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Sucker Punch Pro Series (Unrestrained) Opens in Sydney


HareRumpler

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Unfortunately SPPS 40 likely won't have a review as well folks, and I'm very sorry about that.  I was sick as a dog all weekend and work is already a bear this week.  We'll try to get back on our horse here for the upcoming even this weekend and go from there.  If I can, I'll try to at least put out Donkey's portion of the takeaways from the fights at SPPS 40 tonight since they usually provide value in terms of knowing where guys stand and all.  

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SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW

Sucker Punch Pro Series 41: Love & War

Hello out there all you Sucker Punch fans!  Yep, believe it or not I’m finally back at it after a week hiatus and I’m still feeling extremely bad about missing out on both the preview and review for SPPS 40 last week!  But, the show must go on, so here I am, Hare Rumpler, and I’ll be joined here in the booth by my pal and analyst Donkey “Dan” this evening as we prepare to look ahead at SPPS 41: Love and War coming at you tonight from the Hard Knocks – Sydney arena!

We’ve got a bunch of the lighter to middleweight fights lined up for you folks this evening with only a single fight at Light Heavyweight.  Which just happens to be the Co-Main Event so it should be a good one!  The night will also be bookended by Featherweights.  We have ole crazy eyes himself, Kaoru Nagashima, kicking things off with Dino Ebedi who will be making his last trip into the cage for a bit as he plans to take a three month sabbatical after this fight.  On the other end of the things, the Featherweight title will be on the line tonight as our Co-Main Event will see Mickey Dismantle challenge current champion Michael Aalto for the belt.  In between there are two more Featherweight bouts, a Lightweight matchup between Anike Chukwu and Piney Winston that should be really fun, a pair of Welterweight battles and even a Middleweight contest between Jin Yi and Obama Filth, another that should be highly entertaining!

It may be the day before Valentine’s Day folks, but there certainly won’t be any love lost in the cage in Sydney this evening!  Now, let’s visit our sponsor and merchandise partner for a few words and then take a closer look at each of these fights!

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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!

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Undercard Bout #1: Featherweights

Kaoru Nagashima (3-6-0) vs. Dino Ebedi (4-2-1)

And certainly with this Featherweight fight on tap there will be zero, and I mean, nada, zilch, love lost in the cage this evening!  Why?  Well, it’s not because these two necessarily hate one another or have some sort of grudge…but both are desperate for a win to turn things around and that means both will be looking to destroy the guy standing across from them this evening!  The good news?  They’ve both come fully prepared to give it everything they’ve got!  The bad news?  Each will be looking across the cage at a guy who is just as prepared as they are!

Ebedi has lost his last two fights and due to that has already decided he needs to step away and re-think his approach.  He’s going to be taking a sabbatical for a few months until May and he’d very much like to start that with a win rather than a trio of losses strung together. Nagashima is in even more dire straits as he more or less has to be looking at tonight’s fight as an absolute ‘must-win’.  He’s lost five in a row coming into tonight and six would be devastating.

I’m fully expecting this to be your classic striker versus grappler/sub artist war.  Ebedi has strong wrestling and a purple belt, but his strength lies in his standup with superb boxing and remarkable Muay Thai.  Nagashima leans the other way, with strong and proficient boxing and Muay Thai respectively, but has superb wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu.  Both have skills to counter the other but should be looking to try to win the fight via opposing styles.

Donkey, who gets it…?

Donkey’s Pick: Nagashima via Submission (Armbar)

This will be the first time in his career that Ebedi has truly faced an opponent that will want to win the fight on the ground.  How will he handle it? I’m not sure to be honest.  But what I do know is that Nagashima should be laser focused on breaking up that five fight losing streak and I’m betting on him coming to the cage with a little something special tonight.  If he can’t win it on the ground in his first chance or so though, expect Ebedi to walk out with this one.

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Undercard Bout #2: Lightweights

Anike Chukwu (5-4-0) vs. Piney Winston (8-6-0)

Ok Donkey, close your eyes my good man!  Seriously.  Why?  Yeah, you already know…because both of these kids are coming into this fight unprepared.  Winston is at least coming in with his energy ready to go.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that he’s coming into the fight with his morale off by over 30%.  The ugly?  Well, that would be Chukwu’s situation.  His energy is off by 15%, but worse, his morale is almost non-existent!  The disappointing part?  I mentioned to the manager when we signed him on about the need to work on getting that morale up.  Needless to say…this might be his first…and last…fight with us. 

Winston took a huge morale hit last month after his loss to Jubbly…but still hasn’t changed his clothes.  That’s also very disappointing.  If he can pull off a win against an even less prepared opponent this evening he may buy himself a bit more time.  But not much. 

I’m not going to get into much of a fight breakdown here as I’ve started making it a habit not to do that when both fighters come into a contest unprepared. 

How does this one turn out Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Winston via Submission (Kimura)

Suffice it to say that Chukwu is a striker and Winston is a ground submission artist.  Chukwu likely won’t have the drive and focus to keep this one from going to the ground and that should play into Winston’s hands this evening.  Honestly, he HAS to get this win this evening given how unprepared Chukwu is.  If he should fail in that endeavor it would be a damning statement and I suspect Hare would then set both of them free by tomorrow!

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Undercard Bout #3: Welterweights

Mister Lee (2-2-0) vs. Samuel Sanchez (5-3-0)

Donkey, thank God we can put the disappointment of that last match behind us here and move on to two kids who are ready to rock!  Sanchez is just about geared up to go, perhaps slightly off on morale but not significantly.  Lee is fully prepared!

Sanchez is 5-3 overall but has been less than happy you’d think with his showing since arriving here at Sucker Punch.  He’s 1-2 in his three fights with us and is coming off a Decision loss to Ceedee Queen.  This man may have superb wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu but make no mistake about it, it’s his fists he likes to do the dirty work with once on the ground! He can also handle himself on the feet with his exceptional boxing and if he has any area that’s probably a bit softer than the others it’d be in the clinch.  All five wins have been via (T)KO with his last one against Lors Loria coming after a half dozen brutal ground and pound strikes!

Lee is on his second manager since being here at SPPS with us, first with Dead Disney and now under the careful guidance of Runt.  He had a heck of a battle with Sergio Vargas last month, his first fight under Runt’s tutelage, that went almost all the way to the last bell minus a half minute!  He managed to finish it via TKO and save it from being put into the judges hands in a performance that earned both warriors ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.  He split his energy and time both in and out of the clinch in that contest, but most of the clinch was instigated by his opponent.  He was able to control things there against an opponent who wanted to be in the clinch, so you might wonder if he’ll attempt to take advantage of that against Sanchez tonight?

What do you see here Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Lee via TKO (Strikes)

This contest is going to come down to two factors most likely.  First, who can dictate where the fight takes place as Sanchez will likely want to put it on the ground and you’d think Lee will try to prevent that.  Then, the second factor will be if it goes to the ground, who can control the positions and opportunities down there? Sanchez has superb wrestling which is just a notch below what Lee brings to the table and both have brown belts. It’s going to be an amazing battle for both position and control this evening.  If it makes it to the ground!

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Undercard Bout #4: Featherweights

Yellow Belt Casey (5-3-0) vs. Broklyn Red (3-2-0)

Our last of the Undercards brings us two more kids who are ready to get it on Donkey!  This is awesome. I’m very proud of the majority of the guys tonight coming to the cage ready to give it everything!

Red, previously managed by Runt but now being overseen by Alexei Smirnov, is coming off a KO loss to a very tough Baptiste but had been on a roll with two solid wins in a row prior to that against Nagashima and then Kongsangchai.  His most advanced area is with his wrestling but historically he has used an aggressive boxing game to get the job done.  But that was under prior management and it will be fun to see what approach Smirnov instructs Red to come into the cage with this evening!

Casey changed things up last month and suddenly pulled off a TKO finish out of the blue after previously using submissions for all of his wins.   With remarkable boxing, proficient Muay Thai and wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu he has a well-rounded set of skills to work with.   With back to back wins leading into this fight Casey is on the verge of launching himself into the Top 5 of the division.  He currently sits at #9 as is so he’s well positioned to make a big move here if he can pull off a quality win.

Well Donkey, should we expect these two to stand and throw down or…?

Donkey’s Pick: Casey via Submission (Armbar)

So the question for tonight is will Casey stand and box with Red, or will he go back to his old ways and take things to the ground?  If he does, is Red prepared to show us he can handle it?  This is a very even fight and I’m intrigued to see who can outcoach the other in this contest!  I’m going to lean towards Casey only because he’s been on a roll and sometimes there can be a bit of a bump when a new manager gets his bearings with a fight as is the case for Red.

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Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights

Jin Yi (4-2-0) vs. Obama Filth (3-3-1)

We move into the Main Card here and BOOM, another one that’s got two fighters ready to lock horns and get at it Donkey!  Woot!

Filth came into Sucker Punch two fights ago with a solid 3-2 record, a new manager in Tomo The Chosen One and a chance to immediately propel himself into the contender picture within a fight or two given his overall skill levels and the opportunity to tack on a win or two.  He clashed immediately with Wilfred Ainsworth in a battle that went the distance and was so evenly fought that it resulted in a Majority Draw…and ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. To determine which of these two really deserved to move on and get a shot at contendership we set them up immediately to go at it again and settle the score!  Once again they went the distance but this time with Ainsworth earning the decision.  And again, ‘Fight of the Night’ honors!  Wow! 

Filth likes to use the combination of boxing and the clinch to get his work in.  Yi prefers to do his work on the ground and has won four fights via submission. He lost to Ainsworth two months ago and has had a bit of a break since then to train up a bit more, so that puts both of these guys in a similar position in terms of recent fights and losses.  Yi will present a completely new type of challenge for Filth…one that Ainsworth was able to overcome.  So now, the question is, can Filth?  Yi was able to get the fight on the ground against Ainsworth but just couldn’t put it away, which shocked many of us given his history. 

This should be a very fun one eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Filth via TKO (Strikes)

Filth is no slouch with his grounds skills either as he has remarkable wrestling and a brown belt.   But Yi has a black belt!  Will that be enough?  Filth will have the advantage whenever this fight is on the feet.  I’m going out on a limb here and saying he gets it back to the feet without being finished and gets the shots in he needs to pull a win.  It might be via decision rather than a finish though.  But, this is a coin flip fight, you go with Yi and you could very well be right!

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Main Card Bout #2: Welterweights

Red Crow (6-2-1) vs. Ceedee Queen (4-1-0)

Not gonna lie Donkey, this one may be one of my favorite ones that I’m looking forward to of the night!  At least on paper.  Because I just love it when there are big things on the line and the fight is just looking to be a rough go from both angles!  As for what’s on the line?  Well, one of these two is going to go on and get a Top Contender battle that could give them a title shot if they can string this win together with the next! 

Queen is 4-1 with a couple of impressive wins coming into this fight over first Joseph Weaver and then a victory over a very tough Samuel Sanchez!  A win here against 6-2-1 Crow would make him 5-1 and impress with a victory over the #4 ranked in the division…as Queen already stands at #5!  A win would line him up right behind Vovchanchyn for a title shot.   He loves to get the fight to the ground and will likely want to do that tonight as well.  Once there, he’s amazingly effective and able to control the position and land shots that just plain hurt!

Then we have Crow.  And he’ll have a few things he’d like to say about all those “opportunities” for Queen, as all of those have to go through HIM!  And Crow makes this a very interesting matchup because while he is more than willing to work the standup game he’s also had no issues in the past with going to the ground and also working the ground and pound!  His remarkable wrestling and brown belt are to be reckoned with and truly if this fight goes to the ground it’s going to get very interesting, very quickly! 

There will be the battle for position and we’ll have to see if there’s a lot of controlling or if both men are working for a finish.  Queen may have the slight edge on the ground with his elite wrestling, so does Crow try to keep this on the feet especially given his clear advantage there? 

Donkey, a close one tonight…or…?

Donkey’s Pick: Queen via TKO (Strikes)

You’re correct Hare that this should be one of if not THE most exciting fight of the night potentially!  I wouldn’t be shocked for a second if this ends up vying for ‘of the Night’ honors.  I really, really cannot make a pick in this one as it’s tough as nails to figure out who is going to gain the advantage.  I like Crow on the feet but a lot says that this thing gets to the ground where Queen should have the advantage.  But can he capitalize on it down there and finish? Or can Crow do enough to stall it out and get the points on the feet to score with the judges?

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Main Card Bout #3: Featherweights

Kurt Cobain (7-3-0) v Luke Skywalker (5-4-1)

Our last fight before the Main Events and we’ve got another great one on tap here!  I have to say Donkey, for a night where we unfortunately only have nine fights on the card, I’m very, very happy with the quality of the fights we’re going to have!  Minus of course that one that we ‘shall not speak of’ any further! Both of these kids are locked and loaded and should give us a great show.

Two Top 10 ranked fighters in the division here go at it with an opportunity for each to skyrocket up the divisional ladder!  Skywalker was on a roll having won five of six fights with the only non-win being a draw that he came back and avenged two fights later against Dino Ebedi.  That string of success earned him an opportunity to take a run at the Champ, Michael Aalto, last month in a fight that saw the champ retain…but via decision.  A win here would put him right back into the Top 5 and position him one step or so away from another shot possibly! 

Likewise, Cobain was on a roll with a 6-1 record for a bit as he approached a shot at the title.  With his only loss being against Hiki Antsa, which he avenged two fights later he earned the chance to fight for the vacant Featherweight title against Michael Aalto. Aalto worked the ground game in their fight and pulled off the submission and went on to defeat Craven the following month and then Skywalker last month.  In the comeback attempt for Cobain he fell via decision to a crafty Petsuwan Sitsongrit but was able to bounce back last month with a win over Kongsangchai.  An impressive 7-3 overall record to date keeps him very much in the picture though and a win over Skywalker tonight would prove that he’s the one of the two who is the closer to earning a shot back at that title again!

