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 Bantamweight Bonanza, Friday July 17th @ The Underground, Sydney
Pre Fight Build up
Following months of 135lbs division action at Vanquish we are now finally closing in on the time when we can finally name a Bantamweight Champion. Over the previous couple of months bantamweights have been battling for domination in this new division.
However, finally following the Bantamweight Battle two weeks ago we were able to identify the organisation top 135lbs fighters.
This process was based upon a mixture of recent results and overall hype and popularity. The criteria was that all fighters who qualified for the final eight must have won at least one fight on a Vanquish card and possess a hype rating worthy of the competition.
The only fighter with the required hype who didn’t make the cut was Yoshi Twister as he had failed to win during a VCC event.
The draw was then made with the #1 ranked fighter taking on the #8 rank, #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6 & #4 vs #5. The draw looked like this.
Underwood (#1) vs *Rogers (#8)*
Biscuits (#2) vs Antonov (#7)
Barristan (#3) vs McBones (#6)
Buckwalteringstonton (#4) vs Jack (#5)
Rogers declined to fight Underwood, meaning Underwood was awarded a bye into the semi-final. Leaving us with three enthralling match ups.
Biscuits versus Antonov
Biscuits has been on a winning streak ever since he graced the VCC cage as one of the first 135lbs signings. Biscuits set his sights on the title from afar, previously based in St Petersburg
he saw the division opening and set his sights on taking down the newly instated Vanquish 135lbs title. He now sits pretty ranked as Vanquish’s #2 Bantamweight warrior, and therefore one of the front runners for the title.
Conversely Antonov only just scraped into the last eight of the tournament with a win over Rudy Loens in VCC’s Bantamweight Battle.
This result boosted Antonov’s standing following a losing streak of two fights which includes his VCC debut vs JJ Media. To date Antonov’s fights have all made it to decision, meaning he is yet to be stopped.
It is foreseeable that his chin will be tested against his strongest opponent to date.
It should also be remembered that Biscuits has finished all three of his professional fights within the first two rounds, making his heavy favourite for this bout. Although, he must be wary of Antonov’s strong striking capabilities.
Barristan versus McBones
Audley Barristan (2-0) will be looking to maintain his unbeaten professional record in the upcoming matchup with Skinny McBones. McBones (1-1) will be looking to improve on his slightly tarnished record if he wants to progress further in the competition.
Skinny McBones truly lives up to his name, towering inches over his shorter opponent whilst also giving away the best part of a stone in weight, he really will look like a stick figure compared to his much more compacted adversary, Barristan.
McBones is clearly the more capable boxer of the two fighters, a weapon which he will be hoping to utilise successfully against whilst trying to avoid his opponents devastating Muay Thai. Barristan is yet to be stopped, could McBones end this impressive record? Perhaps if he lands enough strikes he could be the man to finish Barristan’s reign of dominance.
Buckwalteringstonton versus Jack
This the hardest to call of the three fights, as you would expect from a #4 vs #5 rank fight, the winner will really be hitting the semi-final with some momentum having surely come through a tough battle.
Buckwalteringstonton is the stronger striker of the two fighters, by a margin. However he gives away some ability on the ground to his much shorter opponent Jack (150 cm). It is also notable that Jack is to date unbeaten as a professional fighter, recording two wins (one submission, one decision). On the other hand Buckwalteringstonton was beaten on his professional debut in a QFC tournament. Since then Buck’ton has signed to Vanquish where he has since won two successive fights, beating Mac Adoha and Greene both by TKO (Strikes).
Despite Buck’ton having a purple belt in BJJ, Jack will be looking to ensure that this bout is fought on the ground. That way Jack will be able to utilise his own purple belt whilst also incorporating his one advantage over his opponent, namely his wrestling ability.
The winners will face each other in a future VCC event, in order to finally name the two fighters who will battle it out for the Bantamweight championship at VCC 29 or 30. The draw for the semi-final will be made once again based on the rankings of the remaining fighters, #1 vs #4 & #2 vs #3.
These main card match ups are also accompanied by an array of competitive 135lbs undercard matchups. These fighters will be looking to improve their rankings in order to name themselves as a possible title contender further down the line. These matchups include;
Jababbeka vs Rodgers
Greene vs Yeboah
Loens vs Twister
Bantamweight Bonanza Results
Co Main Events
Pike Biscuits beat Ruslan Antonov via Submission (Strikes) in the 2nd round
Reginald Buckwalteringstonton beat Gamma Jack via Decision (Unanimous)
Audley Barristan beat Skinny McBones via Decision (Unanimous)
Undercard
Yoshi Twister beat Rudy Loens via Submission (Kimura) in the 1st round
Andy Rodgers beat Mustafa Jababeka via Decision (Unanimous)
Eoin Greene beat Sambulo Yeboah via TKO (Strikes) in the 1st round
These results mean we have our 135lbs division semi finalists, the next round of fixtures look like this;
Underwood vs Buckwalteringstonton
Barristan vs Biscuits
The semi finalists will battle it out at VCC 26, with the winners fighting it out for the championship belt at VCC29 orVCC30 (TBA).
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