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Sucker Punch Pro Series (Unrestrained) Opens in Sydney


HareRumpler

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SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW

Sucker Punch Pro Series 59

Hello out there Sucker Punch fans!  Hare here for a few moments this evening as I get you kicked off and looking forward to SPPS 59 which takes place tonight over at the Bondi Outdoor Arena in Sydney! Now, I say for a few moments because I was generally very happy with the results of the preview and review last week for SPPS 58 and as such I’ve outsourced the main portion of each fight’s preview to Nati Batti, my youngest offspring, once again with Donkey doing his follow-up picks to compliment it! 

No title fights on the line this evening for SPPS 59 folks but that certainly doesn’t mean a lack of pulse pounding action over there at the Bondi this evening!  We’ll kick things off with a couple of big, and I do mean big...Heavyweight battles.  Then we’ve got a montage of Featherweight and Lightweight action for you in the middle of the lineup before we get into a thrilling Welterweight battle between Keisuke Matsuzaka and Ceedee Queen!  That action will lead us right into the Main Events for the evening which will feature a Co-Main Event between Lightweigths Conor Aldo and Maximus Furioto, a definite collision between two contrasting styles.  Then, for the Main Event, big time Middleweight action on with good stuff on the line between Longsun Zhao and possible future Top Contender Joseph DeAngelo! 

It’s all coming at you this evening folks, so let’s get a word about a sponsor and merchandise partner real quick here and then I’ll turn this thing over to Nati and Donkey!

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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: Heavyweights

John Wick (0-1-0) v Brutus Ryker (2-6-0)

Hi friends! I’m Nati and welcome back! The first fight of the night is a heavyweight match between John Wick and Brutus Ryker. Looking at it from a physical perspective, Wick clearly has the advantage. He is 15 cm taller than Ryker and 25 pounds heavier. They have different fighting styles, but both suck equally with quite the losing streaks. Wick has little to no experience with this, having only fought one fight and lost it so, for that reason alone, I’m going with Ryker on this one.

Donkey’s Pick: Wick via Submission (Armbar)

Ryker took out Tsmfimsfnd (say that fast three times, or at all, I dare you!) two fights back via a highlight reel head kick.  Tonight, he’s going to have to find a way to end this early as his youth and energy may be hard pressed to overcome Wick’s Jiu Jitsu advantage if this fight gets to the ground.  Now, Ryker’s manager is back and his attention is on his fighters again and that certainly adds a new level of difficulty to the task of taking him out for Wick and his camp. But, I do see this fight getting to the ground potentially and if it does I think Wick has a definitive advantage.  I’m going to go with that, but this fight could shock and amaze and it would be awesome to start the night out with a contest that really gets the crowd pumped!

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Undercard Bout #2: Heavyweights

Peter Beardsley (4-2-0) v Jeppe Bjoergen (5-6-0)

The next fight of the night is another heavyweight fight, this time between Peter Beardsley and Jeppe Bjoergen. While Bjoergen has the cooler name, Beardsley has the advantage all around. From height and weight to skills and win record, Bjoergen has nothing on Beardsley. While I’m going to go with Beardsley, whichever way it goes it will most likely end in a TKO. Just a guess, though. It will be interesting though, since the crowd will be cheering for Bjoergen.  I’m sure they will be disappointed when he loses.

Donkey’s Pick: Beardsley via KO (Strikes)

Bjoergen makes his Sucker Punch debut this evening and with it will hold the Muay Thai advantage in this matchup with Beardsley.  Bjoergen is considerably more experienced in the cage than Beardsley by about double the total professional fights.  Formerly with Gamma Contenders, Bjoergen carried a rough streak with him from WPFA into GC’s but was able to break out of the slump in his final fight before leaving them in February as he pulled off a very nice triangle submission over Art Bowers.  That was the first submission of his career and probably won’t be an area of strength for him tonight against Beardsley as Beardsley has a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu.  However, Beardsley, also making his Sucker Punch debut this evening after fighting with Pride prior to this, prefers to stand and box…and he hits hard! He’s KO’s his last three opponents and has a granite chin, so he can stand in there and take the abuse as he attempts to give better than he gets!  I’m going to go under the assumption that that brown belt means his defense on the ground is in order and as such, the standup game should lean in his favor as well as the result of this contest.

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Undercard Bout #3: Featherweights

Carlos Villarreal (10-7-0) v Yellow Belt Casey (5-6-0)

Fight number 3 tonight is a featherweight fight between Carlos Villarreal and Yellow Belt Casey. Villarreal is a very experienced fighter with 17 fights, 10 of which were wins, backing him. He’s got a lot of skills that he can do better than Casey, but Casey’s BJJ skills may play to his advantage if he can get Villarreal on the ground. I doubt there will be any knockouts or submissions in this skinny boy fight. It will most likely be a TKO or decision. I’d bet on Villarreal winning this one by decision, maybe unanimous or maybe majority. I don’t really know. I know nothing.

Donkey’s Pick: Casey via Submission (Armbar)

This will be a contest of contrasting styles as we have a classic striker versus ground and submission artist affair here ready to go!  Casey is the ground specialist in this one and is adept on the ground with submissions.  He now has a black belt, something I think is a more recent development, so buyer beware if you allow this fight to get to the ground.  However, he has struggled in his most recent fights against quality strikers and while he supposedly has a “good chin” from early match reports, some could be justified in questioning just how “good” that chin is.  He was KO’d by Cobain, but that’s a tall order to come through without damage there. Most recently he was also TKO’d by Nagashima though who is not quite in the same striking class as Cobain.  Tonight Vallarreal will be focused on testing that chin and hoping he can get to it before this fight ends up on the ground and he loses the advantage.  Villarreal is a kickboxer who will bring strikes from all angles. Both fighters come in off a couple or more rough losses and very much should be hungry for a win to turn the tide!

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Undercard Bout #4: Featherweights

Kaoru Nagashima (5-7-0) v Broklyn Red (4-4-0)

Fight number 4 is another featherweight fight, this time between Kaoru Nagashima and Broklyn Red. This one is probably the most even fight we have had so far tonight. Nagashima has a bit of a height and weight advantage on Red, as well as experience. Although, it’s more losing experience than winning experience. But we won’t judge him for that. Of his few wins though, he has made a small habit of winning by submission, so perhaps we will see that from him again tonight. I’m not confident who is going to win this one, but I will go with Nagashima just because.

Donkey’s Pick: Nagashima via Submission (Kimura)

An extremely even match, both Red and Nagashima have skills that closely match one another heading into this fight!  Red may have the slightest of advantages on the feet and with him having taken some action over at BKFC on loan last month (a loss to Edgar Bravo via Submission) he’ll be hoping to forget about this two fight losing streak and get back to winning!  Nagashima overcame Casey, who defeated Red previously btw, and snagged a quick TKO victory last month.  He made a surprise move to the ground and worked the good ole nasty stuff down there as he rained down a half dozen or more strikes to get the win.  He’s also won more than a few times via submission in the past, so expect to see him try to move to the ground tonight, especially if Red gets this thing into the clinch where he likes to go uber aggressive on his opponents.

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Undercard Bout #5: Lightweights

Piney Winston (10-6-0) v Venali Paetmar (3-7-0)

The next fight of the night is a lightweight fight between Piney Winston and Venali Paetmar. I think it’s pretty obvious based on their skills as well as past records that Winston will be the winner here. He’s better at almost everything than Paetmar and also has pretty good 10-6 record backing him. Every fight he has won up until this point has been via submission, so I’d put my money on Winston winning by submission one again.

Donkey’s Pick: Winston via Submission (Armbar)

Paetmar has a definitive striking advantage going into this one tonight with his superb boxing and Muay Thai.  However, he has more than struggled to figure out how to cash in on his skills for wins as he’s dropped five straight contests here at Sucker Punch.  Four of those losses have been via decision and that’s partially due to his somewhat reserved approach to offense when given the opportunity.  He’s taken the fight to the ground in the past, as he did versus Pure Striker, but then doesn’t seem to land enough strikes to score the points with the judges.  Tonight, given Piney Winston’s skills on the ground, that approach probably wouldn’t be the best one to utilize.  Winston is a submission artist who particularly loves to torture his foes’ arms in a variety of ways.  He’s not opposed to going for a neck either though, so Paetmar should do everything he can to work his striking from standup this evening or it could be lights out due to a lack of oxygen!

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Main Card Bout #1: Featherweights

Mickey Dismantle (7-4-1) v Akara Kongsangchai (2-8-0)

 Off of the loser card, on to the main card. This is where things get more exciting. We start off this card with fight number 6, a featherweight fight between Mickey Dismantle and Akara Kongsangchai. I think Mickey Dismantle’s name is much cooler, so I like him better for that alone. This is a very even fight but, like me, the crowd will be cheering for Dismantle. Combine Dismantle’s experienced and winning record with Kongsangchai’s somewhat lesser energy and I think it becomes pretty clear that Dismantle will be winning this one. Dismantle has only ever won by TKO and Kongsangchai has only ever won by decision. So, no matter which way this fight goes, I think we can assume it will end with one of those two.

Donkey’s Pick: Dismantle via TKO (Strikes)

What we have here is a fight that, on paper, looks like it could be the closest and best matched fight of the evening!  However, Kongsangchai has struggled, for lack of a better word, failing to find a way to snag a ‘W’ over his past five fights with us at Sucker Punch.  Worse, he’s lost eight of his last nine.  That’s a very, very rough go to say the least. He likes to stand and strike, but tonight  he better have a solid game plan as Dismantle brings a similar approach to the cage as his fellow camp sparring partner, Cobain.  Given the results of late, I have to go with Dismantle in this one.  Kongsangchai had better hope that Mickey doesn’t use his last name literally tonight!

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Main Card Bout #2:  Lightweights

Kira Yoshikage (5-2-0) v Jamal Jameson (6-5-1)

Fight number 7 tonight will be a lightweight fight between Kira Yoshikage and Jamal Jameson. Another pretty even fight with both fighters having won their last couple fights. Both of these guys are pretty experienced fighters, but Jameson has fought more fights and is both slightly heavier and taller than Yoshikage. While the crowd will be cheering for Yoshikage, I think this fight will go to Jameson. Both of them have their own unique skills and ways of winning, so it is pretty hard to tell who will win and how this one will go down. But for whatever reason, Jameson is giving me good winning vibes and I don’t see why I would need more reason to choose someone than that.