A fun one eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Cobain via KO (Punch)

With wonderful wrestling and a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu it’s fairly clear that Cobain has been working on the aspects of his fight that let him down against Aalto last time.  That work he’s put in could very well be a determining factor in this one tonight as the one area Skywalker had the advantage over him in the past would have been on the ground.  Skywalker has pulled off a submission victory in the past over both Ramon Rabbit and Cobain’s camp mate, Dismantle. With that gap being closed a bit, the one area that stands out as an advantage now is Cobain’s Muay Thai, although he tends to not use that, preferring to just punch you in the head…hard.   Tonight, we find out which of these fighters has grown the most over the past three months!

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Co-Main Event:

Featured Light Heavyweight Bout

Bjorn Akerfeldt (5-2-0) vs. Wille Thai (7-2-0)

Our Co-Main Event of the evening…and I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over again tonight Donkey, but another fight that I just cannot wait to see!  And one of these guys will be just one step away from a title shot after tonight, as a win here will get them a Top Contender battle next month to see if they can earn just that!

On paper Akerfeldt is the more skilled fighter overall in this matchup.  However, Thai has shown a mastery of the ground game that very few others in the division have been able to achieve to date and that makes him an extremely dangerous opponent who just tends to “find a way” to win!  So much so that two months ago it earned him a shot at the title as he challenged our Champ, Jacob Parker, after he’d gone 6-1 in his career here at Sucker Punch up to that point.  He lost that title chance in the second round via TKO but bounced right back to his winning ways last month against Ross Rhea…via submission.  He’d like nothing more than to get past fast rising star Akerfeldt and prove that he deserves another title shot soon…one that undoubtedly he’d love to get a chance to try a few new things in!

Akerfeldt has put together an impressive 5-2 record over his career thus far including two huge submission victories here at Sucker Punch.  First, he defeated a talented Harold Kerzner and then put down former champion Aleks Kuznetsov, also in the first round in just under two minutes.  A big win tonight over another talented ground submission artist could prove that he is the new submission king in town…or…does he come at this one differently given his opponent?  That’s what we’re dying to find out!  What he’ll be a bit disturbed…or excited perhaps…to learn is that the last fighter he lost to, Choctaw Bloode, has now joined us here at Sucker Punch!  And clearly he’s already ranked fairly highly, so these two may be looking at each other sooner than they thought again!  So much so that the path to the title may have to go THROUGH one of these two.

Donkey…does this fight almost feel a bit like the Championship is already on the line to you…?

Donkey’s Pick: Akerfeldt via TKO (Strikes)

Nah Hare, not quite.  But I can see where you might say that.  For one of these two, this fight is a gateway to bigger and better opportunities.  For the other, this would definitely be a setback for a bit.  So yes, it’s a hugely important fight in the climb up towards the Top 3 in the division.  But it’s not the same as fighting for the belt yet!  I feel like this one may surprise and maybe doesn’t end up finished on the ground.  And if it stays on the feet or gets back there Akerfeldt has the advantage.

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Main Event:

Featherweight Championship Bout

Michael Aalto (7-0-0) vs. Mickey DIsmantle (6-2-1)

And our Main Event is here Donkey!  And boy, just like ALMOST every single fight (Yes, I’m looking at you guys back there in the second fight of the night you slackers!) these two are geared up and ready to rip into this thing…and each other!

At 6-2-1 Mickey comes into this fight with an impressive record alone.  But when you stop to consider  that four of those wins have been strung together over his last four fights…well, now that’s impressive!  Now, I won’t lie, most of the time he wins via TKO or KO…but he does have the ability to play on the ground as Hiki Antsa was surprised to find out three fights back when Dismantle pulled off a shocking submission win!  If I’m being honest though, that is unlikely to  happen tonight unless Mickey is forced into the situation…which could end up being the case…as he’ll probably prefer to stay on the feet against Aalto.

Not counting his days in the TWGC, Aalto has amassed an impressive, immaculate 7-0 MMA record!  With all but one of those wins taking place here at Sucker Punch.  The other being a QFC test fight early in his career.  Four of his wins have come via submission but his last two, over both Craven and Skywalker, have come via a TKO head kick and a decision respectively.  So Aalto has definitely been flexing his “well rounded skill-set” muscles lately! 

Dismantle has the same level of wrestling as Aalto surprisingly but the difference comes in in the Jiu Jitsu skills where Aalto is now a black belt and Dismantle is a purple.  That will make it even more important for the challenger to have a solid game plan that he can pull off tonight if he wants to upset the current Champ and walk away with the hardware at the end of this one!

Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick:  Aalto via Submission (Armbar)

Aalto has the advantage in boxing surprisingly.  Is that something he’s been working on leading up to this fight?  I can’t say for certain.  But the one combinational area where Dismantle does have the advantage is in the clinch due to equal wrestling and the better Muay Thai.  Will he use it?  That remains to be seen.  It’s dangerous though, as that would give Aalto another vector of attack to get this thing to the ground.  I see a few more “outs” for Aalto in this one than I do for Dismantle, so I have to lean towards the champ retaining.  However, it wouldn’t shock me if Dismantle lands a nasty one and it’s lights out early.  But nobody else has ever been able to do that yet against Aalto who, btw, has a granite chin.

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So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

We’re back in business here and ready for a lot of fun tonight over at Hard Knocks – Sydney!  I hope you’ll be joining Suzy, Donkey and I over there this evening and if not catching all the action live remote!  Enjoy all, and we’ll see you over the next day to review all the great action from tonight!

Till then…don’t forget…

Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style!

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Risa Roo Reviews...

Sucker Punch Pro Series 41!

Love & War

Welcome back to another episode of Risa Roo Reviews. SPPS 41 - Love and War was Friday night and contrary to the popular saying, there were no lovers at this event, only fighters.

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Undercard Bout #1: Featherweights

Kaoru Nagashima Defeats Dino Ebedi via Submission (Kneebar)

The first match of the night was between Kaoru Nagashima and Dino Ebedi. Fun fact: Dino is not only a name, it’s also the shape of the chicken nuggets I make now that I’m an adult who is mature and lives alone. A couple sub attempts and a takedown in the first couple minutes kept the fight semi-interesting.  Another takedown after the two-minute mark and Nagashima, ever the polite gentleman, took the liberty of warning our pal Dino about his plan as he locked in a submission by saying “I'm sorry sir, but I'm gunna break your leg.” He didn’t sound all that sorry to me, but at least he was formal and polite about it, right? Poor Dino had to tap… wait… is this where my dino nuggets come from…? I have a lot to rethink about my dietary choices.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #1:  Hare still pays all the bills for Risa and she constantly comes over to eat his food, so while she may technically be an adult by age (19) the mature and living alone part is questionable at best!  Haha! 

Nagashima comes back in this one after five losses in a row to grab a badly needed win!  His intentions were clear here.  Get the fight to the ground and work that submission game!  He did that after a couple failed attempts but Ebedi gave him a few good shots in the process to let him know he was there! Nagashima was able to shake those off and get the fight to the ground a second time after that sneaky Ebedi escaped and this time made good with a beautiful kneebar!  We don’t see a kneebar often these days, so that was a bit of a treat.  With Ebedi going on sabbatical now for the next few months he’ll only have an ‘L’ to stare at as motivation to train hard and come back strong!  Nagashima will look forward to trying to make it two W’s in a row next month against a struggling Skywalker who also wants to turn things around.

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Undercard Bout #2: Lightweights

Piney Winston Defeats Anike Chukwu via Submission (Armbar)

Fight two. This one is between Anike Chukwu and Piney Winston. Chukwu sounds like a fancy meal at a restaurant that consists of two total bites of food and costs fifty dollars. You know those meals that are considered “5 star” but even your dino nugs from home taste better than? That’s what Chukwu sounds like. The fight kicked off and almost immediately the fighters went into a clinch. Lots of swings, many not connecting or being blocked, followed as the fighters stayed in the clinch for over two minutes. Winston finally takes down Chukwu. SEVEN SUB ATTEMPTS! None of them work out, and the fighters move into the next round. Winston quickly went for a takedown again. FIVE more sub attempts! But you know what they say, twelfth time’s the charm! Winston gets a mean armbar locked in and Chukwu taps. Winston then proceeded to announce that he was going to take over the world in his post-fight interview. Calm down there, big boy, a mean armbar isn’t going to get you THAT far.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #2:  Risa works as a lifeguard and did most of this review while she was working today.  Clearly, she didn’t bring lunch or dinner and was pretty hungry as I’m sensing a trend here!

From kneebars to armbars we’re apparently covering the range of things you can do with limbs left out there in this event!  I’ve got to say I’m a bit shocked that it took Winston sixteen submission tries to put this one away given Chukwu’s lack of morale coming into this fight.  But the result should never have been in question barring Winston simply pissing the opportunity away.  Which he didn’t do.  Chukwu may have gotten this fight into the clinch early but he wasn’t able to do much with it and once Winston got the takedown just before the three minute mark this thing was all but a formality.  Chukwu will be let go today due to coming into the fight completely and totally unprepared even after having it mentioned that he needed to work on that morale before his first fight.  Winston gets a much needed win after three losses in a row but the concerning part is that depite that trifecta of losses, his manager has never changed his clothing to help improve his morale either.  If that doesn’t change before next month’s fight with Chester both he and Chester, who has a history of also coming unprepared, may be finding their way into the unemployment line.  Winston had great potential when he first came into Sucker Punch but has really wasted it over the past year with lack of preparation.

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Undercard Bout #3: Welterweights

Samuel Sanchez Defeats Mister Lee via Unanimous Decision

Fight numero tres. Spoiler alert for those who are relying purely on my questionably accurate commentary for results: this match between Mister Lee and Samuel Sanchez ended in a decision, which is my least favorite way for a match to end. It’s so anticlimactic! The match kicks off! Mr. Lee swings and misses. Takedown! Senor Lee looks for a couple of sub attempts in the takedown, but Sanchez manages to evade them. Despite numerous takedown attempts from Lee in the first round, Sanchez seems to have dominated and will likely take the round, according to the commentators at least. Second round was a lot of the same. BOP BOP! Swing, jab! Another takedown and a handful of sub attempts kept the audience wondering if one of them would take the win this round. Alas, the round ended with Sanchez on top again and they went into round three. Bop Bop! Lots of swings and kicks! Ultimately, time ran out and it went to the judges. Unanimous decision: Sanchez wins! Better luck next time Monsieur Lee!

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #3:  Risa is a Gen Z’er and clearly bored by anything that doesn’t go the way she likes!  So despite this getting ‘Fight of the Night’ she still wasn’t impressed with the solid back and forth action!  No instant gratification here folks!

One of four Unanimous Decisions on the evening, this one was the cream of the crop and earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors as I just mentioned!  This fight went almost exactly as I anticipated, minus the finish.  And the correct pick for winner.  But yeah, aside from those big details, I was right on!  But seriously, Sanchez got it to the ground as expected but just couldn’t finish.  Lee was effective on the feet, landing more combined strikes especially if you include the leg kicks, but Sanchez takes a close one with the judges due to his takedowns and strikes combined with what he was able to do on the feet with efficient striking.  Lee will get a bounce-back opportunity against Sucker Punch newcomer RJ Cain next month while Sanchez’s next matchup is still being determined. 

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Undercard Bout #4: Featherweights

Broklyn Red Defeats Yellow Belt Casey via Unanimous Decision

Fight four! This one is between Yellow Belt Casey and Broklyn Red. A yellow belt is only one step above a white belt, so Casey I hope that name is just symbolic or a joke. Otherwise, this match may be over pretty quickly. This match is like the battle of primary colors. Maybe they’ll make orange when they throw hands at each other? Probably not, bruises are usually black and blue. The fight goes off! They’re certainly going at it. Red took the first round, maybe Casey needs to go back to a white belt for now. Red also seems to have taken the second round. These guys are going for a full three rounds, no exciting finish but there was a decent amount of action throughout the fight. The fight ends with a ref stand up. Spell it with me people: B-O-R-I-N-G. Should’ve given them an extra minute to duke it out a little more and see if one or the other could land a good sub or KO in my personal, professional opinion. Red took the win and thanked the fans afterward. Someone get Casey his white belt, he doesn’t deserve that yellow belt after that.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #4:  Mrs. Rumpler has informed me that my commentary is no way to keep a Gen Z’er working for us and that she would probably now consider this a hostile work environment!

We got our answer regarding whether Casey would go back to his old ways and attempt to win this one on the ground or whether this would turn into a standup war.  Defacto, it ended up a standup battle due to Red taking it into the clinch repeatedly whenever given the opportunity.  From there, he was ultra-aggressive while Casey was more determined to try to drag it to the ground.  Unfortunately for Casey, he was unable to do that until close to the end of the contest and by then it was a bit too late to get much going. Red won this by virtue of his all-out aggression in the clinch which allowed him to score more points it the judges in a decision that while not appearing close on paper was much closer than it seemed.  Next month Red will be truly tested under his new manager as he faces a tough but comparable fighter in Mickey Dismantle while Casey will get a bounce-back opportunity against hard hitter Kurt Cobain!  Slightly concerning is that Casey’s morale dropped almost to zero after this loss, which makes us question his overall confidence.  He may need to adopt a more aggressive style going forward to counter that.

