been his longest so far, which is solid. The bad news for him is his longest losing streak has been 4-fights in a row, but lately he’s won his past three fights, the most recent by knocking out Derek Vinyard in the second round at EMP Ispa versus Marceau, so he still has the ability to turn a fight on its head with unsuspecting power! To no surprise, really, especially from a hired gun, Ulfimph, yeah, I used his last name, likes to make opponent’s lament in pain and tap out! One fact about “Hired Gun” is he’s never been knocked out so Sitsongrit may want to try and make an extra mark on Gun’s name by being the first to put him to sleep forcefully with his strikes! Xavier: Sitsongrit could very well be enticed to go for the knockout and be known as the first man to accomplish that feat, definitely! The YABAI member from Buriram, Isaan, Thailand, steps into tonight’s battle with a 19-8 overall record! The experience factor between these two fighters is nearly identical so there’s no advantage there in my opinion, Styles! However, one distinct advantage Sitsongrit has here is a championship advantage! Gun had two chances to win gold and he unfortunately fell short. With Yodsawan, he won a championship and defended it numerous times! Just as impressive, he laid out a whopping 14-fight win streak, Styles! Fourteen men fell to his power! While it’s true that he hasn’t been dropping people left and right like he was and adding more names to the tattoos on his forearms for his opponent’s to see while they eat elbows, he still has sneaky power that can’t be underestimated! Gun can’t let his guard down at all in this fight because he could easily fall into the false pretense that Sitsongrit can’t chin check him! Sitsongrit has the height advantage in this fight and that will definitely work in his favor as well! Styles: I think Gun will win this fight, X, because he knows he can and will take this fight to the ground where he has the advantage with his black belt! The question is whether Ulfimph will try to shoot in from distance or take the chance of having a clinch war with Sitsongrit and then trying the trip takedown or leg sweep? Either way, while this fight is on its feet, he’s going to have to rely on counterstrikes with his Golden Gloves level boxing to create angles for him to get in close to Sitsongrit and wrap him up for a takedown or just leap right into a takedown attempt! Ulfimph will be very aggressive once he gets Sitsongrit to the ground and go for the tapout because he doesn’t want to have an attrition fight with a man who has won as many decision victories as Sitsongrit has! Ulfimph gets the win tonight by submission! Xavier: Sitsongrit’s world class standup skills will be too much for Ulfimph to handle tonight, Styles, as I see it! Sitsongrit knows he can wait for Ulfimph to come to him and not the other way around, and with the height advantage, he can blast Ulfimph with kicks long before Ulfimph gets close enough to even try to land punches! That’s a major advantage in a fight like this plus Sitsongrit can rely on that championship experience if he finds himself getting into any type of trouble. That’s very valuable to have because knowing how to handle various adverse situations under major duress is highly important! Sitsongrit gets the win tonight by chin checking an aggressive Ulfimph enough that makes the “Hired Gun” run out of ammunition! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Sitsongrit by KO; Styles – Ulfimph by Submission Xavier: The next combatants to enter the cage of pain will be Jeremy Jones and Scotty Bapp! Jones brings his unique shoulder and arm tattoos into this fight with a very impressive 14-4 record! The brawler from the UK represents The Stepdads and is the current Light Heavyweight champion in Demolition / RISE MMA! That fact highlights his abilities and that championship drive, mettle and knowledge! That combination will definitely test the capabilities that Bapp possesses! A 6-fight win streak is his longest so far and he had a 5-fight win streak as well, so he’s obviously the type of fighter that captures and holds onto momentum very well! His confidence is very strong and, despite a recent TKO loss at the hands of George Peterson at EMP Toivonen versus Asham, he’s not phased at all and is anxious to secure his first victory in Empyrean! Styles: I love these types of fights, X, because inter-alliance battles always make for great behind-the-scenes tension and public trash talk! Of course they respect each other and they may have even trained together at some point in time, but when they get into the cage, all of that candy-coated coolness goes out the window and it’s time to beat one another down until one man can’t go on anymore! “Slenderman” Bapp faces off against his fellow Stepdads homie with a 9-5 overall record! Jones has the slight advantage with combat experience but I don’t think it’s so much that he won’t be able to handle himself in this fight! For whatever reason, Bapp has had four overall management teams back him. That makes no sense to me because dude obviously gets the job done in the cage! Case and point, look at what he’s done with his current management team in RISE! You know, X, I wonder if these two will end up fighting one another again in RISE as well! That would be a trip! Bapp is riding a 5-fight win streak so he’s confident and ready to fight his fellow alliance mate and champion friend! Xavier: Bapp has knocked out three of his last five opponents, Styles, so he’s in a groove and feelin’ it! The timing of this string of wins is perfect for this fight because he knows he’s facing a very tough out tonight! Bapp has a considerable height advantage tonight and you better believe he’s going to stay on the outside and pump jabs and crosses at Jones all night long until Jones proves their ineffective or he has an easy time counterattacking Bapp while moving in closer to him! If Bapp’s punches aren’t as effective as he’d like them to be, he can always rely on his kicking skills and range to keep Jones at a distance while landing some punishing and taxing blows! He absolutely does not want to taste the punching power that Jones possesses and it’s imperative to wrap Jones up if and when he gets in close so he can control his hands while landing body strikes and hooks! Bapp will win this fight by knockout when he slips a whiplashing uppercut through Jones’ hands! Styles: Jones is a current champion for a reason, X! The dude is damn good, bottom line, and he definitely has the power to knock Bapp’s eyes into the back of his head and make them roll around a few times while he tries to figure out what the hell just happened to him! Jones knows he has to counterattack Bapp in order to get in close enough to unleash the ferocity in his punching power! The good news is, he knows exactly how to do that and that’s exactly what’s going to happen tonight! Speed and footwork will allow Jones to dodge the Dhalsim-like length he’ll be facing tonight and once he does, he’ll brutalize Bapp’s body until the tall man’s hands drop to cover his stomach and rib area! Once he does that, Jones will unleash a bone-jarring hook that drops Bapp to the ground and puts this fight to rest! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Jones by KO; Xavier – Bapp by KO Styles: Buffalo Marley and Elliot Rockwell are the next two fighters to get it on in the cage! Marley, who, to no surprise, is from Jamaica, represents Hitokiri-13 and brings a 21-14-1 record! The Jamrock product strung together a 9-fight win streak early in his career and during that stretch, he became a champion! One area of concern for Marley is the damage he’s taken from being knocked out ten times! Granted, he’s unleashed a lot of damage and has shortened many careers during his time but taking the damage that he did can’t be ignored, and you better believe Rockwell knows that history as well! Marley was rolling well recently until he ate a nasty head kick from Arron Asham during their headline fight! Despite that result, here he is again ready to battle against a game opponent and I respect that fearlessness! Not many men would be willing to face brutality time and again, especially when he’s felt the amount of pain and damage that he has! Xavier: That’s certainly a testament to his warrior spirit, Styles, and no one can deny that! Rockwell, the slick-hair, bow-tie wearing fighter from the UK steps into this fight with a 15-8 record! This Convicted Inc. member has had a 4-fight win streak as the longest in his career to date. He was on a bit of a slide recently with two losses in a row before halting that skid with a TKO win over Pat Yaj at EMP Verygood versus Alcala! That definitely helped him feel better about himself and sets him up for tonight in a very good way! Similar to Marley, there are concerns about Rockwell’s ability to withstand power but his defensive skills allow him to avoid absorbing too much damage at one time so Marley will have to work very diligently to get to Rockwell’s chin! Marley also can’t underestimate Rockwell’s power because he has put a good number of opponent’s to sleep faster than