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 Evolution 17 ‘Katsu vs. Keiji’ Preview
Randy: “We’re back with another edition of Evolution’s countdown previews as we get ready for Evolution 17 ‘Katsu vs. Keiji’ which comes to you live on Saturday September 7th, 2013 from the Wombley Arena in London, England. We have several key fights on the card tonight that includes 4 of the 5 main card fights set to go 5 rounds with our main event being a 3 round fight. Some odd match-making on the part of Mega Jug if you ask me but these things happen when you’re heavily boozing when you send out the contract offers. I’m joined here now by my guest for the evening Evolution HOF’er Gomer Pyle. I want to start by thanking you for taking time out of your training camp to come here and join us for the show.”
Pyle: “Thank you! It's always a pleasure to get back here, even if only as a spectator or commentator.”
Randy: “Before we get to breaking down the fights on the card this weekend let’s talk about the early years in the Evolution organization that was known as HFC and then IMMA back then. You started your career in NFC challengers and then 2 fights in NFC before making the move. What was it about the org that came to be known as IMMA that attracted you to sign there in the first place?”
Pyle: “My manager told me about this new up and coming organization called HFC, he told me that it looks like a great place to reset my career.”
Randy: “Well clearly you made a smart decision because you started off by winning your first 7 fights in the organization which included winning the 185lbs title and defending it on 3 separate occasions. What did it feel like to capture your first world title?”
Pyle: “Back then their 185 title was vacant and there was some talk about an in house tournament, where winner gets the belt. Of course I was in, even if my natural weight class is 170lbs. Winning the tournament wasn't planned, it just kinda happened. But man did it feel great.”
Randy: “You dropped the title to Mr. Lime in your 4th defense, how devastating was that loss?”
Pyle: “It showed some weaknesses in me, ones that I couldn't just train to fix, so I had to adapt my gameplans to this new information about myself.”
Randy: “You showed the true heart of a champion by coming back strong after the defeat and beating two tough opponents to earn yourself another shot at the title. That first fight against Olli Jokinen ended in a draw and for the 2nd time you left the cage without your title. What was going through your mind after the fight? And what changes did you make going into the rematch? Because I have to admit finishing him in the 1st round the way you did was quite impressive.”
Pyle: “: I knew I had to use my wrestling more. The second match was more of what I was looking for, takedowns, hammerfists from the mount, you know what I mean.”
Randy: “After that victory you successfully defended your title by defeating Igor Glozman by submission and then dropped down to fight for the 170lbs title which you captured by defeating Maximus Scott by cut. What was it like becoming a champion in 2 weight classes at the same time? Do you feel that achieving that makes you 1 of the most successful fighters in the organization’s history?”
Pyle: “At the time I was feeling almost unstoppable force. I was closing in the very tip of the p4p rankings, opponents were tapping and dropping to my left and right. At least I hope that would make me one of the best guys who have ever fought here, I was invited to the Hall of Fame, so I think that should say something about that.”
Randy: “After this you went through a really rough stretch in your career dropping your 185lbs title in the rematch against Glozman. You also lost your 170lbs championship to Sinuhe Egyptian 2 fights later and that started a skid of losing your last 9 fights in the organization. What do you think happened there at the end? Did the competition level just get too tough for you?”
Pyle: “I think I just got too cocky and that opened up my game way too much, after every loss I was just looking for a quick new fight to get back to the track. That did not go as well as I had hoped for and I obviously needed some change.”
Randy: “You’ve found some success since leaving the organization going 5-2 since joining CEC. What does your future hold? Are you looking to win a CEC championship? Are you just trying to get some wins under your belt before returning home? What are your thoughts on your upcoming fight and your opponent?”
Pyle: “Yeah luckily my manager had some connections to CEC, which has opened up a chance for me to restart my career. And of course, i'm always looking for possibilities to fight for titles, there's nothing just like the feeling when you win the belt. But at the moment I'm taking things just one match at a time. I still have contract left in CEC, but who knows, I might get back to Evolution one day too. Every option is still open for me. My next opponent seems like a careful guy with all his decision victories, I think it's time to show him how fight are stopped before the time runs out.”
