2013-12-26
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ICON-LV 1 Christmas Collision (790381)

Event Preview: ICON-LV 1 Christmas Collision
HONOR Fighting Championship
2013-12-25, Las Vegas, The Underground - Las Vegas
Author:

 



What do fight fans really want for Christmas? How about a sackful of great fights from the newest name in quality combat. This Christmas Steel Penn ICON: Las Vegas is bringing you a fight card big on quality and short on good will to all men. Brought to you by Meet the Future it's going down this Christmas at The Underground. You lucky boys and girls, we spoil you!

 

 

 

Light Heavyweight: Bud 'King of Beers' Weiser (1-0) vs Agnar 'The Viking' Gorm (5-0)

Maybe it's not surprising that a man from Iceland is as cool as a polar bear in shades when the cage door closes. Agnar Gorm has cultivated a reputation in his young career for being cold and calculated, choosing to bide his time before unleashing hell on his opponents. Gorm looks for the takedown early and often but once he has it don't be surprised to see him sit in guard and hold position for as long as possible. Make no mistake he is no lay and pray artist though because the moment his quarry gets comfortable is the moment he drops bombs. When the light goes green Gorm gets mean and has left a trail of destruction that he plans to continue against Weiser. What little we know of Weiser though is that he is both comfortable and active off his back and Gorm might find that his steam roller runs into quicksand.

Prediction: Don't be fooled, Weiser has the tools to upset Gorm here but the wiser money is on the bigger and more experienced Viking. Gorm by TKO late in round 2.



 

 

 

Welterweight: Herb 'Sticky' Green (5-4) vs Rock 'Taijutsu' Lee (1-0)

Herb Green is a real throwback to the early days of MMA where you brought your particular discipline to the fight and not much more. A sensational BJJ artist with experience against much bigger fighters than himself Green feels that now is the time to make a move and lose his journeyman tag. In Lee he meets an aggressive striker who loves to throw punches in bunches, but more importantly has excellent takedown defence. The Alburquerque native stuffed 6 first round takedown attempts against Tony Blank and barely broke a sweat in doing so. He lit up the Botswana native with wild combinations and dangerous power shots and Green will need to fair much better if he is to take a victory here.

Prediction: Lee has all the tools in his locker as long as he can keeps this standing. If this hits the mat he is way out of his depth and in all sorts of trouble. That said all fights start on the feet and Lee can take the wind out of Green's sails early on. Lee by decision or late TKO.





 

Middlweight: Tito 'Island Killer' Jackson (3-1) vs Corner 'Alley Cat' Bum (1-0)

Tito Jackson enters the ICON:LV battlefield as one of the most promising prospects in any division. His lone defeat came from a momentary lapse in concentration against unbeaten submission artist Bruce Redban, but that defeat will serve him well and he will not make the same mistake again. That loss aside he has been nothing short of dominant, feeding his opponents a painful diet of powerful takedowns, heavy ground and pound and dangerous submissions. Corner Bum looked sharp in his wrestling if less effective in his work on the mat. Neither has been forced to put their wrestling in reverse yet and that could be the deciding factor here. Alley Cat has the better striking and if he can use that to score before they tie up he can upset Jackson here.

Prediction: Corner Bum needs to let his striking set the tone here, if he can control distance he can take this, that said Jackson's wrestling has looked unstoppable and I don't think Bum can slow him down enough to stop him taking him down and putting him away late in round 2.





 

Middleweight: Tonitsu 'Wizard' Jiujitsu (1-0) vs Dario 'The Killer' Silva (1-0)

Well rounded Finn Tonitsu Jiujitsu throws down with Brazilian Muay Thai stand out Dario Silva in a middleweight showdown of fighters in their 'sophomore' MMA outings. Wizard stayed busy in his debut throwing punches in bunches and backing up his opponent, it was messy but effective as the cleanest strikes he landed ended the fight. In Silva he meets a Muay Thai specialist who put on a clinch clinic for a round a half before gassing hard. The Killer threw some beautiful knees to the head and body in his debut and he will doubtless be looking to clinch with Jiujitsu in this one. Jiujitsu's messy brawling style might land him in trouble in this one as he could walk straight onto a knee or three here.

Prediction: With a noticeable height advantage and hopefully improved cardio Silva looks a slight favourite. Expect a strong start, a steady middle and a weak finish as he sneaks the decision.

 

 

Bantamweight: Coors 'Silver Bullet' Light (1-0) vs Joe 'The Pitch' Castro (1-0)

Light and Castro showed similar qualities in their previous fights; happy to take a punch to land a punch, comfortable fighting in all areas but in need of tuning in some key areas. Coors Light walked down his quarry and bullied him to the mat before securing the armbar victory where as Castro came out on top of a stop start affair that saw him stick rigidly to a gameplan ill suited to his opponent. That said they both won and both showed enough to suggest that the raw material is there to build with. This looks set to be a scrappy but eventful fight that will be hotly contested in all areas.

