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Inferno Combat Series - Smack Talk Thread


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Big Thanks to Mr. Xavier for this week's preview!!!!

 

INFERNO COMBAT SERIES 13: ICS 13 PREVIEW

WOMBLEY ARENA

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 13! In the booth with me tonight is the self-proclaimed erudite, Furious Styles!

Styles: That’s right, X! You and I both know I’m an enlightened individual! We’ve definitely made the rounds lately, haven’t we, X!?

Xavier: That’s absolutely right, Styles! From Rapid Fighting Championship to Empyrean, to a special guest appearance for that crazy Madness event, then boom! We get a phone call from our agents out in Los Angeles and they tell us Inferno Combat Series executives want to bring us on to present previews to the outstanding fans of this organization!

Styles: We truly appreciate the opportunity to bring the insight and truth to the masses of crazy Inferno asses!

Xavier: Easy, Styles! I don’t know if we can just jump right in with that kind of language! This is our very first preview!

Styles: Give me a break, X! You honestly don’t think these kick ass warriors and wild fans don’t curse!?

Xavier: Well, I suppose they do.

Styles: Dispense with the suppositions about that, X! We’re here to break it down to molecules and that’s exactly what we’re going to do!

Xavier: I won’t argue with you there! Tonight folks, we have an outstanding night of action and combat planned with the Middleweight title on the line as well! Overall, we’ll be seeing two Featherweight fights, three Middleweight fights, and as I mentioned previously, one of those will see the title hang in the balance! We’ll also see a whopping five Heavyweight fights!

Styles: Five Heavyweight fights!? That’s a hell of a lot of beef in that ring tonight! We’re definitely going to see some dudes get blasted on and dropped like they got run over by a truck!

Xavier: There’s no doubt that some of these combatants tonight will be tasting canvas the hard way! The first battle of the night takes place between Henson Benderson and Jargon Gin! Benderson…that name makes him sound like he’s the son of that robot due in Futurama!

Xavier: Futurama?

Styles: Yeah, X! Futurama! You’ve never heard of it?

Xavier: I have because I like Family Guy, American Dad and The Boondocks. I never watched Futurama, though.

Styles: Come on, man! It’s funny and Bender has an attitude that I can relate to! Jargon Gin sounds like a unique alcoholic drink!

Xavier: I suppose it does, yes.

Styles: Either that or a Star Wars character!

Xavier: Now that I can hang with!

Styles: I thought so! “Bendo” Benderson sports an unusual green beard but that’s his business! His overall record is 24-20 so dude likes to fight, a lot, and though he doesn’t have the best win-loss record, I respect the fact that he keeps wrappin’ up his fists and getting into that cage to fight! The San Diego native is a two-time champion so that championship mettle is there and proven, plus he’s had some very good winning streaks! His best one to date is 7-fights in a row, and that’s excellent! On the flip side, he’s lost 4-fights in a row before but has obviously managed to get things turned around and has a winning record. Over his last eight fights, he’s exactly even because he’s won and lost four with his most recent loss being at the hands of Outlaw Hardy by unanimous decision at ICS 9! He wants to get back into the win column tonight and he has the tools to get the job done! He’s shorter and lighter than Gin plus he’s ten-years older so his life experience advantage coupled with his combat experience is a factor to consider tonight!

Xavier: Well, I’ll be damned! You did nail it, Styles! Gin does look like a Star Wars character!

Styles: I told you!

Xavier: You certainly did. Gin enters this battle with a 13-7 overall record, and the Irishman, who’s a member of Hitokiri-13, an alliance we’re both familiar with, definitely has a disadvantage in terms of in-cage combat experience! However, Gin’s height and weight advantage in this fight fit right in to his Golden Gloves boxing skills, and as I see it, keeping this fight standing is paramount to his chances of emerging as the victor! Staying on the outside and letting his fists fly is the key tonight because he doesn’t want to get dragged to the mat to test his luck and skill against Benderson, a proven brown belt in BJJ. That won’t be worth the risk for Gin so he may even want to consider trying to counterattack Benderson whenever he tries to get in close and go for the takedown that he seeks. Gin will have to be very careful if he opts to try any kicks because his muay thai skills aren’t on the same level with Benderson’s, but he can still catch Benderson off guard if he times his kicks well. He’s had two different instances of winning 5-fights in a row so when he has momentum, he can keep everything rolling. However, prior to his recent TKO win over Ramon Carlos in the first round at ICS 9, he had lost four fights in a row! He wants to hold onto his current winning ways.

Styles: I think the green-bearded man will win this fight, X! From what we’ve seen, he’s the more well-rounded fighter plus he’s only been knocked out twice in all of the fights that he’s had! Gin, on the other hand, has been knocked out five times and that tells me his chin is susceptible to damage! Benderson isn’t a knockout artist but he can muster enough knockout power to drop Gin and that’s exactly what’s going to happen! Benderson wins by knockout!

Xavier: Gin has definitely absorbed a lot of damage during his career, but he’s also dished out a good amount! He may be out-skilled on paper but he has a puncher’s chance of winning this fight, and I think he’ll be able to utilize his excellent boxing ability to do exactly that! Whether it be through aggression or counterattacks, Gin will land the one-shot knockout to win this fight!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Gin by KO; Styles – Benderson by KO

Xavier: The next combatants into the cage will be Aloysius Wiremu and Kevin Huang! Wiremu hails from Marienburg, Suriname, Netherlands and fights out of Las Vegas! This veteran has an overall record of 33-25 so there’s no doubt he likes to fight a lot! The longest winning streak of his lengthy career has been 6-fights in a row and that was early on in his career. However, over his last seven fights, he’s won six of those, so the man is still dangerous, even at his advanced age, and what’s even more impressive is he’s won those six fights by TKO or KO! In fact, two of those wins have come by brutal head kicks so Huang will have to be wary of Wiremu’s kicks or he could have his head treated like a soccer ball! Wiremu has never lost more than three times in a row and he’s obviously on a major roll so keeping that momentum into this fight against Huang is vital! As expected from such a high number of fights, Wiremu has suffered a good amount of damage collectively through his career, and I have no doubt Huang is very well aware of that fact! Much to my surprise, Wiremu has never won a championship! I truly don’t know how that’s possible with a man of his skillset who has had various win streaks and has obviously won more fights than he’s lost. Perhaps Wiremu will win that elusive title before the final bell on his career rings!

Styles: Huang steps into combat with a 16-13-2 record so he immediately is at a disadvantage in terms of in-cage combat experience when compared to Wiremu! However, Huang is also eight years younger than his opponent so there’s that fact, plus Huang has achieved a rare accomplishment in MMA! This man earned a red belt in BJJ, one hell of a feat in and of itself! On that fact alone I have a great deal of respect for him because that takes a tremendous amount of sacrifice, pain, and passion! There just aren’t many men with red belts these days, X, so major props to Huang for that! In light of my comments, it’s obvious that Huang favors the grappling and ground aspects of fighting and will want to get this fight to the ground as soon as possible! One important factor is Huang has championship experience and that will be an important key in this fight, especially since Huang is currently riding a 3-fight losing streak! In order for him to get off the snide, he’s going to have to establish the pace and space of this fight early and force Wiremu to fight his fight as opposed to allowing Wiremu to dictate the pace of the fight! I expect the Indonesian warrior from Jakarta to be quite aggressive from the beginning of this fight!

Xavier: Wiremu has major momentum as of late, Styles, especially with being able to knock out his opponents in all but one of his last seven fights! That shows tremendous power and desire from Wiremu as he approaches the twilight of his career. This fight presents him the opportunity that he should be seriously considered for a championship battle before his body simply gives out on him and he can no longer perform at this level. His confidence is high, and he has the knowledge and experience to withstand the early aggression that’s sure to be shown from Huang! Staying out the outside and keeping this fight on its feet is the key to victory tonight and unleashing well-timed power strikes will lead Wiremu to a win by knockout tonight!

Styles: Huang has proven to be very dangerous on the ground, X, and that’s exactly where this fight is going to end up and be finished! Wiremu has had an incredible run as of late and no one can deny that. However, Huang’s youth and ability to take any opponent to the ground will be the difference maker tonight! Even if Wiremu manages to do some damage to Huang while this fight is on the vertical plane, it’s inevitable that Huang makes this a horizontal fight, and once he does that, it’s a done deal! Huang will aggressively look for takedowns between softening up Wiremu with various punches from various angles, and once he slow Wiremu down enough, he’ll shoot in, get the takedown, and then he’ll position himself to get the tap from any number of angles! Huang wins this fight by submission!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Huang by Submission; Xavier – Wiremu by KO

Styles: The next fighters we’ll see battle it out will be Ueda Umanouke and Anthony Griffith! “The Yatomi Brawler”, hailing from Yatomi, Aichi, Japan, is a warrior who has seen a tremendous amount of combat! This member of Elite Punishment Inc. is 30-22 overall for a total of 52 fights! That’s a hell of a lot of fighting, especially for a heavyweight where the damage is exponentially increased due to the sheer size and strength of the opponents! This is the second manager that Umanouke has had. With his first management team, he became a champion early in his career during his time at OMEGA FIGHTING, specifically when he defeated Quetzal Montezuma at NO ESCAPE by unanimous decision! Though he wasn’t champion for long, he still has that championship pedigree and that’s always valuable in the fight game! With his current management team, he once again became a champion when he defeated Silas Monk by TKO in the first round at Claymore Elite Combat during the CEC 582 event! He then went on to defend that title five times in a row, a very impressive feat, until he was bested by Pena Pulkkinen by Armbar at CEC 615 in the fourth round of a very brutal battle! His longest winning streak has been 9-fights in a row, which is outstanding, but as of late, Umanouke has struggled mightily! He’s currently on a 5-fight losing streak so he really needs to turn things around tonight against Griffith or he’ll continue this downward spiral!

Styles: “The Animal” Griffith steps into this fight with an 18-14 overall record, so he immediately doesn’t have the same amount of combat experience that Umanouke has, but Griffith has been in enough wars to know how to get the job done! He represents the LEGION OF DOOM and this Bronx brawler won a championship in his one and only KT fight when he knocked out John Riverson in the second round at CEC Rising Stars: XF 43! As you said, X, having championship experience is very vital in any fight and he, like Ueda, can rely on that experience if and when he finds himself in trouble during the course of battle! His longest winning streak has been 4-fights in a row but like his opponent tonight, Griffith has had recent struggles! He’s currently on a 3-fight losing streak so he definitely wants to get off the snide as soon as possible! In my opinion, one advantage he has here tonight is age. He’s seven years younger than Umanouke and that level of energy advantage will help him big time tonight because he’s going to absolutely keep this fight vertical! Bottom line is if he lets Umanouke drag this fight to the ground, Griffith will be in serious trouble because Umanouke’s BJJ skills are superior! Griffith definitely has a puncher’s chance of winning this fight but will have to make sure he jumps on Umanouke early and often because the longer this fight wears on, the more it favors Umanouke!

Xavier: I think Umanouke’s combination of experience and skill will prove to be too much for Griffith to withstand tonight, Styles! He’s much shorter than Griffith and will have to work past the big man’s reach and defenses to get in tight and close. Umanouke has the weight advantage and that will be especially handy if he chooses to lock Griffith into a clinch and lean that extra weight on him while laying into his body with strong strikes before scoring the takedown or pulling guard to get Griffith to the mat where he’s very uncomfortable under these circumstances! Once Umanouke gets Griffith on a horizontal plane, all he has to do is stay busy and continue to press his weight on Griffith while forcing him to defend against a multitude of submissions he can lock in from any angle! Umanouke wins this fight by submission!

Styles: Griffith has enough experience to know how to keep this fight standing, and more importantly, he has the youth, energy and explosion to rush Umanouke effectively and force the shorter man to back up on his heels while landing repeated strikes! If Umanouke is able to weather the storm early, Griffith can still launch attacks from the outside and each time Umanouke tries to get in close, he can tag him with kicks from his tree trunk legs! That’ll make Umanouke think twice and keep him at the distance Griffith wants him to be to light up his chin and score the knockout for the win tonight!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Griffith by KO; Xavier – Umanouke by Submission

Styles: The next warriors into the cage will be Alexander Gruzdev and Dominic Gotti! Anytime I hear the last name Gotti, I automatically think of the known gangster! Do you think Dominic has any relation to that guy!?

Xavier: It’s difficult to say, Styles, but in this industry, nothing is very surprising, so I’d fully expect him to have direct relations to him!

Styles: Well, if he is, I wonder if he can hook me up with a sweet Mercedes with a kick ass discount price!?

Xavier: I’m not going to comment on that.

Styles: If I roll up in a sweet new Mercedes, you’ll know I had that conversation! “Nagano” Gruzdev, who represents the Evil Empire, steps into this fight with a 25-19 record, so this 35-year-old Russian from St. Petersburg has obviously proven he likes to fight and fight a lot! His boxing skills are world class and that always makes him dangerous in any fight! He’s had various managers throughout his career and has enjoyed success by being a champion in the early part of his career! Unfortunately for him, that early championship success has been the only championship he’s worn but at least he achieved that! There are a great many fighters that never earn a title shot so he’s absolutely in esteemed historical company! The longest winning streak of his career has been 5-fights in a row and not too long ago in Pride, he had two different stretches of winning four fights in a row, so this man knows how to keep captured momentum rolling! He lost his most recent battle against Kristian Johansson at ICS 9 by TKO in the second round, so he’s looking to turnaround his fortunes as quickly as possible! He obviously has that opportunity here tonight against a game opponent in Gotti!

Xavier: “King Don” brings a 6-6 MMA and 13-2 KT record into this fight! His KT success immediately suggests he has an advantage in the standup despite him not being quite world class in boxing! He does have Golden Gloves boxing ability and his world class muay thai abilities can’t be underestimated! Gotti has a substantial height and weight advantage in this fight if he’s able to fully take advantage of it! I’m certain the LEGION OF DOOM members have been showing him different techniques and approaches to this fight through research and, of course, in the gym through training. Similar to his opponent, he’s also had various managers guiding him and he’s been a multi-champion in his career, so he obviously has plenty of skill and ability! He’s knocked out many an opponent, so the power is unquestionable. However, he’s also been knocked out more in his career as of late as opposed to any other point in time! Perhaps this is a sign that all of those tough battles have begun to take more of a toll on him, but he can’t be overlooked! His struggles as of late are well documented within his current 4-fight losing streak! To halt the downward spiral and turn things around, he’s going to have to make Gruzdev taste his power early and often!

Styles: I think the Russian Bear, as I’ll call Gruzdev, is going to winthis fight because he’s more experienced, shorter and lighter, and in this fight, all of that works in his favor! He’s going to have to stick-and-move for the entire fight but that will allow him to wear down the taller and heavier Gotti. Once Gotti’s gas tank empties then he’ll be easy pickin’s for Gruzdev! Gruzdev may not have the same number of knockout wins that Gotti has but he does have enough knockouts to have proven he can get the job done! In a difficult battle, Gruzdev emerges victorious by way of knockout!

Xavier: Gotti still has plenty of dynamite in his fists to turn the tide of any battle, and the fact he can stay outside and launch repeated pinpoint strikes absolutely works in his favor! If he and Gruzdev end up locked in a clinch, that will make it tough on both of them, but my assumption is Gotti’s additional weight would wear down Gruzdev quickly in the clinch, especially if Gotti is as strong as he is heavy! Gotti does have to defend against takedowns but I don’t think that will be difficult because he can utilize his weight advantage to help him out there as well. Gotti can even play the patience game and hit Gruzdev with counterstrikes whenever he gets within striking range to help ensure there’s little to no chance of him taking this fight to the ground! Gotti wins tonight by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Gotti by KO; Styles – Gruzdev by KO

Xavier: Norman Pearson and Kristian Johansson are the next tigers to be unleashed into the cage!

Styles: “Pitbull” Pearson looks like he can be Randy Orton’s cousin!

Xavier: Actually, yeah, he does! Maybe he’s related to him. Since you wonder about Gotti, you may as well ask Pearson about that as well.

Styles: I just might! Maybe I can get hooked up with a sweet new Mercedes and front row tickets to the next Wrestlemania event!

Xavier: You’d be like a kid in a candy store, wouldn’t you?

Styles: As “Stone Cold” Steve Austin always says, oh hell yeah!

Xavier: Somehow, I knew you’d say that. Pearson is 15-10 overall, and the LEGION OF DOOM member from Dapitan City, Philippines has had his share of different managers and philosophical approaches to combat. Despite his winning record, he’s never had an opportunity to win a championship and I have no doubt that’s a current focus with his management team! A dangerous striker who has forced a good number of opponents to take naps in the cage, he’s had his share of tough battles as well, no doubt! For a while it seemed that if he didn’t knock the opponent out then he would lose by decision if he didn’t get knocked out, of course. That can be very frustrating for any fighter, but he continues to battle and that speaks volumes about his heart. A 4-fight winning streak has been his longest up to this point and, to his credit, he’s never lost three fights in a row, and that’s quite an accomplishment in and of itself, especially as a heavyweight and super heavyweight! He’s had his struggles recently and has lost his last two fights, so he wants to maintain the record of never dropping three in a row. In this particular fight against Johansson, he may seriously want to consider trying to take the fight to the mat to not only avoid absorbing unnecessary damage, but to also utilize his excellent grappling ability to slow and frustrate Pearson, let alone look for the tapout!

Styles: “Mr. Amnesia”, which is an unusual nickname, but if he’s able to forget the pain of fighting then that could be very beneficial, actually, is a very impressive 23-5 overall! He has amassed numerous knockouts and has been a champion as well, and rightfully so. His longest winning streak has been 7-fights in a row plus he’s had other various streaks, so he’s dangerous each and every time he steps into the cage! Four of the five losses on his record have been by knockout so he does have that damage, but he’s unleashed a hell of a lot more destruction than he’s received! It’s very confusing and odd to me why his previous management team parted ways with him after that amount of success, but for whatever reasons, that occurred. Obviously, his current management team is very happy about that because he’s won all five fights he’s had under this team so there’s obviously a very symbiotic relationship there. There haven’t been too many fights that have gone to the third round so power and aggression is the name of the game with this man! I expect nothing less than that tonight against Pearson and I’m sure Pearson is as ready for that as he can be! I’ll be very surprised if this fight goes past the first round, X, because either of these men can turn up the heat and overwhelm their opponent in the blink of an eye!

Xavier: Pearson is substantially shorter than Johansson in this fight and that fits extremely well into what he’ll want to get done against a much taller man with freakish knockout power! I expect Pearson to counterattack Johansson because he absolutely does not want to stand and trade strikes with him! Instead, Pearson has the assumed speed advantage due to him being a lighter weight and he’ll have to rely on that speed, footwork and head movement to avoid being dropped like a kettlebell in the gym! Counterattacking to Johansson’s body will sap his strength and energy, which is the best setup Pearson can hope for to try and drag the bigger man to the ground to keep him down there and go to town with his grappling and BJJ skills! Once he does, Pearson will win this fight with a very well-earned submission!

Styles: Golden Gloves boxing skills coupled with the height and weight advantage is a major bonus for Johansson! Additionally, the man can probably punch a hole in the wall and whatever he hits, he dents! Being dented is what he has in mind for the shorter and lighter Pearson, and I fully expect his aggression and standup skills to shine through tonight, X! It works to his advantage to stay on the outside and tag Pearson with precision power shots, especially with kicks because he can keep Pearson at a range where he can’t try takedowns, and if Pearson manages to slip past any of Johansson’s kicks, there’ll be bricks for fists following those kicks and if Pearson slips for even a second, boom, it’s all she freakin’ wrote! Johansson wins this fight by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Johansson by KO; Xavier – Pearson by Submission

Styles: The next rams to butt heads in the cage will be Carl Kingston and Thomas Power! Kingston…as in Kofi Kingston?

Xavier: Here we go.

Styles: What!? If he’s related to Kofi then I’m definitely going to get hooked up with some sweet tickets to Wrestlemania! Hell, I may get tickets to that and their next Survivor Series or something like that! You better get on that band wagon and see what’s up, X! You might miss out!

Xavier: I’ll take your word on that.