Donkey’s Pick: Yoshikage via Submission (Armbar)

Jameson will have a slight boxing and wrestling edge in this bout while Yoshikage will have the Jiu Jitsu edge with his brown belt over Jameson’s purple.  Jameson’s ground skills are mostly defensive based upon prior results while Yoshikage has shown an ability to work the submission in his past.  Granted, those submissions came over a  half year ago.  He’s also more than willing to lay down some ground and pound if need be or the option presents itself!  Both fighters come in off losses and are looking to shake them off with a win this evening!  Barring a draw, one will walk out of the cage with a smile tonight and the other will be contemplating what went wrong and how they can change it up in the next month!

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Main Card Bout #3: Welterweights

Keisuke Matsuzaka (11-3-1) v Ceedee Queen (5-2-0)

As we near the end of the night, fight number 8 will be a welterweight fight between Keisuke Matsuzaka and Ceedee Queen. Since the internet has chosen this very inconvenient time to stop working, we will be judging on last names alone until further notice. While Matsuzaka has a pretty cool name, how can that possibly defeat a literal Queen. No competition there. Anyways, we now have stats again so let us get back to that. It looks like Queen might have a bit of a skills advantage on Matsuzaka. However, Matsuzaka has an impressive record having gone 11-3-1 up to this point. I think I’ll go with Queen on this one just because he’s a bit of an underdog. No matter who wins, I think it will be by TKO.

Donkey’s Pick: Matsuzaka via TKO (Strikes)

Our last before the Main Events and this one simply comes down to whether Queen will stand and throw hands with Matsuzaka or whether he’ll take it to the ground to work the ground and pound.  He has the advantage on the ground with sensational wrestling and a brown belt while Matsuzaka has the distinct Muay Thai advantage tonight.  Not that he’ll use it.  Matsu tends to just simply throw hands as often and as hard as he can.  My guess is that Queen will try to work the ground game to stay away from that level of aggression on the feet!  Or will he stand and counter potentially?  This is probably the toughest one I’ve had to pick all night and it’s really a bit of a toss-up here!

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Co-Main Event:

Featured Lightweight Bout

Maximus Furioto (12-5-0) v Conor Aldo (7-5-0)

Fight number 9 is the third and final lightweight fight of the night. Maximus Furioto will fight Conor Aldo in what should turn out to be a very interesting fight. These two guys have very different fighting styles, with Aldo being slightly more advanced in boxing and muay thai and Furioto excelling in wrestling and BJJ. Furioto’s record is much better and the crowd seems to like him a lot, so I’m going to go with him on this one. If he can get Aldo on the ground, it should be a quick fight from there. If he can’t, Furioto may be in danger of a knockout. But let us hope for the best, shall we?

Donkey’s Pick: Furioto via Submission (Armbar)

This Co-Main event comes down to a simple question.  Submission or (T)KO?  Aldo will be bringing the heat in standup with his wonderful boxing and exceptional Muay Thai combined with superb wrestling.  While he’s known for vicious KO’s to end the evening for his opponents, he’s also been subjected to them several times as well.  He probably doesn’t need to worry about that this evening though as this may be the first time he’s truly been tested by an exceptional ground submission specialist.  Furioto has sensational wrestling and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu and has used that combination to score wins in ten out of his twelve victories.  If this goes to the ground, Aldo is in trouble.  If Furioto takes a punch to the noggin’ before that happens, well, reverse that bit of information about who’s the one in trouble!

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Main Event:

Featured Middleweight Bout

Joseph DeAngelo (10-2-0) v Longsun Zhao (7-6-0)

 For the final fight of the night, we have a disappointingly not title match between Joseph DeAngelo and Longsun Zhao. The two middleweights will fight what should end up being an interesting final match. Surprisingly, it’s not as even as I thought it would be with DeAngelo having a slight advantage over Zhao. DeAngelo has a much more successful record than Zhao. So, for that alone, I think I will go with DeAngelo on this one. He has also won all 10 of his wins by TKO, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw another one of those again here tonight. Both of these guys lost their last fight, so either way this will be a nice redemption win. I just hope DeAngelo doesn’t disappoint me.

Donkey’s Pick:  DeAngelo via KO (Punch)

A huge matchup here for the final act of the evening as a win here would mean a Top Contender battle between DeAngelo and McGuire to see who gets the next title shot.  However, a win for Zhao could be just as significant as it would put him at most one step away from the same, and possibly if Kazuma were to lose the following week on May 22nd, a Top Contender battle for himself against McGuire!  So yes, each has their future more or less in their own hands this evening and opportunity is knocking!  Both men have been known to stand and throw down, with Zhao tending to win via that sword but also fall on it himself now and then.  He’s also won via submissions in the past, so you never know when he might switch things up and go for a ground game.  Could tonight be the night for that given DeAngelo’s knack for making short work of opponents who decide to stand and trade shots with him?

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So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

Even without a title on the line this evening we have all of that great action lined up for SPPS 59 folks!  I hope you’ll be with us to catch all the action and if not, check out that live stream!  In the meantime, have fun, stay safe and enjoy the fights!

Till then, have fun and don’t forget…

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

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Honestly, this was actually a GREAT rating for an event with no title fights on it folks!  Kudos to all of our managers and fighters last night for going out there and making SPPS 59 a hot one even without belts on the line!  We here at SPPS really appreciate that, especially that EVERY fighter last night came to the cage fully prepared and ready to give it their very best! Awesome.  As such, I feel that there were more fights last night that deserved kudos and bonuses than I can legitimately give out.  Don't be surprised if your manager accounts suddenly have a couple extra coins in them over the next day or so!

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6 hours ago, HareRumpler said:

Honestly, this was actually a GREAT rating for an event with no title fights on it folks!  Kudos to all of our managers and fighters last night for going out there and making SPPS 59 a hot one even without belts on the line!  We here at SPPS really appreciate that, especially that EVERY fighter last night came to the cage fully prepared and ready to give it their very best! Awesome.  As such, I feel that there were more fights last night that deserved kudos and bonuses than I can legitimately give out.  Don't be surprised if your manager accounts suddenly have a couple extra coins in them over the next day or so!

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Great Stuff!! But lets be honest the Ko Bonus is mine :D

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POST EVENT CHEAP SHOTS

Sucker Punch Pro Series 59

Welcome back Sucker Punch fans!  I’m Hare Rumpler and once again I’ll be joining you briefly here for the intro to our look back at SPPS 59 before turning things over to Nati Batti and Donkey as they take a closer look at the results from each fight and what they mean for our warriors here at Sucker Punch! 

To recap what I said in a quick comment on the event in the forums, “Honestly, this was actually a GREAT rating for an event with no title fights on it folks!  Kudos to all of our managers and fighters last night for going out there and making SPPS 59 a hot one even without belts on the line!  We here at SPPS really appreciate that, especially that EVERY fighter last night came to the cage fully prepared and ready to give it their very best! Awesome.  As such, I feel that there were more fights last night that deserved kudos and bonuses than I can legitimately give out.  Don't be surprised if your manager accounts suddenly have a couple extra coins in them over the next day or so!

I’m still working on getting all of those bonuses out that I mentioned.  If you haven’t received one to your manager’s account, know it is coming, I’m about halfway through them at this point!  So, with all that said, I think I’ve done my part here to get you guys ready to look closer at all the action that went down over the the Bondi this past weekend, so let’s here from our merchandise partner and sponsor and get to the good stuff!

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When you think about training your fighters, one of the biggest concerns is keeping them in the gym and actively training, am I right? And you can’t do that if they have to be stopping to recover and rest for sessions here and sessions there! That is why you need to visit our sponsor, Shadow Warrior Nutrition, and specifically 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!

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Undercard Bout #1: Heavyweights

Brutus Ryker Defeats John Wick via KO (Head Kick)

Hi friends, I’m back with a review. The first fight of the night was a heavyweight between John Wick and Brutus Ryker, and it did not disappoint. Unless you were rooting for Wick, then you should be very disappointed. Ryker won KO of the night with this one, having knocked out Wick with a head kick 9 seconds into the first round. A little rude if you ask me, he didn’t even give Wick a chance. But hey, he got the job done. I said Ryker would win, so it works out pretty well for me. A solid start for my picks. There’s not really much else to say about this fight. I hope Wick’s head is alright.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Woooo!  As Nati mentioned, we had a REALLY fun one to kick (pun intended!) things off for the night and the crowd was loving it!  The KO to get things rolling earned Ryker the ‘KO of the Night’ award and with it a highlight reel ‘W’ to move him to .500 since joining Sucker Punch.  Great job there.  Now, can he build on that success and break free from the yo-yo performance he’s been on in his very, VERY young career? We’ll find out next month as his manager has specifically called out and asked for Bjoergen for Ryker!

For Wick, the SPPS  debut loss was tough because it leaves him 0-2 on his career and this loss came against another fighter who was technically a half star behind in skill estimate and about 3k behind in MMAT registered ID.  Not an ideal situation to miss out on the chance to get a win.  More concerning though is his morale drop that sent him south of 50% after the loss.  Wick showed Big Heart in his first fight, but with this fast KO we’re going to have to watch closely to see if that heart is also accompanied by a questionable chin?  We were going to see how Wick could do against a comparably skilled, at least according to primaries, Teixeira next month but his team has rejected that fight.  We’re waiting to hear back on the concerns, whether it was ID, skill, build, age, etc. and will adjust from there. Or, if the drive to face any of the guys we have on tap isn’t there, we’ll set him free to seek out a 360k org potentially.

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Undercard Bout #2: Heavyweights

Peter Beardsley Defeats Jeppe Bjoergen via TKO (Cut)

Yay, another correct pick for me. 2 for 2. Fight number 2 was another heavyweight, between Peter Beardsley and Jeppe Bjoergen. I stated pretty clearly in my preview that Beardsley would win this one pretty easy, and he didn’t disappoint me. Although, I’m sure the crowd was disappointed as it seemed Bjoergen was the fan favorite for this one. Beardsley won 3 minutes and 38 seconds into the 2nd round by TKO which, if I’m not mistaken, is also how I predicted this one would be won. I must say, I’m impressed with my own guessing skills. Bjoergen just took too many hits in this fight and was cut too badly to keep fighting. Better luck next time.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

A brutal one here that saw both combatants bloodied within the first minute of action with it just getting worse and worse from there out for Bjoergen!  Nobody ever wants to lose a fight with the doc involved and certainly that’s no exception here but it would have been more disappointing if Bjoergen was winning up till that point.  That’s not the case as Beardsley was pretty much dominating the action and getting the better of the strikes as these two battled it out on the feet.  This was a huge win for Beardsley who propels himself forward and continues the big streak he’s on, making it four in a row with his debut win here at Sucker Punch!  He’s lost  before, five fights back, via cuts so having a gore-fest go his way this time has to be a little bit of fun for him.  If he’s that sadistic!  We were thinking Meshkov or Republic potentially next for Beardsley, but Meshkov has had his management go MIA so there’s a good chance it may be Republic after his fight on the 26th.

