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 Los Angeles has been abuzz for the past two weeks about tonight's event UPF-LA 3: Champions. The anticipation has been growing and the tension has been mounting. And finally here we are today, getting ready to answer everyone's question about who will be crowned as UPF-LA's new champions. So let's take a look at tonight's event, and how these fighters stack up.
We start the undercard off with a middleweight match up between DingDong Dantes (1-0) And Heya Bernie McAwesome (2-2)
Dantes will most likely be trying to take this fight to the ground because he is no match for McAwesome on his feet. McAwesome specializes in Muay Thai and will be looking for the Muay Thai clinch to work the knees and elbows. In the clinch though, McAwesome may have trouble keeping it standing; Dantes will be looking to use his huge wrestling advantage to take it to the ground where he has the advantage over McAwesome. How will this work out, will McAwesome clinch up and elbow and knee his opponent to death, or will Dantes take it to the ground and get the sub?
Hole in your pocket sportsbook (HIYP) odds: DingDong Dantes -122, Heya Bernie McAwesome +100
Next we have a light-heavyweight fight between Rodger Joaquin (3-1) and Sailo Damtea (2-4)
Both of these fighters are returning to the cage after taking a couple of months off to train. Joaquin is looking to return to the win column after his only loss in his last fight. It was a title belt match in the Mord House fight org; which closed shortly afterward so Joaquin was never given the chance to avenge his loss. Damtea holds a slight edge in experience and also in the stand up game. He may try to make that stand up advantage work for him in this fight, but Joaquin is a much better wrestler and will most likely take this fight to the ground anyway. Both fighters are a brown belt so we can expect a ground fight with a lot of action. Who will come out on top in this one is anyones guess.
(HIYP) odds: Rodger Joaquin +115, Sailo Damtea -141
We finish the undercard off with another light-heavyweight bout between Vic Vitor (1-0) and Robbie Stone (4-1)
As Stone looks to climb the ranks of the division to the top, he finds the undefeated youngster Vitor in his way. Stone forced his opponent to tap in only 49 seconds in his last fight at UPF-LA: 1 and was adwarded sub of the night. Vitor will not be such an easy target though, he knows what he is doing on the ground, and will be trying hard to remain undefeated. Vitor holds the advantage in the stand up so look for him to try to keep the fight standing as long as possible to rack up some points before going to the ground for the real fight. Will Stone's experience give him another quick submission victory or will the youngster Vitor surprise him and make him tap?
(HIYP) odds: Vic Vitor -111, Robbie Stone -111
We start the main card off with a middleweight fight between Jimbo Jones (6-1) and Francis Stark (4-2)
The up and comer Jones faces his toughest opponent to date in this match up. Stark is like a freight train, anything in front of him usually goes down, he has shown some real KO power. In Stark's four victories, once back when he was 20 one guy lasted to four minutes, but no one else has made it two and a half minutes. Jones has a granite chin so he should be able to absorb some strikes from Stark but he will want to take the fight to the ground quickly and use his awesome submission skills to force Stark to tap. Will Jones derail the freight train know as Francis Stark or will Stark knock Jones to tomorrow.
(HIYP) odds: Jimbo Jones -133, Francis Stark +108
And now we come to the biggest fights so far in the UPF-LA, the next four fights will determine who will be crowned as our champions in four different weight divisions. First, we have a bout between Carlos Jos Ricci (7-4) and Pawel Nastula (3-0) to determine the UPF-LA's light-heavyweight champion of the world.
This promises to be a great fight, Nastula is a well rounded fighter who is a monster on the ground, and Jos Ricci is a ground and pound specialist who shows no mercy. Nastula holds a huge advantage in the stand up game but is known as a ground fighter. I expect Nastula to take the fight to the ground regardless of his stand up advantage, he has a black belt and is a submission artist. Nastula does have a weakness though and that is that over 50% of strikes thrown against him on the ground land, and that could spell trouble when you are facing a ground and pound specialist like Jos Ricci. Will Nastula make quick work of Jos Ricci, or will Jos Ricci manage to overcome the odds and make his speciality work for him again?
(HIYP) odds: Carlos Jos Ricci -102, Pawel Nastula -120
Next is a match up between Lew Alcinder (6-2) and Jessie Banner (7-2) to determine the UPF-LA's welterweight champion of the world.
This should be an incredible fight, both fighters are specialist in their fields in this boxing vs jiu jitsu match up. Alcinder is a fantastic ground fighter with great submissions skills while Banner is a boxer who has shown real KO power. Banner is riding a five fight win streak, all by KO and the last three coming in the first minute. Look for Alcinder to try to counter with a takedown in this one, he is a known counter fighter who becomes more dangerous when he gets hurt. The possible problem for Alcinder is Banner's incredible accuracy, over his career Banner has landed almost 90% of his head strikes, 100% of his body punches, and almost 70% of his combinations; it is hard to counter if your opponent isn't missing. Will Alcinder take Banner to the ground and score an easy submission or will Banner bang away and end up knocking Alcinder out before he can take it to the ground?
(HIYP) odds: Lew Alcinder -120 Jessie Banner -102
As a co-main event, we present a fight between Ouji Eiichi (5-0) and Ricky Hed (3-0) to determine the UPF-LA's middleweight champion of the world.
Eiichi is trying to continue his winning ways and regain a title he held in the Los Angeles Cage Blaze org when it closed...CHAMPION. This is a battle of the undefeated, Hed who is 3-0 had an impressive KO victory in UPF-LA 1 when he defeated Phil Harris in the first round; that ended up earning him a shot at the title. Hed holds an advantage on the ground for this fight but he has never been tested on the ground, in his three fights he has never been on the ground at all. Attempting to stand with Eiichi may prove to be too tough for him though. Eiichi is a fantastic stand up fighter that has not allowed one opponent to remain conscious more than 90 seconds. Will Eiichi continue his win streak with another quick KO, or will the up and comer Hed be the one scoring the KO?
(HIYP) odds: Ouji Eiichi -182 Ricky Hed +147
This preview brought to you courtesy of "The MMA Today Show" starring Phil Conners.
As a finale, tonight's main event will be a match up between Dongdong Wong (9-2) and Brock Barnett (7-3) to determine UPF-LA's world heavyweight champion.
Wong will be trying to stretch his winning streak to five while snatching up the title belt. Wong specializes in Muay Thai and loves to pound away at his opponents in the clinch. Barnett is a ground fighter and will be looking to drag Wong into unfamilar territory, Wong is not used to fighting on the ground and if Barnett manages to take it to the mat, he could very well come up with his seventh submission victory. Will Wong manage to keep the fight standing and clinch up, or will Barnett come up with yet another submission?
(HIYP) odds: Dongdong Wong +111, Brock Barnett -135
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