Styles: Suit yourself! “The Creep” Kingston…hmm, “The Creep”? Maybe I’ll pass on asking him about possibly being related to Kofi, or any other question for that matter. I’m cool. Anyway, Kingston is a very good 25-8 overall! Another member of the LEGION OF DOOM, an alliance that will be quite busy tonight, this Motown product is with his second management team despite beginning his career with a 7-fight wins streak and becoming a champion during that stretch! There are definitely times I don’t understand some of the decisions managers make, but hey, that’s their business! Other managers swoop in to take advantage of the talent and thank the previous team for all of their work with the fighter they pick up! Kingston has had various win streaks so he’s another example of a fighter who knows what to do when he has momentum working in his favor. He’s only been stopped by KO or TKO three times in his career so overall, he hasn’t suffered a great deal of damage, a testament to his defensive ability as well as his ability to finish fights while avoiding taking major punishment! The majority of his wins have been by unanimous decision but Power can’t underestimate Kingston’s ability to knock him out because if he lets Kingston get enough clean looks, you better believe Kingston may very well make him pay in a very brutal and painful manner!

Xavier: “The Warrior” Power is definitely a warrior who likes to fight! Earning a 25-18-1 record, this brawler from Stanhope, England, proudly represents Vendetta and judging by the tattoos on his head and the stains that seem to be permanently etched onto his face, this man has seen many a bloody, brutal brawl! He has trained and battled his way to having world class boxing and muay thai skills, so the standup is where he wants to keep this fight and Kingston is going to have to figure out a way to deal with that! Like Kingston, Power has championship acumen and experience so if this fight boils down to wits, it’ll be very interesting to see who can out-position and outmaneuver who! His longest winning streak has been 5-fights in a row and similar to Kingston, the majority of his victories have come by way of unanimous decision! However, he does have a good number of TKO’s to his credit so Kingston would not be wise to assume he can focus less on Power’s ability to knock him out! Power has never lost three fights in a row so he, too, has displayed top notch defensive capabilities while avoiding punishment and controlling the pace of battle.

Styles: I think Kingston will win this fight tonight despite the disadvantage in terms of combat experience! He’s proven he can overcome fighters who are more experienced and he’s smart enough to know he’ll probably have the best chance of winning this fight by counterattacking Power in an effort to keep him off balance plus avoid letting Power gain any momentum and figure out the timing and distance he needs to wear Kingston down! Kingston is going to have to be very elusive in this fight because he obviously doesn’t want to stand and trade strikes with a world class fighter in the standup, nor does he want to risk testing his BJJ abilities against Power, either! Kingston will have to rely on his height to hit Power with accurate, quick strikes until he can position himself to land the power strikes he’ll need to win this fight by knockout!

Xavier: Power has the younger energy, combat experience, and wherewithal to win this fight, Styles! It’s imperative that he keep this fight standing, and I say that because he’ll want to wear down and possibly knock out Kingston before trying to take this fight to the ground where he can definitely frustrate and wear down Kingston, but he also obviously decreases his chances of knocking Kingston out! However, if he’s able to out-grapple Kingston and thwart his efforts to either escape or lock in any submissions of his own then Power will gain the distinct advantage in that situation and he can angle himself and Kingston to lock in any number of submissions he’s schooled in! Precision and patience will be key for Power tonight because Kingston will definitely be aggressive and look to unleash as much damage as possible if and when he counterattacks the Englishman! Power will eventually open up Kingston’s defenses enough to land the power shots he needs to end this fight by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Power by KO; Styles – Kingston by KO

Xavier: The night of action continues with Michael Brakeley and Albert Van Rooy stepping into the cage of judgment! “The Wolf” Brakeley, who has long middle fingers and has no qualms about putting them on display, is a very respectable 27-17 overall! The Englander from The Compost of Kent has had multiple managers over his lengthy career, and there was a point in time where Jason Diaz thought Brakeley was going to retire or stay retired. Obviously, that was not the case because he’s had a good number of fights since that particular comment! There were many title fights he had but didn’t cash in on the opportunity to become a champion until he finally captured that elusive gold when he defeated Tee Nah at CEC Rising Stars - XF 30 with a nasty first-round knockout! In fact, when you look at this man’s career, he’s had many fights end in the first round, even if he was on the wrong side of the battle! That aggression, pressure, and straight forward approach to fights puts a lot of stress on his opponent’s because he doesn’t allow them space to breathe! They either have to keep him at distance or knock him out! A 6-fight win streak has been his longest while a 3-fight losing streak has been his longest on the flip side. He’s been back and forth over his past four fights, both winning and losing two, so he’s looking to continue the momentum from his recent win over Doug Glatt by TKO at King of the Mountain Tournament Final in the third round!

Styles: Van Rooy, of The Evil Empire, is 16-12 overall, and the Netherlands warrior from Eindhoven starts this fight off with a disadvantage in terms of in-cage experience! Surprisingly, he’s only had one opportunity to win a championship and, unfortunately, he came up a bit short when he battled Gyukosho Fujimoto at Terra Australis Fighting Championship - TAFC: Fujimoto versus Van and lost by knockout in the first! However, he bounced back after that loss and won two fights in a row before losing his most previous outing against James Pearson at Empyrean – EMP Piano versus Tower 3! A 3-fight winning streak has been his longest and a few two-fight losing streaks have also occurred in his career! However, he’s never lost three fights in a row and he keeps right on fighting, so he has the heart of a warrior and no one can deny that! He has as pretty even balance of winning fights by knockout or unanimous decision, but he’s also been knocked out a good number of times in his career, so he’s going to have to rely on his defensive ability and keep his chin tucked unless he wants to take the risk of exposing his chin to Brakeley for tactical purposes! This fight may very well end up being a clinch war since, seemingly, they’re quite evenly matched in terms of their in-cage ability!

Xavier: Van Rooy is still young and hungry, Styles! The fact he’s never won gold is absolutely one of the very core reasons he continually pushes himself as far as he can in the gym and in the cage! He knows full well that Brakeley knows what it’s like to struggle time and again and have championships slip through his grasp, but yet, he figured out a way to finally catch that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so to speak and Van Rooy wants to solve that conundrum as well! Besting a fighter of Brakeley’s ability will absolutely help give Van Rooy the confidence and momentum he needs to continue his climb towards that title shot that could very well be the icing on the cake of his career! Yes, he’s shorter and lighter than Brakeley, but he’s also 12 years younger! You better believe Van Rooy sees himself as being in better overall physical condition and with that, he can apply tremendous amounts of pressure on the 40-year-old warrior and wear him down with chopping kicks and torso-damaging strikes! Van Rooy will have to rely on speed and agility in this fight to wear Brakeley down, and once he does, Van Rooy will unload with repeated strikes that will overwhelm Brakeley, cause him to cover up, and the referee will end this fight for the win by TKO!

Styles: Brakeley has done it all and seen it all, X! There’s literally nothing that Van Rooy can or will do that Brakeley hasn’t experienced and overcome! There’s no doubt he’s much older than Van Rooy but with that life experience comes vast knowledge! Brakeley knows it wouldn’t be smart to try and match speed and agility with Van Rooy, so the highly experienced veteran can counterattack Van Rooy’s aggression and use measured strikes when Van Rooy isn’t continually pushing the pace or tries to get in close to Brakeley to try and work on his body and legs with various strikes! Brakeley can also rely on number of times he fell short of winning a championship before he did because that struggle and quest can easily light the fire that burns within and push him past his limits against a much younger fighter! Golden Gloves boxing skills and very good muay thai ability will enable Brakeley to withstand the surge of energy that Van Rooy is sure to bring into this fight, especially in the early stages, and once he withstands that rush, he can use those outstanding boxing skills to sway the momentum of this fight to his favor and feel right at home with the strikes he’s capable of executing! Brakeley will find a second wind late in this fight and surprise Van Nooy with a knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Brakeley by KO; Xavier – Van Nooy by TKO

Styles: Leonid Martinyuk and Samson Fortier will be the next fighters to entertain the raucous crowd! “The Surgeon”, who has me a bit worried because dude has a bloodied shirt and hasn’t even fought yet, is a very solid 13-5 overall! This Russian blade from St. Petersburg, who represents The Stepdads, is currently with his second management team. With his first team, he was a bit back-and-forth with wins and losses but was impressive nonetheless! With his current management team, he’s had his longest winning streak, which is 5-fights in a row, and up to this point in his career, he’s never lost two fights in a row, a nod to his excellent bounce back ability! In a nutshell, Martinyuk either wins by knockout or loses by knockout, and that aggressive approach has won him many a fan in Inferno, as it should be! People vastly enjoy seeing trained warriors being forced to an early nap in the cage and Martinyuk doesn’t disappoint! With his first management team, he never had a fight go past the first round, so that screams aggression! With his current management team, he’s had one fight go to the third round so the aggression is still there, but he’s just not as frenzied as he was previously!

Xavier: Fortier steps into combat with a good 10-7 overall! The Lome, Togo, product, who represents Convicted Inc., is obviously very much into fitness and looks to be in excellent shape! However, being in great shape doesn’t always translate to wins, unfortunately. He has an older brother named Hercules, so it’s no surprise that Samson looks as he does. I can only imagine the sparring sessions and fights those two have with one another! Two instances of a 3-fight win streak have been his best so far while he’s had a couple of instances where he’s lost two fights in a row. Similar to Martinyuk, Fortier basically either knocks his opponent out or he gets knocked out, so, needless to say, there’s a very good chance that one of these men will be kissing canvas when all is said and done when they square off in the cage! Fortier has only had one fight make it to the third round so this fight promises to be very explosive, painful, brutal and probably bloody! That’s just the type of fight that the Inferno fans eat up and ask for more! This fight will boil down to whomever establishes themselves earliest and most powerfully will emerge the victor because I highly doubt these two will be able to stand toe-to-toe and trade strikes!

Styles: How can I not pick Martinyuk to win this brawl!? The man is very much a surgeon in that cage, and he knows exactly what it’ll take to dissect Fortier tonight! He’s a little shorter and a good amount lighter, but in this fight, that won’t be an issue because he has the power to topple a heavier man plus being a lighter weight will allow him to move easier and that speed advantage will come in handy when defending against the world class boxing skills that Fortier has! Martinyuk has Golden Gloves boxing ability so he’s no pushover, and we obviously know the man carries TNT in his hands that can decimate any opponent with one clean shot! Martinyuk will match Fortier’s intensity and pressure, and he’ll be the first man to land the knockout blow that causes Fortier’s jaw to dislocate slightly for the knockout victory!

Xavier: Fortier knows how to use his height and weight advantage in this fight, Styles! No, he doesn’t have the same win-loss ratio that Martinyuk does, obviously, but records don’t matter much when a fist full of knuckles that feel like a wrecking ball crack a man’s jaw! Fortier’s willingness to put himself in harm’s way to earn a victory can be intimidating to even the most experienced fighter, and that pressure, combined with his power, is what will enable him to get the jump on Martinyuk in this fight! He can’t match speed with Martinyuk but he doesn’t need to because he can simply lock him into a clinch, lean that extra weight on him while unloading body and head strikes, then angle himself to find that crease in Martinyuk’s defenses where Fortier can unload the heavy artillery and blast away with an uppercut that sends Martinyuk into the astral plane! Fortier wins this fight by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Fortier by KO; Styles – Martinyuk by KO

Xavier: Next up we have our title fight of the night as the Middleweight Championship hangs in the balance as George Salvador and PutinYa On YerKiester square off! Styles, I know you can’t wait to comment on that unusual name, so go for it!

Styles: You bet your ass I have to comment on that name! PutinYa On YerKiester! Did the dude lose a major bet and had to legally change his name to that!? Is he one of those video game junkies that creates odd character names for RPG or MMORPG games and decided that he wanted his name to be one of them when he turned 18 and could change his name!? I mean, come on, man!

Xavier: I’m sure he has his reasons and hey, the man is fighting for a chance to become a champion, so perhaps it’s an alternate fighting persona he morphs into that garners him success in the cage!

Styles: Whatever it is, X, it’s just odd!

Xavier: It’s unusual, definitely, but this is an unusual industry. Salvador is a very respectable 24-11 overall, and obviously he’s the reigning and defending champion, so he’s doing something right! The Vendetta representative from Ferryhill, England, has tremendous overall skills! World class on his feet and an Olympic-level wrestler, the champion is one hell of a fighter in any circumstances so Kiester will definitely have his hands full tonight! I’m sure he expects nothing less from the champion, however. A 5-fight win streak has been Salvador’s longest while he’s had various times where he’s lost twice in a row but never three times, so if and when he begins to spiral downwards, he doesn’t let it get out of control! Salvador is also a multi-time champion, a testament to his skills, training ethic and management team combining for an excellent fighting product! Many feel, as do I, that Salvador has the mental edge in this fight because this is the second time he’ll be facing Kiester! The first time they squared off was at the Inferno Combat Series - Pride FC 56 event where Salvador won by majority decision! After that victory, Salvador has won his last four fights in a row, two by unanimous decision and two by KO or TKO, so the champ is rolling, he’s confident, and he’s especially dangerous!

Styles: Aw yeah, X! You know how much I enjoy inter-alliance battles, right!?

Xavier: Yes, I most certainly do!

Styles: Well, we got one right here, and there’s a championship on the line! Major bragging rights are up for grabs, X, and that adds intrigue to an already interesting battle! Kiester is 16-7 overall, a very good record, but more importantly, he, too, is a member of Vendetta! That’s awesome because both of these men will try extra hard to not only win but they want to make a mark in their own alliance as the better man and fighter! That’ll make for some interesting moments at their BBQ’s when they all kick it together to watch UFC fights, huh!? The Londoner has world class boxing skills like his counterpart in this fight, so we could potentially see one hell of a standup war! A 6-fight win streak has been his longest so far and similar to Salvador, he’s won his last four fights in a row, so this is the perfect time for these two to meet again! Momentum, confidence and skill are peaking at the right time for this to happen and we get to behold the results of their efforts and success! Kiester has definitely endured his tough fights where he sustained damage on his way to being knocked out, so despite the overall success of both of these men, I don’t think either one of them can risk exposing their chin to the other because one solid strike to the jaw and the momentum swings or the fight may stop right then and there!

Xavier: It’s very difficult for me to not choose the champion to continue his reign in the Middleweight division, Styles! He’s proven that he has the heart, determination and drive to come back in a big way from any loss he suffers, and he obviously knows how to get the job done when the pressure is at its highest and a multitude of eyes are upon him! Having that previous win over Kiester definitely carries value, right along with his championship acumen, and that’s a combination I think is too much for Kiester to overcome! Toss in the fact that Salvador is a world class fighter and athlete on many levels and it’s just a hell of a lot to overcome. Kiester is definitely talented and he’s deserving of this title shot. However, I don’t think the momentum he’s bringing into this fight will be quite enough to carry him over the top and to championship gold! Expect Salvador to stay on the outside and use craftiness to create the angles to land punishing body strikes before he looks to put Kiester away with one of many power strikes that will prove too much for Kiester to withstand! Salvador wins this fight by knockout to take the championship home with him!

Styles: Kiester knows he’s fighting an uphill battle and he’s had the opportunity to study Salvador. Hell, he may have even trained with the man for all we know! The first loss to Salvador will be all the fuel Kiester needs in this battle and he’ll figure out a way to overcome the incredible skillset that Salvador possesses in order to get to his chin and test the ability of the champion to take crushing hooks and whiplashing uppercuts! Kiester will rush Salvador like a man possessed because he knows the sooner he gets the upper hand and presses the action, the sooner he can get to Salvador’s chin to see if the champ can take the punishment he plans to unleash! Kiester will have to prepare to bob, weave, parry and dodge because Salvador will be coming for the knockout, absolutely, so it would behoove Keister to mix in some feints as well as counterattacks to keep the champion guessing long enough for Kiester to launch an aggressive assault that keeps Salvador off balance and sets him up to take power shots that he doesn’t want to take! When the dust settles and the smoke clears, Kiester will emerge victorious as the new Middleweight champion by knockout!

PREDICTIONS: Styles – PutinYa On YerKiester by KO; Xavier – Salvador by KO

Styles: And, for the final fight of the evening, we’ll see Ibrahim Camara and Sheikh Amun Ghosh go head-to-head! Wow, that’s one hell of a nickname! “Dishonest as Fuck” Camara…I’ll just call him Camara, steps into this fight with a 23-12 overall record! The tattooed warrior who has the support of a village behind him, hails from Hombori, Mali, and represents The GBU! Apparently, he became a mixed martial arts fighter by battling Pakistani gangs for Halal chicken. That’s one way to get into this crazy industry. A 6-fight win streak has been his longest so far while a 3-fight win streak has been his longest in that regard. He has been a multi-champion so he has the mettle for that and has proven to be quite successful. Over his past four fights, he’s won two and lost two, so he’s looking to carry momentum over from his recent victory over William Wallace at King of the Mountain Tournament Final by TKO in the first! He’s basically won and lost in every type of way except by TKO due to cuts, so maybe he’ll cover that aspect before retires later on down the road. In the meanwhile, he’s a capable fighter in the standup and on the ground, and his world class boxing and excellent muay thai skills will obviously be of benefit in this fight! He’s also an Olympic-level wrestler and can utilize those skills should this fight end up going into the clinch for an extended period of time!

Xavier: Ghosh steps into the cage with a 23-12 overall record, so there’s no advantage either way in terms of in-cage combat since their records are identical! That doesn’t happen too often, especially at this level of skill and success, and that makes the chess match between these two that much more interesting because they’ll have to rely more on their wits and intelligence as opposed to using their combat experience to be an advantage. The YABAI member from Raqlaq, Qatar, is a leader of Qatari rebels, so like his opponent, he had a rather unique upbringing and pathway into mixed martial arts! It’s surprising to me that Ghosh is with his second management team because when he was with his first team, he did quite well, overall, at least in my opinion. Yes, he fell short with the two championship opportunities he was presented early on in his career, but there was still some success. His 6-fight winning streak is the longest he’s had so far and that occurred immediately at the start of his career. His longest losing streak has been 3-fights in a row and he recently had a four-fight win streak snapped at the hands of George Salvador by unanimous decision at Inferno Combat Series – ICS 9! He’s obviously looking to get back into the win column tonight and faces a very tough challenge in order to do so!

Styles: Just for his nickname alone, I’m going to roll with Camara to win this fight, X! It’s obviously paramount that he keeps this battle in the standup because he doesn’t want to test the grappling and ground skills of Ghosh! Camara can rely on his world class boxing skills and very good muay thai skills to cause Ghosh damage while keeping him at bay to avoid being taken down to the mat! The longer this fight stays vertical, the happier and more effective Camara will be! He’s a bit shorter but heavier so if this fight ends up in the clinch, he can use that weight advantage to lean on Ghosh while trying to land strikes to the body and head to keep him off balance while obviously wearing him down and looking for the strikes or combination of strikes to take the momentum of the fight and force it to is favor! Camara is also four years younger so it’s possible that he may have a slight physical advantage in terms of energy so I expect him to be aggressive and accurate while looking to mix in power shots to try and rock Ghosh’s chin enough to daze him and summarily end this fight! Camara win this fight by knockout!

Xavier: Ghosh is fully aware that he’d be at a disadvantage if he stood and traded strikes with Camara! He also knows that Camara will do anything he can to avoid letting Ghosh take this fight to the ground! Ghosh could absolutely use that expected aggression against Camara and opt to counterattack him every so often to keep him guessing, which will allow Ghosh better opportunities to launch himself into attempted takedowns or even risk clinching with Camara and seeing if he can wear him down with body strikes before going for any takedowns or pulling guard attempts! Since Ghosh is lighter, he should have a bit of a speed advantage, and with that advantage, he can also feint his way into a clinch or takedown because he can make Camara shift his weight one way and Ghosh can attack from a sudden change of angle! Avoiding damage while moving inside of Camara’s defenses is key for Ghosh if he’s going to make this fight a horizontal one! Once inside of his defenses, Ghosh will execute the takedown he needs to alter the course of this fight and control the pace and space while he methodically works his way into better positioning with transitions before going for the finish and forcing Camara to tap!

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Ghosh by Submission; Styles – Camara by KO

Xavier: All right, ladies and gents, that concludes our preview this evening! We want to thank all of you for tuning in to our very first Inferno Combat Series preview and we hope it provides all of you some insight and entertainment!

Styles: We also want to thank a sponsor we worked with previously. Dark Knight Nutrition, it’s great to see you again! Keep kickin’ out those awesome products and that logo is still bad ass! On behalf of Esiah Xavier, I’m Furious Styles signing off, and we’ll see all of you at the fights!

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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES: ICS 16 PREVIEW

WOMBLEY ARENA

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 16! In the booth with me tonight is the overly protected, Furious Styles!