This isn’t the first time Bjoergen has lost via the doctor’s call, so watching out for cuts may be something he’s going to have to figure out.  Granted, the stoppages haven’t  been frequent but he did lose his one and only title fight back with WPFA to Axl Lors in the same manner and he’s been cut in a large number of his fights. I fear this may turn into something that could be somewhat career hampering. Being that he’s now lost five of his last six fights you have to figure that this run with Sucker Punch and his current contract may be what he needs to figure out if he can get his pro career on track as well as whether those cuts will continue to be an issue.  Next up to test that will be Brutus Ryker.  He has a considerable advantage in training time over Ryker, as well as a higher skill estimate, but Ryker has proven he can hit and hit hard.  Can Bjoergen take those shots and find a way to pull out the victory?

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Undercard Bout #3: Featherweights

Carlos Villarreal Defeats Yellow Belt Casey via Unanimous Decision

WOOO! I’m 3 for 3 now, suckers. The guys I chose are doing pretty well tonight. For this fight, I said that Carlos Villarreal would defeat Yellow Belt Casey, most likely by decision. And, once again, I was right about both the fighter and the way they won. Villareal and Casey fought 3 good rounds but, when it came down to it, Villareal won unanimously. Villareal got a lot of good hits in through the fight, and Casey just couldn’t keep up. Another good win to add to Villareal’s record.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

This battle and its result came down to two very simple concepts.  The first was Villarreal’s ability to strike aggressively and effectively in standup with his superior kickboxing in this fight.  That allowed him to score the points he needed to win this fight after pushing it the distance. The second was Casey’s focus on getting to the ground but inability to capitalize on the position and do much of value for himself once there. 

Villarreal used to be known as “The Checkmate Gatekeeper” and has retained that nickname since leaving the promotion and joining Sucker Punch.  Granted, he lost two very tough fights to start things out here at SPPS after being on a heck of a winning streak at Checkmate, but they were against VERY tough competition.  He’s now shown that he has more than it takes to win and if he can keep pushing forward like he did in this fight he’ll find himself in position to be much more than just a gatekeeper here at SPPS!  He’ll have a chance to prove that he’s on the path to becoming significantly more next month when he faces off against Kaoru Nagashima!

Casey is struggling to find his way back to the win column as he’s lost four fights in a row after initially starting out his run with Sucker Punch with a 2-1 record.  We’re uncertain what the exact issue is at this point.  It could be a lack of some key complimentary secondary skills, perhaps being somewhat soft on physicals or…and this would be the most concerning of the possibilities…it could be just a lack of confidence and morale given he dropped over 50% of his morale with this latest loss.  That’s significant and shows that unless he can get ahead early in a fight it’s likely not going to go his way as his mindset goes all wrong. 

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Undercard Bout #4: Featherweights

Kaoru Nagashima Defeats Broklyn Red via TKO (Strikes)

Wow. I’m on a roll. 4 for 4 on guesses after this one. This is much better than I did last week. So far, at least. For fight number 4 we had Nagashima and Broklyn Red in a featherweight match. Just two skinny boys going at it. Going into the fight, this appeared to be the most even fight we had so far. However, it didn’t end up as close as I thought it would as Nagashima defeated Red 3 minutes and 29 second into the first round by TKO. Red tried his best, but he could not handle strike after strike coming from Nagashima. Finally, Red just couldn’t do it anymore and Nagashima was declared winner.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Nagashima switches things back up and by keeping them the same for this fight!  What I mean by that is that while he’s won via submissions and the ground game in the past, it’s over the past two fights here that he’s gone the direction of focusing more on the ground and pound aspect!  I think most people, myself included, thought that he might go back to the submission game for this fight but instead it only took a nominal number of big shots down there to end this thing.  Granted, they were spread out quite a bit due to Red’s constant threat to throw a submission into the mix, but eventually those shots from Nagashima did the job and gave him his second win in a row, his third in four fights!  He seems to have shaken off the dark days when he went five fights in a row with all losses and has moved on to much brighter ones now!  He’ll get a big opportunity to make it three in a row as he’s challenged by Carlos Villarreal next month, a very closely contested fight from an overall skills perspective.

Red came back from his little ‘on-loan’ hiatus hoping to get back into the win column but instead makes it three losses in a row, one at BKFC which was bookended by losses here at Sucker Punch.  He can’t seem to figure out which end is up right now as he’s lost via KO, Submission and TKO, with this fight making it a win and a loss against Nagashima as he had a prior win against him under his former manager, Runt.  We’re not sure what his next fight will be yet, but I’m being told it’s likely to be one of either Aalto, Thompson or Craven.  To be determined!

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Undercard Bout #5: Lightweights

Venali Paetmar Defeats Piney Winston via Unanimous Decision

Ah, the last fight on the undercard was my first disappointment of the night. Fight number 5 was a lightweight between Piney Winston and Venali Paetmar. These two guys fought through all 3 rounds but, at last, Winston disappointed me when the judges unanimously chose Paetmar. Paetmar has a pretty cool name though, so I can’t be too disappointed. Plus, I’m still at an 80% accuracy rate. That’s pretty good, in my opinion. Paetmar won both round 1 and round 3, so really the decision came as no surprise. Paetmar needs this win to boost his losing record, anyway.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Paetmar wins this one via Decision in a closely contested 29-28 result that really came close to being able to go either way.  Paetmar did just enough on the feet offensively to score the points he needed with the judges while also making the smart choice to NOT take this thing to the ground as he has in the past.  Wise decision there, make Winston work for it, which he did and then control the action well preventing Winston from transitioning into position to get good submission attempts.  That approach worked to perfection keeping Paetmar from getting into serious trouble and robbing Winston of quality submission opportunities. With the win, Paetmar snaps a vicious five fight losing streak and perhaps gives his manager some hope that there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for Paetmar after all!

Winston would have loved to have been able to finish this one off and turn it into a trio of wins in a row.  Instead, it goes into the loss column and makes it four out of six of his last fights to land there.  More concerning is that Winston’s morale dropped horrendously after this fight which is something you never want to see.  Winston’s manager, Davies, is going to need to find a way going forward to ensure that Winston is able to get the upper hand early in fights so that his confidence stays on the top end of things going forward.  It looks as if Hare has decided to pit Winston against Jameson next month, another fighter who has struggled over his most recent string of fights.  One of these two will break free and start down the right path again!

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Main Card Bout #1: Featherweights

Mickey Dismantle Defeats Akara Kongsangchai via Unanimous Decision

 Moving on to the main card for fight number 6, Mickey Dismantle did not disappoint me. Dismantle fought Akara Kongsangchai for 3 long rounds but, in the end, it went to Dismantle. Surprising, I had figured if it came down to decision it would go to Kongsagchai as that is how he usually wins. But no, Dismantle ruined his habit of winning by TKO to win this one unanimously, But hey, a win is a win. Doesn’t matter by how much, it looks the same as a quick win on his record anyways. Hopefully we will see much more form both of these guys in the future as it was a very close and very exciting match.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Kongsangchai almost seems like he’s in a “can’t buy a win” mode these days and while there’s plenty that can be said about his most recent six fights, all losses…not much of it good…one thing that you definitely can’t say is that he can’t take a shot or punishment!  Dismantle dished out about as much as you can dish out over three rounds, most of it in the clinch, and yet Kongsangchai hung in there and never folded.  That’s saying something, especially against the likes of Dismantle who is known for hard striking that makes even the most stalwart foes crumple! 

Dismantle outworks and out strikes Kongsangchai in this one as he cruises to a Unanimous Decision and gets back on track with a win here after bouncing back and forth over the past four fights.  If he can continue putting together wins like this he’ll be back into a contender position before long!  We’re not sure who the next opponent will be at this point, but we’re thinking perhaps Ebedi, a fighter that Dismantle has never seen in the cage yet and would be an excellent test for both!

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Main Card Bout #2:  Lightweights

Kira Yoshikage Defeats Jamal Jameson via Unanimous Decision

Another disappointment. What a shame. Fight number 7 was a lightweight fight between Kira Yoshikage and Jamal Jameson. I believe I had given this one to Jameson because he was more experienced and a bit on Yoshikage physically but, unfortunately, I was wrong. Yoshikage won this one after 3 long rounds by unanimous decision. Yoshikage was the fan favorite so I’m sure the crowd was very pleased with the outcome of this fight. Yoshikage dominated the first round in this fight while Jameson won the second leaving it to be determined by the third round. In the end, Yoshikage outdid Jameson in the final rounds, securing him the win. A good fight all around, Yoshikage improved his already impressive record.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Another in a string of long, drawn out fights that goes into the hands of the judges for a decision here and Yoshikage manages to get the better of the ground and pound in between the submission attempts that Jameson was well prepared to defend against!  Being that both of these guys were ready to get this fight on the ground…including Jameson which was a surprise to us…this fight more or less came down to a battle for position and who could get the better of the strikes down there. That turned out to be Yoshikage who, after losing a rare one last month, now walks away with six wins over his last seven and a 6-2 record overall in MMA.  All  here at Sucker Punch!  He’ll truly be tested on the ground next month by Maximus Furioto, who is more than a bit adequate with his submission skills!

For Jameson, this loss adds on to a frustrating run where he’s lost three of his last four with the last two losses being decisions. Probably something he’s sick of seeing at this point.  He, too, will get a chance to put his ground skills…and defense specifically…to the test next month against Piney Winston!  A win there could really build confidence and propel him forward in the division.