they cared to be! Styles: Marley has a sizeable edge in combat experience tonight, X, and I fully expect him to put that to work! In addition, from the footage we’ve seen on Marley, he’s quite skilled and has world class skills in the standup! He’s a little shorter than Rockwell but I don’t think it’s enough of a height disparity to cause him any problems landing strikes. Marley can also obviously elect to counterattack Rockwell sporadically in hopes of landing that one punch or kick that wobbles Rockwell and opens him up for a finish! If Marley feels the tide of this fight turning to Rockwell’s side, he can definitely take the chance of locking Rockwell into a clinch and doing damage up close and personal to slow him down before going for the knockout! I think Marley wins this fight by knockout because he has championship and overall experience over Rockwell and will know how to set him up for the knockdown! Xavier: Rockwell is going to have to unload with the heavy artillery in this fight because the longer it goes, the faster his opportunity to win this fight fades! Rockwell is very well balanced and that works in his favor, no doubt, but he’s going to have to make each and every counterattack he attempts count! He’s going to have to take risks to get in close to Marley so he can fire away on his body and chin to see if Marley can take the heat that he brings to each and every fight! I don’t think Rockwell wants to test his luck too much in the clinch, if it ends up there of course, because that may allow Marley to hit him strikes more effectively! Now, if Rockwell feels Marley doesn’t have the ability to make him take a nap then he can definitely apply more pressure on Marley with aggression and power until he lands that one clean shot he needs to put this fight to rest! Rockwell wins this ballistic brawl by knockout! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Rockwell by KO; Styles – Marley by KO Xavier: Stepping into the cage of violence next will be Yhorm Giant and Mister McNasty! Styles: McNasty!? Xavier: McNasty, that’s correct. Styles: Yet another dude with a B-movie last name! What’s goin’ on around these parts? Xavier: Well, it is Los Angeles, Styles, so people tend to be more open about their influence by the entertainment industry. Styles: I suppose but that’s still a bit odd to me. Xavier: Giant is exactly that! This very tall and heavy man brings a 15-9 record into this fight, and the Russian bull from Oymyakon who represents Hitokiri-13 is a very well-rounded fighter who is with his second management team currently! After beginning his career with a 5-fight win streak, he’s had a bit of a struggle with consistency. However, prior to his most recent loss to Lain Tower at EMP Ispa versus Marceau just twenty-nine seconds into the first round, he laid waste to four men in a row! He seeks to find that domination and momentum once again against McNasty and knows he has a challenge on his hands! Like the vast majority of men this size and weight, he basically lays out his opponent or gets laid out! In fact, only two fights have gone the distance in his entire career! If he’s the first one to establish his strikes and pace then he’s quite successful and that’s been proven time and again! Styles: “White Tyson” brings a very good 22-12-1 overall record into this fight, and, quite literally, McNasty faces one hell of a tall order! He’s giving up substantial height and weight in this fight so his reliance upon speed and maneuverability will be paramount for him to pull off this victory! His longest winning streak has been 7-fights in a row and one major advantage he has over Giant is championship experience! He’ll absolutely have to rely on that experience because getting inside of Giant’s defenses will be quite the undertaking! Included with that, his last two fights have not gone his way. He’s been able to survive both fights from start to finish but he was on the short end of both of those! In this fight, every single strike he lands is going to have to pack enough power to equate to a wrecking ball because there may not be many opportunities for him to land clean shots! One thing he can do is wear down the Russian bear by working over his body and taking some sting out of his power while emptying his gas tank! Xavier: I think Giant’s size is just too much to overcome for McNasty tonight, Styles! McNasty has been in some wars and has emerged victorious, but he’s never faced Giant before and the level of aggression from this behemoth is difficult for many men to adapt to, let alone men who give up substantial size such as McNasty will do tonight! Giant knows he can literally stand and wait for McNasty to try and either counterattack him or move in close then unload one of any number of strikes from his tremendous standup skillset that can floor McNasty and end the fight right then and there! Accuracy combined with power will be the key to victory for the big man tonight as he wins by knockout! Styles: McNasty faces the proverbial David versus Goliath scenario in this fight! Like David, McNasty can and will fell the large man with speed, high pressure and body work! Thumping the big man’s midsection will sap the wind right out of his sails and make him fair game for McNasty’s precision and snapping power! McNasty will avoid the big shots from Giant while wearing down the Russian tree with strikes to the body and legs until he can land the one shot he needs to make Giant tumble like a big ass refrigerator tumbling down! PREDICTIONS: Styles – McNasty by KO; Xavier – Giant by KO Styles: Up next we have the Light Heavyweight championship brawl between Tank Ispa and George Peterson! First and foremost, I’m very surprised these two haven’t crossed paths until this point in time! The Finnish champion is 20-7-2 overall and has been able to string together a 5-fight win streak in his career but, more importantly, he’s proven that he can make any man tap who steps across from him in combat, and his grappling and BJJ skills are a force to be reckoned with! Understandably, there is some concern with Ispa’s ability to withstand striking power as he has been put into the nap zone five times and that obviously has taken its toll on him! Striking defense, head movement and getting this fight to the ground will be the keys to victory tonight against a very game opponent in Peterson! Obviously, Ispa has championship experience that he can lean on if he’s unable to dictate the space and pace of this battle and that’s always helpful, if not a major advantage! One aspect of this champion is he has come back to defeat warriors who have previously defeated him, so he also has the heart and determination of a champion, and that can carry him very far when it’s combined with his confidence! Xavier: “Smooth” Peterson of the LEGION OF DOOM steps into this fight with a 15-5-1 overall record, so the champion does have a bit more combat experience than Peterson does, but I don’t think it’s a substantial advantage and Peterson obviously knows how to handle business because his record is very impressive! The Portland product has had an 8-fight win streak in his career and he’s currently on a 6-fight win streak! During this six fight tear through Empyrean, he’s won every single fight by TKO! That, ladies and gents, is extremely impressive! Aggression, power and daring define Peterson’s approach to any fight and despite the fact he’s been knocked out four times, there’s no trepidation from him in any fight! He makes his opponent’s prove they can stop him cold because if they can’t, they’re going to take a painful nap each and every time with the power that he possesses! Tonight, obviously, he wants to keep this fight in the vertical plane as long as possible because he doesn’t want to take the chance of having the champion wrap him up like a fly in a spider web by taking this fight to the mat! Styles: I’ll tell you, X, that Peterson’s time is now! He’s rolling through his opponents like a Kill Bill sword through one of the Crazy 88’s! Peterson’s confidence is supremely high, his fists are willing to fly, and he’s bringing the thunder like the storm tearin’ up the East Coast right now! That’s a very volatile mix, X, and I think Ispa knows he’s going to have to go through hell to try and get this fight to the mat! I don’t think he’ll be able to drag Peterson to the mat because he’ll be too busy defending himself from the multitude of strikes from Peterson, especially since Peterson has world class standup skills! Ispa may have to try and counterattack Peterson in the standup or even take the chance of getting into a clinch war to try and land the takedown he so vitally needs in this fight, but Peterson may not afford Ispa the opportunity to get that close to him! I also don’t think Peterson will bat an eye at Ispa’s power and that’s bad news for Ispa because he’ll have to be on the defensive more than he wants to be as I see it! Tonight, a new Light Heavyweight champion emerges from that cage after Peterson blasts Ispa’s chin with a devastating uppercut that makes him bleed and kneel! Xavier: Ispa is the champion for a reason, Styles! The man is very intelligent and very dangerous on the ground! He knows that Peterson will be very aggressive in seeking the knockout he feels he can get and Ispa knows exactly how to thwart those plans and use Peterson’s aggression against him! Golden Gloves boxing skills coupled with muay thai that’s as dangerous and effective as Peterson’s absolutely give him an opportunity to weather the storm that Peterson is sure to unleash in the first round! One he withstands the initial onslaught by Peterson, he’ll know when and how to get the aggressive fighter to the mat and once that occurs, Ispa will frustrate Peterson by controlling the action there while methodically dismantling him with timely ground and pound, transitions into positions that enable Ispa to rest while forcing Peterson to carry his additional weight, plus Ispa knows he can soften up Peterson on the ground until Peterson makes the one mistake Ispa needs to lock in the submission he needs to take this fight home along with his championship belt! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Ispa by Submission; Styles – Peterson by KO Xavier: For the final act of the evening, Peka Toivonen and Thomas Bolleke lock horns in the main event! “Punchmaster General” Toivonen brings his blue face paint and Finnish attitude into this fight with a 19-4 overall MMA record! I emphasize the MMA aspect because he also has a 6-1 record in the KT circuit, a nod to his standup skills which are on the Golden Gloves and world class muay thai level! This Convicted Inc. member is the Empyrean Middleweight champion and for good reason! A 7-fight win streak is the longest in his career and naturally, the championship experience he has only solidifies his standing as an outstanding fighter! Power, ferocity and toughness are what define this man and the proof of that is the number of knockouts he has, plus the fact he’s never been knocked out! Bolleke could very well fall into the trap of trying to become the very first man to knock Toivonen out but in doing so, he could very well jeopardize himself by taking chances he doesn’t need to take and exposing his chin to the harsh elements known as Toivonen’s fists! Styles: Bolleke definitely faces a buzzsaw tonight but he, in his own right, is one tough son of a bitch, too! Not only does this LEGION OF DOOM member from Belgium bring plenty of force, but he’s also signed to Empyrean and GAMMA, two of the very best in the business! The fact he’s signed with both of these organizations is a testament to the skills and abilities he brings to the cage! What I love about this fight, X, is on paper, these men are virtually identical in their skills, abilities and ability to get the job done! Bolleke is slightly taller and heavier but it’s so minimal that they may as well be the exact same size as well! Bolleke isn’t the typhoon of power that Toivonen is that makes fans drool in anticipation of seeing another opponent floored brutally, but Bolleke makes men lament and submit, and that’s a very impressive accomplishment as well! Bolleke is 15-4 overall so the overall combat experience goes to Toivonen but I don’t think it’s enough to be a major factor! Bolleke also has championship experience so I don’t see an advantage there either! This will be a tough fight any way you cut it because both of these men are capable of handling business in any given situation! Xavier; That’s absolutely true, Styles! As difficult as it is to pick either one of these outstanding warriors, I feel Toivonen is just on a major roll right now and has the ability to keep Bolleke at a distance each and every time he attempts to get close and go for a clinch or shoot in for a takedown attempt! Toivonen just needs that one clean shot and Bolleke’s night will end rather abruptly and painfully! As skilled as Bolleke is in the standup, I just don’t see him being able to alter the momentum that Toivonen’s established and the champion will continue his meteoric rise in the overall rankings after winning this fight by knockout! Styles: Bolleke knows his best chance, and only chance in some opinions, is to get this fight to the ground! Accomplishing that feat will take patience, timing and desire! Fortunately for him, he has plenty of those three characteristics! Bolleke has made some of the best in the business tap out to his abilities and he knows how to get this fight to the ground despite the power that Toivonen brings to the table! Counterattacking and being technically sound will be the keys to winning his fight because it would be a very bad career move to try and match power with Toivonen or even go for the knockout! Twisting him into unnatural positions and angles will be what it takes to slow the bulldozer and that’s exactly what Bolleke will do tonight! Bolleke by submission! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Bolleke by Submission; Xavier – Toivonen by KO Styles: And that’s a wrap, good people! Thank you as always for taking the time to kick it with us and since we’re in Los Angeles, we give our respects to the Bryant family as well as the other families and friends affected by the horrific helicopter accident heard around the world! Xavier: Absolutely! There will be vigils and services held soon and the healing process will continue as many people get over the shock of that entire situation. Also, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the passing of the legendary actor, Mr. Kirk Douglas! Lastly, we want to thank each and every one of you again for joining us here in the booth and we hope we’ve entertained and enlightened you! Take care, be well and we’ll see you at the fights! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mannetosen Posted February 7, 2020 Report Share Posted February 7, 2020 Pekka has been eating his special nutrition blend of fly amanitas and lead paint for weeks in anticipation of this fight. All the words in the world won't change the fact that he'll take Thomas Whatever's head off on Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barney Posted February 7, 2020 Report Share Posted February 7, 2020 Think I never told this before back in the good ole days but you are mi biggest inspiration in this game Manne. Good luck in the fight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SavageMMa Posted February 16, 2020 Report Share Posted February 16, 2020 EMPYREAN: GRAVES VERSUS CHAVEZ PREVIEW LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Empyrean, and welcome to Graves versus Chavez! In the booth with me tonight is the ever-present Furious Styles! Styles: What’s up, X, and what’s up good people!? As always, it’s a pleasure to be here and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing this excellent lineup of battles tonight! Xavier: We all are, Styles, and this promises to be yet another exciting, intense and brutal night of combat as only Empyrean can provide! Tonight we have the Welterweight title on the line in what promises to be an incredible fight! In total, we’ll be seeing one Bantamweight, two Featherweight, two Lightweight, the Welterweight championship fight, one Middleweight, two Light Heavyweight and one Heavyweight battle! Styles: Christening the cage tonight will be Marcinho Sitsongrit battling Ching Chang Bing Bang! Now, X, you and I are lovers of soul food, right? Xavier: Absolutely! There’s nothing better than soul food! Styles: Damn right! Now, as you know, in the southern parts of the United States, grits are a major deal! No southern breakfast is complete without grits and people take great pride in their grits! For those of you who don’t know, watch the movie “My Cousin Vinny” and you’ll see what’s up! Now, X, when I first heard the last name “Sitsongrit”, I pictured some overweight dude sitting on a big bowl of grits! Xavier: Really, Styles? That’s what you thought of!? Styles: It makes sense to me! Xavier: Naturally. You’ll notice that Marcinho trains at Sitsongrit Gym in Rio de Janeiro. Sitsongrit is the name of a muay thai camp and in the Thai language, sitsongrit means “student who passes along great ability”! Styles: Aren’t you the studious one!? Xavier: I like to know what I’m talking about, Styles! Styles: All right, I can respect that. Ching Chang Bing Bang sounds like some kind of crazy mixed ice cream that you find at a boba shop or some new K-Pop song with a dance of the same name! Anyway, Marcinho enters combat tonight with a very good record of 13-5, so he obviously knows how to handle business in the cage! This man is a submission machine, X, and he proved that early in his career by forcing many an opponent to tap out during the TWGC 19, 20, 26 and 27 tournaments! Xavier: Well, technically, TWGC 26 was one fight that he lost to Jack Lynn but I understand your point. Styles: Thank you for that! Geez! As I was saying, his submission prowess allowed him to amass very impressive victories and also become a champion, which we know is a very valuable benefit to any fighters career! In addition, he’s only been knocked out twice so he knows how to keep his chin down, his head moving, and his hands up high! Unfortunately for Sitsongrit, his last two fights have not fared in