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 Randy: “We’re back with another edition of Evolution’s count-down previews as we get ready for Evolution 20 ‘Narushima vs. Carlton’ which comes to you live from the Wombley Arena in London, England on Saturday September 14th, 2013. What a stacked card we have for you with 4 fights being scheduled to go 5 rounds including the 170lbs and 265lbs championships. Merik Hunt will defend his title first against the challenger in BJJ red belt Rufus Soderberg. We have two 5 round fights in the light-heavyweight division and heavyweight divisions respectively as Womba takes on A.J. Hearts and Don Marciano faces Art Vandalay in two terrific match-ups. Then we get to the main-event of the evening when light-heavyweight champion and #1 p4p fighter Ryo Narushima jumps up a weight-class and tries to add the heavyweight title when he takes on the champion and #4 p4p fighter Kyle Carlton. I’m joined here by my guest at this time the legendary Jeremy Tonal. First let me start by saying it’s a true honor to have you on the show. You are 1 of the true greats this sport has seen.”
Tonal: Thanks. It's an honor to be here. Looking forward to a great night of fights.
Randy: “It has been 5 long years (tycoon-time) since we’ve seen you in action way back at Ascension 101 when you dropped a majority decision to Sunny Disposition. How are you enjoying retirement?”
Tonal: It's been good. I miss the fighting at times but it's nice to not always have a fight to prepare for and it's great to have more time at home.
Randy: “Despite spending so much time on the shelf I have to say you look in terrific shape my friend. I know that you still like to hit the gym fairly often and work on your skills. Why do you still enjoy going to the gym and staying in such good shape? Is MMA just a way of life for you? Do you get bored at home with the wife and kids?”
Tonal: I still love the sport and I can't think of a better way to stay active. I also really enjoy sparring with all the new talent.
Randy: “You know where this is leading right? Are we ever going to be graced by your presence in an MMA cage ever again? What kinda fight would it take to get you to come out of retirement on put the gloves back on? Would you come back for a crack at Ryo Narushima?”
Tonal: At this point a comeback is unlikely. I'm not getting any younger and I don't really see any fights out there tempting enough. Maybe if there was another Kane or Glory around I would try but even then just to work my way into a position where I would deserve a shot would be a lot of work. Ryo is a great fighter and the fact that he has never been knocked out in a 13 year career extremely impressive so of the guys out there right now I can't think of many I would rather fight.
Randy: “When you finally decided to hang it up, you and the rest of the guys who were coached by Richard Davenport all kinda went out at the same time. Do you still keep up with Rich? How about Abayo Bokhari? What have those guys been up to lately?”
Tonal: Some of us retired but a lot of the younger guys kept fighting and several of them are doing really well. All four guys fighting for Lance are on great streaks and 3 of them have belts. It's great to see guys you helped learn the game years ago climbing their way to the top today. Of us older guys only Victor is still fighting and he's still a threat to anyone. Last I heard Abayo is enjoying retirement in Vegas.
Randy: “I have just one more question for you for now and then we’ll get to previewing some of these great fights here in a minute. I heard a rumor that Davenport was approached by J-Bomb and Sean McDonnell and offered a spot in Team Conquer should Rich ever return to the MMA scene. Is there any truth to this rumor? I heard that he turned them down for now but do you think he’ll ever get back to coaching fighters the way he once did?”
Tonal: I don't think he will, he's really disillusioned with the way the mma world is developing.
Randy: “Well thank you for being so honest with your answers. Let’s say we get to checking out some of these fights and then maybe if there is time we’ll sit here and shoot the shit about some of your past fights and opponents and maybe get your opinions on the MMA scene today.”
Tonal: Sounds good.
Prophet Mohammed (20-3-1) vs. Dustin Douglas (30-9)
Prophet Mohammed looks to extend his un-beaten streak to 5 fights when he kicks off the main-card portion of our fight by taking on heavy-handed knock-out artist Dustin Douglas. Prophet Mohammed is a very well-rounded fighter and is a former Fight Day FC heavyweight champion. Mohammed got off to a great start in his career losing one fight very early in his career but then finding a lot of success under the Fight Day banner winning the organizations title and defending it on several occasions. Mohammed did lose in two separate fights to Emeka Shakur but has gone 3-0-1 since joining Evolution. Prophet mixes up his punches and kicks well on the feet but is looking for any opportunity to get the fight to the mat and lands 47% of his takedown attempts. If he can survive the early knock-out power from Dustin Douglas and get this fight to the ground he’ll have a great chance at coming out victorious. Douglas is an elite-level boxer and likes to push forward throwing a lot of punches but mixes in a fair amount of leg-kicks into his game-plan. Douglas is a former champion in the organization and is looking to rebound from a recent decision loss to Renzo Machida with a convincing victory here tonight. Douglas is most known for his heavy hands and has finished 27 of his 30 career wins by TKO or knock-out. Douglas will need to sprawl and brawl to have his best chance at victory in this fight and has shown the ability to do that in the past boasting a 70% success rate in takedown defense during his career. The winner of this fight will find themselves in the top 15 of the weight class and knocking on the door for a title shot in the near future.