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Main Card Bout #3: Welterweights

Ceedee Queen Defeats Keisuke Matsuzaka via Unanimous Decision

Ceedee Queen took down Keisuke Matsuzaka to win this welterweight fight. Fight number 8 was yet another 3 round fight that ended in a unanimous decision. Honestly, we could really use some more exciting wins here. We started off strong but it has gotten weaker as the fights go on. If every fight was a 9 second fight ended by a head kick this would be so much more exciting. Luckily, this fight ended with a decision that favored my pick. So that’s a bonus. Make it a little spicier next time though. That was boring. I said this one would be by TKO no matter who it went to and they couldn’t even do that. A true snooze fest.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Yet another in a string of four Unanimous Decisions here, but the good news is that after this the big Main Events of the evening played out with a bit more drama!  In the preview I had said, “Matsu tends to just simply throw hands as often and as hard as he can.  My guess is that Queen will try to work the ground game to stay away from that level of aggression on the feet!  Sure enough, Queen had answers both on the feet and off, but especially off as he took this fight to the ground on five out of six tries and once there worked the ground and pound well enough to clearly establish dominance.  On the feet, he also got the better of the exchanges and this made the fight an easy call for the judges.  With the win Queen earned himself a Top Contender battle that could lead to a title shot. But before he can look forward to a chance at the belt he’ll need to contend with Ronnie Bass next month! Time to focus and come prepared!

Matsuzaka came roaring into the Welterweight division here at Sucker Punch fresh off a win at BBFC and continued with two more upon his arrival here!  That put him into a position to potentially claim the Top Contender battle for himself but he found Queen’s striking, strike defense and ground game a bit too much to handle.  At least on this night.  He’ll have a big bounce back opportunity against a skilled and formidable opponent in Ipsa Perkele next month!

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Co-Main Event:

Featured Lightweight Bout

Maximus Furioto Defeats Conor Aldo via Submission (Triangle)

Yes, yes. Another correct pick for me, and an exciting fight to talk about too. Maximus Furioto fought Conor Aldo in what I expected to be a very interesting fight, and it did not disappoint me in the slightest. I’m sure the crowd was going crazy through this one. Furioto was the fan favorite so when he won by submission just before the end of the first rounds, the crowd was ecstatic. There were lots of submission attempts from these two throughout the 4 minutes and 35 seconds of the fight but, in the end, Furioto succeeded with a triangle that made Aldo tap out. Both fighters gave it their best and should be looking forward to their next fights.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Furioto cashed in on this Co-Main Event to once again demonstrate his more than adequate skills on the ground and ability to put away opponents with convincing submissions!  And boy do they excite a crowd!  Well, everybody except Aldo’s camp in this case.  With this win Furioto moves himself one step closer to a potential title opportunity as he’ll get the chance to earn a Top Contender battle if he gets past Kira Yoshikage next month.  Yoshikage likely has a thing or two he’d like to say about that!

Aldo has been struggling of late with three losses in his last four fights.  He’ll have an opportunity to right the ship next month against Hare’s very own Repus Revorg, a young fighter who definitely has less experience and training time than Aldo but  has shown some promise.  With two losses in a row of his own, Revorg will want this win as much as Aldo so Aldo had better bring his best and have a focused training camp!

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Main Event:

Featured Middleweight Bout

Longsun Zhao Defeats Joseph DeAngelo via KO (Punch)

 Finally, fight number 10. While I was disappointed that this was not a title fight, it is arguably the most exciting fight that went down and the second quickest finish, only behind fight number 1. We started strong and we ended strong and that’s what we like to see. Longsun Zhao defeated Joseph DeAngelo 44 seconds into the first round with a knockout from a punch. There’s not really a lot to talk about here since it was a quick fight. It certainly didn’t keep fans waiting long,that’s for sure. While I did go with DeAngelo on this one and he did fail to win, I can’t say I’m disappointed. It was a very fun, exciting, and quick fight between the two. I believe I only got 3 of my picks wrong tonight, and 70% accuracy would be enough to pass a test. Barely, but enough nonetheless. Plus, it is much better than I did last week. I’d call that improvement. Thanks for coming, see you next week!

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Many in the audience,  myself included, believed that the favorite to win this fight was DeAngelo and that with it he’d be moving on to a big Top Contender battle with McGuire next month to see who is next up for a title shot! Well, Zhao decided to throw his own monkey wrench into that mix and refused to be overlooked as a contender himself and pulled off a fan frenzy inducing KO that was a tight contender for ‘KO of the Night’ honors and instead earned this fight the ‘Fight of the Night’ award for finishing off the evening with some POP!  With this win Zhao makes it known that he’s to be considered right there for consideration and as such we’re simply waiting to see if Kazuma will get the TC battle next with a win over Harms on the 22nd, or, should  he fail in that quest, will Zhao step in and claim it as his own!  Either way, Zhao now sets himself up just a step or so away from making the ultimate run to the top!

DeAngelo and his crew will go back to the drawing board at camp this month licking wounds a little bit and taking a hard look at what needs to be done to step things up just another notch!  To be so close yet fall back a bit like this can be discouraging for some but we have no doubt DeAngelo’s camp will have him focused again and ready to get right back at it.  Part of getting right back at it will be shifting his focus on fully preparing to welcome newcomer Jarna Kuiva to Sucker Punch in June!

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So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

We had a great evening of fights and even without a title fight on the card this group of fighters and their managers brought the energy and excitement to the Bondi Outdoor Arena!  The fans loved it, the critics loved it and for a non-title fight card this one scored very well in the ratings!  WE love that here at Sucker Punch and can’t wait to see the kids from this card get at it again as they continue their careers here at SPPS!  We hope you enjoyed all the action and are looking forward to SPPS 60 coming at you in just a few days!

Till then, have fun and don’t forget…

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

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Akara Kongsangchai on recent defeat: It's too late for me to be a champion, I may never win another fight again but I'm committed to training constantly and proving now that I am the toughest fighter in the world, not just Sucker Punch. Mountains may not get to move and feel the rain and elements but everyone remembers their stoic nature, and I'll be remembered too. 

Kaoru Nagashima: Once more I came from the mountain with the great Akirono's blessing, he had been dissatisfied with my exhibition of the Cobra Clutch and my famous Cobra Bite and shamed me, but after I bested him in wrestling again he requested I not always exhibit his sacred moves. I thought it may be time to show my new ultimate move the Crackling Cutter of Contant Pain but that I will save for another time, I've found it's much easier to punch people in the face repeatedly.

Longsun Zhao: For some reason they quoted me as having lost my last fight after I won an award nearly half of my fights won awards, this fight I was determined to make them remember why. The championship means nothing to me, Kazyu can have it, I've got my scores to settle and I will start with the first, which now that he's done losing to children in the 170lb division, Hey Psiris, Commmme outtt tooo pllaayyyy

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1621610006SPPS_Poster_60.png

SUCKER PUNCH PREVIEW

Sucker Punch Pro Series 60

Welcome back to all our Sucker Punch faithful out there!  I’m Hare Rumpler and I’ll be hanging with  you for just a few minutes here before I turn things over to Nati Batti and Donkey as they take a closer look at the amazing action on hand tonight for SPPS 60!  That’s right, ten more amazing fights on tap to get the weekend kicked off and this time they’ll be headlined by the Light Heavyweight battle for the belt in the Main Event featuring defending, undefeated John Doe as he defends his belt for the second time against challenger Derwent Bolt, a ground specialist who will give Doe a little something he hasn’t seen much of to date!  That should be a fantastic battle, but that’s not all that’s on hand…

The other nine fights that are on tap over at the Bondi Outdoor Arena this evening will undoubtedly bring the energy and excitement that Sucker Punch fans expect and love!  The evening starts out with a Lightweight bout between Dominguez and Rabbit to kick things off, flows into a Welterweight and Middleweight set of contests as we work up through the Undercard and then the front half of the card comes to  close with two big boy fights featuring Heavyweights Haden and Mieettinen as well as Syd Rummel and Rock Silva!  I expect those to be some amazing clashes folks! 

The Main Card really kicks things into high gear as Chris Harms faces off in a Middleweight bout with Kiryu Kazuma, another clash of styles and then we’ll step into Welterweight and Featherweight bouts between Carter Ortiz and Justin Kulina followed by Courtial and Drake respectively.  Expect hard hitting action from Ortiz and Kulina while again we’ll get another clash of styles with Courtial and Drake.  All of that leads us up to the Co-Main Event between highly hyped and skilled Middleweights Ainsworth and Gōtarō before finally circling back around to that title fight I spoke about earlier! 

So clearly a great night of action lined up for you folks and I can’t wait to see it all go down this evening!  But  now, let’s get a word in from our sponsor and merchandise partner and get to the closer looks at each fight as I turn it over to Nati and Donkey!

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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: Lightweights

Montesh Dominguez (3-6-0) v Ramon Rabbit (8-8-0)

Hi again friends, once again it’s Nati here!  To start off the night, we have a lightweight fight between Montesh Dominguez and Ramon Rabbit. I would like to start off this fight by saying that Ramon Rabbit’s name is much more fun, and thus I will most likely be going with him on this. Now that I’m looking at the stats, I stand by my decision. It seems like it’s a pretty even fight as far as their skills go, but Rabbit has much more experience and wins then Dominguez does. Not to mention, the fans seem to like Rabbit better, so this makes me more confident in my pick here. I have no idea how it’s going to end, so I’ll just say by TKO.

Donkey’s Pick: Rabbit via TKO (Strikes)

What a squarely matched fight here folks!  Literally these two appear to have equal skills across the board in almost every major area except perhaps the slightest edge for Rabbit in wrestling!  Both come into this contest geared up and ready to get at it with full energy and morale, so nothing there is going to help me with this pick!  Rabbit is slightly older at 23 years old to Dominguez’s 21 years and has the experience advantage in the cage but I’m not sure that that’s necessarily going to make the call any easier either!  This is just a great, even match to start out the evening!

Both of these fighters tend to want to stand and throw hands.  Both also have a recent win over Venali Paetmar, so that’s yet another piece to the puzzle that they share.  Yes, folks, this is a tough one to call and being that all else is equal I think I’m going to agree with Nati this evening and go with the experience as the only standout item between these two, therefore calling it for Rabbit.  We’ll see!

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Undercard Bout #2: Welterweights

Cashel Ortiz (6-2-0) v Darry Curtis (6-4-0)

Fight number 2 of the night is a welterweight fight between Cashel Ortiz and Darry Curtis. Off that bat I’m going to go with Curtis on this one. Not necessarily because he is a better fighter, but because Ortiz has so little morale going into this fight I just don’t see how he could win. I think Curtis will end this one pretty quickly, most likely by TKO since that seems to be what he likes to do, having done it in all of the fights he has won up until this point.  Either way, I do not expect this to be an overly exciting fight.