Randy: “Well good luck to you in achieving all your goals and in your upcoming fight. We’ll get to some more questions a little later in the show but for now let’s move on and start breaking down some of the match-ups on this excellent but strangely arranged card.”
Neo Kable (13-0) vs. Arvydas Sabonis (18-7)
The main-card portion of the card gets underway with a 5 round title fight in the 265+lbs division as newly crowned champion and undefeated superstar Neo Kable looks to make his first title defense when he takes on the hard hitting muay-thai fighter Arvydas Sabonis. Neo Kable had a terrific start to his career in Hypnotic FC winning the organization’s 265+lbs championship and defending it an impressive 8 times before stepping up in competition by joining the #1 organization in the MMA world today Evolution. He made his debut in the organization in his last fight taking on a much more skilled fighter on paper and a man who had over 5x as many professional fights as Kable. There were a lot of people including this writer who thought that it was a bit too much too soon for Neo Kable but he proved to the world he is ready to step into the cage against the elite of the division by knocking out Iro Tolonen just 1:45 into the 1st round. His opponent tonight was a long-time contender in NFC’s open-weight division losing by split decision to the previous mentioned Tolonen in his lone opportunity to capture the organization’s title. Sabonis had a bit of a rough stretch to finish out his NFC career dropping 4 of his last 5 fights but has rebounded nicely since joining Evolution with a 3-0 record since coming over. Arvydas is a high level striker with vicious knockout power in his hands. In fact both of these fighters have 100% finish rate in their victories so both guys are extremely hard hitters. Sabonis isn’t afraid to mix things up and take fights into the clinch though either where he mixes up his strikes of punches, elbows and knees to the head and body against the cage. This one is scheduled to go 5 rounds if necessary but with these two power punchers stepping into the cage I would be shocked if this thing sees the judge’s scorecards.
Randy: “I picked against Kable in his debut because I thought Tolonen had too many ways he could win that fight. Sabonis on the other hand is purely a striker and despite the vicious knock-out power he has in his hands I gotta go with the youngster in this fight. His manager Ethan Downs is well known in MMA circles for encouraging his fighters to throw significant amounts of damage and I think that will hold true in this fight. Kable comes out fast and furious landing big shots early in the fight and puts Sabonis away in the first round similar to how he put Tolonen away in his debut with the organization.”
Pyle: “I agree, Kable has looked devastating in his fights so far. I don't see any reason why that wouldn't continue in this one. It all comes down to one question, who will land the first big bomb?”
Bruce Lee (38-16-1) vs. Alexander Valentine (32-11)
The next fight on the card is an important one in the 185lbs division as Bruce Lee looks to add another former Evolution champion to his victim list when he takes on the man who dropped his belt the last time he stepped into the cage Alexander Valentine. Lee’s career has been all over the place as far as organizations and weight classes go. He started his career fighting in the 155lbs division and fought at orgs such as CFC and MIFC before eventually moving to Blitz Russian Combat and winning their lightweight title. Lee came to this organization as part of the 155 ass beater tournament and has never left stepping into the Evolution cage for the 23rd time in this fight. Lee looked sharp in an unanimous decision victory over Danza Kudoro his last time out and brings an impressive run of 8-2 in his last 10 fights into the cage. If he can earn a victory over another former champion he could find himself thrown into a championship match which would be quite an impressive late career turnaround for the 37yr old fighter. Alexander Valentine comes from a terrific camp with my current pick for manager of the year Gale Hawthorne in his corner. He had won 5 fights in a row grinding his way to victory over tough opponents using his wrestling game but he made the mistake of sitting in Hirvonen’s guard in the last fight and got caught in a submission from the dangerous BJJ red belt. Valentine is a decent kick-boxer and mixes up his punches and kicks well when striking from distance but the best part of his game is definitely his wrestling and the ability to dictate where the fight takes place. Valentine lands 46% of his takedown attempts in his career and that will be an important statistic in this fight as he will like to grind down his opponent and drag this fight into the later rounds.