Randy: “I like this Mohammed guy and I think one day he’ll really make a name for himself with his high-level grappling ability. I just don’t think his time is quite yet. Douglas has a 12cm reach advantage and he will come out the aggressor in this fight and wear Mohammed down with his power early. I think Prophet will struggle to get this fight to the ground in the later rounds and Dustin finishes him late in the 2nd round.”
Tonal: I think Mohammed has the upper hand in this one. He should be able to hold his own in the striking and eventually take it to the ground where he's far superior. He needs to be very vary of Douglas power though. One wrong move and the fight is over.
Merik Hunt (25-12) vs. Rufus Soderberg (16-3)
Next up on the card will be 5 rounds for the Evolution 170lbs championship as champion Merik Hunt looks to successfully defend his title for the 2nd time when he takes on dangerous BJJ expert Rufus Soderberg. Merik Hunt won the title by defeating Sinuhe Egyptian in a close 48-47 unanimous decision victory but then dropped a decision in a super-fight against Pluto Palhares. Hunt showed the heart of a champion and looked impressive coming off the loss when he successfully defended his title by stopping Karri Vahti with strikes on the ground. Hunt is a decent kick-boxer who mixes up his strikes well on the feet but it is no secret he’s looking for every opportunity to get the fight to the ground and averages over 4.5 takedown attempts per fight with a success rate of 43%. It will be interesting to see if he’s willing to play in the guard of a BJJ red-belt. Rufus Soderberg looked great in his Evolution debut by out-grappling Holden Gracie before securing the triangle submission mid-way through the 3rd round. Soderberg isn’t nearly as skilled a striker on the feet as his opponent but he is deadly on the ground and has finished 4 of his last 5 fights there. If Soderberg is able to get this fight to the ground early and wear down Hunt for the later rounds he has a really good chance at pulling off the upset and winning the title in just his 2nd appearance in an Evolution cage.
Randy: “I’m going to take Merrik Hunt in this fight. I think he’s better on the feet and while I don’t think he’ll complete neglect his wrestling game I do think he’ll try to keep this fight on the feet for most of the fight where he should have no problem out-landing his opponent. I think Hunt gets to the mount position later in the fight and pounds Soderberg out. We’ll say 4th round.”
Tonal: "If Hunt tries to strike I think it will be a slow fight. He's not that great of a striker and if he goes aggressive he will get punished with counter takedowns and lose the fight. If he plays passive whoever lands a td or two wins it. I think Rufus takes it by decision. I hope Hunt does go for the td though, it would be excting to see that aggressive gnp vs such a great sub game."
Smokodju Womba (31-6-1) vs. A.J. Hearts (24-3)
Smokodju Womba was 9-0-1 in his last 10 fights before Ryo Narushima knocked him out in the 1st round defending his light-heavyweight championship and spoiling Womba’s Evolution debut. Womba rebounded nicely with a 1st round submission victory over Benjamin Grundy and looks to make it two fights in a row when he takes on A.J. Hearts in a super-fight. Womba desperately wants to get back in the cage with 205lbs champion Ryo Narushima and he could take a giant step toward achieving that goal by defeating another top 20 p4p fighter in Hearts. Womba comes forward behind his punches and kicks but is always looking to get fights to the ground averaging over 6 takedown attempts a fight in his career. Smokodju is very dangerous anywhere on the ground and is constantly throwing up submission attempts as he tries to gain the dominant position. Womba is extremely dangerous when on his back in guard and has 8 submissions from guard in his career. His opponent tonight brings an impressive streak into this fight going 15-1 in his last 16 fights twice winning the SPFT light-heavyweight championship and defending it on 7 occasions. Hearts is an Olympic caliber wrestler and holds a BJJ brown belt. Hearts is terrific at dictating where fights take place landing 2 takedowns per fight at a 42% success rate while also possessing 84% takedown defense. Hearts has good knock-out power and likes to gain dominant positions and land big blows from the top position. A win for either of these fighters will have them knocking on the door of cracking the top 10 p4p and land them a potential shot at Narushima in the future.
