HareRumpler Posted December 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2020 Just now, kfuhrer said: Great write up Hare Thanks Kyle and others! I'm trying to see if I can get Risa to do the main portion of the review again today, but if she won't then I'll start working on it in a few hours and maybe have it out myself tonight. Was one crazy friggin' card like I said earlier! But a fun one! Hope you guys are enjoying the fights and the evolution of the divisions right now. I think Middleweight and Welterweight for me right now seem easily to be the two divisions that are just stacked at the top end and while that's a nightmare for me as the org runner, it's a great problem to have! WW especially is that way but I think MW is probably deeper across the board top to bottom. I just wish we had a deeper Featherweight and Heavyweight division right now. Seems we've got a bell curve going with the strength and overall loading of the divisions, which from what I've seen in other orgs seems to be the trend, to have a tougher time maintaining the outside extremes in weight high and low. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Landon McGuire put the middleweights on notice last night. I have been hiding his takedowns until I needed them. Hopefully between his striking, developing ground game, and granite chin he will be at the top of the division for a long time to come. You have a great ORG. Hopefully Guy River will keep improving and string together some wins! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted December 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Risa Roo Reviews... Sucker Punch Pro Series 32! Christmas Hangover We had our pre-Christmas fight club, and now it’s time to talk about our post-Christmas fight club. We’re going to break the first rule of fight club (don’t talk about fight club) this time so that we can discuss our post-Christmas fights today. Allons-y, my Sucker Punch pals! (I’ve made the executive decision that I’ve done enough reviews to make us all pals now.) *************************** Undercard: Welterweight Sparring Bout Thorin Oakenshield Defeats Nori Voluspa via Unanimous Decision Our first match was a one round sparring match between Project Ww Three and Project WWTwo. I was very confused. Why do they look like twins (or CLONES!?!?)? Why are their names almost the same? It’s like Clone Wars: Part Two! I had to ask Hare, as I often do not understand the world of Sucker Punch, and he informed me that the manager of these two fighters doesn’t actually name his fighters until they prove their value, and he decides if he loves them. Ouch. Ruthless. Since both fighters are counter fighters (because they’re clones, duh), they spent half a minute just walking in circles before the referee had to literally tell them to be more aggressive. Coming from the ref, that had to hurt a little. The rest of the match was the most painful three minutes of my life. I will never watch two clones fight again, it’s boring as hell. WWTwo ended up winning, though with a fight rating of 6% (and that’s generous in my opinion) that win isn’t saying much. I’d say good job guys, but there was nothing good about that. Update: I was informed that they do have names now. If we give names based on love around here though, I would NOT have given them names after that shit show of a match. Donkey’s Takeaways: Surprisingly both of these kids ended up with names following this fight! I say that because “the fighter formerly known as ‘Ww Three’” showed very quick in the TotT. I guess Don Xyel is willing to overlook that he must have given him just a bit too much speed starting out and it overrode what else he might have shown. Nori Voluspa, as he’s now known, showed only a 16% morale drop which probably also contributed to Xyel choosing to retain his services for the time being. He also got a solid chin from his other dude, ‘WWTwo’, and has now adopted him full time I suppose and will be calling him by his true given name, Thorin Oakenshield. How nice to see an adoption process get to the point where the adopter is willing to actually name his pets! *************************** Undercard: Featherweight Bout Hiki Antsa Defeats Ripper Stallone via TKO (Strikes) Onto the next fight. If this one isn’t more entertaining, I’m quitting right now, and Hare can do the rest of the review himself instead of outsourcing his work. Our second fight was between Ripper Stallone and Hiki Antsa. Hare just spoiled this fight for me before I even got to read it, so I’m spoiling it for you all too: Stallone lost to Antsa who had ZERO morale going into this and got sacked by his manager. Insert a Vince McMahon “You’re FIREDDDDDDDD!” right here. My favorite quote from the commentators in the first round was “Stallone lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.” I’m just imagining Stallone hanging out with Sid the Sloth in Ice Age now. Maybe that’s where his manager sent him. I guess we’ll never know. I do love the end of this match: TKO! Antsa really said “BOP BOP, Stallone! Taste these elbows!” (if that’s not a direct quote then it should be if you ask me). Nice job Antsa. RIP Stallone, him and his skunk mohawk will be dearly missed. Donkey’s Takeaways: The result of this fight wasn’t good for either fighter given the circumstances. Hare was frankly not thrilled with the way this fight looked even heading into the evening, with Hiki Antsa showing up with zero focus, morale and desire. His manager has been gone for weeks on end and clearly the kid wasn’t prepared. Hare and I were prepared, however, for him to lose and for Ripper Stallone to walk out with a win considering the situation. Imagine our shock, especially mine as everybody knows I’m very big on the preparation thing, when Hiki Antsa actually walked out with a win! That’s less of a statement for him and more an indictment of Ripper Stallone who should be absolutely ashamed to lose in this scenario. Apparently his manager, Jared Hicks, felt the same way as he cut him loose after this fight. Rightfully so! Despite the win Hare still cut Antsa loose from his contract following the fight. His manager probably won’t even notice, which is sad for Antsa! *************************** Undercard: Welterweight Bout John Fuller Defeats DJ Costune via TKO (Strikes) Fight three! This one is between John Fuller and DJ Costune. Hey, at least of Costune doesn’t win this fight, he has a back up career. Wicka wicka waa (that’s how I imagine the sound that the DJ spinny things on their magic music machines is spelled on paper). The first round went on. It wasn’t boring and there was lots of action, but there weren’t too many “CROWD GOES WILD” moments. Our local DJ seemed to have come out on top in the first round. The second round starts. TAKEDOWN! Fuller takes down Mr. DJ. BAM! POW! KABLAM! TKO! Fuller had to be pulled off Costune by the ref. Poor bloke, hopefully that DJ career turns out brighter than his MMA career. Donkey’s Takeaways: This fight turned out badly…very badly…for Costune. Given he came into the fight on a four fight losing streak he very much needed to walk away with a W in this one. That didn’t happen as he instead lost via another (T)KO making it five in a row that he’s lost in that manner. And, if you include the fight from two before that, all six of his losses have come in the same general manner. For a guy who came into the org looking like a striker, this isn’t a good look. He’ll get another shot next month but it has to be looked at as an absolute, no questions about it, ‘MUST Win’! Fuller gets back into the groove with a BIG win here after dropping the prior two fights to Mandinos and Barbosa. He seems to like the two wins, two losses, rinse, repeat thing. I guess that bodes well for the next fight which appears to be set up by Hare already to have him face Mason Jones. That should be a great fight with a lot of different directions it could take! It should be an interesting camp for both fighters as they prepare for a big time clash at the end of January. *************************** Undercard: Featherweight Bout Jean Jacque Custo Defeats Alex Kozlovski via Submission (Anaconda Choke) Our fourth fight was between Alex Kozlovski (I feel like I’ve called Kozlovski Koz before, so that’s what we’ll call him since that full name is a bit of a mouthful) and Jean Jacque Custo. Jean Jacque Custo sounds like the name of a villain in a crappy, low budget action film. He definitely spins around in chairs and dramatically says “I’ve been expecting you…” Koz and Custo post up. FIGHT! Koz jabs Custo and cuts him in the first second of the match. Ouch! Custo takes down Koz! Koz escapes! He slipped away like a greased pig, catch him Custo! Custo takes him down again! Koz can’t escape this time! Sub attempt! Custo pulled out an Anaconda choke. Koz didn’t even want the smoke. He turned purple. PURPLE. Nice job Custo, that was a mean sub! Donkey’s Takeaways: Although both fighters came into this fight slightly low on morale it seems Custo found a way to get going, energizing himself with an early takedown and apparently a desire to show us some new tricks! Up to this fight he’d been involved in a lot of fights that have gone to the judges and lost another via submission. This submission victory tonight, via a very cool anaconda choke that gained him Submission of the Night honors, definitely showed that he’s evolving and branching out. Can he continue building on his success from here? We’ll find out next month as he faces another ground specialist in Jake Drake, albeit with Drake focusing more on ground and pound. For Kozlovski, the lack of prep coming into the cage has haunted him again and left him struggling to gain any traction. We’re holding off on scheduling him for another contest until we see that morale improve at this point and I’m being told by Hare that if it’s not up in about two weeks he plans to potentially cut him loose despite the Featherweight division needing as many guys as we can get. *************************** Undercard: Lightweight Bout Ramon Rabbit Defeats Venali Paetmar via Decision (Unanimous) Fight five! This one was between Ramon Rabbit and Venali Paetmar. This was a long one, I’m starting a petition to only allow matches that end with a submission, KO, or TKO. No more decisions, if the fighters make it to the last round the ref knocks them both out before the fight can drag out and whoever wakes up first wins. This fight was a good one with lots of action through the 3 rounds. Rabbit dominated the first round. Clearly that didn’t sit too well with Paetmer. Somebodyyyyyyyy got a little salty and took a cheep shot low blow at Rabbit around the two-minute mark in the second round. Ouch! Rabbit was seeing stars after that one no doubt. He took a quick five-minute break before shaking it off like a champ and jumping back into the fight. Get it… jumping… because he’s Rabbit…? Never mind, moving on! Despite Paetmer’s low blow, Rabbit dominated the second round as well and it was clear he was going to pull out the W. The decision obviously went to Rabbit. Paetmer said “next time…” in his post-fight interview. What are you going to do next time, bud? Take TWO cheap shots? Give me a break. You cheated and still lost! That’s like cheating on your final exam and STILL failing, and I know because one of my buddies from school did exactly that. Not a flattering look my guy. Donkey’s Takeaways: Paetmar’s loss in this one will leave him disappointed with the way he’s started out his Sucker Punch stay as he now has two losses in a row with us. Both decisions losses that went to the judges scorecards but neither of which turned out to be very close and were easily awarded to Chester in the last fight and now Rabbit in this one. His approach may be what’s holding him back as fighters here at Sucker Punch know how to conserve their energy for the most part and make efficient use of their strikes. Paetmar tends to focus heavily on combinations with a large number of them missing the target. Combine that with his opponents landing a high percentage of their strikes and it results in two issues…a big loss of energy and stamina on Paetmar’s part during the fights and some questions about his strike defense. Clearly one thing there isn’t a question about is his willingness to fully embrace the nature of “Sucker Punch” with that cheap shot he gave during the fight. Hare would be proud! For Rabbit, this win really helps him get back on track again and showed an aggressive approach that paid off! Good game plan and scouting in my book. Next month he’ll face Maximus Furioto with a chanced to extend this into a streak and make a solid case for climbing back into the Top 10! *************************** Main Card: Light Heavyweight Bout Morioka Shigemasa Defeats Sacrificial Lamb via TKO (Strikes) Fight six! Morioka Shigemasa and Sacrificial Lamb post up in this match-up. Sacrificial Lamb has a lamb in his photo… considering his name I feel bad for the poor thing. The fight went off! Lamb and Shigemasa (I need to figure out how to shorten that. Too many vowels) almost immediately went into a clinch. Couple of nice shots in there before it broke. The first few minutes were pretty action packed. Around the three-minute mark things heated up. Clinch! Takedown! Sub attempt! Reversal! Lots of exciting things happening. They finished the first round and it seemed as though Lamb was dominating. Round two! BAM! BOP BOP! POW! KACHOW! They were really going at it! Suddenly… BOP BOP BOP! Shigemasa is beating down Lamb. The refs have to pull him away! TKO! We have a winner. Shigemasa thanked his fans and told them to peep the website after he won. I saw it… not impressed. Could use some work. More colors. Pictures of baby elephants. Anyway, good job! Donkey’s Takeaways: Lamb was doing well in this fight and was making me pretty happy with my pick right up until Shigemasa landed a nasty shot that ended it with a quickness. Hare had enough after seeing this one and decided it was time to open a spot on his roster for a new kid in the stable, perhaps a 370k creation? So Lamb now finds himself manager-less and only has his sheep to keep him company! Shigemasa pulls off a big one displaying some nice power to get the W. We’ve been told that his manager is back in good spirits and seems to be thrilled with the outcome of this fight now looking at Shigemasa as having some real potential at 3-1. We don’t know who he’ll face yet next month as we’ll need a few more fights to finish up at the New Year’s Bash first but clearly this was the way a fighter needs to bounce back after a loss like he had against Titus Fury last month! *************************** Main Card: Light Heavyweight Bout Devin Ecker Defeats Titus Fury via KO (Strikes) Our seventh fight of the night was between Titus Fury and Devin Ecker. Our commentators pointed out that Ecker has the ability to score a mean knockout which has me excited because we all know I love a good KO! This fight was over in less than a minute! LESS THAN A MINUTE PEOPLE! Fury didn’t even stand a chance. Head kick knocks Fury down. Fury gets cut! And then… massive swing! Fury is out cold. I guess he tasted Ecker’s fury instead of dishing his own out, huh? Ecker stated the wise words “grind never stops” after his fight. How inspiring. I think he stole that from the internet though, but don’t quote me on that. Donkey’s Takeaways: While the KO in this fight didn’t come from the awesome head kick that Ecker unleashed to start the fight and put this thing on the mat, it still factored in big time and the finish was no less impressive when it came shortly after! What wasn’t fantastic in this fight was the ref’s performance as he allowed to more nasty shots after the clear KO on the ground! Seriously dude? You’ve gotta get in there and call that shit before you allow an unconscious dude to take punishment like that! Ecker moves to 3-2 and more impressively puts together two quality wins in a row. He’s moving up the ladder fast and those above better be prepared! Next month, he gets a chance to face off with a young Julian Rourke who is under new management. I can’t wait to see how that one goes down! For Fury, things are not so great, and bad. The not so great is that this loss exposes further what we already knew…that his game is very one dimensional and when caught it can get ugly fast. The bad is that his morale dropped a LOT after this loss and that’s not a good thing. He’ll be back to seeing if he can evolve and grow before he can be considered at the top of the division for a while. *************************** Main Card: Lightweight Bout Conor Aldo Defeats Charles Chester via KO (Head Kick) Fight eight! It’s between Charles Chester and Conor Aldo. Charles Chester has two first names, no last name. Ridiculous. Chester got attacked by a fan on his way down to the cage. Yikes! Bitches is crazy, I guess. He seemed OK though, so the fight went on. Both of these guys got some nasty cuts in this fight. They’ll remember this fight every time they look in the mirror for the next week or so. Aldo lands a mean kick. KO! Wooooooo! Two KO matches in a row! This has been so exciting. Poor Chester. Got attacked by a maniac and knocked out. His manager should buy him a cookie for his troubles. Of course, Aldo had to go and ruin it by being all “Look at me! I’m so great! Bow down to me! I’m better than everyone! I could fight a bear!” etc. etc. after his fight. Drop the ego Aldo before someone smacks it out of you! We all saw you win, give it a rest. Donkey’s Takeaways: This fight was all about figuring out who might be next in line for Top Contender status in the Lightweight division. Despite coming in with his morale off Aldo made a show of this thing with a huge head kick to end it and also shoved our words from the preview right down our throats! He’s made it clear with this win that at 6-3 and two big time wins in a row he’s ready to be given the shot to make it to a championship fight. He’ll get that shot next month. If Achilles wins his fight, we’ll see Aldo and Achilles face off for a title shot opportunity. If not, then perhaps Kira Yoshikage if he pulls off yet another win on Jan. 1. Beyond that, Guy River and Oosthuizen are also in the mix, although Oosthuizen still needs some time to bounce back from his loss last month. For Chester the loss certainly brings the spirits down some as it cuts short his goal of coming to Sucker Punch, throwing together a couple quality wins and jumping straight into contender status. Instead, those plans will be set back slightly and he’ll have a bit more work to do before being able to insert himself back into that conversation. *************************** Co-Main Event: Middleweight Bout Landon McGuire Defeats Wanderson Machado via Decision (Unanimous) Two more fights left! Our ninth fight was between Wanderson Machado and Landon McGuire. Machado. Macho. Machado. Macho. I don’t know if Machado meant that little play on words but if he did… it’s ok at best, work on it longer next time. McGuire scares me a little, not even going to lie. He’s got some crazy eyes, and the mustache is a hard no in my opinion. This match was three rounds and it went all three rounds to the decision. McGuire and his crazy eyes dominated the first two rounds, and even though Machado tried to make a comeback in the last round he wasn’t able to steal the win, and the decision went to McGuire. McGuire was very nice and genuine when he thanked his fans at the end. I’m still scared of him though. Crazy eyes man… Donkey’s Takeaways: All you can really say here is “Wow!” I don’t know many who would have picked against Machado in his crusade to get back into the title picture again. We knew Landon