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Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights

Obama Filth Defeats Jin Yi via TKO (Strikes)

Fight five! This is a match between Jin Yi and Obama Filth. Yi’s coming in with some bling on his neck, really flexing those medals. You know what they say, pain is temporary, but swag is forever. The fight goes off. Yi is going for sub attempts left and right, but Filth evades them. Ya filthy animal! The round goes on and Filth finally stands the two of them up. That round seemed to go to Yi. Round two. BOP BOP! They’re fighting hard. Suddenly, KAPOP! Filth rocks Yi with a right hand. BOP BOP BOP! He really showed him! TKO! Ya filthy animal! Yi had a few wise words to all those out there losing fights to filthy animals: “Them’s the breaks.” Well said Yi, well said.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #5:  It takes a lot to make a Donkey speechless but realizing that Hare is paying for that drivel might just do it!  Uh oh, I’ve just been warned again that this may not be the best approach to keeping her on the payroll…

Yi came into this with an aggressive approach while still looking to get the fight to the ground and things appeared to be going his way as he got to the ground in the first, was unable to finish, but won the round with the judges.   Yi surprisingly didn’t make as many attempts to put this on the mat as we expected though and with Filth fending of his attempt in the second round he was able to start establishing himself on the feat with an effective counter game.  And that counter approach paid off when he put the lights out for Yi with the ‘KO of the Night’ just after the three minute mark in the second.  For Yi, he now goes searching for the answer to “why am I not able to finish on the ground lately?” and will have a month to figure that out before facing Jim Beam who can also finish on the ground.  Filth bounces back from the Top Contender battle he lost to Ainsworth and shows why he was looked at as one to rise to the top of the division when he arrived at Sucker Punch.  With his first ‘W’ under his belt here, he’s now set to start moving right up that ladder if he can string them together.  We’re still looking to see who his next opponent will be in March. Perhaps Kazuma or Marka?

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Main Card Bout #2: Welterweights

Red Crow Defeats Ceedee Queen via Unanimous Decision

Fight six! Red Crow and Ceedee Queen are throwing hands (and feet I suppose) in this one. Queen has a crown, pretty fitting for his name. It’s a pretty snazzy crown. I have a crown too, well technically it’s a tiara but who cares about technicalities, am I right? Wait, what do you mean I’m off topic? OH YEAH! They’re fighting. My bad… This fight went all three rounds and to a decision. C’mon bro, let’s see some more rocking and popping! Lots of takedowns and reversals in that first round. They’re both going back and forth, keeping the action up for sure. Round two: two takedowns, two ref stand ups. Even the referee was getting bored with this round clearly. After the third round, it was clear Crow was our winner. Gotta admit, not the most exciting match I’ve seen in a while. Kinda dozed off about midway, I hope I didn’t miss anything important. Thankfully, Crow could tell I was using his fight as a nap break and promised his fans he’ll do better next time. Good. As you should my guy.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #6:  She actually does have a tiara.  The Rumplers bought it right before her 16th birthday and have regretted it ever since as it seems to have enabled her princess-like behavior!

We knew this would be a tough, hard fought bout between these two and even if it went to the ground we’d have two guys here who could both handle themselves.  True to form, they were both able to get their shots in down there in a battle for position with each getting their turn on top and able to land a few good shots.  We suspected Queen would be the more interested party in getting this thing to the ground and sure enough he was the one to do just that five times.  In standup, Crow was able to gain the advantage and made good on it especially when he mixed in his kicks.  That was enough to get him the call from the judges as neither was able to finish it.  This was a big one for Crow as he now goes on to fight for Top Contender status and a potential shot at the belt!  For Queen, an opportunity missed after two wins in a row but he’s still in a great position to make a run up the ladder after this small setback.

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Main Card Bout #3: Featherweights

Kurt Cobain Defeats Luke Skywalker via Unanimous Decision

Fight seven!! I felt like I had to double the exclamation points since every match review is starting with the same intro. Gotta add a little bit of spice, ya know? This one is between Kurt Cobain and Luke Skywalker!! Woah! May the force be with you Kurt, you’ll need it. No offense, but my money is on Skywalker, ESPECIALLY if he brought his lightsaber (or Chewbacca, you always let the Wookie win according to Han Solo). Within the first minute of the fight Skywalker gets cut. Ouch, that looks nasty! Better get a band-aid on that, or force heal it, since apparently the force can bring people back to life so I’d imagine it can heal a little cut from the lead singer of Nirvana. Cobain won the first round. Not going to lie, I’m pretty disappointed in Skywalker right now. Do better man, you’re a Jedi. Round two. Skywalker gets his cut busted back open. Dude. Get it together, I was rooting for you man. The third round earned boos from the crowd all around. Pretty boring. Obviously, Cobain won and was very honored and humbled, as he should be. Skywalker gave a whole spiel about how “I am saddened by this defeat, but I learned a lot from the wise Master Yoda. The greatest teacher, failure is. May the force be with you!” Bro stop blessing others with the force and keep some for yourself my guy, clearly you needed it more than the fans do.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #7:  Risa plays like she has any idea about Star Wars or Nirvana and grunge for that matter!  The reality is, it’s her middle sister who’s the big time Star Wars geek and I’m betting she had to look up which band Cobain fronted!

In the preview I mentioned that, “…it’s fairly clear that Cobain has been working on the aspects of his fight that let him down against Aalto last time.  That work he’s put in could very well be a determining factor in this one tonight as the one area Skywalker had the advantage over him in the past would have been on the ground.  Sure enough, Skywalker got the takedown and moved this thing to the ground in all three rounds of this contest yet Cobain handled his business well and prevented himself from being finished there.  That’s a HUGE area of growth for Cobain and something his camp should be very excited about!  Cobain wasn’t able to finish this one either with multiple opportunities on the feet and quite a few nasty head shots landed, and the credit for that goes out to Skywalker’s insane toughness as we’ve seen more than one or two guys take a nap with much less from Cobain.  With this victory Cobain makes it a pair of W’s in a row and is starting to look like the contender he was previously, only with more growth and evolution to his game.  If he keeps this up, he’ll be back in the title picture sooner than later!  For Skywalker a tough loss in his bid to bounce back from the title shot opportunity that slipped away last month.  He’ll undoubtedly bear down and come out with hunger in his heart next month against Kaoru Nagashima!

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Co-Main Event:

Featured Light Heavyweight Bout

Wille Thai Defeats Bjorn Akerfeldt via Submission (Triangle)

Fight eight. I just found out there’s only nine fights on the card, so this one is our second to last! It’s between Bjorn Akerfeldt and Wille Thai. This fight was over in less than two minutes people! And boy were they an exciting one minute and 57 seconds! Thai got cut! Takedown! Sub attempt! NOPE! Reversal! Sub attempt! NOPE! Another sub attempt! Thai locks in a gnarly looking triangle. That looks painful. Akerfeldt tapped, as anyone stuck in such a painful situation would. He did tap pretty quick though… (cough weak sauce bro cough). Nice job Thai. Just some constructive criticism though: have you ever though about changing your first name to “Pad?” No… no you’re right that’s silly… forget I even mentioned it…

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #8:  Risa worked a double shift lifeguarding today, so while she may have written the early part of this, where she was obsessed with food already, earlier in the morning, this part was probably written towards the end of the shift or when she got home.  Clearly, the ‘hangry’ was kicking in and she still had food on the brain!

What can I say here other than, “Wille ‘Friggin’ Thai”!  Yes, this man, despite being at a disadvantage, at least on paper, seems to just “find a way”!  And he did it again in this one against Akerfeldt to take the ‘Submission of the Night’ honors in a spectacular submission that came fast, came clean and I think caught not just the fans, the play by play guys and us by surprise, but also Akerfeldt!  Akerfeldt landed a clean one early and drew blood and that seemed to tell Thai, “It’s time!” and down to the mat on the second takedown attempt this thing went!  Akerfeldt is no slouch on the ground and offered up an armbar almost immediately but Thai is extremely skilled in Jiu Jitsu and was having none of it!  When it was Thai’s turn he missed on a guillotine but snagged the Triangle shortly after.  Against a ground fighter of Akerfeldt’s ability, that was highly impressive to say the least and Thai moves to 8-2 with a two fight win streak since his loss against Parker in a missed challenge for the title.  He’s now looking at yet another Top Contender battle in late March against an opponent as yet to be determined.  If he can win that, this man may get his third shot at the title in late April.  Is the third time a charm?  We’ll find out, but first he has to take care of business next month!  For Akerfeldt his first loss since joining Sucker Punch has to be disappointing as it sets him back a few steps from Top Contender which he’d been on the fast track towards.  More concerning though is that his morale dropped to almost zero after that loss indicating some confidence issues.  Something his manager will have to pay special attention to going forward.

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Main Event:

Featherweight Championship Bout

Michael Aalto Defeats Mickey DIsmantle via Submission (Armbar)

Final match of the night and it’s for the featherweight championship of the WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDD! Michael Aalto is defending his championship against the challenger, Mickey DIsmantle. I hate to say it, but in terms of championship matches, this one was not the best I’ve seen. It severely lacked enough “and the crowd goes wild!” moments. It was also a pretty fast match. If you looked away to sip your soda or snack on your nachos, you may have missed it. They wrapped it up in one round, with Aalto retaining his championship with a neat looking armbar. Dismantle’s going to feel that in the morning for sure! Aalto, being the stand-up guy that he is, thanked his fans and of course directed them to his website. Always plug people, always plug!

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Donkey’s Fun Fact #9:  Knowing Risa, she always has a snack and a drink nearby to sip on, so my guess is she didn’t see the fight at all and relied upon the replay and highlights to do that “cliff notes” or “spark notes” version of a review!  Don’t make Hare have to pay Juice Fluffer to do your job instead!

Well, not to break my arm patting my own back, but yes, I managed to nail the call on this one!  Here’s the surprising part about this title fight…Aalto was holding his own against an extremely skilled striker in Dismantle on the feet.  Granted, most of that was in the clinch and Dismantle is effective, at least historically, outside the clinch but still.  For over four minutes Aalto was able to not only go strike for strike, but also focus on trying to get the fight to the ground at the same time.  To his credit, Dismantle was doing a fantastic job of frustrating Aalto when it came to those attempts to move the fight to the ground and that shows that his defense in that area is much improved!  Unfortunate for Dismantle, Aalto eventually did manage to pull guard and almost immediately was able to lock in an armbar to end this thing and retain the belt! For Aalto, a fourth time stepping into the cage with the title on the line and a fourth time walking away successful as he not only makes this three title defenses but also retains his dominant, undefeated 8-0 status!  Crazy and awesome all at the same time.  He now waits on the winner of Craven/Drake to determine who he’ll face later in March in his next defense.  Dismantle is no doubt disappointed in the result after having gone four wins in a row to get this huge opportunity.  But I have to say, I’m hugely impressed that when this kid takes a loss his morale barely shows any movement!  This kid’s mental game is rock solid and it’s impossible to think he won’t be back in this position again…perhaps with a different outcome.  He’ll start the quest for the next opportunity next month against Broklyn Red!

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Hope you all enjoyed having Risa Roo step in for the large portion of things this time around!  It’s nice to let Hare have a break here and there so he can focus on the bigger picture and manage the day to day running of Sucker Punch!  We had some fun here, and we’ll be back at it next week for SPPS 42!

Till then…don’t forget…

Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style!

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New Addition to the Savage Krew

 

Less than two weeks from now Sean Smith steps into the cage to fight for the SPPS Middleweight Championship.  The camp for this fight has been different then any camp before. 

 

" Everyone knew it was going to get aggressive quick the moment Robert told us about the new addition,'' says Mason Jones. 

 

The new edition to the gym happens to be a former SPPS Middleweight Champion. Robert Smith heard he had dropped his management team and he really wanted to get him in here with the Savage Krew. 

 

" I know Landon isn't going to be an easy out, so when Robert told me his plan I figured why not. So we brought Nyah Hirst into the Krew on a temporary basis. We have had words in the past and nobody knew if we would be able to get through a session together much less one full camp. So far though it's working for us both. After a week we decided to make it permanent.  The dude bust his ass and has been a team player. " Says Sean Smith

 

The manager of many SPPS fighters says he wasn't sure that Hirst would even hear him out. But when they met in Las Vegas Robert came with a clear cut plan. 

 

" Nyah had set up meetings with several different managers and I knew I was his last meeting and I knew he probably didn't want to meet with me but was doing his due diligence. I had made it clear to Sean and the rest of the guys what the benefits were of Nyah joining the team. They all begrudgingly agreed. I went into that meeting prepared. I knew he didn't want to be there and he was planning on making an excuse to leave early but I believed that Nyah would be best under my management.  We talked for a while , I explained to him how the Savage Krew worked not as a management team or a fight team but as a family. All these managers were puffing up his ego and feeding into his past accolades.  I told Nyah where he messed up , I told him that loss to Beam was inexcusable and explained to him how we fix those mistakes. He bought in , the team bought in and he joined on a temporary basis. Depending how the first few weeks went would dictate the future and right now I would say that Nyah , Sean and everyone in LA are happy." Explained manager Robert Smith. 

 

" I listened to Robert Smith and honestly he was the only guy not feeding my ego. He told me I messed up , he told me how to fix certain things. He brought me into the gym and introduced me not just to the Krew but to the Death Squad. This group of wrestlers and grapplers are top tier in CACC. They're helping me step my game up everywhere and I'm helping them. Sean and I talked about things we said in the past and let it go. I bought a house in the hills close to Sean and a few others. We're together seven days a week like a big family trying to help one another get better. I needed that and you know if I get back in the title picture and hopefully Sean has the belt then we'll duke it out and may the best man win. But honestly right now I just want to improve , I'm young and I'm hungry. My work is just beginning and on March tenth everyone is going to see the fruits of my labor." Nyah says before getting back to grasping drills. 