Randy: “I don’t know much about A.J. Hearts but he’s beaten some pretty good fighters and I know his manager is top-notch so I believe the kid is for real. I just have a really hard time picking anybody in a ground battle against Womba. That guy is dangerous from dominant positions and he’s maybe even more dangerous when opponents lay in his guard. I say Hearts lands the takedown and gets caught in a submission from the top position.”
Tonal: "I'm thinking along the same lines except I don't see Womba landing the sub. Hearts will spend more time on top and take the decision."
Don Marciano (41-8-2) vs. Art Vandalay (26-4)
Our co-main event of the evening is scheduled to go 5 rounds in the heavyweight division when former Empire 265lbs champion Don Marciano looks to make it 3 in a row since joining the organization when he takes on elite-level muay-thai striker Art Vandalay. Marciano has looked impressive since coming over from Empire knocking out former champions Alistair Overeem and Arnie Ironz in the first round in back to back fights. There is no secret that Marciano would like a fight against Kyle Carlton should he be victorious in the main-event later on the card. Marciano comes out fast and furious from the opening bell and looks to land heavy blows early in fights and then swarm his opponents when he has them hurt or tired. Marciano leads mostly with punches to the head and body but also fires a lot of low kicks to the leg and body of his opponents as he tries to slow them down. Marciano is 1 of the best in the business at finish opponents when he sees blood in the water and has 36 knockout victories in his career. Vandalay is 7-2 since moving to heavyweight including a 4-1 record in Evolution winning the last 4 fights since dropping a decision in his debut with the organization. Vandalay equally mixes up his punches and kicks and likes to mix up his shots to the leg, body and head pretty equally. Vandalay also likes to tackle his opponents against the cage in the clinch position where he will unleash a fury of an attack that includes all limbs. Vandalay’s lowest success rate with any of his strikes in the clinch position is 62% so he is extremely effective against the cage and could find a lot of success if he can get Marciano there in this fight. One key factor in this fight is that it is Art’s first under his new management and this is an awfully giant task for any manager/fighter tandem to have to take on a legend like Marciano in their first fight.
Randy: “I’d love to see Christopher Samba get 1 more victory and then fight Marciano sometime in the near future so he can either dispel the rumor of his ground game or be proven as a fraud and a guy who belongs in K-1. Vandalay really surprised me by beating Kane Williams the way he did last fight but I think it takes Heisenberg more time to adjust to the way his fighter likes to fight and Marciano walks away with his 3rd straight 1st round KO since joining Evolution.”
Tonal: "I have a hard time seeing Marciano lose this one. The fight will be spent standing and he's the more dangerous striker. Everyone can get caught but I agree with your call of a first round ko for Don."
Ryo Narushima (34-7) vs. Kyle Carlton (20-1)
Finally the moment we’ve all been waiting for as we get to experience this terrific super-fight put on by Evolution when its organizations light-heavyweight champion jumps up a weight-class and takes on the Evolution 265lbs champion Kyle Carlton in a 5 round fight for the heavyweight championship. Narushima is 10-1 in his last 11 fights with the sole loss coming by submission to Smokodju Womba, a loss he later avenged by defeating Womba by 1st round TKO. We haven’t seen Ryo’s title on the line since that fight but he has won 2 super-fights against former Ascension 205lbs champion Yance Sackett and CFC’s 205lbs champion Daniel Speed. He could make a big statement by stepping up in weight and defeating another top 5 p4p opponent in Kyle Carlton. Narushima is a dangerous kick-boxer who pushes an insane pace for the weight class and he is an extremely accurate striker. Narushima prefers to work behind lots of kicks averaging over 30 leg kick attempts per fight during his career. Ryo mixes it up by throwing his kicks to the body and head as well and lands over 5 head-kicks and close to 7 body kicks per fight. Narushima should have a significant speed advantage and if he can stay on the outside and land his strikes early he has a great chance at putting Carlton away inside the distance. Carlton is an impressive 20-1 in his career and avenged his only loss by knocking Anton Chigurh out in the 1st round in the rematch. Carlton prefers to work primarily behind his punches and is most known for his devastating knock-out power finishing all 20 of his career victories including 12 inside the first round. Kyle also likes to tackle his opponents against the cage in the clinch where he is extremely effective with his dirty-boxing and isn’t afraid to mix in the occasional knee. Carlton has the power to finish fights even from such a short distance while holding guys against the cage so I would look for him to slow down the quicker opponent by using his weight to lean on Ryo against the cage while landing knock-out blows. The winner of this fight will be Evolution HW champion and undoubtedly be ranked the #1 p4p in the world.