Randy: “This is a really important fight at 185lbs. Gale’s team has been on such a roll this year it’s really hard to pick against Valentine in this fight but there is just something about Bruce Lee that’s not sitting right with me and making me feel like the pickings are ripe for this upset. Kudoro landed a few takedowns in the fight against Lee and he still managed to score enough points on the feet to pull out the close decision. I’m gonna pick him to do the same thing here tonight and score early and often and win rounds despite giving up the takedown. He takes this by 49-46 decision.”
Pyle: “I'm putting my money on Valentine here, he had just some bad luck with his last match, I am certain he will have the burning inside of him to get that belt back. I can tell you, I know what I'm talking about here, been there, done that!”
Lager Assassin (33-11-1) vs. Hector Cabrera (34-15)
Next on the card is another 5 round contest as two tough featherweights square off looking for the opportunity to jump into the top 10 world rankings for the division as Lager Assassin takes on Hector Cabrera. Lager Assassin is a former Geezer’s Palace and Icon 145lbs champion and makes his Evolution debut here tonight. Assassin is an elite boxer who likes to move forward behind punches in bunches in an effort to set up his takedowns and get fights to the mat. He’s not the greatest wrestler in the division only landing on 33% of his takedown attempts but he’s good enough to get the job done in most fights and that’s what counts. Lager is fairly active once the fight hits the mat as he works hard with his ground strikes and tries to advance to more dominant positions. Lager is a good finisher and has 14 KO victories and 11 submission victories in his career. Hector Cabrera had a 4-3 run in Empire’s 145lbs division before making the move to Evolution and has gotten off to a good start winning his first two fights under our banner beating two top contenders in Cormac Maguire and Suren Nazarethyan. Cabrera mixes in kicks to his game-plan a bit more than that of his opponent but also likes to use his takedowns to dictate where fights take place. Cabrera isn’t quite as active from the top as Assassin but his extremely effective with his ground and pound landing 60% of his strikes while on the ground. Like his opponent, Cabrera also has 11 submission victories in his career so this fight should be an epic ground battle with lots of sweeps and submission attempts from both fighters. The winner of this fight should move 1 step closer to getting a crack at the new champion Sly Randolph.
Randy: “This is an interesting match-up. I can’t say I know too much about either of these managers but I have atleast heard of Marky Mark. I am going to lean towards Assassin in this fight despite not knowing much about him due to his durability. He’s never been stopped by strikes in 45 professional fights and I think he’ll deal with eating big shots from a bad position such as side-control or mount where if he’s the one landing the big shots from that position I think he has the ability to put Cabrera away.”
Pyle: “Cabrera has been a long time training partner and we have been sparring extra hard for this one. I just don't see him losing in any aspect of the game. So this one is easy, vicotry for Hector.”
Josh Williams (25-14) vs. Nahka Vitonen (26-13)
Our co-main event of the evening will be a 5 round contest in the heavyweight division as Josh Williams steps into the Evolution cage for the 3rd time this evening when he takes on elite boxer Nahka Vitonen. Williams is a terrific kick-boxer who pushes forward by throwing a lot of leg and body kicks to help set up the high kick. Williams has dangerous power in his punches and kicks and has finished 23 of his 25 career victories by knock-out or TKO. Durability is a bit of an issue for him as he also has 14 TKO losses in his career but he has looked really good late in his career bringing a 9-2 record in his last 11 fights to the cage. All 11 of those fights have ended in the first round win or lose and I wouldn’t be shocked if the same happens in this contest because Williams comes out throwing leather and if he lands you hit the canvas. If he misses? Well good things don’t always happen but he’s exciting to watch either way. Vitonen is a former UMMA HW champion and is 2-1 since joining Evolution winning his last 2 fights after dropping his debut fight back on EVO 2. Vitonen is also a very dangerous striker but prefers to push forward behind a punch heavy game-plan as he throw a lot of punches to the head and body while occasionally mixing in a leg kick. Vitonen has finished 23 of his 26 career victories by way of knock-out or TKO and has been stopped by strikes 8 times in his career so I would seriously doubt these two will need all 5 rounds to decide the outcome of this fight.
