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 Fight Night 5 Preview
Fight Night 5 is quickly approaching for Steel Penn Fighting Temple in London being brought to you from Hayashi’s Lounge. Our main event will see two STFP debutants as Lee Staton takes on Jack Calypso in the Heavyweight division. The co main event will also feature two sluggers in the Heavyweight division with Tom Hart squaring off against Steve Placentino as both fighters entering the cage for the second time with STFP looking to build on impressive debuts for the organization where they came away with a win. This action, plus 8 more exciting fights on the undercard, will be going down on Tuesday, February 19th.
MIDDLEWEIGHT: Rayder vs Balboa
Mance Rayder (0-2, 20) takes on Rocky “Italian Stallion” Balboa (1-0, 25) in our first matchup of the night. Rayder last fought on Fight Night 3, losing his second professional fight by way of submission in the first round to Steve Grey. Balboa also last fought on Fight Night 3 but fared better with a KO win just 19 seconds into his fight against Will Solomon. The fighters are fairly even on their feet, with Rayder having an arsenal of kicks at his disposal but looks to be outmatched in the boxing department, though if this fight goes to the ground Balboa has a slight advantage due to his BJJ skills but Rayder is a somewhat accomplished wrestler in his own right. Balboa should be the favorite here, however if Rayder can get the fight to the clinch and effectively utilize his superior Muay Thai he may be able to steal a win.
MIDDLEWEIGHT: Grey vs LaRoChE
The second fight of the night is another Middleweight tilt between Steve “Monochrome” Grey (2-0, 25) and “GhoSt” RoCkY LaRoChE (0-0, 25). Grey has won both of his professional fights via submission in the first round and looks to continue the streak against another ground fighter making this a very interesting matchup. LaRoChE makes his professional debut, stating the reason for his attempt at an MMA career is a result of pent up rage that has accumulated through his childhood all from a nurse who was drinking on the job and in her inebriated state thought it would be funny to enter his name into the computer using caps every other letter.
HEAVYWEIGHT: Haggen vs Harry
Third on the card is our first Heavyweight bout of the night as “The Pimp” Chris Haggen (3-3, 18) faces off against Ari “Flash” Harry (2-4, 18). Both youngsters started their careers early and have seen the inside of the cage more than most their age. This fight is a rematch from eM 135: King’s Crown where Harry won by armbar early in the first round. Haggen claimed that he was battling an illness heading into the fight and that healthy he is the much better fighter and now he will get the chance to back up his words, with Harry gladly obliging to a rematch looking to erase any doubt from their first match.
LIGHTWEIGHT: Hernandez vs Hendricks
“Chicharito” Javier Hernandez (3-6, 21) is up against “Thunder” Ashley Hendricks (0-0, 20) in the Lightweight division for our fourth fight. After a dismal four fight losing streak, Hernandez made the most of his debut on the big stage forcing Shannon Khoury to tap out due to an armbar with just seconds left in the first round, picking up a bonus for Submission of the Night in Fight Night 2. Hendricks, the larger fighter by 10 lbs, had an impressive stint on the amateur circuit and caught the attention of SPFT with his skills on the ground, leading to a contract and his first professional fight. He’ll have his work cut out for him against a superior stand up fighter who also outranks him in BJJ by two belt levels, though he does have an impressive wrestling background that he’ll need to take advantage of in order to come away with his first professional win.
LIGHTWEIGHT: Gracie vs Einemo
The fight marking the halfway point of the event features Relion Gracie (3-3, 20) in a Lightweight bout against Arild Einemo (2-1, 18). Both fighters have fought twice with SPFT and have recorded 1 win and 1 loss in that period. Like anyone that shares his last name should, Gracie has a distinct advantage on the ground but will have to avoid the superior striking of Einemo to get the desired result. Gracie’s three wins have come by submission and his three losses have come by decision and Einemo’s two wins were by decision with his lone loss coming by submission, leading one to believe that if Einemo can make it the distance without being submitted he stands a good chance. That’s a tall task, however, against a Gracie.
MIDDLEWEIGHT: Eiisss vs LaCroix
The sixth fight of the night returns to the Middleweight division as Alex “Orange” Eiisss (5-2, 25) battles it out against Lestat “Moonlight” LaCroix (1-0, 20). Eiisss, making his SPFT debut, accumulated five wins with 4 by submission in his professional career to date making this another fight that will most likely go to the canvas early. LaCroix, who beat Kamen Trifonov by guillotine in Fight Night 2, holds a higher BJJ rank and looks to be slightly Eiisss’ better in the standup game. The one thing factoring in to Eiisss’ advantage is his experience which could lead him to victory despite being seemingly outgunned in all aspects of the fight.
LIGHTWEIGHT: Gaines vs Wes
“Hillbilly” Earl Gaines (0-0, 25) collides with Sean Wes (0-1, 25) in a Lightweight match that features two fighters making their SPFT debuts. Gaines is a scrappy farm boy who did well on the amateur circuit, showing that tossing hay bales can be just as effective as joining a gym. He’ll face his toughest challenge yet for his first professional fight in Wes, who is a well rounded fighter and has a pro fight already under his belt.
LIGHTWEIGHT: Reaper vs Bling
In the final undercard bout Grim “Death” Reaper (2-1, 25) returns to the cage against Sting Bling (3-0, 25) in the Lightweight division. Both fighters will be jostling for position in the Lightweight division and looking for an impressive win to launch them into potential contention for the title. Reaper’s only loss so far came against former Lightweight champion Jon Snow in a title fight, but is coming off an impressive head kick KO over Laz Staz in FN 4 that earned him KO of the Night honors. Bling is looking to make a statement in the division and pick up a win to stay undefeated and is also coming off a head kick KO victory over Nate Sullivan in FN 3.
Co-Main Event, HEAVYWEIGHT: Hart vs Placentino
Tom “The Killer” Hart (4-1, 25) squares off against “FatMan” Steve Placentino (4-1, 25) in a remarkably even matchup in our Heavyweight division. Other than a bit of a height and weight advantage for Hart, these fighters are identical in every aspect. They both have a 4-1 record and amazingly both have 3 wins by (T)KO and 1 by decision, with both of their losses coming by way of submission. This fight promises to have all the action the fans crave as both fighters will look to stand and bang in search of another KO victory. With even their age being equal it will most likely be whoever comes in with the best game plan coming out on top.
Main Event, HEAVYWEIGHT: Staton vs Calypso
In your main event of the evening, Lee “Mr. Wonderful Decision” Staton (17-7, 25) goes to war with “Tap, Nap, or Snap” Jack Calypso (11-6, 31). Throughout his career Staton’s strategy has been to go the distance in fights, racking up points with the judges to score a decision victory. Of his 24 fights, 17 of them have gone to decision with 12 being wins. Lately, however, he has started to become more aggressive with 4 (T)KO’s in his last 5 victories. Will he look to continue that trend or will he revert back to fighting for a decision in such an important match?
Calypso has taken a different approach to his career: the two-time Olympic gold medalist has racked up 10 finishes in his 11 wins and only 2 of his 17 total fights have gone the distance. The giant of a man has used his size and weight advantage to win multiple honors outside of MMA, with his previously mentioned Olympic gold medals won with the USA Olympic wrestling team and is one of the few men to be crowned an ADCC champion.
Will Staton be able to keep the fight standing and fight his way to a victory, or will Calypso be able to drag him to his world and finish the fight early? There’s only one way to find out...so get your tickets NOW!
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