Donkey’s Pick: Curtis via TKO (Strikes)

Cashel Ortiz makes this an easy pick for me this evening as everybody pretty much knows that I will never make a pick for an unprepared fighter. As Nati said, he comes into this fight with almost zero morale, not to mention a manager who hasn’t been around for about four days now.  That, at least in my eyes, almost always spells doom.  This man won’t have the desire to be in that cage tonight, much less to stand and trade with Curtis.  He was on a four fight winning streak so it’s a shame that it’ll likely end in such a way this evening.  Curtis will take the win if he can snatch it though being he’s lost three of his last four and would really like to tack an extra ‘W’ onto the ole record after this one!  One thing I do disagree with Nati on though is that this fight may bring some excitement in the form of a big finish, as those who don’t want to be in the cage sometimes have their lights put out for their lack of interest!

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Undercard Bout #3: Middleweights

Sean Smith (6-2-0) v Jouko Juntti Jr (2-0-0)

The next fight of the night is a middleweight fight between Sean Smith and Jouko Juntti Jr. It looks to be a pretty close fight as far as skills go, but Smith is heavier, taller, and has much more experience than Juntti Jr. So, for those reasons, I think Smith will win this one. I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish all 3 rounds and it comes down to a decision, but if it doesn’t, I expect a TKO no matter who wins it. 

Donkey’s Pick: Smith via TKO (Strikes)

Juntti Jr comes into this one slightly off on morale but probably not enough to make me immediately pick against him for it.  He’ll have the smallest of edges in wrestling while all else is even between the two outside the boxing advantage for Smith.  As Nati mentioned, Smith does have the experience advantage coming into this contest but Juntti has proven an ability to find and snag the ‘W’ in his first two professional fights over Van Der Veer Jr and Edward Mills, both here at Sucker Punch.  Granted, Smith is a whole new level of competition compared to those two and while Smith has lost his last two fights coming into this evening, the fights were against top notch, elite tier competition in the Middleweight division here at SPPS!  I expect Smith to be hungry and perhaps be a test that shows us just where Juntti is or isn’t. 

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Undercard Bout #4: Heavyweights

ZaDarius Haden (9-3-0) v Meltdown Miettinen (0-1-0)

The fourth fight of the night is a heavyweight fight between ZaDarius Haden and Meltdown Miettinen. Miettinen has a pretty fun last name, so that gives him bonus points right away. Looking at the stats, however, Haden easily has the advantage. He is bigger than Miettinen in both height and weight, and has much more experience. Miettinen has only ever fought one fight, and he lost it. On the other hand, Haden has an impressive 9-3 record. Not to mention, if we look at skills, Haden is as good or better than Miettinen in just about everything. Despite having a boring name, Haden will likely win this one. And pretty easily, too. The crowd should be happy when he does, seeing as he is the fan favorite in this fight.

Donkey’s Pick: Miettinen via Unanimous Decision

See, here’s the thing folks.  I know something that Nati doesn’t know here, or at least, that she didn’t pick up on.  And that’s that while Miettinen may come in with a sparse bit of experience in the cage, and he may appear to be the slight underdog in some skills, he also comes in cornered by one of the absolute best managers in the game!  And don’t for a second think that that can’t make a difference.  Haden, managed by another outstanding MMAT mogul in Zeke Gunner, has had two shots at the title previously, both against Chontamenti.  And those losses account for two of his only three losses on his career!  He’s a beast himself and remains one of the elite and top contenders in this division despite those losses.  However, Hare can’t just toss him right back in the title fight time after time, so we went out and found somebody we truly believe can give him a big time test!  Miettinen is that test and some more.

If Haden does come out victorious, yes, he’ll be one step away again from a potential title fight, the third of his career, after a top contender battle!  For now though, I’m going to give Mr. Gunner something to holler at me about and go ahead and pick the “underdog” in this contest!

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Undercard Bout #5: Heavyweights

Syd Rummel (8-2-0) v Rock Silva (0-3-0)

Fight number 5 is another heavyweight fight, this time between Syd Rummel and Rock Silva.  Honestly, neither name is better and both of them are a bit funny looking in their profile pictures. Rummel looks like he is a bit of a showoff. This fight should go to Rummel, as he is experienced, opposed to Silva’s 3 fights and 3 losses. The crowd will be cheering for Rummel, and if he can get Silva on the ground, it should be over pretty quickly. Although, Rummel has slightly less energy than Silva, so maybe Silva will pull off a massive upset. I guess we will find out soon enough.  

Donkey’s Pick: Silva via Unanimous Decision

Nati’s inexperience with this is showing through in that she points to the energy levels for Rummel here as a possible disadvantage, but truth be told the bit that he’s short really is of no overall consequence.  He’d  have to be 10% or more off for me to worry about that as a factor in the fight.  That said, she is on the money when it comes to what Rummel may be looking to do in this contest against Silva this evening.  Prior to changing management teams Rummel was more or less a ‘take em down and bash em’ sorta guy with a solid ground game and a taste for dishing out the ground and pound.  However, upon leaving the Rebel family, joining Doc Dannis’ crew and then changing his name and possibly religion he turned to the way of the submission in his last fight to land an American for the win over Banana Republic. 

We have no way of knowing what Silva’s approach will be in the cage this evening.  He’s changed management teams…his fourth over the course of his pro career…and now fights for Hare’s alliance mate’s squad over at Team Laz Staz. That said, I think it’s fair to say that Hare and I will both be rooting for Silva in this one for our own personal reasons and don’t expect Rummel to have a future with Sucker Punch beyond this evening, regardless of the outcome.  We don’t often take a rooting interest in one over the other…but for tonight…Go Silva!

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Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights

Chris Harms (6-1-0) v Kiryu Kazuma (6-5-0)

 The first fight of the main card is a middleweight fight between Chris Harms and Kiryu Kazuma. This fight is going to be another close fight, with both fighters having the same number of wins and a pretty balanced skills set. If Harms can get Kazuma on the ground, I see him winning by submission. So you can count that as my pick for this fight, I suppose. Although, I genuinely think this one could go either way. I guess only time will tell.

Donkey’s Pick: Kazuma via KO (Punch)

Kazuma has four wins over his past five fights.  He’s looked extremely solid in the cage but this evening will be a true test for him.  The one fight he failed to land the ‘W’ in over that five fight span was three fights back against Luka Marka, a ground based fighter who enjoys dishing out the ground and pound.  Being on the ground is not necessarily to Kazuma’s liking and tonight he’ll be tested in yet another facet of that game to see how he’s progressed.  Harms has solid boxing and can win on the feet but his true skills are in his wrestling and specifically his Jiu Jitsu.  It’s been a while now, and from prior management, since  he’s won via submission but there’s no doubt those skills are hiding there still and he’s likely to unleash them this evening if he can put this fight on the ground as Nati said. 

I have a strange feeling that this fight might surprise us all with one of those “punchers chance” opportunities and perhaps Kazuma catches Harms!  Harms fell victim to a KO last fight for the first loss of his career and perhaps that chin has been exposed?

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Main Card Bout #2:  Welterweights

Carter Ortiz (10-2-0) v Justin Kulina (2-2-0)

Fight number 7 features the second Ortiz of the night. I don’t know if having the same last name is coincidental or not, but it is what it is. This fight is a welterweight fight between Carter Ortiz and Justin Kulina. This should be a pretty easy win for Kulina seeing as Ortiz has absolutely no morale. Similar to the prior Ortiz, how odd. If they had the same morale, I would actually have chosen Ortiz as he is a skilled fighter. But, unfortunately for him, that is not the case, so we will stick with Kulina on this one. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was won by KO or TKO, just because of the situation.

Donkey’s Pick: Kulina via Unanimous Decision

Nati has called this one the right way given the morale situation.  And yes, I do believe the Ortiz clan is a family of fighters all under the management of Alex Conors.  Perhaps they should all stop sulking in the same rooms though and spend some time apart so they don’t all bring one another’s morale down.  What a bunch of mopers!  Anyways, on top of the morale issue, Conors has been MIA as a manager for about four days so clearly Ortiz comes in without management in his corner.  That doesn’t help either, especially if he wasn’t given clear instructions for this fight in advance.  Now…bear this in mind though, Ortiz is a ground submission specialist.  They ALWAYS have a shot, no matter what.  However, there’s a good chance he’ll struggle to get takedowns in this one lacking the drive and heart to get the job done.

Kulina is led by Kelly McGrady and will undoubtedly come in prepared for this fight.  While not having skills on the ground that blow you away on paper, most of McGrady’s folks do have reasonable defensive skills there.  I expect that will be enough to get by Ortiz with that low morale.  I disagree with Nati though, Kulina is likely to simply score, score and score points and take it via decision as that’s the trend for this fighter.  I’m sure he’d be thrilled to get his first KO or TKO though!

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Main Card Bout #3: Featherweights

Godefroy Courtial (10-2-1) v Jake Drake (8-2-1)

Fight number 8 is a featherweight fight between Godefroy Courtial and Jake Drake. I like Courtial’s name better, but the rhyming of Drake’s name is pretty spicy, too. Both of these guys are pretty experienced fighters with winning records. I think if Drake can get Courtial on the ground, he could win by submission. However, if that doesn’t happen, he’s in trouble because Courtial is very skilled at Muay Thai. Courtial has won ten fights, all of which by TKO. If Drake takes too many strikes before he can get Courtial on the ground, it may be over pretty quickly. For those reasons, I will go with Courtial but I wouldn’t be surprised, or overly disappointed, if it goes the other way. Either way, it should be a good fight.

Donkey’s Pick: Drake via Submission (Armbar)

I’m going to agree with Nati again  here with her assessment that this should be a good fight!  Now that’s a bit scary.  Actually, I’d go beyond that and say that this may be one of the best fights of the evening up to this point which makes it the perfect fight finish things off before the Main Events this evening!  This will be Courtial’s second fight with Sucker Punch after he and Skywalker absolutely went at it for a full three rounds last month!  That was a great fight with tons of action and strikes both in and out of the clinch, so Nati is again correct there in her guess that Courtial may once again use his clinch advantage this evening. 

Drake is looking for a bit of redemption going into this one though after losing a tough five round title challenge to Michael Aalto back in March.  He’s had some extra time to train and should be more than ready for this fight.  Nati’s correct in saying that undoubtedly Drake will want this fight on the ground.  Of interesting note…Drake lost to Skywalker, albeit quite a ways back, via decision…something both he and Courtial share in common.

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Co-Main Event:

Featured Middleweight Bout

Wilfred Ainsworth (7-2-1) v Kenji Gōtarō (3-2-0)

As we near the end of the night, fight number 9 will be a middleweight fight between Wilfred Ainsworth and Kenji Gotaro. Both of these guys have some pretty cool names, so I guess we can’t really take sides based on that. This fight is pretty well matched, but the crowd seems to love Ainsworth, likely due to his experience. Ainsworth has a 7-2-1 record as opposed to Gotaro’s 3-2. For that reason, I will side with the fans and go with Ainsworth because I think he will simply know how to outlast Gotaro.

