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Heroic 166: Rainer vs Lester
18th July Los Angeles
LA Memorial Colossuseum
HEROIC will have its first superfight that has been set up by new owner Jonah King. Rainer Varvaskoukku, the HEROIC 145lbs champion will face off against Moe Lester, the Ascension 145lbs champion. It will be a colossus showdown between two of the best little guys out there today. That fight will be the main event and also in store there is some more great showdowns. Read on to find out what they are
"Josef Fritzl" Moe Lester vs. "Personal" Rainer Varvaskoukku 145lbs SUPERFIGHT
Although this fight wont be for a title, it will be for bragging rights between Ascension and HEROIC. Rainer is 9-1 in his last 10 fights and undefeated in 9, and undefeated under his new manager Pedro Fernandes. He holds two wins over all time great Danny Power and also showed off his deadly ground game against Roman Kersikov winning with the rare submission, the triple pecker pecker wrecker. He is currently ranked number 4 in the pound-for-pound list and is ranked as number 1 in his weight class. His wrestling and his BJJ black belt is enough to get the job done, and he can attribute those to getting him to where he is today. His wrestling is on the Olympic level and his black belt is so regarded, if Lester wants to get anything done in the fight, he must avoid the ground game or he will be defeated. Lester is ranked as the 4th best fighter in the 145 division and for good reason. He has some of the finest boxing to muay thai attacks in the game today. His boxing is good enough for him to one day go into a boxing ring and his muay thai is at the highest level. He also possesses some great counter wrestling so he can remain upright and out strike his opponents. One problem with him may be that he doesn’t have much power to put his foes away with. From 41 wins only 12 are finishes, the rest are by decision. With his manager in his corner, Stu Pidasol, im sure he can gameplan with the best of them but if he keeps allowing opponents not to be out of the game then that may one day, come back to bite him in the ass. Its pretty obvious what each man’s game plan will be coming into the fight, both have been around the block a bit and have perfected the art of which they need to win their respective fights. Rainer will want to ground you, and then work in some ground and pound and submissions all the while keeping heavy on top. Lester will want to out-point you on the feet with some expert boxing to kicks and the clinch, but I daresay he will want to avoid Rainer’s grips at all costs for fear of being dragged to the floor. I think that Lester will be able to out-score his opponent over 5 rounds, I think it will be a close fight but Lester has an better than average ground game, whereas Rainer doesn’t have the skills standing to win this fight.
Prediction: Lester via UD
Holy Jenova vs. Gun Slinga 265+lbs
Before our main event, we will have a showdown between two giants who both fight in the SHW division. Jenova is 27 years of age, but still relatively new to the fight game compared to his 29 year old opponent. Jenova is 12-2 in his career with all those wins coming by (T)KO. He had a deadly muay thai attack with some respectable boxing skills as well, but it is his muay thai that people must watch out for. His wrestling and BJJ skills are good enough to survive and remain standing but will be by no means considered his greatest asset. Slinga has power, 26-13 is his record and 23 of those wins are via (T)KO, but all of his losses are by (T)KO so his chin will be a weak sport for Jenova to target. Slinga is a master boxer and muay thai artist and he likes to work from the clinch but he can equally put your lights out from range as well. I believe Slinga to have the better skills, but not by much. I would usually of picked him but I fear Jenova’s power will be too much for him and one good shot will mean Slinga goes home early.
Prediction: Jenova via KO
"Bishop" Lucas Bishop vs. Gonna "Get" Spanked 185lbs
Bishop is the reigning 185 HEROIC champion, but will not defend his belt on this occasion. Bishop is another fighter who blends his boxing and his muay thai attacks so seamlessly. He has power as evidenced by his 12 (T)KO victories, but he is very smart in fighting, if he can’t finish a fight or if he knows he can’t then he will work around that and not tire himself out trying for a finish he knows won’t come. He also possesses some great clinch work, he is heavy in there and he is very damaging when he hits you from so close. Spanked, was the last 185lbs champion in Rising Sun before its owner, Jonah King took over the reigns in HEROIC. So this is a super fight it its own way, for dominance in the 185 division. Spnaked has some really good wrestling, he likes to take you down and control you as seen by his 12 decision wins, but he also possesses some power in his hands, his ground and pound is very good and his boxing is still developing but he sure does pack some power. I don’t see this fight being too competitive, I think Bishop by far has the better stand up skills, and he has proven to be a hard man to take down let alone keep down, so I think Spanked’s chin will hold up but he wont be able to do enough to convince the judges he won the fight.
Prediction: Bishop via UD
"The Mexicutioner" Pedro Bueno vs. Melvin "Dark Seer" Manhoef 185lbs
Both men have tasted defeat at the hands of the 185 champion Lucas Bishop, and both men are eager to earn the rights to face him again. Bueno is only one fight removed from a crushing KO defeat to Bishop, but I’m sure with an impressive enough of a victory, he may be considered to face him again soon. Bueno has one skill that he likes using the most, and that is his boxing. He is one of the best boxers in the division, the only problem being that most opponents know this and can prepare for it as his other skills just aren’t as good as his boxing. His ground game is a big weakness for him as out of 16 defeats 6 have been submissions. Manhoef, is a scary striker. With great boxing and muay thai skills he can put the lights out of any man’s skull. Expect a good striking battle between these two fighters as both have shown to be strikers first, however, Manhoef may decide to use his wrestling offensively for this fight considering the weakness in Bueno’s ground game, or Manhoef may elect to clinch up with Bueno to neutralise his boxing. Either way I see Manhoef winning due to having the more well-rounded stand up attack.
Prediction: Manhoef via TKO
"Bag Of Bones" Michael Noonan vs. Ethelbart Takahashi 265+lbs
Both of these guys could realistically be fighting at HW, and fighting men who weigh more than them has led to both guys suffering a combined 14 (T)KO losses in 21 fights. Now, Noonan is likely the more well-rounded person as he can boast of wins via KO, submission and decision. But he also has the worse chin from the two, with 9 (T)KO losses. He has a black belt in BJJ but he rarely uses it, he prefers to separate men from consciousness. Takahashi is one of your more typical HW fighters, big and powerful who prefers to strike. 20 of his 29 wins are from (T)KO and he has a good all round game but he used his wrestling and BJJ defensively and he likes to load up on his punches and throw everything with bad intentions. I think if Noonan can avoid eating too many punches and fights smartly he can take the fight to the floor and win it there either with ground and pound or a submission but I fear that Takahashi has mastered the art of staying upright and will deal Noonan his tenth career loss via (T)KO.
Prediction: Takahashi via KO
Undercard Predictions
"The Wizard" Xavier Cid vs. Julio Quintana - Quintana via UD
Aaron "Evolution" Edwards vs. Cristiano Nascimento – Edwards via TKO
"OldBoy" Despicable Oh Dae Su vs. Kamil Burczynski – Dae Su via KO
"Hollywood" Hunter Hearst Hogan vs. John Conteh – Conteh via TKO
Ramazan Temel vs. Luke "The Jedi Knight" Skywalker – Temel via UD
Be sure to check out the event on the 18th, until the next one
Michael “The Wolf” Brakeley
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