McGuire was a solid, dangerous opponent with plenty of talent. He went out and proved just how solid and dangerous in this one! This fight makes three in a row that Machado was taken the distance, a big departure from the finishes earlier in his career and during the majority of his championship run. This also makes two in a row that went to the judges and ended up being very close calls, with a split decision last fight with Hirst and then this one where he started coming on a little too late to win the third round but losing the first two. You have to wonder if he’s still somewhat in “title fight” mode and thinking more long game with a five round mentality and if he’d have won this one if it was five rounds? Well, Landon doesn’t care about what “might have happened”, as a win is a win! Landon goes on to the title fight with Jim Beam after winning the biggest fight of his career here and we’ll see if he has a little more magic hiding away to pull off the big one next month! Machado will also get his rematch with Hirst next month, albeit not in the context he would have liked as it won’t be for the belt. But…obviously avenging that loss would be a great way to start the march back towards title contention! *************************** Main Event: Lightweight Championship Bout Frankie Logan Defeats Maximus Furioto via Decision (Unanimous) LAST FIGHT OF THE NIGHT! It’s a 5 round title match between Frankie Logan and Maximus Furioto. Exciting! Now I don’t know much about either of these guys, but Hare has told me how well (and occasionally illegally) Logan fights so I’m excited for this one. Furioto was all in from the start. He went for NINE sub attempts in the first minute and a half. NINE! And he missed all of them. Not a good look my guy. Logan was not amused and took Furioto down with an illegal strike. Fighting dirty I see, I guess we all know how you keep your championship around Logan. He said he was sorry, but I don’t think he meant it. Seemed ingenuine and canned. Furioto gets back into it though, and they resume fighting. Logan took the first round, hands down. The fighting champ isn’t going down without a fight! Second round. Five more sub attempts from Furioto. I hate to say it dude, but give it a rest. Clearly you aren’t going to win that way. Go for a KO, those are my favorite! Furioto clearly can’t read my mind, because he doesn’t knock out Logan. Logan once again took that round. Round 3! I kind of forgot this was a five round fight and I thought we were nearly done. But never fear, there’s three more rounds! One more sub attempt from Furioto. Logan bops Furioto pretty hard, that left a nasty cut. Once again, Logan takes the round. No doubt at this rate that he’ll retain the title. Round four. NINE MORE SUB ATTEMPTS! FURIOTO! IT’ S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN BRO! Logan once again takes the round. No surprises there! Round five. Our final round! Another five sub attempts from Furioto. Let’s do some quick math. That’s 29 total failed sub attempts from Furioto in five rounds of fighting. He knew his strengths and at least TRIED to play to them, I’ll give him that. But as the wise Yoda once said, “do or do not, there is no try.” Furioto did not. Results are in. OH MY GOSH WHAT A SURPRISE! Logan wins. He buttered up the crowd, as per usual. You may be a champion Logan, but I see through your act boy! You may butter up the fans but you can’t butter up the reporters! Good job though my guy! Donkey’s Takeaways: What can we say other than that Frankie Logan just finds a way…every time it seems…to get Juice Fluffer to say those words that are music to Frankie’s ears…”Annnnd STILLLLL!” Yes sir, this man has defended his Sucker Punch Pro Series Lightweight Championship of the World YET AGAIN! That makes five fights now that he has lifted that belt above his head after a fight with the initial establishment of the belt here at Sucker Punch and FOUR successful defenses. And this one was truly a new test for Frankie against a new type of challenger in Maximus Furioto. One with some serious ground skills and ability to submit his opponents almost every time when it gets to the ground. And it did get to the ground in this one. But Frankie is not just another opponent. Frankie is the champion of this division for a reason and he proved once again that it’s going to take somebody with a ton of talent, a great gameplan and maybe even a little luck to unseat him! Congrats to P J Jones and Frankie on another great title defense! For Furioto, he should hold his head up high. He got this to the ground, he got into position and put the champ in danger. He just couldn’t finish…but nobody else has been able to either! Furioto will undoubtedly bounce back and likely still has time for one more good run at the championship here at Sucker Punch before age truly catches up with him. That effort will start next month against a dangerous Ramon Rabbit! *************************** So there we go folks, another edition of the Risa Roo Reviews to finish off the year! Hope you all enjoyed all the action at SPPS 32 and we look forward to heading into 2021 with even more action, more excitement...and frankly, to leave this craphole of a year behind all of us! Wishing everybody a cheerful and healthy remainder of the holiday season out there and we'll see you again on New Year's Day! ~ Hare, over and out! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForwardPressure Posted December 27, 2020 Report Share Posted December 27, 2020 Slick Gunderson: I don't get into a war of words much anymore but I feel compelled to point out Nyah Hirst was a total flash in the pan. I can't believe he actually won the title in the first place. Light this, light that, once Psiris Fuhren gets done cleaning out the 170 division, maybe he'll pop back up to 185 to put your lights out once and for all. That's assuming Wanderson doesn't beat him to it. Merry Christmas everyone else other than Nyah Hirst!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator001 Posted December 28, 2020 Report Share Posted December 28, 2020 The Evil Scotsman I see yooo Jimmy St Clair, 8 KO's lets go ye bastard If your looking for trouble, Your in the right place, Don't look at me like that, or i'll headbutt your face I'm a mean motherfucker, I was born that way, And just because I wear a skirt don't think I'm fuckin' gay. Cause I'm an evil scotsman, And Frankie is my name, I'm a sheep shagger from Aberdeen, And causing pain is my game. Now if your a woman, Married or not, Al take all your kit off and i'll dive in your mot, I'll take your legs and spread them wide, And then i'll put a wet suit on and shag you from inside, I'm an evil Scotsman, And My name is Jock And the girls are all gaggin' for a portion of my 10" c***, Yes I'm an evil Scotsman And my name is Jock I've got one hand in my pocket And I'm playing with my 10" c*** I don't care where you come from, If your big or your small, I've fought the best, And I beat them all. If your English or Irish, You wont have to die, But if you are a German you can kiss your arse goodbye. I'm an evil Scotsman, And Frankie is my name, If you don't like the rules don't play the fuckin' game, Yes, I'm an evil Scotsman My name is Jock! And the girls are just dying for a portion of my 10" c***. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleakardor Posted December 28, 2020 Report Share Posted December 28, 2020 LMAO! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjsquirrel Posted December 30, 2020 Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 On 12/27/2020 at 1:04 AM, 762x39 said: Landon McGuire put the middleweights on notice last night. I have been hiding his takedowns until I needed them. Hopefully between his striking, developing ground game, and granite chin he will be at the top of the division for a long time to come. You have a great ORG. Hopefully Guy River will keep improving and string together some wins! Believe me or not, but I had scouted your fighter and put in my notes you would be trying both clinching & takedowns.. but somehow never set the opp prediction. Not sure it made much difference, knew it would be a tough fight. Congrats on the win. Looks like Machado will have to spend some more time in the gym. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjsquirrel Posted December 30, 2020 Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 Wanderson Machado: My coach doesn't know what he is talking about, like he would have anything to do with it once the fight is on. Only reason I let McGuire make this a grappling fight is I knew a loss here was the only way I was going to get matched up against Hirst again. Yeah I know I said I wanted the belt back.. and I do of course, but I expected to fight Hirst for it. That decision has been bothering me a lot. And after thinking about it I wanted to set things straight with Hirst first. I feel I need that settled before I can fully focus on the title again. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted December 31, 2020 Report Share Posted December 31, 2020 3 hours ago, jjsquirrel said: Wanderson Machado: My coach doesn't know what he is talking about, like he would have anything to do with it once the fight is on. Only reason I let McGuire make this a grappling fight is I knew a loss here was the only way I was going to get matched up against Hirst again. Yeah I know I said I wanted the belt back.. and I do of course, but I expected to fight Hirst for it. That decision has been bothering me a lot. And after thinking about it I wanted to set things straight with Hirst first. I feel I need that settled before I can fully focus on the title again. Good luck with Hirst. McGuire isnt going anywhere I am sure they will meet up again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted December 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2020 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 33: New Year Bash 2021! Hello out there to Sucker Punch fans worldwide! I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be joined by my partner and analyst, Donkey “Dan”, as we prepare to ring in the New Year and leave this nasty 2020 behind us! For folks in Sydney, this event will take place on New Year’s day as Sydney has just celebrated the New Year as I write this and probably within a couple hours of you reading it! For the rest of the world, some of us will barely be into 2021 when the event pops off…with Europe just getting close to waking up on January 1st, the east coast of the US just having finished singing, celebrating and smooching and the west coast of the US still waiting for an hour or two as they continue to party right on through our event…hopefully enjoying some of the action of Sucker Punch Pro Series 33 while the festivities continue! No title fights on the line to start out the New Year…but that doesn’t mean that this card isn’t packed with action and hype! On the contrary, the top three fights on the card are some of, if not THE, highest combination of three fights we’ve ever had on a card! So there’s that, and then there is a ton of other great matchups all lined up for you folks as well. Are you all ready for this and ready to see some post-Christmas magic? I know I am, so let’s hear from our sponsor and merchandise partner so we can get to the good stuff! Everything starts off as Sebastian Ramirez makes his Sucker Punch debut tonight and goes in to challenge SPPS Welterweight vet Chaz Campbell. Montesh Dominguez is primed and ready to go for the second fight of the night in a Lightweight contest with none other than Francois Oosthuizen in a chance for Montesh to really step up and make a statement…or for Francois to show just why he was a Top Contender and had a shot at the title recently! Suzy did a sit down with Gunnar Pleysa, manager for Montesh, yesterday so that’s going to be on tap later today for you guys also! Good stuff. That’s just to kick things off…there’s a ton of other action in between, with a Light Heavyweight bout featuring Lampi and Amaike, a back and forth with a pair of Featherweight fights and another pair of Lightweight contests and then a big Welterweight showdown between Carter Ortiz and Chief Zapata just before we get to the Main Events! The Main Events will be something every single person at Hard Knocks – Sydney is looking forward to as they feature fan favorites Sith Rebel going against ZaDarius Haden in the Co-Main and then capping off the evening will be the long, long awaited rematch between Jack Sparrow and Destin Craven! This one will be awesome as Craven got the better of Sparrow two months ago, but since then Sparrow has been chomping at the bit to get his revenge…so much so that he agreed to finally take a title fight if he wins! Yes, you heard that right, if Sparrow wins, he will finally step into the cage with a belt on the line! So that should set the stage well folks, now, let’s hear from our merchandise partner and sponsor and…as we always say…get to the good stuff! Our fantastic and respected sponsor is Shadow Warrior Nutrition! Many of you already know them as the providers of Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q., THE energy loss reduction supplements! For those of you who aren’t in the know on that, you should be, because this is the way you keep your fighter training more often and not taking sessions off to try to keep his energy above 90%! If you aren’t using this supplement, hurry over and check them out today, you will not be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Welterweights Chaz Campbell (6-4-0) vs. Sebastian Ramirez (0-0-0) We kick things off for this event…and the New Year…with newcomer Ramirez stepping into the cage to face Chaz Campbell! Ramirez is fresh to the cage for MMA, with a 1-1 record in the TWGC. This is the way you kick things off, as Campbell is no slouch at all with a 6-4 record and if not for Ramirez being on the empty side with MMA experience this fight would be hyped…and ranked…much higher on the card! So it’s definitely not one to miss and is a great way Sucker Punch to ring in the New Year! Ramirez has proficient boxing, respectable Muay Thai and a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu but this advantage in this fight will come from his remarkable wrestling and those MT skills. He’s the slightly shorter of the two by a couple centimeters so if he does play with the clinch he may have the advantage. We’ve only seen him in action in the TWGC as we mentioned, so with only grappling officially on the record we have no way of knowing what his game plan actual is for the evening. That’s both an advantage and disadvantage for him and his camp as they try to prepare for Campbell. Campbell will be the better boxer this evening with superb skills in that area but at the same time lacking almost any bit of Muay Thai love. He lost via a submission to Carter Ortiz back in early November, so things get interesting here as we find out what he’s been working on for almost two months in between. Has he focused on the ground game figuring anybody who entered a TWGC tourney may take the fight in that direction? Or is he going to simply focus on his own striking skills and try to win via superior offense and keeping the fight on the feet and separated? One area he’ll definitely struggle in most likely is the clinch if Ramirez is comfortable taking it there…and if he can get it there. Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Ramirez via TKO (Strikes) Campbell’s skills on the feet are considerable and Ramirez had better watch out this evening for a clobbering out of nowhere! Or, as your daughter would put it Hare, the “Bop Bop!” But overall, I’m impressed with the range of Ramirez’ skills and feel they give him more options this evening. So I’m going to go with that for this opening bout and we’ll see if I can kick off 2021 with my first pick being correct or not! *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Lightweights Francois Oosthuizen (7-1-0) vs. Montesh Dominguez (1-4-0) At first glance, our second fight of the evening looks like a complete mismatch, especially when considering records! Most would be like, “Why would you have these two, who probably have a huge hype difference, go at it?” Well, you’d be surprised. Despite the 7-1 record for Oosthuizen the hype is not as high as one might think. And Dominguez, despite having a 1-4 record, is not as low. They are considerably closer than one might imagine. Then, there are the skills involved! This very well may end up being one of the best fights of the night given how well these two match up! Dominguez will have an edge in Muay Thai. Oosthuizen will have the edge in boxing and wrestling. When you dig deeper, you realize this fight may be way more competitive than you otherwise might believe. Dominguez has lost several fights via submission that have contributed to his record. While Oosthuizen has some skills in that area, he’s not known for trying to win the fight on the ground. So if this fight stays standing, as it likely, there is a good chance that Dominguez can carry over his success from his last fight, his first win, and put on a show for us tonight. Does that mean he’s going to win and that Donkey will pick him? Not necessarily. It just means that this fight is anything but a foregone conclusion and likely will come down to strategy, intricacies of secondary and physical skills and a little bit of luck perhaps! Oosthuizen is coming off a loss in a championship fight as we mentioned. He’s got superb to exceptional skills across the board. He’s about as solid as you get. Up until that loss to the infamous Frankie Logan, he’d n ever lost a professional fight and has shown he can win them via TKO or by going the distance. Both of his prior wins here at Sucker Punch have been via Decision, so if it does go the distance, this man knows how to get the call from the judges. I’m looking forward to a great one! Well, which way are you going Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Dominguez via Unanimous Decision I hear you Hare, and I’m actually going to go ahead and call for the upset in this one, our first big one of the year! Yes, I’m definitely going out on a limb here. Oosthuizen fought for the championship last month for a reason! He’s a beast, he has the ability to finish and honestly, there’s no reason to pick against him here…other than momentum and just a tad bit of low morale and possibly energy depending upon his recover over the next 12 hours. As you said, this is a fight to watch this evening! Get there early for the fun folks! *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Light Heavyweights Eemeli Lampi (3-1-0) vs. Abasi Amaike (1-2-0) Our third bout of the evening will feature Light Heavyweights Abasi Amaike and Eemeli Lampi in a classic striker versus grappler contest. Amaike is coming off two losses in a row, including his Sucker Punch debut last month. He has both exceptional Muay Thai and boxing and is frankly flat out scary on the feet. He has a granite chin, but also lost via cuts in a TKO finish last month, so that may be a concern for him going forward. Tonight he’ll want to protect himself from further cuts. He’ll have the advantage as I said in the standup, but Lampi proved last month against Hasanov that he can dish out the cuts pretty badly. That’s not a good combination of factors here for Amaike. It will be interesting to see if Lampi changes up his tactics. Typically he likes to stand and bang with his opponents, but tonight he has the definitive edge on the ground with his exceptional wrestling and purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. Will he still stand and go toe to toe with Amaike or decide that the ground