his favor, having lost both by majority and unanimous decision, respectively! At one point in his career, he stockpiled a 9-fight win streak so the man has proven himself to be an excellent fighter with a good knowledge base! His recent losing streak is his longest in his career so you know he’ll be extra motivated to avoid the unspoken taboo of losing three fights in a row! There’s no doubt this warrior from Alegrete, RS in Brazil, and YABAI alliance member, will be ready to bring the fight to Bang tonight! Xavier: “Walla Walla” Bing Bang, quite the name and I assume his parents are big fans of show tunes on Broadway, enters this fight at 7-5 overall! The Heritage member from China recently snapped a 4-fight losing streak by defeating Nando Vasquez at EMP Asham versus Marley by TKO in the second round! Looking at Bang’s overall career, he’s never been knocked out and that’s a testament to his training, defense and toughness! He has also knocked out five fighters so what we have here is the classic standup specialist battling the ground specialist! Obviously, each man will want to keep the fight in their respective range of comfort so Bang will have to, pardon the pun, look to stand and bang against Sitsongrit while Sitsongrit wants to keep the fight on the ground! In order for Bang to pull off this victory, he’ll have to be very aggressive and try to either knock Sitsongrit out early or even opt to lock him in a clinch and take the chance of being able to damage Sitsongrit with knees and elbows while preventing the takedown! Styles: As you said, X, this is the classic realm versus realm battle, if you will! Whoever can impose their will and keep the fight in their realm will win this, plain and simple. Sitsongrit has the experience advantage, plus he’s a former champion so he knows how to go that extra mile if and when he needs to! In light of that, I think Sitsongrit wins this fight by counterattacking Bang while in the standup to soften him up for any number of takedown angles that Sitsongrit can take against Bang! Once Sitsongrit can catch Bang off guard with the right angle, he’ll shoot in and will immediately work to gain the upper hand in the positioning battle! Once that happens, Sitsongrit locks in the submission for the win! Xavier: Bang will unleash his namesake in this fight, Styles, and he’ll bang Sitsongrit with brutal power and precision striking! Bang has the advantage, in my opinion, if he repetitiously chops away at Sitsongrit’s legs and body with kicks from all angles and that, in turn, will setup Bang’s punches to land more effectively because Sitsongrit will be too worried about being kicked! Once Bang is able to distract Sitsongrit with leg and body kicks, he can catch Sitsongrit off guard with an uppercut between the gloves and Sitsongrit will be dazed enough to where Bang can move in and aggressively go for the knockout! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Bang by KO; Styles – Sitsongrit by Submission Xavier: Geo Versu and Frog Ribbit step into the cage next to throw down! Styles: Frog Ribbit, that name kills me! Xavier: Yes, I know it does. “Steel” Versu, the facially tattooed warrior from Monaco, represents Convicted Inc. as he brings his 9-5 record into this fight! This knockout machine brings intensity and attitude into the cage and Ribbit better have his chin and head movement ready to be tested big time in this fight! His longest win streak has been five in a row and he recently snapped a two-fight losing streak by defeating Joey Diaz at EMP Rock versus Beliy with a brutal head kick in the second round! He’s been knocked out three times in his career so he’s willing to put it all on the line to win a fight, which, depending upon the opponent, can be a costly decision! Styles: “The Power Ranger” Ribbit is the taller man in this fight and that promises to make this fight be a standup war, and naturally, all of us will greatly appreciate that! The Belgium bomber is an outstanding 12-2 overall, and this member of Heritage has never been knocked out and that’s a nod to his toughness and defensive abilities! He has had an 8-fight win streak in his career yet had that win streak snapped by Shawn Antoski at EMP Rock versus Beliy by unanimous decision! Like his opponent, he’s a forced sleeping machine so the guess here is one of these warriors will be taking a forced nap and it won’t take long for that to happen! Xavier: I concur with you, Styles, that one of these fighters will be knocked out tonight and the fans will eat it up! I think Versu is due for a major victory and defeating Ribbit would qualify as such in my opinion! Yes, Ribbit is going to test Versu’s chin and defenses big time, but I think Versu has the option of locking Ribbit into a clinch and keeping him there to unleash close proximity damage! With that option, Versu can keep his chin safer while slowing down Ribbit with body shots and leaning his weight on Ribbit! In the end of this standup war, Versu emerges victorious by way of knockout! Styles: Ribbit is brutal, powerful and fast! That combination makes any opponent pause and try to adjust their approach to their fight because there’s no way to simulate that in sparring. Ribbit’s height advantage makes the difference tonight because Versu has to bring the fight to him! Ribbit knows Versu’s best bet is to try and lock him in a clinch so expect Ribbit to throw a multitude of strikes from all angles, especially to Versu’s body to slow him down and sap his punching power! Ribbit can also expect Versu to try and chop at his legs so counterattacking low kicks will be very effective for Ribbit and he could sneak in a head kick to turn out Versu’s lights! Ribbit wins this toe-to-toe battle by knockout! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Ribbit by KO; Xavier – Versu by KO Styles: Thomas Power, a great last name by the way, and Wayne Williams are the next lions to fight in the cage! “The Warrior” Power has been involved in some brutal, bloody battles and the proof of those battles is very prominent on his face! That scar that runs vertically on the right side of his face tells many a story, and his overall 24-17-1 record backs up every single story he tells! This fighter from Stanhope, England, represents Vendetta and is fearless in the cage! Not only has he had a 5-fight win streak as the longest in his career, but this man has also been a champion although he’s had his struggles in championship battles, especially against Leonardo Da Silva! Power recently had a 3-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Yung Hung Dong, another name that absolutely cracks me up, by unanimous decision at EMP Verygood versus Alcala! In a nutshell, Power either wins the battle of attrition or he knocks his opponents out and every opponent knows what he’s capable of bringing into the cage! He’s only been knocked out three times, X, and that says a lot because he’s been in a hell of a lot of fights! He also has never tapped out to any opponent and that speaks volumes about his skills, determination and heart! Xavier: Having never tapped out to an opponent is very admirable, especially with the number of quarrels he’s been involved with! In Wayne Williams, he may not have to be as concerned with potentially being tapped out for the first time in his career, but he will have to be concerned about being forced to kiss canvas against his wishes! The taller Williams from Atlanta, Georgia, represents the FinnFighters and does so with a fierce competitiveness! One knock against this capable fighter is he’s never won a championship despite having had three opportunities, two of which have been against Samak Ruenroeng! Despite that blemish, no one can say that Williams doesn’t have steel in his hands because he’s knocked out a good many opponents during his career and is always a threat to drop somebody in the blink of an eye! He’s been knocked out twice in his career and that suggests to me he has no qualms about standing toe-to-toe with anyone! If Power wants a standup battle then he’ll definitely get one! Williams is currently riding a 3-fight losing streak, however, and we all know how that can be psychologically and emotionally damaging. Styles: In light of that last comment, X, my pick for this fight will be Power! Simply stated, Power has had more recent success plus, in my opinion, he’ll be able to utilize his world class muay thai skills to keep Williams at a distance by chopping away at his legs and body, plus he may catch Williams looking for his kicks and can slip a head kick right between Williams’ hands! I don’t think Williams wants to press his luck in the clinch against Power so Power just needs to attack Williams with high energy, accuracy and the right mix of power, pardon the pun! If he can string those factors together while avoiding the ferocious punching power that Williams has sporadically displayed and Power emerges victorious tonight by knockout! Xavier: I think Williams physically has the upper hand tonight, Styles, because he hasn’t sustained as many long-term injuries and damage as Power has! That’s not a knock against Power by any means. The fact is he’s been in numerous fights and any man involved in that many fights, no matter the outcome, will pay the price of physical pain and damage! Williams also has something to prove to various detractors who say he can’t get the job done when a big fight is on the line! In Power, he has an opportunity to silence some critics and firmly place himself in the title hunt for the Bantamweight championship! Lastly, he has the chance to shake the three-fight losing streak he’s on because he absolutely does not want to, nor can he afford to, lose a fourth fight in a row! Williams wins this battle by knockout! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Williams by KO; Styles – Power by KO Xavier: The next two competitors into the cage will be Toshi Hijikata and Teke Bamalog! Styles: Oh yeah, this is the dude that we said should be a member of Hitokiri-13, right!? Xavier: That’s correct, Styles. Seeing that his nickname is “Hitokiri”, we thought it only fitting that he be a member of that particular alliance but for whatever reasons, he is not. Styles: Nothin’ wrong with being a lone wolf! Some fights are just better off doing their own thing and not being associated with an alliance! Xavier: That’s absolutely true, Styles, and we’ve seen plenty of very successful fighters who had no affiliation with an alliance. Hijikata brings an excellent 21-9 record into this fight tonight, and the man from Hino, Japan, is an extremely skilled all-around warrior! I’m still very surprised he doesn’t have more knockout victories under his belt, Styles, because he’s proven time and again he’s one hell of a fighter! As we’ve mentioned previously, his career longest win streak is 9-fights in a row! However, shortly after that outstanding streak, he summarily lost 5-fights in a row and that was a troublesome time for Hijikata! Much to his credit, he battled his way through that arduous adversity and has won the past six of seven battles he’s been in! His confidence has been restored and he knows he can rely on his experience and championship pedigree! The majority of his victories have been unanimous decisions so the man knows how to pace himself and control the action in the cage, but he also has the ability to floor an opponent with unexpected power, so Bamalog can’t underestimate that! Styles: “The Javan Zombie” is an outstanding 15-5-2 overall! The Stepdads representative from Cipamingkis, Indonesia, has had a couple of managers prior to his current management team, and he’s enjoyed great success with his current team! He’s 5-1-1 over his past seven fights so that’s obviously an excellent run! Bamalog has a mixed bag of success with unanimous decision and knockout victories, so he can adapt to whatever situation he’s faced with and can handle it very well! It’s ironic that his opponent is literally the same height and weight as he is because that adds some intrigue to this battle as I see it! Bamalog has the better knockout power from what I’ve seen and in this fight, he may have to step up his level of aggression but from a counterattacking perspective because he does have Golden Gloves boxing skills and world class muay thai as well, but he probably doesn’t want to test Hijikata’s BJJ abilities! Therefore, Bamalog wants to keep this fight standing and may opt to counterattack from a distance so he can gauge the timing and speed of Hijikata while looking for the opportunities to test Hijikata’s chin with power shots and thunderous kicks! If Bamalog and Hijikata get into a kicking war, we could very well see one of these men break a leg because they both bring a tremendous amount of velocity in their kicks! Xavier: This is going to be one hell of a battle, Styles, and I absolutely look forward to it! That being said, my pick tonight is Bamalog because I think he has just a bit more power than Hijikata does plus he’ll be highly motivated to keep this fight on its vertical base because, as you pointed out, going to the ground with Hijikata will be bad for business! Bamalog doesn’t have the experience that Hijikata has and that could work against him in certain situations, but the power that Bamalog possesses can’t be denied nor overlooked! Lastly, the recent loss to Kongchai Phetboonme by knockout in the third round will fuel his desire to finish this fight quickly and harshly! Bamalog takes this fight by knockout! Styles: Hijikata is just an incredibly skilled fighter, X, and that is hard as hell to overcome, even with knockout power like Bamalog has! As the saying goes, you can’t hurt what you can’t hit and I have to wonder if Bamalog will have the ability to land any power strikes before Hijikata drags him to the mat, and believe me, that will happen! If Bamalog manages to get inside the defenses of Hijikata and keeps this fight in very close range, Hijikata will gladly have a clinch battle because that will enable him to damage him prior to taking this fight to the horizontal base where Hijikata’s BJJ abilities will take over! Hijikata will control the pace and space once this fight goes to the ground and he’ll eventually wear down and frustrate Bamalog until he locks in the eventual submission for the win! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Hijikata by Submission; Xavier – Bamalog by KO Styles: Ri Zaadha and Conrad Tama Ginty are the next men to step into the cage and test one another’s skills! Zaadha brings a very respectable 19-9 overall record, and this Finnish fighter who represents The Evil Empire has had quite the run of managerial teams throughout his career! In fact, this is now his fifth training and management team so we’ll see what the future holds for him with this team! So far, he’s an even 1-1 with the loss and win both coming by way of knockout, so there’s still plenty of fireworks left in his fists! His career began in excellent fashion as he won seven straight right out of the gate! He’s also never lost more than two fights in a row so he’s been able to avoid the proverbial unspoken three in a row and he’s shown a propensity for finish his opponents before the judges’ cards are even a factor! Force, aggression and brutality are his calling card so Ginty had better have his head on a swivel and that chin reinforced with steel because if he slips too much and Zaadha tees off on his jaw too much, Ginty could find himself in a heap of trouble or opening his eyes and seeing the lights on the ceiling! Xavier: “The Will O’ The Whip” Ginty hails from Monasteraden, County Sligo, Ireland, and represents YABAI with a solid 13-5 overall record! This fur-clad Irishman is slightly shorter than Zaadha but not enough to where he’d have difficulties getting to Zaadha’s chin throughout the course of the fight! Like Zaadha, Ginty also has championship experience, so the in-cage combat advantage that Zaadha has over Ginty, specifically an eleven-fight advantage, is minimized by that championship experience! Add in the fact that Ginty likes to make opponents take naps just like Zaadha, and this promises to be an intense toe-to-toe standup melee! Ginty doesn’t have the knockout record that Zaadha does but Ginty obviously knows how to win the war of attrition, and winning is winning, as well know! A 7-fight win streak is the longest that Ginty has and he’s never lost two fights in a row! In his last outing against Corban Storm, he won by unanimous decision at EMP Asham versus Marley, and that win came on the heels of a loss to Buffalo Marley by unanimous decision! I don’t see this fight going to the ground because both men possess world class standup skills so this could very well boil down to intelligence, toughness and confidence! Styles: Zaadha has slurry bombs in his fists and he lights up his opponents with pressure, energy and power! I don’t see that narrative changing at all in this fight and although Ginty is very highly skilled, Zaadha’s no slouch either, X! Zaadha may opt to stay outside and pump a jab repeatedly at Ginty to make him either adjust to Zaadha’s reach advantage or take the chance of catching leg and body kicks whenever he slips a punch and tries to step in and land a strike! Zaadha’s combat experience can’t be overlooked either because he’s been in numerous situations where he’s dealt with fighters who may have particular skills that are superior to his, but due to his ability to crush an opponent’s jaw, he always has a puncher’s chance of winning a fight, and win is what he’ll do tonight against Ginty by knockout! Xavier: Ginty takes no issue with controlling the pace of a fight he’s in and he doesn’t need knockout victories to sate any bloodthirst! He’s intelligent, cool and calculating, and I expect that to be the approach to this fight, especially since he knows Zaadha will look to be aggressive in going for an early knockout! The longer this fight progresses, the more it swings over to Ginty’s side because he’s proven that he can survive heavy hitters while scoring crucial points on the judges’ cards while, more importantly, keeping himself out of harm’s way while he damages the opponent in various ways! If he can dictate whether or not this fight stays at a distance or gets locked into a clinch struggle then he’ll be able to avoid unnecessary damage and may possibly force the tapout if Zaadha takes too many chances and gives up positioning as soon as the fight goes to the ground! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Ginty by KO; Styles – Zaadha by KO Xavier: The next two combatants who will enter the cage will be Kendo Hirigushi and Bobo Nielsen! “Doll Hands” Hirigushi is 17-11 overall, and this rather unique-looking warrior from Fukushima, Japan, has world class boxing skills and the heart of a champion! His foray into the KT circuit near the beginning of his career proved to be an excellent decision as he won four fights in a row and captured a championship in his third fight! He’s won titles on separate occasions so he knows what he’s doing in the cage and in the ring, so Nielsen will need to be on point tonight and not underestimate this man! Hirigushi has been knocked out a few times but has avoided relative major damage and punishment, so his defensive abilities are definitely solid! After engaging in some brutal standup wars where he knocked out some excellent competitors, recently he’s been involved in more decision wins and losses than knockouts! That doesn’t mean that he’s lost any ability to drop an opponent quickly but that’s more a nod to the style of fights he’s had as well as the level of competition! He’s struggled a bit over his last four fights going 1-3, so he definitely wants to get things turned around as quickly as possible starting with this fight! Styles: Nielsen finds himself the shorter and lighter man tonight, she he’ll have to utilize speed and counterattacking intelligence to be effective tonight! The Convicted Inc. member from Rajjeskold, Denmark, is an excellent 21-11 overall, and tonight his height disadvantage is actually an advantage, if he can get Hirigushi to the ground and keep him there that is! A 6-fight win streak has been Nielsen’s longest of his career and he’s had a 3-fight losing streak. However, overall, he’s only lost more than two fights in a row once in his career and that was the three-fight skid I just mentioned! He’s won the majority of his fights by TKO, X, so he’s still a dangerous opponent that Hirigushi will have to be wary of! He’s been knocked out a few times and has had his struggles against submission specialists, but his championship experience and acumen can’t be denied! What we have on our hands is another classic standup versus ground fighter, and, as always, whoever can impose their will on the opponent and keep them in their preferred area of combat will be the one to win this fight! Xavier: Since both of these men have shown struggles against fighters well versed in the submission language of combat, it would be ironic to see the majority of this fight end up on the mat. I think Hirigushi will lean heavily on his outstanding boxing ability and very respectable muay thai skills to keep this fight standing at all costs, even if he has to take a calculated risk and lock Nielsen in a clinch to see if Nielsen can withstand the onslaught from the clinch, plus that would enable Hirigushi to feel any takedown attempts from the clinch from Nielsen! If Nielsen does manage to get this fight to the mat, I think Hirigushi has enough capability and experience to avoid any mass amounts of ground-and-pound damage while fighting for better defensive positioning! Eventually, Hirigushi’s boxing ability and world class muay thai skills will sway the fight in his favor and he’ll eventually penetrate Nielsen’s defenses long enough to land the clean shot he needs to score the knockout! Styles: Nielsen knows what it takes to get this fight to the ground and ground-and-pound Hirigushi into nap time, or, in the very least, pummeling the man with repeated hammerfists and elbows to the point where he either taps out or is bloodied so badly that the referee has no choice but to stop the fight! Getting this fight to the ground will require excellent timing with counterattacks because he’ll need to soften up Hirigushi before trying to score any takedowns! Look for Nielsen to work on Hirigushi’s body with kicks, especially, and if this fight ends up in the clinch, look for Nielsen to throw timely blind hooks to the head and knees to the body before tripping Hirigushi and immediately working to gain the advantage in positioning! Once he’s able to secure and maintain dominant positioning, Nielsen will be very aggressive in going for the finish via ground-and-pound, and if Hirigushi manages to avoid that, he’s still going to eat some heavy shots and will also leave himself open for an array of submissions that he’ll eventually succumb to! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Nielsen by Submission; Xavier – Hirigushi by KO Styles: Jean-Claude Marceau and George Allen keep the action going as they are the next two men to square off in the cage! Marceau, the man of few words and the face paint of a mime, steps into combat with a fantastic 21-10 overall record! The Frenchman from Paris and Stepdads representative is slightly shorter and a bit lighter than Allen tonight, but that won’t deter him from matching boxing and muay thai skills against Allen’s! Marceau is on a Golden Gloves level with his boxing ability and his muay thai is world class, and I think he can rely on those two skill sets to seize control of this fight! 4-fights in a row has been the longest win streak of his career and he’s lost two fights in a row twice in his career. Something of a concern for Marceau, however, is the fact that he’s lost three fights due to bleeding out! This was mentioned previously but it’s important to make note of that because Allen definitely knows about that history and will undoubtedly look to make Marceau bleed with punishing strikes! His last fight against Tank was the headlining fight and he lost that one by unanimous decision so he wants to get back into the win column as quickly as possible! Xavier: Allen brings a 16-6 record into this fight along with his stocky frame for being in the light heavyweight division! The tattooed Englander from St. Mary’s and yellow-taped fists is with his second management team. With his first team, he had an outstanding start by winning 8-fights in a row and becoming a champion! After that incredible start, however, he and that management team decided to part ways and with his current team, he won another two fights in a row before tasking his first defeat. Who was his first defeat!? You guessed it, the man who will be standing across the cage from him! In fact, this is the third time these two warriors will clash and so far, Marceau has won the previous two encounters, both my knockout! Allen had been struggling a bit during a stretch where he lost three fights in a row, but he corrected that slide by winning his last two fights, both by knockout, so he’s rolling at the right time and his confidence is very high! His last victory was a head kick knockout, a nod to his world class muay thai skills and power! Keep in mind that he knocked out every single person in his first ten fights! In fact, there have only been three fights he’s been in that have ended in a unanimous decision! Devastation is his middle name and that’s followed very closely by aggression! Styles: There’s no doubt that Allen is a wrecking ball with fists and feet because whatever he hits, he hurts! There have been four times when he’s been knocked out and his last knockout loss was a result of bleeding out, so there’s a concern about being able to hold their blood in for both fighters in this battle! For this fight, which is sure to be filled with crimson rivers, I’m rollin’ with the mime of pain tonight because he’s figured out how to floor Allen! Two fights between them and he solved the conundrum that Allen is and was able to outstrike and overpower the powerful Allen! Allen’s kicks will give Marceau cause for concern but he can overcome that by counterattacking Allen with speed and fast punches by using his Golden Gloves boxing skills! Allen brings plenty of destruction and Marceau knows he has to have his striking defense as up to speed as possible, but you better believe he’s completely confident that he can once again make Allen kiss canvas! Marceau wins this battle by knockout for the trifecta! Xavier: Allen knows this is an excellent opportunity for him to secure his first victory over Marceau! The momentum is there, the desire is there, and the knowledge is there! In addition, he may very well have determined that he’s going to forgo counterattacking or looking to use accurate striking and will bum rush Marceau in hopes of simply overwhelming him with brutal strike after strike! Yes, that’s risky but really, what does he have to lose? Marceau has bested him twice already and Allen knows that he has to go through Marceau to cement his status as a title contender! Allen could look to take a risk in the clinch and rely on his tremendous muay thai abilities to wear Marceau down and even look to land elbows that slice Marceau open and make him more susceptible to being hit! Allen will be very focused, intense, and hell bent on getting the knockout tonight to prove he can overcome the burden in his career named Marceau! