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The venue was Camden Conference Centre, the crowd was 7000 strong and the title was on the line. This was Highland Games 84.
Middleweight
Pat Rachi (4-0) def. Janek Dzwignia (4-1) by Submission (Armbar) at 3:57 of Round 2
We’d seen Rachi bring some dangerous striking into the cage, so for this fight BJJ Brown Belt Janek Dzignia wanted nothing to do with the striking and wanted this fight to play out on the floor where he felt he had a big advantage. I’ll weight in here by saying DAMN is Pat Rachi a prospect. Not only does he defeat Janek, but he submits him by Armbar. Insanely impressive victory for Rachi as he continues to move forward in the Middleweight rankings.
Middleweight
Itshak Rabinovitch (6-3) def. Marcus Warring (7-2) by Unanimous Decision
This as Rabinovitch’s debut after a career in Last Man Standing and REZDOG. Marcus lost his debut by submission so he was looking to take a win back after his 7 fight streak was broke by Renato Gracie. With 10 decisions between them, we thought this would go the distance and it did. It was a close fight which saw Warring utilizing his kickboxing while Rabiovitch wanted to mix it up between kickboxing and muay thai. The judges gave every round to the debutant but it wasn’t an easy one.
Bantamweight
Kusi Amuo (7-4) def. Tom Noisy (8-3) by KO (Punches) at 3:17 of Round 1
Amuo went 1-1 in Highland Games before being released after Highland Games 19. Since then, he had a long career in World Combat which recently culminated in a championship opportunity. Noisy lost his fight HG fight to Dominance Zelditeez by decision but he’d definitely have the superior ground skills in this fight. The fight didn’t last long as Kusi kept the fight standing and landed almost every strike he threw. With a mixture of head and body shots, Noisy was rocked and later dropped, both in the first round. With his name on the HG win sheet since Highland Games 10, the future looks bright for Kusi Amuo.
Light Heavyweight
Rocky Balboa (8-1-1) def. Walter Mattos (6-2) by TKO (Strikes) at 3:10 of Round 3
Coming off of a huge TKO of Chocolate Mousse, Rocky had a lot of hype entering this. Mattos on the other hand was on a three fight win streak in the organisation but has failed to capture the attention of the pundits thus far. Walter wanted to mix things up, using his punches to set up low and high kicks, while Balboa predictably used his hands exclusively. Rocky was able to control the action from both distance and in close, hurting Mattos with a versatile array boxing strikes. It was a big uppercut in the final round that confirmed the winner, and Rocky leaves with a second straight win.
Heavyweight
Barol Kedorf (7-6) def. Anderson Natanael (9-1) by KO (Punch) at 1:16 of Round 1
Kedorf has made it known that he is a solid boxer throughout his career, and although he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves, looking at a guy like Steel Penn Helsinki Heavyweight Champion Blade Runner, who Barol previously stopped, show that some of his wins are underrated. Natanael has heavily disappointed since joining Highland Games. Joining at 9-0, he was knocked out by mid level fighter Mateusz Puszke and almost knocked out by Bratt Nardello. It was much the same here. Barol was able the land hard and fast and the weak chin of Anderson cracked under the pressure yet again. It’s back to the drawing board for the Brazilian whilst Barol makes it three straight for the second time in his career.
Middleweight
Pyotr Korobeikin (8-5) def. Clark Kent (8-2) by Unanimous Decision
Much like Natanael, Kent has failed to impress since joining Highland Games. A submission loss to John Smithing brings him into this contest. Pyotr also came in off the back of a loss, a decision to Christian Mubango at INY 62. Pyotr is capable all round while Kent seems to be fully focused on getting a submission. With Pyotr out ranking Clark in BJJ though, it seemed like the deck was always stacked against “Superman” in this fight. What happened in the ring was interesting. Clark was absolutely focused on taking the fight into the clinch, throwing no strikes to set any of his work up. Perhaps he felt that Korobeikin only had one weakness. Unfortunately, the solid wrestling game of Pyotr was enough to break the clinch, or switch it into a takedown whenever he wanted. Neither man managed to land much in this fight but it was clear that Russia’s Pyotr Korobeikin was the superior grappler, leading him to a victory after 3 rounds.
Light Heavyweight
Chocolate Mousse (7-5-1) def. Rodrigo Gracie (14-6-1) by KO (Punches) at 0:59 of Round 1
Man, I didn’t expect this. With Mousse coming in off of a loss to an up and comer in Rocky Balboa, really this fight was an opportunity for Gracie to buy a win after a 1-3-1 record in his last five. If you put money down on the favourite, you’re gonna be kicking yourself now. Gracie was throwing some punches and a few leg kicks to set up a potential takedown later in the fight, but boom, Chocolate Mousse lands a jab which stunned his opponent, followed by a vicious uppercut which put a stamp on the proceedings. A huge win for Chocolate Mousse who has now bought wins over former Attack Fight League and Highland Games Champions. A massive upset and a great feather in Mousse’s cap.