Randy: “I’ve said this many times but it never hurts to say it again, I friggin’ love when two heavy-handed heavyweights meet up in the cage. These guys may not have the greatest cardio in the world and most times they don’t’ give you 5 round back and forth battles but what they do give you is devastating highlight reel knock-outs and who doesn’t love that shit? Both of these managers are excellent and will have their guy ready for this fight but I am going to lean towards Williams despite his chin issues. His opponent seems to lack a serious muay-thai game and Williams kicking ability will win him this fight.”
Pyle: “On the paper this one looks like an easy run for Williams, but I will be cheering for the underdog. As you said, big guys hit hard and fall fast. So again we come to the point of "who will land first hard one?". My prediction is still Nahka Vitonen.”
Katsu Higashikuni (22-9) vs. Keiji Hashimoto (36-14-4)
A very big fight in the featherweight division is the main event of the evening as we have a 3 round fight between two top 10 ranked featherweights as former Evolution champion Katsu Higashikuni steps into the cage for the first time since dropping his belt to Danny Power as he takes on the 37 yr. old Hashimoto who like fine wine only seems to get better with age. Higashikuni had been on quite a roll and was quickly climbing the p4p rankings before he ran into the buzz-saw that is Danny Power. Katsu was eating big shots on the feet in that fight and had a really difficult time getting the fight to the ground landing just 2 of his 18 takedown attempts. Katsu is giving up 10 cm of reach at distance so I’d expect him to come out pushing an aggressive game-plan as he tries to get this fight to the ground and use his strikes to soften up his opponent as he looks to gain dominant positions. Hashimoto is making a surprising late career run going 8-0-1 in his last 9 fights beating quite a few former champions during that stretch. Hashimoto is a well-rounded fighter who pushes forward behind lots of punches occasionally mixing in leg kicks in an effort to set up his takedown attempts and get the fight to the ground. Once the fight hits the mat Keiji works hard to pass his opponents guard and gain dominant positions where he’ll use his strikes to wear down opponent’s and try to look for a submission. Hashimoto has a very dangerous submission game with 14 submission victories in his career and he’s coming off a fight he grabbed an arm-bar victory in 35 seconds over a very high level contender in Matt Miller. I’m not the match-maker but I’d imagine the winner of this fight is the next challenger for the featherweight championship.
Randy: “What a great main-event we have for you tonight but I have to say I’m really surprised this fight is only 3 rounds after having all the other fights on the main-card as 5 round fights. Both of these fighters are terrific grapplers but I am going to lean towards Hashimoto because he’s looked great lately and seems like he’s really figuring things out at the ripe age of 37. He’ll out-wrestle Katsu and win this fight by landing takedowns and riding out top-control in a 30-27 unanimous decision victory.”
Pyle: “This one is insanely goodlooking match-up, I myself love a good wrestlingmatch and all the signs are in place that this match will deliver just that. Hashimoto has looked very sharp lately, even managing to submit few very tough guys where as Higashikuni has struggled a bit in his recent fights. So I will go with Hashimoto on this one, his ground game has been better lately, even if they are very evenly matched.”
Randy: “An open-weight title fight kicks off the main-card and two big fights that could determine top contenders in 2 different divisions! Once again Evolution brings a fantastic card to MMA fans but it doesn’t stop there so let’s jump right into the under-card portion of the card as we’ll briefly break these fights down before moving onto more questions for our guest tonight, Gomer Pyle.”
