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 Welcome to the Hard Knocks Arena in New York City for tonight’s 10 fight MMA card on SPNY 127. Tonight will feature the 5th Welterweight title defence for Tomi Atomi up against a man he beat in a non title fight back at SPNY 98, Ronaldo Silva. My pick on the undercard will be highly rated Welterweight contender Julio Madrigal against Alysian Karalis. If you fancy a bet on tonight’s fights head on over to Steel Penn NY Bookmakers who are offering odds on every fight.
Main Event: Welterweight Title
Tomi Atomi (c) 22-5-1 (7-0-1 SPNY) vs Ronaldo Silva 23-10 (2-1 SPNY)
Atomi’s career has reached another level once he arrived at SPNY, with his 8 fights yet to finish in defeat coupled with 4 fight of the night and one submission of the night award thrown in. While Atomi is best known for his wrestling and submissions, he is also an accomplished stand up fighter with good technique in both boxing and kick boxing; in their last meeting Atomi successfully kept the fight standing for long periods and used Silva’s poor kickboxing to dominate the scorecards with his kicks.
Silva is an exceptional boxer who is capable of knocking out his opponents if they fight him standing up, and a brilliant grappler who specialises in submissions if he is taken down. Given the struggle he had standing against Atomi in their first meeting I expect Silva to try to take this one down early as he was much more competitive with Atomi on the ground.
This fight to me is Atomi’s all over, in their first meeting Silva’s usual game plan did not work for him at all, and I can’t see any great difference in his skills coming into tonight. Atomi by decision.
2: Light Heavyweight
Joey Rodinerio Bravo 20-13-1 (1-1 SPNY) vs Richie McCaw 14-11 (3-1 SPNY)
In a match up between pure grapplers we see Bravo against the recently defeated Light Heavyweight title challenger McCaw. Bravo is the sort of fighter who won’t throw a punch and just shoot for the takedown, not to throw strikes on the ground just to look for submissions; he has managed to turn that into a winning strategy more times than not, but it has led to numerous knockout defeats against the better strikers. Tonight he shouldn’t have that problem as McCaw too prefers to fight on the ground.
McCaw put together 4 straight wins to earn a title shot only to have Toby Le Rone dominate him in the clinch before being knocked out in the 4th round. Tonight’s fight should be more to his liking with a grappling battle on its way. McCaw definitely has the more versatile grappling game mixing strikes into his submission attempts, whether it is the more successful tonight is yet to be seen.
I like McCaw for this one, I feel his ability to transition between positions on the ground and his ground and pound should be the difference. McCaw by knockout.
3: Welterweight
Alysian Karalis 18-17 (2-2 SPNY) vs Julio Madrigal 17-7-1 (5-1 SPNY)
Despite Karalis’ well rounded technique he has failed to dominate across his career. Capable of knockout victories on his feet and submission wins on the ground, he has lost a lot of decisions over the course of his career, primarily due to relying on a finish to win a fight and being the less active fighter. Tonight his best chance of victory is to keep the fight standing against one of SPNY’s top grapplers, with Karalis having the biggest edge in a clinch.
Madrigal will be hoping a win here might see him installed as the No. 1 contender to get a rematch against Atomi. Madrigal has been one of the best grapplers in SPNY since joining and to date his only loss has come in his unsuccessful title challenge. If Madrigal can get into the top position tonight I expect him to complete dominate Karalis.
This fight has Madrigal by knockout all over it for me.
4: Light Heavyweight
Bobby Tupperill 21-20 (1-0 SPNY) vs Clay Wilkinson 17-8-1 (7-5 SPNY)
With 41 career fights it’s not much to brag about if you can say you’ve seen Bobby Tupperill fight once, but I have a mate who can brag that he’s seen Tupperill throw a punch on his feet once, and that’s something I can’t claim personally. While some fighters are best known for their submission skills, I don’t honestly know if Tupperill’s offence contains any others, armbars and kimuras are his specialty and if he gets tonight’s fight to the ground don’t be surprised if one comes up. Wilkinson is a Muay Thai and jujitsu fighter, and tonight his clinch skills could very easily prove the difference, with Tupperill looking exceedingly vulnerable in the clinch in the previous fights of his I have seen.