Styles: You know what it is, X! We can’t be too careful with the COVID-19 deal very prominently on everyone’s minds! I’m just taking precautions to make sure I keep myself together! I know we’re not supposed to gather in large numbers but, then again, when have die hard MMA fans ever listened to the rules of society!? Mixed martial arts themselves are seen as anti-establishment because they take fighting to a new level, so it fits the entire structure!

Xavier: That’s very true, Styles, so I won’t argue that point at all! I know we’re all being extra careful these days plus different cities and states have issued “stay at home” orders, but, as you said, the MMA community tends to be rebellious so here we are with 93,607 crazy and wild MMA fans! Everyone was screened when they arrived and there are numerous medical personnel in the arena with hazmat suits and medication at the ready, so we’ll handle any situations that arise as best as possible! In the meantime, Inferno Combat Series has another action-packed night of fights to bring to all of you! Two titles will be on the line tonight and, overall, we’ll be seeing two Featherweight fights, three Lightweight fights with one of them for the Lightweight title, two Middleweight fights, two Light Heavyweight fights with one of them for the Light Heavyweight title, and one Heavyweight fight!

Styles: That’s one sweet lineup of excellent brutality, so let’s get right down to it! The initiating match tonight belongs to Jalaluddin Aziz and Ramon Carlos! Aziz, and I have to wonder if he’s related to the comedian Aziz in any way, steps into combat with a 17-11 record! Representing the LEGION OF DOOM and battling out of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Aziz has world class boxing ability grouped with excellent grappling and black belt BJJ skills, so he’s comfortable in any facet of combat, specifically on the ground! “The Hashassin”, a nickname I dig, by the way, X, has had a multitude of managers throughout his career, a sign that despite being skilled, it’s been a bit difficult for managers to know exactly what they’re capable of doing while guiding this warrior. A 6-fight win streak has been his best and he does have multiple championships to his credit, so he has had a successful career! However, his recent struggles have been evident and he’s currently riding a 3-fight losing streak, which, obviously, isn’t the direction he wants to go! He’s proven that he can knock opponents out in the standup as well as by grounding and pounding them, so Carlos will have to pick his poison, so to speak, in terms o how he wants to approach this fight! For Aziz, I believe the best approach to victory over Carlos is to get this fight on the horizontal plane as soon as possible! Aziz is the taller man, but he obviously has the ground skills to make any man tap out so look for him to do exactly that tonight against Carlos! Aziz may very well have to counterattack Carlos because he doesn’t want to get into a toe-to-toe confrontation tonight! Counterattacking Carlos will enable Aziz to dictate the space and pace of this fight and once he gets the fight to the ground, he can pick up the pace with his attempt to finish this fight! Aziz wins by submission!

Xavier: “El Rattlesnakeo” Carlos is an even 4-4 entering this fight so he immediately is at a major disadvantage in terms of in-cage combat! It’s pretty unusual for a 32-year-old fighter to have only stepped into combat eight times but it is what it is! This warrior from Juarez, Mexico, also has had number of managers throughout his career. He has managed to win 4-fights in a row over the course of two managers, but lately he’s struggled quite a bit and has lost his last 3-fights in a row! He’s going to have to really step his game up here tonight if he wants to stop the current slide he’s on and to do that, he’s going to have to rely on his world class boxing and muay thai skills! He should have enough grappling ability to prevent Aziz from taking him to the mat very easily but that’s just an estimate, of course! Carlos has BJJ skills, don’t get me wrong, but they’re just not on the level that Aziz’s skills are and that’s no secret. Keeping this fight vertical is the best approach for Carlos to stop his losing streak and emerge as the winner tonight! In general, Carlos either wins a fight by knocking out his opponent or he gets knocked out by his opponent! This aggressive approach has won over some fans, but he’s paid the price for that approach by being knocked out in each of his last three losses! Carlos is going to have to make sure he keeps his chin tucked and he avoids any haymakers Aziz throws in an attempt to catch Carlos by surprise before going for any takedowns he seeks! Carlos will have to unleash that aggression and he may even opt to lock Aziz into a clinch to help keep the fight in the standup while unleashing as much damage as he can to not only sway the fight in his favor but to also prevent any takedown attempts from Aziz! Carlos’ standup skills will enable him to keep this fight vertical and he’ll wear Aziz down for the knockout win tonight!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Carlos by KO; Styles – Aziz by Submission

 

Xavier: The next combatants into the cage will be Nigel Benn Jr. and Andriy Voronin! Benn Jr. is a highly skilled warrior who has battled his way to a 23-16 overall record! The LEGION OF DOOM representative hailing from Mayfair in the UK has world class written all over him! He’s only had two managers through his career, so stability is definitely an important factor for him plus he’s had a winning streak of 7-fights in a row, proving that he knows how to get the job done in that cage! Much to my surprise, he hasn’t won a championship yet, an indication that in this industry, being highly skilled isn’t always an automatic making of a champion! Timing is a very important factor in becoming a champion and though it hasn’t been his time yet, don’t dismiss the potential of him earning a championship before the sun sets on his career! He’s never lost more than 3-fights in a row and he’ll obviously want to turn things around as quickly as possible here tonight to avoid potentially dropping two fights in a row! His most recent loss snapped a 4-fight win streak, so he definitely wants to get back into that groove again as soon as possible! With the exception of bleeding out or bleeding an opponent out, he’s won and lost in every type of way! Benn Jr. is the heavier of the two fighters so he may want to get this fight to the ground when an opportunity presents itself because he could lean his weight on Voronin and tire him out while making him defend against transitions and submissions! While in the standup aspect off this fight, Benn Jr. will have no difficulties adjusting to Voronin and can even land some solid strikes to set Voronin up for the takedown that Benn Jr. seeks! Once Benn Jr. lands the takedown then he’s going to take his time to position himself into dominant position to lock in any number of submissions that Voronin won’t be able to defend and will eventually have to tap out to!

Styles: Voronin is 20-12-2 overall, X, so he’s definitely seen it all and has done it all! There’s nothing that Benn Jr. will do that will catch Voronin off guard and that comfort level and confidence is what’s going to be the keys for Voronin tonight! The Kiev, Ukraine product is with his second management team and a 5-fight winning streak is his longest so far! He’s never lost more than 3-fights in a row and that’s a testament to his training, skill and will! He recently had back-to-back wars with Bjorn Ragnar, the first encounter ending in a draw, much to the chagrin of both fighters, and the second time around, Ragnar defeated Voronin by unanimous decision at ICS 11! Looking to rebound from that loss tonight, Voronin is going to have to work hard to prevent Benn Jr. from dragging him to the mat but he definitely has the ability to do just that! One advantage that Voronin has over Benn Jr. is championship experience! Voronin won his first title by defeating Dave Wearmouth via Triangle Armbar at CCF FN 15: Wearmouth versus Veronin! He won a second title when he defeated Dan McClain at Pride FC6 by TKO in the 4th round! Veronin is going to have to utilize that championship mettle in this fight if he wants to emerge as the victor! He’s proven that he can end an opponent early in the standup, so I look for him to be aggressive with his power striking to try and test Benn Jr.’s chin early and often! Veronin may even opt to take a counterattacking approach to this fight so he can try and gauge the aggression level and standup skill capabilities that Benn Jr. has. If Veronin can land timely power strikes while avoiding absorbing damage to his chin, he wins this fight by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Veronin by KO; Xavier – Benn Jr. by Submission

 

Styles: Braullio Escobar and Mark Steve are the next lions to enter the cage for battle! “Bang” Escobar, hopefully no relation to Pablo Escobar, because if he is related to him, damn, things around here are going to get a whole lot scarier and pressured, steps into this fight with a 22-10-1 overall record! This member of The Evil Empire from Mexico City has had a multitude of managers over the course of his career, and amongst those changes he’s managed to win 8-fights in a row! The good news about that winning streak is it has been achieved while with his current management team, so they’ve obviously found their chemistry and training regimen that achieves success! Toss in the fact he’s won a championship and you have an accomplished fighter that has done it all except win or lose by TKO due to cuts! He’s lost 3-fights in a row only once and that’s a nod to his abilities and will to win. He lost his most recent battle by unanimous decision to Gabriel Arones at ICS Leapyear so he’s obviously looking to recapture winning momentum and get back into the win column! Over the course of his career, he’s knocked out a good number of opponents but he’s also suffered some knockout defeats, so he’s going to have to keep his striking defense sharp, his feet moving, his head bobbing, and avoid getting chin checked in the early part of this fight! As long as he manages to do that, he has as very good chance of ending this fight early because he can land some devastating shots early and he can test Steve’s ability to absorb damage to his chin! He’ll probably take the counterattack approach to this fight because Steve is renowned for his skill level and abilities in the cage! As long as Escobar keeps his wits about him, he has a chance to make Steve go to sleep early and prevent numerous “what if” scenarios as this fight progresses! In a very tough fight, Escobar wins this brawl by knockout!

Xavier: “Glass Hands” Steve of C$ntmaras Doom brings a 23-10 overall record into the cage with him tonight. Steve has trained his way to very high levels and he’s a menace in the standup! His grappling is world class as well and he has a brown belt in BJJ, but his preferred method of combat is the vertical brutality! There have been a number of management teams throughout Steve’s career and through all of them, his best winning streak to date has been 7 fights in a row! He’s never lost three fights in a row, so his defensive skills are obviously excellent and his desire to win is very strong! Steve has caused many an opponent to take an early nap so when he’s able to land that nasty KO power early, he wrecks whatever and whoever he hits! Escobar will definitely have to make sure his striking defense is on point because if not, his chin is definitely going to pay one hell of a price! Let’s not overlook the fact that, despite this man being able to drop hammers for fists in the cage, he’s also suffered some painful defeats as well! Steve is definitely aggressive and has no qualms about standing toe-to-toe with anyone, but he will have to ensure he doesn’t get caught by a punch he doesn’t see coming because that could end his night rather abruptly! It’s imperative that Steve keep this fight on its feet and if he has to lock Escobar in a clinch and keep the fight there then that’s what he’ll do! He’s slightly taller and lighter than Escobar so he could stay on the outside and use the assumed speed advantage to continually jab away at Escobar to prevent him from going for takedowns as well as scoring points on the judges’ scorecards. Once Escobar gets close enough, Steve can unload a crushing kick to Escobar’s legs or torso and make Escobar think about trying a different approach to a takedown. As long as Steve is able to find his rhythm and range, he’s going to win this fight by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Steve by KO; Styles – Escobar by Submission

 

Xavier: The next rams to butt heads in the cage will be Sasha Beliy and Anti Half Assed! “The Nomad” Beliy brings a 19-13 overall record into this fight. The Limitless representative from San Bernardino was fortunate that Governor Newsom allowed him to leave California for this fight with the statewide lockdown imposed! This 30-year-old brawler is with his second management team and currently, the longest winning streak he’s established is 5-fights in a row! A 3-fight losing streak is his longest but that’s only happened once. Ironically enough, the three losses in a row are what he’s dealing with currently so, obviously, he wants to get off the snide and avoid losing a fourth fight in a row! He does have championship experience on his pedigree and that’s very valuable as we’ve spoken of before. When his fists are flying and making high impact, he’s a dangerous striker who can quickly and aggressively end any fight he’s in! Beliy has proven that he can also knock out an opponent with his educated feet and he does have a head kick knockout to his credit as well, so Assed can’t lapse on defense at all! Keep in mind, however, that Beliy has suffered some harsh damage from his straight-forward style of fighting through the knockouts he’s suffered. Assed definitely knows this and will do his best to exploit Beliy’s damaged chin as fast as he can. Beliy is smaller and lighter than Assed so he should have the speed advantage in this fight. If that’s the case, then Beliy could very well opt to try and lock Assed in a clinch and keep him there to avoid seeing if he can stand up to Assed’s black belt in BJJ! Beliy wins this fight by keeping it standing and taking advantage of his abilities there. Beliy will knock Assed out!

Styles: Assed, who has quite a name and it makes me wonder what his parents were thinking unless he legally changed his name once he turned 18, steps into combat with a 15-8-1 overall record! The YABAI alliance member from Bay Pines is a solid all-around fighter, especially for being 27-years old. Assed is younger and doesn’t have quite as much fighting experience, but I believe he has enough to match wits with Beliy! Assed favors the submission aspect of combat but does have some knockout power so Beliy can’t underestimate that! Assed is with his second management team and so far in his career, he’s been able to put together a 6-fight win streak while his longest losing streak has been two in a row, and that was recent! Assed has shown solid defensive abilities and he’s also able to finish a fight quickly or he can withstand the battle of attrition by controlling the action on the ground, establishing the pace, and frustrating opponents while keeping himself safe and ahead on the judges’ scorecards. If Assed can perform these very same set of actions against Beliy then he’ll place himself in excellent position to absorb minimal damage while pushing himself ahead on the scorecards and potentially forcing Beliy to tap out to ground and pound or a submission hold! Getting Beliy to the ground may prove to be quite the difficult undertaking for Assed so in my opinion, his best approach will be to counterattack! He’ll need to feint and make Beliy give him an opening he can work with to shoot in and score the takedown. Once Assed is able to successfully counterattack his way inside of Beliy’s defenses and drags this fight to the ground, it’ll only be a matter of time before Assed is able to lock Beliy into a submission hold and secure the tap out!

 

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

 

Styles: The action continues as Mike Murhaa and Tony Monteiro step into the cage across from one another! Murhaa steps into combat with a 14-11 record, so his struggles are well documented, but he has the heart of a lion and refuses to quit! The Finnish LEGION OF DOOM member from Sjk has world class grappling skills which have enabled him to achieve victories by getting opponents to the mat and taking control there, especially with positioning. Against Monteiro, his best bet is to definitely try and get this fight to the ground where he can go for a quick submission or ground-and-pound win because the longer this fight occurs, the more possibility that Monteiro snatches the momentum from Murhaa! Murhaa has unleashed and absorbed a lot of damage so he’s going to need to have his defenses very sharp during this fight! There’s no doubt in my mind that Monteiro will go for a fast knockout so Murhaa’s going to have to use Monteiro’s energy and aggression against him. If Murhaa can’t figure out a way to stand toe-to-toe with Monteiro then, obviously, the only other option is to counterattack him and hope he presents the opening Murhaa wants so he can get this fight off its feet! By combining defense, intelligence and pure desire, Murhaa can will himself to the win by locking in the submission finish!

Xavier: The green-bearded “Black Mamba” brings a 21-17 overall record into this fight. He obviously has the combat experience as well as the age experience, and if he’s able to combine those two factors, let alone his world class skill level in every facet of combat, he’ll emerge the winner of this fight! He’s much lighter than Murhaa and that should, at least on the surface, give him the speed advantage. Since he’s slightly taller, having that speed advantage will only emphasize Monteiro’s standup skills but, then again, Monteiro can get the job done anywhere at any time! He’s had three previous management teams work with him and through it all, his longest winning streak has been 6-fights in a row! Unfortunately for him, his longest losing streak has been 5-fights in a row, and he currently had a 2-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Monte Zuma at CED 695 by second-round knockout! Monteiro’s obviously disappointed with those results, especially for a man of his skill level, but that’s an indication of the amount of damage he’s taken during his career! Taking a closer look, you’ll see that he’s been knocked out a number of times so it’s evident that he doesn’t want to test his luck against Murhaa’s punching power! With that in mind, Monteiro could very well look to take this fight to the ground and try to get the finish there because will enable him to protect his chin much better plus he may be able to out-grapple Murhaa and that, in turn, will allow Monteiro to better control the action and he can look for dominant positions before going for the finish! Monteiro does have championship experience as well and he can rely on that if and when he gets into trouble during this battle! Monteiro wins this fight by submission!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Monteiro by Submission; Styles – Murhaa by Submission

 

Xavier: The next two combatants to step into the cage will be Casper Timmermans and William Wallace! “Ol Skool” Timmermans from Gent, Belgium, and representing the Keyboard Warriors, has amassed a 27-16-1 record! He’s also 4-1 in the KT circuit so I give credit where credit is due! Timmermans is currently with his second management team and at this point in his career, the best win streak he’s established has been 7-fights in a row! On the flip side, his longest losing streak is 3-fights in a row. Timmermans is a multi-time champion and that experience is definitely invaluable! Over his long career, he’s only been knocked out twice so that’s a testament to his strong chin, work ethic, training and defensive capabilities! He’s won every type of way there is so he can adapt very well to any given situation, and his experience will allow him to stay calm and relax under duress! He looked sharp when he battled Guillermo Pato in the King of the Mountain Tournament Final by knocking him out in the first round! Lately, the majority of his victories have been by way of unanimous decision, so the battle of patience and wills is one he knows how to win. If need be, he can slow the fight down a great deal and frustrate Wallace while doing so! I think Timmermans will be very aggressive in trying to get this fight to the ground because he can definitely protect himself while this fight is horizontal plus his world class grappling and brown belt BJJ skills should enable him to transition into more dominant positions smoother and thus, he can potentially finish this fight quickly if he can get Wallace to cooperate, so to speak, and make this a ground-based fight. If that happens, Timmermans will win this battle by making Wallace tapout!

Styles: “Braveheart” Wallace is an unusually built fighter, X! He has large, long arms with thick forearms, and he uses said long arms to be a very effective and strong striker! He has Golden Gloves boxing skills and world class muay thai skills, and he’ll need to use those skills against Timmermans tonight! Wallace will need to keep his feet moving and look out for potential attempts at clinching by Timmermans because if he lets Timmermans lock him in a clinch, Wallace could very well be in trouble tonight! In my opinion, Wallace’s best option is to counterattack Timmermans and stick-and-move so he doesn’t get locked into a clinch. Wallace has had a few instances of winning 4-fights in a row so he knows how to use those long arms when he can establish his range and timing! Those thick arms carry quite a wallop and Timmermans could be in for a long night if he doesn’t keep his head on a swivel! Wallace has dished out a very good amount of damage but he has also absorbed a good amount, so he’ll have to be carefully aggressive because if he overdoes it, Timmermans can turn the lights off quickly and Wallace will be in for a disappointing night! We all know the Scotsman who represents C$ntmaras Doom doesn’t want that! He recently had a two-fight win streak snapped by a first-round TKO loss to Ibrahim Camara at King of the Mountain Final, so he wants to avoid another loss here tonight. If Wallace can successfully counterattack Timmermans and keep him from locking him in a clinch, Wallace will emerge victorious by way of knockout!

 

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

 

Styles: We keep the wild night of action moving as Do Ho Joy and Jallu Pesonen square off for battle! Joy brings a 21-10 record into this fight and represents the FinnFighters out of Seoul, South Korea! Joy has world class boxing skills, world class muay thai skills, and very solid grappling with a brown belt in BJJ! His longest winning streak has been 7-fights in a row while only losing 2-fights in a row at most! He’s a proven winner with championship pedigree and the ability to knock his opponents out with his fists and feet! He also has a good number of unanimous decision victories so if the battle has to extend to its entirety, he knows how to handle that and is comfortable in that scenario. Obviously, the preference is to finish the fight as soon as possible so don’t be surprised if Joy is very aggressive in this fight! Joy will want to keep this fight on its feet because he’s taller and lighter, and that works out very well because he can absolutely stay on the outside and launch repetitious jabs and crosses at Pesonen all night! That will force Pesonen to adapt to him and that will give the advantage to Joy as long as this fight remains in the standup! Joy can mix it up and toss in some counterpunches as well to keep Pesonen off balance and guessing what Joy will do next as opposed to focusing on his own fight plan! If Joy can land sporadic punching and kicking combinations, then he’ll score vital points on the scorecards while damaging Pesonen! Joy will find his range early and often and he’ll wear down Pesonen enough to win this fight by knockout!