Henry Black (20-8-1) vs. Sabin Figaro (29-10)
A welter-weight fight kicks off the under-card as Henry Black looks to stop a 2 fight losing streak when he takes on Sabin Figaro who will again try to make his Evolution debut after not making it to the right location in his scheduled debut against Eli Bracha. Black is a high level muay-thai figher who likes to push a fast pace by throwing lots of punches to the head and body as well as mixing in a lot of leg and body kicks in an effort to tackle his opponents into the clinch against the cage. Black likes to throw a ton of elbows, knees and punches against the cage and has pretty good knock-out power for the weight class. Figaro is a well-rounded fighter who also likes to push a relatively fast pace but prefers punches to kicks and usually sticks to throwing leg-kicks when he does mix them in. Figaro likes to get fights to the mat where he lands over 50% of his strikes from the ground as well as his attempts to pass guard. Figaro has only landed 33% of his takedown attempts in his career against Black’s 75% takedown defense so whoever can dictate where this fight takes place likely walks away victorious.
Jason Griffin (20-11-1) vs. Cormac Maguire (34-9)
Next on the card is a battle between two former Empire 145lbs champions when Jason Griffin takes on Cormac Maguire. Griffin has rebounded nicely since losing his title going 3-1-1 in his last 5 fights with his non-victories both coming to Hashimoto who fights in the main-event later tonight. Griffin is a very high-level muay-thai striker who pushes a fast pace behind a lot of kick attempts in an effort to tackle foes into the clinch against the cage. Griffin likes to attack his opponents with all limbs against the cage and possesses good knock-out power for a little man finishing 60% of his victories by knock-out or TKO. Maguire is one of the most well-rounded fighters in MMA and also pushes a very fast pace on the feet mixing a lot of leg kicks into his game-plan. Maguire isn’t afraid to mix things up in the clinch or take fights to the ground when necessary. Don’t be shocked to see Maguire try to take this fight to the ground on more than one occasion facing the purple belt in BJJ that Griffin is.
Michael Patton (34-12-1) vs. Kaoklai Khanomtom (26-6-2)
A big fight in the lightweight division is next on the card as two of the best fighters in the division square off when Michael Patton takes on Kaoklai Khanomtom. Patton is a long-time contender in the division but has lost both times he fought for the lightweight championship. He steps into the organization’s cage for the 25th time in this fight and holds an impressive 17-6-1 record in his 24 previous fights. Patton is also the teammate of Evolution 155lbs champion Otso Jokinen so gets to train with the division’s best on a daily basis which I am sure is a large part of his success. I doubt the two would ever face each other even if a world title was on the line so Patton might just be here to knock off the division’s top contenders until Otso drops the title. Patton is an elite boxer and pushes forward behind punches in bunches while mixing in a lot of leg kicks into his game-plan. Patton also holds a BJJ black-belt but it appears as though it is mostly used for defensive purposes as he only has one submission victory in his career. His opponent tonight Khanomtom is 1 of the most aggressive fighters in the division and averages over 30 leg kick attempts per fight. He also likes to take his opponents into the clinch position against the cage where he throws elbows, knees and punches. One of these two fighters will be close to cracking the top 10 in the world rankings with a victory in this fight.
Public Enemy (27-13) vs. Rafael Batista da Silva (22-8)
An important fight in the light-heavyweight division is next on the card as former Ascenion LHW champion Public Enemy looks to make it two in a row since joining the organization when he takes on Rafael Batista da Silva in a 5 round contest. Da Silva makes his debut with the organization after a 12 fight run in Empire where he went 6-6. He took a fight in UMMA knocking out Otto Jokinen before coming over as part of the Empire merger and making his debut here tonight. Da Silva is a very aggressive muay-thai striker and likes to throw a lot of low kicks to the leg and body while trying to set up the high-kick. He also has a very good jab that he uses to keep his opponent’s guessing and neutralizing their attacks. Da Silva has excellent knock-out power and finishes close to 70% of his victories by KO or TKO. Public Enemy looked excellent in his debut with the organization knocking out WMK by head kick in the 3rd round. Enemy is a very well-rounded fighter and pushes forward behind lots of punches and leg kicks while searching for the knock-out. He’s not afraid to mix it up by grappling and is very effective with his dirty-box against the cage and can throw in a takedown once in a while as well. A win for either of these guys will move them further up the ladder to a shot at the current #1 p4p fighter on the planet Ryo Narushima.