Wilkinson to dominate this on in the clinch and come away with the knockout win.
5: Light Heavyweight
Jason Krutcher 28-15 (2-3 SPNY) vs Austin Anderson 9-4 (3-1 SPNY)
Krutcher is a world class boxer and kick boxer but is coming to the end of what was once a very distinguished career, having once had the record 20-3. Anderson is on the up with high level skills in both boxing and wrestling. Tonight could be interesting as I don’t know that Anderson’s striking defence will hold up against the low kicks and clinch work of Krutcher, so I suspect Anderson will have to look for the takedown to really be a chance of winning. Having said that, Krutcher is a slippery customer on the ground and Anderson wouldn’t have it all his way there either.
This fight is Krutcher’s to lose, he has the skills to win it but his recent form suggests Anderson is the likely winner. I like Krutcher by KO, but I woulnd’t be betting the house on it.
6: Welterweight
Arturro Affi 14-5-1 (1-0 SPNY) vs Teddy Westside 7-4 (4-3 SPNY)
The contrast in the preparations of these two fighters couldn’t be more defined, Affi trains with some of the best coaching staff London has to offer, while Westside isn’t training at all. Affi fights mainly as a boxer and kick boxer, which should put him at a disadvantage against a world class Muay Thai expert like Westside, however, Westside’s lack of application may negate any advantage he would have taken into the fight. Also worth noting is that Westside has not accepted his contract extension with SPNY, so this might be the last time we see him fight.
Affi by KO.
7: Featherweight
Thelonious Skunk 3-1 (3-1 SPNY) vs Simon GM 2-1 (2-1 SPNY)
Skunk was the first ever Featherweight champion at SPNY but lost the title at his first defence. Still regarded as one of the top prospects in this division he attempts to work his way back into title contention tonight. GM has shown good knockout power on his feet, but looks helpless if taken to ground. The challenge for Skunk tonight is to hold out on his feet until he gets the takedown, and for GM to get the knockout before he is taken down.
I like Skunk by decision.
8: Lightweight
Kazna Futzchag 9-15 (0-3 SPNY) vs Georgio Socrates 2-0 (SPNY Debut)
Futzchag has failed to be competitive since joining SPNY and for this his last fight with SPNY rising star Socrates has been brought in as a one off opponent. Futzchag is a competent grappler with a solid chin, but has almost no defensive abilities on his feet which leads to him losing most of his fights by decision. Against Socrates that won’t be an issue, with Socrates being a submission grappler who shoots for takedowns early rather than stand and bang, so this should be a good farewell for Futzchag.
I like Socrates to continue building a name for himself with a submission win tonight.
9: Featherweight
Jerrametreus Johnson 0-2 (SPNY Debut) vs Moe Biscapoe 1-0 (1-0 SPNY)
Johnson joins SPNY as a kick boxer who has yet to convert his foundation into a true MMA skill set, while Biscapoe managed to win an all grappling contest in his debut without truly looking impressive. Should Johnson keep this fight standing, Biscapoe has almost no striking skills which should leave Johnson with an easy win. Having said that Johnson was almost non existent on the ground when he was taken down in his earlier fights, so Biscapoe should have an easy win on the ground.
Biscapoe by submission.
10: Featherweight
Lorenzo Dusante 0-1 (SPNY Debut) vs Dutch McQueen 0-1 (0-1 SPNY)
In his professional debut Dusante fought with a lot of heart but lacked the skill to win against a well drilled opponent. Whilst his preparation coming into this one seems poor, my sources say he isn’t in proper condition for the fight; I was more impressed with his debut than that of McQueen. Those of you who saw McQueen debut at SPNY 121 should have been impressed by his defensive skills, but comically for someone with the boxing talents he does possess, it appeared he forgot that he has to punch his opponent to win a fight throwing just 8 punches across the 15 minutes. His strategy will need to be very different if he is to win tonight.
I like the skills and preparation of McQueen much better, let’s hope he has adjusted his fight plan to include offence as well as defence tonight and he should take this one with a decision.
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