Randy: “Dean hasn’t answered my phone calls since the recent blow-out with my former manager Sean McDonnell but I might Ryo when he was a guest here on the show and he’s definitely the real deal in my opinion. If Ryo can keep this fight out of the clinch I think he’ll walk away victorious in impressive fashion. I am going to lean towards Carlton in this fight however because I think Ryo puts him in early trouble but he survives long enough to get Ryo against the cage and he’ll finish the fight from the clinch position much like he did to Ryo’s teammate Marciano.”
Tonal: "Fighters don't really get more dangerous than Kyle. I think he will come out guns blazing like always so for Ryo it will be all about surviving the early storm. I think experience wins it for Ryoafter surviving an early scare. 3rd round ko."
Randy: “Some gigantic fights later tonight, but before we get there we have some interesting match-ups on the under-card portion of the card as well so let’s have a brief look at those fights.”
Nisse Blockson (16-6) vs. Arthur Vengrio (27-13)
A heavyweight fight kicks off the main-card portion of the card when Nisse Blockson looks to rebound from a unanimous decision loss in his first fight back from a long retirement. Blockson should have some of the ring-rust behind him now and will look to use his kick-boxing to close the distance on the taller opponent and land a heavy shot that could finish the fight. Blockson is a big fan of the clinch and likes to mix in elbows and knees with his punches. Vengrio steps into the Evolution cage for the first time in this fight and is the current SPFT HW champion. Vengrio doesn’t appear to be as skilled as his opponent in the striking game but hits equally as hard if not harder with 26 of his 27 career victories coming by knock-out or TKO. This will be an entertaining striking battle which probably ends with a vicious knock-out.
Konrad Kurze (27-12) vs. Matt Miller (25-8)
Konrad Kurze looks to make it 4 in a row with a win tonight after an impressive submission victory over the former champion Dr. Gonzo in his last fight. Kurze is a decent kick-boxer but it’s no secret he is looking for any opportunity to get the fight to the mat where he possesses a BJJ black-belt and has 13 submission victories in his career. His opponent tonight is Matt Miller who has been fighting against the top guys in the division in his last several fights. Miller is a decent kick-boxer in his own right but usually uses his takedowns and top-control to gain dominant positions and beat his opponents up on the ground. Miller also possesses a BJJ black-belt but has lost his last two fights by submission so it will be interesting to see if he shy’s away from his wrestling in this fight. Miller is in desperate need of a win if he wants to stay relevant in the division and Kurze could take a big jump up in the division by beating a consistent contender like Miller.
Theo Atla Son (26-8) vs. Domingos De Matos (33-13)
Theo Atla Son looks to rebound from a recent two fight losing streak which included losing his title to Ryo and then dropping a super-fight to Jose Nabijos both by knock-out. Atla Son likes to mix his punches and kicks up well while at distance and occasionally tackles his opponents into the cage where he unleashes knees to the body and head. His opponent tonight also lost to Nabijos his last time in the cage but had won 3 straight fights by knock-out before that so he will be looking to regain some of the momentum he had before being derailed by Jose. De Matos is also a very skilled kick-boxer who pushes forward behind punches and kicks always in search of the big knock-out blow. Both of these light-heavyweights have good knock-out power and both have also been knocked out on multiple occasions so I’d expect to see this fight finished inside the distance. The winner of this fight should get back into the top 10 rankings in the weight class and start gaining momentum to getting in the title picture.