Gristle McThornbody (40-11) vs. Jake Orange (33-13)
Our featured under-card bout is another big fight in the light-heavyweight division between two guys who could be close to cracking the top 10 in the weight class with a victory when Gristle McThornbody takes on Jake Orange. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen McThornbody as he lost to Yance Sackett by knockout with just 5 seconds left in a fight he dominated through the first 4 plus rounds. His only other loss in his last 11 fights was to Womba by decision for Empire’s light-heavyweight championship. A win here would have him close to getting a crack at the champion so expect him to come in with an excellent game-plan for this fight. McThornbody is a very aggressive striker who mixes up his punches and kicks well as he wears down opponents and then takes them into the clinch position where he unleashes a varied attack that includes elbows, punches and knees. Gristle has fairly good knock-out power with 25 career KO’s for a 62% finish rate of his victories. His opponent tonight is also on an excellent run going 10-2 in his last 12 fights and looked impressive in his debut knocking out Marko Torturo in the first round. Orange likes to throw a lot of head punches and leg kicks and isn’t afraid to mix things up in the clinch position, a position where most of Joe River’s fighters are very strong. Both of these fighters will be looking to make a big statement so expect a very entertaining fight.
Randy: “So that wraps up the under-card portion of the preview as well. This should be a terrific event with some exciting fights on the under-card as well as the main-card. Let’s get back to our previous conversation if that’s okay with you Gomer?”
Pyle: “Sure sure, I love to talk about myself.”
Randy: “Earlier you mentioned that all options were open for you including a possible return home to the organization you became famous in. My next question is which fighter you’d most like to fight either at 170lbs or 185lbs on the Evolution roster if you were able to choose?”
Pyle: “Both champions, my pants are falling as I do lack a belt at the moment.”
Randy: “Would you pick that person because you respect their abilities or because you see something that you think you’d be able to take advantage of to win the fight?”
Pyle: ““My wrestling has always been my best weapon against any fighter and I still believe I have what it takes to grind my way through anyone.”
Randy: “Okay let’s move on to some other questions. You’re a long-time member of the Finn Fighters alliance correct? Who do you think the best manager and fighter is in the history of your alliance?”
Pyle: “There has been so many great fighters along the years, I guess Otso Jokinen is the one that really stands out, even if he is kind of a midget. There have been even more great managers, who have had success in so many ways, we have had the best orgs, best nutritions, best clothing lines, best fighters. You name it, we got it!”
Randy: “Your manager is well known for being one of the bigger dick-heads in the business. Why do you think he’s such a crabby asshole?”
Pyle: “I think he is just jealous of everyone who is better than him at something, so that includes pretty much everyone. I guess that makes him the sad little man he is.”
Randy: “Is he miserable like that as a coach as well? If so how do you deal with the guy training on a daily basis?
Pyle: “Luckily he doesn't do that much coaching. We have sometimes quick chat before a fight about a gameplan, I usuallya take it, turn it around and then win with that plan.”
Randy: “Well I want to thank you for coming on the show today. If I’m being honest I think your whole alliance of managers and fighters is completely overrated but you guys do have a rich history in this organization so unfortunately Mega likes me to invite you assholes on here.”
Pyle: “Yeah, as we all know, we have been cheating and abusing the system as long as we have existed. And I believe we shall continue on the same path of paper champs and cheaters to the bitter end!”
Randy: “We’ll be back later in the weekend with Evolution’s countdown previews as we get ready for a big grudge match at Evolution 18 ‘Nabijos vs. Mcdermot.’ This is Randy Ortiz signing off for now..”
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