is indeed his better path to success? With three wins in a row, including his last fight which was his Sucker Punch debut, Lampi wants to prove that he can string them together here at SPPS and get himself into position at the top of the division! How does this one turn out Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Amaike via TKO (Strikes) No matter how this one goes the one thing I’m fairly certain of is that there will be a finish! I don’t believe this one goes to the scorecards in any way. I’m questioning whether Lampi will change his strategy. Being that he’s the one who would need to adjust to get the advantage, I’m going to go on a limb and say he may not and if not, then the advantage here goes to Amaike barring a freak early cut! *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Featherweights Kurt Cobain (6-3-0) vs. Akara Kongsangchai (2-4-0) This fourth battle of the night will feature two guys with almost identical sets of skills in primaries, barring perhaps the smallest edge for Cobain in grappling. Other than that, this is an amazingly good matchup between two skilled fighters, both of whom have had less than desirable results over the past couple fights but definitely do not lack the skills to get the job done! Kongsangchai has lost four of his last five surprisingly. He typically uses a heavy focus on the clinch but also has trouble getting there. Once in the clinch, his efficiency with the striking and ability to maintain the clinch, either by staying in it or preventing takedowns from it seem to be an ongoing issue. Clinchwork lacking? Strength and physicals? Grappling? You be the judge. We’ll see tonight if he’s been able to fine tune things over the past three weeks or if he will adjust the approach and refine it a bit. Cobain would like to get back to his winning ways. And those ways include knocking folks who want to come at him the hell out! His past two fights have been frustrating ones as he lost a title fight two months ago to Michael Aalto via submission and then was caught up in a frustrating match of cat and mouse last month in a fight that went to the judges for a decision. No doubt tonight he’ll be looking to put hands on Kongsangchai in a very painful way and prevent this thing from getting into any of those frustrating scenarios. What do you see here Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Cobain via TKO (Strikes) We may see a different approach from Kongsangchai tonight but if history has anything to say about it we’ve known his manager to stick to his guns with several of his fighters and rarely adjust the approach, usually having a heavy focus on one aspect of the fight. If he does come in with the usual approach of heavy clinch attempts, he better get them and be able to maintain the clinch and dictate the action once there. If he can’t , Cobain will make this a painful evening to remember…once he can remember it. *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Lightweights Rey Bargos (3-6-1) vs. Kira Yoshikage (3-1-0) As we finish up the Undercard for the evening we have two fighters who both would really like to “go out” on a high note with a win. By that we’re referring to Bargos’ choice to step away for a bit and probably do some pure grappling or what not and Yoshikage’s manager has informed us that he will step back for a bit to work on refining and solidifying some areas of his game before coming back and new and improved Yoshikage! This fight is going to be fairly straightforward, although Bargos could offer a few wrinkles from his side. For Yoshikage the advantage is clearly on the ground utilizing respectable wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu. Over the past three fights, all wins, Yoshikage has scored two submissions with his last fight being a surprise TKO victory over Waampa Woodoo. And perhaps that’s what Yoshikage’s camp wants, to focus on rounding out the game a bit to create dual threat attacks and come back with an even more improved approach! Bargos has been fairly focused on attempting to utilize his ground game of late as well. His skillsets aren’t equal to Yoshikage’s so it’s probably going to be a better approach to use his striking tonight. He’s lost the last three fights in a row, all via KO and TKO so there is some question about the chin and/or heart going on there. My thoughts are it’s probably best to get back to what worked three fights before that and run with it this evening, as that approach would appear to be a good once for this situation and opponent. Well Donkey, have a pick for us in this one…? Donkey’s Pick: Yoshikage via Submission (Armbar) Once again, call me a pessimist, but I have a feeling that recent strategies will persist and this thing ends up on the ground. If it does, Yoshikage will be able to go off and work on his game with a four fight winning streak under his belt, or at least that’s my bet. *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Featherweights Broklyn Red (3-1-0) vs. Brady Jean Baptiste (4-1-1) Our Main Card will be opened up by another great fight, or at least, what we very much think will be a great one! Formerly with Empire, Jean Baptiste is on a two win streak as he makes his Sucker Punch debut this evening. He’s an all-around solidly skilled martial artist with wonderful boxing, exceptional Muay Thai, remarkable wrestling and a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. He also has a granite chin, so he’s willing to get in there and mix it up while having the confidence that he won’t get taken out with an easy shot in the process. His most recent two fights, both wins as we said, saw him focus on shots to the head and body, mostly with those two things he calls hands but seem to work more like cudgels! Red will see Baptiste’s two fight win streak and see it with one of his own as he also comes in with wins over Nagashima and Kongsangchai in the past couple months. Red’s approach is typically very similar to that of Baptiste’s…working the head and body with shots while boxing. The occasional clinch here and there. Tonight, the question will be…will he continue on that approach against a slightly better striker in both boxing and Muay Thai, or can he leverage his exceptional wrestling and purple belt for offense on the ground? If those are strictly for defense, then this is going to become an all-out blast fest on the feet! Well Donkey, what do you think here…? Donkey’s Pick: Baptiste via TKO (Strikes) If Red has offensive skills on the ground then this entire thing changes. But barring that, Baptiste may have the advantage in this one. I really cannot say to be honest, so this is a “just get to your seat and watch this one” for sure! I can’t wait! *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Lightweights Demi Achilles (9-2-0) vs. Repus Revorg (1-1-0) I’m going to be honest here Donkey, Revorg is really just stepping into this one to fill a hole and make a fight happen. He’s one of my guys and I honestly don’t feel he’s ready for the competition here yet. But let’s let him have his shot and see how it goes! For Achilles, this is a big one. A win here would see him in position to become Top Contender in a battle with Conor Aldo at the end January, with the winner of that fight getting a title shot against the victor of Logan/St. Clair. Revorg will actually have the advantage in Muay Thai and wrestling tonight. I’m not going to tell you what that means, but you can probably guess. The issue for him is going to be trying to keep this fight on the feet, as Achilles is well known for his ability to get a fight to the ground and dominate once there, whether via submission or strikes. So, Revorg needs to find a way to get his shots in, make them count, and if it does go to the ground…stay calm and find a way to get back out of it. As we said, it’s no secret what Achilles will try to do here and that’s get it to the ground and win whatever way presents itself once there. It is interesting to note that he’s been stopped only twice in his career, but both stoppages were via TKO on the feet. So the possibility for Revorg to pull off the win is there. It’s just that it’s probably a slim chance! Donkey, a close one tonight…or…? Donkey’s Pick: Achilles via Submission (Kimura) Revorg is going to be sorely lacking in maturity and experience here and I think he’s going to have a rough go once this thing goes to the ground. Achilles should be able to ride a win into a Top Contender shot here and at 10-2 definitely would deserve it. He better be careful though, Revorg does have some power and Muay Thai skills…so buyer beware. *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Welterweights Carter Ortiz (8-0-0) vs. Chief Zapata (5-6-0) As we finish up the last of our fights before the Main Events we get to one that by itself would normally be a Main or Co-Main Event! It’s almost like we have three Main Events this evening with these fights being so highly rated! Zapata comes into this thing with a record that is sub-500, with the final fight before joining us here at Sucker Punch being a win via KO but the prior four being losses. Those losses are easily explained away…he’s a 358k ID who was for the most part fighting guys 7k or more ahead of him. And with skills far outweighing his own. More power to his manager for accepting those fights, but I don’t think that’s something most would tolerate for long. Tonight he’ll face a fighter who is the same age he is, but a bit newer in ID. The skills still favor his opponent slightly with his opponent a bit more well-rounded, but Zapata most certainly has the advantage in the clinch with remarkable Muay Thai and proficient wrestling. Carter Ortiz will have one thing on his mind this evening. Getting this fight to the ground and scoring a submission to make it 9-0, with nine subs! Ortiz does have some history of getting cut…so he’ll want to stay out of the clinch, get this to the ground early, and not give Zapata the opportunity to try to clinch up and control this thing. If Zapata can do that though, this could become a long night for Ortiz assuming he doesn’t have a doc come in for a stoppage! How about this matchup Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Ortiz via Submission (Kimura) I have to be honest, I was tempted to call for the upset in this one for just the reason you mentioned Hare, and that’s the possibility of this getting into the clinch, Ortiz struggling to get out and then taking enough abuse to start the bleeding with it going to a stoppage by the doc. It hasn’t happened before, but I believe it’s only a matter of time for Ortiz before it may. However, I can’t bet against a record of eight straight submission victories, a perfect string! *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Heavyweights ZaDarius Haden (7-1-0) vs. Sith Rebel (6-1-0) A highly anticipated matchup here as we get into the Co-Main Event between Sith Rebel and ZaDarius Haden. With only one loss a piece between them in fifteen combined fights there is no doubt we’re about to see an amazing go of it in the cage this evening! This fight is for just what you’d think it is folks…a title shot for the winner against the champ who is sitting and waiting, watching…and strategizing! Haden has a slight advantage in most areas this evening, but none of the edges are overwhelming. Rebel will try to do what Rebel does, and that’s get this to the ground, establish top position and rain down the abuse! It’s not his fault…it’s just what he does…it’s in his nature! He will be looking to get this win and get a chance to see if his skills can best those of the champ, who is certainly no chump on the ground and will make it an interest fight for Rebel if he earns that opportunity after this fight! Haden, with only a loss to the current and reigning champ, Chontamenti, will want to prove that he is the one who deserves to get back into the cage with the beast again, this time with the intent to walk out with the belt! But to get that opportunity he needs to get past a very talented Sith Rebel here this evening. Now, here’s where it gets fun…Haden loves to pull off the GnP as well, just like Rebel! So this is going to be an amazing chess match of position and who can control and transition the best on the ground to gain the advantage and pour on the abuse! A championship opportunity on the line…who comes away the victor and heads into the cage next month against Chontamenti, Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Rebel via TKO (Strikes) Whichever of these guys it is Hare, it means that Chontamenti has a sadistic ground specialist coming his way! Now, everything in my being says I should be picking Haden here to get back to the championship fight and to get his chance to avenge his prior loss in the cage with Chontamenti. However, I have that nagging feeling going again…and it’s telling me…surprise, underdog win for the evening! So…let’s see if I by chance have the spidey sense working! *********************** Main Event: Featured Featherweights: Craven vs. Sparrow II Destin Craven (6-2-0) vs. Jack Sparrow (14-2-0) I won’t even say much about this fight Donkey! Because this is a rematch and we all know what happened last time these two met two months ago at the end of October! Craven won that contest and went on to face Aalto for the Featherweight Championship, a fight he lost via TKO (Head Kick) and now steps back in to give Sparrow the rematch he’s been looking for! We’ve been told by Sparrow’s manager that if he wins this fight, one he’s wanted ever since first meeting, that he’ll step into the cage and take on the champ! By that time it will either still be Aalto, or possibly Skywalker if he pulls off the win in their fight on January 16th. The first time Sparrow and Craven met Sparrow caught the takedown as he wanted early, but then Craven managed to pull off an unexpected submission from the bottom and snagged a victory via an armbar on the second sub attempt. Sparrow clearly felt that that was a fluke and will NOT happen again, and feels that he’s got an approach that will win. Craven will be out to prove there was no fluke to be spoken of and the fight was his no matter where in the cage it went! This should be fun and honestly, I expect a completely different storyline this time around! Not some 56 second submission! Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Sparrow via TKO (Strikes) Flip a coin, or use your expertise to pick a winner here, but either way you’re taking a shot in the dark. Two very skilled competitors and hey, I’m just trying to add some controversy with this pick! Let’s get it on!!! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! What a way to ring in the New Year! A great card ready to go for you guys and I hope to see Hard Knocks – Sydney rocking tonight as we celebrate 2021 coming in and hope for a great year across the board for everybody! We’ll see you there folks, don’t miss it and certainly don’t be late! Till then…don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted December 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2020 Presents The Night Before… …from the hotel bar with Suzy Sucker Punch! ********************************* Well hello everybody! Suzy back with you and I'm so thrilled to be back with everybody over here in Sydney after a quick trip home to the States with my family for the Christmas holiday. Now, as we get ready to kick off 2021 tonight I have a modified version of "The Night Before..." for everbody! With most of our fighters and staff off enjoying, responsibly I hope, New Year's Eve I arranged to sit down with just one of our managers in the org to talk about tonight's upcoming event and their part in it! This was more of a "The Brunch Before..." to so speak as I sat down yesterday on the 31st in a little brunch n' chat with none other than Gunnar Pleysa, manager for Lightweight Montesh Dominguez who will be taking on Francois Oosthuizen at SPPS 33. And it was a great sit down, something I don't often get to do with the managers themselves, so this was special! We met down at my favorite spot, the fight hotel bar area, got a nice seat just down from the bar but close to the "faux" fireplace and settled in with a couple drinks and a couple plates full of goodness! ********************************* SSP: Mr. Pleysa, it is absolutely wonderful that you were able to make time for me in what is no doubt a busy schedule! Welcome to Sydney for New Year's! Did you have a good trip in? GP: Yeah it was nice until the hotel stay, been watching to many movies. SSP: I can only imagine that trying to keep your fighter ready to go, rested and all, is tough to do when you're used to these guys being high energy, on the go and active at all times! So getting them to just stay in and chill for a day must be tough. SSP: You manage fighters all over the world, but have some who are based right here in Sydney. And I know your hometown is Perth. Is it different being back in Australia right now for New Year at all, have you been able to visit any favorite sites or has it been all business? GP: As you say, I have a few fighters here in Sydney so it's like a home away from home for me, but it makes my visits all about business. SSP: Do you regret not being at home with your friends and family for the New Year? GP: Being in this game you get use to travelling around the world and not having much time for family. It can be tough though. SSP: How does Montesh feel knowing that he'll be part of the first card of 2021 with Sucker Punch in what we hope will be an even better year than 2020 was, which was the year that saw the birth of SPPS? GP: It feels great for him. Montesh told me he looks forward to putting on a show for the fans and starting the 'Year of Montesh'! SSP: That is fantastic! We always love that sort of enthusiasm and confidence and knowing our guys are going into this expecting the best always makes us and the fans happy! Looking back on 2020, we all know it was a bit of a crap show around the globe. But as Hare always says, there's always a silver lining and something to count blessings for. How do you feel about the way things went for Montesh this past year? GP: It wasn't so great for Montesh, although he did finish the year with his first win. Since I took over as manager, he has been training hard and to get that first win was a nice reward for effort after a terribly tough year. SSP: It certainly was a tough one, but as you say, he ended the year on the right foot, turning things around and there's no better way to head into a brand new year. What do you see for yourself and Montesh in Sucker Punch for 2021? GP: I see myself as president of Sucker Punch by the year end, haha. Jokes aside hoping Montesh can start the year strong against a definitely strong opponent and move his way up the list. SSP: Wow, that's fantastic! I'll let Hare know that you're definitely "Gunn(ar)ing" for his job! As you just mentioned, tomorrow Montesh steps into the cage with Oosthuizen, a strong opponent. He'll want this win as much as you and Montesh do and to start 2021 out with a W. Do you think you have the edge and what can you tell us about how this fight might go down? GP: Montesh stepping into the cage with Francois should be an interesting fight. Should be mainly fought on their feet, but wouldn't be surprised to see it hit the ground. SSP: The card tomorrow to kick off 2021 is one of the best across the board that we've ever had. The top three fights alone are hyped higher than I believe any three at the top have ever been for us. And that's despite lacking a title fight! Will you be watching any of the other fights with a special interest? Do you expect any surprises or big moments fans might look back on later? GP: I will be watching the other 155 weight fights for possible future matchups with Montesh, but I reckon the fans will be clearly watching the main event rematch between Craven and Sparrow! SSP: The event tomorrow is in a smaller venue, Hard Knocks - Sydney, and will be a more intimate setting than the last time Montesh fought. Hare is also live streaming this event again for free for all our fans around the world, so everybody who wants to tune in will get to see it still. Are you and Montesh happier with this smaller setting for New Year or do you prefer the bigger venues with more people there live? GP: Intimate venues can create awesome atmosphere for the fighters to thrive, but that doesn't mean it can't happen in bigger stadiums. It's great everybody can get a chance to view the card though. SSP: Do you see yourself taking a different approach in 2021 or will you continue on with the plan as-is, any adjustments? GP: I think we have decent way going forward for Montesh, to keep on learning is the best approach and adapt. SSP: Ok, so enough with the serious stuff, let's talk about fun! I know you guys won't get to party much this year as you'll want the entire team in top form for tomorrow. What will you do after the fight? Stick around and try to get some fun in or head straight home? Any plans for a break? GP: Montesh wants to get straight back into training after the fight. Of course after a couple days break. SSP: Wow, a seriously hard working not even taking a break after working so hard over the holidays! That's impressive, but it's also the type of attitude that makes champions, right? Well, before we head out here, any final thoughts for the fans, Donkey, Hare, your opponents or the division? Anything like that that you want to put out there for the world? GP: Absolutely Suzy! Everybody stay safe out there, and get ready for the 'Year of Montesh'! SSP: Mr. Pleysa...Gunnar if I may? Thank you so much for stopping in to see me here for brunch! I didn't want to do this later in the evening because I knew it was New Year's Eve and would be a tough schedule to fit in, but you really made my day by stepping in here and giving the fans just a little bit more from the Sucker Punch family! Good luck with your final preparations with Montesh and the fight tomorrow. GP: Thank you Suzy, enjoyed the chat. We should do this again! ********************************* There we go! A little one on one with Gunnar Pleysa who has big plans for Montesh, his entire crew, the Sucker Punch presidency and...last but not least...the 'Year of Montesh'! We hope everybody enjoys the event tonight and see you there at Sucker Punch Pro Series 33: New Year Bash! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted January 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 Awesome job folks!!!! Amazing...way to ring in the New Year and welcome to 2021 all! NO title fights on the card, yet easily our highest rated event to date...that's pretty cool! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleakardor Posted January 1, 2021 Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 5 hours ago, HareRumpler said: Awesome job folks!!!! Amazing...way to ring in the New Year and welcome to 2021 all! NO title fights on the card, yet easily our highest rated event to date...that's pretty cool! Congratz man, well earned! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted January 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2021 POST EVENT CHEAP SHOTS Sucker Punch Pro Series 33: New Year Bash 2021! Well, I know it’s been a few days now folks, but heck, it’s the New Year and a holiday weekend, so ya know, there’s just things ya gotta do! Hello and welcome to 2021 to all our Sucker Punch friends and family out there…I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be joined by my partner and analyst, Donkey “Dan”, as we take a look back at our first event of 2021, Sucker Punch Pro Series 33 and all the action that took place in our highest rated event to date! And that despite not having a single title fight on the card. That’s highly impressive guys (and gals)! I’m not even going to drag this out…let’s just hear from our merchandise partner and sponsor and…as we always say…get to the good stuff! Our fantastic and respected sponsor is Shadow Warrior Nutrition! Many of you already know them as the providers of Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q., THE energy loss reduction supplements! For those of you who aren’t in the know on that, you should be, because this is the way you keep your fighter training more often and not taking sessions off to try to keep his energy above 90%! If you aren’t using this supplement, hurry over and check them out today, you will not be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Welterweights Chaz Campbell Defeats Sebastian Ramirez via Split Decision Ok, not gonna lie…we kicked things off for the evening with one that we thought would involve quite a few shots from Campbell and some good action on the ground if it got there. What we got instead, unless you happen to be an aficionado of chess matches on the ground, was a bit of a snooze-fest. Somehow Campbell managed to grab this split decision despite landing only five strikes in the entire contest. That’s because Ramirez landed…well, as a matter of fact, offered…none. Instead, this fight went to the ground early and often and involved a ton of time spent controlling, transitioning, reversing now and then and then going for the occasional subs. No strikes to soften things up or help open any opportunities down there, nothing. Just a fight that kinda rode itself out all the way to a lackluster decision by the judges. Donkey, where does this leave the guys…? Donkey’s Takeaways: Well, for Ramirez is starts his professional career, and Sucker Punch debut, out with a loss. More importanty and probably concerning than that is that with the loss his morale dropped practically to zero. That’s a horrendous sign and something that will, or should, concern his manager. Campbell gets the win he needs to bounce back from his loss last month to Ortiz. He’s been bouncing between wins and losses for a few months now so a win next month versus Zapata could turn things into a proper streak and have him moving upward on the ladder! *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Lightweights Francois Oosthuizen Defeats Montesh Dominguez via Unanimous Decision This second fight of the evening also went to the judges but seemed to really start warming up the fans and getting them into things! Oosthuizen was coming off his only loss on his career so far in a title fight with Frankie Logan and was looking for a bounce back win. He got that win here, but not without Montesh Dominguez giving him everything he could handle for a full three rounds! The judges gave him the fight unanimously however two of the judges did give Dominguez the first round. Had Dominguez been a bit more aggressive in the clinch, where he did well and landed a good percentage of his strikes...just not enough of them…there’s a chance he might have stolen this fight! This thing stayed on the feet for most of the fight minus the two takedowns from the clinch by Oosthuizen. Both men clearly wanted it in the clinch, with Oosthuizen able to pick and choose when he wanted it there and when he didn’t. Ultimately the higher aggression paid off and got Oosthuizen the call. Anything else there Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: I had picked Montesh to pull off the upset in this one and he certainly came out and gave it a good go! As you said, with more aggression perhaps it might have made the difference. Perhaps not, and things could have gone ugly and been finished as well rather than going to the judges. I think this is a fight to be looked at as a positive despite the loss though. For Oosthuizen, he probably wanted to make a bit more of a statement than this coming off a fight for the belt. At 8-1 his record is highly impressive but we’ll want to see him start to show more dominance in his wins before stepping up to the likes of Frankie Logan again. A well fought one by both fighters that the fans enjoyed! *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Light Heavyweights Eemeli Lampi Defeats Abasi Amaike via KO Punch Amaike came into this Light Heavyweight fight wanting to accomplish two things; avoid cuts similar to what caused a stoppage in his last fight and put together a solid fight to find his way back to .500 at 2-2. Unfortunately for him things didn’t go according to that plan and while cuts may not have stopped this fight, they may have contributed to the KO outcome. He took a cut fairly early in the fight and then it got worse before the first round was over. You have to question whether that factored into his overall performance or just the end of this fight? Although he was landing decent shots at a good rate in this one…the final action came down to this… “Lampi drops Amaike with a hook right on the temple. He thinks about going to the ground but Amaike looks back up at him and smiles so Lampi waves him back to his feet - he obviously thinks he can knock him out after that shot landed. Amaike is rocked! Amaike is wiping some vaseline out of his eye. Lampi doesn't give a rats ass about fair play and cracks him with a massive hook to the side of the head! Amaike crumples to the floor out cold! The cornerman is going to be in Amaike's bad books for that mishap!” Wow, surprising or disappointing Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: I don’t know that I’d call this disappointing as the fans clearly enjoyed it. Lampi did what any fighter would do and took advantage of an opportunity when he saw it! A win is a win is a win! At 4-1 with four solid wins in a row he knows that when folks look back on his record they’re not going to care how it happened, but just that this as his second KO via punch in a row! He’s moving up the rankings fast and putting on a show and with another win next month will have people questioning when we’ll see him fighting for a Top Contender spot as he’s quickly approaching the Top 5 in the Light Heavyweight division. For Amaike, his manager had seen enough and despite having a granite chin it’s my belief that he was as concerned about the cuts as we were. Kniges set Amaike loose following this fight. *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Featherweights Kurt Cobain Defeats Akara Kongsangchai via TKO (Strikes) We look back at the fourth fight of the evening here, a Featherweight bout between Akara Kongsangchai and Kurt Cobain and this one was pretty straightforward as Cobain returned to his ways of finishing in the first! Kongsangchai came in with a predictable plan that was similar to most of his fights. In the preview we said, “He typically uses a heavy focus on the clinch but also has trouble getting there. Once in the clinch, his efficiency with the striking and ability to maintain the clinch, either by staying in it or preventing takedowns from it seem to be an ongoing issue. Clinchwork lacking? Strength and physicals? Grappling? You be the judge.” All of that was evident once again as Kongsangchai tried five times to get into the clinch, succeeding twice but once in there only landed two shots while taking triple that in return. Cobain was able to break the clinch both times at will after doing some damage and then used it to set up the finish… “Cobain breaks the clinch. That's two minutes gone in the round. Kongsangchai has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him. Cobain lands an uppercut out of nowhere! Kongsangchai falls backwards - clearly groggy! Cobain dives in and finishes the fight with more strikes for a TKO finish!” What did you see Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: Cobain was opportunistic and took full advantage of an adversary who comes in with a predictable approach. This win gets him back on the right track and possibly heading back up towards Top Contender status with continued success! Kongsangchai is unfortunately heading in the opposite direction with a nasty streak of five losses out of his last six fights. He’s seen the majority of the division at his skill level but as we’ve mentioned keeps coming in with the same strategy focus that, I think, clearly isn’t working for him. He needs a win in the worst way and it might be fair to think of his next fight or two as “must win” for at least one of them. *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Lightweights Kira Yoshikage Defeats Rey Bargos via Unanimous Decision Our last fight of the Undercards was a Lightweight battle between Bargos and Yoshikage that went the distance yet again, the third fight on the card so far to do so! In the preview I said, “Bargos has been fairly focused on attempting to utilize his ground game of late as well. His skillsets aren’t equal to Yoshikage’s so it’s probably going to be a better approach to use his striking tonight.“ Donkey also made the prediction that Bargos wouldn’t adjust his game plan and go with the area of advantage for him, which would be the standup portion of the fight. Instead, Donkey said, “Once again, call me a pessimist, but I have a feeling that recent strategies will persist and this thing ends up on the ground. If it does, Yoshikage will be able to go off and work on his game with a four fight winning streak under his belt, or at least that’s my bet.” That right there is pretty much everything you need to know about this fight. Bargos indeed insisted upon taking the fight to the ground, doing it four times from the clinch. Once on the ground, he ceded any advantage he had as we suspected Yoshikage would have the grappling advantage and that’s exactly how it turned out. Yoshikage was able to control the fight, utilize his striking on the ground and score the points he needed to win this one easily with the judges. Heck, Bargos only landed a single elbow from the clinch in this one and had two failed submission attempts, which accounted for his entire offense over three rounds. That’s never going to win you a fight. Ever. Where does that leave these two Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: We knew what would happen if Bargos didn’t adjust his game plan and sure enough he didn’t. That was pretty much a concession of this fight and a free win for Yoshikage. With four losses in a row we’ve been told that Bargos is now going to focus on other interests in the world of martial arts for a bit, and we wish him well in his future endeavors. For Yoshikage, this win makes it four in a row and puts him on the fast track up the division. Now, his management has requested to take some time off to train and work on some additional skills, so it may be a couple months before we see him again. When he returns to the cage he’ll likely have some new tricks up his sleeve! *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Featherweights Brady Jean Baptiste Defeats Broklyn Red via KO (Punch) We started our Main Card out with a bout we figured would end up being a stand up and go at it fest between Featherweights Red and Baptiste. The only reason we thought this fight might veer from that would have been if Red had any offense on the ground with his grappling and Jiu Jitsu. Given he only made a single attempt to get it to the ground, we’re going to assume that either he just couldn’t gain enough opportunities to try or he really wasn’t confident of his ground game offensively to put a focus on it. That left this fight with Baptiste having the advantage on the feet. Sure enough, Baptiste’s strike defense prevented Red from doing much damage while at the same time allowed him to land about 50% of his strikes and put this thing away well before the end of the first round. The fans must have seen where this was going early as well as this round got going because even with a KO via punch being the end result the fight rating only ended up around 49%, disappointing for a fight with a big finish! Well Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: Red’s manager informed us after this fight that Red simply doesn’t have what he wants to see and that he’d be getting released shortly. Red showed inexperienced in the tale of the tape early in his career, so that may be factoring into that decision as well. For Baptiste another solid win and he’s well on his way to making a case to be at the top of the division and in talks about Top Contendership sooner rather than later. He has three wins now in a row under current manager Laz Staz and five in his career. Another win and I think it’s safe to say he has to be in the conversation! *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Lightweights Repus Revorg Defeats Demi Achilles via TKO (Strikes) Our next fight turned into more than an upset, it was a HUGE surprise turn of events from what I think everybody expected. This fight was supposed to literally be nothing more than a “keep warm and stay active while waiting for your Top Contender shot” fight for Achilles. Instead, my own guy Revorg pulled an upset out of nowhere and left Achilles…as well as many of the fans I’m sure…wondering what happened and what now for Aldo who was waiting to take on Achilles for Top Contender? Achilles clinched up early in this one out of the bell and then got the takedown he wanted pretty cleanly from there. Once on the ground, he immediately went into submission spam mode as predicted. Fortunately for Revorg, he was up to the challenge of defending and even managed to get back to his feet after two minutes of ground action! Once on the feet Revorg was able to assert himself with his striking, making Achilles pay on another clinch attempt with a counter right to the jaw followed up shortly after by an uppercut that rocked Achilles. Just under a minute later Revorg initiated the clinch instead, sensing the advantage and was able to punish Achilles once they were dancing up close and personal, finishing things with this… “Revorg lands an uppercut in the clinch that drops Achilles to his knees! Revorg keeps firing more shots against his stricken opponent and the referee jumps in to save him!” A big time surprise result here Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: Well, I was wrong on one point in the preview and correct on another. First, I was wrong I suppose when I said that, “(Revorg is) going to have a rough go once this thing goes to the ground.