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1613768731SPPS_Poster_42.png

SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW

Sucker Punch Pro Series 42

Welcome back again to all our Sucker Punch fans! I should have done a poster this week that involved some sort of snow because apparently that’s all we get around here anymore!  Well, at least, back home in the Rumpler household in the States that is!  As for tonight’s event, well, that will be taking place in beautiful Sydney at the Hard Knocks – Sydney arena.  You know, where it’s a fantastic 72° this morning, going up to a high of 80° today…which I think for all you Celsius peeps is somewhere in the 22-27 degree range!   As always, I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be joined here in the booth by my pal and analyst Donkey “Dan” and we  have SPPS 42 coming at you this evening!

Our card last week was dominated mostly by the mid to lower weight classes so it’s only fitting that tonight you’ll get a heavy…no pun intended…dose of the bigger boys!  Three Light Heavyweight battles, a pair of Heavyweight fights as well as a smattering of other stuff!  The big one this evening is clearly going to be the Welterweight title fight between challenger Ronnie Bass and current champion Juan Christiano.  And boy, should that one be a good one Donkey!

To be honest though, anytime we get to watch our boys here at Sucker Punch throw down in the cage it’s a great night out, so…without further ado, let’s visit our sponsor and merchandise partner for a few words and then take a closer look at each of these fights!

 

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Now, let's get to it!

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Undercard Bout #1: Light Heavyweights

Mike Bard (4-5-0) vs. Atilla Dorn (1-2-0)

Dorn comes into this fight tonight looking for his first SPPS win as he suffered disappointing TKO losses in his first two against Dolph Lindgren and then Joe Junior last month.  Dorn has a balanced build across the board with superb boxing and Muay Thai combined with strong wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu.  It remains to be seen if he’s working on building a ground game into his repertoire or if the brown belt will remain defensive.  To date, Dorn has tended to want to stand and strike, getting into the clinch when he can as he did with Lindgren.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to land a high percentage of his shots up close and personal. We’ll see if he decides on the clinch this evening and, if so, if his ability to land those shots has improved since then.

Bard also has a balanced skillset with strong skills across the board.  He too, much like Dorn, needs a win this evening as he’s currently carrying a trio of losses into this fight.  Bard typically doesn’t mind the ground game but given he’ll be at the disadvantage down there tonight the best guess is he’ll try to keep this on the feet.  With both men likely to want the fight standing this is going to come down to your good old fashioned slap contest!

Donkey, got a pick for us…?

Donkey’s Pick: Dorn via TKO (Strikes)

Bard is the older, more experienced fighter who has also been training longer than Dorn but Dorn has the overall more advanced skillset. At least from those skills we can see.  This fight could go the distance or it could end very quickly in the first round, your guess is really as good as mine, and you could flip a coin on the winner as well I think!

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Undercard Bout #2: Lightweights

Rudy Giuliani (8-7-0) vs. Bobolo Jubbly (6-4-0)

Matty Fernandez has unfortunately not been able to get on a run with having his guys prepped, strategy prepared, etc. and poor Giuliani has been suffering the consequences of it!  He slipped by Cole Hotman last month despite low morale but that’s unlikely to happen again tonight when he faces off against Bobolo Jubbly!

Giuliani is a standup fighter while Jubbly is going to want this on the ground to work his submission game as he has next to NO standup game to speak of.  I expect that with low morale, this fight will be on the ground sooner than later and shortly after Jubbly will have the submission in this one!  With four wins in his last five fights Jubbly has a big opportunity to make it back to backs tonight and really get an awesome stretch of five out of six going here.

Donkey, who gets it…?

Donkey’s Pick: Jubbly via Submission (Armbar)

Agreed that this should go Jubbly’s way here this evening.  Giuliani got a bit lucky last month as Hotman should have won that fight.  I don’t see that happening again tonight against a ground fighter with slick submission skills.  Put your money on this one folks, I think it’s probably one of our easier sure things this evening.

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Undercard Bout #3: Light Heavyweights

Joe Junior (6-3-0) vs. Nemesis Steed (4-1-0)

Steed comes into this fight tonight with his morale off about 35% and that’s not going to entice Donkey to pick him to win, that much I know for certain!  What’s really bizarre…and disappointing…here is that coming into Sucker Punch Steed had a beautiful 4-0 record.  But, he was under relatively new management and came into his last fight with low morale, likely due to old, dirty clothes. He lost that fight and normally you’d think that would teach a lesson about lack of preparation and entice things to get fixed.  That clearly didn’t happen and Steed comes prancing into this fight tonight once again unprepared.  That shiny record he had is going to look very tarnished, very quickly if he keeps this up!

The only light at the end of the tunnel tonight for Steed is that Junior will likely want to fight the same sort of fight as he does.  Junior typically stands and goes at it with his opponents despite having reasonable ground skills.  Those skills are clearly there for defense until he shows us otherwise though so tonight the fight should play straight to Steed’s strengths and stay on the feet.

How does this one turn out Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Junior via TKO (Strikes)

Yes, the fight should stay standing Hare but it still likely won’t matter.  I have to go with the guy who’s prepared here and that’s Junior.  I expect him to take care of business in a solid even matchup where the difference maker can be preparation.  And with a win, he can make it five of his last six with two in a row.  Nice.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, he has to take care of business tonight first!

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Undercard Bout #4: Lightweights

Yves Marchant (8-1-0) vs. Trevor Barnes (3-3-1)

Well, apparently we’re going to take a step back a few months here tonight Donkey!  By that I mean, we’re stepping back to the days where more of our matches had unprepared fighters in them than the other way around.  Luckily that’s not the case most of the time these days, but tonight’s card seems to be full of it.  And you know it makes me testy by the end of the evening when I see this and I start to get in my “cut them all!” mood!

With these two fighters coming in very close in registered ID every bit of advantage and prep needs to be in place to give yourself the best chance possible.  Barnes certainly has done what he can, coming in mostly ready to go aside from perhaps a small amount of morale being off. With a solid game across the board, he’s well-rounded as a martial artist and should do well standing tonight.  He’ll be at a disadvantage with his Jiu Jitsu so it’s unlikely he’ll want the fight on the ground.

I can’t say anything close to the same for Marchant, who comes into this fight with both his morale…and especially his energy…off.  So much so that it’s almost like he’s begging for a loss!  With an abysmal standup game Marchant will look to get the fight on the ground and finish it there.  Without getting lucky, I just don’t see that happening as he’s 55% off on his energy and close to 25% off on morale.

What do you see here Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Barnes via TKO (Strikes)

The thing with ground based submission guys is we’ve seen them pull off the surprise victory despite preparation more than once or twice.  If they can get lucky and get the takedown early before they drop energy or start taking a lot of shots standing.  But barring that, I expect he’s going to be gassed sooner than later in this one and it’ll TKO city in favor of Barnes!

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Undercard Bout #5: Heavyweights

Andre Powell (5-4-0) vs. Jairzinho Teixeira (7-4-0)

Our last of the Undercard bouts sees two guys who are “more or less” ready to go.  Teixeira is just a smidge off on morale while Powell is about the same for energy.  It shouldn’t have a huge effect either way. Teixeira has split his first two fights with us here at Sucker Punch and will look to keep the fight standing this evening against Powell.  When he’s been taken down in the past he isn’t afraid to work some GnP, but for the most part the majority of his offense has been boxing.

Powell comes off a much needed win over Demon Mask last month and looks to try to build on that here going forward.  He, too, is not much of a ground guy, perhaps even less than Teixeira, so expect this fight to stay on the feet tonight.  Not only that, but expect a lot of boxing, as these two both lean in that direction!  It’s really a matter of which comes with the better strategy and the better overall skillset on the feet this evening folks!

Well Donkey, should we expect these two to stand and throw down or…?

Donkey’s Pick: Teixeira via TKO (Strikes)

I think that’s a fair bet Hare.  Both like to stand and strike and I don’t see any reason to expect different this evening.  Powell got the last win, but he’s struggled of late against more prepared fighters and I think Teixeira’s slightly more well-rounded game could come in handy especially if he decides to work some ground and pound into his strategy this evening.  I don’t think he will, but it wouldn’t be crazy if he did!

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Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights

Kiryu Kazuma (4-4-0) vs. Luka Marka (6-2-0)

We start the Main Card off here with a big one Donkey!  Marka has a huge opportunity in front of him tonight as a win over Kazuma, who has been on a hot streak with two W’s in a row heading into this one, would set him up for a potential Top Contender battle with former champion Machado!  But before he can look forward to that, he needs to focus on the person standing across from him in the cage this evening!

Marka is skilled on the ground with elite wrestling and a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu.  Combined with  his superb boxing it makes for a lethal ground attack. That’s something he demonstrated with pinpoint accuracy last month against Hodkiewicz as he landed fifteen for fifteen on the ground to get the win!

Kazuma will test those skills to see who has the better ground game this evening as he brings a purple belt to the cage along with superb wrestling.  However, despite our belief that those skills could be put to good use at any time for offense, they’ve mostly been used for defense to date with Kazuma preferring to do most of his attacking on the feet.  And with the advantage there this evening as he has exceptional boxing, there’s no reason to suspect that Kazuma won’t try to get this back to the feet and keep it there even if it should get to the ground.

This should be a very fun one eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Marka via TKO (Strikes)

It’ll be fun mostly because there are so many unknowns going into this!  Kazuma has the better standup skills on paper, but can he really out-box and out-strike Marka?  Can he keep the fight on the feet at all? If Marka does get it to the ground, which I think he will, can he take advantage and work over Kazuma? We’re going to find out all of that and more this evening!

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Main Card Bout #2: Light Heavyweights

Tarmo Rajantaka (6-4-0) vs. Derwent Bolt (3-0-0)

Now we’re on the right track with two fights in a row, both so far on the Main Card, where the boys are coming to the cage ready to rock!  Rajantaka has gone 2-0 since coming aboard here at Sucker Punch and in doing so has earned ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘KO of the Night’ honors in each of those fights!  He’s an exciting warrior in the cage and this evening he’ll see if he can continue that run against Derwent Bolt who brings a sparkling 3-0 undefeated record to this bout! 

Rajantaka is all about the kickboxing life and has very little Jiu Jitsu background. His wrestling is exceptional, so he’s no slouch grappling but his submission defense may or may not be there.  Bolt will be more than up to try to test that this evening as he has three submissions for three fights so far! He earned the first in a QFC fight with former manager Kniges and then never missed a beat as Bjorn O’Donnell picked up where Kniges left off to lead him to two submission victories here at Sucker Punch.  While he has some standup skills to protect himself and start the fight off, the real goal clearly is to get to the ground where he can use his superb wrestling and black belt in Jiu Jitsu to finish things.

Donkey, this one all about who can force the fight to happen on their terms…?

Donkey’s Pick: Bolt via Submission (Armbar)

Absolutely and this is one of those ones where you just go out on a limb and try to take a guess as to who can finish!  But it will be finished.  Either by Rajantaka long before Bolt can get the fight to the ground, as Rajantaka has had some highlight reel finishes including that vicious head kick last fight, or on the ground if Rajantaka can’t end it early.  And by on the ground, I mean the advantage completely shifts to Bolt once it goes there.  No decision here tonight folks! 

***********************

Main Card Bout #3: Welterweights

Psiris Fuhren (6-3-0) vs. Weston Hodkiewicz (6-4-0)

Our next bout features two guys who have both been on the fast track in the past…and recently…but then had things derailed in the past month. 

Fuhren had taken a fight with Reeves that guaranteed him another shot at the title.  He won that fight and got the title shot but just couldn’t overcome a very, very tough Juan Christiano last month.  He still maintains and excellent record with his three losses all having come at the hands of current, former or eventual division champs.  Clearly, Fuhren wants his name to be part of that list.  Tonight, against another top competitor, he’ll get the chance to once again start trudging back up the ladder.  This is the first step to bigger things!

Hodkiewicz had been running through opponents and was only steps away from a Top Contender battle that might have earned him an opportunity to fight for the belt. Unfortunately for him, Luka Marka had other thoughts and managed to outlast him in a battle where they both brought their best striking and ground games but the judges felt Marka had the better stuff on that evening.  To get back into the spotlight and put himself back on the path up that mountain he’ll have to walk through rather than around a dangerous Fuhren this evening!

This is striker versus submission artist, hard hitter versus Jiu Jitsu specialist.  One will conquer the other this evening!

A fun one eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Hodkiewicz via Submission (Kimura)

Wow, you’re really trying to make this a tough night on me aren’t you Hare?  But I can’t blame you for it at all, it’s a great thing!  The more difficult it is for me to pick them, the better the matchups are clearly!  This one is going to be similar to the Rajantaka/Bolt fight in that Fuhren is going to need to finish this sooner rather than later if he wants to stay alive in this.  If it gets to the ground he’s going to have to give every last bit of his best to keep Hodkiewicz from finishing with a submission!

***********************

Co-Main Event:

Featured Heavyweight Bout

Gary Porter (7-2-0) vs. Devin Hill (4-2-0)

Our Co-Main Event of the evening just sees the pot growing bigger and the opportunities becoming greater here as these two will be fighting for Top Contender status and a shot at the title towards the end of March!  Winner take all, no quarter given, this is the biggest fight of each of their careers to date, no doubt!

Devin Hill, managed by Joe Tre, has a 4-2 record that started out with two losses here at Sucker Punch and then a run of four straight wins to get where he is today!  And each of those wins delivered with an emphatic message for everybody else in the division in the form of a TKO finish!  Hill started his career out as a pure striker but in recent fights he’s also had a tendency to utilize the clinch…and once there he’s unleashed a torrent of nasty elbows that NOBODY wants to catch a piece of!

