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 Live from Hayashi's Lounge in Helsinki, this is HERO 31. We have a tremendous night of action lined up. A couple of former heavyweight champions will clash in our co-main event, as Jake James battles Alan Fei Hong. Then, in the main event, the bantamweight crown will be on the line. Joonas Mustonen is hoping to end the seven fight winning streak of champion Manny Pacquiao.
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Let's head inside the cage and check out the action.
HERO 31: Pacquiao vs Mustonen
Prelims
Light Heavyweight Division: Rob Tandy vs Davor Langerholc
Tandy pulled guard early in the first round, which was an odd strategy. Langerholc was more than happy to ground and pound from the top until he saw submission openings. Once the arm triangel presented itself, Davor jumped on the opportunity and finished the fight. Result: Langerholc by 1st round submission (Arm Triangle)
Light Heavyweight Division: Gabriel Orsini vs Mertsi Peltola
Orsini wanted to keep this fight standing, but Peltola used his strength to drag the fight to the mat. once he got it there, he went for a half hearted arm triangle to keep Orsini off balance, then proceeded to pound away with bombs. After cutting his opponent, Peltola kept it up and eventually put Orsini out cold. Result: Peltola by 1st round KO (Strikes)
Lightweight Division: Igor Byhenikov vs Maarten De Kaizer
In the opening round, De Kaizer got a first minute takedown and controlled the entire five minutes, landing many big ground shots. He repeated the performance in the second round. The third was more of the same, but Byhenikov could no longer absorb the shots. Midway through the round, Igor got rocked and couldn't defend himself, forcing the ref to end things. Result: De Kaizer by 3rd round TKO (Strikes)
Heavyweight Division: Madison Grant vs Brock Lesnar
Lesnar started the round off well, cutting Grant and following it up with a big takedown. He was having success with the ground and pound until he got sloppy and left an arm available. Grant grabbed ahold of it and didn't let go until the ref forced him to. Result: Grant by 1st round submission (Armbar)
Featherweight Division: Liam Nate vs Andrzej Rostowski
Nate got the early advantage by scoring a takedown. However, Rostowski was able to defend the submission attempt that Nate threw at him. Furthermore, he reversed position and got on top himself. He had more luck with top position than Nate had and used the same arm triangle that Nate had tried earlier to finish the fight. Result: Rostowski by 1st round submission (Arm Triangle)
Main Card
Bantamweight Division: Lapu Lapu vs Jacek Kowalski
Lapu was the first to score a takedown, but he couldn't do anything with it. Kowalski stood up and got a takedown of his own. From the top, he kept Lapu honest with submission attempts, then pounded away with devastating ground and pound until Lapu was forced to tap to strikes. Result: Kowalski by 1st round submission (Strikes)
Bantamweight Division: Hans Olson vs Darcy Verot
Olson got an early takedown in the first and won the round with control and ground and pound. The second round stayed standing, but again, Olson came out on top in a round where neither fighter landed a lot. The third was similar to the first, but this time, the ground strikes were too much for Verot and he tapped out to escape the barrage. Result: Olson by 3rd round submission (Strikes)
Heavyweight Division: Razor Ramone vs Roddy Piper
Piper got the takedowns in the first round, but Ramone was so much more active on the ground that he may have won the round. Despite takedowns and a cut in the second, the commentators again felt like Ramone's activity made it very close. Knowing this fight was too close to leave to the judges, Piper came out in the third like a man on a mission and threw a punch-knee combo and put Ramone down and out. Result: Piper by 3rd round TKO (Punch and Knee)
Co-Main Event
Heavyweight Division: Jake James vs Alan Fei Hong
Fei Hong controlled the first two minutes with efficient striking and great takedown defense. However, James eventually got the takedown he was looking for and immediately went to work. Mixing up ground strikes and submission attempts, he finally slipped in an arm triangle that Hong couldn't get out of. Result: James by 1st round submission (Arm Triangle)
Main Event
HERO Bantamweight Championship: Manny Pacquiao vs Joonas Mustonen
Not many people gave Mustonen a serious shot in this one. Nobody had been able to survive Pacquiao's deadly submissions. However, Mustonen prevented Pacquaio from gaining a ground advantage by stuffing 18 takedowns. He picked the champ apart in the first round with his boxing, then won ground battles in the second and third. In the fourth, Pacquaio finally got a takedown, but Mustonen reversed nicely and got his back From there, he managed an armbar that the champ couldn't escape. Result: Mustonen by 4th round submission (Armbar)
Post Fight Press Conference
AJ Nex had to stand up and applaud Mustonen for slaying a legend. However, he cautioned the rest of the division against thinking the champ's time is past. He predicts Pacquiao will be back soon with something to prove.
He also handed out the night's bonus awards:
KO of the Night: Roddy Piper
Sub of the Night: Madison Grant
Fight of the Night: Manny Pacquaio vs Joonas Mustonen
We have a week off until Eddie Torrez takes on Christian Olson for the middleweight title at HERO 32. Then, the very next night, Walter Sullivan challenges champion Aleksi Vihtala for light heavyweight supremacy at HERO 33.
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