“ It turns out he was better prepared to handle himself there than I anticipated. I was correct though when I said that, “He (Achilles) better be careful though, Revorg does have some power and Muay Thai skills…so buyer beware.” For Achilles, this is a big setback and he’ll need to bounce back in some way after losing to a 364k youngster before being able to stake claim as a Top Contender. Revorg is off to a hot start with Sucker Punch, having won two fights he was really supposed to lose and showing some promise as a long term project at this level. *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Welterweights Carter Ortiz Defeats Chief Zapata via Submission (Triangle) Thirty seconds. That’s what it took for this thing to go from bell finish! And for Ortiz to turn his eight submission victories into nine a perfect nine! So yeah, basically it went like this…the bell rang. Zapata missed with a hook and then prevented an Ortiz counter takedown. Then Zapata nails the takedown into guard. A little bit of stalling and controlling…then boom… “Ortiz has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Zapata doesn't defend quickly enough and Ortiz has managed to lock this one up! Can Zapata escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Ortiz on a fantastic submission victory.” Well, that was fast eh Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: This thing went down with a quickness, way faster than I could have imagined and certainly with way less of a struggle on Zapata’s part than I anticipated. But sometimes when you get taken down quickly the struggle, well, it’s real as Hare’s daughter might say! Zapata didn’t get the win he would have liked in his SPPS debut but will get another shot next month against Chaz Campbell, an excellent matchup between strikers. For Ortiz, he makes it an impressive 9-0 all via submission and now goes on to face the biggest test of his career, a callout that he accepted from Vovchanchyn! The winner of that fight would be looking at a potential title shot so it’s a big one! *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Heavyweights Sith Rebel Defeats ZaDarius Haden via Unanimous Decision The Co-Main Event between Sith Rebel and ZaDarius Haden turned into a big time upset…that Donkey called! Although Donkey, I’m not going to lie…this fight was boring AF! And the fans let us know it with the fight rating of 35%! This thing went to the ground almost immediately from the bell in all three rounds. Once there, there was a TON of controlling, stalling and working for position. But not much else. A bit of ground and pound attempted, only a couple landing with Rebel being the more active and gaining the better position for the opportunities. And you have to think that that’s what got him the win…being the one to get the takedowns, landing a few shots when there and being more active and aggressive throughout. But seriously…Haden had three shots land in standup, one in the clinch and two o the ground. Rebel had one in standup and three on the ground…with two failed sub attempts. That was it as far as actual effective offense, the rest coming down to defense and preventing shots from landing for three rounds. Well Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: We knew that whoever won this fight was going to be bringing a ground and pound attack to Chontamenti who was waiting for the winner. However, I will say, Chontamenti is by no means a slouch on the ground…and if he finds himself there with Rebel, it won’t be won with this little offense involved against the likes of Chontamenti! Rebel had better be ready to bring the best fight of his life to the cage when it comes time to face Chontamenti next month! For Haden, losing this one was probably a bit of a shock and will leave him and his camp scratching their heads a bit most likely. He’ll have some work to do to get himself back into contention at this point, likely needing at least two solid wins in the division after this. *********************** Main Event: Featured Featherweights: Craven vs. Sparrow II Destin Craven Defeats Jack Sparrow via Submission (Triangle Choke) Our Main Event saw a much anticipated rematch between Sparrow and Craven, a fight that both wanted for varying reasons. Sparrow to try to avenge a loss he felt never should have happened and Craven to prove that the first time was no fluke and to put the matter to bed once and for all. In addition to any drama and hype from that angle, there was also the consideration that Sparrow had agreed to finally take a shot at the title if he was given this rematch and managed to pull out a win. Well, this fight may have lasted over twice as long as the first time these two met…but outside that this was pretty much rinse and repeat! The approach to this fight was the same for Sparrow and he followed through by getting the takedown early. After that it was about working the ground and pound, something Sparrow was unable to do much of in the first fight but this time was able to get going a bit for about two minutes of the action. Unfortunately for Sparrow, Craven was prepared to pull off the same shenanigans he pulled the prior fight, waiting for the opportune time and then suddenly slamming down a submission out of nowhere! “Sparrow stands over his opponent and dives in with a flying punch! Craven throws up his legs and catches Sparrow in a triangle! Oh this looks tight! Sparrow tries to escape but he's forced to tap! Wow, fantastic work there by Craven! That came out of nowhere!” Donkey, Craven does it again and proves it wasn’t a fluke eh…? Donkey’s Takeaways: Wow, Craven makes a HUGE statement with this win and then immediately calls for the title shot rematch after his win! I can’t say I blame him and in this division, he may very well have earned it. The only person really standing between him and getting that rematch at this point is DIsmantle who had earned the spot last month but decided he wanted to hold off for a bit first. If he defeats Nagashima on the 16th, he’d technically have the rights to the claim. But if he again decides to hold off, or if he loses, the shot would be Craven’s. For Sparrow, its back to being a high end gatekeeper to contenders status for the division it seems! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! Wow, great action, a lot of fantastic upsets and surprise endings and obviously one of our highest rated events, if not the highest, to date! We had a blast and hope you all did too…this was certainly the way to ring in the New Year! We’ll see you again on the 9th, let’s continue to make this year even better than last in Sucker Punch land! Till then…don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted January 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW Sucker Punch Pro Series 34 Welcome back Sucker Punch fans! I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be joined by my partner and analyst, Donkey “Dan”, as we get back in the saddle after our longest layoff between fights due to us holding the New Year’s event a day earlier than normal last week! But now we’re back and ready to bring the energy and action over at Hard Knocks – Sydney this evening for Sucker Punch Pro Series 34! We’ve got a very mixed bag on this evening’s card as we start out with combination of Welterweight, Middleweight and then back to Welterweight fights. To finish off the Undercard we’ll have Light Heavyweight’s Atilla Dorn and Joe Junior go at it and then what may be a crazy ground battle between Middleweight fan favorite Bill Sherman and struggling, but dangerous, Longsun Zhao! Kicking off the Main Card will be possible future Heavyweight Top Contender Devin Hill taking on former contender Kingston Wall in a match I know I’m looking forward to! After that former Light Heavyweight Champion Aleks Kuznetsov will attempt to start working his way back up towards contention as he takes on up and comer Bjorn Akerfeldt who is looking to prove he’s ready for a shot sooner than later! One of the most interesting fights of the night will get the place fired up and lead us into the Main Card events as Light Heavyweight ground specialist Wille Thai faces of against “elbows of death” specialist Ross Rhea! This is a “keep the fight where you want it or be in dire straits” fight for both, as neither wants to play in the other’s kitchen! Our Co-Main event of the evening will be a huge battle for Middleweight Top Contender status and a shot at the title in February between Sean Smith and Andy Hughes! This is a big time fight which should see bombs thrown left and right as these two stand and face off! And the Main Event sees more Light Heavyweight action as reigning champion Jacob Parker defends his belt against talented and hungry challenger John Fury! So there we have it! Tons of great action ready to go for the evening so let’s hear from our merchandise partner and sponsor and get to the good stuff in more detail! Our fantastic and respected sponsor is Shadow Warrior Nutrition! Many of you already know them as the providers of Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q., THE energy loss reduction supplements! For those of you who aren’t in the know on that, you should be, because this is the way you keep your fighter training more often and not taking sessions off to try to keep his energy above 90%! If you aren’t using this supplement, hurry over and check them out today, you will not be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Welterweights Joseph Weaver (0-2-0) vs. Alex Driver (4-6-0) The first bout of the evening will see Welterweights Alex Driver and Joseph Weaver facing off. Driver is coming into things tonight a bit off with both energy and morale. That’s certainly not going to help his cause as he attempts to bounce back from a loss to Carter Ortiz last month. The question for him is going to be…how motivated is Joseph Weaver to win? Weaver’s manager, Kelly McGrady, has already indicated that Weaver is likely to be unemployed after this fight. Driver typically uses his respectable boxing and remarkable Muay Thai to stay on the feet, preferably with the ability to break the clinch and get back to full kickboxing mode. He spreads his attack out and uses his feet as much as his fists so his opponent needs to be capable in both areas defensively. Weaver has struggled to get his career kicked off with two losses both here at Sucker Punch. He’s been downed by both Sergio Vargas and Ceedee Queen via TKO’s previously. He’s got heavy hands but obviously there is some question about his heart and/or chin given his results so far. Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Weaver via TKO (Strikes) Weaver’s got wonderful boxing and Muay Thai along with superb wrestling so there is a good chance he can dominate on the feet this evening especially against a fighter coming in just a bit off on both morale and energy as we discussed. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Weaver specifically take this into the clinch to wear down the body of his opponent and set up the big finish! If Driver can land the big one and finish Weaver with his varied attack then McGrady will definitely have some valid concerns about Weaver’s intangibles. *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Middleweights Ibrahim Volkov (3-2-0) vs. Gancho Ganevski (1-5-1) Volkov comes into our second fight of the evening for the Middleweight contest down almost 30% on morale. Well, Donkey, I think I know what that means for your pick! That’s quite a surprising condition for Volkov given his manager, Robert Smith, is usually all over these types of things and has his fighters on a strict regimen that brings them to the cage in top form and ready to grab success. Perhaps Volkov’s teammates need to get on his case a bit and figure out why this guy’s attitude is dragging things down around camp! Despite Volkov’s mental state coming into this fight, Ganevski will still need to be extremely focused if he wants to walk away with a win. He’s suffered four losses in a row now here at Sucker Punch, with only his debut fight for us over Edward Mills being a win so far on his career. Three of his losses have come via KO and another via submission, so I’d say his goal tonight had better be two-fold. First, protect that chin…and second…avoid having this go to the ground at all costs given he has only abysmal wrestling and a white belt in Jiu Jitsu! His best hope is to keep this thing on the feet and end it fairly early using his wonderful boxing and superb Muay Thai. Typically he has an obsession…and I do mean that in every sense of the word…with getting into the clinch. Volkov likes to wrestle and very much likes to throw nasty punches. But he prefers to have you begging for your life on the ground as he does that! He has exceptional boxing, so he can handle himself on his feet, but it’s the proficient wrestling that you have to worry about along with the purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. Both of those areas are very dominant over Ganevski’s skills this evening, so you can expect that this fight is going to the ground rather quickly unless Ganevski ends it with a big shot early. That is, if Volkov’s morale allows him to be successful with the takedowns. Well, which way are you going Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Volkov via TKO (Strikes) You’re absolutely correct about Ganevski’s history with the clinch Hare. He’ll try repeatedly throughout the entire fight and in the past has worn himself out doing so, especially given how quickly he tries to break out of it. An improvement would be to find balance between boxing and clinching, lower the clinch attempt rate but also lower the break clinch to spend more time there once that hard earned clinch is acquired. Despite the low morale I have to lean towards Volkov on this one. Ganevski has shown little interest in improving his ground game or defenses, so this one likely gets to the ground despite a lack of morale and confidence on Volkov’s part. From there, he should be able to gain position at will and do enough damage to win this one. *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Welterweights Mister Lee (1-2-0) vs. Sergio Vargas (4-7-0) Alright Donkey! Here we go, our third contest of the evening brings us two Welterweights who are both fully prepared to get in there and get going tonight! Vargas and his manager Zeke Gunner have likely been desperate to figure out how to right the ship and get things rolling properly. With four losses in the past four fights they’ve come into this one looking for a big rebound and their preparation shows they’re focused at the least! Vargas has exceptional boxing, remarkable Muay Thai and wrestling and a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu. In his win over Joseph Weaver he took advantage of the combination of grappling and Muay Thai to dominate in the clinch to get W. Could he do that again tonight against another opponent where he’ll have the same advantage? If that is Vargas’ plan he’d better be careful of the takedowns from the clinch. Lee has wonderful boxing, remarkable wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu. He also has proficient Muay Thai, so he’s not a huge underdog in the clinch but the advantage is Vargas’. The big weapon where he has the advantage this evening is Lee’s Jiu Jitsu though as he’ll have a significant advantage there so I expect to see this one hit the ground if Vargas can’t control the action and keep it on the feet. Even if Vargas does keep it on the feet…or Lee decides not to take it to the ground…Lee can handle himself with that wonderful boxing. That’s actually how he got his first and only win so far against Weston Hodkiewicz. How does this one turn out Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Lee via Submission (Kimura) This is very winnable for Vargas but his camp has been struggling to figure out how to best make use of his skills so far and how to prevent him from falling victim in other areas. With the varied options that Lee has at his disposal to potentially get the W in this one I have to look to his side for the win here tonight. *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Light Heavyweights Joe Junior (5-3-0) vs. Atilla Dorn (1-1-0) We’re getting on a roll here as far as guys coming in prepared Donkey! Woot! Dorn and Junior are both more or less ready to rock this evening at Hard Knocks – Sydney! Dorn is 1-1 in MMA with a win from Florida Fight Squad in a quick little single three minute round ordeal before joining us. But unfortunately he gave up a third round TKO loss to Dolph Lindgren last month in his Sucker Punch debut. Tonight he will attempt to get his first win with us at Joe Junior’s expense! It’s difficult to say yet where Dorn wants to work his magic in the cage as his last fight with Lindgren saw him attempting to take it into the clinch quite a bit, but finding once there that he was at the disadvantage. Dorn is evenly skilled across the board, with strong boxing, Muay Thai and wrestling as well as having a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. I think we need to see more of him…and likely his manager, Paul Dengel, does as well…before we can define him better. So far in his career Junior has not tried to make a mystery of what he’s going to try to do inside the cage. He’s going to throw hands and try to throw them with something behind em! When they land they seem to land heavy because in most of his wins it hasn’t taken a lot of them to get the job done! He’ll need to keep the fight separated to have success this evening although it seems his grappling skills may be hiding some ability there. Or maybe he’s simply been working on that area quite a bit? If Dorn decides to take this to the ground it will be interesting to see if Junior is prepared for that kind of move! What do you see here Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Dorn via Submission (Armbar) I think Dorn does try to get this to the ground but the risk will be that he may have to take a nasty shot or two from Junior in the process of trying to get it there! If that happens, Dorn better pray his chin is up to the task because we all know Junior can land them. Now, once it gets there, does Dorn have the skills to finish? It’s going to be a fun one to watch and find out! If this is the direction it even goes in, I could be totally off! *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Middleweights Longsun Zhao (4-5-0) vs. Bill Sherman (4-3-0) Another two guys prepared to get in there and put on a show for our Sucker Punch fans tonight Donkey! On paper it would appear that Zhao has the skills advantage here with his superior boxing while in other areas these two are fairly evenly matched. However, Sherman does have a slight edge in wrestling so we’ll see if that grappling gives him the edge in the clinch or on the ground! Both fighters are coming off two losses in a row and really need a W in this one to get things back on track. Zhao needs one more than Sherman even, as before his last win he was on a three fight losing streak and really would like to prevent that from happening again! If he’s going to turn around what was a promising career when he joined Sucker Punch, tonight is the night to do it. Zhao’s moves have become more than a little predictable though as he tends to use quite a few clinch attempts in an effort to then get the fight to the ground. Once there, he’s been struggling to pull off submissions though and you have to wonder if his complimentary skills in that area and physicals are in line? Sherman is comfortable on the ground though and given the grappling advantage may even benefit from it going there. That said, you’d think Zhao should come in with an alternate game plan this evening. If he doesn’t Sherman may have the edge as he attempts to work the GnP. Well Donkey, have a pick for us in this one…? Donkey’s Pick: Sherman via TKO (Strikes) Even if this thing doesn’t go to the ground this evening, I have a feeling Sherman would be content to keep it in the clinch as he should have the advantage there. So for Zhao, if he continues to follow his normal path tonight it would likely not end well given he’d possibly be at a disadvantage in both areas of clinch and ground. His best move would be to keep it at distance and use his boxing advantage. Historically though, his manager has tended to be a bit focused on one approach with not many adjustments from fight to fight for his guys. *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Heavyweights Devin Hill (3-2-0) vs. Kingston Wall (8-5-0) Our Main Card Donkey and I have to tell you that I’m actually a bit shocked here…and not in a good way! Both of these men have big things on the line. For Wall, an attempt to bounce back from a title fight loss to Thoth Chontamenti and what we would think is the desire to work right back into that title picture. Yet, he seems to have no recovered from his loss and his morale hit and word on the street