Porter is 7-2 on his career and 5-2 under his current manager, Martin O.  He, like Hill, has been on a run of four straight wins and would like nothing more than to extend that to five while earning the chance to go for the title!  Much like Hill, he has won the past four fights via TKO’s with a KO mixed in two fights back. Unlike Hill, he prefers to do his striking on the ground though and will be trying to move this fight there where he can gain position with his exceptional wrestling and deliver a brutal ground and pound attack that, of late at least, nobody has been able to survive!

This one is going to be great, don’t you think Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Hill via TKO (Strikes)

No, it’s not going to be great Hare.  Because once again I have to pick a fighter here out of two that could easily grab a win!  There is no clear advantage or disadvantage, both are fully prepared, both are ready to go into this thing hard!  Which is awesome, I shouldn’t complain!  I’m going to go with Hill here only because he seems to have the slight overall edge in skills and is just a bit more well-rounded in that aspect.  But this could easily go to Porter if it gets on the ground!

***********************

Main Event:

Welterweight Championship Bout

Juan Christiano (9-2-0) vs. Ronnie Bass (9-1-0)

Here we go, our Main Event Donkey!!!  9-1 comes up against 9-2!!!  Former Champ against current Champ!

Bass won the Welterweight Championship in August but was upset in his next fight two months later against Konrad Wagner to lose the belt. Since that time Bass has run through Samuel Sanchez and Baldomir Barbosa via KO and Decision showing that he can still win via KO as is his go-to, but can also go the distance if needed!  Tonight, he goes up against arguably the toughest competition of his career to date to try to win back the belt he once wore!

Christiano is definitely going to try to make the evening…and the quest to get that belt back…as difficult as possible for Bass!  Having held two belts now with the first being over at Checkmate and now holding the Welterweight Championship here at Sucker Punch, Juan is one tough customer.  He grabbed the belt from Vovchanchyn in a five round battle that he managed a TKO in just towards the end. Then, he did the same in a four round contest against Fuhren last month.  He’s been pushed in both of those fights, especially by Fuhren last time out, but neither was able to best him. Tonight, he’ll need to watch out for that one-punch KO that can come at any time from Bass!  Or any other tricks Bass has up his sleeves!

Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick:  Christiano via TKO (Strikes)

Absolutely the highlight of the night.  Clearly I can’t pick against the champ here but you can definitely see a path to victory for Bass as well!  If his striking is on point and he’s bringing it, Christiano will have to step very carefully while trying to do what he does…which is wear down his opponent until they have next to nothing left and then strike!  This will be a ridiculously exciting title fight this evening folks!

***********************

So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

Well, we’re back at it this weekend here folks and I’m looking forward to a great one this evening!  I can’t wait to be joined by 3,000 of our fans and hope that those who can’t watch will enjoy it on the live-stream!

Till then…don’t forget…

Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style!

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8 hours ago, HareRumpler said:

Donkey’s Pick:  Christiano via TKO (Strikes)

 

15811604425905.jpg Bass

 

"Say what now?"


"Juan, way to bang bro!  You brought it and Donkey would be proud, you kick like a goddamn jack ass!  This victory means the world to me, to become champ again and over such an skilled opponent.  Ain't nobody can say I didn't earn this one!"

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3 hours ago, Andrew1221 said:

"Say what now?"


"Juan, way to bang bro!  You brought it and Donkey would be proud, you kick like a goddamn jack ass!  This victory means the world to me, to become champ again and over such an skilled opponent.  Ain't nobody can say I didn't earn this one!"

What a night of fights folks!  WOW!  I can't wait to write up this review because that house over at Hard Knocks was absolutely rocking in Sydney last night.  Our guys at Sucker Punch brought it, that's for sure and it resulted in one of, if not THE, highest rated event we've had!

Andrew, to be fair...Donkey did hedge his bets some and weaseled his way out by saying he could see Bass winning!  Donkey was truly a weasel last night though, I saw how many fights he just wouldn't commit to!  Ha.  Great job, congrats on becoming the FIRST Sucker Punch Pro Series TWO TIME Champion!  

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That was a pretty sick card bro, nice event.  Marka got the W but I think I played it too conservatively, but got to test his stand up game a little.  Showed some heart, which is something I needed to see from him.  

Gotta admit, love fighting in this org!

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1613768731SPPS_Poster_42.png

POST EVENT CHEAP SHOTS

Sucker Punch Pro Series 42

Hello again Sucker Punch fans!  I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be joined here in the booth by my pal and analyst Donkey “Dan” and I can’t tell everybody how thrilled I was with the results from SPPS 42!  We had an exciting night over at Hard Knocks – Sydney a couple of days ago and it turned into one of, if not THE, highest rated event we’ve had to date!  That’s amazing as we didn’t stack the card with a bunch of title fights or anything like that!  Nope, instead our boys here at Sucker Punch just brought the heat and excitement and had Sydney rocking with the energy coming from SPPS 42! 

Before we get to that though, I want to take a moment to discuss some recent events over in the forums here for the Yearly Awards.  As some of you may already know Sucker Punch Pro Series was nominated for the ID Restricted Org of the Year and I’m extremely humbled and honored to say that we won that award!  You’ll notice that I said “WE” and that was very intentional!  There is no “I” in Sucker Punch Pro Series…well, actually, there is but it comes towards the very end of things and there’s a lot that comes before it when you spell out who we are here at SPPS!  That’s only fitting because that’s how I feel this org runs, with the contributions of all of our great managers who help to make this org what it is, their dedication to making it fun and interactive…and of course their dedication to delivering the nastiest cheap shots of all when they are least expected…being the bulk of what makes us who we are! But seriously, all of that comes before what I can do and helps me be the last piece to make it all work.  Thank you, I appreciate all of our fantastic managers!

Now getting back on track here, the card for SPPS 42 was dominated by finishes as we had only two of the fights go the distance and end up in the hands of the judges!  Beyond that, this was an all or nothing, no middle ground type of card as four of the fights were finished in the first round, with four going into the third before being finished.  Nothing in the second in terms of decisive finishes, so either these were over early or they turned into wars!  Plenty of excitement there!

Now, I’ve delayed long enough and this review is already a day past when I usually like to get them out! I spent yesterday catching up on (yes, prepare to laugh and mock) WWE activity so I could watch Elimination Chamber last night with my daughters, haha!  So let’s visit our sponsor and merchandise partner for a few words and then take a closer look at each of these fights!

1584375781SWN.jpg

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: Light Heavyweights

Mike Bard Defeats Atilla Dorn via Unanimous Decision

 

Dorn came into this fight looking for his first SPPS win after two straight losses here.  Unfortunately, he’ll continue that search heading into next month as this wasn’t his night.  Bard also needed a win as he carried a trifecta of losses into this fight and putting an end to that run had to be playing on his mind.  He came ready to go and despite being the apparent underdog on the ground still decided to go with it as he took the battle there with a takedown not twenty seconds into the fight.  A scramble for sub attempts and position changes, as well as an attempt to work the ground and pound game by Bard, ensued before an eventual escape to the feet by Dorn just before the three minute mark.  With another takedown by Bard the remainder of the round was more of the same.

The first two minutes of the second went into full-on kickboxing mode until the two of them returned to the ground battle from the first round just after the two minute mark.  Nobody able to capitalize on the submissions and Dorn was doing a fantastic job of nullifying Bard’s striking on the ground.

The third round saw them stick with the standup game with the first minute being a bit more kickboxing between the two and then taking turns moving things into the clinch, clearly with the intent to see if they could mix it up and find a way to gain an advantage over the other in this closely fought contest!  Dorn came back to win the third round, making the final score across the board 29-28 with the judges, but it was just too little, too late.  Perhaps if this were a championship, five round battle he might have been gaining the momentum and able to capitalize but he turned the tide a little too late barring a finish that didn’t come.

Good stuff, eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

An awesome, hard-fought one to get the night going and get all our great Sucker Punch fans into the action or the evening!  Not much more you can ask for to open up the evening outside a jaw-dropping finish that really gets the place in a frenzy!  Bard gets a win that he needed something awful.  Now, can he string a couple together?  We’ll find out but at 28 years old you know his manager has to be watching him closely at this point. Dorn and his management team have to be doing a little soul-searching over the past couple days trying to figure out why things just aren’t coming together for them and what it’s going to take to get on track. Taking this one the distance and starting to put it together late is certainly more encouraging than the prior two TKO losses, but a win is going to be needed very soon to keep Dorn…and his management team…motivated to keep moving forward.  He’s only 21 but there’s only so many losses a man can take!

***********************

Undercard Bout #2: Lightweights

Bobolo Jubbly Defeats Rudy Giuliani via Submission (Kneebar)

Well here’s one you don’t see every day or every night Donkey!  A kneebar in what turned into the fastest finish of the evening…by far!  Even with three other finishes in the first round the rest were all much later in the round while this one lasted only forty seconds before Jubbly locked it in for a beautiful submission victory that earned him ‘Sub of the Night’ honors!

With Giuliani coming into the fight unprepared we knew his morale was likely to end up with his ass on the ground.  What we didn’t anticipate was that Jubbly was going to make that happen literally within two seconds of the bell ringing to kick off this match!  Giuliani started out doing a nice job of preventing Jubbly from transitioning into a better position once he had him in his guard and that led to Jubbly saying “F’it!’ and going for this maneuver which obviously paid off…

Jubbly drops back for a leg here. A bit of a high risk move... He's looking for a kneebar by the looks of things. Now both of them are looking for submissions. Jubbly seems to have locked his on tight now - Giuliani screams in pain and taps out furiously! It certainly was a high risk move but it's paid off for Jubbly, as he picks up the win!

Donkey, despite one guy really not prepared, this one got a 100% rating and clearly the fans liked it!  Maybe they liked seeing the unprepared guy pay for it…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Jubbly’s win over Giuliani, despite Giuliani’s lack of preparation, still makes it five wins out of his last six fights and as such has given him the opportunity to fight for Top Contender status next month against Francois Oosthuizen.  Jubbly will bring a level of expertise on the ground to that fight that Oosthuizen has rarely seen and the winner will certainly earn their title shot!  At 6-7 with three losses in his last four fights, a record of lack of preparation and an overall 2-4 record at Sucker Punch Giuliani’s future is unclear.  We’re likely to give it one more month to see if he can rebound and come in ready to go but if we’re being honest that would be stretching it a bit I’d think.

***********************

Undercard Bout #3: Light Heavyweights

Joe Junior Defeats Nemesis Steed via Submission (Kimura)

In the preview I stated that, “Junior typically stands and goes at it with his opponents despite having reasonable ground skills.  Those skills are clearly there for defense until he shows us otherwise though so tonight the fight should play straight to Steed’s strengths and stay on the feet.  Clearly, Junior decided that with an unprepared opponent stepping into the cage it was time to test out some new surprises on the ground!

Steed came out striking as anticipated but after the third shot Junior surprised everybody in attendance, myself, Donkey and probably Steed included, and scored a takedown!  From there Junior went into a mixed mode of working for position, tossing in a strike for good measure…and then two submission attempts that caught us all off-guard! Steed was able to defend the first, a kimura attempt, but wasn’t equipped to take hold Junior off permanently and fell to the second…

Junior in half guard on the top. He's looking for a kimura... He's got it locked and he's managed to free his trapped foot. Steed tries to escape but it's on too tight and he has to tap! Great BJJ skills there from Junior!

How about that little surprise out of nowhere Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Well, well well! Look at that, Junior has some new tricks and toys to work with!  For a guy who has pretty much always gone with his striking game this one certainly did catch us all by surprise.  Including the unfortunately Steed who was already unprepared and then gets thrown this bit of misdirection!  With the win Junior grabs his fifth win in his last six fights!  He’s quickly working himself back into position to lay claim to another Top Contender battle, something he had with John Fury three fights back but fell short on when Fury finished it via TKO in the first.  Junior will face a tougher Tarmo Rajantaka next month and that fight should tell us where he stands and if he’s ready to work his way back into the big picture!  Steed has now come into his fights here at Sucker Punch not once, but twice, unprepared and has paid the price by having L’s bestowed upon him in both instances.  That’s disappointing for a guy who previously was 4-0 overall and 2-0 in MMA but the change in management team seems to have left him in a state of confusion and miscommunication on his needs.  Clearly his laundry isn’t getting dealt with properly and this kid needs a change of clothes…several changes actually…to get that morale back up.  He’ll get one more chance next month to prove his new management can get with the program and bring him in fully ready to perform.  Should he come in unprepared again, well, I think we all know what that means.  A third  ‘L’ and a pink slip!

***********************

Undercard Bout #4: Lightweights

Trevor Barnes Defeats Yves Marchant via TKO (Strikes)

Marchant was doomed in this fight before it ever began.  Not because it was a mismatch or anything of that nature but because he came in with both his morale and energy less than optimal.  That just about always spells disaster and this fight was no exception. 

Barnes dominated the early part of the first round in standup but then just before the four minute mark Marchant got a takedown and was able to work for several submission opportunities.  Barnes was up to the task defensively though and able to last till the bell.  The second round saw Barnes once again establishing his dominance on the feet, and specifically in the clinch, with a short uppercut just before the three minute mark rocking Marchant!  Marchant recovered and made it through the round but not without taking additional abuse.

In the third Barnes went back to work  and got the clinch again but Marchant was desperate to stop the round from becoming a repeat of the second and managed to pull guard to drag the fight to the mat.  Once down there, he went through a string of submission attempts again that Barnes was able to fend off and the standup was earned by Barnes at the midway point in the round.  He gained the clinch again a few moments later and was able to turn this into the finishing opportunity he’d been working for…

Barnes leaning his opponent against the cage.  Barnes unloads with a big right hand that wobbles Marchant! He's leaning against the cage trying to keep his feet but Barnes is unloading with more strikes now! Marchant drops to his knees and the referee stops the fight for a TKO!