Donkey’s Pick: Gōtarō via TKO (Strikes)

This Co-Main event features two fighters that I expect will go to absolute war this evening!  It may not be a long, drawn out war, but it’ll be one that the fans enjoy and that’s something I have zero doubt about!  Both Gōtarō and Ainsworth are led by passionate managers in Dead Disney and Runt respectively and both bring a level of excitement to the cage that will have the fans in a frenzy, taking sides and making bets, talking smack and cheering loudly!

Ainsworth has serious striking skills and while his ground skills are not something to be overlooked historically they’re more for defense.  He’s all heart, willing to get in there and battle it out strike for strike in any fight, anywhere.  For the belt or not.  He’s had two shots to go after the belt and has come up just short on both, once against Machado and then recently against McGuire in contests that both went all five championship rounds and gave the champions at the time everything they could handle, by far one of the toughest fights of each of their careers!  Expect nothing less tonight, belt or no!

Gōtarō will bring a challenge to the cage for Ainsworth…well, I was going to say unlike any other he’s seen before...but truth be told the challenge he brings is similar to the many all-out brawls Ainsworth has been in in the past.  Which makes this an intriguing fight as Gōtarō is on a three fight win streak, two under current management, with big wins over Jim Beam and Pinheiro.  With Beam being a former champ, a win tonight adding on could be just what Gōtarō needs to make the statement that, “I’m ready!”.  He strikes hard…very hard, just ask Pinheiro from a month ago…so expect him to come out more than happy to trade shots with Ainsworth to see just who is the baddest man in the cage this evening! 

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

Main Event:

Light Heavyweight Championship Bout

John Doe (7-0-0) v Derwent Bolt (5-0-0)

 To end the night, we have a title match between John Doe and Derwent Bolt for the light heavyweight belt. This should be a pretty good fight between the two, but I doubt it will go for all 5 rounds. Despite Doe being the current title holder, it seems the fans prefer Bolt. I don’t really blame them, John Doe has to be the least creative name I have seen so far. Bolt, on the other hand, is a pretty fun last name. And, since they both have never lost a fight, this could go either way. So, I’m choosing Bolt. I might be wrong but I might be right. I have a 50/50 chance here so I’ll take my chances.

Donkey’s Pick:  Bolt via Submission (Armbar)

You get a true battle of styles here this evening in the Main Event as Bolt takes on Doe in a quest to walk away with gold over his shoulder!  But don’t for one second think that Doe will allow that to happen without a fight, as P J Jones undoubtedly has him ready to go to war and  make this a drawn out experience for Bolt if history proves anything!

Bolt will be bringing an undefeated record to the cage tonight at 5-0 along with his formidable ground submission game.  Doe may have exceptional wrestling and a brown belt, but most suspect it’s more or less defensive in nature and we’ll get a chance to see what Bolt can do with his wonderful wrestling and black belt…and history of FIVE submissions, with all of his prior fights ending in sub victory!  He especially likes to torture folks’ arms with armbars, kimuras and maybe the occasional triangle mixed in for a change!

Doe is a striker who, as we alluded to, knows how to make a fight…even a long title fight…go the distance.  He’s not 7-0 for no reason, but this challenge tonight is unlike any other he’s ever faced from a ground skill perspective, so I can’t wait to see how he holds up in this one.  He’s had time to prepare.  I know his manager seemed confident in his ability to be ready.  We’re going to find out!

I’m going with the upset here this evening…just to, as Nati or Risa would say…make this a bit spicey!

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

So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

Oooh, the energy is ramping up and we’re just about ready to get this thing kicked off in a little over four hours folks!  The fans are in the lot tailgating and in just two hours they’ll be let into the Bondi to move the party indoors…well, outdoors still, but you get the idea!  Anyways, two hours from now we get the Bondi rocking and two hours after that the place will have all of Sydney rocking as the action kicks off!  Enjoy folks and we’ll see you soon!

Till then, have fun and don’t forget…

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

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6 hours ago, HareRumpler said:

Fight number 8 is a featherweight fight between Godefroy Courtial and Jake Drake. I like Courtial’s name better, but the rhyming of Drake’s name is pretty spicy, too. Both of these guys are pretty experienced fighters with winning records. I think if Drake can get Courtial on the ground, he could win by submission. However, if that doesn’t happen, he’s in trouble because Courtial is very skilled at Muay Thai. Courtial has won ten fights, all of which by TKO. If Drake takes too many strikes before he can get Courtial on the ground, it may be over pretty quickly. For those reasons, I will go with Courtial but I wouldn’t be surprised, or overly disappointed, if it goes the other way. Either way, it should be a good fight.

I could be completely wrong here, but here's my take on this translation from teenage female to adult male.  (I love Nati's involvement, so please don't take this the wrong way!)

Hi, these two guys both have big muscles.  I like Courtials a little more because his pecs are slightly higher, but Drake's are nice too.  If I had to choose, I'd marry Courtials because I think his last name would look better with mine, but they both have money so I wouldn't be disappointed to end up with either one.  Either way, a girl could do worse!

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4 hours ago, Bleakardor said:

I could be completely wrong here, but here's my take on this translation from teenage female to adult male.  (I love Nati's involvement, so please don't take this the wrong way!)

Hi, these two guys both have big muscles.  I like Courtials a little more because his pecs are slightly higher, but Drake's are nice too.  If I had to choose, I'd marry Courtials because I think his last name would look better with mine, but they both have money so I wouldn't be disappointed to end up with either one.  Either way, a girl could do worse!

Me:  Nati, come look at this!  

Nati:  *reads* That is not how I think! *laughing*

Me:  He's the manager for Drake...

Nati:  He's a judgy one is what he is! *more laughing*

P.S.  This made her day, as she's as bad as me and thrives off the back and forth jawing.  She's always asking me, "Did anybody have anything to say?"  Hahaha.

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POST EVENT CHEAP SHOTS

Sucker Punch Pro Series 60

Welcome back to all our Sucker Punch fans!  Sucker Punch Pro Series 60 has come and gone and we had a great night of action over at the Bondi Outdoor Arena with just shy of 6,000 fans in attendance and plenty of energy to go around!  And I hope you’re all amped up and ready to go because we’re about to get into a stretch for a few weeks here where we’re back to two events per week…starting tomorrow night in just under a day and a half from now with SPPS 61 coming at you! 

For now though, we’re going to jump in and take a look back at all the action here in SPPS 60.  Once again Nati Batti is stepping in to do the main portion of the review as a follow-up on her preview.  Now, I’ll be honest, at first it looked like she was going to welsh out on this one.  And yes, I just used the word “welsh”, what’s it to ya?  But yes, I was beginning to think that Nati was going to pull a Risa Roo on us and leave us hanging…and then two things happened.  The first, is that she got her panties in a bunch over what she felt was “judgy disrespect for her skills” and decided she was bringing a bit more of an edge to the table this evening for the review!

The other thing that happened was swimming over the weekend!  What does swimming have to do with this you might ask?  Well, a few who know me know that I have three daughters.  All three swim.  The oldest, in college now, was a YMCA National swimmer and just went off and set some team, pool and conference records for her school this past season (D3 mind you, but still a hell of an accomplishment).  My second one isn’t really built to be an athlete but she gives it her all, is an excellent student and is about the goofiest, most fun-loving person around.  She’s also a big band, musical and Star Wars geek! 

Now, the third one (Nati) follows more in her oldest sister’s (Risa) footsteps…with the exception that she’s 5’2 rather than 5’9…but rather in distance events and Fly rather than Breaststroke.  But as some of you are about to find out…she carries a huge chip on her shoulder and it’s what makes her so feisty and competitive!  And spiteful and grudge holding…again, as you’re about to find out. 

Anyways, back to what swimming has to do with this.  Nati just made YMCA Nationals for the first time over the weekend in the 200 Fly, Long Course.  (If you know anything about swimming, you’ll realize that only self-loathing people are willing to torture themselves with that event!)  Also over the weekend she realized that she has a small hole in the leg of one of her two really good tech suits.  She wants a new one.  She found some on sale. I’ve already bought her two this past year.  She’s willing to work it off.  Hence…I now have myself a captive preview/review writing prisoner for the foreseeable future! 

Now, she was so determined to prove to me that it was worth it to have her do this to work off the tech suit that she even did an intro tonight!  Imagine my shock!  So, now that I’ve already provided a longer preview than I normally do (that mostly had nothing to do with the event, but that’s just a technicality!)…here is her little intro and then we’ll get to our sponsor and merch partner and into the good stuff!

Hello friends, I am back. Since I was threatened with Hare taking my place, I had no choice but to complete this review. Some of you chose to be judgy when responding to my preview for these fights, which was quite rude. Why you gotta hate like that? Very unnecessary, if you ask me. Anyways, let's get right into it, shall we? Also, to Mr. Pickle’s manager, I very much look forward to his fight coming up. Very exciting.  Unfortunately, my sister Risa will be the one doing that preview and review this week.

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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!

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

Undercard Bout #1: Lightweights

Ramon Rabbit Defeats Montesh Dominguez via Unanimous Decision

Starting off the night, we had Montesh Dominguez and Ramon Rabbit in a lightweight fight. I chose Rabbit for this one, mostly because I like his name but also because of his experience. I thought this fight would end in a TKO, so I am slightly disappointed to see it went all the way to a decision. Not very exciting, but I suppose that shows it was a good and even fight. A long fight, 3 rounds. Lots of hitting back and forth, but nothing overly exciting. It doesn’t appear that there were any cuts or powerful strikes, so that’s a tad bit disappointing. When it comes down to it, this fight was just a slap fight between two rather skinny boys. They did good though, good for them. Rabbit won unanimously, when it came down to it. That’s good for me, since I chose him. He has some pretty spicy hair, too. Who doesn’t like purple? All around Rabbit is better than Dominguez, so his win is no surprise. He seemed very thankful for his fans. I’m sure they’re looking forward to his next fight.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

They did good though…  I’m going to have to speak with Hare and figure out what these kids are learning in school these days!  Did good?  As opposed to well?  Sheesh.  And this kid thinks she’s better than I am!  Anyways, this was a well fought contest that the fans loved all the way through and being that it got the crowd fired up early and excited for the rest of the card it earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors!