is that he’s not quite focused and ready mentally for this fight. That’s shocking, and honestly, his stinky clothes, which are still his original duds from the day he was born, tell the story there. More surprising still is that Hill comes into this fight down between 10-15% off on energy. That’s shocking as you’d expect him to really want to put his best foot forward in a fight that could have potentially landed him a title shot if he were to win. Honestly, we have to see how we feel about that after this fight as coming in a bit unprepared is never a good look for a potential Top Contender. Wall is a boxer through and through. He has plenty of other skills as well but for the most part he gets the job done with the hands. In Hill, he’ll meet a man who likes to dance a little closer, preferring to get the dirty work done in the clinch. Tonight, it’ll likely be a battle to see who can impose their will and force the fight to take place how they want it to! Well Donkey, what do you think here…? Donkey’s Pick: Wall via TKO (Strikes) I’m as shocked as you are that Hill is off on energy a bit coming into this fight. Given that and knowing how hard Wall can land his shots, I’m going to have to lean in Wall’s direction despite the disappointing morale issue. We’ll see though, this should be a fight to watch for everybody there tonight! *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Light Heavyweights Aleks Kuznetsov (4-2-0) vs. Bjorn Akerfeldt (4-2-0) This is what I like to see Donkey! You don’t get much more prepared than these two Light Heavyweights are! And for good reason as well! Kuznetsov is attempting to bounce back after a couple losses, the first of which cost him the championship to Jacob Parker and the last one to John Doe who will be taking on Parker soon in a title shot. Akerfeldt is attempting to show that he should be in the conversation about Top Contender and a win here over the former champ would certainly speed that conversation to the forefront! Akerfeldt is a dangerous submission artist who has superb wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu! But don’t be fooled, that doesn’t mean he can just be pushed around on the feet as he also has remarkable boxing and strong Muay Thai skills. All four of his wins have come via submission though, so clearly that is the bread and butter in this situation. Kuznetsov is a TKO artist who simply wears you down and eventually gets to you. He’s been somewhat exposed in his most recent fights though as the counter game against him seems to have paid off. That is unlikely to be the case tonight though, as this fight is likely to come down to your classic grappler/sub artist versus striker contest! Donkey, a close one tonight…or…? Donkey’s Pick: Akerfeldt via Submission (Kimura) Kuznetsov has decent wrestling and a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu but I have to question if he’s truly prepared for the ground game of Akerfeldt. Hopefully knowing who he would be facing this month he’s focused on the training in camp to help him overcome and get past this opponent. If not, the night could be over fairly quickly for the former champ! That’s not to say that Akerfeldt can come in with too much arrogance…Kuznetsov can rock your night before you know it and that’s a risk when you’re attempting takedowns. Unless you plan appropriately… *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Light Heavyweights Wille Thai (6-2-0) vs. Ross Rhea (6-4-0) Our last pairing before the Main Events will have Ross Rhea facing off with Wille Thai in an intriguing Light Heavyweight battle! Ross Rhea pretty much has to be scheduled towards the end of the evening because if not the cage is a bloody mess most of the time for everybody else when he’s done with his night’s work! This man is wickedly evil and loves to get into the clinch and then use those razor blades he calls elbows to open you up! He has six wins and while only two of them…the most recent two…have ended via Cuts there have been many more fights than that where he’s inflicted nasty damage. Unfortunately for him, he seems to die the same way so to speak, as he’s also lost via cuts twice! Wille Thai will want nothing to do with the slow dance that Rhea has in mind this evening! No, he’ll want this thing on the ground ASAP and be working for a submission. It’s just what Wille does. With wonderful wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu that’s clearly still going to be his move, with only competent boxing and mediocre Muay Thai to help him fend off Rhea this evening. How about this matchup Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Thai via Submission (Armbar) I’m thinking that this one does get to the ground before Rhea can do enough damage to bleed Wille out this evening. Those who stand and go at it with Rhea usually don’t fare well, but I don’t think Wille intends to do anything of the sort. The question will be whether Wille’s grappling is going to be enough to help him escape the clinch with Rhea? *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Middleweights Sean Smith (5-0-0) vs. Andy Hughes (7-2-0) Well Donkey, when I put this Co-Main Event fight together the hope was that this thing was going to be a Top Contender determining fight and the winner was going to find themselves with a title shot afterward. But I expected a hard fought contest between one dude with only two losses but seven wins and another with an undefeated 5-0 record. Now, that said…this is where I have to tread carefully I think, eh Donkey? Because, normally this is where I tell everybody that Hughes is coming into this fight very much unprepared with only about 65% of his morale in place and short on energy by about 8-10%...and that said, that that is likely to cause you to pick against him! Now…we did that whole song and dance last month…and Hughes went out there and shoved it right down our throats afterward! Haha! But…I have a feeling that’s not going to stop you again this month Donkey! Smith is 5-0 and undefeated and likely has no intention of coming in without a solid plan and without all of his preparation in order! If Hughes can get past him tonight without full prep, well, then good on him and he’ll earn a title shot despite the poor prep! But Smith is certainly going to have a lot to say…or show…about that. Smith is a boxer extraordinaire with incredible skills. Last fight, he literally only needed three combos to down Sherman. The fight before about triple that, but still, not a lot. He’s a powerful striker who strikes to finish! Hughes will be very content to play along! He’s an active striker who goes for mostly head shots and plenty of them! He’ll wear you down and have his opponent so punch drunk they think the ref is their mother by the time the fight is over! Two different approaches, one power, one aggression…we’ll see if they stick to it or if one or both change it up! A championship opportunity on the line…who comes away the victor and heads into the cage next month against the winner of Beam/McGuire, Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Smith via TKO (Strikes) This is a very, very difficult fight to pick! Smith has never lost. Hughes has never lost by anything other than submission. Neither have ever fallen to another striker! Tonight, that likely changes for one of these men! For now, I take the easy way out and just pick for the undefeated one who’s better prepared! And at the same time, sit here cringing knowing what’s coming if I picked wrong! *********************** Main Event: Light Heavyweight Championship Fight Jacob Parker (5-1-0) vs. John Fury (4-0-0) Our Main Event of the evening will be an absolute doozy for the Sucker Punch Pro Series Light Heavyweight Championship of the World! John Fury comes into this fight with hungry eyes, a mean streak and a trail of fallen victims behind him as he’s undefeated at 4-0 and has recently walked through the likes of some strong competition in Ross Rhea, OJ Simpson and most recently, Joe Junior! All via TKO or KO! For his part, Fury will have no interest in putting this fight on the ground, something Parker will likely be perfectly ok with. Fury has sensational boxing, but despite those skills loves to use his superb Muay Thai and strong wrestling to put on a clinch-rape tutorial for anybody watching! Parker has wonderful boxing but may actually best Fury when it comes to the clinch as he has sensational Muay Thai and remarkable wrestling. He also has a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu, although we’ve never seen him have an interest in trying to win on the ground. Instead Parker was the first Light Heavyweight Champion at Sucker Punch who was able to defend the title once he acquired it. And since then he’s done it a second time, with wins over Julian Rourke and Wille Thai in those defenses after acquiring the hardware from Aleks Kuznetsov. He’s proven he can best any style brought at him so far! The best comparison we can make to this upcoming bout is when he fought Julian Rourke. Although Rourke was better with the boxing but not as effective in the clinch. Rourke was similarly skilled to Fury though so it may be a good look forward to this evening if Fury decides the clinch is the way he wants to take this. In the Rourke fight, Parker was able to dominate in the clinch and did the majority of his damage there. Does Fury come with a similar approach? Does Parker this evening? Do they both have a surprise or two up their sleeves? This is going to be fantastic! Donkey…? Donkey’s Pick: Parker via TKO (Strikes) Why am I picking Parker? The hell if I know! Because you told me I had to pick one, and he’s the champ…so until he’s unseated, I’m going with that and that’s all I have to say! This should be a great fight, so let’s just sit back, enjoy and cheer like crazy because I have no doubt these two are bringing everything for the fans in Sydney this evening! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! It’s been a long (little over) week since the last event and I’m so damned happy to get the action going again over at Hard Knocks – Sydney this evening! We’ll be heading over in just a couple hours and hope to see you there, but if not, pick up the live stream and cheer along with us for your favorite Sucker Punch superstars! Till then…don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted January 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2021 POST EVENT CHEAP SHOTS Sucker Punch Pro Series 34 Hello again Sucker Punch fans! I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be joined by my partner and analyst, Donkey “Dan” as we take a (very) quick look back at Sucker Punch Pro Series 34 from the other night at Hard Knocks – Sydney! I’ll be honest, I tried to run through this as quickly as possible as I had a ton of stuff to get to around the house this past weekend and the honey-do list here at Casa de Rumpler seems to grow longer every day! Ha! But it was impossible. The action was crazy and it was just taking me a while to really do this thing up right while juggling stuff for the wife and work! But yeah, let’s get to this, because as I just said the action was intense with a bunch of big finishes, some shocking turnabouts and upsets and at least one nasty bout that ended with a cage painted red in blood, leaving the final four fights to wonder what kind of massacre or sacrifice had been offered to the MMA gods before they got out there! No sense in delaying…let’s hear from our merchandise partner and sponsor and get to the good stuff in more detail! Do you find that you’re resting your fighters too often? Two, three, maybe even 4 times a week sometimes? If that’s the case, you’re probably not supplementing their training, and if you are I’m thinking you’re not doing it with Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q, which is Shadow Warrior Nutrition’s outstanding energy loss reduction supplement. It’s the best money can buy and will keep your fighter in the gym training rather than sitting days out resting! Stop on over there today, you will NOT be disappointed! Now, let's get to it! *********************** Undercard Bout #1: Welterweights Joseph Weaver Defeats Alex Driver via Unanimous Decision Donkey starts things out this evening with a ‘W’ for his picks by calling this one. Or at least calling the winner if not the way the bout was won! This first fight of the evening saw Joseph Weaver and Alex Driver going the distance and putting things in the hands of the judges. Not exactly a difficult task for them though as Weave was very much in control of this fight from the beginning and easily won all three rounds on each of the judges’ scorecards. Driver was never really able to get things rolling in this fight which stayed on the feet with some time spent I the clinch but the majority spent boxing. He did land a pair of head kicks along with a couple tot the legs an done to the body…and those head kicks are always dangerous when they land…but Weaver was able to shake those off and offer up a considerably larger amount of abuse in return with an aggressive approach and anywhere from a third to half of his strikes landing depending upon which ones you’re looking at. He outworked and outscored Driver with the judges and while credit for that has to go to Weaver and his camp, a portion of the lack of effectiveness on Driver’s end has to be blamed on lack of preparation as he came off on both morale and energy. Anything to add Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: In the preview I mentioned that, “Weaver’s got wonderful boxing and Muay Thai along with superb wrestling so there is a good chance he can dominate on the feet this evening especially against a fighter coming in just a bit off on both morale and energy as we discussed. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Weaver specifically take this into the clinch to wear down the body of his opponent and set up the big finish!” That’s pretty much everything you need to know as that was the story of this fight, minus the big finish. It’s a shame that Weaver was let go by Kelly McGrady after this fight, something we knew was coming going into this one, because he appears to have some potential. Maybe he’ll get picked up and come back to Sucker Punch under new management? Things aren’t looking so hot for Driver who continues to come in a bit unprepared. He’s now dropped below .500 and very much needs a win going forward. He’ll get a chance to prove he can come more prepared against Ralph Harber next month. It’s pretty much a “must win” for him at this point I’d think. *********************** Undercard Bout #2: Middleweights Ibrahim Volkov Defeats Gancho Ganevski via Submission (Kimura) Donkey went against my thoughts that he would pick against Volkov due to morale issues in this one and picked Volkov to win anyway during the preview. I guess it’s a good thing he doesn’t listen to me, because this pick now makes him 2-0 on the evening! In the preview, I mentioned that, “…I’d say his (Ganevski’s) goal tonight had better be two-fold. First, protect that chin…and second…avoid having this go to the ground at all costs given he has only abysmal wrestling and a white belt in Jiu Jitsu! His best hope is to keep this thing on the feet and end it fairly early using his wonderful boxing and superb Muay Thai. Typically he has an obsession…and I do mean that in every sense of the word…with getting into the clinch.” Ganevski and his corner didn’t pay attention to my thoughts even one bit…instead coming straight out of the bell and going for back to back clinch attempts which were rebuffed by Volkov before Volkov scored a takedown. Once the takedown was secured, this was just a matter of formality before things were finished off. Ganevski did offer up a sub attempt of his own which was turned away by Vokov and then a minute later Volkov had worked himself into position and capitalized on the Kimura he was working for! Well, anything else there Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: Ganevski went back to his standard playbook and came out heavy with the clinch attempts despite his advantage in the area of boxing. His focus on the clinch led to a quick takedown and with his lack of ground skills that was all she wrote! He now has five losses in a row here at Sucker Punch and will get one more chance next month to show improvement, growth and the ability to adjust his game plan. Short of a win in this upcoming “absolutely must win” scenario against Brennan Brunswick…well…you get the idea. For Volkov, we know that his coach has been questioning his intestinal fortitude and ability to bounce back from disappointing results. But he also shows promise when he comes in and gets it done in fights like this. We think he may have bought himself a bit of a lifeline with his manager, Robert Smith, with this win. Hopefully he can make good on it going into next month! *********************** Undercard Bout #3: Welterweights Mister Lee Defeats Sergio Vargas via TKO (Strikes) Alright Donkey! You may have called for a win via submission for Lee in this one, but a win is a win is a win and you’re now 3-0 with your picks on the evening. Vargas needed a win in the worst way in this contest after having lost four of his last five fights. He didn’t get that win against Lee here, but what he did do is come in prepared and put up one hell of a fight! This thing was thirty-three seconds from going to the judges and resulted in both getting the “Fight of the Night” honors! Despite our thinking that Lee may have the advantage on the ground and could potentially try getting it there should the fight go into the clinch he never made any moves in that direction. Instead this fight stayed on the feet the entire time, moving in and out of the clinch. Surprisingly, Vargas wasn’t able to capitalize on an advantage we thought he might have in the clinch and typically broke out of it again shortly after gaining it. Lee was excellent in the clinch and able to score valuable points there gaining the first round due to the combination of points in and out of it. Was there too much focus for Vargas on breaking back out to assert himself offensively in the clinch? Who’s to say, your guess is as good as ours. After two rounds this fight was apparently even on the scorecards in a close fought battle with Lee having taken the first and Vargas, to the best of our knowledge, taking the second. Strike count wise, there is a very good chance that Vargas may have been leading in the third, with our count being ten strikes to seven leading up to the sequence that finally rocked Vargas and gave Lee the opportunity to finish this thing! How about it Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: By all accounts, Vargas was thirty-three seconds away from an upset victory in this one! But without even invoking any sort of “swing for the fences” Lee has to be given proper credit for knowing when it was time to get the job done! This was a hell of a fight with both warriors finding themselves in a war in this one! A well-earned win drives Lee back into .500 territory as he gets his first ‘W’ for new manager Runt! For Vargas, a disappointing loss and certainly not helpful to have dropped five of his last six, but looking at the bright side his camp seems to have figured out potentially how to make the best use of his skills as this was a real test and he just about got the job done. That won’t make the ‘L’ sting any less though. *********************** Undercard Bout #4: Light Heavyweights Joe Junior Defeats Atilla Dorn via TKO (Strikes) Well Donkey, all good things come to an end as does your streak of picks here with this one! You called for the submission win for Dorn in this