Domination there Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Well, if Barnes had been able to prevent the takedowns I’d say yes, total domination. But he did get put in that bat position twice on the ground.  He showed great composure down there though and never truly appeared to be in trouble.  Outside those instances though, yes, this was a dominating performance for him on the feet.  Granted, his opponent was very unprepared and some may argue it should have been finished well before the third round.  Two wins in a row are nothing to sneeze at though and we can’t wait to see what he’s got for next month once his opponent is determined!  For Marchant, he’s under new management with only a QFC fight prior to this working together, so perhaps it’s just a matter of coming up to speed and realizing you need to rest your guys to regain and build their morale back up with clothing changes.  He’ll get one more chance next month to show he and his management team can get things together and come ready to show what they’ve got.  But another appearance in the cage with preparation similar to this would likely spell disaster both on the W/L record as well as employment status!

***********************

Undercard Bout #5: Heavyweights

Andre Powell Defeats Jairzinho Teixeira via TKO (Punches)

I have to admit that Teixeira surprised me in this fight, perhaps deciding that despite his proclivity to stand and bang that the smarter path this evening was to avoid that with Powell and get the fight to the ground.  I had said, “He (Powell), too, is not much of a ground guy, perhaps even less than Teixeira, so expect this fight to stay on the feet tonight.  Ten seconds into the fight, Teixeira proved me wrong on that and shot in for a takedown, getting it and putting this fight exactly where I was pretty sure it wasn’t going!

And then, another surprise for me, it was actually Powell who made the attempt at a submission which didn’t finish, but still…and then managed to escape back to his feet!  Well done and we were back to throwing…at least for about thirty seconds until Teixeira and Powell repeated the entire process a second time.  Teixeira got the takedown again, this time appearing to be focused on working some ground and pound.  In the meantime, Powell made another sub attempt offering up a triangle before once again escaping to the feet!

Teixeira tried again for a takedown, failing and shortly after appeared to already be gassing out.  Powell got the fight into the clinch and from there it became clear he was in the driver’s seat, landing a huge amount of shots as he went for it with abandon!  With just three seconds left in the round…

Powell creates a bit of space for himself and rocks Teixeira with a big uppercut! Teixeira tries to clinch up but Powell pushes him back against the cage and lands another monster strike that crumples Teixeira to the mat! Teixeira covers up and Powell unloads with more strikes until the referee steps in to end the bout!

Well, this one turned into a bit of a scrap that went everywhere after all, huh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Sure did and it was exciting!  Powell’s team talked to us a bit after the fight and told us how they’ve been working much more closely with him over the past month or so to figure out his needs and what they can do to really get him focused and ready for fights.  They indicated that they worked out exactly what gear he likes, his style really seeming to help get him in the right mindset for fights and that it showed as he prepared and came to the cage for this one!  And boom, the result, as you can see, speaks for itself when preparation is there.  If he can string three together with another win next month he’ll really be rolling!  Teixeira finds himself falling in the other direction with two losses in a row after this contest with both losses via TKO and both in the first round.  We know he has a solid chin and clearly from this contest he’s working on varying up his attack and approach.  He may be in one of those “tweener” periods as he tries to evolve his game and we’ll have to wait and see if things start to gel next month for him!

***********************

Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights

Luka Marka Defeats Kiryu Kazuma via TKO (Strikes)

You called for a TKO via Strikes for Marka in this one Donkey and you got exactly what you asked for!  Only…well…you almost didn’t!  In the third round Kazuma almost ended things with this here…

Kazuma lands a big uppercut and Marka crumbles to the floor! The ref thinks about stopping the fight but Marka looks OK. Kazuma waves Marka back to his feet!  Marka is rocked!

Marka scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

I will say this, while Kazuma almost had it finished right there, Marka’s camp has to be happy with the heart their boy showed in bouncing right back from that and going on the offensive!  But…let’s not get totally ahead of ourselves here, plenty happened earlier in the fight before this action in the third!

The first was more what we expected. Kazuma was focused on working the clinch and was having success getting there for the first minute or two of action, despite Marka getting the better of the exchanges once there. But then Marka got the takedown we were expecting him to work for.  Kazuma’s abilities on the ground were tested and unfortunately for him Marka was proving the better of the two down there as he got a good helping of shots in.

In the second round Kazuma surprised us and actually chose to take the fight to the ground.  Now Donkey, honestly, I think that that was probably an oversight in their strategy and probably a miscommunication between Kazuma and his corner as Marka had the clear advantage.  Kazuma righted this wrong shortly after by gaining a standup.  We were in and out of the clinch a bit more and then Marka was able to finish the round off by taking it back to the ground and dishing out a bit more punishment there.

We already talked about how the third started, which was looking great for Kazuma given his clear disadvantage on the cards and a finish would have really spun this fight on its head. But without being able to finish after rocking Marka the remainder of this round followed the template from the second round, with a lot of clinching between the two and an eventual takedown by Marka.  Just passed the three minute mark in the final round here Marka was able to find the answer, a huge bounce back from almost being finished earlier in the round…

Marka working Kazuma over with strikes here.  Kazuma is rocked!

Oooooh, big shot lands for Marka! Kazuma is hurt baaadly! Marka is firing away with more strikes - Kazuma is covering up... the ref is warning him to do something. He's just covering up though still and the ref has to step in to end the fight! This one is all over!

Crazy fight eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Crazy fight?  Hell no, try awesome fight!  And it earned these two ‘Fight of the Night’ honors!  In the preview I had mentioned a lot of questions with, “It’ll be fun mostly because there are so many unknowns going into this!  Kazuma has the better standup skills on paper, but can he really out-box and out-strike Marka?  Can he keep the fight on the feet at all? If Marka does get it to the ground, which I think he will, can he take advantage and work over Kazuma?” We got the answers to a bunch of those in this one!  This was a huge win for Marka and has now earned him a chance at a Top Contender battle with former Champ Wanderson Machado! Biggest fight of his life coming up next month and let’s hope he comes just as focused as he was for this one.  Kazuma drops one here after having won two in a row and will try to rebound next month in a huge fight with Obama Filth.  That one should help us figure out exactly where those two stand in the division and who’s closer to making a run up the ladder!

***********************

Main Card Bout #2: Light Heavyweights

Derwent Bolt Defeats Tarmo Rajantaka via Submission (Armbar)

Honestly Donkey, I’m not even really sure what to say here about this one. I feel like after that last fight went on and on with the discussion that I’m left with not much to elaborate on for this fight which was over before the first round came to a close! 

Rajantaka just didn’t seem to have ‘it’ on this night as he got out-dueled in most areas of the fight.  Bolt, who definitely has seemed to have ‘it’ over the course of his young career was the opposite.  He got the better of the exchanges standing boxing, managed himself well once in the clinch although Rajantaka was able to deliver a couple of dangerous knees to the head and an elbow while in there but managed to drag it to the ground in short order.  Once on the ground, well, given his history this was just a matter of time and formality for Bolt…

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.  Rajantaka preventing the sweep.

 

Bolt looking to try and escape his hips here, looking for a submission. It looks like he's going for a triangle but Rajantaka is defending well. Bolt quickly switches to an armbar and extends the arm! Rajantaka has no choice but to tap, to a very quick submission! Wow, that was lightning fast! Bolt celebrates on the cage, with the crowd.

Really slick submission there, possibly good enough for ‘Sub of the Night’ Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

On any other night that transition from the triangle to armbar would have definitely gotten those honors if not for Jubbly’s performance earlier in the evening that wow’d the fans and had them really getting into things!  Bolt continues to impress and we’ve seen him just run through one opponent after the next here as he shows time after time, fight after fight that he’s got more than meets the eye!  Next month, he’ll get his first truly dangerous test, easily the biggest fight of his career as he goes up against Wille Thai.  Thai is another very, very accomplished ground specialist and this fight will determine a future title fight challenger from the pairing!  Rajantaka takes his first loss since joining us here at Sucker Punch and goes 2-1 under our banner.  He’ll have the chance to show how he can rebound next month as he sees Joe Junior across the cage from him.  Normally I’d say that this fits his style very well as Junior has historically been a standup fighter prior to this card.  But Junior showed some new skills this month and has given future opponents something to think about!  Rajantaka will have to figure out how to factor that into his preparation over the coming month!

***********************

Main Card Bout #3: Welterweights

Psiris Fuhren Defeats Weston Hodkiewicz via TKO (Strikes)

This fight went deep but not all the way to the point of putting it into the hands of those nasty judges, thank god!  With two guys who both badly wanted a bounce back win, this was one you definitely didn’t want to see come to a decision.  If it wasn’t for the drama of the Marka/Kazuma fight with the almost finish after being rocked but then comeback win for Marka this one would have gotten the ‘Fight of the Night’ honors instead!

I’ll start out by saying that Hodkiewicz surprised us big time in this fight more for what he didn’t do than what he did.  We thought we’d see him take this fight to the ground but instead he only made a single takedown attempt all fight and chose to stand and exchange with Fuhren.  That was clearly a mistake, hindsight being 20/20, as Fuhren’s strike defense was up to the task of shutting Hodkiewicz down while still allowing Fuhren to capitalize on a fairly aggressive approach, especially in the clinch.

The first round saw these two standing and going at it for a minute before Fuhren chose to clinch up where he proceeded to dominate the action.  In the second round Fuhren decided, “Hey, I like the way that went!” and he clinched it up again within seconds of the bell!  Midway through the round it looked like this thing would be all over for Hodkiewicz with this bit of action…

A shot to the body from Hodkiewicz misses and Fuhren counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.  Hodkiewicz is rocked!

Hodkiewicz did an amazing job of rebounding from that though, thanks in part to some solid heart and a granite chin, and even managed to get a takedown a half minute later.  Fuhren was able to handle that turn of events though and got the standup shortly after a reversal.  Something he did with a bit more ease than we expected to be sure given Hodkiewicz’s skills!

The third saw them in and out of the clinch and back to boxing with Hodkiewicz taking some nasty shots, not the least of which was this sequence that gave Fuhren the W…

Hodkiewicz misses with a right hand letting Fuhren counter with a right hand.

Fuhren circles and sees the opportunity to plant his feet and throw a really nice straight left hand that drops Hodkiewicz to the canvas! Hodkiewicz doesn't know where he is but he's trying to survive - Fuhren keeps piling on the pressure and forces the referee to step in! This one is aaaaaall over!

Exciting action there Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Absolutely, a solid fight that got the crowd into it but also one that clearly Fuhren had well in hand with Hodkiewicz just seeming a bit off his game for the evening.  You decide if that was due to Fuhren or just simply not having it for the evening?  This was one that Fuhren needed in order to start his trek back up the rankings again in search of yet another title shot!  He gets the win and with it a chance to welcome Matsuzaka to Sucker Punch next month, a fight he’ll hope to win also and put himself right back up at the top of the division and looking for his next chance!  Unfortunately for Hodkiewicz, his manager decided he’d seen what he needs to and he’s been released after this fight.  That’s a shame as he’s a talented fighter with a granite chin.  Perhaps we’ll see him picked up soon and he’ll continue on with us here at SPPS!

***********************

Co-Main Event:

Featured Heavyweight Bout

Devin Hill Defeats Gary Porter via Unanimous Decision

So Donkey, in the preview I mentioned that, “…these two will be fighting for Top Contender status and a shot at the title towards the end of March!  Winner take all, no quarter given, this is the biggest fight of each of their careers to date, no doubt!  Clearly they took that to heart in this one as it was only the second fight of the evening to go the distance, giving the fans every bit of their money’s worth as both men refused to cede this fight and the opportunity it would bring!

It looked like the momentum and advantage was going to be in Porter’s hands early in this one as he got a takedown shortly after the bell.  That would put him in a great position to try to work his ground and pound game, a staple of his strategy and skillset!  And while he was able to get his shots in, it turns out Hill was up to the task and prepared to defend, making it difficult to keep him down with a sneaky escape just before the two minute mark.  Porter would get another takedown in short order with the same end result as Hill again snuck back to his feet!

Once on the feet Hill was aggressive with his attack and also on guard for further takedowns, dominating the points for the judges and preventing himself from being put back on the ground and in a tough spot.  The second round started as the first ended, with Hill establishing himself as the aggressor on the feet and preventing repeated attempts to get it back to the ground by Porter.  Porter did finally succeed in putting it on the mat again after the fourth minute of action in the round but that sneaky Hill was able to get away and pop right back up, clearly frustrating the hell out of Porter after having worked so hard for the takedown!

The third round was much more of the same, with Porter achieving multiple takedowns but each time Hill would manage to limit the damage on the ground and then get away again.  In between  his striking was getting the job done and this fight went to him easily, with two of our judges even giving him a 30-26 score!

Wow, a frustrating night for Porter there eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

By the time the third round came around Porter was gassed out.  There’s no question in that and it definitely contributed to not being able to effectively mount offense once on the ground.  He had multiple opportunities there in the third and just couldn’t do much with it and you have to credit that to Hill’s ability to stifle and frustrate him earlier in the fight along with “effective enough” striking. Hill’s percentage landed wasn’t high, but it was enough.  But with fifty-four takedown attempts overall any man in Porter’s position would be draining the tank and clearly he felt that getting to the ground, no matter the cost, was his only chance at victory. Hill will move on and get a shot to become Top Contender after this one.  We don’t know who he’ll be fighting next month yet but it will likely be the winner of Krol/Murphy.  Porter will go back to the drawing board and try to work his way back up after this little setback!