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Allen by KO; Styles – Marceau by KO Xavier: Lain Tower and Kvame Zulu are the next combatants to test one another’s skills in the cage! “The CN” Tower from Toronto, Canada and La Familia member is a tremendous 26-6! The man with the intense eyes is with his third management team, which is shocking to me, because he’s obviously a very successful warrior, has been knocking out fighters left and right for the vast majority of his career! He started off his career by flooring ten men in a row, and while unleashing that path of destruction, he won a championship! After changing his management team the first time, he won another championship and laid out eight men in a row! Now with his current manager, he’s won his past two fight by KO and TKO, respectively! Hercules Fortier succumbed to losing too much blood and Yhorm Giant was put to sleep in a mere 29 seconds! Needless to say, this man is a force to be reckoned with! Against Zulu, he’s a bit taller and heavier but, quite frankly, none of that matters, Styles! What does matter is in this fight you have two absolute bulldozers for men whose fists can be used to tear down houses! Brutal, bludgeoning, and bloody will be the descriptor for this clash and the fans will absolutely eat it up! Both men have earned their brown belts in BJJ but let’s be honest here. No one wants to see these two behemoths have a submission or ground-and-pound battle! We want to see which one of these titans can topple the other one with ground-breaking punches, wall-collapsing kicks, and hell, maybe even an elbow or knee that one of them doesn’t see that ends up making them take a nap very early in this fight! Styles: You’re damn right about that, X! No one wants to see either one of these men have a damned grappling fight! This type of battle is like having two Sherman tanks barreling towards one another at full speed in a game of chicken that neither man wants to veer from! This is the proverbial immovable object meets the unstoppable force! The fans are going to ooh and aah with each and every hit because they know flesh is being bent, bones potentially broken, ligaments popped and tendons torn! “Brahma” is a very fitting nickname because this destructive force from New Xade, Botswana, is an absolute bull! He steps into this fight with a 24-7 record and he represents YABAI very well with his world class boxing, muay thai, and grappling skills! One of the most intriguing aspects of this battle, X, is that Tower also has world class boxing and muay thai! Imagine if these two monsters decide to have a clinch war and just level each other with strikes from all angles and parts of the body until one of them yells “timber” and watches the other man topple over! Zulu is with his second management team and with this team, he has become a champion! He began his career by knocking out four men in a row and with his current team, he forced a nap on nine men by going on a 9-fight winning streak! One fact to keep in mind tonight is Zulu has knocked Tower out before! However, Tower has knocked Zulu out before as well, and in fact, he’s won the last two battles between them by knockout, so Zulu is amped at the opportunity to even this personal war! Xavier: That’s an excellent point, Styles! Zulu has tasted defeat the last two times these two monsters have crossed paths and also, Tower has shown the ability to take the fight to the ground and secure the submission win! Personally, I don’t see him making an attempt to do that against Zulu tonight because, quite frankly, he won’t have the time or opportunity to take this fight to the ground! Zulu is going to be a house of fire tonight, ladies and gentlemen, because he knows that he’s taken more damage than Tower over his career plus there’s concern that Tower can make him bleed! These are very motivational factors in this fight that he will use as fuel to overcome the very dangerous Tower tonight! Zulu knows there are whispers that he can’t defeat Tower again and he wants to assuage those concerns with a resounding knockout victory! Tonight, he takes hold of that knockout victory! Styles: This is definitely one of the fights I’ve been looking forward to ever since it was announced that these two would clash again! I have no doubt that these two warriors keep an eye on one another each and every time they fight because it’s inevitable that they’ll cross paths time and again until they retire! Tower knows the longer this fight goes, the better his chance of finishing Zulu because he’s made him bleed out before and has obviously made him kiss canvas against his wishes as well! That knowledge and experience will give Tower a world of confidence heading into this fourth fight with Zulu, and that will definitely be an advantage! Add in the fact that if Zulu begins to gain momentum, Tower can take him to the mat where Tower has forced a good number of opponents to tap out, and you have one hell of a winning combination! Yes, Zulu is just as skilled on the mat as Tower is but that doesn’t mean Tower doesn’t have the ability to overcome Zulu’s defenses and lock him into a submission for the win! Tower defeats Zulu again, but this time it will be by tapout! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Tower by Submission; Xavier – Zulu by KO Styles: The main event of the evening is next and what a time to have it! The fans will be raucous and buzzing after seeing Tower and Zulu beat the living hell out of one another! The Welterweight title hangs in the balance as Nick Graves and Domingo Chavez get it on! “Dr. Kneevil”, which I appreciate the play on words there, is an incredible 28-6! The Calgary native and Stepdads representative is with his second management team, and when he began his career, we all knew he was going to be one hell of a fighter! He went on an absolute tear and had a 13-fight winning streak! Thirteen in a row, X! Xavier: That’s extremely impressive! Styles: Hell yeah it is! Obviously, and rightfully, he became a champion and defended his title time and again, but for whatever reason, after winning thirteen in a row, he and that management team decided to part ways! Unbelievable! Xavier: I have no doubt that sent a shockwave through the entire industry because it’s very rare to have that type of success, especially right out of the gates! Styles: Needless to say, his current management team was damn happy to sign him from free agency and the rest is history! With this management team, he’s become a champion again but has run into a buzzsaw named Luck Gagnon a few times! Luc Gagnon just seems to have Graves’ number because he’s defeated Graves by TKO each and every time! Taking nothing away from Graves because Gagnon is an incredible warrior in his own right, Graves has that hanging over his head and when the time comes, he’ll have to try and overcome Gagnon yet again in the future! Currently, however, Graves has looked sharp and ready for all challengers! He’s won four in a row and that snapped a two-fight losing streak, and in the four wins he’s had lately, all have been by KO or TKO! The man is locked in and ready to unleash a wave of destruction on Chavez, and Chavez definitely knows he has a hellacious fight on his hands tonight! It’s shocking to me that this is the first meeting between these two because they’re obviously at the top of their game so this will be a very interesting battle due to that simple fact, let alone the level of skill and ability they both possess! Graves has been knocked out five times, X, and you better believe Chavez is fully aware of that fact! Also, Graves has never tapped out in any of his thirty-four fights! That, in itself, is an incredible achievement and he’s renowned for his toughness and will to win! Xavier: “Ding” Chavez is the shorter and lighter man in this championship fight, Styles, and quite frankly, that’s just the way he’d prefer it to be! I say that because the Los Angeles native and member of the Keyboard Warriors takes great joy in making opponents lose by unanimous decision while he avoids their best efforts at knocking him out or making him tap out! Chavez has a 23-9 record so he basically has the same combat experience as Graves does. Admittedly, Chavez doesn’t have nearly the knockout rate of winning that Graves does so don’t expect him to try and come out with strikes that will overwhelm Graves with power! Instead, expect Chavez to be very methodical in his approach to this fight and do his best to be technically sound with accuracy, agility and counterstriking while avoiding the jaw-crushing power that Graves will try and unload on him tonight! Chavez has had two different times of establishing a 5-fight win streak so be it by knockout, tapout or winning the battle of attrition, Chavez can adapt to the situation he faces and that’s key in this fight tonight, Styles! Like Graves, Chavez is a champion and that can’t be denied by anyone! That championship moxie and mettle allows certain fighters to push past their limits while embroiled in combat, and Chavez has demonstrated that just as much