one but this fight never even sniffed going to the ground. Hell, it never even went into a clinch as both fighters decided to box and kickbox it out going toe to toe the entire time. And by entire, I mean the whole half a round that it lasted! So I guess it’s safe to say that Dorn’s ground skills are not offense oriented. In the preview I mentioned that, “So far in his career Junior has not tried to make a mystery of what he’s going to try to do inside the cage. He’s going to throw hands and try to throw them with something behind em! When they land they seem to land heavy because in most of his wins it hasn’t taken a lot of them to get the job done!” So, we know that Junior lands his shots with a wallop and clearly that was true for this fight as well. Eight shots were all he landed but he landed them with a high rate of accuracy and clearly with something behind them. While Dorn got his shots in as well, they weren’t landing as consistently and that spelled out the difference. This thing was ended decisively… “Dorn misses with a right hand and Junior counters with a left right combination that sends Dorn crashing to the mat - Junior wastes no time in diving on top of him and pounding Dorn out for a TKO! Devastating finish!” What do you have to say there Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: This fight seemed to have helped Junior find his winning ways again and perhaps will have him moving back up the rankings. Dorn fails to get his first win at Sucker Punch but will get another chance to move forward and get back to .500 next month, most likely against Mike Bard. For Junior, a date with Derwent Bolt is likely in his future! *********************** Undercard Bout #5: Middleweights Longsun Zhao Defeats Bill Sherman via KO (Punches) Well Donkey definitely gets off the pace here as Longsun Zhao comes through with a huge KO finish to not only grab a win, something he’s needed for a bit now given recent fights, but also to grab the ‘KO of the Night’ honors! Oh, and not to mention setting the record for fastest KO in the Middleweight division! The bell rang for this fight…and then it was over and anybody who blinked, including Bill Sherman, missed it! Certainly not many in the arena did though as the entire place went crazy with nearly every fan on their feet and a giant, “Oohhhhhh!” escaping the collective crowd at Hard Knocks – Sydney… “The bell rings for round one and we are underway! Oooooh!!! Zhao has knocked Sherman down with a huge combo! Zhao steps away and waves a wobbly Sherman back to his feet! This one might not go much longer! Sherman is rocked! A big right followed by a crushing left from Zhao knocks Sherman out cold! Ouch - that one's going to be featured in highlight reels for years to come!” Well Donkey, bet you didn’t realize that this fight was going to be a quick intermission before the Main Card eh…? Donkey’s Takeaways: In the preview I said, “So for Zhao, if he continues to follow his normal path tonight it would likely not end well given he’d possibly be at a disadvantage in both areas of clinch and ground. His best move would be to keep it at distance and use his boxing advantage. Historically though, his manager has tended to be a bit focused on one approach with not many adjustments from fight to fight for his guys.” Well, I think somebody might have been listening…and it led to a needed win for Zhao that moves him back to .500. For Sherman, it was the end of his run with manager Dan Inacan and he finds himself out of work and trying to swim back home from Sydney! Hope you brought the shark repellent! *********************** Main Card Bout #1: Heavyweights Devin Hill Defeats Kingston Wall via TKO (Cuts) As we enter the Main Card for the evening here Donkey finds himself falling to .500 on the evening so far with yet a third wrong pick in a row! Dang Donkey, you tell others to get on their horse…what about you? Oh, did that hit too close to home bud? Haha! This one could have thrown anybody for a loop though. Hill clearly had done his homework because Wall was doing just fine boxing…but once this thing went into the clinch, which it was bound to do with both men working to get there…Hill had a plan and clearly it involved a lot of elbows! It’d be hard to believe that that was just the luck of the draw or a random thing and one has to realize that Hill’s corner had seen and noted Wall’s history with cuts…and planned to take full advantage of it. So early in the second round, with this thing becoming something out of a slasher horror flick, Wall saw the ref call the doc into the cage and got the news that no fighter ever wants… “Kingston Wall's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters. The referee calls the doctor in to look at Kingston Wall's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!” Our Main Card Donkey and I have to tell you that I’m actually a bit shocked here…and not in a good way! Both of these men have big things on the line. Nasty stuff there, huh Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: Hill may have come into this fight a bit low on energy as we noted in the preview but clearly he didn’t come into the fight low on strategy! And what a nasty strategy it was! This man didn’t intend to outlast his opponent. He didn’t intend to KO him or turn the lights out. Perhaps if the opportunity presented itself, sure. But I’d say the plan was clearly to bleed Wall out…and he did it successfully. Hill moves to 4-2 with four wins in a row now and clearly is making the case that he should be considered for Top Contendership soon! Wall’s comeback tour plans are delayed by this turn of events as his attempt to bounce back from the title fight loss to Chontamenti didn’t go as planned. We’re working to see who may be up next for him, but given the currently scheduled fights that’s something we may not be able to determine until later in the month around the fights on the 20th. *********************** Main Card Bout #2: Light Heavyweights Bjorn Akerfeldt Defeats Aleks Kuznetsov via Submission (Armbar) Donkey gets back on the positive side of things with this pick in a fight that lasted just shy of two minutes! Kuznetsov came out firing, landing a couple of good shots that left Akerfeldt cut before he could register that the fight was on! That was the wake-up call that Akerfeldt needed and he quickly got his head in the fight and took things into the clinch, taking away a bit of Kuznetsov’s effectiveness and offering him the opportunity to drag the fight to the ground, which he did around the minute mark of the contest! Once on the ground, with Akerfeldt controlling Kuznetsov in his guard and preventing his escape , the submission attempts started. With an attempt or two to get into position for a triangle, which Kuznetsov wasn’t willing to cooperate for, Akerfeldt accepted a good old fashioned armbar instead and, well… “Akerfeldt pushes a forearm under Kuznetsov's chin to create some space. He's escaped his hips and pivoted quickly for an armbar! Can he extend the arm? Yes, Kuznetsov is tapping out! Damn, that was fast!” Akerfeldt pulls off the ‘Submission of the Night’ with that win! Donkey, not as close a fight as we expected…? Donkey’s Takeaways: No, not as close as expected, although it was closer than you may think. Kuznetsov came out of the gate firing and landed a couple, and if one of them had landed just right or he was able to get a few more in this thing could have changed direction really quickly! That wasn’t the case though and once Akerfeldt moved it to the ground Kuznetsov was definitely at the disadvantage. We weren’t sure how much his wrestling would hold up down there and clearly it wasn’t enough against Akerfeldt’s ground skills. Kuznetsov’s quest to return to Top Contender status is pushed a little further off with this loss, his third in a row and second since losing the title. We have him slated to face off against Ross Rhea next month which is a really interesting combination of styles between Kuznetsov’s striking and Rhea’s thirst for blood in the clinch. For Akerfeldt, this was the fight he needed to see if he was ready to step up into the true big leagues in the Light Heavyweight division and he answered the call. Next month he’ll see Wille Thai, another skilled ground artist and a different kind of test. Should he pass that test, he’s looking at a title shot! *********************** Main Card Bout #3: Light Heavyweights Wille Thai Defeats Ross Rhea via Submission (Guillotine) Alright Donkey, I see you’ve got your groove back here as your pick of Wille Thai via submission comes through and moves you to 5-3 on the night huh? Thai gets into the cage with a blood-thirsty and dangerous Rhea in this one but manages to avoid ruining a future modeling career by preventing the clinch attempt which came about thirty seconds into this one from Rhea. That clinch attempt, if successful, would have led to a whole new level of discomfort for Thai and avoiding it was key in this fight. Thai seems to have really stepped up his strike defense as well as he avoided all shots offered by Rhea over the little more than a minute of action before finding a way to get the takedown. Once this thing was on the ground we got exactly what we’d expect from Thai…the submission spam sandwich! A kimura attempt here, an armbar try there, hell toss in a couple layers of triangles too that didn’t quite land and the dish was just about served up! Rhea was trying to posture up to mount some offense being he was unable to escape Thai’s guard but Thai was controlling things really well down there. Finally Thai gets the chance to show his finesse and smoothness on the ground…offering another triangle attempt but then… “Thai is looking to cinch up a triangle. Rhea throws the leg off to one side though and gets in tight to Thai's body to avoid the submission. Thai has instead reached around Rhea's neck and now has a guillotine! Oh, this is biiiig trouble! Thai arches his back and squeezes and forces the tap from his hapless opponent.” Donkey…? Donkey’s Takeaways: This fight was all about who could dictate where the fight takes place and force the action into their domain. Rhea made his play for the clinch which would have taken this fight in a whole new direction but was unable to get there. Once Thai succeeded in getting this to the ground Rhea was in trouble. For Thai, this win shoots him back up the ranks after losing his bid for the title last month against current and STILL Light Heavyweight Champion, Jacob Parker. He’ll get truly tested next month against another smooth criminal on the ground as we discussed in the last fight review…with Bjorn Akerfeldt waiting for him to see who might earn a shot…or another shot in Thai’s case…at the belt! The loss will no doubt be a disappointment for Rhea who was on a roll against some tough competition in the past couple months. He’ll likely get a chance to bounce back against another striker next month as we previously discussed in this review which has been his bread and butter to date! *********************** Co-Main Event: Featured Middleweights Sean Smith Defeats Andy Hughes via Unanimous Decision And this next pick for the Co-Main Event of the evening moves Donkey to 6-3 on the night! Not bad my Donkey bro! As Donkey mentioned, Hughes has made us eat our words previously when he’s been picked against due to lack of prep. But also, Donkey is pretty adamant that he’ll be right more often than not when preparation is involved. That seems to be potentially the case here as this fight went the entire distance and was put in the hands of the judges. Hughes ran down to just about zero energy left in this fight and you have to wonder if the 10% or so he came in short might have made the difference. Potentially not, as this was a clear decision across the board for all three judges with Smith’s aggression and fantastic percentage of combos landed making the difference in a fight that stayed mostly boxing, with only the shortest stint in the clinch. What was amazing was that Smith offered up a TON of kicks in this fight, many to the legs but quite a few to the body as well for about forty combined, yet Hughes was able to defend against every single one of them. That speaks either to Hughes’ skill with kicks himself…which would make you wonder why he doesn’t mix them into his attack some…or perhaps make you suspect that maybe Smith’s kicks aren’t as good as they need to be to be using them so heavily. At the end of the night both of them walked out of there fairly tired but mostly unharmed Donkey. What else do you have for us here…? Donkey’s Takeaways: The takeaway from this one is very simple! Smith moves on with an undefeated 6-0 record and gets his title shot next month against the winner of Beam/McGuire! Hughes on the other hand will attempt to bounce back from the loss by taking on undefeated newcomer to Sucker Punch, Chris Harms! That’s a battle I can’t wait to see and there’s no doubt that either of these fighters tonight will continue to bring some excitement to the cage for Sucker Punch fans going forward. But Hughes may have to acknowledge that the lack of prep could have just cost him a title shot. Possibly. Maybe not, but why leave the question hang out there? Come prepared son! *********************** Main Event: Light Heavyweight Championship Fight Jacob Parker (5-1-0) vs. John Fury (4-0-0) Here we go Donkey! Our Main Event of the evening and I’ll give you a little sneak preview…this one makes you 7-3 on the night with the picks and a job well done sir, a job well done indeed! I was expecting this one to be an absolute bang-fest and didn’t think there was any chance this one made it to the judges. Surprisingly it went further than I expected! But…it was almost over early…and before we get into that, why don’t we take a quick look back at the intro by our very own Juice Fluffer for this big time Light Heavyweight Championship fight! Juice Fluffer enters the cage… “Ladies and gentlemen…this is the Maaaain Event of the evening!” “The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Ron Honeybunn and Summer Carpente.” “Our sponsor for this event is Shadow Warrior Nutrition.” “Annnnnnnd Now! For those in attendance and Sucker Punch fans around the world…this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” “LIVE!, from THE Hard Knocks in Sydney, Australia…” “Iiiiit’s TIIIIIIIME! Five rounds for the Undisputed Sucker Punch Pro Series Light Heavyweight Championship of the World!” “Introducing first…fighting out of the blue corner. Holding a professional record of FOUR wins, NO losses and NO draws, he stands 191 centimeters tall, weighing a natural 212 pounds, he’s 21 years of age. Fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and hailing from Haslingden, England…The Challenger and Top Contender in the Sucker Punch Pro Series Light Heavyweight division…Johhhhhhhn…FUUUUURRYYY!!!” “And nowwwww…FIGHTING… out of the red corner. With professional record of SIX wins, one loss and NO draws, he stands 189 centimeters tall, weighing in at exactly 205 pounds…he’s 22 years of age…hailing from Kailua, Hawaii, United States and fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada… THE REIGNING….DEFENDING…UNNNNNNDISPUTED Sucker Punch Pro Series Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, Jacoooooob…PARRRRRRKERRRR!!!” And it was time to get it on Donkey!!! These two came out and went at it right away, no pussy-footing around for these two! Within the first minute Fury was cut on a counter right from Parker and first blood was drawn! Then about a minute and a half in, this happened…and I think everybody in the house thought that this Championship fight was going to be over in the blink of an eye… “Parker swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect. Parker lands a big head kick that sends Fury tumbling to the mat! Parker takes a step backwards and waves Fury back to his feet - he wants the finish! Fury is rocked!” As if that wasn’t enough, Parker immediately took it into the clinch to ensure Fury didn’t get away, misses with a shot to the inside and then dishes out this punishment… “Fury is still on wobbly legs! Can Parker finish him? A head punch on the inside from Parker fails to land. Parker drops Fury onto one knee with a big uppercut from the clinch! Fury is propped up by the cage and works his way back to his feet! That has opened up John Fury's cut even more.” I don’t think a single soul in the place expected this fight to last much longer, especially with Parker having Fury trapped in the clinch and having rocked his day twice over the course of about 20 seconds…but give it up for this man Fury, who showed some amazing heart and ability to recover, as he not only recovered, but got back into it and was dishing it back again for the next two minutes! And then again, I think most had to be thinking this Donkey…the wheels fell off…or at least that’s what was going through most people’s minds when this happened… “Fury rushes in with a sloppy looking punch letting Parker counter with a right hand. Fury swings away with a body shot that misses and Parker counters with a nice right hand that sends Fury toppling to the canvas! Fury scrambles and gets back to his feet - can Parker finish him?! The cut above John Fury's eye is starting to cause him problems now.” So now Donkey I know you and I were discussing this, but we were saying, “Oh my, is Parker going to finish him with a big KO…or is this thing going to end in the way that no fighter would ever want a title fight to end with a stoppage via the docs?!?” But no! Fury survives the round for the next minute…and those damn play by play guys…yeah, I know Fury was dishing out shots too, but you can’t get rocked and have the play by play guys actually suggest that it was a close round! Bullshit, and btw, if you PxP guys are reading this, yeah, we’re gonna have a talk about our health plan and the fact that we DO provide vision insurance…go get a check-up boys! The second round comes and clearly there is NO quit in this man Fury! I mean, Parker hurt him not once, not twice but three times bad in the first round…on top of the nasty cut he had going, and yet this guy JUST. KEEPS. COMING. Period. So much so that he brought it in the second round and took it with pure aggression and drive! Although, again, we were unsure if it was going to make it through and frankly, I’m shocked the doc didn’t stop it right here…maybe he let it go because clearly Fury was refusing to give up? But this was a close call I think just before the four minute mark of the second… “Parker scores with a shot to the side of Fury's head. John Fury's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters. The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!” But no, this fight went on! And yes, the fans were giving it up in a BIG way to these two, who were putting on the type of fight that you dream of and expect from a title fight! If not for a touch decision where we ended up giving the ‘Fight of the Night’ to an earlier match that really got the crowd going for the evening, this would have been an easy winner of the award on any other given evening! So let’s skip to the good stuff…Fury survives, and wins, round two…and we move on to the third…oh, and while this thing was scheduled for five rounds…this would be the final…barely…as we just barely got into it… The bell rings for Round 3…and… “Fury throws a lazy uppercut and Parker counters with a crisp right hand that drops Fury! Parker lets Fury back up to his feet, looking for a finish! Fury throws a shot from downtown. Parker moves away and avoids it. Parker steps in with a hook that catches Fury right on the chin and knocks him to the floor! Parker follows him down with