Sinuhe Egyptian (44-14-2) vs. Nai Khanom Tom (29-9-1)
Up next is one of our featured under-card fights and it’ll be 3 rounds in the welterweight division when former champion Sinuhe Egyptian looks to make it 3 in a row with a victory in this fight as he continues to climb the ladder back towards a shot at the title. Egyptian is a high level muay-thai kick-boxer and pushes a very past pace right from the opening bell throwing lots of punches and kicks. Egyptian throws a ton of low kicks averaging close to 30 leg kicks per fight and almost 10 body kicks. He uses his heavy low kicks to set up his high kicks and averages over 8 head-kick attempts per fight. Egyptian has a terrific chin and has complete faith in his ability to eat a shot so I’d look for him to come out aggressive once again in this fight. His opponent is another high level kick-boxer but doesn’t push near the pace of his opponent. If Khanom Tom isn’t able to keep up with the former champion he’s going to have a tough time in this fight due to Egyptian’s durability. Both of these fighters are also very capable in the clinch and I wouldn’t be surprised if Egyptian pushes the fight there on a few occasions. If Egyptian can win it’ll go a long way to getting him back in the cage with 1 of the top contenders right now and if Khanom Tom can pull off this upset it could boost him right into the top 5 of the division.
Richard Hickock (20-8-1) vs. Topi Tokala (23-6)
Our featured fight on the under-card is a 3 round battle in the middleweight division as Richard Hickock looks to make it 3 in a row with a victory tonight since joining Evolution. Hickock is an aggressive kick-boxer while at distance but enjoys closing the gap and pushing guys against the cage in the clinch position. Hickock likes to unleash knees and elbows mixed in with his dirty-boxing game-plan. Hickock has pretty good knock-out power and finishes around 2/3rds of his victories by TKO or knock-out. His opponent in this fight is another aggressive kick-boxer and will likely look to use his 16 cm reach advantage in this fight by throwing a lot of jabs. Tokala isn’t quite the knock-out artist his opponent is and because his opponent probably will be landing the harder strikes Tokala will want to push his opponent backwards and score more often. Taking the center of the cage will help Tokala avoid being tackled against the cage so look for him to stick and move and keep this fight on the outside. Both fighters could make it three wins in a row and find themselves against a top 10 contender again in their next fight.
Randy: “What a terrific night of fights we have for MMA fans. The under-card has several interesting fights on it and then you add the two title fights and Don Marciano on the PPV portion? Wow. Anyway let’s get back to talking with our guest for a little bit before we run out of time. I hope that’s okay with you?
Tonal: "Go ahead."
Randy: “I just want to get your thoughts on some of the high-lights in your career. We’ll start with the Syn Millionaire’s tournament. You entered that tournament as a 10-4 fighter and were relatively unknown. What was it like to win that tournament and put yourself on the map?”
Tonal: "Going into that tournament I felt I was as talented as anyone out there but a couple of missteps had really set my career back. Winning it felt awesome as I finally got to show everyone what I could do. I have to admit I was not terribly proud of how I fought that tournament though. Too much was on the line and I fought to win rather than to finish, something I've never done before nor since."
Randy: “After winning the tournament you went back to GAMMA and won light-heavyweight championship. What was it like winning your first world title?”
Tonal: "I actually held that title briefly before the tournament too. Winning it again felt like fixing past mistakes."
Randy: “Immediately after winning the GAMMA world championship you went to CoV for a super-fight against the legendary Jigoro Kane which you lost but that started an impressive streak of 16 straight wins which included many legendary names and you reaching the pinnacle of the sport becoming the #1 p4p fighter in the world. Give me two of the victories you’re most proud of and why?”
Tonal: I have to say the wins vs Jerry Millen and Gristle McThornbody. Millen was talking so much crap and a lot of people were actually buying it. Going into it I knew he was going to brawl with me and I knew he had nothing for me in that kind of fight. Going into the Gristle fight he was on a win streak going back 8 years, and he kept winning for a couple of years after our fight too, and I put on what I felt was the best display of wrestling of my career.
Randy: “That streak was stopped when you dropped your title to William Mackenzie King by Unanimous decision. You then lost 2 of your next 4 fights after dropping your title before finally retiring. What do you think happened at the end of your career?”
Tonal: I just didn't have it anymore wasn't good enough to win those fights. Maybe my luck just ran out or I should have prepared differently.
Randy: “Well I want to thank you for your time and answering all these questions. I hope you enjoy retirement but secretly I’ll be wishing that you one day step back in the cage and lay a beating on somebody.”
Tonal: "Thanks for having me, I really look forward to the fights."
Randy: “This is Randy Ortiz signing off for now. We’ll be back with another edition of Evolution’s count-down previews with Evolution 22 ‘Power vs. Otso 2’ as I’ll be away the rest of the weekend and not have time for the next show. Tune in as Chris Garcia will be my guest on that show.”
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