Prediction: If Castro is smart he will use his sizeable reach advantage to hurt Light, who demonstrated footwork like a drunk one legged zombie last time, and control distance. His comfort in pulling guard will serve him well if Silver Bullet manages to cross the minefield. Castro by one sided decision.







 

 

Featherweight: Lee 'Big' Bang (0-0-1) vs Vaclav Sverkos (0-1)

Lee Bang made a very respectable start to his career in overcoming a big size and experience disadvantage against Ethan Harris. He looked a little unfinished swinging for the fences but the aggressive intent was there and his wrestling looked like it could be a very useful weapon against more evenly matched opponents. Czech import Vaclav Sverkos was also outmatched in his last outing but will enjoy a size and speed advantage over bang and his physical attributes could be a difference maker here as he looks to secure the takedowns that eluded him in his debut. Bang is the better wrestler but don't underestimate the difference Sverkos athleticism can make here. Once it hits the ground the Czech is just about the better submission artist and will look to impose his will.

Prediction: Bang made a lot of fans in his plucky first outing and that heart and better matched opponent should get him the victory here. Look for something nasty to land late in the fight.

 

 

 

Middleweight: Dmitry Belov (10-3) vs Dante 'Inferno' Mishima (1-0)

Belov is one to watch in the middlewight division, his timing on his takedowns is as good as anyone in ICON:LV and his ground and pound is straight from the drawer marked 'brutal'. Once in top position he peppers his victim with shots from all angles until unleashing the kind of fight ending blows that have seen him pick up 9 of his 10 victories by knockout. So how does the vastly less experienced Mishima defeat the talented Russian? Well he has to watch the tape and see what others have perceived as Belov's weaknesses. The Russian can be prone to starting slowly and not utilising his footwork enough. If Mishima can come out with the wild flurry's of punches he likes to throw he can put Belov on the back foot and test his chin, Belov having been knocked out twice in his three defeats and has a tendency to leave the cage bloodied at best.

Prediction: Mishima has a huge size and strength advantage and if he connects cleanly he is certainly capable of turning out the lights on Belov. But those wild charges will seem him on the end of the takedown and from their its all Belov. The Russian by submission in round 1.

 

 

Welterweight: Oscralo 'Granalo' De Santiuya (3-2) vs Vedran Milosevic (0-0)

The man with the most exotic name in Iceland arrives in Vegas to face the unknown Croatian, Vedran Milosevic, in what is already shaping up to be one of ICON-LV's most competitive divisions. De Santiuya is a grappling specialist known for his relentless pursuit of the submission, a pursuit that as yet has proved fruitless but seen him pick up 3 victories in 5 outings. The word coming out of his camp is that Milosevic is a very good wrestler with with excellent hands and will be looking to use that wrestling in reverse to keep this one standing.

Prediction: It's virtually impossible to make a prediction on a fighter you have never seen before. Milosevic sounds like a good fighter but we know Granalo is a capable fighter. De Santiuya by decision.

 

 

Featherweight: Isaiah 'The Prototype' Martinez (0-1) vs Craig 'The Warrior' Wardlaw (0-1)

Isaiah Martinez is fooling himself he if he thinks he can continue at featherweight. Height is good, reach is good, to a point. Off his back his ridiculously lanky limbs could be a threat to Wardlaw and he had better hope they will be because he is going to get planted on his back without a doubt in this one. His balance and his cardio must surely suffer from that bodyshape and the Aussie is too good of a wrestler not to take him down. He may want to just score the points and tire Martinez before closing the distance and corking him with some heavy hands. The longer this goes on the worse it will get for Martinez and Wardlaw will be a big favourite here.

Prediction: Having just listed all the ways Martinez will lose expect him to prove me wrong with some freakshow knee from nowhere or a triangle he doesn't deserve. Anything can happen in the cage, the smart money is on Wardlaw, but I've never been very smart



 

Light Heavyweight: Andrew 'Animal' Todd (0-1) vs Kurt 'Swift' Zukaryian (0-1)

Andrew Todd can count himself very unfortunate to have lost in his first outing as a professional. Animal demonstrated an arsenal of pulverising slams and brutal ground and pound to throw about his victim for two and bit rounds before one sweep changed everything and his defensive grappling was exposed. Whilst Todd was perhaps unlucky, Zukaryian was less so, and perhaps the victim of a schizophrenic gameplan. After noticeable success dirty boxing and hanging heavy in the clinch he seemed to then decide on a takedown heavy approach with relentless submission hunting from top position, before in the final round pulling guard. So exactly what his strengths are is a bit of a mystery. He looked most effective in the clinch but against Todd who has shown that if he connects his hands around your back you are going for a ride. This could be a long night for Zukaryian.

Prediction: Despite similar skills sets Todd definitely showed more in his debut. Todd by decision.


Event preview written by Halam Walker

 

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