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 Good evening and welcome to the Liberty Dome here in downtown New York City for tonight’s SPNY main event matching recent Light Heavyweight challenger Haloti Gnata up against the impressive veteran Belin Billet. Gnata will be looking for a win to re-establish himself as the leading contender at 205 while Billet is looking to secure a third consecutive win for the first time in his last 12 fights. Tonight’s undercard features the first Featherweight Title defence of Malakai Semerkhet against Simon GM.
Main Event: Light Heavyweight
Haloti Gnata 17-6 (14-6 SPNY) vs Belin Billet 32-22-2 (4-2 SPNY)
Gnata comes into this fight fresh from his unsuccessful title challenge against Toby Le Rone in which he was TKO’d in the 3rd. I was a little surprised to see him accept this match up given that he was badly injured during that fight and I will be surprised if he enters the cage tonight at 100% fitness tonight. Gnata is a heavy hitting boxer with some wrestling skills if he is taken down but never looks to take the fight to ground himself. Tonight he will want to avoid ground situations totally against a fighter like Billet who has so many submission wins.
Billet at 37 is still one of the better Light Heavyweight fighters in SPNY, consistency has been a major problem in recent fights but in terms of skill he remains in the top echelon. Tonight expect his versatility to come to the fore against Gnata, if Billet can take this fight into the clinch or to ground he stands to have a large advantage. Most impressive about Billet is that he has only been stopped in 6 of his 56 career fights.
Gnata is still under an injury cloud and Billet is at his most confident in a long time, I see Billet finishing this one within the distance.
2: Light Heavyweight
Zachery Rey 27-14-1 (6-4 SPNY) vs Jarred Rose 15-7 (3-2 SPNY)
Rey is one of the best Muay Thai specialists in SPNY but lacks the jujitsu skills of a top level fighter. Tonight he will need to ensure he does not let himself be taken down by BJJ black belt Rose. Striking at distance or fighting in the clinch Rey will have a significant advantage tonight, but he is 15lbs lighter and will not want to be caught on his back and controlled. The biggest issue for Rey will be trying to find the knockout to finish the fight, Rose has a very good chin and Rey isn’t known for his finishes with just 16 KO’s from 27 wins.
Rose is more versatile than a pure submission grappler but will see his submissions as his best chance to win tonight’s fight. Black belt vs blue belt in BJJ suggests that as long as Rose can get a takedown he will be able to use his superior jujitsu to transition into a dominant position from where he can either work his ground & pound or look for a submission hold.
This one should be a win for Rose by submission.
3: Heavyweight
Jon Snow 14-8 (SPNY Debut) vs Jacob Ford 18-15 (1-2 SPNY)
Montreal based new boy Snow arrives at SPNY with 4 wins from his last 5 outings and a reputation as a solid submission grappler. In the stand up he is known for his leg kicks and powerful takedowns but lacking any offensive abilities in the clinch. To test his abilities to step up at the bigger stage boxer Jacob Ford has been selected as his first opponent. Ford’s career would probably have gone a lot further but for his tendency to cut, 6 TKO losses on doctors stoppages from cuts have truly prevented his from achieving the heights he otherwise may have. I expect his to clinch Snow and attempt to dirty box his way to a win tonight.
Snow to take Ford down and work his ground & pound for a TKO win.
4: Light Heavyweight
Jason Gambit 14-12 (1-3 SPNY) vs Antero Rokka 9-5 (SPNY Debut)
Gambit is a boxer and wrestler who has found the step up to the quality of opponent at SPNY difficult; tonight he is hoping to provide a similar experience to debutant Rokka. From all reports Rokka is a quality boxer and kick boxer who does not have a strong ground game. Should this one stay standing the offensive versatility of Rokka will probably prove key although Gambits 2 inch reach advantage will limit this. However, a Gambit takedown followed up by some ground & pound would probably be sufficient to set him up for a submission finish.
Gambit by submission.