Xavier: Pesonen has fought his way to an 18-13-1 record! What makes this particular fight interesting, Styles, is Pesonen is also a member of FinnFighters! Any and all inter-alliance battles prove to be more interesting, in my opinion, because there are bragging rights on the line and there are even times when inter-alliance members train together. Talk about a potentially awkward situation and conversation after having a fight against a teammate and, presumably, a friend! Pesonen hails from Oulu and does have championship experience so that will come in hand, obviously, in this fight! The key to victory tonight for Pesonen is to take Joy down to the mat and keep him there where Pesonen is very comfortable, skilled and knowledgeable of how to close out a fight! The faster Pesonen can get this fight horizontal the better because that keeps him safe from Joy’s standup skills plus it will enable him to slow Joy enough wear him down, outwork him in the position battle, and eventually angle his body to lock in any number of submission holds that Pesonen is well-versed in! A 4-fight win streak has been his best while he’s never lost more than 2-fights in a row! During his last outing, he lost by unanimous decision to Cobweb Cooter at ICS Leapyear! He’s looking to turn things around quickly, so he doesn’t have to question his abilities in the cage! Joy also can’t underestimate Pesonen’s ability to knock opponents out because he’s proven he can do that as well! Pesonen takes this fight to the ground and locks in the submission win and inter-alliance bragging rights!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Pesonen by Submission; Styles – Joy by KO

 

Xavier: Teke Bamalog and Diego Escobar are the next warriors to throw down in the cage! “The Javan Zombie” is a very solid 16-6-2 overall, and this member of The Stepdads who hails from Cipamingkis, Indonesia, is a very balanced fighter who has shown very good and adaptable skills! Bamalog is with his third management team so we’ll see what he can get done with them in this fight tonight! A 4-fight win streak is the best he’s achieved so far in his career while he’s lost 2-in a row at most. His only opportunity at a championship so far unfortunately fell to the wayside when he lost that fight by unanimous decision to Enitan Arendse at ABW 185 Arendse – Bamalog! Maybe he’ll be able to earn another title shot in the near future, but the focus is on tonight, of course. Bamalog has shown the ability to knock an opponent out but he also has a balance of unanimous decision victories, so as we always emphasize, winning the battle of attrition is a possibility at all times with Bamalog! For Bamalog to win this fight tonight, he’s going to have to keep this fight in the standup because he’s not quite as skilled in BJJ as Escobar is, and I don’t think he wants to take risk of finding out if he has enough capabilities to defend against Escobar’s skills on the ground! If Bamalog can keep his Golden Gloves boxing and world class muay thai skills sharp and land some solid strikes mixed with quick combinations, he’ll be able to slow Escobar down and eventually land that one detonation shot to end this fight by knockout!

Styles: The very colorful “Tekashi Snitch9”, who has well-documented run-ins with legal representatives, brings a 29-10 record into this fight! Representing The GBU and hailing from Medellin, Columbia, the controversial figure has had numerous managers throughout his career, and was even managed by the same management team twice! Despite the legal difficulties, Escobar managed to win multiple championships, so he has that experience under his belt along with dangerous striking and ground finishes! He has a very impressive 13-fight win streak during his career and much of that was defending a title, so that’s all the more impressive! His longest losing streak is 3-fights in a row but that only happened once! He’s won by knockout, he’s head kicked people to sleep, and he’s made others tap, so he’s a very capable fighter that, once he establishes himself early and often, puts a great deal of pressure on his opponents and he’ll look to do the same against Bamalog tonight! I think Escobar will do what he can to take Bamalog to the ground where he can have his best chance of controlling the action while staying ahead on the scorecards and positioning himself to put Bamalog into very bad positions! Once Escobar drags Bamalog to the ground, he’ll methodically work his way into dominant positions that force Bamalog to support his weight and wear him down until he can no longer defend himself against the submission! Escobar takes the victory tonight by submission!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Escobar by Submission; Xavier – Bamalog by KO

 

Styles: Min-Sik Song and Fiyero Lermontov locks horns in the cage in what should be a very explosive fight for the Lightweight championship! “Saja” Song is a solid 29-9-1 overall and this member of La Familia hails from Busan, South Korea is very good in the standup and solid on the ground! He has world class boxing skills and world class muay thai abilities as well! His grappling is also very sound and is supported by a brown belt in BJJ! A 7-fight win streak is his longest so far and on the flip side, a 2-fight losing streak is the longest he’s endured. Song has managed win multiple championships and he obviously is the current Lightweight champion in Inferno Combat Series! He earned that title by defeating Teodors Ozolinsh by unanimous decision at ICS 11! This isn’t the first time Song and Lermontov have clashed either, ladies and gentlemen! They crossed paths at Pride FC 57 and Song won by unanimous decision in that fight! Don’t think that either one of these warriors have forgotten about that fight and they both could very well use that fight as motivation for this fight tonight! Many will say that Song has the mental edge because he knows he can defeat Lermontov and that added confidence will serve him well! Song has also proven time and again that he can win the fights that go the distance, so if that’s what transpires tonight, that’s right in his wheelhouse and he’ll be just fine. For this fight, I think Song’s best chance is to keep it vertical where he can basically match Lermontov strike for strike as opposed to trying his luck on the ground where Lermontov may have the advantage! Look for Song to be aggressive in the standup from the moment the bell rings and he’ll score the knockout finish he seeks to retain his title!

Xavier: Lermontov is a highly skilled fighter who brings a 20-9-1 record into the cage tonight! The Russian bear from Omsk, Russia, represents The Evil Empire and has fought his way to a 6-fight win streak at one point in his career! He’s carrying very good momentum into this fight because he’s on a 3-fight win streak, so this is a great time to have another crack at the champion! There’s no doubt that loss to Song is still sitting in the back of his mind and stings but I think this is the perfect time for him to have this fight! His confidence is soaring, and he knows he can win the tough, full-length fight because he just had three of them in a row and he looked great in all three battles! Over his career, he’s unleashed a lot of damage on various opponents, but he’s also absorbed a good amount of punishment as well, so he’s going to have to try and finish this fight early! The longer this fight progresses the more in favor it goes for Song, as I see it, because Song knows he can defeat him. Lermontov can match Song’s aggression early and look for the knockout because he has a very good chance of catching Song with a punch he doesn’t expect or see and if that happens, Lermontov turns this fight on its head very quickly! If Lermantov isn’t able to snatch the momentum from Song in the standup, he does have the option of dragging this fight to the ground where he can use his black belt in BJJ and look to finish this fight by way of submission! However, I think Lermontov will want to stay standing and win this fight going toe-to-toe with Song until he lands the one punch he needs to finish this fight and win the championship!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Lermontov by KO; Styles – Song by KO

 

Xavier: Akoni Gray and Harald Gormsson battle for the Light Heavyweight title in our final clash of the night! “King of Kingston” Gray is a legend in MMATycoon, and rightfully so! He’s amassed an otherworldly 41-5-1 record! That’s absolutely stupendous and he’ll undoubtedly be entered into the Hall of Fame once all is said and done! Obviously, he hails from Kingston, Jamaica, and represents The Stepdads. This warrior has had two management teams in his career and during his career, he’s won multiple championships and his longest winning streak has been an incredible 15-fights in a row! He’s knocked out opponents in every way imaginable except for a TKO due to cuts but he may very well accomplish that before he decides to hang up his gloves! A recent loss to the tremendous warrior, Latrobe Arundel, snapped that massive win streak but he got right back on track by defeating Art Brock at ICS 11 with a devastating head kick in the second round! I could go on and on about this man’s accomplishments, but anyone can research his accomplishments for themselves! He’s received just about every accolade known in fighting, but he faces one hell of a challenger tonight! When these two crossed paths the first two times, Gray won them both by knockout, so he has a major psychological advantage over Gormsson in my opinion! That edge will be a difference maker tonight as Gray and his tremendous skillset, heart, determination, intelligence and ability in the clutch are on full display! How can I or anyone else bet against the champion!? He knows what he’s doing in every and all situations and he’ll once again prove his Hall of Fame worthiness by defeating Gormsson by knockout!

Styles: “Bluetooth” Gormsson is a very impressive 23-6 overall! He has definitely earned a great deal of respect in this industry but, like numerous others, he’s struggled to solve the conundrum named Akoni Gray! Similar to Gray, Gormsson has had two different managements teams throughout his career, and like Gray, he has championship experience! In the overall body of work, however, Gormsson has definitely absorbed more brutal punishment than Gray has and we all know that Gray is fully aware of that fact, let alone he’s one of the men who have caused Gormsson some pain and punishment! A 6-fight win streak has been his longest and he’s never lost more than two fights in a row, an extremely impressive feat, especially when considering the number of battles he’s been involved in! In a nutshell, when it comes to Gormsson, he either knocks out his opponent or gets knocked out by his opponent! That aggression has won him many fans as well as the respect of many fellow warriors, but that does come with a price! I’m certain his management tam has extensively reviewed the previous fight footage with Gormsson and has arduously trained at the gym to try and address what they feel he needs to sharpen to overcome the vastly accomplished fighter named Gray! Gormsson and his team may feel that this is his best opportunity to win the title from Gray and Gormsson is going to pull out all the stops and dig down very deep to do all he can to keep this fight standing! As long as this fight stays vertical, Gormsson has a chance to dethrone the champion! I think Gormsson will find a way to finally solve the puzzle that Gray presents and shocks quite a few people by defeating Gray by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Gormsson by KO; Xavier – Gray by KO

 

Styles: There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you very much for joining us for this preview of these incredible battles! Xavier and I very much appreciate the time and energy you’ve given us, especially during these strange and trying times in the world.

Xavier: We also want to thank Dark Night Nutrition for being our merchandise partner and for providing sweet products! Styles and I hope all of you enjoyed the preview as well as the insight. Like all of you, we very much look forward to these fights and we hope all of you continue to stay safe, healthy and happy. On behalf of Furious Styles, I’m Esiah Xavier, signing off, and we’ll see you at cage side!

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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES: ICS 19 PREVIEW

LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 19! Despite the current situation with the virus, it’s sure as hell nice to be back in Los Angeles! In the booth with me tonight is the healthy and strong Furious Styles!

Styles: That’s right, X! I’m still alive and in good health, thank God, and you’re absolutely right that it’s great to be back in Cali with all of these hardcore MMA fans! I know Mayor Garcetti doesn’t want people bunching up together and Governor Newsom frowns on big gatherings as well, but dammit, this is MMA and that’s just how we roll!

Xavier: There’s nothing that will keep these fans away from seeing the fighters and fights they love to see! I won’t be surprised if the National Guard is summoned to the Colossuseum tonight but hell, that’s not going to stop anyone! We’ve all been tested rigorously and we’re here tonight to see another night of tremendous action that only Inferno Combat Series can bring!

Styles: Hell yeah, X! There are some major battles scheduled for tonight, as well as the Heavyweight championship being on the line, so let’s get right down to it! We’ll have one Featherweight, one Lightweight, one Welterweight, two Middleweight, one Light Heavyweight and four Heavyweight fights, one of which is for the Heavyweight title as I mentioned previously! There’s going to be a lot of damage unleashed in that cage tonight and the fans will eat it up as much as we will!

Xavier: There’s no doubt we’re going to see some fighters kiss canvas tonight, Styles! The action begins with Jack Wilder and Abraham Durden locking horns! Wilder steps into combat tonight with an overall 22-14-1 record! This 34-year-old brawler out of Vegas has excellent standup skills and very respectable grappling skills as well! He’s definitely had many philosophies integrated into his fight career because he’s currently with his fifth management team! For having as many managers as he’s had, to have a winning record is impressive in and of itself! Typically, when you have a fighter progress through that many management teams, they struggle mightily and aren’t too successful overall. However, Wilder not only has a winning record but he’s also managed to win a championship! He accomplished that when he defeated Ouje Bougoumou at AFC #4 First Champion! Though he lost his title the next fight he had, the fact he’s a champion can’t be erased or ignored! A 4-fight winning streak has been his best so far while he’s dropped 4-fights in a row as his longest losing streak as well! Lately, however, he’s been fighting well and has won three of his past four fights, with a draw occurring against Dieter Schmidt before Wilder finally defeated Schmidt in the very next fight by unanimous decision! Early in his career, Wilder was knocking out a good number of opponents but has since been involved in numerous fights that have gone the distance. He’s a bit shorter but heavier than Durden so I’d expect him to try and get in close to the man who tends to have blood splatters on his face for whatever reason, and use that weight advantage to try and tire Durden out while keeping this fight on its feet where I feel Wilder has his best chance at winning! Counterattacking would be my guess for Wilder’s approach to this fight and, ultimately, leads him to a knockout victory over Durden!

Styles: The six years younger Durden steps into this fight with a 10-7 overall record, a winning record, yes, but nowhere near where he’d like to be, I’m certain! Durden, hailing from Delaware and representing The Stepdads, is a well-rounded fighter with Golden Gloves boxing skills coupled with excellent muay thai abilities and outstanding grappling! Durden is immediately at the experience disadvantage with both in-cage combat and age, but I don’t think that’ll stop the bloodthirsty brawler from being aggressive! Currently with his second management team, Durden has also achieved a 4-fight winning streak like Wilder has, while he’s only lost 2-fights in a row at the most, a nod to his abilities as well as his management teams ability to make sure he avoids the loss column for too long! Also, very much like Wilder, Durden knocked out many opponents in the early stages of his career but has mostly been involved in fights that have gone the distance recently. The good news for Durden is he hasn’t sustained as much damage as Wilder has due to the fact he’s only been knocked out twice plus, obviously, he simply hasn’t been in as many fights, and thus, by sheer quantity alone, Durden has the advantage! I expect Durden to be aggressive in this fight because he may have the advantage in the standup, especially since he’s a bit taller and lighter which should enable him to stick-and-move effectively while avoiding any potential punishing damage from Wilder! Durden also won’t shy away from Wilder should the two get locked in a clinch and Durden may even try his hand at dragging Wilder to the mat to control him and test his defensive grappling ability! However, I expect this to be a toe-to-toe fight where Durden uses his youth and very good standup abilities to test the older Wilder’s chin and I think Durden has the power to rock Wilder’s chin for the knockout win!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Durden by KO; Xavier – Wilder by KO

 

Styles: Up next…aw yeah, you know I’ve got to comment on this name!

Xavier: I’d expect nothing less, Styles!

Styles: We have Huggle Muffin Sweetie Pie battling Alexander Gruzdev! Wow, man, I mean, come one! Muffin Sweetie Pie!? Dude, he’s either one crazy fool or one very smart dude because a name like that makes people feel you’ve lost your damn mind, but maybe that’s what he wants! Maybe he feels opponents won’t take him as seriously because he has a name that sounds like a recipe that someone’s grandmother might use for special occasions! I really have to wonder if Pie has ever stepped into the realm of adult movies with a name like that because he probably wouldn’t even have to be hung to make it into an adult movie just by using his name!

Xavier: Why are you talking about hung!? This is still a family show, even if the fans are hardcore!

Styles: Relax, X! You’re going to have a conniption! You’re actually going to stand in this booth with me and act like people don’t know what hung means!? They’re watching men brutalize one another in a cage! Give me a break! Anyway, Pie hails from Romulus, which I assume is the one in Michigan, and he represents C$ntmaras Doom. Bringing a 17-10 overall record into this fight, Pie has managed to string together a 3-fight win streak despite having his third management team! His longest losing streak is 3-fights in a row but that’s only happened once, and he’s looked quite sharp as of late while fighting in the QFC circuit! It seems he has a personal vendetta against Mike Smith, whom he has knocked out twice now, once by his fists and the other by his knees! Pie also has championship mettle and experience and has won two titles during his career, an impressive feat and knowledge he can use if and when he finds himself in trouble! Both title victories were during his time in ABW in the earlier stages of his career, but he accomplished those feats nonetheless! He has an aggressive style that has won him a good number of fights by knockout, but on the flip side, he’s also absorbed a good amount of damage due to being knocked out six times! He’s the lighter man in this fight tonight and, from what we’ve seen, doesn’t have the same capabilities in the standup as Gruzdev does, so it’s obvious to me that Pie will have to counterattack Gruzdev with the hopes of knocking him out, of course, but more so to land enough painful strikes that cause Gruzdev to drop his guard and enable Pie to shoot in, get the takedown, and control the action on the ground! Yes, both men have a brown belt in BJJ but getting this fight on the ground is Pie’s best option for victory, and he should have enough capability there to win this fight by submission!

Xavier: The 35-year-old “Nagano” from St. Petersburg represents The Evil Empire and immediately has the experience advantage over Pie in both age and combat! Gruzdev will definitely lean on those advantages tonight as he’s aware the younger Pie could be very aggressive early on in this fight and look for early takedowns to not only score vital points on the scorecards but to also frustrate Gruzdev while controlling the space and pace of the fight, which Gruzdev definitely doesn’t want to have happen! Gruzdev definitely wants to keep this fight vertical where he has a distinct advantage from what he’s shown previously! World class boxing ability is his calling card and he’ll definitely play that card as often as possible in this fight! I definitely expect Gruzdev to look to clinch and keep his weight pressed against Pie to not only slow the younger fighter down, but to also allow Gruzdev to land brutal strikes to test Pie’s chin and energy level while scoring points on the judges’ scorecards! Gruzdev is currently working with his fourth management team so he’s accustomed to working with diversity, and that experience will also come in handy tonight. A 5-fight winning streak has been his longest so far but he does have two other instances of winning four fights in a row, so he definitely knows what to do in the cage when he has momentum and is able to hold onto it! He unleashed and received quite a bit of damage early in his career but has been involved in many more fights that have been battles of attrition, so he’s comfortable with that scenario as well. However, Pie can’t underestimate Gruzdev’s punching power because he could very well still cause Pie unwelcome whiplash and, summarily, an early nap on the canvas! Gruzdev has struggled a bit lately and as a result, he’s lost his last two fights in a row, but he’s only lost three fights in a row once so he knows what he needs to do tonight to avoid that third knock! Gruzdev locks Pie into a clinch and does the damage necessary to win this fight by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Gruzdev by KO; Styles – Pie by KO

 

Xavier: Up next in the cage of pain will be Norman Pearson and Anthony Griffith! “Pitbull” Pearson, with his cool designed tattoos on his arms and shoulders, represents the LEGION OF DOOM and hails from Dapitan City in the Philippines! With an overall record of 15-11, he’s obviously had some success, but the 30-year-old expected, and was projected, to have a bit of a better overall career. Still, Pearson is a fighter to be respected and any opponent who underestimates him will be sorry that they do! Currently with his third management team, Pearson has been able to string together a 4-fight winning streak in his career to go along with a 3-fight losing streak. The timing of the losing streak isn’t in his favor because he’s lost his last three fights, two by unanimous decision and the most recent a TKO los to Kristian Johansson in the second round at ICS 13! The three losses come on the back of three wins in a row, so that’s obviously disconcerting for Pearson and his management team. He knows he needs to get things turned around as fast as possible because falling further down a losing spiral does him no good whatsoever! He has Golden Gloves boxing ability and Olympic-level grappling, so he definitely has the necessary tools to achieve victory under any conditions! Early in his career, Pearson was quite the knockout artist but on the flip side of that powerful dominance, he suffered some painful, damaging knockouts as well, so needless to say, Pearson is going to have to keep his chin tucked and his head moving to avoid being dropped before he wants to! He’s substantially shorter than Griffith in this fight to Pearson’s best bet is to get inside of Griffith’s defenses as quickly as possible because the longer he stays in Griffith’s striking range, the more the odds increase of him getting his jaw wrecked and his night ending rather early! He’s heavier than Griffith so the possibility of locking him into a clinch is an option, in my opinion, or he can opt to take this fight to the ground where he can play it safe, so to speak, and go for the submission win! I think the latter is the wiser choice, so I say Griffith wins this fight by submission!