Dominguez gave it a pretty solid shot here and managed to hang in there for the full three rounds. It wasn’t enough though and Rabbit was able to score enough in each round to take all three with the judges across the board, 30-27.  Dominguez has been yo-yo’ing back and forth between wins and losses for the past seven fights.  More than anything he simply needs to find some consistency to his approach and work the slight adjustments to string those W’s together!  Next month, he’ll get the chance to bounce back and start a run as Hare tells me Dominguez will likely square off with Bradley Brunswick.

Rabbit has been riding the same roller coaster of ups and downs with wins and losses.  It just so happens that he’s heading in the other direction after this victory.  Now, can he extend and pair a couple together?  We’re not sure who he’s going to face yet and given availability there’s a chance we bring in somebody from the outside to keep the action lively for him!

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

Undercard Bout #2: Welterweights

Darry Curtis Defeats Cashel Ortiz via TKO (Strikes)

Fight number 2 of the night was between Darry Curtis and Cashel Ortiz. I think it was pretty obvious that Curtis was going to win this one from the start, since Ortiz had no morale going into this. Ortiz was wildly unprepared for this fight, I don’t even know why he bothered. I’m actually surprised Ortiz made it as far into the fight as he did. I figured Curtis would have knocked him out within the first round, but he decided to wait until the second round was almost over. He did win by TKO, as I predicted. What can I say, I’m just great at this guessing thing. I would like to say, I don’t really appreciate Donkey’s hate. I would say that I never said this fight wouldn’t be exciting. But I did. I didn’t mean it in a bad way, I just meant that I thought it would be quick and easy for Curtis. No hate to Ortiz, I’m sure they would’ve gone through all 3 rounds if he was feeling up to it. But, he just wasn’t ready for this one. Better luck next time, Ortiz. And good job, Curtis.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

There was never any question in my mind about the outcome of this match.  You come unprepared and four out of five times you’re going to lose!  We try not to set these fights up in such a way that you’ve have enough advantage to overcome that.  This will be an especially disappointing loss for Ortiz here as he had a nice four fight winning streak going heading into this fight.  And then boom, he gave one away.  If his manager doesn’t come back soon focused he may have more losses coming.  That is, if he comes back to accept fights.

Curtis, like the fighters from the prior fight, has been bouncing back and forth between wins and losses.  But this bounce is one in the right direction and is something to build on!  Granted, he has to take it with a grain of salt given the lack of preparation of his opponent but hey, you can only win what’s on your schedule as they say!  The fight that makes the most sense next for Curtis is Mister Lee but Lee’s manager declined that fight once already.  We’ll have to see if he’s open to it next month.

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

Undercard Bout #3: Middleweights

Sean Smith Defeats Jouko Juntti Jr via Unanimous Decision

The next fight of the night was a middleweight fight between Sean Smith and Jouko Juntti Jr. Again, I was correct. I chose Smith to win and he did. I’m just great at this, I don’t know what to tell you. This was a really close fight going into it, so I am not at all surprised to see that they fought for all 3 rounds. It looks like it was a great fight between the two. There were lots of clinches throughout the fight, as well as a bunch of good hits between the two. Juntti Jr. gave it his best, as it was almost good enough. But not quite. When it came down to it, the judges unanimously chose Smith. I think if Juntti Jr. has more experience coming into this fight, he probably could’ve won. As he fights more fights, I think he will start winning more easily. I look forward to seeing what he does in the future. But, until then, Smith remains the better fighter. Perhaps they’ll have a rematch someday. Nobody knows.   

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Ok, Hare’s kid is starting to get a bit of an ego going now.  But I guess you don’t become as accomplished as she is in life, and especially swimming, without having a bit of confidence. But somebody definitely needs to knock her down a notch! 

Smith won this one by virtue of his clinch and Muay Thai game. And clearly he knew that was the path to victory as he attempted to clinch up SIXTY-TWO times in this contest!  Wow.  He succeeded on thirty of those attempts.  All to land a total of twenty-six shots between hands, knees, elbows, you name it!  But, those strikes were critically important as they were the difference maker in this contest.  At 7-2 and quickly establishing himself (again) as one of the top young talents in this division it makes sense that Hare sees the next fight as one that will help sort a few of the younger guys in the division. Valeryevich has a fight with Brennan Brunswick mid-week this week but will likely be Smith’s next opponent in June.

Juntti Jr takes his first loss with this one but has plenty of drive and ambition to bounce back from it.  He’ll get that chance potentially against Jacques Piaget who has returned to Sucker Punch under new management after an extended stay away.

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

Undercard Bout #4: Heavyweights

ZaDarius Haden Defeats Meltdown Miettinen via Unanimous Decision

The fourth fight of the night was a heavyweight fight between ZaDarius Haden and Meltdown Miettinen.  I chose Haden for this one and Haden did, in fact, win. I’m 4 for 4 tonight, suckers. Sucks for Donkey, though. He chose Miettinen. Only one of us was right buddy, and it wasn’t you. Make fun of all my picks all you want, I’m doing pretty well so far. These two fighters fought through all 3 rounds and let it come down to a decision. Unfortunately for Miettinen, it didn’t work out in his favor and the judges unanimously chose Haden. Makes sense, though. Miettin had only ever fought one fight before. Haden, on the other hand, was very experienced. He knew how to fight his fight and he handled himself well. I’m sure Haden’s sponsors were pleased with this win. Maybe don’t choose the sucky fighter next time, Donkey, and you’ll be right.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Ok, now this kid is just insufferable!  Her head is going to be so big she won’t fit through the front door anymore!  Surprisingly Zeke Gunner didn’t reach out to me to holler about my picking against him just to rile him up…guess he’s not reading!  My lucky day?

Haden grabs a huge win here and with it a chance to go head to head with Krol next month.  And should he win that fight he’ll be in position to have earned another title shot!  Big things on the horizon for him and you can bet he’ll be able to taste the title coming into that next fight being so close to a chance to get back for a third shot at it!

Mettinien was here with us on a one fight contract to give Haden a new challenge.  He did well but just couldn’t get the job done in a three fight, toss it to the judges affair.  We were impressed though and have offered him to come on with us long term in the future.  His management isn’t quite ready to step in quite yet but it’s on the table down the line from what I’m told!

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

Undercard Bout #5: Heavyweights

Rock Silva Defeats Syd Rummel via TKO (Strikes)

Fight number 5, and the last fight on the undercard, was a heavyweight fight between Syd Rummel and Rock Silva. This was probably the most exciting fight we had so far. Although it looks like it may be outdone by the fights to come. Although technically I said that Rummel would win, I knew it would be close. And I also mentioned, and was made fun of for it, that Rummel may lose for having slightly less energy and that Silva could pull off an upset here. So, I am not overly surprised that I was wrong about this fight. And, in reality, I did kind of give Silva the benefit of the doubt. So honestly, I think I deserve like a half point for this one. The fight ended with a TKO, I guess Rummel just couldn’t handle all of the strikes he was taking. Silva did a great job in this fight and has a bright future ahead. If you can win against another good fighter about halfway through the first round, that is an accomplishment. Silva seemed pretty excited after the fight. As he should be.  

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Now she wants half points?  Seriously Hare, have you raised this child to want participation trophies also?!?  I think I know you better than that! 

As I said in the preview, it’s very rare for Hare and I (ha) to actively root for one fighter over another.  This was one of those rare circumstances due to some less than sportsmanlike messages we received from the manager about a fight that happened in a completely different org. That said, nobody’s got time for that crap and Rummel’s HISTORY!  And thank you Silva for coming through with the clutch win!

With the win Silva grabs his first ‘W’, the first of what will likely be many in the future.  Full disclosure, his manager is part of Hare’s alliance so there could be some bias in those beliefs. Silva will face off against Bobo Brazil next month, a newcomer to SPPS under the management of Yamashita Craven!  That’s bound to be a great contest as those two are EXTREMELY close in MMAT registered ID! 

Rummel…well, who gives a damn.  Bye.

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

Main Card Bout #1: Middleweights

Kiryu Kazuma Defeats Chris Harms via TKO (Strikes)

 Fight number 6, and the first fight of the main card, was a middleweight fight between Chris Harms and Kiryu Kazuma. You know, I really thought this one would be a close one. I thought it would last all 3 rounds. But no, I was quite wrong. Not disappointed, though. A nice quick fight is always good. And it was, in fact, quick. Kazuma won by TKO 51 seconds into the first round. Harms just couldn’t handle it. Seems like a weakling to me. Unfortunately, I chose Harms for this one, so I got that wrong. Donkey was right about Kazuma winning by TKO, though. So I guess he can have this one. Harms should really try harder to not be a disappointment next time. He’s really letting me down. And to think, I was doing pretty well tonight, too. Hmph.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

In the preview I said, “I have a strange feeling that this fight might surprise us all with one of those “punchers chance” opportunities and perhaps Kazuma catches Harms!  Harms fell victim to a KO last fight for the first loss of his career and perhaps that chin has been exposed?  Looks like I may have called that one!  That being said, Nati was still a bit rough on Harms there with her review!  Dang, don’t want to get on that kid’s bad side!  Maybe she’s just gearing up for the Drake/Courtial match coming up soon?  Ha!

It only took four strikes and fifty-one seconds for the hard hitting Kazuma to get the TKO finish in this one!  If not for the Superman Punch KO that came right after this, Kazuma would  have had the ‘KO of the Night’ here! With the win he earns the opportunity to fight McGuire for Top Contender…and if he can put together one more winning fight he’ll be looking at a chance to go for the gold!  A chance to not only climb to the peak of the Middleweight mountain but to also try to become the King!

Harms never seemed to know what hit him and was thrown off his game immediately with the repeated clinches by Kazuma.  He never got in the flow and never got to the point of trying to take it to the ground.  His next fight should be an extremely evenly matched challenge as I’m told Hare intends to pair him with Brennan Brunswick after the fights tomorrow night!