more strikes and that's all she wrote! Fury looks absolutely devastated.” And that was it Donkey! Fury did look devastated…this man clearly wears his heart on his sleeve and left everything in that cage. Man, if I didn’t have to stay unbiased (haha, am I kidding, I’ve never held back!) I’d have to say that I am now a huge fan of both of these men! Juice Fluffer enters the cage as the referee has both fighters in the middle of the cage… “Ladies and gentlemen, our referee has called a stop to this contest at twenty-two seconds of round number three…” “Declaring the winner…by Technical Knockouuuuut…ANNNNNNDDDD STILLLLLLL…Sucker Punch Pro Series…UNNNNNDISPUTEDDDDD…Light Heavyweight Champion of the World…“Jaaaaaaacob…PARRRRRRRRKERRRRR!!!!!! Donkey…you with me here or are you busy reliving that fight in your mind right now…? Donkey’s Takeaways: What a FIGHT Hare! What a fight! I’m going to tell the audience out there exactly what I told you the other night at the event…and that’s that I disagree wholeheartedly with the pick for ‘Fight of the Night’! For me, there is no question, this was it! But hey, we’re not always going to agree I suppose and you’re the man in charge. But for the fans and these two fighters…yeah, you know where I stand on this. Congrats to the Champ, Jacob Parker, who has now defended his title successfully three times! Is there a man alive who can knock him off his throne? Only time will tell! For Fury…young man, do NOT hang that head after this fight! No sir, you hold that head up high and know that you gave the fans everything and they LOVED IT! Hare, let’s do it again! I know there are others in line that are deserving of the shot as well, but this has to happen eventually. I want this, I think you want this, the fans want this…hell, I think these two may be ready to go at it again right now! *********************** So there we have it Sucker Punch fans! So there we go folks! I think this event speaks for itself! It was top notch and the action was intense. I can’t wait to get back to Hard Knocks – Sydney again this coming weekend as we’ve had some fantastic cards and fights there and I really do think the smaller venue, the intimate setting, is bringing out the VERY BEST in our crew here at Sucker Punch! So be there with us or at the very least make sure you catch the live stream for the upcoming SPPS 35 this weekend on the 16th! Till then…don’t forget… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted January 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 Presents The Day After… …from the hotel bar with Suzy Sucker Punch! ********************************* Hi again everybody! I’m super excited to tell you that we’ve got a special sit-down piece for you this week. Unlike most of these that I’ve done from the SPPS hotel bar the night before the big event this one was the day after. I can’t thank Mattias Lundgren, manager for Longsun Zhao and Bjorn Akerfeldt, enough! He had a message sent down to me on the floor while we were at Sucker Punch Pro Series 34 over at Hard Knocks – Sydney letting me know that his boys would still be in town the next day and that ‘win or lose, Team Lundgren would love to sit down and chat with you’! Well, you guys out there in Sucker Punch land all know that I’ll never turn down the opportunity to get into the minds of our fighters and give the Sucker Punch fans out there just a little bit more, so I cleared my schedule for brunch and got set to see what Team Lundgren had to say. ********************************* Surprisingly, my favorite little spot over in the corner by the fireplace was taken at brunch so I tucked myself into the corner of the bar instead, still able to get comfy and at the same time get an expedited mimosa! Shortly after both Bjorn and Longsun arrived and after ordering some breakfast we got to business seeing what was on their minds. SSP: Well guys, I see Mr. Lundgren isn’t with you this morning so I’m guessing he just wanted to give you guys a chance to have some fun and chat it up? That’s fantastic! A great night of fights last night, Team Lundgren has to be thrilled with the results. You guys really went out there and got it done! BA: It’s great to be here Suzy and also great to come in off wins for both myself and Longsun. The next day is always brighter with that so today is definitely sunny without having looked outside yet! SSP: Longsun, rather than dance around the question you know I’ll have to ask, let me just get straight to it. You know a lot of people had started wondering if you lost your touch having only won one of your previous six fights. With your performance tonight clearly there's still gas in the tank and it looks like there's a new record for fastest KO in your division on top of the win! What was your strategy going in tonight and did it go the way you expected? LZ: Donkey Dan while one of the most respected fighters of our time and Bugs Bunny there said I followed the same routine too much but rather my focus was misaligned, going into this fight I had a clear goal, Cause Pain. After my back to back losses to Fuhren I couldn't get settled but as a warrior if you live, you train and fight your opponents til you are victorious or you die, or if you're a coward when you lose you run to a lighter weight division. SSP: Well that is undoubtedly a pointed comment at the end and certainly not random. I think we all know who you’re @’ing on that one Longsun. And wow, how about that KO speed? Nobody can ever ‘expect’ a fast finish like that, dream of it and maybe hope to get it, but not plan for it. That had the whole building on their feet and the place was a madhouse! Mr. Takahashi comes running into the bar, strangely with his own microphone, and quickly wedges himself between Suzy and Longsun at the bar while wearing a crazy grin… Mr. Takahashi: Suzy baby! Let me answer that for him, Trix are for kids, but checks are for us, hear that Hare? We also take cash and most major credit cards! SSP: Well Mr. Takahashi…and hello btw…it would certainly be well deserved after last night’s performance. And I’ve already been told by the guys up there at the top, Hare and Donkey that Longsun did indeed get the KO of the Night award! So congrats on that! Mr. Takahashi, you've been absent quite a bit lately too. What’s the news at Team Lundgren? Mr. Takahashi: Well babe, let me tell you there was quite a bout of bad luck and we just couldn't figure it out we have some of the top competitors in the world, you see these guys in the gym and see their striking and grappling it's really next level stuff, so fresh it's like a new style, I tried to get them to name it Taketo but something about trademarks or whatever. Mr. Takahashi: But then it came to me one night when I looked at my spare cellphone that I hadn't turned on in months and saw "I'm going to hex your team if you don't call me back" and you know who it was from, Sophia Gunderson. Seems she couldn't handle losing all of this -Takahashi gyrates his hips- so I called her up, we settled business together, then she removed the curse all for just one night a year every leap year and as you can see from the finishes here Team Lundgren is going straight to the top! SSP: Well, I’m not so certain I believe in hexes much Mr. T, much less that a roll in the hay is enough to remove them! *laughs* Speaking of Team Lundgren, let’s not forget about Bjorn here with yet another smooth submission victory inside of the first round. Also, btw, another ‘of the Night’ award for Team Lundgren! Tell us about what your plan was going into the fight, Bjorn? BA: Ah well I actually had to change plans last minute, I thought I was fighting the bear so I planned to use my boxing strategy as I did in my IAHFL fight in Siberia awhile back, but then at weigh-ins I saw they didn't have fifty pounds of raw salmon and thought "what’s the bear going to eat?" Then I saw Kusnetzov and realized I had to fight the other guy in the picture! He's an exceptional boxer, way better than I, so instead I decided to play more defensively and as soon as we went to the ground I knew I had him. Mr. Takahashi: And that's the mark of a truly great warrior someone who can change on the fly to match their opponents. SSP: So what's next for the Big Bear, who do you have in your sights? BA: Well I'd love to fight Ross Rhea, but we can save that for the hockey rink, really anyone who will get me closer to that title, unless you guys can get Zane Alexander over here for 5 rounds so I can settle a score or you guys feel I deserve it already, what do you guys out there think? SSP: Well I do have a bit of information on that as well! I reached out to the front office last night immediately following the event to get as much inside information as I could knowing I’d be meeting with you both this morning. Sources…and by sources I’m talking Donkey…tell me that Hare has already fixed up things for you to fight Wille Thai next month! SSP: Wille managed to bounce back from his title fight loss to current Light Heavyweight Champion Jacob Parker with a big win over Ross Rhea last night. Hare sees this as a huge ground test, something you haven’t had to face yet, Bjorn, and with both you and Wille now back in the Top 5 of the division feels this sets the winner up for a possible title shot. Any thoughts on that? BA: Whatever route it takes to get to the title I'm looking for it, I saw Willie's fight tonight he looked good, not as smooth as me but finished in the 1st round. It'll be an interesting fight for sure since I haven't been tested against other grappling yet but I've got more than a few tricks up my sleeve. But we need to talk to someone about making this happen NOW! I'm ready to go tomorrow, I'm sure Willie is too, it's easy when you never really leave round one. SSP: Wow, you’re definitely wound up and ready to go there Bjorn! I know the fans love that sort of enthusiasm. And Hare as well! Mr. Takahashi: And don't forget buy Iron Wolf Discount Supplements! SSP: Well guys, I can’t thank you enough for stopping down this morning! Please thank Mr. Lundgren for offering to give me some time with you guys on one of the few recovery and relaxation days you guys probably get! It really means a ton to me and the fans! LZ: Is surely our joy Suzy. BA: Yes, it’s great to get a chance to be the focus and really let everybody know what we’re about, so we appreciate it as well Suzy! ********************************* And with that, we wrapped up a solid week of SPPS 34 and prepared to move on to SPPS 35 this coming week! We’ll be back at Hard Knocks - Sydney on January 16th and hopefully have some more great conversations with our fighters and managers here at Sucker Punch. Who knows who we might have next! Take care everybody until then! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therobbsmith Posted January 12, 2021 Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 MMA JUNKIE Interview with 6 - 0 SPPS Middleweight Fighter Sean Smith. Press : Sean thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. Your star continues to rise and soon you'll be fighting for a Championship. Before we get to that though let's talk about last weekend. You fought Andy Hughes and won decisively by unanimous decision. I was told however that you left that fight pretty banged up. How are you doing now a few days later? Sean : I'm still quite banged up. I'm back home in LA and just waiting for my body to heal. Press : Word from your manager is you broken your hand in the first round. With a title shot on the horizon how long before that will be healed and you'll be training again? Sean : I'm taking this week off to recuperate my body , starting next Monday I'll be doing non contact drills. I believe with my recovery schedule and with the Middleweight title fight being at the end of the month that I probably won't be back in the cage until late February at the earliest but more than likely it'll be early March. Press : We've become accustomed to your pre fight hype videos but we didn't get any of that for your fight with Hughes. Why is that? Sean : Andy was the toughest test of my career. I knew I couldn't waste time taking shots at him when I could be training. That guy is a tank. I broke my hand on his head early in the first and that's why I kept trying to kick him but he is a smart fighter. The videos and all that is for guys who start talking trash to me. I never saw that from him so henhad my attention on his skills. Press : Do you have plans to be in Sydney , Australia when Jim Beam defends against Landon McQuire? Who do you have in that fight? Sean : I'm not sure about travelling right now. Just depends on how my body feels. That last fight drained me like I've never been drained before. I would like to be in Sydney but right now it's in the air. As far as who I think will win , I'm not too sure. I hold Hirst and Machado to high levels of respect and Beam beat Hirst and Landon beat Machado. I think they're going to put on a great show, I really do. Press : If you got to pick who you fought for the title which guy would it be? Sean : I want to fight Jim , I think his ground game is above average at best but I would like to test that theory. I feel like I have the stand up to test anyone. I also want to fight Landon because if he beats Jim then that means not only would beating him secure my Championship but I would be taking his undefeated record and adding a blemish to it. Press : When you ultimately get that Championship wrapped around your waist what message would that send to the rest of the division? Sean : Honestly, I believe when I become World Champion people will believe they have an easier path to the title. You have all these well rounded guys , brown belts , black belts , grappling champions. Here I am , a 21 year old bjj blue belt. Never been tested on the ground , never been taken down. Guys like Machado , DeAngelo, Lannister , they got to be foaming at the mouth to fight me. They think I am an easy target , the thing is everyone who came before them thought the same thing. Six bodies I dismantled , five chins I've cracked. I know I'm young , I know people think they have me figured out but I also know what they don't. Press : There was talk not long ago about you moving to light heavyweight because you have two teammates in this division. If you win the Middleweight Championship do you stay and defend it or move on? Sean : Jacob Parker versus Sean Smith would pack out an arena but I still have four or five names on my list at eighty five. Machado , Hirst , Lannister come to mind. Maybe in time after three or four title defenses I'll make the walk but right now I have to focus on the task at hand and that's getting healthy and winning that Championship. Press : The future looks bright for the Young Gun and his Savage Krew teammate's. Anything to add before we let you go? Sean : Be ready , whomever wins that championship needs to be ready. Ain't about destiny and all that shit. It's about who's willing to grind for it. I come the from the mud and none of y'all put in the work I do. Savage Krew , let's get it!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HareRumpler Posted January 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 Awesome stuff we've been getting from The Savage Krew and Team Lundgren lately! Just adds to the amazing flavor and fun here at Sucker Punch and I'm eternally grateful for our involved managers across the board! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therobbsmith Posted January 12, 2021 Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 You're the reason I do this stuff. You always go that extra mile for us managers. All I'm trying to do is add to the fun. I appreciate you mate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornmma1 Posted January 12, 2021 Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 Derwent Bolt 2-0-0 Perhaps this weekend I will face an opponent that won't be frozen to the canvas as my previous two. So far, the guys standing in front of me haven't been able to even try one single move yet, crazy. I don't understand why, I'm a friendly guy and don't even throw down hard most of the time, so why do they just stand there and look like they have been struck by a lightning .... bolt? ? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleakardor Posted January 12, 2021 Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 2 hours ago, bjornmma1 said: Derwent Bolt 2-0-0 Perhaps this weekend I will face an opponent that won't be frozen to the canvas as my previous two. So far, the guys standing in front of me haven't been able to even try one single move yet, crazy. I don't understand why, I'm a friendly guy and don't even throw down hard most of the time, so why do they just stand there and look like they have been struck by a lightning .... bolt? ? Hmm.. my guess is the stadiums have too many overhead lights, and the reflection off your bald head is blinding them. They never see it coming. Very well thought out strategy, I might say! lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suske127 Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 On 12/26/2020 at 7:04 PM, 762x39 said: Landon McGuire put the middleweights on notice last night. I have been hiding his takedowns until I needed them. Hopefully between his striking, developing ground game, and granite chin he will be at the top of the division for a long time to come. You have a great ORG. Hopefully Guy River will keep improving and string together some wins! On 12/30/2020 at 4:40 PM, jjsquirrel said: Wanderson Machado: My coach doesn't know what he is talking about, like he would have anything to do with it once the fight is on. Only reason I let McGuire make this a grappling fight is I knew a loss here was the only way I was going to get matched up against Hirst again. Yeah I know I said I wanted the belt back.. and I do of course, but I expected to fight Hirst for it. That decision has been bothering me a lot. And after thinking about it I wanted to set things straight with Hirst first. I feel I need that settled before I can fully focus on the title again. On 12/27/2020 at 3:56 PM, ForwardPressure said: Slick Gunderson: I don't get into a war of words much anymore but I feel compelled to point out Nyah Hirst was a total flash in the pan. I can't believe he actually won the title in the first place. Light this, light that, once Psiris Fuhren gets done cleaning out the 170 division, maybe he'll pop back up to 185 to put your lights out once and for all. That's assuming Wanderson doesn't beat him to it. Merry Christmas everyone else other than Nyah Hirst!!! None of Y'all are shit compared to Beam. Landon is a good fighter. Great even. But Jim is on another level. Try to grapple with my boy and we'll see what a "developing" ground game looks like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornmma1 Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 On 1/12/2021 at 9:31 PM, Bleakardor said: Hmm.. my guess is the stadiums have too many overhead lights, and the reflection off your bald head is blinding them. They never see it coming. Very well thought out strategy, I might say! lol Derwent Bolt 2-0-0 Imagine my next opponent coming in with sunglasses now... ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762x39 Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 10 hours ago, Suske127 said: None of Y'all are shit compared to Beam. Landon is a good fighter. Great even. But Jim is on another level. Try to grapple with my boy and we'll see what a "developing" ground game looks like. Well I guess we will see when I leave the fight with his arm. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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