5: Middleweight
Bon Joy 20-7-1 (1-0-1 SPNY) vs Jason Stern 20-9 (SPNY Debut)
The pretty boy of SPNY Bon Joy will match his Muay Thai talent against former Olympic wrestler and professional boxer Jason Stern. When Stern turned to MMA after a successful college wrestling career culminated in an Olympic appearance for the USA and a few professional boxing bouts he was touted to be the next big thing, 11 straight wins followed before a rocky patch of 3 changes in management and training camps led to a 9-9 record since then. Joy has punctuated his MMA career with occasional kick boxing bouts will look to use his 3 inch reach advantage and long legs to keep Stern at range, should the fight stay standing Joy is a real chance at winning but Stern would be expected to dominate on the ground.
Stern by KO.
6: Heavyweight
Andy Chick 8-2 (2-1 SPNY) vs Mamoru Takamura 6-7 (1-1 SPNY)
Despite lacking knockout power English-born kick boxer Chick remains one of SPNY’s hottest young prospects. Takamura is a boxer who swings hard but lacks the versatility and refinement of technique needed to truly compete at the top level. Tonight will be a good test of the chin of Andy Chick, but a comprehensive decision victory to him is the expected outcome.
Chick by decision.
7: Welterweight
Yusuke Urameshi 10-7 (SPNY Debut) vs Tony Hendricks 13-12-2 (7-5-2 SPNY)
Newcomer Urameshi is a kickboxing knockout specialist and tonight will be matched against submission specialist Hendricks. This will be Urameshi’s first fight in quite some time having parted company with his old training camp and relocated to New York from his St Petersburg base. He has a substantial 10lbs weight advantage and very dangerous head kicks to watch out for. Hendricks will look for the takedown early rather than risk striking with Urameshi, and once down will work the ground & pound and submission attempts we know him for; Urameshi apparently has very good defensive technique on the ground which should make this interesting.
I like Hendricks by decision for this one.
8: Featherweight Title
Malakai Semerkhet (c) 4-1 (4-1 SPNY) vs Simon GM 3-1 (3-1 SPNY)
Semerkhet will be looking to buck the trend that every Featherweight champ loses their title on their first defence. Semerkhet is a kick boxer who manages to inflict surprising power given how accurate his striking is leading to all 4 of his victories coming by knockout. His weakness is obviously on the ground and defending takedowns, but the style we are used to seeing from GM would not exploit that.
GM earned his title shot with a solid decision win over Thelonius Skunk and will be looking to punch his way to the title here. A 4 inch reach advantage for GM will go some way to overcoming the ability of Semerkhet to use his leg kicks to establish his preferred distance. Like Semerkhet he has knockout power and accurate strikes, but probably lacks the versatility in this one.
I like Semerkhet’s kicks to enable him to keep GM at range and lead to a successful defence by KO.
9: Featherweight
Wee Ning 4-1 (1-0 SPNY) vs Tony Frank 3-2 (3-1 SPNY)
Submission grappler Wee Ning comes into this fight against former SPNY champ Tony Frank badly out of shape. Whether it was poor preparation or disrespect for his opponent Ning’s chances of winning this fight are next to none. Whilst Frank is known for his takedowns and his ground & pound it is his work rate rather than his power that wins him fights, however, Ning is so unfit that I see him recording just his 2nd KO finish tonight.
Frank by KO.
10: Featherweight
Peter Smith (Professional Debut) vs Moe Biscapoe 1-1 (1-1 SPNY)
Debutant Smith wrestled at high school but wasn’t good enough to get a college scholarship, with no professional fights and a recently earned blue belt in BJJ we can only assume his tactics will be to try to take Biscapoe down and work some ground & pound. Biscapoe is a wrestler of similar ability level who has a purple belt, so we anticipate he will happily be taken down and look to advance his position and submit Smith.
I expect a fairly dull fight with Biscapoe coming out with a submission win.
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