Styles: “The Animal” Griffith brings a 19-14 overall record into this fight and as we both know, I really get a kick out of these inter-alliance fights, X! Two LEGION OF DOOM members go head up and I know they both want to win so they can have bragging rights within their alliance plus have the distinction of defeating the other man, of course. Technically, I don’t think Griffith quite has the skillset that Pearson does from what we’ve seen from both men, but in the heavyweight division, it really doesn’t matter! All Griffith needs is that one punch that causes Pearson’s head to twist or get rocked backwards too hard and that’s all she frickin’ wrote! The very large man from The Bronx in New York and fellow LEGION OF DOOM member to Pearson is a former champion from his days in the KT circuit, so he does have that championship experience to rely upon to help him in his quest to overcome Pearson. A 4-fight win streak has been his best to date while he’s lost 3-fights in a row. He recently snapped that losing streak by defeating Ueda Umanouke by unanimous decision at ICS 13! Griffith is obviously looking to build on that momentum as he steps into the cage tonight and he’ll need every bit of that momentum to overcome Pearson’s boxing skills! Like Pearson, Griffith displayed very good punching power by dropping many opponents in the first round, and I suspect that aggression will be as high as ever against Pearson because he knows he has to establish himself early and often with nasty strikes backed by major punching power to try and topple Pearson before he can establish himself and his skills! It’s imperative that the 30-year-old keeps this fight vertical because if Pearson drags Griffith to the mat, Griffith will be in a world of hurt! Griffith will counterattack with power strikes and catch Pearson by surprise for the knockout win!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Griffith by KO; Xavier – Pearson by Submission

 

Styles: Stupid Tattoo Guy, and you know I’ll have something to say about that in a minute, battles Carl Kingston as the action continues! I’m not sure how much confidence Guy has because he calls himself stupid tattoo guy, but that’s neither here nor there, frankly! What does matter besides the various tattoos he has on his face, is that he knows how to get the job done in the cage! With an excellent 11-4 overall record, Guy has proven that he’s a force to be reckoned with! This FinnFighters representative from wherever, America, is with his second management team despite battling his way to a 3-1 record with his first team. He’s obviously happy with his current team and overall has been involved in quite a few fights that have gone the distance, so the battle of attrition is nothing new nor uncomfortable for him to deal with if he’s involved in that situation! He has one knockout victory in his career so far so don’t expect him to bring any major thunder into the ring in terms of his ability to level Kingston with a single punch, but his BJJ abilities can’t be overlooked, so Kingston’s defensive grappling will have to be on point tonight! Guy’s best winning streak so far has been 3-fights in a row and he’s never lost more than once in a row, so that’s an outstanding mark! Even better is the fact his three-fight win streak has been over his past three fights and he definitely overcome the loss to Boris Orlov at Pride FC 65 by unanimous decision. Guy is exactly the same height and weight as Kingston in this fight so there’s no obvious physical advantage tonight. However, Guy is six years younger than Kingston and, from the looks of it, has superior BJJ skills. That, ladies and gents, means Guy will want to get this fight to the ground as quickly as possible and apply major pressure on Kingston to test his defensive grappling skills plus his ability to get up and take the fight back to standing! Guy, from my estimation, can utilize his Golden Gloves boxing skills to hurt and weaken Kingston enough to score the takedowns he’ll seek, and he’ll lock in the submission for the win tonight!

Xavier: “The Creep” Kingston, which anyone who calls themselves a creep obviously has some issues to contend with, brings a 25-9 overall record into this fight so he immediately has the combat experience advantage over Guy! Though this LEGION OF DOOM representative is six years the elder of Guy, he knows he has the ability to match Guy’s energy early in the fight. However, I don’t think Kingston wants to test his conditioning level against a younger fighter, especially a younger fighter who is doing his best to take this fight to the horizontal plane! Kingston is working with his second management team and with his first team, he won a championship so it’s surprising that arrangement didn’t last longer than it did. He also began his career on an outstanding level because he won 7-fights in a row! He’s only lost 2-fights in a row at most so that speaks volumes about his ability to bounce back and get the job done! Though he does have two knockout victories, I don’t expect that he’ll look to try and knock Guy out, but I also don’t think he’ll be overly concerned with getting knocked out by Guy! With that in mind, Kingston may be very aggressive as soon as the bell rings in this fight because he knows he’ll be able to do his most damage early in the fight plus that will potentially enable him to move ahead of Guy on the judges’ scorecards, and in a fight of this type, that could prove to be very valuable! Kingston is going to have to rely on his excellent muay thai skills to keep Guy at bay, which boils down to him utilizing his kicking skills to damage Guy every time he comes close enough for him to land solid kicks. Kingston may even take the risk of locking Guy into a clinch and seeing if he can hurt him with elbows and knees before trying to forge ahead on the scorecards, or, unexpectedly, soften Guy up enough for him to be susceptible to being knocked out! Kingston wins this fight by unanimous decision!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Kingston by Unanimous Decision; Styles – Guy by Submission

 

Xavier: The next two combatants into the cage will be Mon Ster and Doug Glatt!

Styles: Mon Ster? Really, dude? I have no words to say about that!

Xavier: Ster is 20-16 overall so this 37-year-old has definitely seen his share of combat! Displaying a very solid overall balanced skillset, this Canadian has gone through many management teams so it’s a testament to his fighting attitude and heart that keeps him coming back for more! Having an interrupted pattern of management teams like that can be very disruptive but he’s managed to defeat very solid opponents. He even earned a championship during his time at AFC by defeating Lord Beaverton by TKO late in the third round during the AFC #12: Cage Champions! A 4-fight win streak has been the longest in his career and two losses in a row has been the worst he’s endured. Looking at his overall body of work, Ster has proven he can still make an opponent sleep early so Glatt will have to be sure he doesn’t position himself incorrectly during this fight of Ster could end up blasting him with a massive strike and knocking him out! Ster has also been on the wrong end of many knockouts, especially situations where the fight had to be stopped due to Ster bleeding like a horror movie villain got a hold of him and made him pay for trying to hunt him down! Ster is a little heavier than Glatt in this fight so don’t be surprised if he tries to lock in a clinch early and often so he can lean that extra weight on Glatt in an effort to make him expend a lot of energy just to try and get out of a clinch that he gets locked into! If Ster can manage to keep this fight in very close quarters then he’s going to win because he’ll be able to frustrate Glatt by controlling the space and pace in the clinch plus set him up for uppercuts and hooks to the jaw that Glatt won’t be able to withstand for long and, ultimately, Ster will knock Glatt out for the win!

Styles: “The Rhino” Glatt brings an overall 18-14-1 record into this fight, and the UnderGround Fights Enterprise member from Boston, or Beantown, is a solid all-around fighter who also has an obvious love of playing hockey! Glatt is with his third management team despite enjoying very good success early on in his career! Not only did he enjoy his best winning streak of 6-fights in a row, but he also won a championship and was able to secure that experience and knowledge which can be utilized when other options have run out. His worst losing streak has been 3-fights in a row and that can be attributed to his heart, as well as his desire to overcome a brutal loss because he has endured quite a bit of damage from numerous knockouts! Basically it boils down to Glatt either winning by knockout or losing by knockout, and though that style of fight has earned him quite a fan following, that also prevents him from being able to take a great deal of punishment, so for both of these fighters tonight, X, it’s of the utmost importance that they begin strong and aggressively! Look for Glatt to be fearless in his approach to this fight and he’ll be willing to risk being knocked out if that translates to him being able to feint and counterattack his way into landing clean strikes that test Ster’s ability to absorb crushing strikes! He knows that he can’t afford to get locked into a clinch in this fight or he’ll possibly be on the wrong side of the judges’ scores so avoiding that while landing accurate, devastating strikes is of the utmost importance! Glatt can definitely take the chance of going to the ground in this fight and trying to establish the pace while looking for the submission victory, but to me, his best bet is to keep it standing so he can go the knockout by counterattacks and feints! If he does this then Glatt is going to win this fight by landing the knockout blows while avoiding taking too many clean strikes to the head!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Glatt by KO; Xavier – Ster by KO

 

Styles: Up next we have Ryu Aokison and James Noir! “The Water Moccasin” Aokison, a member of UnderGround Fights Enterprise, has fought his way to a 24-20-1 overall record, so the 34-year-old Japanese warrior from Fukushima has proven that he likes to fight a lot plus he has a very good amount of experience under his belt! A solid fighter in the standup, his grappling is on an Olympic level and he has earned the very respectable distinction of being a BJJ black belt, and I fully expect Aokison to lean towards the latter skill set to try and get this fight to the ground in a hurry where he has a very good chance of controlling the action while having numerous options of making Noir tap out due to his extensive knowledge of submission maneuvers! Aokison has only had one previous management team so he’s very comfortable with his current team and has done pretty well for himself overall. Early in his career, he had won an impressive 8-fights in a row but he also has endured a 5-fight losing streak, a mark that he definitely doesn’t want to experience ever again as he continues to train as diligently as possible! While he’s been able to utilize his very impressive grappling and BJJ skills to earn numerous submission victories, he’s also been on the wrong end of many knockouts, leading many to believe he’s quite susceptible to being knocked out. You better believe that Noir is one of the people who believes Aokison’s chin can’t take the heat, so to speak, and thus, Aokison is going to have to ensure his striking defense is on point and that his footwork is sharp, because if neither one of these is addressed and focused upon then Aokison will find himself in a world of hurt! Aokison has won a championship so as both X and I have said, that championship experience is not only very valuable, but it also presents and x factor that can’t be replaced or underestimated. Aikoson wins this fight by submission by dragging Noir to the ground early and keeping him there!

Xavier: Noir is the shorter fighter tonight and he’s also younger with much less experience. While this could be a detriment if he didn’t know how to handle that situation, he is 11-5 overall, so this New Yorker and member of LEGION OF DOOM isn’t discouraged by the difference in combat or life experience tonight! In fact, I expect the 29-year-old to use that age and damage difference to his advantage by being very aggressive from start to finish, especially in the standup because though he has Olympic-level grappling and solid BJJ skills, he probably doesn’t want to take the chance of being taken to the ground because he could very well be taken advantage of by Aokison when it comes to advantageous positioning for various submission attempts! If Noir is going to win this fight on its feet then he’ll absolutely have to use his youthful speed and less damaged body to counterattack with precision and time any power strikes very well to take full advantage of any openings that he has caused in Aokison’s defenses! Noir’s best winning streak has been 5-fights in a row while he’s never dropped more than 2-fights in a row, a testament to his training and understanding of how to win! While he’s not won a championship in his career, there’s still the possibility that he could become a champion before the sun sets on his career, but if that’s going to happen then he’s going to have to step up and overcome opponents who are, at least on paper or by sheer appearance, more skilled than he is. Vital fights like these are the keys to potential championship and I have no doubt Noir and his team are very well aware of this fact so Noir will have to dig deep and utilize his intelligence plus his strong will to win! Noir wins this fight by overwhelming Aokison and knocking the older fighter out!

 

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

 

Xavier: Oulu Laine and Milktoast Diddlybottom are the next two young lions to enter the cage to see who the better man is tonight! Laine is a very good 9-2 overall and the Finnish fighter, who represents the FinnFighters, makes his hometown of Oulu proud by not only being successful but by being named after the town! A solid all-round fighter, Laine recently achved a 5-fight winning streak and also recently snapped a defeat to the hands of Conor Daley at ICS 6 by defeating Mon Ster, who we saw earlier tonight, via TKO due to cuts at ICS Leapyear, so Laine has good momentum heading into this fight, and as a result, his confidence is very high! He’s also proven that he carries solid punching power and Diddlybottom is going to have to be sure to keep his chin tucked and moving because if he doesn’t, Laine could make this a rather short night for Diddlybottom! It’s a bit unusual for a 32-year-old fighter to only have eleven total fights under his belt but such is the case with Laine, obviously. This does mean he hasn’t taken a great deal of damage so he can take more risks against Diddlybottom because, if nothing else, Laine can rely on his power to overcome any deficiencies he has in this fight! It’s imperative that Laine keep this fight on its feet because he doesn’t want to test his grappling and BJJ skills against Diddlybottom’s unless he has absolutely no other option! Laine will have to rely on counterattacking the taller Diddlybottom and make sure each and every strike he lands is powerful and effective because if he doesn’t, Diddlybottom’s height advantage will be too much to overcome! Laine wins this fight by knockout using his smarts and punching power!

Styles: The man whose name sounds like a kid’s cereal, “Methyr Outlaw Dall” Diddlybottom, and I have no idea what his nickname means, has a major fight experience advantage tonight as he brings a 29-23 overall record into this fight! The Underground Fights Enterprise member is nearing the end of his career and the 38-year-old warrior from Dainty Lane, wherever that is, knows that he has the very solid all-round skills, especially his world class grappling and black belt in BJJ, and it’s those ground skills that he may very well have to rely upon despite having a sizeable height advantage over Laine in this contest! Diddlybottom is with his third management team and though he’s enjoyed various levels of success and this warrior has won two championships. That is quite valuable because he knows more ins and outs than Laine does, especially using that championship mettle and combining it with his major experience advantage, so Laine is definitely in for one hell of a fight with this wily veteran! Diddlybottom has done it all and has seen it all so Laine won’t be able to surprise Diddlybottom with anything and that’s yet another advantage for the wise veteran! Diddlybottom has absolutely been involved in some very bloody, brutal, and bombastic battles and has paid the price for them! He knows full well that has to avoid any and all major damage from the younger and more energetic Laine, but the veteran knows exactly how to do that. Look for Diddlybottom to look to establish his jab and cross early in an effort to make Laine be more methodical in his striking. If Diddlybottom manages to do that and can blast Laine with tenderizing kicks whenever Laine gets in range, Diddlybottom wins this fight by knockout!

 

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

 

Styles: The next fight we’ll be seeing will feature Ispa Murhaa and PutinYa OnYerKiester! I’m not even going to comment about YerKiester because, frankly, that’s just too damn easy to do! Murhaa is an outstanding 23-7 overall, and the Finnish fighter from Sjk represents The Stepdads and represents them well! A Golden Gloves boxer, world class muay thai fighter, Olympic-level grappler and holder of a black belt in BJJ has proven to be very tough, smart and capable! The 29-year-old is with his second management team, and while with his first team, his career had a legendary beginning! Not only did he win a championship and defend said championship multiple times, he also started his career with an otherworldly 17-fight winning streak! Winning seventeen fights is very impressive but to win them in a row!? Absolutely incredible! He’s only lost at most 2-fights in a row so Murhaa has proven that once he gains the momentum in a fight, he’s absolutely outstanding and can knock out the best in the business! A lauded champion and a greatly respected competitor, he’s only been knocked out three times in his entire career, a nod to his training as well as his toughness! One of those knockouts, however, was his most recent battle against James Darren at ICS 11 where he got dropped in the second round! Naturally, Murhaa wants to overcome this loss by defeating Kiester and getting right back into the win column! In my opinion, for him to be able to do this, he’s going to have to take advantage of his slight height advantage but, from what we’ve seen, his superior standup skills should really be the deciding factor tonight! Kiester has proven to be a very difficult outing when opponents attempt to match his grappling and BJJ skills and while Murhaa is comfortable there, it’s a bigger risk to have this fight go the ground so he doesn’t even want to take that risk! Keeping this fight vertical makes sense plus Murhaa has the proven striking power to bring this fight to an abrupt halt and going to the ground won’t even be something to worry about! Murhaa wins this fight by knockout!

Xavier: Kiester is 16-8 overall, so the 28-year-old starts this fight off at a disadvantage in terms of combat experience! The Londoner, who represents Vendetta, has world class boxing skills, excellent grappling skills and a brown belt in BJJ so he does possess the tools to handle himself in any given situation, but in this fight against Murhaa, he’s going to have to be more methodical and calculating than he wants to be. However, this will be a necessity because he and his management team could very well see him at being at a disadvantage in the standup, especially when comparing his muay thai ability against Murhaa’s! A 6-fight winning streak has been Kiester’s best in his career and, on the flip side, he’s lost 4-fights in a row, so he knows the sting and frustration of having a losing streak of that magnitude and never wants to revisit that again! Overall, Keister has shown that he’s a knockout artist and his power needs to be respected! That power will be his equalizer against Murhaa in the standup because Murhaa will have to pay attention to Kiester’s striking abilities and that could very well enable Kiester to score the takedowns he’s looking for! Getting this fight to the ground is an option for Kiester is he’s able to hurt Murhass substantially in the standup and tax his energy level to the point where Murhaa’s defensive grappling abilities suffer because he doesn’t have the strength and energy to prevent Kiester from positioning himself into advantageous angles where he can attempt various submission holds to end this fight! However, Kiester’s best chance at ending this fight fast is to land power strikes through counterattacks in the early rounds so he can try and check Murhaa’s chin early and often! If Kiester is able to establish himself before Murhaa builds any momentum, then he could very well turn this fight quickly in his favor and take it home by knockout out Murhaa!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Kiester by KO; Styles – Murhaa by KO

 

Xavier: The penultimate battle tonight will be between Arjan Bhullar and James Darren! Bhullar steps into this fight with a 30-13-1 record, and that’s proof that this 32-year-old Canadian from Richmond, British Columbia, likes to fight! Representing The Stepdads, Bhullar touts world class boxing ability with excellent muay thai skills, Olympic-level grappling a black belt in BJJ! Needless to say, he can get the job done in any situation against any opponent! Currently with his second management team, his best winning streak has been 6-fights in a row while the most he’s dropped in a row has been 3-fights in a row! Bhullar struggled a bit early on in his career in terms of winning championship battles, but after a change in management and training philosophy, he managed to win multiple championships, thus adding to his impressive accolades and accomplishments throughout his career! We know we speak a lot about championship mettle and experience, but it’s a very key factor in the success of some of the most historically impressive MMA fighters and we try to emphasize the importance of that as best as possible! Bhullar has knocked out many opponents and, in fact, he recently added to his championship haul by knockout out Junior Vilson at CEC END GAME by TKO in the third round! Since Bhullar knows he has solid punching power, he can definitely use that as a tool to slow down any momentum Darren may gain in the course of this fight. Bhullar, however, also knows full well that he can’t stand toe-to-toe against Darren for a long period of time because he’s absorbed quite a bit of damage in various fights against other heavy hitters and doesn’t want to test his ability to take punishment unnecessarily against Darren! Since Bhullar is the heavier of the two, he could very well opt to try and hurt Darren early in the fight with powerful counterstrikes that enable him to score takedowns against Darren which will allow Bhullar to position himself to force Darren to carry that extra weight and, in turn, slow Darren down and drain his energy, but to also allow Bhullar to seek out the right angles he needs to lock in submissions or force Darren to defend for long periods of time and allow Bhullar to score vital points on the scorecards. Bhullar wins this fight by dragging Darren to the ground and forcing the tap out!

Styles: “Paper Moon”, which I’ll have to ask Darren what that means, steps into combat tonight with a 22-15-1 overall record! The 33-year-old Philly product represents The Evil Empire, and he has proven to be an outstanding warrior in all facets of combat! A very highly skilled fighter with world class boxing and muay thai, paired with Olympic-level grappling and a brown belt in BJJ makes him a dangerous competitor at all times! He haws amassed a 7-fight win streak over the course of his career and has lost 5-fights in a row, so he knows full well the benefit and detriment of momentum on both sides of the coin, as the saying goes! A multi-time champion, Darren has had his best success by knocking out his opponents, and while he’s not made anyone tap out to submission, he’s made opponents tap out to being grounded and pounded out, so he does have that ability as well! In other words, when Darren’s fists fly and find their mark, he and his management team are very happy campers! Despite having suffered some painful losses that have undoubtedly caused a good amount of physical damage, I don’t think Darren has any qualms about standing toe-to-toe with Bhullar tonight, especially since Bhullar has also suffered some brutal damage from knockout losses over the course of his career! I think the difference maker in this fight is Darren’s outstanding muay thai skills! Whenever Bhullar gets in range and tries for any takedowns, Darren can just kick the hell out of Bhullar and that will definitely hurt Bhullar plus give Darren major points on the judges’ scorecards. I expect to see Darren let his fists and feet fly early and often in this fight as his aggression and pressure can very well prevent Bhullar from mounting any effective offensive, especially in his efforts to get this ground to the horizontal plane, and Darren takes this victory home by chin checking Bhullar repeatedly!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Bhullar by Submission; Styles – Darren by KO

 

Xavier: That brings us to our final fight of the night, ladies and gentlemen, as Gyukosho Fujimoto and Kvame Zulu battle for the Heavyweight championship! “Fujizilla” Fujimoto is a fantastic 25-7 overall, and this member of The Evil Empire from Sendai, Japan, has world class boxing and muay thai sills supported by excellent grappling and a black belt in BJJ! Fujimoto’s calling card, if you will, has been his striking power, especially his bone-crushing fists! He does have a knockout credit to his kicking ability but that was his very first fight in his career. After that, his knockouts have been delivered by knuckle sandwiches, so I expect him to do nothing else but continue being that aggressive, hard-hitting wrecking ball that he’s proven to be time and again! Yes, there’s no doubt that he’s been brutalized over the course of his career by the seven knockouts that he’s suffered! Yes, it’s true that every single loss has been by knockout, but in the heavyweight division, that’s to be expected because each opponent is a behemoth and the vast majority of men this size hit with the force of a battering ram! The human body isn’t built to sustain that type of repeated damage and that’s been proven time and again, but that’s what makes the heavyweight division so enthralling for MMA fans! Obviously, Fujimoto is a champion and he’s earned that distinction on more than one occasion, so that speaks about his capabilities in the cage as well as his warrior spirit and iron will! The bottom line when it comes to this man is he either knocks out his opponent or gets knocked out by his opponent. This fearless attitude and approach is admirable, dangerous and captivating, quite the mix for anyone who appreciates MMA! I think it’s a given that in this fight against Zulu, Fujimoto will want to be the first one to land the power strikes that change the momentum of this fight very quickly! Zulu is an outstanding fighter and Fujimoto is fully aware of that. Fujimoto is also fully aware that he can knock out anyone at anytime and that’s the key to victory! He’s smaller and lighter than Zulu so he’s going to have to use the assumed speed advantage to land powerful counterstrikes when he gets inside of Zulu’s defenses because he has to make every opportunity count! Fujimoto wins this fight by knockout!