***********************

Main Event:

Welterweight Championship Bout

Juan Christiano (9-2-0) vs. Ronnie Bass (9-1-0)

Our Main Event of the evening featuring Former Champ against current Champ, Donkey, and boy was this one you didn’t want to miss!  Juan Christiano, current champ with two successful title defenses leading up to this against the challenger, the power punching former champion Ronnie Bass!  So let’s get into how this one went down and to do that, let’s look back at our very own Juice Fluffer as he headed into the cage for the intro!

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Juice Fluffer enters the cage…

“Ladies and gentlemen…this is the Maaaain Event of the evening!”

“The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Skip Squint and Ben Watson.”

“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 Hard Knocks - Sydney, Australia…”

“Iiiiit’s TIIIIIIIME!  Five rounds for the Undisputed Sucker Punch Pro Series Welterweight Championship of the World!”

“Introducing first…fighting out of the blue corner.  Holding a professional record of NINE wins, one loss and NO draws, he stands 185 centimeters tall, weighing a natural 177 pounds at 22 years of age, fighting out of New York, New York, United States and hailing from Alexandria, Virginia…The Challenger, Top Contender AND FORMER Sucker Punch Pro Series Welterweight Champion of the World…Ronnnnieeee…’Kick Yo Asssssss’…BASSSSSSSSSS!!!

“And nowwwww…FIGHTING… out of the red corner.  With professional record of NINE wins, two losses and NO draws, he stands 180 centimeters tall, weighing a natural 175 pounds at 23 years of age, fighting out of Los Angeles, California, United States and hailing from Mevaseret Zion, Israel… THE REIGNING….DEFENDING…UNNNNNNDISPUTED Sucker Punch Pro Series Welterweight Champion of the World, “Juaaan…’Holy Rollerrrrrr’…CHRIIIIISSSSTIAAAAAANOOOO!!!

And we were off Donkey!!!  And…I’m going to spoil this right now and repeat something I said in the preview…which was, “Tonight, he (Christiano) will need to watch out for that one-punch KO that can come at any time from Bass!  If anything had ever proved premonition like, it was that statement right there!

Christiano came out pacing himself but also being just aggressive enough, much as he tends to do!  But let me tell you Donkey, there wasn’t a ton of difference between these two and neither was clearly owning the fight!  Hell, the stats across the board were almost identical for the most part with both Christiano and Bass appearing to use almost the exact same strategies, down to the level of aggression, counter approach and mix of kicks into the game plan!    Christiano won a close first round and after Bass cut Christiano to draw first blood at the opening of the second round he went on to claim that one according to the play by play guys, evening the score at one round a piece!

And then the third…with these two going at it strike for strike, kick for kick, counter for counter…

That's one minute gone in the round.  Bass rushes in with a sloppy looking punch and Christiano counters with a straight right hand. 

Christiano swings and misses with a hook to the body.  OH! Christiano has been rocked by a huge right hand and is in deep trouble! Bass smells blood and charges in for the finish! Bass unloads a vicious overhand right and connects to the jaw of Christiano sending him face first to the canvas! Unbelievable!

And with that, Juice Fluffer re-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 after one minute and twenty-five seconds of round number three…”

“Declaring the winner…by KnockkkouuuutANNNNNNDDDD NEWWWWWW…TWO TIIMMME…Sucker Punch Pro Series…UNNNNNDISPUTEDDDDD…Welterweight Champion of the World… Ronnnnieeee…’Kick Yo Asssssss’…BASSSSSSSSSS!!!

Donkey…what a shocker…!?

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Well, you said it earlier Hare, you just have to watch out for that one-punch, knockout power!  And in a fight that was going this evenly that was going to be a huge potential factor as the fight wore on!  Even though these two were clearly bringing a very similar approach to the fight in terms of aggression, mix of strikes, counter, etc. one thing that seems to clearly be evident is that Ronnie was bringing the “damage factor”.  Christiano was just about gassed at the end of this one and that’s very, VERY unlike him.  Usually he’s the one who outlasts his opponent and that there tells you that the shots Bass was landing were landing with some “Oomph” behind them!  Heck, Bass looks like he was good to go for a fourth round still as he still had gas in that tank and clearly that wasn’t a lucky shot that just happened to glance the right spot.  That one landed with some mustard on it baby! 

I will say this; Holding onto a belt for a long stretch of time and multiple defenses is one thing and man, it cannot be overlooked when the greats do that.  But there’s also something huge to be said for being knocked off that hill and having the fortitude, the focus, the determine and the drive, both on the part of the fighter and his management team, to climb back up that hill and do it all again!  Congrats to Ronnie Bass on doing just that!  But now he better watch over his shoulder…Christiano as well as others are going to now be gunning for him more than ever!

***********************

So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

What a night folks!  An amazing evening of fights and now I hope you can see why this one racked up an event rating like never before!  Sydney was rocking, we were there to see it, and we’ll all be talking for some time about the way this night closed out!  We have our first two-time champion in house now and Sucker Punch rolls on settings some new firsts and continuing to be made great by our managers and fighters!  We’ll see you in just a day or so as we have SPPS 43 coming at you mid-week!

Till then…don’t forget…

Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style!

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Derwent Bolt
4-0-0

1/ Those previews and reviews are fucking nuts. Seriously I have to imagine that there must be some type of global pandemic and that you have to sit home with nothing but time and creativity at your hands. 

2/ My opponents have kept freezing up in the cage when standing across me in the cage and I can't for the love of God figure out why. I am not unbeatable hot prospect with high end skills and tricks. I am a normal Joe, altough bald, and have only my lovely character going for me. Why on earth everyone tenses up in the cage and makes small but crucial mistakes against me, no clue.. It goes without saying that my next opponent has all the tools to beat me and should do so in quick fashion, but who knows, perhaps panic strikes him as well. 

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Ref needs to check his head.  It's something on that bald head reflecting those LED's into the opponents eyes that are causing a temporary stun.  An unfair advantage to many, but I'm sure Hare is with me on any advantage is legit as long as you don't get caught.  

So if you're willing to part with what he's rubbing on his head, I've got a fighter or two in my camp I think I can get to shave their heads for that little boost!

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57 minutes ago, Bleakardor said:

Gratz to all at SPPS, and mostly to Hare for an amazing job this past year and a well deserved honor of being the best restricted org of the year!  

Thanks bud, means a lot coming from your camp over there, big time.  But you know darn well I'll always point to our managers and their willingness to get involved and all that makes it what it is!

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Oh trust me, I know.  But the managers have no desire to get involved unless one of two things happen. (for the most part)

1) The org owner/staff creates an environment in which the managers are eager to participate.  

or

2) The org is so starved for content they feel the need to try to spark a flame to get some kind of enjoyment out of it.  

Beyond shadow of any doubt, you're a 1.

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SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW

Sucker Punch Pro Series 43

Well here we go again Sucker Punch fans!  Due to my slacking off we just got done reviewing SPPS 42 and here we are getting ready for Sucker Punch Pro Series 43 this evening!  Once again we’ll be over at the fantastic and somewhat intimate Hard Knocks – Sydney which only holds 3,000 of the most intense fans on the planet and we intend to let Sydney know what’s up with this midweek action we’ve got lined up.

As most of you know by now, I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be joined by that sometimes all-knowing (and sometimes NOT!) Donkey “Dan”, our analyst and I think we’ve even got Suzy Sucker Punch on hand this evening as she had a word or two with the Craven camp.  No titles on the line this evening but that doesn’t mean the action won’t be just as intense.  The boys who are on this card have a lot on the line and I’m sure will bring it as if it was a title fight for each and every one of them.  Or at least, that’s always what I hope we’ll see!

This card is “bottom heavy” so to speak with a bunch of action in the middle to light weight classes.  We’ll have five Middleweight bouts coming at you this evening as well as a pair of Welterweights, a pair of Lightweights and then, the final big Main Event, a showdown between Featherweights Destin Craven and Jake Drake to see who gets a title shot in their division!

Alright!  So, as always, let’s visit our sponsor and merchandise partner for a few words and then take a closer look at each of these fights!

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Shadow Warrior Nutrition will be on hand at the event tonight and I cannot say enough about how much we appreciate having them as our merchandise partner and sponsor here at Sucker Punch!  Do yourself a favor…better yet, do your fighters who you spend so much time developing and preparing a favor…and stop by the stand tonight or visit their store to grab some of their Shadow Warrior Tea 160Q.  It is literally the best energy loss reduction supplement 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: Lightweights

Brendan Wallace (2-1-0) vs. Ryo Hazuki (0-1-0)

Ryo Hazuki kicked off his professional career last month in his Sucker Punch debut.  Unfortunately, the evening didn’t quite go as he had probably hoped and Yip Man Iii walked away with the ‘W’.  Not one to be discouraged that easily, Hazuki is back this month prepped up with good morale, full energy and a desire to even up the score a bit with his first win! 

To get that win Hazuki will need to contend with a talented Brendan Wallace this evening.  Brendan is a talented 24 year old who started out hot with Sucker Punch in only the second fight of his career two months back.  In that fight against Nakashi he finished things with a rear naked choke that earned him ‘Sub of the Night’ honors.  He wasn’t able to hold onto that momentum though and fell to Jamal Jameson via Decision last month, so he’ll be looking to bounce back here and that means Hazuki’s got a battle on his hands. 

Hazuki went for the takedown in his one and only fight so far and looked to be trying to work the submission game.  If he does the same this evening we may have two fighters both looking to get it done in the same way!

Donkey, got a pick for us…?

Donkey’s Pick: Wallace via Submission (Triangle)

Tough one to call here.  Wallace has the age and experience as Hazuki is a very young 18 year old but Hazuki has the Jiu Jitsu advantage with his purple belt over Wallace’s blue.  However, Wallace has slightly better wrestling.  This should be a fun contest and could go either way if it goes to the ground!  For now I’ll stick with the experience.

***********************

Undercard Bout #2: Middleweights

Sirus Hall (6-6-0) vs. Alexei Rodionovich (5-6-0)

Unfortunately both of our next two kids here are off on their morale just a tad, not a lot, but just a little bit.  Rodionovich is also off on energy a hair as well.  Honestly, that’s better than we’ve typically seen, so I’ll take it Donkey!

Rodi is 5-6 overall but 1-1 since joining us here at Sucker Punch.  He took a Unanimous Decision over Roddy Richards in his debut here but then dropped one to Craig Kraig via TKO last month.  He goes heavy on the clinch where he’ll work the elbows and knees heavily into his offensive attack while taking advantage of his respectable Muay Thai and grappling.

Hall is 6-6 overall but fell short in his Sucker Punch debut last month against Joseph DeAngelo with a TKO loss in the first round.  While he’s not afraid to throw hands with his opponents his preference to date seems to be to get the fight on the ground and work the submissions.  That has specifically been a weakness of Rodionovich’s in the past so tonight could be a very big test for both of these two to see if they can dictate where the fight takes place.

Donkey, who gets it…?

Donkey’s Pick: Hall via Submission (Armbar)

I’m thinking this one may get to the ground and if it does Rodionovich may be in some trouble.  He’ll need to employ a strategy that helps him get his shots in while protecting against the takedowns. But even if he does, can he stop it?  Hall will hope not!

***********************

Undercard Bout #3: Middleweights

Craig Kraig (5-2-0) vs. Roddy Richards (2-4-0)

Well Donkey, it seems we’re tumbling downhill slowly here as we progress into the card for this evening.  First, we had two kids pumped and ready to go…great!  Then, we had one of the two coming in unprepared just a little bit…ok, we can deal with that.  But now, we’ve got both fighters heading into a fight against one another tonight and both are just about the same…35-40% off on morale.  And you know what that means…it means I’m not going to spend much time talking about the actual matchup.  Instead, it means I’m going to spend my time berating them for what has become a recurring theme with both of these fighters. 

At least for Kraig, he can claim that despite constantly coming to the cage low on morale he somehow manages to walk out with a win anyway.  Somehow.  Don’t ask me how.  Richards can’t say that, as he came unprepared for his Sucker Punch debut last month and took a loss for his effort…or lack thereof. 

Here’s what I can tell you about this match tonight…for Richards, this is do or die for his contract.  Two times unprepared by the same amount, still wearing the same default clothes (so no attempt to fix the morale yet) and if that results in two losses straight…well, he’ll be gone.  Kraig, despite winning, is on a very short leash at this point.  Honestly, even if the wins keep coming I’d still be tempted to let him go after the next fight or two just out of principle as he too has his tighty whities on.  There’s no reason he should be low on morale after three wins in a row outside making zero effort to change clothes.

How does this one turn out Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Why bother?

As Hare said, both of these guys are on a very, very short leash at this point. I won’t bother spending time making a pick on a fight where the guys can’t be bothered to come prepared…again.

***********************

Undercard Bout #4: Lightweights

Artemyev Valeryevich (3-1-0) vs. Bruno Souppe (0-2-0)

Ok Donkey, now this is more like it!  Two kids who actually care to come to the cage gassed up and ready to go, confidence on high and focused on trying to get a win!  Woot!

Souppe makes his Sucker Punch debut with us this evening and I’m especially happy to see him putting his best foot forward given he comes in still looking for his first professional win.  Managed by Larry Barbosa, Souppe has fallen via Submission (Kimura) and TKO in his first two contests.  We don’t quite know what his tendency is going to be once he gets things going offensively but my guess would be the ground game given his proficient wrestling and purple belt in Jiu Jitsu are a bit ahead of his standup skills. 