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

Main Card Bout #2:  Welterweights

Justin Kulina Defeats Carter Ortiz via KO (Superman Punch)

Fight number 7 was a fight between Carter Ortiz and Justin Kulina. The second Ortiz of the night. I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence at first but I have been informed that they are, in fact, related and signed to the same manager. A manager that has done a poor job preparing his two fighters for their fights tonight. This Ortiz also has no morale and, like the other Ortiz, lost his fight because of it, too. The other Ortiz put up a much better fight than this one, though. This Ortiz was knocked out only 24 seconds into the first round after Kulina landed a superman punch. A little rude, and quite aggressive, on Kulina’s part but, hey, he got the job done quickly. That’s what I like to call efficiency. Kulina and his manager should be very happy. I picked Kulina to win this one by either KO or TKO, so that’s good for me.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Many of you know that Hare is very reluctant to give ‘of the Night’ honors in a fight that involves a very unprepared fighter.  Even if the other fighter would normally deserve it.  It just seems to cheapen the victory in some ways for the fans.  That said, when the finish happens in twenty-four seconds and involves a stellar Superman Punch…well, all bets are off and THAT’S how you turn something mundane into something stellar!  Kulina did just that and snagged ‘KO of the Night’ honors for it! Atta boy!

Kulina has won three of his last four now and for his troubles he’s a victim of his own success, getting paired with incoming newbie to Sucker Punch Dennis Dalborg next month!  Dennis has a nice 4-2 record overall and a close ID relatively speaking so that should be an excellent contest to see who can move themselves further up the ladder. They’re both extremely young, so at this point in their careers simply vying for position and establishing themselves as high potential prospects is the most important thing…for now.

Ortiz, who takes two losses in a row now due to his lack of preparation in this one will get to welcome another newcomer, Nils Norling, managed by the same as Dalborg.  If he doesn’t come prepared next month (assuming his manager is around and he accepts the fight), he’ll likely give Norling a boost to 6-3 from his current 5-3 record.  Come prepared boy!

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

Main Card Bout #3: Featherweights

Jake Drake Defeats Godefroy Courtial via TKO (Strikes)

Ah, yes. The fight I’ve been waiting for tonight. Fight number 8, Godefroy Courtial and Jake Drake. I’m not excited to write about this fight because of how the fight went or how it was good, but rather because Drake’s manager had a lot to say about my preview. Quite a judgy one, and totally missed the point of the preview. And due to all his critiques, I would like to say I’m not sorry I chose against Drake and would happily do it again for every fight to come. So fight me. Maybe Courtial was just having a bad day. You really shouldn’t hate that much. It would be one thing entirely if Drake knocked Courtial out in the first round or something, but Drake took almost 2 whole rounds to win. So let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, or too arrogant here. I’m sure Drake will lose next time. Anyways, it was a very good fight and I hope to see a rematch between the two eventually. Until then, I would like to say fight me once again to Drake’s manager. I hope he loses next time. Best of luck. I won’t be cheering for you.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Did anybody count how many times Nati insinuated that Drake or his manager should fight her in that there review?  It was several, I know that much.  One track mind there perhaps? And I’m not sure if I understand, so…is she saying that she will not be picking for or cheering for him going forward? Hmm.  She shouldn’t candy coat it so much!  Hahah.  She’d been chomping at the bit for the past few days to get at Drake and manager Hardman and finally got her shot!  Pretty funny.

Drake gets back on his horse here after a loss for the championship back in March against Michael Aalto.  While Nati doesn’t seem to appreciate it “taking so long” into the second round it was a solid and decisive victory.  Drake will get another chance against solid competition next month against Ehrmantraut most likely from what I’ve been told.

Courtial has dropped both fights since joining Sucker Punch and can’t quite seem to find his stride yet after coming over from PANDA.  I know his manager was missing a bit this past month and that could have potentially factored in some.  I’m being told that we’re likely going to go to the outside to find his next opponent and give him a chance to shake that monkey off his back in June!

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

Co-Main Event:

Featured Middleweight Bout

Wilfred Ainsworth Defeats Kenji Gōtarō via Unanimous Decision

Fight number 9, which is also the co-main event, is a middleweight fight between Wilfred Ainsworth and Kenji Gotaro. I picked Ainsworth to win this one, and he didn’t disappoint like some people tonight. Donkey chose Gotaro. So sucks to suck, I’m better at this than you, Donkey. And to think, you’ve been judging the way I make my picks. I feel like I’m doing better than Donkey is, not gonna lie. Neither one technically outlasted the other, as it went all the way to a decision. But, unfortunately for Gotaro and his manager, as well as Donkey who chose him, the judges unanimously chose Ainsworth in the end. I guess Gotaro was just slacking too much for the judges' taste. Better luck next time. I’m sure Ainsworth and his manager are ecstatic though. A win is always good.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Ok, that child is just getting MEAN at this point! Now I know which apple dropped close to the tree for Hare!  This one went the distance and honestly that’s not something that I expected given the hard hitting nature of both these fighters!  They both gave it a good run though with the final decision being 29-28 across the board after Gōtarō took the first but Ainsworth came back to get the second and third rounds!

Ainsworth really worked the kicks more aggressively than I’ve EVER seen him do in a fight before, clearly trying out some new approaches and finding ways to slow down another good striker! Ninety-eight leg kick attempts!  Fourty-four landing!  My god, does Gōtarō even have legs left today?!?  It worked, giving Ainsworth the nod and with it a chance to shake off the title shot loss to McGuire from last month!  Now he’ll attempt to work his way back into Top Contender status and potentially a third title opportunity of his career if he can string a few more wins together!  The opportunity to continue that campaign moves forward next month, potentially against Lester Karnage!

Gōtarō takes his first loss here at Sucker Punch and it’s not one to be embarrassed about.  Ainsworth is a top competitor.  He likes to train 7 to 8 weeks between fights so we’re not quite sure yet who he’ll be fighting next but you can count on it being somebody he boast about defeating…if he wins!

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

Main Event:

Light Heavyweight Championship Bout

John Doe Defeats Derwent Bolt via TKO (Strikes)

To end the night, the main event was a light heavyweight title match between John Doe (a stupid name, by the way. You could at least try to be a little bit creative) and Derwent Bolt. I was really hoping this one would be an upset where the underdog takes down the reigning champion. But, unfortunately, that is not how it went down. Actually, it ended up not being as close as I had hoped it would. Doe won via TKO just before the end of the first round. We could’ve had 5 good rounds of fighting, but Bolt was too busy sucking for that to happen. This was Bolt’s first loss ever, too, so I’m sure he’s quite disappointed about that. Let’s just hope he learns from it and does better next time. I will say, as we wrap up the night, that I am quite impressed with the number of TKOs and Kos tonight. Really spiced it up a little bit, if you ask me. Anyways, now that we’re done I’d like to say thanks for coming, see you next week.

Donkey’s Takeaways:

Did I mention that Nati is clearly just getting “MEAN” in her old age?!?  Damn kid!  Seriously, a stupid name?  If you thought that the fans and managers out there liked to give Hare a hard time (and consequently, usually were cool on me!) you’re going to find out real fast how they can turn on the offspring of a Hare also!  Git’er folks!

Let me be clear about this… I know PJ usually has good ground defense for his guys, but I didn't think that Doe with all his striking ability would be as strong as some of his (PJ’s) others (fighters).  Wow, that was a surprise as I expected Bolt to get this one, if I’m honest!  But Doe came through with that stellar ground defense that Jones’ boys are known for, fending off Bolt on the one opportunity he had on the ground and limiting Bolt’s chances at submissions to ONE! Doe said, “You’ve got ONE shot boy, better make it a good one!”  Well, it wasn’t.  At least not good enough. And with that Doe REMAINS…AND STILLLLL…your Light Heavyweight Champ!  Well done, well done!  And now, for his trouble, he gets to face a very hungry Jacob Parker next month…the man he originally took the title from in the first place!  Ooooh, I can’t wait!

Bolt takes the first loss of his career but from what I’m told impressed his manager with the effort he gave in what his manager, and some others, felt was clearly an underdog shot.  He’s taking some time off to work on some key things now and then will come back strong and ready to continue frustrating his manager some more!  Inside joke there…Bjorn knows! 

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

So there we have it Sucker Punch fans!

A great set of fights there in SPPS 60 and it just makes me even more excited to have two more events coming up with SPPS 61 and SPPS 62 this week!  We hope you enjoyed it all and are ready for more energy and excitement as we keep the Bondi rocking for the remainder of this week!

Till then, have fun and don’t forget…

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

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Mr Takahashi: Kazuma-san's recent performance really should have won KO of the night, not that Kulina's KO wasn't impressive but after all he was just copying the moves he clearly watched in the previous round adding showboating to them a right to knock the opponent to the mat then a follow up power punch, but unlike catching someone by surprise Kazuma and Zhao lately have been proving that even if you don't have KO power, that as they say, "doesn't mean you can't knock a mfer out" 

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18 hours ago, HareRumpler said:

Ah, yes. The fight I’ve been waiting for tonight. Fight number 8, Godefroy Courtial and Jake Drake. I’m not excited to write about this fight because of how the fight went or how it was good, but rather because Drake’s manager had a lot to say about my preview. Quite a judgy one, and totally missed the point of the preview. And due to all his critiques, I would like to say I’m not sorry I chose against Drake and would happily do it again for every fight to come. So fight me. Maybe Courtial was just having a bad day. You really shouldn’t hate that much. It would be one thing entirely if Drake knocked Courtial out in the first round or something, but Drake took almost 2 whole rounds to win. So let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, or too arrogant here. I’m sure Drake will lose next time. Anyways, it was a very good fight and I hope to see a rematch between the two eventually. Until then, I would like to say fight me once again to Drake’s manager. I hope he loses next time. Best of luck. I won’t be cheering for you.

 

I love you too Nati!  I'm not judgy, just defending my guy.  It's what good managers do!  We hype our guys up, put them in the best position to win, and then kiss their ass when they make the big bucks!  lol

Drake did tell me to say if you ever want to go on a date though, that he'd show you how a real man treats a lady.  And promised me you'd change your mind about cheering for him should you take him up on that..  

But if you do, make sure he showers first.  He's got a tendency to enjoy "smelling like a man" as he puts it.  

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3 minutes ago, Bleakardor said:

 

I love you too Nati!  I'm not judgy, just defending my guy.  It's what good managers do!  We hype our guys up, put them in the best position to win, and then kiss their ass when they make the big bucks!  lol

Drake did tell me to say if you ever want to go on a date though, that he'd show you how a real man treats a lady.  And promised me you'd change your mind about cheering for him should you take him up on that..  

But if you do, make sure he showers first.  He's got a tendency to enjoy "smelling like a man" as he puts it.  

Hey now, this is my 15 year old we're dealing with, don't make me kick Drake's ass myself!  Hahahha!  ?

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Drake said his family is from Belize and it's common there to get married between 14-16 years of age.  But I told him in the states, we don't allow that unless you live in Alabama or South Carolina.  (or some swamp parts of Louisiana and it's your own kin.)

?

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