Styles: “Brahma” Zulu, hailing from New Xade, Botswana, steps into this title fight with an excellent 25-8 record! This YABAI member is world class on his feet and has Olympic-level grappling as well. He rounds out his skillset with a brown belt in BJJ but the brown belt, in my opinion, will be a moot point tonight because there won’t be time for these large men to take the fight to the ground! This fight will be decided on its feet and both men are very comfortable with that proposition, I assure you! A very impressive 9-fight winning streak has been his best so far while he’s lost 2-fights in a row at most, a tilt of the hat to his incredible abilities in the cage! Similar to Fujimoto, Zulu basically either wins or losses by knockout, bottom line. The troubling news for Zulu is he has lost more than one battle due to bleeding out so he’s going to have to be in superior defensive stances and movements tonight or Fujimoto may very well make him bleed like a stuck hog and force the referee to stop the fight because the crimson is flowing too heavily! Zulu has, however, also forced fights to be stopped by making his opponents bleed so he has no problem trading blood for blood, and it’s that attitude that has endeared him to many fans! It’s obvious to me that Zulu is going to have to establish his height advantage early in this fight because he’s the taller but heavier man, and the assumption with that is Fujimoto will have the speed advantage in this fight. If that’s the case then the longer this fight drags out, the more at a disadvantage Zulu will be and he’s fully aware of that fact, so ending this fight early is imperative! In addition, Zulu knows that he doesn’t want this fight to go horizontal because his longer limbs make him more susceptible to being tapped out and that’s definitely not on the menu for Zulu! Landing strikes from distance, especially kicks whenever Fujimoto enters his striking range, will be key to preventing this fight from going to the ground plus taxing Fujimoto’s strength, movement and speed while also scoring points on the scorecards! I doubt this fight lasts long enough for a decision to be rendered because Zulu will knock Fujimoto out and become the new heavyweight champion!

 

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

 

Xavier: Ladies and gentlemen, as always, Furious Styles and I thank you greatly for taking the time to join us for another preview of exciting action in the Inferno Combat Series organization! We are very appreciative of your time and focus and hope we’ve provided entertainment and insight.

Styles: We know these are very odd times in the world, but we’ll all make it through by working together and taking care of one another! We also want to thank Dark Knight Nutrition, especially for stepping up and helping in the fight against Covid-19 by making masks for those who are on the frontlines! On behalf of Esiah Xavier, I’m Furious Styles signing off and as always, we look forward to seeing all of you at the fights!

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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES: ICS 21 PREVIEW

LA MEMORIAL COLOSSUSEUM

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 21! As we all do our best to deal with Covid-19 and the restrictions caused by them, we still manage to bring together thousands of healthy, dedicated and passionate MMA fans to the Los Angeles Memorial Colussuseum!

Styles: You’re damn right, X! The world can stop spinning but we’ll figure out a way to get the job done regardless of the situation! The apocalypse can’t keep us from doing what we do, dammit! Only the almighty himself pulls the plug!

Xavier: Well said and I have no doubt you have a ton of support of those sentiments! Tonight promises to be one hell of a night of fights, ladies and gentlemen! We’ll be treated to seeing the man, myth and legend known as Latrobe Arundel fight tonight! I definitely don’t want to take away from the other fighters that will be in combat tonight because they all bring their own brand of heat, but when you have an elite warrior in the house, you acknowledge him! Overall, we’ll be seeing one Lightweight fight, two Welterweight fights, one of which is for the Welterweight championship, three Middleweight fights, one of which is for the Middleweight championship, two Heavyweight fights and two Super Heavyweight fights!

Styles: Like our rabid fans, I greatly enjoy seeing the behemoths known as heavyweights and super heavyweights throw down in that cage because each hit is like getting blasted by a baseball bat! Typically, heavyweight and super heavyweight fights don’t last long due to the fact the human body can only take so much punishment before it gives out! I promise you folks, tonight you’re going to see some serious striking power in that cage!

Xavier: Kicking off the action tonight will be Harry Winston and Sven Ludwig! “Opie” Winston brings a 25-25 overall record into this fight so the 36-year-old warrior from Charming has made it obvious that he enjoys battle! 50 fights is an incredible number and a testament to his will and desire to be involved in combat as often as possible! Representing the LEGION OF DOOM, Winston is a multi-time champion, so the man knows how to handle the pressure and get the job done! In addition, as we always highlight, championship experience is very valuable in any given situation, especially if and when a warrior finds himself in one hell of a dog fight and has to rely on experience and intellect to overcome the odds. His longest winning streak has been 4-fights in a row and, unfortunately for him, his longest losing streak has been 6-fights in a row! Many fighters would have been very discouraged and retired from combat but not Winston! The timing of this fight is interesting because he’s currently on a 4-fight losing streak, so he has an opportunity to turn around his misfortunes against Ludwig tonight. World class skills and a black belt in BJJ outline what he brings to the table! He’s shorter than Ludwig and four years older so I expect him to counterattack Ludwig to take advantage of that height and score vital points on the scorecards because this fight could very well boil down to points. Winston can obviously try his luck with taking this fight to the ground, but Ludwig will be right at home if that occurs, so Winston will have to pick and choose his spots wisely! Winston will be able to keep this fight on its feet and use his height advantage and experience to keep Ludwig at bay and score the points necessary to win by unanimous decision!

Styles: Ludwig hails from Holm, Germany, and this 32-year-old brawler brings a solid 24-16 overall record into this fight! He’s obviously not nearly as experienced as Winston in this fight but does possess the skills necessary to overcome that disadvantage. One major disadvantage, at least in my eyes, is he doesn’t possess the championship experience or mettle that Winston does, so Ludwig is going to have to dig deep tonight to overcome that elite experience! Ludwig has had five different management teams throughout his career so he’s definitely searching for the right combination to bring him to the level of being a number one contender yet again and earning the opportunity to battle for a championship before the sun sets on his career! He had two different opportunities to become a champion during his time in ABW but fell just a bit short. There’s no doubt he’s hungry to try and capture that championship glory once more and that fuel and desire will be on display against Winston tonight! Ludwig is the taller man tonight so look for him to stay on the outside and land jabs and crosses to establish distance for himself to look for takedowns! Though he has Golden Gloves boxing skills and excellent muay thai abilities, he’s very highly skilled on the ground and will definitely take his chances of using his energy and youth advantage to win the position battle while controlling the pace of this match against Winston. Keeping Winston on the ground will allow Ludwig to frustrate him and could even cause the wily veteran to take risks he didn’t want to take because he could find himself in very bad positions! Ludwig will methodically approach this fight until he gets it to the ground where he’ll step up the pressure and eventually lock in the submission he’s looking for!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Ludwig by Submission; Xavier – Winston by Unanimous Decision

 

Styles: Charlie Darwin versus Proper Communist is the next battle we’ll see in the cage! I’m not even sure what being a proper communist is comprised of, but I’m sure we’ll see what that means in this fight tonight! “The Missing Link” Darwin brings a 16-11-1 overall record into this fight and the baby-faced member of Vendetta from Valkenburg, Netherlands, is outstanding in the standup aspect of combat and definitely respectable in the grappling aspect! World class boxing and excellent muay thai are his foundational skills and his 6-fight win streak is proof of that fact! On the flip side, his longest losing streak has been 3-fights in a row and, much to his chagrin, that’s his current streak heading into this fight! Needless to say, he wants to get things turned around as soon as possible and this fight presents that very opportunity to do so! He’s only had one previous management team. so his consistent training and fight philosophy has paid off. When he’s locked in, he can end the fight with either his fists or feet, so Communist will have to be sharp in his striking defensive skills! Darwin has a substantial height advantage and a good amount of weight over Communist as well, so look for him to stay on the outside and try to land devastating strikes that use his weight advantage to its fullest! Assuming Communist will be faster, Darwin could rely on agility early to gauge the distance he needs to unload the power strikes when the opportunity arises and really test Communist’s chin and toughness! Darwin will bring plenty of aggression and power into this fight because he wants to send a message that he’s a dangerous fighter and knocking Communist out will enable him to do just that!

Xavier: Communist steps into combat with a 9-7-2 overall record, and the FinnFighters representative from Communist Commune, Russia, not only has a combat experience disadvantage, but as you said, Styles, dude is quite a bit shorter than Darwin in this fight and that’s going to make Communist work that much harder in this fight! He does have world class boxing and very good muay thai skills to support his excellent grappling and BJJ brown belt, so if this fight goes to the ground, he could very well use his shorter physical status to try and lock in various submissions because it’s obviously easier for a shorter fighter to submit a taller fighter. Just like Darwin, Communist is working with his second management team so he, too, has had consistency with training and fighting philosophy. A 4-fight winning streak has been his longest while a 3-fight losing strike has been his worst. Communist has demonstrated knockout power sporadically throughout his career as well and I expect him to make this fight toe-to-toe where he has the best chance of ending this fight sooner than later! I don’t think he wants to try his luck on the ground because, from what we’ve seen, these two fighters are pretty evenly matched and thus, technically speaking, trying to win this fight on the ground could be an exercise in futility. Testing Darwin’s chin early and often is the best method of approach to victory in this fight! Communist will bring plenty of attitude and energy into this fight as he goes for the early knockout!

 

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

 

Xavier: The next two combatants into the cage will be Anderson Scorpion and Robert Drummond! “Tarantula” Scorpion steps into combat tonight with a 15-11 overall record, and this member of The Stepdads from Yukon, Canada, is extremely skilled in the standup focus of combat! World class on his feet as well as grappling is what he’s about, and that’s supported by a brown belt in BJJ! He’s been with three previous management teams, so they recognized his abilities, but consistency has been a problem. A 3-fight win streak has been his best while a 2-fight losing streak has been his worst. Throughout his career, he’s been able to knock out a good number of his opponents to his punching power needs to be accounted for by Drummond! However, especially as of late, he’s suffered some painful knockouts and that damage has definitely taken its toll. Both of these fighters are certainly aware of that fact so they may need to adjust on the fly during this fight if either of them senses the other having difficulty dealing with power. Scorpion is slightly taller than Drummond, but I don’t think it’s substantial enough to make a major difference, but it’s an advantage, nonetheless. That may come more in handy when Scorpion delivers tenderizing kicks that Drummond may not be ready to deal with! If Scorpion can keep this fight vertical and he can match the speed and energy that Drummond brings then he’ll emerge the victor by way of knockout!

Styles: Drummond is three years younger than Scorpion and, from what we’ve seen, “The Highlander”, despite the age and combat experience disadvantage, has the capability of defeating men of Scorpion’s skill level. Drummond steps into this fight with a 13-6-1 overall record. The Edinburgh, Scotland product who represents The GBU has world class boxing, excellent muay thai, world class grappling and black belt BJJ skills! That’s a very good and capable mix that could very well cause Scorpion more difficulties than he may expect! While it will be difficult for Drummond to surprise Scorpion with any approach he takes to this fight, that doesn’t mean Drummond doesn’t have the ability to take Scorpion to the ground and control him there while working diligently to establish dominant position and thus, allow him to be in control of what submissions he attempts and when! Drummond is with his fifth management team, so consistency has been a problem for him. He has managed to string together a 7-fight win streak as his longest, while his worst slide has been 2-fights in a row. The vast majority of his fights have been unanimous decisions, be it a victory or loss, so he’s not known for his striking power, though he does have a few TKO’s under his belt. With that in mind, look for Drummond to do his absolute best to drag Scorpion to the mat to keep him there while avoiding major damage and working to position himself where he can control the action while setting Drummond up for the eventual tap out!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Drummond by Submission; Xavier – Scorpion by KO

 

Styles: Ulysses Blazkov versus Leonid Martinyuk is the next battle that we’ll behold! “The Golden Bear” Blazkov from Kriva Krusha, Macedonia, is 9-4 overall, and this member of YABAI is a proven knockout artist! A 7-fight win streak has been his best up to this point in his career while his worst losing streak has been 2-fights in a row. The bad news for Blazkov is the losing streak has been a recent development, so in order for him to avoid the unspoken taboo of three losses in a row, he’s going to have to bring that bone-crunching power early and often against Martinyuk! Blazkov does have championship experience as well so he can rely upon that during any battle, though that hasn’t seemed to be as effective as he’d hope over the last two fights! If he’s going to turn things around tonight, he’s going to have to counterattack Martinyuk because he’s the shorter fighter tonight though he does have a substantial weight advantage over Martinyuk! If Blazkov can get in close to Martinyuk and lock him into a clinch, that weight can definitely slow Martinyuk down and sap his energy and strength while allowing Blazkov to unload very damaging strikes up close and personal to Martinyuk! If Blazkov can tag Martinyuk with his tree trunk legs, especially with kicks to the body, then the scope of this fight will change very quickly! Blazkov wins this tough battle by knockout!

Xavier: The Russian from St. Petersburg is 13-6 overall, and tonight, “The Surgeon” should have the speed advantage over Blazkov! He’s going to need said speed advantage because he absolutely does not want to stand toe-to-toe with Blazkov and risk eating one or two soul-denting punches! Martinyuk is going to have to stick-and-move for this entire fight and look to wear down the much heavier Blazkov with timely strikes to the midsection, especially if he’s able to back Martinyuk into a corner where he can land a multitude of strikes before moving back out of range! Martinyuk is with his second management team so he’s had consistency with training, especially with his first team! Every fight he had while with his first team ended in the first round, and it was that aggression that made a name for Martinyuk! His best win streak of 5-fights in a row has come with his current management team, however, so the direction they’re taking him is definitely a very good one! He’s never lost two fights in a row and that speaks volumes about his heart, determination and focus! He has also proven that he can drop any man in that cage so, needless to say, someone’s going to take an early nap in this fight! Martinyuk’s speed and power will be the deciding factor tonight that ends in him winning by knockout!

 

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

 

Xavier: The tremendous night of action continues with Futoshi Matsunaga versus Segey Taranin! Matsunaga is an excellent 24-11-2 overall and The Evil Empire alliance member from Kitakyushu, Japan, is an excellent overall fighter! World class and excellent skills, supported by a black belt in BJJ, is what this man brings into the cage and he’s definitely formidable! He’s with his second management team so the consistent handling of business has obviously led to a good amount of success. Add in the fact that he’s not won a championship despite earning four different title shot opportunities and this man is simply, dangerous! A 4-fight win streak is his best and that’s exactly what he’s been able to accomplish as of late, so the timing of this streak, as well as this fight, is excellent for him! Initially, he was more of a knockout artist but as his skills progressed, he added submission capabilities to his repertoire and learned how to handle himself in any situation and under any duress! It’s very surprising to me that a man of his capabilities and skill has never been a champion, but there are no sure things in life, let alone the realm of mixed martial arts! If necessary, he has the ability to position himself to be dominant in the grappling focus of combat and also has the patience and knowledge to win the battle of attrition while keeping damage he absorbs to a minimum. Slightly taller but a good amount of less weight than Taranin, Matsunaga is going to have to use speed and agility to get inside of Taranin’s defenses to score early points in the standup while deciding if and when he can take this fight to the ground to test Taranin’s excellent grappling skills! If Matsunaga senses he can land very damaging strikes on Taranin then he may very well opt to take his chances in the standup, but he’d be comfortable matching grappling and BJJ skills at any point in time during this fight. I think Matsunaga wins this fight by submission after softening up Taranin in the standup!

Styles: Since Taranin has the weight advantage tonight over Matsunaga, I expect him to use that weight when he takes this fight to the horizontal plane to test Matsunaga’s ground skills overall! The Russian grappler from Vladimir represents Cromulent Doom and his second management team with a great amount of pride! An 8-fight winning streak has been his best up to this point in his career while a 6-fight losing streak has been his worst! Losing six fights in a row can be very mentally and emotionally taxing, so major kudos to him for continuing to battle and train hard despite those setbacks! That says a lot about his character and his heart, plus shows why he’s a past champion as well. He may very well need to rely upon that championship experience in this fight to help him overcome his recent loss to Finnish Experiment II by second round knockout at TR12: FW GP ROUND 1. He’s earned a reputation as a fearsome competitor with the ability to make opponents lament loudly while they tap out furiously! If he doesn’t knockout his opponents, however, he does run the risk of getting knocked out because that has happened many times, and the damage done can’t be denied! Since that’s a known truth, Taranin is going to have to aggressively try and end this fight as early as possible because he doesn’t want to try and win a battle of attrition nor does he want to try and match power against Matsunaga. Getting this fight horizontal is of the utmost importance for Taranin and once he does drag Matsunaga to the mat, Taranin will be very aggressive in controlling the pace and angles before he locks in the submission victory!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Taranin by Submission; Xavier – Matsunaga by Submission

 

Styles: Frank Granger versus Rich Silva Jr. is the next battle of two lions we’ll see in the cage! “The Giant Slayer” Granger steps into combat with a solid 14-6 overall record! The 28-year-oldleveland, Ohio, product represents Limitless in this fight and is a solid overall fighter! Currently with his second management team, he doesn’t quite have the level of experience that other fighters his age have but that’s of little matter! What he can do when the bell rings is obviously the most important facet to focus on, and focus is what this man can do. A 3-fight winning streak is his best to date while he’s lost 2-fights in a row just one time in his career. Having established himself as a knockout artist, opponents know full well that their striking defense and footwork need to be on point, and even with that knowledge he still has managed to rock many a man to sleep the brutal way! The vast majority of his fights have been he either knocks the opponent out or he gets knocked out, but that’s to be expected in the heavyweight division. He’s also a past champion and that invaluable experience is a benefit. He’s been feelin’ it lately and his 2-fight winning streak is proof of that fact, and he knocked out his last opponent, Simon Udovich, in 45 seconds, so Silva Jr. needs to make sure he keeps his chin tucked and his head moving or he’ll find himself in a world of hurt! Silva Jr. is taller and heavier, so Slayer is going to have to be quick, sharp and brutal to finish Silva Jr. as soon as possible. As long as Granger keeps this fight standing, he’ll get to Silva Jr.’s chin and knock the bigger man out!

Xavier: Silva Jr. hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan – go blue! – and represents The Evil Empire! This warrior is 15-8 overall and is a very well-rounded fighter with Golden Gloves boxing skills, excellent muay thai and grappling, and a black belt in BJJ to round out the skillset! He has an advantage experience in this fight and that will definitely come in handy because I think his approach to this fight will be to take advantage of his height and pepper Granger with quick jabs and crosses while waiting patiently to unload the heavy artillery when he sees the time is right! He also has the option of taking a chance of bringing this fight to the ground because he is very skilled, obviously. Yes, he runs the risk of the shorter Granger being able to potentially lock in a submission on the longer limbs that Silva Jr. has, but I assume Silva Jr. is confident enough in his defensive grappling capability that he can withstand Granger’s submission attempts then thwart his plans even further by using superior transition skills to maneuver himself into dominant positions and go for the finish if he feels it’s there! Silva Jr. is also a past champion so he, too, can rely on that experience if need be. Still, his best bet is to keep this fight grounded because he’s proven time and again that he can drop an opponent in their tracks with thunderous strikes in the ground and pound as well as locking in the submission! Silva Jr. wins this fight by submission!

 

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

 

Xavier: The next two tigers we see battle in the cage will be Pablo Noriega versus Great Tiger! Yes, I said tigers on purpose so just roll with it. “Loco” Noriega is a very respectable 15-5-1 overall, and the brawler from San Salvador, El Salvador, represents the Keyboard Warriors! An extremely skilled fighter in all aspects of combat, there isn’t anything this man can’t do in the cage! It’s incredulous that he hasn’t won a championship in his career as of yet but, again, there are no guarantees in mixed martial arts! Noriega has been involved in a great many fights that were decided by unanimous decision as well as a couple of split and one majority decision, so going to the distance in a fight is right in his wheelhouse. However, he has stopped a couple of fighters by TKO, so he does have that capability, though his striking power hasn’t been deemed fearsome. He’s taller than Tiger and that will come in handy as he deals with the energy of a fighter six years younger than he is. Keeping Tiger at bay will be the key to this fight because Noriega is at a disadvantage in terms of in-cage combat, so his very high level of skill will be put to the test in all manner of combat tonight! Noriega should be able to handle Tiger in any given situation, but I say Noriega keeps this fight vertical and wears down Tiger for the unanimous decision victory by hitting him with wave after wave of accurate, fast strikes!