Valeryevich is preparing to take a one year (three months MMAT time) break from fighting following this fight according to the notes we’ve received from his management team.  He’ll be the stronger standup fighter in this contest by a bit with his superb boxing and exceptional Muay Thai.  So, if Souppe does have skills on the ground tonight is the night to use them!  With three wins in a row, all here at Sucker Punch, Valeryevich has been on a roll but as we said, his management team feels he needs to step away and focus on some things for a bit. Expect him to come out letting the hands fly tonight!

What do you see here Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Valeryevich via KO (Punch)

One thing to watch for tonight assuming Souppe doesn’t get this to the ground very early will be the cut situation for Souppe.  He showed a tendency to cut early in his career and sure enough in his second and last fight before this one he did let the red stuff sneak out a bit.  Also, given the nature of the TKO he took from the clinch, there may be some question about his chin as well.  So it will be critical for him to get the fight to the ground early and control the action.  If he stands and throws with Valeryevich this evening I think things are either going to end in a KO or a stoppage by cuts.

***********************

Undercard Bout #5: Welterweights

Pietro Marchionni (5-6-0) vs. Lors Loria (6-4-0)

The last of the Undercard contests for the evening and I’m happy to say that these two are also bringing everything to the cage ready to go for the most part! 

Loria had a fantastic start to his career going with a 4-0 undefeated streak at RRFC under former manager Axl Lors.  Then, for unknown reasons, he was let go and Tricky Smith’s camp picked him up.  He continued on with a 2-2 record after that at RRFC before joining Sucker Punch.  Unfortunately since arriving he’s struggled to find his way and has dropped two in a row via KO and most recently Submission to Kahdi Mandinos.  We know that when he wins he likes to do it by abusing his opponents with his Muay Thai, albeit he does have one submission victory early on in his career.  Once he gets you in the clinch expect a heavy dose of head shots with a chance of more than a few elbows thrown in for good measure.

It’s good that Loria does have some ground skills because those will definitely be tested this evening if Marchionni can get this fight to the ground.  Marchionni has remarkable wrestling and a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu.  Those skills specifically support his addiction to dishing out pain in the form of a brutal ground and pound.  What started out as a promising career early on for Marchionni with a 3-1 record early has somewhat sputtered over the last half a year as he’s gone 1-4 in his last five fights.  Three of those losses have come via TKO or KO, so there is an opportunity for Loria here.  But not if Marchionni can get it onto the ground and control things because it’s likely to get ugly if that happens!

Well Donkey, have a pick for us here…?

Donkey’s Pick: Marchionni via TKO (Strikes)

I just have a feeling that Marchionni may be due for a bounce back fight here and I’m not entirely certain that Loria’s big heart is also accompanied with the other intangibles needed to get it done consistently.  Tonight will certainly test that theory as heart and other skills will all be needed for either of these two to come away with a ‘W’!

***********************

Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights

Chris Harms (5-0-0) vs. Tyrion Lannister (10-5-0)

On paper Harms would appear to be the considerably more skilled fighter despite being younger and having been training for less time.  However, Lannister is a specialist on the ground and is extremely dangerous at all times against just about any opponent!  So buyer beware and don’t be fooled by smoke and mirrors!

Harms is 5-0 in MMA, barring his four TWGC fights, and three of those fights have ended via submission.  Oh, yeah, the most recent three!  Before that he’d won via TKO and KO.  So yes, if you were thinking that perhaps this fight was specifically set up to see JUST how good his skills and ability to adapt to the situation really are against another talented ground specialist…then you would be correct.  And that’s exactly what Harms gets tonight with his Sucker Punch debut fight against Lannister.  And if Harms can get past this considerable hurdle he’ll easily propel himself up into the top of the division and be vying for a Top Contender fight sooner than later!

But Lannister would like nothing more than to have something to say about that!  Surprisingly, Harms actually does have the advantage over Lannister in wrestling as well here.  What Lannister has though is a significant level of experience and an uncanny ability to find a way on the ground!  However, much of that success came earlier on under his first manager, J. W. Hardman. Since then he’s been with both Dillo The Manager and now Alex Conors and has gone 2-3 between them.  The question will be…has time passed Lannister by some, or does he have it in the tank to start a run to the top with a win in this one over Harms and go for the glory once and for all?

This should be a very fun one eh Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Lannister via Submission (Armbar)

Harms has it all going but I have a weird tingling on the back of my neck that Lannister has something left in the tank and will find a way tonight.  Only time will tell though, but if Lannister does pull this off he’s only a step or so away from potentially getting a TC battle shot!

***********************

Main Card Bout #2: Welterweights

Baldomir Barbosa (6-4-0) vs. Kahdi Mandinos (8-4-0)

Mandinos was on an absolutely rocking roll with six wins over seven fights and as such earned a shot to become Top Contender back in December.  That shot saw him face off against Mason Jones and unfortunately Mandinos’ skills on the ground never came into play as Jones was able to clinch up and control the fight, ending it on the feet before Mandinos ever got to use his dangerous ground game.  That loss set Mandinos back to looking to regain momentum and also fine tune things some more as he worked back up to the top.  He started that ascent last month with a win over Lors Loria via yes, surprise, submission victory and will try to do the same tonight against Baldomir Barbosa!

Barbosa will walk into this fight with a level of confidence and swagger given he’s faced similar fighters in the past several months.  He defeated ground and pound specialist Pietro Marchionni last month, never letting that fight hit the ground, and frustrated a talented John Fuller two months before that.  Fuller was even able to get the fight to the ground but Barbosa’s defense was up to the task and he avoided allowing Fuller to grab a submission.  Both of those fights eventually were ended via KO due to Barbosa’s power packed striking!  Will tonight be the same?  Barbosa sure hopes so as his fight against Ronnie Bass two fights back was an opportunity for a title shot that he wasn’t able to capitalize on.  A win over Mandinos would put a step or so away from earning another shot to become Top Contender in the Welterweight division!

Donkey, this one all about who can force the fight to happen on their terms…?

Donkey’s Pick: Barbosa via TKO (Strikes)

There is no doubt about it that this fight is going to come down to who can dictate where the fight takes place.  And capitalize upon that advantage, clearly.  It’s not enough to get Barbosa down for Mandinos. He has to be able to finish.  And the same goes for Barbosa.  Just surviving on the ground isn’t enough if it gets there.  He has to be able to dominate on the feet and make his opponent pay for not finishing if he gets that shot.  This one really could go either way…but could also possibly be one to watch for the potential to earn any one of the ‘of the Night’ awards! 

***********************

Main Card Bout #3: Middleweights

Joseph DeAngelo (8-2-0) vs. John Wick (3-6-0)

Donkey, I cannot even begin to tell you how disappointed I am with the way things are turning out for this fight tonight!  Seriously, like majorly bummed and highly…disappointed.  That’s just really the only word for it. 

Sure, Wick has a 3-6 record…but it’s not the ‘6’ in that that matters.  What matters is that he’s gone on a three fight winning streak coming into this battle in which he took out big hitter Longsun Zhao, dangerous Ganevski and then overcame a tough, tough challenge against a talented ground specialist in Tyrion Lannister!  This man was on a roll!  And then…he comes in tonight with his morale on zero just about.  Totally zilch.  His manager has been away for just about a week…clearly he hasn’t changed clothes in quite some time or there’s no way he’d be low on morale after three wins…man…just…disappointing. 

So what would have been a fantastic challenge for DeAngelo tonight to see just how ready he is to catapult himself up the rankings with a hard-earned victory turns into a bit of a gimme in many ways.  Sure, the fight still  has to be fought, but it would say a lot more about DeAngelo if he were to lose than if he wins. DeAngelo is a striker with mediocre boxing but wonderful Muay Thai.  Although he doesn’t use the clinch a ton clearly the striking skills are there with most of his fights ending via KO…and occasionally TKO…in the first round.  But he also has a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu which I suspect is defensive oriented…and that’s what was to be tested tonight!  His ability to avoid letting it get to the ground and if it did get there, his ability to survive it.

But now all my scheming and fun plans are ruined Donkey!  Waaaaaaa…waaaaaa!!!!  Haha!

I can guess who you’re picking Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: DeAngelo via KO (Punch)

Well, duh!  You know I won’t pick the guy who has zero morale just about.  Heck, I don’t pick guys who are half off with morale, so yeah, not happening here for Wick.  DeAngelo shouldn’t see the mat tonight unless he falls over on his own after winning just to celebrate! 

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Co-Main Event:

Featured Lightweight Bout

Yip Man Iii (8-2-0) vs. Jamal Jameson (5-3-1)

Our Co-Main Event of the evening will see mean and nasty Jamal Jameson take on the high flying Yip Man who comes into this contest on a dizzying five fight win streak!  Jameson himself is no slouch in that department as he has two wins in a row himself and is in high spirits with plenty of confidence.

Jameson will have the advantage on the ground in this one tonight with remarkable wrestling and a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu.  Now, I mentioned him being “nasty” just above and that’s because Jameson uses those ground skills to put himself in control on the ground and then proceeds to take every bit of frustration and anger he might have in life out on your face!  He’s aggressive, he strikes hard and he does damage when they land.  And they do.  A lot.

Yip Man actually will have the advantage with his wrestling.  But it’s likely he’ll want to use that to simply not allow this fight to make it to the ground in the first place and instead take advantage of his big edge in standup skills.  He has wonderful boxing and exceptional Muay Thai, so as long as this fight stays on the feet you can expect Yip Man to be winning it.  For however long the contest lasts at that rate!  His last five fights were all won via KO or, in the case of the last three, TKO.   He’s finished them in the first…the second…the third… you name it, pick how long you want the abuse to go on and he can make it happen for you!

This one is going to be great, don’t you think Donkey…?

Donkey’s Pick: Man Iii via TKO (Strikes)

It should be one of the best fights of the night and it’s the Co-Main Event for a reason!  That, and there’s also a lot on the line here as the winner will likely be offered a Top Contender battle after this!  So yes, they’re just one step away from getting a chance to fight for a title shot!  That said, this is all about whether Jameson can get the fight to the ground and control the position there.  If he can, I like his chances.  But, he’s going to have to overcome Man’s grappling as well, and that might be tough.

***********************

Main Event:

Featured Featherweight Bout

Destin Craven (7-2-0) vs. Jake Drake (7-1-1)

Here we go, our Main Event Donkey!!!  And boy, J. W. Hardman and his staff sure are going to be busy tonight during these final two fights given they had Yip Man Iii fighting in the Co-Main and now here we  have Jake Drake from their camp in the Main Event with Craven!

Drake’s corner will have a whole different set of advice for him tonight than they had for Yip Man.  Rather than the message they gave to Yip, which was “keep this thing off the ground!” they’ll be telling Drake to get it on the ground so he can use his ground and pound to brutalize Craven!  For Drake, it’s sorta that simple…he has superb wrestling and a black belt in Jiu Jitsu but just mediocre standup skills.  I say “sorta” because, well…

…Craven loves the submission game.  His standup is better than Drake’s with strong boxing and Muay Thai, so there’s always a chance he may stand and strike some, but his remarkable wrestling and purple belt in Jiu Jitsu are what he’s managed to win with so far in his career.  My guess is he also wants this on the ground but will try to ensure that he’s the guy on top so that Drake can’t take advantage of his striking.  Even if Craven does end up on the bottom though his submission skills are dangerous…potentially even more so against an aggressive striker…and that’s something Drake is going to have to factor in and be aware of with every strike!

Donkey…who gets this…?

Donkey’s Pick:  Craven via Submission (Guillotine)

Honestly, it’s really, really tough to make a pick here.  So I’m going to go with the only thing I’ve got and that’s that Craven’s wrestling is just the tiniest fraction better and that might make the difference for the ground games when that time comes.  I can’t wait to find out though!  And let's not forget...this fight is for a title shot as current Welterweight Champ Michael Aalto sits waiting for the winner!  Bring on the fun!

Suzy Sucker Punch: Guys, I also had a chance to speak with Destin Craven earlier today at the hotel…and he had this message for Drake and his crew…

Destin Craven:  Jake Drake is pretty good on the ground. I mean he has a BJJ black belt. But the dude has attempted 142 takedowns in his career, and never once thrown a strike (except for G&P) so he's clearly a one trick pony. We know he's going to do nothing but try to take me down. If he's successful then we've got a chess match on our hands. If he fails, then he's getting knocked out. Good luck Drake, see you tonight!

Suzy Sucker Punch: So apparently a little bit of a bone being thrown there to the other camp in that Craven does NOT intend to go gently onto that good mat…but if it does, it sounds like he’s prepared to get down to business!

***********************

So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

There we go folks, we’re only hours away now from all the action over at Hard Knocks – Sydney!  We’ll catch up with you tomorrow and see how all of this turned out and take a look at where it leaves things, but until then enjoy all the fun!

And as always, don’t forget…

Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch Pro Series 355k+ style!

 

51 minutes ago, Bleakardor said:

I'm being greedy, but hoping he's working on the preview for tonight's event!  lol

Ask and ye shall receive! HAHAHA!

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Jake Drake - "Looks like Craven just got his ass whooped by a one trick pony.  What's that make him?.  I am a big fan of Royce Gracie.  In his prime, he was a BJJ master, and that's all he needed.  Glad I could show you the staying power of BJJ, even in today's sport."

"Donkey, looks like you backed the wrong horse!  Can't blame you though, if you buy into the hoopla and talk the media puts out there. (looks towards Craven's camp)  But no hard feelings, first rounds on you tonight."

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Yip Man III -  "Is all you have? You fly by like lotus pedals in wind, gentle touch before settling to ground to fade into memory."

 

 

Hare, my boys are feeling a bit frisky after the big night for Camp Hardman.  They said feel free to send a crew by to interview them, or just to come by and have a beer.  Jake said Donkey's got the first round.

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