Middleweight
Rodrigo Rojas (11-6) def. Razor MuayThai (10-6) by Submission (Kimura) at 3:36 of Round 1
After rocking Jon Askren, only to be taken down and TKOed, former Middleweight Champ Razor MuayThai was desperate to keep this one standing and score with punches and kicks. Former Light Heavyweight Champion Rodrigo Rojas had other plans, and after being KOed by current champ Massimo Benvenuti, this was Rojas’ opportunity to keep his name amongst the elites of the division. Early, Razor did what we expected him to. He kept it standing, landed a solid combination of punches and kicks, everything was looking routine. Rojas was looking to secure the clinch and potentially pull guard but was having a lot of trouble controlling from inside. Just in the fourth minute, disaster struck for Razor. Rojas managed to score with a double leg. Quickly moving to half guard, the BJJ expert managed to lock in a kimura which was the nail in the coffin. Rodrigo Rojas scores a huge win, while Razor plummets back towards the middle of the division.
Light Heavyweight
Ludko Struja (13-6) def. Teuvo Loman (10-2) by KO (Strikes) at 0:47 of Round 3
For the co main event of the evening, we had two recent title challengers looking to prove why one day they will take the title. You have Ludko Struja. A longtime veteran of Highland Games who, up until his title challenge, had probably the best run off his career. Beating Jake Theodorou, Rodrigo Gracie and Hanjong Mc Vetrol, he had fully earned the title challenge. However, earning a shot and beating our current 205 champ are seemingly miles apart, and LightHeavy Weight easily cruised to yet another title defence.
Ludko is known for having great ground and pound and the ability to take the fight down at will, but he also has an underrated boxing game which could well have been a factor in this fight. Teuvo was the undisputed king of Attack Fight League but he too was easily defeated when the time came for him to challenge for the Highland Games belt.
To make matters worse, a second loss of his career to Louis Gordon in his last outing before this fight had his moral at an all time low. Loman took the clinch early, which many felt would have been where he had to be to win the fight, but the wrestler quickly took the fight to the floor as a result. Surprisingly, Struja was very technical with his striking to set up the takedowns. He didn’t have too much accuracy but some shots definitely landed which really helped his takedown abilities.
Loman did okay on the feet too but seemed overly concerned about the takedown attempts. Coming out for the third, Ludko felt it was time to turn it on. He scored an immediate takedown and unleashed his more familiar donkey kong style ground and pound, quickly prompting the referee to step in. Ludko earned a huge victory here to keep his name amongst the elites, while Loman proves once again that being the AFL champ is very different from the HG champ.
Lightweight Championship
Zoran Jolevi (18-1) def. Calvin Brooks (16-8) by TKO (Strikes) at 2:58 of Round 1
And with all the other action concluding, it was time for the main event of the evening. Calvin Brooks would his two fight winning streak to challenge the current throne holder Zoran Jolevi. Brooks got this title shot on the back of just two wins, but both of these wins were over former champions so it’s more acceptable when you factor in everything.
This was the fourth career title shot for the former AFL Lightweight Champion who’s competed at the highest level for his entire martial arts career. Even if you just look at his current run of opponents; Mustafa Shabazz, Jack Stick, Papa Shango, Zoran Jolevi, JJ Lycka, Jason Smith, George Moshington and Gottlieb Hiebknecht, Brooks might be one of the most battle tested guy in Highland Games. Jolevi on the other hand has not only fought against almost all the high level guys Brooks has, but he’s also beat them too.
His one early loss to Gottlieb was recently avenged, so Jolevi is essentially an undefeated fighter with all the confidence in the world. Utilizing his submission game earlier in his career, Zoran now is more comfortable using his elite boxing and great clinch game to take a knockout over a submission.
When they last fought, in the final of the Island Tournament, Brooks took the clinch quickly and wanted to use that to drag the fight to the floor. Instead, Jolevi battered him for almost 3 minutes before scoring the stoppage by TKO. The only thing we saw different here was that it was Zoran that clinched up. He knew how to beat Brooks so he didn’t wait to give his opponent any opportunities. Zoran scores yet another 3 minute TKO in the clinch over Calvin Brooks, defending his HG Lightweight title for the third time, matching the other longest 155 reign of Don Killuminati.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Ludko Struja Vs Teuvo Loman
KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT
Chocolate Mousse
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT
Pat Rachi
Another card is in the history books with Camden being sold out once again. Zoran Jolevi is now close to breaking records at Lightweight, and many expect that he will go on to have a Hall of Fame run at 155. He has some great challengers on his heels like Ska Asap, Taisto Anttila, Rama Udo and Warren Parker, but it’s hard to see what kind of gameplan can be utilized against a guy who can essentially finish you no matter where the fight goes.
Stellar submissions, great boxing and an even better clinch, your guess is as good as mine as to how you defeat this man. We saw some great fights between veterans who never clashed before, but perhaps most notably we saw the demise of some top talent as they failed to push through to the next level. Join us again on June 19th as we see Asap and Anttila decide who fights for the title next. Another contender’s bout is Alexey Juralev Vs Mase Force in what I expect to be an insane striking masterclass. Thanks for being with us.
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