Styles: Tiger, and that’s what I’ll call him because I don’t have enough time to break down his lengthy “PKSaenchaiMuayThaiGym” nickname, steps into combat tonight with an 18-9 overall record! The Elite Punishment Inc. member is a well-balanced fighter who is backed up by a black belt in BJJ, so he’s comfortable in the cage under any circumstances. Tonight, however, he’s going to have to step outside of his comfort zone and take chances because he doesn’t want to try and match skills-for-skills against Noriega. That could very well be a lesson in futility and Tiger is smarter than that. The Thailand product has proven to be a submission specialist so, obviously, look for Tiger to drag Noriega to the mat as soon as possible and go for points on the scorecards by outwrestling Noriega and, occasionally, looking to lock in a submission or even land some ground-and-pound while fighting to maintain control of the pace and space of this fight! Tiger is also a former champion and has had some hellacious battles, specifically against Henrique Gusmao, and they are 2-2 against each other! Tiger recently defeated Samuel Cooke by Guillotine at TR12: FW GP ROUND 1 so he’s feeling good about himself and his confidence is where it should be for this fight! Being the shorter fighter is an advantage for his submission abilities so look for him to take that approach and defeat Noriega by submission!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Tiger by Submission; Xavier – Noriega by Unanimous Decision

 

Styles: Ibrahim Camara versus Archibald Knox is the next battle to take place! “Dishonest as Fuck” is one of the more interesting nicknames I’ve seen in this industry, and his 24-12 record is very good! The GBU representative, hailing from Hombori, Mali, has world class boxing skills, excellent muay thai, and Olympic-level grappling. What’s surprising is he’s only earned a purple belt in BJJ but, obviously, the man knows what he’s doing in the cage so there you have it. The tattooed warrior has a 6-fight win streak as his best so far while a 3-fight losing streak has been his worst. He’s displayed the penchant for knocking opponents out so Knox is going to have to make sure he keeps his eyes open and his head on a swivel because if he doesn’t, Camara could make this a very painfully abrupt night! A bit shorter but heavier, Camara can use that weight by locking Knox into a clinch and leaning against him while focusing on taxing his energy and power by going to work on his body before looking to go for the knockout! As long as Camara keeps this fight standing then he should be in business because that’s where he’s had a great deal of success. He has, on the flip side, taken quite a bit of damage in the standup as well, but that doesn’t stop him from getting right back into the cage and continuing to fight, so props to him for that! Camara wins this fight, honestly, I might add, by tagging Knox repeatedly with striking combinations that set him up for the knockout!

Xavier: Knox is five years older than Camara and that experience will come in handy because he doesn’t have much more combat experience than Camara. The Manhattan, New York product represents Convicted Inc. and has a 5-fight winning streak as his best up to this point in his career. His longest losing streak is 2-fights in a row. Knox was a proven knockout artist in the early part of his career and still possesses some pop in his punches so Camara can’t underestimate his power at all! If Knox doesn’t knock an opponent out, then he doesn’t mind going the distance in a fight at all because he’s been there many times as well. Naturally, the preference is to finish a fight early so a fighter minimizes damage absorbed plus gets more time to train and hone his skills. That can make or break a fighter, depending on the circumstances and timing, of course, but timing is important in all facets of life, especially business and love. Surprinsgly, Knox is also a purple belt in BJJ which is also surprising because he’s obviously highly skilled in all other facets of fighting just as Camara is! Since that’s the case for both men, I fully expect this to be a mano-y-mano, toe-to-toe brawl which will leave one of these warriors bloodied, bruised and battered more than the other! My money is on Knox to be the one who emerges victorious from this potential bloodbath by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Knox by KO; Styles – Camara by KO

 

Xavier: The first of two championships to be defended this evening will take place between Nick Graves versus Mick Murphy for the welterweight championship! “Dr. Kneevil” Graves is an outstanding 31-6 overall and the champion has definitely earned every accolade he’s received! The winner of 15-fights in a row, which is an incredible winning streak, has proven that his fists are to be feared! Obviously, he’s a multi-time champion and we all know how Styles and I feel about that championship experience! What’s most impressive to me is the fact he’s never lost more than three fights in a row! For a man to have a record like this and to have a 2-fight losing steak as his worst slide is remarkable, to say the least! The champion is in excellent form as he defends his title tonight because he’s won 7-fights in a row, so his confidence is sky high! He’s currently with his second management team and, again, it absolutely blows my mind that his first team parted ways with him after winning an outstanding 13 fights in row! There are some fighters who’ll never win 13 fights in their entire careers, let alone in a row, but that first management team moved on anyway. Truly shocking! Graves is a legend and will definitely end up in the Hall of Fame and it makes we wonder what his first management team thinks about his accomplishments. Either way, Murphy will definitely have his hands full in this fight but he’s fully aware of that fact as well. There’s no doubt both of these warriors have mentally and physically prepared for this confrontation for some time. Graves also surprises me because he’s only a purple belt in BJJ. A fighter of his caliber with a purple belt is nearly unheard of, but that goes to show that skill, will and intellect can go a very long way! The champion continues his tremendous run and successfully defends his title against a very game opponent by knocking out Murphy!

Styles: “Money Weight” Murphy steps into this title opportunity with a 30-10 overall record, so the 33-year-old Dublin, Ireland product who brings LEGION OF DOOM pride into this fight is definitely worthy of being a champion again! The majority of his fights have resulted in unanimous decisions, but he definitely has shown that he can stop a man in his tracks in the blink of an eye! Graves will definitely have to be wary of Murphy’s power because he doesn’t want to get caught being at an angle where Murphy can unload a full-power punch or kick to Graves’ head and take the belt away from the champion just like that! Looking at the full body of work for Murphy, he’s paid the price for some of his hellacious squabbles and Graves is undoubtedly fully aware of the damage that Murphy has taken from some very hard-hitting opponents! One advantage Murphy has over the champion is his BJJ capabilities, so I fully expect Murphy to counterattack the champion to slow him down as much as possible before going for any takedowns. Once Murphy drags this fight to the ground, I fully expect him to be a man possessed in terms of the amount of energy and focus he puts into controlling the champion to establish dominance on the ground plus continue transitioning from one position to the other to keep the champion off balance while angling himself to attempt any one of numerous submissions to make Graves tap out and give up the championship!

 

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

 

Styles: And last but not least, we have George Salvador versus Latrobe Arundel for the Middleweight championship! Salvador has battled his way to an impressive 25-11 overall record, and the Ferryhill, England product who represents Vendetta brings world class skills in the standup as well as in the grappling aspect of battle! His brown belt in BJJ rounds out his skillset as he faces an opponent known throughout this entire industry! Salvador has seen and done it all except be involved in a fight where either he or his opponent had to stop fighting because they were bleeding too much for a ringside doctor’s liking. A 5-fight winning streak has been his longest to date and the great news for him is he’s currently riding a 5-fight win streak, so the timing of this title defense against Arundel is basically perfect! Salvador is rolling well and knocked out three of his last five opponents, so the confidence in his power is just as high as his confidence is! Better yet, one of his recent knockouts was by a vicious head kick to his feet are still as educated and deadly as his fists! That’s potentially bad news for Arundel tonight. Salvador has knocked out enough opponents to send the message that all opponent’s will have to focus on not getting knocked out but he can then take the fight the distance and outscore the opponent to maintain a hold of the title. Since Salvador is six years older than Arundel and more combat experienced, I fully expect Salvador to try his best to keep this fight standing because I don’t think he wants to test Arundel’s grappling and BJJ skills! Since Salvador is heavier, Arundel may have a speed advantage but Salvador will have a power advantage due to the extra weight, so accurate, quick and powerful strikes will be the champions bread and butter tonight as he knocks out the incredibly skilled man known as Arundel!

Xavier: “Blast” Arundel, which can be used in commentary in various ways, is the #1 ranked Middleweight in the world and the #2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world! In other words, ladies and gentlemen, he’s elite of the elite! Fans have been clamoring to see Arundel fight for some time and tonight will be a massive treat for a great many fight fans! The Baltimore, Maryland product who represents YABAI is another extremely skilled fighter in all aspects of combat! Having an incredible skill set undoubtedly helps but it also takes more than just relentless training. Heart, confidence, desire and knowledge are what it takes to reach the top of the mountain, and Arundel is right there. A 14-fight win streak is the best he’s had at this point in his young career, and he’s laid a path of destruction with many knockouts with his hands and feet, so Salvador, like every one of Arundel’s opponents, knows the strikes will be fast, hard and devastating! Opponents have attempted to whether the storm that Arundel brings, and a great many have failed to do so. Arundel will approach this fight as he does all of his fights, and that’s with ferocity, intensity and relentlessness! No disrespect to Salvador whatsoever because he’s a very accomplished warrior, but Arundel is going to leave the cage tonight as a champion holding two titles in two different organizations! Arundel wins by knockout!

 

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

 

Xavier: That’s our time, ladies and gentlemen, and as always, we thank you greatly for taking the time to tune in and hear what we have to say about yet another incredible night of action!

Styles: Please be safe out there folks while you enjoy the tremendous night of action that Inferno Combat Series brings! Get ready for one raucous night and we’ll see you at the fights!

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INFERNO COMBAT SERIES 23 PREVIEW

LA MEMORIAL COLUSSUSEUM

Xavier: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Inferno Combat Series and specifically, welcome to ICS 23! In the booth with me tonight is the ever-outspoken Furious Styles!

Styles: What’s up good people!? I can’t help it if I have plenty to say, X! We’re in this booth for a reason and it’s my job and responsibility to break it down like a stomach does to food!

Xavier: Like a stomach does to food? Are you suggesting that you’re corrosive acid?

Styles: I can be, verbally at least, for people who don’t pay attention and don’t have at least a decent working brain in their skull!

Xavier: Well, it is true that some words can be far more damaging than weapons man has created.

Styles: That’s right, X! You can consider me to be a verbal assassin!

Xavier: Verbal assassin? You may have just created a new name or nickname for a future fighter here in MMATycoon!

Styles: Now that would be awesome!

Xavier: As always, ladies and gentlemen, we have a fantastic night of action lined up to unfurl in the cage of pain, judgment and relentlessness! We’re going to have four Lightweight fights, two Welterweight fights, two Light Heavyweight fights and one of those will be for the Light Heavyweight Championship, and two Heavyweight fights rounds out the action!

Styles: This is a prime opportunity for some Lightweight fighters to move up in the division and prove they’re worthy of an opportunity at that title!

Xavier: Absolutely! Kicking off tonight’s fireworks will be Evgeni Elkemenchi and Dieter Schmidt! The 36-year-old Elkemenchi hails from Compton so that may give him the hometown boost in this fight, though there aren’t many people with such a unique last name from Compton, I must admit. He steps into this fight with a 21-22-1 overall record so he has an opportunity to bring his record to an even .500 percentage. At this point in his career, that may be more of a morale victory than anything else but a win is a win, obviously, at any stage of the fighting game. Representing The Evil Empire, his skill set can’t be questioned as he’s a Golden Gloves in boxing, world class in muay thai and grappling, and does have a black belt in BJJ so he can handle himself in any given situation! This is the first time he’ll face Schmidt but the element of surprise against Elkemenchi doesn’t exist because he’s seen and done most everything. He’s currently working with his second management team and he, unfortunately, never earned an opportunity to win a championship. That doesn’t take away from his accomplishments, such as earning a 4-fight win streak as the longest during his tenure, but I’m certain as a competitor he’s a bit disappointed. Still, he has the chance to earn respect and that goes a very long way, Styles! His longest losing streak has equally been 4-fights in a row but that’s indicative of his entire career, quite frankly. Hovering around the .500 mark leads to results such as those. The majority of his victories have been by way of submission or unanimous decisions, but he does have some knockout wins as well so his power can’t be completely ignored by Schmidt! Elkemenchi has also been laid out a good number of times so keeping that chin protected is paramount in this fight. I expect Elkemenchi to protect that chin by taking this fight to the ground as soon as possible and locking in the submission win with superior BJJ skills!

Styles: Schmidt steps into this fight with a 32-23-3 overall record, so this 38-year-old German fighter from Dusseldorf and representing Hitokiri-13 definitely enjoys combat! It’s not often a man with 43 fights under his belt is the less experienced fighter but that’s the case in this fight as Schmidt has 55 fights under his belt! Combine these two and that’s a whole hell of a lot of brutality! Needless to say, it will be very difficult for either of these men to throw the other off of his game with feints or other such approaches because that experience is vast. Schmidt does have multiple championships on his resume so he does have that advantage and to me, he can dig just a bit deeper than Elkemenchi can in terms of getting out of troublesome situations during a fight! Consistency is the name of the game with Schmidt because he’s only had one management team throughout all of his fights and that’s very impressive in and of itself, especially with the rate of turnover we see in this business! A 7-fight win streak has been his best so far while a 3-fight losing streak has been his worst. He’s currently riding a 2-fight losing streak so he definitely wants to avoid that proverbial third loss in a row against Elkemenchi! He’s the slightly taller man and that will work in his favor tonight as he defends being dragged to the horizontal plane while landing punishing strikes in the standup! Schmidt has a good number of knockout victories in his career, especially in the early stages, so he does have power that Elkemenchi has to respect, especially with that suspect chin you mentioned, X! Like his opponent, Schmidt has been involved in a good number of decision fights so going the distance is nothing strange nor difficult for him to do, physically anyway, but I highly doubt he wants the judges to influence this fight! Schmidt scores the knockout tonight!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Schmidt by KO; Xavier – Elkemenchi by Submission

 

Styles: The next two animals into the cage will be Outlaw Hardy and Osiris Egyptian! Outlaw Hardy sounds like a character straight out of a Clint Eastwood western movie or Red Dead Redemption II! And Osiris Egyptian is like saying Apollo Greek. Come on, but hey, it’s their name, not mine! Anyway, Hardy is a very impressive 27-11-1 overall so it seems his name works very well for him! The Flagstone product, from Georgia I assume, represents The Stepdads and is a solidly developed fighter who has proven he’s capable in the cage! His most outstanding skill set lies in his grappling which is Olympic level so once he locks his arms around any opponent, there’s a very good chance he’ll be able to maneuver them where he wants and when he wants. Currently with his fourth management team, he’s obviously found success with each team so I’m not certain why he’s had that many over his career. He’s a multi-time champion who has managed to string together a 7-fight win streak as his longest while he’s managed to never lose more than 2-fights in a row! That’s very impressive considering the number of times he’s stepped into battle so that shows he’s determined and willful along with this skills. Early in his career he had many TKO and KO’s so his power needs to be respected and will definitely be a factor tonight! Though he’s had a good number of unanimous decision victories he does have a recent knockout win over Peter Barnkvist and is riding a 4-fight winning streak so his momentum and confidence are riding high and that makes him that much more effective and dangerous! Hardy is shorter and much lighter than Osiris so I look for him to utilize that speed advantage to try and counterattack Osiris in the standup until Hardy can position himself into solid takedown opportunities, launch himself into Osiris, drag him to the mat and wear him down while looking for the submission win!

Xavier: Osiris has fought his way to a 19-10-1 overall record and this fighter, who hails from, big surprise, Cairo, Egypt, is a member of the FinnFighters and has world class standup skills supported by excellent grappling and a brown belt in BJJ! The man who wears an elaborate headpiece will be battling Hardy for the first time in his career and I’m sure his only management team throughout his career will have him primed and ready for combat. Osiris is also a multi-time champion so the experience that Hardy has overall will be minimized by the championship mettle that Osiris has proven to have! Early in Osiris’ career, he scored a good number of KO and TKO wins so like Hardy, he does have KO damage in those hands! However, as evidenced, the vast majority of his fights have been unanimous majority victories so he’s very accustomed to the battle of attrition and if that’s what ends up happening in this fight then he’ll have no difficulties adjusting to that. Like every competitor that steps into the cage, however, there’s no doubt that Osiris wants to quall any concerns about his abilities in the cage and end this fight early. If he’s going to do that then his world class standup skills will have to be very sharp and overwhelming tonight! I’m certain Osiris understands the longer this fight drags on the better chance Hardy will be able to get this fight to the ground where Osiris doesn’t want to be. Osiris has enough confidence and ability on the ground to protect himself but he knows his best opportunity is in the vertical realm and that’s where he’ll fight hard to keep it. His current 2-fight losing steak will serve as extra motivation for him to come out of the gates fast and keep up the pressure, because using that approach earned him the 4-fight win streak he has on his record! Osiris wins this fight by knockout because he’ll be very aggressive in getting to Hardy’s chin!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Egyptian by KO; Styles – Hardy by Submission

 

Xavier: Enzo Salvatore and Demetrius Tektas are the next lions to step into the cage to battle one another! “Vampiro” Salvatore, and I’ll make sure dude never walks behind me or asks to see my necklace, is 16-11 overall! The Brazilian product from Rio de Janeiro where he’s also based and trains there, is a member of The GBU and has been with the same management team during his entire career, so he, too, can rely upon that consistency when he needs it most. He has Golden Gloves boxing skills, solid muay thai ability, Olympic-level grappling and a black belt in BJJ, which everyone should have guessed being that he’s Brazilian and they have tremendous pride in their BJJ training and history, which makes him quite a threat in the ground game! To say he has been involved in many grappling battles is an understatement. He has managed to put togeth4er a 4-fight winning streak during his career while he’s dropped 3-fights in a row at most. Obviously the vast majority of the fights he’s been involved with wound up being grappling and submission battles of which he’s been on both sides of the results but his combat experience will enable him to be comfortable with whatever Tektas decides to bring into the cage tonight! Unfortunately for Salvatore, he didn’t win a championship when presented the opportunity against Dulles Bush at TGC 50. That has bothered him ever since and now that he’s 30 years old, he realizes he needs to step up his game and accomplishments sooner than later because he wants to become a champion before father time becomes too heavy of a factor. Add in the fact he’s lost 3-fights in a row recently and he has all the reason to be very aggressive in this fight in looking to drag Tektas to the ground and make him fight a grappling competition! Salvatore will use his smaller and lighter frame to score the submission victory tonight and end his current skid!

Styles: Tektas and his heavily tattooed torsoe, along with the cat he loves to carry around his neck, is 20-15-2 overall! This member of LEGION OF DOOM hails from Athens, Greece, and he has managed to string together a 7-fight win streak while also becoming a champion! He immediately has that championship experience advantage over Salvatore and that will serve him very well in this fight because Salvatore will no doubt want to test Tektas’ grappling skills and I don’t think Tektas wants to do that, especially since he’s the taller man, doesn’t have as much grappling combat experience, plus is very skilled on his feet! He does have many victories by way of submission so being on the ground is definitely a comfort for him but tonight it would serve him much better to keep this fight on its feet where he can best use his Golden Gloves boxing skills and very good muay thai ability. Also, toss in the fact that he’s never been knocked out and Tektas absolutely has the confidence to stand toe-to-toe with Salvatore without being overly concerned with Salvatore knocking him out. Aggression will be the key factor for Tektas tonight and he’ll have to apply a lot of pressure against Salvatore to keep that height advantage plus prevent Salvatore from scoring easy takedowns by making him defend wave after wave of jabs, crosses, and other striking combinations! Tektas could also opt to rely more on his kicking range and prevent Salvatore from getting inside of his defenses and each time Salvatore moves into range, Tektas can tag him with a kick or two and make him think twice about his approach and game plan! Tektas scores the knockout win by keeping this fight standing and leveling Salvatore with timely punches and maybe even a head kick!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Tektas by KO; Xavier – Salvatore by Submission

 

Styles: Mike Murhaa versus Liam Gallagher are the next fighters to throw down in the cage! The Finnish fighter from Sjk who represents the LEGION OF DOOM is currently 14-12 overall! The 29-year-old has solid skills, especially with his Olympic-level grappling which is supported by a brown belt in BJJ. He’s only had one management team in his career up to this point and has a winning record as a result of that. His best winning streak has been 6-fights in a row while, on the flip side, his worst losing streak has been 3-fights in a row. His struggles have been well documented as of late as he has dropped the last four of five fights. If he wants to get back into the win column tonight, he’s going to have to find that confidence, heart and desire to win because I highly doubt he wants to feel the sting of a loss for the fifth time in six fights! I don’t care how confident a fighter is, that’s going to hurt the psyche and make him question some aspects of who he is and whether or not he can get the job done in the cage! If he’s going to get the job done tonight, he’s going to have to counterattack the taller and lighter Gallagher because he’s obviously at a disadvantage against Gallagher’s height and reach in this fight. Standing toe-to-toe against him would be foolish and I don’t think Murhaa is a fool! What adds a bit of flavor to this fight is that it’s an inter-alliance fight so every member of LEGION OF DOOM will undoubtedly be watching who gets the rights to talk their crap the next time they all train together. Getting this fight to the ground is of the utmost importance for Murhaa and I think he’ll be able to do that with the weight and youth advantage he has tonight! Murhaa wins this by submission and earns the right to talk crap among his alliance mates!