as Graves has, in my opinion! Chavez has been knocked out five times in his career so he has absorbed some damage, though by the looks of it, he’s suffered just as much damage as Graves has, so that may not be as much of a factor as people may suspect! Chavez has the patience and ability to control the pace of battle and over his last three fights, that’s exactly how he has won! Styles: You know, X, there’s no way I can’t ride with the champion in this fight! No disrespect to Chavez because he’s obviously in this position to win a title for a reason! Tonight, however, I just think Graves has the physical advantage with his height because that will make Chavez have to step into his striking range, and that’s a very risky endeavor! The longer Chavez stays in Graves’ range, especially his punches, the greater the risk that Chavez will be tasting blood in his mouth while becoming acquainted with the canvas! I think Graves is just rolling too well and his confidence is too strong for Chavez to break, plus I don’t think Graves is overly worried about Chavez’s power! If Chavez manages to get inside of Graves’ defenses, I don’t think Graves will have a problem with clinching with Chavez because he can still unleash great power in the short range and wear Chavez down enough to open his defenses for the knockout! Graves wins this title fight by knockout! Xavier: Chavez knows this is his opportunity to silence many critics who say he doesn’t have the power or ability to slow down a knockout artist such as Graves is! Chavez also knows that he absolutely has to utilize his smaller stature to be the faster, sharper and wittier man to take the title home tonight! Counterattacking, taking the angles and using his age experience over Graves are the keys to victory tonight! Chavez is fully aware that he needs to drag this fight to the ground and keep it there as soon as possible because he doesn’t want to risk absorbing punishment from Graves’ kicks or fists unnecessarily! Chavez could very well opt to rush Graves in an attempt to cinch a clinch early in the fight and wear him down with body strikes and sporadic punches and elbows to the head to make Graves cover up long enough for Chavez to score the trip takedown and float right into side control! From there, Chavez can take advantage of Graves’ longer limbs and look to make the champion tapout for the championship win! PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Chavez by Submission; Styles – Graves by KO Xavier: Completing this night of incredible action and blood-letting will be Will Rock and Kagekatsu Uesugi! Styles: Wow, that’s a mouthful! Kagekatsu Uesugi? Damn, talk about sounding like an SAT question! Xavier: “The Lion” steps into this fight with an outstanding 26-8-3 record, and The Evil Empire associate from Athens, Greece, is the definition of intensity! Among his impressive accomplishments, a 6-fight win streak is the longest of his career, which is surprising because I thought he’d have more wins in a row than that! Not knocking that streak because that’s still damned good but a man of his caliber and capability can easily win more than that in a row! Surprisingly, this is the first time that these two fighters will meet in the cage so there’ll be a feeling out process while they figure out how to beat the other man into oblivion! Rock has done it all with the exception of winning or losing by TKO due to cuts so there’s always that, but you never know, Styles! This might be the night where he adds that to his record! The skill level of this man is so good that it’s ridiculous! He can do it all, period, end of story! He’s only tasted the canvas once and that was from a head kick but lately he’s had some close call victories, and one loss, by way of split decision. Is that a sign that his incredibly skilled and talented warrior is finally beginning to slow!? Only time will tell! The championship experience this man possesses is also a very favorable advantage he may have over Uesugi tonight so don’t overlook that factor! Styles: Uesugi, the quiet but very effective warrior from Niigata, Japan, steps into this fight with a 23-8 record! He’s basically just as experienced and accomplished as Rock so there won’t be any surprises between these men in terms of approach to combat! What impresses me about Uesugi is he’s signed to both Empyrean and Claymore Elite Combat! Numerous fighters have a hard enough time keeping themselves together and making a successful career in one organization at a time, but this man is among those very special fighters who can handle being in two fight organizations at the same time and not being broken like a weak stone! He’s very slightly taller than Rock but he does have ten pounds on him, and may try to use that weight advantage to either lean it against Rock in the clinch or try to establish dominant position on the ground and force Rock to support that extra weight while they engage in a grappling and BJJ war! Uesugi knows that Rock is in a very select group of men who have earned a red belt in BJJ a feat that, in and of itself, is incredibly impressive and is to be respected by any man who steps into combat! A 5-fight win streak is the longest of his career but he’s had a couple of four-wins in a row as well so when he gets on a roll and his confidence is strong, the man is effective in the cage! Add his championship experience and he’s as solid as they come, X! Xavier: This may surprise many people, yourself included, Styles, but I think Uesugi will emerge victorious tonight, and here’s why! There’s no doubt Rock is extremely skilled and outstanding in whatever situation he faces, but he may be suspect with his confidence, and if Uesugi can convince Rock that he’s far more superior to Uesugi, he could very well take an uncalculated risk and Uesugi can pounce on that! Feints, counterattacks and deceptive power could very well be the keys to victory for Uesugi tonight! Utilizing his weight advantage is vital in slowing Rock down enough to land effective, accurate strikes mixed with power strikes that may very well catch Rock off guard and be the beginning of his energy level slowing enough to diminish his defensive skills! Once Uesugi is able to achieve that goal, he can pour on the pressure and lock Rock into a clinch where he can lean that weight on him while sapping his strength and energy with body strikes until he’s able to sneak a punch between Rock’s hands and turn his lights out! Styles: Rock is, pardon the pun, as solid as a rock, X! There’s no situation he can’t handle and he knows how to get out of trouble once he’s in it, if he even gets into trouble! I think Rock has the confidence in his standup abilities to keep this fight on a vertical plane where he can counterattack Uesugi with power and precision until he feels he’s ready to take this fight to the ground where his advanced BJJ skills can and will be the difference maker! In addition, Rock has learned how to avoid being knocked out, and if he feels Uesugi is applying too much pressure for his liking, he can lock him into a clinch and see how he handles that! In the clinch, he may very well have the striking speed advantage because he’s lighter on his feet and can beat Uesugi to the punch, literally, in close quarters! Once he wears Uesugi down, Rock will get the takedown and win the battle of positioning until he can get the angle he wants on Uesugi and locks in the submission for the win! PREDICTIONS: Styles – Rock by Submission; Xavier – Uesugi by KO Styles: All right good people, that’s another wrap to a preview brought to you by myself, Furious Styles, my esteemed colleague, Esiah Xavier, and our kick ass sponsor, HELLBENT! Xavier: Styles and I have enjoyed bringing you the information that we have as usual, ladies and gentlemen, and we appreciate you joining us once again for an Empyrean preview! We know the action tonight will be hellacious, intense and will leave an indelible mark on all of our minds! Take care, be well, and we’ll see you at the fights! Amazing piece! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjsquirrel Posted February 17, 2020 Report Share Posted February 17, 2020 Finally, King Hippo has been avenged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monsieur.Camara Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Cool so it's no longer a restricted org? It`s no longer an org period Fighters signed: 20 Number of events: 237 Base: New York Owner: Alex K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestever Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 But the fighters and pieces will live on! Good luck on the final card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monsieur.Camara Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 The Revenant: PORRA ! Some good and not soo good memories in scumbag org. I outlived it as is nature with weak things. Some of my GREATEST matches below. We move on my friend 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stpierrecanada Posted March 2, 2020 Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Sad to see this org go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.