Xavier: Gallagher is six years older than Murhaa but has less combat experience, which is unexpected in a manner of speaking. However, that doesn’t diminish the Golden Gloves boxing skills, the excellent muay thai, and the solid grappling ability the Englander from Oxford has earned. As you mentioned, Styles, Gallagher is a fellow LEGION OF DOOM member to Murhaa so that adds a bit more intrigue to the entire situation because they’ve had an opportunity to see one another train up close and personal and they may have even sparred against one another at some point in time. Like Murhaa, Gallagher has never won a championship so that could very well be a driving force for the both of these warriors in this fight, let alone the opportunity for bragging rights in the alliance! Gallagher had an opportunity at a championship during his KT kickboxing days but was knocked out by Oson Bon at Machine Fight Night 3! Since then, Gallagher has been mostly battling to a .500 record. He has scored some solid knockouts in his career and like Murhaa, he, too, has a 6-fight win streak as his best. His longest losing streak has been 4-fights in a row but he’s been better than Murhaa during is recent battles. He’s an even three and three over his last six fights so he’s holding steady with his overall average, basically, and though he wants to be better than average, it’s still a better recent run that Murhaa has been able to amass, and that’s very good news for Gallagher! He obviously does not want to have this fight go to the ground where Murhaa can use his large weight advantage to tire Gallagher out by laying that weight on him while forcing him to defend himself on the ground, so sticking-and-moving is the best approach for Gallagher to utilize the height advantage

he has plus exploit his better standup skills! Gallagher wins this fight by knockout!

 

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

 

Xavier: Up next we’ll see Hugh Honey versus Anti Half Assed!

Styles: I’ve already gone in on Anti Half Assed’s name before, so I’ll let that go tonight.

Xavier: That’s rather magnanimous of you.

Styles: Yes…yes, it is, isn’t it?

Xavier: Your humility is overwhelming. Hugh Honey brings an outstanding 22-5 overall record, and this member of YABAI from Philadelphia is obviously very happy with his achievements! His mouth is usually agape and his eyes as wide as saucers with excitement but hell, with a record like that, he can be blatantly jovial!

Styles: I guarantee you that’s how you look each and every time you actually get some play from the ladies!

Xavier: I do just fine with getting play, as you phrase it, thank you very much!

Styles: How much play do you get without having to give your credit card number?

Xavier: Shut the hell up! Anyway, Hugh Honey is a well-rounded fighter with Golden Gloves boxing skills, excellent muay thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt in BJJ to boot! He’s currently with his second management team, but for him, being with his current team has absolutely been the best decision he’s made! With his previous management, he strung together a win streak of 5-fights in a row but fell short with his title opportunity against Roy Jones at KOFC 80 – New Year’s Nightmare! He also suffered a 2-fight losing streak with that same management team. With his current team, not only has he put together a very impressive 10-fight winning streak, but he has also become a champion! He earned that distinction by defeating Nomor Gai by unanimous decision at BCS 14 and has successfully defending that title twice afterwards! Now he tests his skills and luck against Half Assed and he’ll definitely have quite the introduction to ICS! He’s the lighter of the two fighters so I expect him to try and use that speed to land precision strikes against Assed and wear him down over the course of the fight before going for the knockout! If Honey is having difficulty getting to Assed’s chin then he can try and lock him in a clinch and wear him down with body strikes and timely strikes to the head until he can land the one shot he needs to win by knockout!

Styles: We have yet another inter-alliance fight on our hands, X! This is going to be awesome because the members of YABAI will have their chance to see what each of these men are made of and you better believe the winning is going to run their mouth for at least a day! Honey having to fight an alliance mate for his first fight in ICS is just freakin’ awesome! Talk about motivation and opportunity! Getting into the cage against the enigmatic Assed, who hails from Bay Pines, is definitely going to be a fight he never forgets! He’s six years younger though honestly, it’s difficult to tell because of all the hair on his face, but that’s the truth of the matter. Assed isn’t technically as skilled in the standup as Honey is, at least from what we’ve seen, but he can definitely balance the scale by utilizing his black belt in BJJ as quickly and often as possible! He doesn’t have much of a weight advantage over Honey, but he does have an advantage, and making this fight stay on the ground is the name of the game for Assed in this fight. This is Assed’s second management team, but he’s been with his current team long enough to know what the approach is to this fight and why. Assed has never had an opportunity to win a championship up to this point in his career so he’s obviously looking to assert himself as a contender in the very near future. A 6-fight win streak has been his longest while he’s dropped 2-fights in a row. Over his last six fights, he’s won four of them and has a 2-fight winning streak heading into this contest, so the timing for him is very good! He’s confident, capable and in my estimation, will be able to get this fight to the ground where he has a far better chance of securing the victory. Assed wins this inter-alliance battle by forcing Honey to tap out!

 

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

 

Styles: Buddy Barnett versus Charles Hawtry bring the heat and the smoke into the cage next!

Xavier: Bring the smoke?

Styles: Yeah, that’s a thing, now!

Xavier: Learn something new every day.

Styles: I’m here to educate you, X! I’m glad you’re learning something! Barnett hails from St. Louis, Missouri, and represents the LEGION OF DOOM, an alliance that will be quite busy tonight! This 27-year-old brawler has made it clear he prefers the grappling and BJJ aspects of combat where he can best use his outstanding grappling skills supported y a black belt! Currently with his second management team, he won a championship with his first team so when he separated from them, it caught many people by surprise because he achieved very good success early in his career! Despite beginning his career with a 5-fight winning streak, his longest to date I might add, his initial management team decided to part ways. Enter his new team and while he’s obviously had success, he hasn’t won a championship with this team up to this point. His only opportunity lately was against Alessandro Orsini at TR5: ORSINI VS. BARNETT where he lost by unanimous decision! Over his past six fights he’s an even three and three, and he’s obviously looking to build off of the momentum of his most recent victory over Derek Wylde at TF13: BOAGRIUS VS. KEMP by split decision! As expected, there were many mixed reviews of that fight with people saying one or the other one so I’m certain they’ll cross paths again in the near future. Having his first taste in ICS come in the form of Hawtry will certainly be a fight he long remembers! Shorter and lighter than Hawtry, I expect Barnett to use stick-and-move tactics to try and get this fight to the ground as soon as possible, because the longer this fight stays in the standup, the worse the chances for Barnett to win this fight! Expect Barnett to use his youthful energy and aggression to make this a grappling battle where he wins by tapout!

Xavier: “Superfly” Hawtry brings a 19-14-1 record into this fight, and the Warsaw, Poland product who represents UnderGround Fights Enterprise has proven to be a solid all-around competitor! Golden Gloves boxing, very good muay thai, outstanding grappling and a brown belt are what he brings into this fight in terms of technicalities. Since Barnett has an overall record of 16-7-1, Hawtry has more combat experience and will need to rely on that experience against the younger Barnett! Hawtry is with his second management team and, unfortunately, has struggled to capture championship gold when presented the opportunity. Twice, now, he’s had a chance to become a champion, the first against Wutang Lee and the second against Cole Orion. He lost by unanimous decision and TKO, respectively, and has scrambled to find that fighting form so he can recapture yet another opportunity to become a champion! A 5-fight win streak has been his best while a 3-fight losing streak has been his worst to date. Lately, however, he’s been fighting quite well, winning four out of six fights so his confidence is peaking at the right time! One concern about Hawtry is the number of times he’s lost by KO and TKO! Don’t get it wrong, he has done his fair share of damage to other fighters and has knocked out eight opponents so he can definitely rock Barnett’s jaw if the opportunity is there! Barnett is certainly aware of that fact, but he may also feel he can score a knockout over Hawtry due to the past injuries he’s sustained. Although Hawtry appears to have similar abilities on the ground as Barnett, his best bet is to keep this fight vertical where he can land timely power strikes and eventually wear Barnett down to score the knockout!

 

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

 

Xavier: The next two warriors we’ll see in the cage will be Jeremy Jones and Stephan Letter! Jones brings in a very respectable 15-5 overall record into this fight, and the tattooed warrior from London represents The Stepdads! While earning that impressive overall record, he has shown to be a very well-balanced fighter who can get the job done under any circumstances! Golden Gloves boxing, outstanding muay thai, fantastic grappling and a brown belt complete the skills he brings into the cage! This champion has fought his way to a career best 6-fights in a row while he’s dropped 2-fights in a row! He captured his first championship by defeating Lighty LightHeavyweight, a rather unusual name, I must say, by kicking his head like a soccer ball 1:41 seconds into the first round! Over the course off his career, he has knocked out a good number of his opponents so Letter will have to keep his chin down and head moving because it only takes that one brutal blast of a strike and Jones can turn out Letter’s lights before he knows what hit him! Jones had recently lost to Scotty Bapp by unanimous decision but overcame that loss with an impressive first-round victory over Mohsin Zaidi at ICS 15! Although a bit shorter and lighter than Letter, I don’t think that’ll deter Jones from standing toe-to-toe against Letter. Jones is two years younger than Letter and he’s going to have to use aggressive energy with solid accuracy if he’s going to test the chin of Letter early and often! Jones may even opt to use speed and agility to score early points in this fight and force Letter to step up his level of aggression which will enable Jones to land the counterattacking knockout blow!

Styles: Letter has the height and weight advantage in this fight, X, and I expect this man and his many world class skills to fully utilize those advantages! Representing the FinnFighters and his hometown of Herdecke, Germany, Letter brings a 20-12 record into this fight, definitely a respectable record. He’s only had his current management team in his career and that, along with his skills and will, of course, helped him earn a championship when he defeated Tank Ispa at NJMMA #56 by TKO in the fourth round of a grueling battle! Similar to Jones, Letter can rely on championship experience if he finds himself in trouble, and that could very well be the case because over his past six fights, he’s an even three and three, which, overall, obviously isn’t bad, but the fact he’s lost his last three fights in a row is troublesome! Add in the fact that’s his longest losing streak of his career and the timing of this fight could be much better. Still, the dynamite blasts he’s proven to have in his hands and feet can end any fight at the snap of a finger! There’s no question that while he’s unfurled a great deal of damage to competitors over his career, he’s also sustained a great deal of damage, so he, too, will have to keep his chin tucked and his head moving because he doesn’t want to see if Jones still has enough pop in his strikes to level him! Letter could utilize a clinch if he finds himself losing control of the match to control the pace and space while landing damaging blows up close and personal! Letter knows how to use his height advantage in this fight, and the fact he probably style has plenty of power in his strikes gives him the nod to win this fight by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Letter by KO; Xavier – Jones by KO

 

Styles: Brak Maugon versus Eddie Gelfen Keep the action rollin’ in the cage! “Souleater” Maugon is a tremendous 26-9 overall and represents YABAI! Hailing from Kamu, Liechtenstein, say that fast three times in a row, he’s world class in the standup portion of combat, has Olympic-level grappling and has earned a brown belt as well! Currently with his third management ream, it was with his previous management team that he became a champion! That distinction was earned when he defeated Quetzal Montezuma at CEC 651 by unanimous decision! As expected in the “big boy league” as many have labeled the Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight divisions, Maugon has unleashed a great deal of pain, damage and suffering but has also endured a great deal of pain, damage and suffering! To be frank, however, it’s a shock if a fighter in either of those divisions isn’t physically devastated throughout his career! Fight after fight they’re hitting one another with extremely powerful, impactful and crushing strikes! Even those who’ve opted to focus more on grappling sustain damage at times before getting the fight to the ground unless they have a willing participant, so to speak, who likewise chooses to test their luck on the ground. Mougon is all about the high-impact striking and has shown his willingness to stand toe-to-toe with some of the most hard-hitting men in the business to test both of their abilities to withstand such overwhelming brutality! A 7-fight win streak has been his best so far while losing 3-fights in a row has been his worst. This battle will be his first foray into the Inferno Combat Series, so he’ll have one hell of a welcome in the form of Eddie Gelfen! Mougon has won his last 2-fights in a row so momentum and confidence are on his side, and the timing of that is great because he’s going to need both of those! Maugon wins his ICS debut by knockout!

Xavier: “Donkylips” Gelfen, which I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing to be nicknamed
Donkeylips”, steps into this fight with a 25-18 overall record! Hailing from Anawanna, Amity, which is apparently known as a camping ground for the Boy Scouts of America, is also a highly skilled warrior! He, too, is world class on his feet, outstanding in the grappling aspect and has earned a black belt! Needless to say, he’s very comfortable in any given situation, especially with 43 fights to his credit. He does have a bit of an edge in combat experience over Maugon but I don’t think that’s much of an advantage due to the amount of devastation that both of these man can release in a moments’ notice! Representing Hitokiri-13, Gelfen has remained with one management team in his career and overall, that consistency has paid off. Surprisingly, however, he’s never won a championship! Part of that is obviously due to bad luck and timing because when he had the four opportunities throughout his career, he ran into buzz saws and lost each championship opportunity by KO or TKO! That’s how it is in the most difficult and arduous divisions, ladies and gentlemen! World class athletes and highly trained warriors get knocked out in the first round very often. That’s an indication of what each of these men face each and every time they step into that cage. To his credit, Gelfen has never lost due to bleeding out too heavily so that’s definitely something to be proud of! Gelfen is the taller and heavier man in this fight so I’m not certain if he would try to take this fight to the ground where he does have a leg up on Maugon, at least on paper, in BJJ, but being the taller man actually works against him. I fully expect him to test Maugon’s chin with his tremendous striking power and basically see who can tolerate the most damage before falling! Gelfen wins this nasty brawl by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Gelfen by KO; Styles – Maugon by KO

 

Xavier: Brandon Marsden Jr. versus Roderick Turnbull is the penultimate battle of the evening! “Bad Boy” Marsden Jr. is an incredible 12-1 overall! The Elite Punishment Inc. representative from Stockton, yes, that Stockton in California, is definitely a bad boy in the standup aspect of combat! Golden Gloves boxing and word class muay thai are his calling card though his grappling and BJJ can’t be overlooked either! Prior to finally losing his first battle when he was knocked out by Nick Graves in the first round, Marsden Jr. was putting a major hurt on a hell of a lot of people! A 12-fight win streak is a superior achievement and, to no surprise, he’s also a champion, earning that achievement when he defeated Gideon Navarro at ICS 5 by unanimous decision. Marsden Jr. began his career by knockout out four of his first five opponents and has won his other fights by unanimous decision, so he has no qualms about fighting the attrition contest. Obviously, he wants to knock opponents out as quickly as possible, but as the capabilities of his opponents increase, his ability to drop them coldly decreases. Still, he has the ability to win by knockout so Turnbull can’t brush aside that potential situation at all. I think Marsden Jr. avenges his most recent loss by knocking out Turnbull!

Styles: Though shorter and lighter, “Righ” Turnbull from Edinburgh, Scotland, and we all know those Scots have a temper, just look at Drew McIntyre in the WWE, Turnbull likewise brings an outstanding standup game! Unfortunately for Marsden Jr., from what Turnbull has shown, his grappling is far better than Marsden Jr.’s, and that will prove to be in issue if Turnbull gets in close enough to Marsden Jr. to lock him into a clinch! Worst yet, at least for Marsden Jr., is if Turnbull takes this fight to the ground then the grappling, along with his brown belt, will be heavily exploited and Marsden Jr. will be in a world of hurt! At 24-8-1, I don’t think Turnbull will have any trepidation about fighting toe-to-toe against Marsden Jr. and various member of the Keyboard Warriors have said the same. I obviously expect Turnbull to get this fight horizontal as soon as possible where he has a major advantage, at least in my eyes, and can dictate the pace and space of this fight plus make Marsden Jr. expend a hell of a lot of energy by simply defending himself against the numerous potential submission holds he’ll have to avoid from Turnbull! Like his opponent, Turnbull is also a champion and he propelled himself into that realm by defeating Peter Barnkvist by unanimous decision at AFC #36! What’s odd to me is Turnbull won his MMA debut with his first management team, but they still decided to move on. Immediately after that decision, he won another eight fights in a row to establish a 9-fight winning streak! I’d say that’s one hell of a start to an MMA career! Not known as a knockout artist, Turnbull has figured out ways to win the long-haul battles and I fully expect him to try and win this fight by way of ground-and-pound! Additionally, getting this fight on the ground will keep his chin from being exposed to Marsden Jr.’s power and that works out very well for Turnbull. Turnbull wins by TKO!

 

PREDICTIONS: Styles – Turnbull by TKO; Xavier – Marsden Jr. by KO

 

Styles: And we’ve now reached the main event of the night with the Light Heavyweight championship on the line as Akoni Gray and Harold Nicolas throw down! The man, myth and legend known as the “King of Kingston” steps into this title defense as the #3 Light Heavyweight in the world as well as the #9 pound-for-pound fighter in the world! Needless to say, The Stepdads are damn proud of this man, and they should be, and you know the people of Kingston, Jamaica, hold Gray in very high regard! The 37-year-old just doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down, an incredible achievement in and of itself because he’s 42-5-1 overall, and that is a crapload of fights, ladies and gentlemen! He’s seen it all and has done it all, and the bottom line is Nicolas is going to have to dig deeper than he ever has to dethrone this multi-title holding fighting machine! Though he’s with his second management team, he became a champion with his first team by defeating Rich Piana via Superman Punch at StrikeForce Union #33! Not long after that, he moved on from that management team and his current team must have thanked the MMA gods for being able to sign this man to their team because he’s been absolutely legendary! An unbelievable 15-fight win streak has been his longest and there are many fighters who would be very happy just winning fifteen total fights! A champion in multiple organizations simultaneously speaks volumes about this man’s achievements and capabilities and the accolades just continue to build! This future Hall of Famer has only been knocked out once and that was in his very first fight! That’s mystifying, really, but also a nod to his dedication to training and defending himself! Speed, power, agility, will, and intelligence, the man has it all, bottom line, end of story. The champion continues his incredible roll in MMA by knocking Nicolas out!

Xavier: Nicolas knows what he faces tonight, and he knows what unreal opportunity this is for him! As expected, he’s world class in boxing, outstanding in muay thai and excellent in the grappling aspect of combat. He does have a purple belt, but in this fight, he has to say to hell with grappling and BJJ and just go for broke because it’s not often men face warriors of Gray’s magnitude, let alone have the ability to dethrone them! Nicolas is 30-14 overall, and the Englishman from London is obviously hoping that his current management team, his fourth overall, can help him figure out the formula to overcome the conundrum of defeating Gray! Nicolas is a past champion so he does have that experience but against Gray, suffice it to say, that experience is minimized so Nicolas is going to have to use intelligence, will and sheer desire to overcome the odds. An 8-fight win streak has been his best and while that is excellent, it’s just not overwhelming like Gray’s but Nicolas could definitely use that as motivation! He’s recently turned up his intensity and has knocked out a good number of opponents recently and overall, and that’s what he’s going to have to rely upon tonight against Gray! He’ll have to figure out a way to make Gray expose his chin, obviously no easy task, so he can try and land various devastating strikes in an attempt to wear the champion down enough to go for the knockout! In a nutshell, Nicolas is going to have to bring it like he never has because if he misses any window of opportunity to hit Gray with speed and power then he’s going to have one hell of a time tonight. I think Nicolas can shock the entire MMA world by scoring a knockout tonight, but to achieve that, it’s going to take everything he has! Nicolas does the impossible and wins this fight by knockout!

 

PREDICTIONS: Xavier – Nicolas by KO; Styles – Kingston by KO

 

Xavier: That’s a wrap, ladies and gentlemen, and as always, Styles and I are very grateful for your time and energy as we’ve done our best to provide you entertaining insight into the fights you’ll be seeing tonight!

Styles: We definitely want to thank our merchandise partner, Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing! Not only is that an awesome name but you have to see some of the designs they have on their clothing! Simply cool as hell! Thank you folks for your energy and focus, we do truly appreciate it, and as always, we’ll see you at the fights!

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